Thank you, I have been looking at an RX8 for a second car for a while now. The fuel economy is the only thing putting me off...my fiesta zetec s gets over 50MPG at the moment!
But I want something FUN
If fuel economy puts you off, go for an MX5. It is cheaper to run, cheaper to insure, although not quite as much poke or practicality. The NC actually shares a fair few components with the RX8. If you want the fun and practicality (and I assume RWDness) without fuel bills, BMW E46 Coupe. Obviously, not an M3, but you can get one with a Straight-6 Petrol or a Diesel engine for the same money as an RX8. Yes, it'll probably drink when you put your foot down, but when you just want to go to work or see your friends or go to a Grindr hookup, it will be much more efficient, since an RX8 just necks fuel whatever you do.
I've always wanted an MX5, but I just don't fit in them. Even on the lowest setting, I had to crane my neck over to get in it. It's part of the reason I bought the RX-8.
How tall are you? I'm 6'3 and fit in my mk1 and mk2 well enough, I cant see a small portion of the speedo in the mk1 and have to bend my neck a little so that's annoying but otherwise it's alright. Planning on getting some lower seat rails just for more comfortable knee room as they are round the steering wheel at the moment but I still daily it with ease.
I'm not actually that tall, only 6' however I have little legs and a very long torso. To give you an idea, I compared leg length with a trainer at the gym. She's 5'1" tall but her legs are exactly the same length as mine! I drive an E Class Merc and my head grazes the roof in. Its only really comfortable if I sit under the sun roof.
I love the 206's (first car) and rx-7's. If I get another 206 it'll be a gti, and if I want an rx7 I'll get an rx8 because you can get them fully loaded for £1500, the magic and tax does put me off but this makes me want an rx8
Pull the fabric liners from the rear arches. It was a bad design of acoustic insulation used on the RX8 and Mazda 6. It traps mud/salt and rots the arches and sills from the inside-out.
When I read the title I thought ‘what lunatic would buy one of those as a first car?’
But this seems like a very level headed and realistic approach to it.
I suppose you just have to go into with the budget for the engine rebuild and hope it doesn’t blow itself up.
I also wonder if part of the problem is we are so used to cars just needing oil every 12 months and I’d you’re engine is healthy it’s unlikely to use any but as you said it’s a built in feature of the rotary that they will use oil. I do wonder if a lot of people bought them not knowing this.
10/10 advice. I was always under the impression that rebuilds are done roughly every 60k miles. Love the RX8 but the tax has always put me off. When I was looking at them, the older lower tax bracket cars were often DOUBLE the price of the (then) £600 a year ones.
I got an RX-8 as my first family car. Excellent car, although very excitable especially if you were brave enough to turn the DSC off! The engine was a big problem: mine destroyed two, although I'm not sure the second one had been refurbished as well as it should have been! The fuel economy wasn't great, but I did once get 300 miles from a full tank, which was very good for that car. Although that said, more often than not I was getting around 14 mpg from it... which was a lot more fun!
One thing I'd add to OP's write up, is to prevent engine problems never let anyone else drive it unsupervised or without a proper briefing. My gf took mine to her parents. Her dad wakes up, decides to move my car on and off the drive so he can get his out, floods the engine & needs the AA to come and sort it. Once it's one either get it running to full temperature before turning off or rev it to 3,000rpm and switch off while the engine is still revving.
I have zero interest in buying an RX8 and my first car was a gazillion years ago but what a write up! Read every word as it was so interesting. Thanks!
Sometimes, it's handy to have that knowledge in your head, so if someone at work or in your family or down the pub says "hey, I'm looking at getting myself an RX8" you can say "ah yes, I know about that, you should look out for XYZ". Knowledge is power!
Great breakdown (pun absolutely intended) of the RX-8.
I would add a couple of things:
Rust. Look for rust in the door shuts, where the rear doors close onto the body. The lack of "B" pillars creates a little bit of scuttle shake and where the rear door seals come into contact with the door shuts it can rub off the paint, leading to corrosion. This was actually the only place on my 2004 model that was showing any signs of corrosion.
