Is the Mazda RX8 that bad?

SkodaMart said:
I really like RX8's shame they didn't just put a 4 pot turbo in them.
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Philz0r said:
Buy one, when engine goes, buy rb25 or sr20. :D
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Rybo89 said:
Why didnt mazda just put a proper engine in there? Hasn't the RX8 been rolled out for about 8 years with the same old ****y rotary engine?
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This is what I was thinking as well.
They look great, handle well and are stupidly cheap. How come there isn't a large community of fans simply buying them and doing engine swaps with popular engines?

There have to be countless popular engines that will fit which cost peanuts.
1.8T from VAG, countless japanese ones !JZGTE, all avaialable for under £2k including the car. Pull engine out, megasquirt it and have a unique fun car for not that much £££ than an engine rebuild which will go pop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eECBXKsZMM and it fits, heard some yanks even put v8s in them.
 
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robj20 said:
Buy an RX7 much better sports car.
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Given the fact that most people are attracted to RX8s because of the low buy in price for a modern, well speced 4 door, 4 seather sports car I doubt many will be interested in the prospect of spending more money on a car from the early 90s with 2 seats, 2 doors and a spec list that looked Spartan even by its 90s contemporaries' standards.
 
The rx7 is a better car. But also much older and therefore more likely to be plagued with other issues that effect other cars such as rust, tired suspension etc. Plus they have rotary engines that can also expire with costly rebuilds due.

Have you ever reviewed the vac piping diagrams fircan rx7? Good luck if you get a vac or boost leak you need to sort.
 
tired suspension? any rx8 thats even close to 10 years old will have significantly worn suspension. given how they appear to be looked after, i doubt anything would have been done about it either

so apart from rust and the initial purchase cost, the 7 doesnt appear to have any extra downsides over an 8 and i doubt anyone could use having 4 seats/door to justify the mental running costs, if four seats/doors are that important, buy a focus
 
Well the bushes, top mounts etc might not be dead/seized up on a 8 as they would be a 7. Steering rack might be starting to show play on the 7. There are many reasons that a car half the age should be in mechanically better condition than one twice the age. Its pretty standard.
 
s0ck said:
I looked into this a little while back.
Buy rx8 for 2k.
Wait til rotor tips wear out.
Pay Mazda 1k to fix.

The end.

It's still a potentially great car for little outlay even if you get a fortnight of downtime every 50k miles.
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"1K for mazda to fix"...Your having a laugh
Would cost 3k+ to get mazda to repair it

It would cost a good part of 1K just for labour to remove & refit the engine on an RX8
And then the engine gasket set alone costs around 1K
 
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hurfdurf said:
Wait a minute... didn't you like the RX8?
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yeah I do, was loling at your post.

hurfdurf said:
I have never, nor will I ever, own an RX8, I don't ever envision myself needing 4 doors or more than 2 seats. I am far from an RX8 fanboy.

You should swap opinions with NathWraith, he can't drive and likes them and yo can apparently drive and don't like them, that's the wrong way round.
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RX8 is one of the best drivers cars I have driven. I drove an S2000 and RX8 back to back and the RX8 was fantastic. S2000 was just meh in comparison.

The only reason these cars get slated is fuel economy and reliability but scratch the surface and you will find the reliability (or lack of) is very overhyped much like the S2000's performance in some ways ;)
 
The RX8 is a compromise car, a mix of function and sports.

If you want an all out sports car get an RX7 many have a single turbo conversion so do away with the "rats nest" vac pipes.

If you want a functional car get a 2 litre diesel with loads of room and still fast.

If you want a mix get an RX8.

Thats the way i always saw my two, iv breifly had an RX7 had two RX8s. If your someone who thinks rotaries are sluggish or slow, your just driving it wrong it needs a different way of thinking compared to a piston engine.

I remember my mate trying mine, driving along at 30ish in 4th and plants his foot and wonders why it doesnt go any where, but drop to 2nd and plant it and it will shoot off.
 
Great cars, I plan on buying a low compression one and getting it rebuilt, they go from as little £900 and have been quoted £1800-£3000 for a full rebuild including a 3 year warranty. So potentially could have a fun 230bhp RWD car fully rebuilt for £2700-£4000
 
Where you looking at getting it rebuilt, WGT are fantastic. I would be tempted to have it bridge ported at the same time, maybe even a turbo kit then your looking at 400bhp.
 
topshot said:
Great cars, I plan on buying a low compression one and getting it rebuilt, they go from as little £900 and have been quoted £1800-£3000 for a full rebuild including a 3 year warranty. So potentially could have a fun 230bhp RWD car fully rebuilt for £2700-£4000
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Yep, thats what im looking at doing aswell. The place I was looking at was called SSC Autos or something? They actually sell all their RX8s with full engine rebuilds and free wheel refurbs. Not bad for around £3000
 
I have contacted Dragon Performance, Hurley Rotary and Hayward Rotary about rebuilding the engine. I would like to just remove the engine and send it off for a rebuild and refit it myself but I will see what time i have in the new year.
 
robj20 said:
Where you looking at getting it rebuilt, WGT are fantastic. I would be tempted to have it bridge ported at the same time, maybe even a turbo kit then your looking at 400bhp.
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Not heard of them, Where are thy based? Porting would be good, want to stay NA though.
 
There based in Cheshire. All the ones you mentioned are well regarded anyway, Dragon make one of the fastest road legal RX7s.

Cant beat the sound of a ported rotary, search for bridge ported rx7 and see what i mean.
 
Thats good to hear as Dragon were one of the cheapest to do the rebuild.
I agree, Triple rotor would be insane as well although a little over budget!
 
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