School me on RX8s

[Renegade_]

So, I am looking at these things and need some insight.

I know they need coils before they really handle since they are soft.

When do the motors go?
Any bushing issues?
Treat the renesis like any RX7 rotary in terms of oiling or they a bit different?

Im sure someone can clear up the main sticking points in one post... Much appreciated.

[xdrift0rx]

youre better off going to rx8club.com to find any answers but i'll help with what i can.

coils are necessary if you want to do road racing probably. rx8s handle great in stock form for what they are.

the first gen rx8 (2004-2006 or 7) had poor oil injection(1 oil injector) so they did not last as long as the latter gen which had 3 oil injectors to keep the apex lubricated. this can be solved by premixing though...also evidence of an engine on its way out is "hot start" problems.

never heard of bushing issues. car is still pretty new regardless.

rx8club is your friend!

[l337fpc]

there is a lot of good info here: http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=202454

I think im the only rx8 on this whole forum who is modding and racing actively so i'll give you the tl;dr of the link above...

The motor's go because of the lack of heavy oil coating the rotor housings. The solution is heavier oil weight and premix.
As far as ignition goes, some vendors have made a LS2 coil conversion kit that uses the more powerful LS2 coil. Ive been running it for over a year and 5 track events. Beats the crap out of the OE coils.

I have almost 100,000mi on my rx8 and i have yet to have a bushing go out on me.

Your best bet if buying used is to take it to a dealer before you buy it and have them run a compression test. If the motor and trans are good, nab it. Then upgrade the coils and your soon to be rotary will be much more reliable. PM me if you have any questions because i have replaced over 80% of my car in the 3 years ive owned it. Looking back on it, id still do it all again...the car is that much fun to drive.

[Renegade_]

Thanks, basically what I wanted to hear. Its gonna end up with fitment for sure, but I just wanted to know the SOP when I start changing things out.

Fitment + Pipes + Driving. With all weaknesses taken care of. I need something semi-reliable, but I dont want to be bored.

[l337fpc]

If you love ripping through any turn at any speed (respectively), then you will not get bored with this car.

[MySwtZ]

No disrespect to rx-8 owners but they are pieces of sh*t. im a mazda tech and see motors go in these all the time. problem is they love compression. half the owners out there dont even notice the power loss. during the winter we see tons of no start problems. they always flood out. they burn oil real bad. i know alot of cars have problems but rx-8s have to be at the top of the list for unreliable. deff not a dd. and resale value is horrible. hope this helps.

[Subie_sleeper]

Originally Posted by MySwtZ

No disrespect to rx-8 owners but they are pieces of sh*t. im a mazda tech and see motors go in these all the time. problem is they love compression. half the owners out there dont even notice the power loss. during the winter we see tons of no start problems. they always flood out. they burn oil real bad. i know alot of cars have problems but rx-8s have to be at the top of the list for unreliable. deff not a dd. and resale value is horrible. hope this helps.

QFT, ANNNND........

In the 4.5 years I've been selling cars I have sold 3 pre-owned RX8s. 100% of them came back with flooding/no start issues. 2/3 of them wound up needing cats. 1/3 of them was bought back under the lemon law because WE couldn't fix it & the MAZDA dealership we SENT it too couldn't diagnose it. They are a BLAST to drive, but I'd run away from it if you're looking for it to be a DD.

The resale value really does SUCK too. I've had some customers looking to ditch them for a WRX or STi get REALLY mad when they see the trade appraisal numbers on theirs.

Good luck either way & if you do buy one, get it at a dealer & buy an extended warranty with $0.00 deductible. ;)

[RallyKen]

^ They have a bad rep but most i would say alot of people have problems because they do not care for them properly, they flood due to crappy batteries (the stock battery is crappy and gets worse with time), you cant just start them up and shut them off especially in the cold (i have gotten away with it but a bad battery, bad sparkplugs (which they eat up) and other things can factor in). I have DD my Turbo Rx8 for the past 2 years and had the car for 3 with very little problems....Ive owned a wrx, a 240, and various other cars i would say you really have to love the car and all its flaws because it does have some but ultimately its not for alot of people. Most rotary owners are die hards.

With that being said lol im also selling my car... but thats because im looking for something 4x4 or 4wd

[Bates]

Ahhhh the torqueless wonder car. I was looking into them myself as a DD just because I am finding them really cheap, but I know they have problems so I am steering away from them. I just don't know if I can trust a RX-8.

[DaveSTi]

the rotary was the answer to the question no one was asking.

[RallyKen]

^ I would agree the men who ask for answers to questions that arent asked are few an far between but they do exist. But done right they make for beastly cars. My car dynos on low boost at 323hp its nothing to sneeze at and definitely a shock more most who think its stock since my car does reak of turbo besides the catless oil and crap smell.

[rickeo]

Originally Posted by MySwtZ

No disrespect to rx-8 owners but they are pieces of sh*t. im a mazda tech and see motors go in these all the time. problem is they love compression. half the owners out there dont even notice the power loss. during the winter we see tons of no start problems. they always flood out. they burn oil real bad. i know alot of cars have problems but rx-8s have to be at the top of the list for unreliable. deff not a dd. and resale value is horrible. hope this helps.

You instantly have zero credibility by the oil burning comment. Clearly you don't realize the RX-8 has a pump that intentionally injects oil into the combustion chamber to lubricate the apex seal. Therefore, NO **** it burns oil, its designed to.... But I shouldn't have to tell you that because you're a Mazda tech....

They don't "always" flood out. They flood out occasionally if you disregard your owners manual and shut off the car cold. People DD RX-8's all the time, myself included and have zero issues because were competent RX-8/rotary enthusiasts and understand the quirks.

Please, take you're wholly misinformed trollfest elsewhere tyvm.

[Reds82]

If you where closer id say get anything your looking at looked over by speed1 they know thier peanut motors inside and out

[93rx7r1]

Originally Posted by Reds82

If you where closer id say get anything your looking at looked over by speed1 they know thier peanut motors inside and out

+1 For Seed 1 (formerly KD Rotary). If you're thinking about buying a rotary powered car I would highly recommend them to do your pre-purchase inspection (over Mazda, cause Mazda really don't know **** about their rotary powered cars).

[RallyKen]

I agree Dave of Speed1 knows his Rotary cars and on top of it a real nice guy +1 for him.

[konawel]

I personally dd'd 20k miles on my first rx-8 with no issues.. I just properly cared for the car, if you take care of your rotary it will take care of you. I believe they got a bad name from teens beating on them and midlife crisis owners that know nothing about cars causing them to be mistreated.. and i drove it through a mean winter. Bought it with 50k sold it with 70k and it was running great, it now has 120k still on the original motor.

If your interested by the way, i'm selling an 04 with 56k 6mt thats already on hks hypermax coilovers at a reasonable price.. and your more then welcome to bring it to your mechanic to have looked over. I have faith in her.