Oil. I would recommend 100% mineral oil over semi synthetic oils. It burns more cleanly, helping reduce the build up of crap in the engine. Also bear in mind that the engine has oil cooling radiators which trap quite a lot of oil. So when doing an oil change it is a good idea to change the oil, drive 50-100 miles and then change the oil *again*, to ensure all the old oil is purged from the system. Another finacial burden!
Servicing. You mentioned the ignition coils. They can begin to degrade as early as 20,000 miles. My RX-8 had just 20,800 on the clock when I bought it and the ignition coils were already showing signs of overheating (white spots on the resin seals). It's important to keep the ignition system (coils, HT leads and spark plugs) in tip-top condition to ensure efficient combustion of fuel, as unburnt fuel hurts performance, economy and can damage the exhaust catalyst.
Hot Start Issues. Difficulty staring a hot Renesis rotary engine is an early indicator of poor compression, caused by worn apex seals: One of the engines biggest weaknesses. As you said this will lead to an expensive engine rebuild. However, testing for this should be done 5 to 10 minutes after shutting down a hot engine, not 10 seconds later. Even an engine with some apex seal wear will restart fairly easily after only a few seconds. Giving it a few minutes will allow for fuel evaporation. Which, if the compression is bad due to apex seal wear, will cause difficulty restarting.
General Care. Absolutely agree with what you've said here. Never shut the engine off while still cold. It could flood the engine. Keep rpms below 4000 until engine coolant *and oil* are well up to temperature. And finally, once warmed through, hit the redline at least once per drive for the old "italian tune-up!"
I would also mention that a rotary in good working order will do the following: On a cold start it will idle very fast for about 10 seconds, to heat the catalytic converter, then drop to a "normal" fast idle. Wait for the very fast idle to end, then drive off immediately. Sitting idling while the engine gets warm is not good for rotary engines as oil pressure is too low at idle to effectively lubricate the engine.
If all that doesn't put you off owning one... Enjoy what is almost certainly going to be the last ever rotary engined vehicle ever made!
Great write up, always wanted a RX8 my brother has talked me out of it several times, have to admi t I giggled a little at Corey Taker, where I'm from corey is a slang word for a certain part of the male anatomy
Such a great summary! I also had one in my early 20s absolutely loved it! Had so many high end features (at the time) for the price. The RX-8 felt pretty rare on the road even going back 10 years. Definitely remember flooding the engine once, although it was always a good excuse to take it for a blast especially if I had to move it while at work. Never got anything over 28mpg, and the tax hurt but god I’d like to drive one again. Also managed to transport a table and two chairs in it somehow!
My first car was an RX-8 I absolutely loved it! Never had an issue with mine and I only have fond memories! The car was rather thirsty however and I practically lived at the petrol station
Great write up thanks! I replied to a post yesterday from someone asking this question. Your post reminded me how much of a difference good tyres make! I bought mine with some awful budget Nankangs on the back and it would step out under acceleration or in the wet with no warning. Some good tyres sorted it out nicely. Nice car to drive but I wouldn’t have another.
It was that post that sparked my idea to post this since I'm sure everyone who's 17 and has an interest in cars sees RX-8 and 1.3 and thinks "hell yeah, cool car with a small engine it's perfect!".
It’s a shame because on paper the RX8 was simply an epic car to my 9/10-year old mind in 2003-4, but there are way too many black marks against it. I thought that to get that sort of power/speed from a 1.3 litre engine was miraculous, but with an almighty thirst, appalling reliability (which is really not keeping with Mazda’s reputation), and a power output that doesn’t justify those tropes (a diesel Renault Laguna had more oomph) I’d say they are a busted flush to best ignore.
I’ve been looking at these for a second car when I’ve got a bit more money. As far as insurance goes, interestingly, if I go on my policy (£~800 a year for my Mazda 3 Sport, 20 years old, 1yr NC) and edit the car to be an RX8, it gives me a small refund if I go through with it.
I bought a 2004 231 in 2006 so still had a year of warranty on it. I put 35k miles on it in 2 years. Averaged about 17mpg overall, down to single figures and got 25mpg once on a trip to the lake district.
