Newbie RX8 owner

[hemelmassive]

Thanks for the add. I'm from north Norfolk an just picked up my first 231  lots to read here about the rotary. Never knew it was such a specialised piece of machinery until now.


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[Casey]

Welcome along to the club. If you have any questions, just ask away. The rotary is basically very simple in design, but does love to be looked after well, so good (but simple) maintenance, including frequent oil changes are essential.

Some quick things:

If you don't have a history on if the ignition coil, plugs and leads (if still the original OEM "hten  black" ones) were changed then I'd get them done asap. Ignition performance is super critical in a rotary and poor sparks can lead to engine and cat failure.

Mazda say change the oil every 12k and use 5w30. Experience says to use 10w40 mineral oil and change every 6k (or less).

Mazda say to change the plugs every 36K/3 years - Most of us would recommend 12-18k max.

Never start the car from cold and switch off without warming the engine (temp gauge a couple of ticks up the scale) as this can lead to flooding and a flooded rotary is a devil to start! If left in a flooded condition for any length of time it can lead to seal damage in the engine  I've had my RX-8 for nearly 12 years and never (yet) managed to flood it.

They are very robust engines if well looked after - my RX-8 has done 76k and has been seriously "abused" at over 50 trackdays (including a trip to Spa in Belgium last year) and still drives well, getting better laptimes now them when I first started, due to car and driver upgrades 

[clive]

  to MRC

Malcolm has already answered the key points of owning an RX-8, apart from that treat it like a conventional car and have fun in it   

[hemelmassive]

to MRC

Malcolm has already answered the key points of owning an RX-8, apart from that treat it like a conventional car and have fun in it 

I intend to lol

[DreadedRx7]

Welcome to the forum! People here are welcoming and full of advice.
In my research,  I've found that first mods should be cooling system upgrades. Anyway, just be mindful of oil changes and coolant temperature. And have fun with it.