Hi guys
I\'m new to this section as I own a FC TII before. The engine has blown on it and thinking about switching to RX8.
How reliable is the RX8? Much of you guys having issues with the engine or other parts?
Cheers :)
Louis
I\'ve had a new engine in mine but that was taken care of under warranty. Other than that mine\'s been faultless for the entire time I\'ve owned it. 65,000 miles and it\'s still going nicely. They like regular oil changes and coil-packs can die after 30k so it\'s worth replacing them then. Worth checking out the RX8 Owners Club (//www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk) as there is plenty of good stuff on there, buyer\'s guides, model summaries etc.
I\'m on the 3rd engine.
Side seals died twice now, albiet race use.
well when i got mine, the CAT went, 3 weeks later at 62000 miles, which the dealership replaced as good will because the warranty didn\'t cover it.
£1200 for a new one eeek!
after that my coils went a few months later, i was installing my mud flaps and had dropped a screw into the inside of the wheel arch so hadn\'t been driving the car for two weeks and hadn\'t started her. but like will said coils can go on them after 20-30k miles. so i replaced the plugs, leads and coils for about 400 quid, coils are cheaper now though. after that a year or so later the low coolant light came on, so replaced the coolant resevoir as it has a built in sensor for low level which cannot be taken out.
171 quid for that. replaced my battery as wasn\'t powerful enough, 65 quid.
been fine ever since, change oil usually evey 6k, just red line to keep engine tip top free of carbon, pre mixing helps too. mostly electrical side of things, the CATs do go on these. steering can get heavy sometimes at slow speeds, i have found a few ppl experiencing the same so can be the cable getting covered in coolant as so close to the bottle under the air box. mine ended up being the u joint into the electric steering rack being seized up a little, so cheap fix, wd40 and greased it, now fine :)
£1800 for a new elecy steering rack, yeah i know.
but they are a great car to drive, fantastic in the corners, very comfy on long trips. great sound system bose, lots of safety stuff, bargain for £24000 new.
economical driving sensibly at avg 24-27mpg for a rotary.
anything else you wanna know, give me a shout.
I owned one before i bought my FD. Very high quality car, interior is sexy and it handles like a dream.....no boost so engine will tend to have less issues than with a turbo rotary.....the downside in my experience ( could be a positive for some people) is that its computer rule...everything is altered according to issue it detects.....if you have a faulty o2 sensor or blocked cat itll limit your revs......mazda willl charge something stupid like £50 just to plug in and diagnose the problem...... but same rules apply....lots of tlc...reg oil changes, redline the beast every journey to clear out cobwebs and you wont be dissapointed....If however you are into modding IE power gains etc...the 8 is a pain in the ass to get power out of....again....computer rule.....i went to the FD soley cos i missed the power......but the BOSE sound system is incredible for a stock unit!!!
Thanks for the infos :)
From my research RX8 is a very high quality car. It uses carbon fibre drive shaft that\'s why you see a shield protecting it. and lots of other advance things that shows the passion of mazda engineering about the RX.
Will be getting one in Oct when im back :)
You won\'t be disappointed! Advice above is spot on. The car handles sublimely in the corners which is why a number of us RX-8 owners are now addicted to trackdays :D
Mine is booked in for its 7th service later this month and the car has been a pure delight since purchasing new.
Just make sure you pick up one that has had a hot compression test with good results. When viewing to buy, do hot start test as a general indictaor of engine health.
If you really want to see how well these cars can be driven, watch Clive drive the "yellow peril" on track. His cornering speeds means he can lap quicker than many other cars with higher bhp, as long as there aren\'t too many long straights, where bhp gives a greater advantage.
Next trackday - Snetterton on 19th Sept :D