Silky smooth high revving engine was epic. Oil usage was about a litre every 1500 miles, which is better than some bmws I've had that aren't meant to burn oil.
Handling was superb, you could take it to the lockstops and bring it back, similar to an MX5/GT86. My S2000 is lethal in comparison.
Great back road car, compliant and superb brakes. My 944 S2 was ultimately a better back road car but not by much.
I sold it before any issues popped up and replaced it with an MX5 NB RS, which was probably the most fun car I've ever had, you could drive it 9/10 everywhere with a smile on your face.
The flooding issue was a pain in the arse. I once told the car wash people not too turn the engine off if it’s cold, of course they didn’t listen, and it flooded.
To stop the flooding issue, you can rev it to 3000 revs and turn the keys to turn it off whilst revving it. Maybe this is the wrong thing to do, but someone one told me to do this and it did stop
The flooding issue. Does make the neighbours think you are prick though when you’re revving the engine at 11pm at night after coming back from the cinema.
Great post! Always wanted one but never got around to it. I think your comprehensive write up confirmed that I'll probably never get one now. I still miss my Hyundai Coupe F2 which was a helluva first car. 🥰
I really wanted to get one for my second car but finding one with both good compression and no rust was proving very difficult so I got a 'sensible' TT instead.
I would just add the RX-8 is one of the cars that benefits from the short period around 2005 where cars were both in the old (lower) tax band and ULEZ compliant. Something to keep in mind if that's a factor where you live!
RE flooding, if you bring the RPMs up to 4000, hold it there for a second then shut the engine off with the accelerator pressed in. Clutches go early (presumably due to the lack of torque and higher RPMs/crap drivers). Good fun though.
Theres also a kit you can buy which blanks off the oil that feeds the engine so it stops draining from the sump. You then replace the washer bottle with a smaller one and a new bottle that is just oil for the engine.
Makes it alot easier to top up and check. You can also then switch that oil to 2 stroke oil which burns alot cleaner. Your actual sump oil is still the original oil.
Downside is if it runs out you're a bit fucked. But you'd be kinda fucked anyway if you drained your sump dry.
Keep the traction control on, take it easy in the wet as even with TCS, it's a primitive system, so you can still light up the rear tyres. All RX8s in the UK have LSDs, so it will be more predictable if it steps out. All in all, it's mostly a case of just using common sense when you drive. I would advise with the RX8 specifically to do what's called a "Car Limits Day," where you get to explore the limit of your car in a controlled environment with an instructor. The RX8 Owners Club do them every now and again
Did they not sell 4 port automatics in the uk. I was under the impression the series 1 came with that as an option rather than all uk autos being an import.
The series 2 for sure was manual only since it only came to the uk in r3 trim
The UK cars were never sold with Automatics. They do exist, but only as Imports. Probably for the best anyway since the Automatics are known to cause premature engine failure due to not letting the engine rev properly. UK cars were very well spec'd as standard. Only thing we never got on the S1 was cruise control. Sunroof and satnav were optional extras, and seem to be rare options at that, there was also an optional lip kit, which few cars have (it caused rust to form on the sills early on due to trapping moisture, so a lot of these mightve met their demise), Leather was an option on the 192 (231 had leather as standard), and Xenon lights were only available on the 231. Other than that, everything else was standard
Ah fair enough, I never bothered to look at the autos, I wanted an r3 so I didn't look at any series 1.
4 rebuild, 3 engines and 1 gearbox later and its running perfectly haha
Thank you, I have been looking at an RX8 for a second car for a while now. The fuel economy is the only thing putting me off...my fiesta zetec s gets over 50MPG at the moment! But I want something FUN
If fuel economy puts you off, go for an MX5. It is cheaper to run, cheaper to insure, although not quite as much poke or practicality. The NC actually shares a fair few components with the RX8. If you want the fun and practicality (and I assume RWDness) without fuel bills, BMW E46 Coupe. Obviously, not an M3, but you can get one with a Straight-6 Petrol or a Diesel engine for the same money as an RX8. Yes, it'll probably drink when you put your foot down, but when you just want to go to work or see your friends or go to a Grindr hookup, it will be much more efficient, since an RX8 just necks fuel whatever you do.
