1990CRXSi

I test drove an '05 RX-8 the same day I test drove an '01 Carrera. This is the first time I've ever sat behind the wheel of a Porsche mind you, and I expected to hate driving every other car in the world after that. The very next car I drove was an RX-8.. now here is my question.. is the RX-8 THAT underrated, or is the Carrera THAT overrated?? Does the Porsche only really shine when you are flying down Autobahn-style highways? All I know is that I've fallen in love with the RX-8.. and theres a new car in my potential mix of next-to-own. If any current RX-8 owners, or past owners, are reading this.. please weigh in on how the car was to OWN.. try to make me hate it or love it. I'm torn between the s2k, 350z, and now the RX-8. I don't want to be limited to 2 seats.. so the RX-8 is very appealing. Any other good fits for that group of cars? (RWD or AWD only). The only downside to the RX-8 is the damn rotorys fuel economy is that of the almost 3 times as large 3.5L VQ.

Now here is a tech question.. I suppose that it is true that the rotory can take a lot of punishment due to the design.. but is it true that they don't last as long? And if that is the case, is that because those are the same people that proved the theory you can 'dog' a rotory for extented periods of time? Anyways.. please weigh in.. i'd always curious to hear others opinions.. thanks

Corey

I've never owned one, but I love 'em. I'd own one if it was in the cards.

One thing I've always read was that RX-8 ownership is a mixed bag. Some people get the advertised MPG and others get terrible mileage. Some people have had power loss, some haven't. Some have their car at the dealership non-stop for problems others have NEVER taken their car to the dealership. It's really hard to know what to expect from these cars.

I know two good sources for RX-8 information personally (sort-of). Brian Goodwin (talked to him on many occasions online and on the phone) and Brian from Casey Imports (Local Mazda dealer). Goodwin races a RX-8. The other Brian services and sells parts for them. Brian from Casey says that a huge problem with these cars is that the people who buy them baby them. People come in a complain that their car is down on power and feels like it needs a tune-up. He claims that in reality it needs to be blown out. He says that revving the engine is good for them. I've read the same thing elsewhere.

Sorry to give you an opinion without ever owning one.

Niburu

www.rx8club.com
I'm on my 2nd FC and have owned an FD and know many RX-8 owners.
The only people that have problems with 8 are the ones that don't take care of it.
Basically check your oil level every other fill-up and don't shut the car off prematurely or it will most likely flood next time you go to start it.
I'm looking to pick up a '04 Sport model this summer as a track car, they're already down into the $10K range.

edit: and what Corey said up above - don't baby the car, they need to redlined at least once a day to clear any carbon build up because rotaries will lock-up from that

1990CRXSi

Well Corey you dont have to be an owner.. you obviously found the interest in the title which brought you here.. so your time is much appreciated. Thank you both. But as far as "dont shut the car off prematurely".. I don't understand. I'll look into that.. but I'm guessing you need to let the engine idle for a minute before shutting it off?? similar to a turbo??

spaceMONKEY

fd owner here, with rx8 friends. its more about engine flooding from say moving the car in the driveway. Really really short trips where the car doesn't really get up to operating temp. And definately redline that thing occasionally once its warmed up. Reliability issues were also more of an issue in turbo rotaries. N/a ones are pretty solid from all I've read on past and previous models.

Niburu

I really haven't heard about any issues with Renesis core motor itself, the biggest problem I've heard is with the cats getting clogged, mostly on th 04 autotragic transmission cars. (Avoid them like the plague, they are slower than dirt and have been detuned by 40hp - this includes the paddle shifty ones too.)

catfSSh

I haven't driven either car, but that just sounds wrong. The rx8's caught alot of shit when they were first produced because they were advertising them with much more power than they could put down. Based on what I've seen, they are pretty gutless.

Granted, I've heard amazing things about their handling, but that's about it.

Corey

^ much more power equals 3 hp or 13 hp. I can't recall.

User 102020

I know it wasn't 3, I doubt Mazda would've apologized over 3 horsies.

I'm actually pretty sure it was in the 20s.

Regardless, fuck an RX8, if you buy one instead of a 911 you're a fool, and you'll be a sorry one at that.

Newbsauce

I might as well contribute my 2c to the thread.

I obviously drive a boosted miata, and was considering an RX-8. I'll second the gas mileage (hit or big miss) being a variable per owner. So I spoke with my friend at Car and Driver about the car. Basically he rated it (MS edition) as one of the best handling vehicles he's ever driven.

An interesting point, which will not affect your decision. They released the MSpeed version of the RX-8 with no more power, just suspension mods. When I asked about why they had not modified the drivetrain:
The RX-8 will not meet emissions standards any longer (it was grandfathered into the current standards), and therefore they cannot modify the motor without re-smogging it. Basically, its dead in the water unless they redesign the rotory (which I think they are doing anyway).