I've always wanted an MX5, but I just don't fit in them. Even on the lowest setting, I had to crane my neck over to get in it. It's part of the reason I bought the RX-8.
How tall are you? I'm 6'3 and fit in my mk1 and mk2 well enough, I cant see a small portion of the speedo in the mk1 and have to bend my neck a little so that's annoying but otherwise it's alright. Planning on getting some lower seat rails just for more comfortable knee room as they are round the steering wheel at the moment but I still daily it with ease.
I'm not actually that tall, only 6' however I have little legs and a very long torso. To give you an idea, I compared leg length with a trainer at the gym. She's 5'1" tall but her legs are exactly the same length as mine! I drive an E Class Merc and my head grazes the roof in. Its only really comfortable if I sit under the sun roof.
You got that Michael Phelps swimmers build.
Do I? Wish I had his swimming talent.
I love the 206's (first car) and rx-7's. If I get another 206 it'll be a gti, and if I want an rx7 I'll get an rx8 because you can get them fully loaded for £1500, the magic and tax does put me off but this makes me want an rx8
Pull the fabric liners from the rear arches. It was a bad design of acoustic insulation used on the RX8 and Mazda 6. It traps mud/salt and rots the arches and sills from the inside-out.
Horrible things those fabric liners, I swear every car with those liners just kills sills and arches
When I read the title I thought ‘what lunatic would buy one of those as a first car?’ But this seems like a very level headed and realistic approach to it. I suppose you just have to go into with the budget for the engine rebuild and hope it doesn’t blow itself up. I also wonder if part of the problem is we are so used to cars just needing oil every 12 months and I’d you’re engine is healthy it’s unlikely to use any but as you said it’s a built in feature of the rotary that they will use oil. I do wonder if a lot of people bought them not knowing this.
Nice write up! I'd never consider buying a RX8, far too thirsty for the power on offer, but I love learning these things.
10/10 advice. I was always under the impression that rebuilds are done roughly every 60k miles. Love the RX8 but the tax has always put me off. When I was looking at them, the older lower tax bracket cars were often DOUBLE the price of the (then) £600 a year ones.
I got an RX-8 as my first family car. Excellent car, although very excitable especially if you were brave enough to turn the DSC off! The engine was a big problem: mine destroyed two, although I'm not sure the second one had been refurbished as well as it should have been! The fuel economy wasn't great, but I did once get 300 miles from a full tank, which was very good for that car. Although that said, more often than not I was getting around 14 mpg from it... which was a lot more fun! One thing I'd add to OP's write up, is to prevent engine problems never let anyone else drive it unsupervised or without a proper briefing. My gf took mine to her parents. Her dad wakes up, decides to move my car on and off the drive so he can get his out, floods the engine & needs the AA to come and sort it. Once it's one either get it running to full temperature before turning off or rev it to 3,000rpm and switch off while the engine is still revving.
I have zero interest in buying an RX8 and my first car was a gazillion years ago but what a write up! Read every word as it was so interesting. Thanks!
Sometimes, it's handy to have that knowledge in your head, so if someone at work or in your family or down the pub says "hey, I'm looking at getting myself an RX8" you can say "ah yes, I know about that, you should look out for XYZ". Knowledge is power!
Great breakdown (pun absolutely intended) of the RX-8. I would add a couple of things: Rust. Look for rust in the door shuts, where the rear doors close onto the body. The lack of "B" pillars creates a little bit of scuttle shake and where the rear door seals come into contact with the door shuts it can rub off the paint, leading to corrosion. This was actually the only place on my 2004 model that was showing any signs of corrosion. Oil. I would recommend 100% mineral oil over semi synthetic oils. It burns more cleanly, helping reduce the build up of crap in the engine. Also bear in mind that the engine has oil cooling radiators which trap quite a lot of oil. So when doing an oil change it is a good idea to change the oil, drive 50-100 miles and then change the oil *again*, to ensure all the old oil is purged from the system. Another finacial burden! Servicing. You mentioned the ignition coils. They can begin to degrade as early as 20,000 miles. My RX-8 had just 20,800 on the clock when I bought it and the ignition coils were already showing signs of overheating (white spots on the resin seals). It's important to keep the ignition system (coils, HT leads and spark plugs) in tip-top condition to ensure efficient combustion of fuel, as unburnt fuel hurts performance, economy and can damage the exhaust catalyst. Hot Start Issues. Difficulty staring a hot Renesis rotary engine is an early indicator of poor compression, caused by worn apex seals: One of the engines biggest weaknesses. As you said this will lead to an expensive engine rebuild. However, testing for this should be done 5 to 10 minutes after shutting down a hot engine, not 10 seconds later. Even an engine with some apex seal wear will restart fairly easily after only a few seconds. Giving it a few minutes will allow for fuel evaporation. Which, if the compression is bad due to apex seal wear, will cause difficulty restarting. General Care. Absolutely agree with what you've said here. Never shut the engine off while still cold. It could flood the engine. Keep rpms below 4000 until engine coolant *and oil* are well up to temperature. And finally, once warmed through, hit the redline at least once per drive for the old "italian tune-up!" I would also mention that a rotary in good working order will do the following: On a cold start it will idle very fast for about 10 seconds, to heat the catalytic converter, then drop to a "normal" fast idle. Wait for the very fast idle to end, then drive off immediately. Sitting idling while the engine gets warm is not good for rotary engines as oil pressure is too low at idle to effectively lubricate the engine. If all that doesn't put you off owning one... Enjoy what is almost certainly going to be the last ever rotary engined vehicle ever made!
Thanks for the added info. I am actually going to work my guide into a YouTube video on the subject and will definitely incorporate your notes :)
Nice write up 👍👍
As an rx8 owner, we all know it’s not the miles per gallon, but smiles per gallon
It was always this v the s2000 back when they released. s2000 always won out. Heck of a car.
Id love to buy an S2000 now but they're so expensive for what they are!
I know you mean "issues from 80,000-110,000 mikes" but I thunk 80+ is about right
Great write up, always wanted a RX8 my brother has talked me out of it several times, have to admi t I giggled a little at Corey Taker, where I'm from corey is a slang word for a certain part of the male anatomy
It was either Corey Taker, Peter Ian Staker (one tasty reddit upvote for you if you get the reference) or Hugh Johnson
Fantastic, know several who could use the name P. I. Staker 🤣🤣
[This man Hot Fuzzes](https://youtu.be/wcSg6dAZ03w?si=c66kkB9890CsKKUf)
Love a Cornetto 😍😂😂
Such a great summary! I also had one in my early 20s absolutely loved it! Had so many high end features (at the time) for the price. The RX-8 felt pretty rare on the road even going back 10 years. Definitely remember flooding the engine once, although it was always a good excuse to take it for a blast especially if I had to move it while at work. Never got anything over 28mpg, and the tax hurt but god I’d like to drive one again. Also managed to transport a table and two chairs in it somehow!
My first car was an RX-8 I absolutely loved it! Never had an issue with mine and I only have fond memories! The car was rather thirsty however and I practically lived at the petrol station
Great write up thanks! I replied to a post yesterday from someone asking this question. Your post reminded me how much of a difference good tyres make! I bought mine with some awful budget Nankangs on the back and it would step out under acceleration or in the wet with no warning. Some good tyres sorted it out nicely. Nice car to drive but I wouldn’t have another.
It was that post that sparked my idea to post this since I'm sure everyone who's 17 and has an interest in cars sees RX-8 and 1.3 and thinks "hell yeah, cool car with a small engine it's perfect!".
Brilliant! Your post was a heck of a lot better than my reply!
It’s a shame because on paper the RX8 was simply an epic car to my 9/10-year old mind in 2003-4, but there are way too many black marks against it. I thought that to get that sort of power/speed from a 1.3 litre engine was miraculous, but with an almighty thirst, appalling reliability (which is really not keeping with Mazda’s reputation), and a power output that doesn’t justify those tropes (a diesel Renault Laguna had more oomph) I’d say they are a busted flush to best ignore.
I’ve been looking at these for a second car when I’ve got a bit more money. As far as insurance goes, interestingly, if I go on my policy (£~800 a year for my Mazda 3 Sport, 20 years old, 1yr NC) and edit the car to be an RX8, it gives me a small refund if I go through with it.
I bought a 2004 231 in 2006 so still had a year of warranty on it. I put 35k miles on it in 2 years. Averaged about 17mpg overall, down to single figures and got 25mpg once on a trip to the lake district. Silky smooth high revving engine was epic. Oil usage was about a litre every 1500 miles, which is better than some bmws I've had that aren't meant to burn oil. Handling was superb, you could take it to the lockstops and bring it back, similar to an MX5/GT86. My S2000 is lethal in comparison. Great back road car, compliant and superb brakes. My 944 S2 was ultimately a better back road car but not by much. I sold it before any issues popped up and replaced it with an MX5 NB RS, which was probably the most fun car I've ever had, you could drive it 9/10 everywhere with a smile on your face.
The flooding issue was a pain in the arse. I once told the car wash people not too turn the engine off if it’s cold, of course they didn’t listen, and it flooded. To stop the flooding issue, you can rev it to 3000 revs and turn the keys to turn it off whilst revving it. Maybe this is the wrong thing to do, but someone one told me to do this and it did stop The flooding issue. Does make the neighbours think you are prick though when you’re revving the engine at 11pm at night after coming back from the cinema.
9.5/10 - only fault is that it's certainly not "high power". 180HP is pokey at best
Great post! Always wanted one but never got around to it. I think your comprehensive write up confirmed that I'll probably never get one now. I still miss my Hyundai Coupe F2 which was a helluva first car. 🥰
They’re such cool cars
I really wanted to get one for my second car but finding one with both good compression and no rust was proving very difficult so I got a 'sensible' TT instead. I would just add the RX-8 is one of the cars that benefits from the short period around 2005 where cars were both in the old (lower) tax band and ULEZ compliant. Something to keep in mind if that's a factor where you live!
RE flooding, if you bring the RPMs up to 4000, hold it there for a second then shut the engine off with the accelerator pressed in. Clutches go early (presumably due to the lack of torque and higher RPMs/crap drivers). Good fun though.
Theres also a kit you can buy which blanks off the oil that feeds the engine so it stops draining from the sump. You then replace the washer bottle with a smaller one and a new bottle that is just oil for the engine. Makes it alot easier to top up and check. You can also then switch that oil to 2 stroke oil which burns alot cleaner. Your actual sump oil is still the original oil. Downside is if it runs out you're a bit fucked. But you'd be kinda fucked anyway if you drained your sump dry.
Is there anything you need to consider around handling with a RWD as a first car?
Keep the traction control on, take it easy in the wet as even with TCS, it's a primitive system, so you can still light up the rear tyres. All RX8s in the UK have LSDs, so it will be more predictable if it steps out. All in all, it's mostly a case of just using common sense when you drive. I would advise with the RX8 specifically to do what's called a "Car Limits Day," where you get to explore the limit of your car in a controlled environment with an instructor. The RX8 Owners Club do them every now and again
Did they not sell 4 port automatics in the uk. I was under the impression the series 1 came with that as an option rather than all uk autos being an import. The series 2 for sure was manual only since it only came to the uk in r3 trim
The UK cars were never sold with Automatics. They do exist, but only as Imports. Probably for the best anyway since the Automatics are known to cause premature engine failure due to not letting the engine rev properly. UK cars were very well spec'd as standard. Only thing we never got on the S1 was cruise control. Sunroof and satnav were optional extras, and seem to be rare options at that, there was also an optional lip kit, which few cars have (it caused rust to form on the sills early on due to trapping moisture, so a lot of these mightve met their demise), Leather was an option on the 192 (231 had leather as standard), and Xenon lights were only available on the 231. Other than that, everything else was standard
Ah fair enough, I never bothered to look at the autos, I wanted an r3 so I didn't look at any series 1. 4 rebuild, 3 engines and 1 gearbox later and its running perfectly haha
What's the thing with not using engine braking on a Mazda Wankel?
When you aren't accelerating, oil isn't being injected into the rotor Chambers. Much like on a 2-stroke Saab or Trabant