So I've been searching for the past few months and I've narrowed it down to an '05 RX8 with 125k mi...

Can it go 130 without shitting itself? What's the cost of repair/maintenance compared to the Lexus? Is it easier or harder to work on and maintain? Does it have any aftermarket support?

Maintenance is cheap. Use eBay and search online for OEM parts.

If anything breaks it depends. If you can find the same part for Toyota cars it will be cheap. If it was only made for Lexus it will be expensive because fuck you. You might be able to buy from Japan if it was sold as Toyota there and it might be cheaper.

if you don't know anything about rotard engines, just don't go down that route. Despite trips being ingrates in this thread, the is300 is the way to go. Extremely reliable, easy to work on, and if you did any of the popular conversions (twin turbo and/or manual conversion) you'd get a lot of attention at meets without requiring any real brains or difficult work. They also look great (subjective). The appeal of rotary's is really dependent on who you are, and if you're not experienced on wrenching in general or specifically with rotaries, then I really don't suggest buying an RX8. It'll make less power with worse fuel economy than the Lexus anyway. Also, for the love of Christ don't buy a 944 or a mini Cooper. Theres a reason why even low mileage examples of either can be had for nothing

Is this going to be your only car? Are you rich enough to afford two cars? Are you going to be dailying this thing?

You have to realize that people don't get cars like the RX-7/RX-8 as a dependable daily. They are enthusiasts cars and half the fun comes from wrenching on it yourself. If you work a full time job and don't have your own garage to do shit in, then I would steer clear of the RX-8. Yeah, it's reliable if you are a fucking loser NEET with nothign else going on in your life and you can spend 6 hours a day browsing autistic forums combing through the best of the best maintenance techniques to get the best life out of your car.

Also, 125k miles? Lol.

Stupid question desu. Get the Lexus

is300

Lexus all the way.

Most reliable, comfortable, and best driving besides rx8

This is good to know. I figured it was just because they weren't popular. My experience level with wrenching is limited. I've changed a head gasket on a ford 1500, replaced a radiator on a Jeep Liberty, and put new headers on a Civic. I'm not really intimidated by mechanical work, and I'm gonna learn as much as I can about whatever I end up with.
I have a second vehicle at my disposal (gf's Altima) that I can use if need be. This new vehicle will be my daily, but I do intend to work on it from time to time, but I don't wanna compromise it's reliability. I have a garage and plenty of tools, just don't have a vehicle worth working on yet

DO NOT buy a RX-8 if you don't know how to maintain rotaries. It will sink you into debt. The renesis, especially the S1, isn't the world's least reliable engine but it does cost a lot to maintain between the idemitsu and the poor empeegees. And when it comes time to rebuild, if you can't do it yourself, you'll probably pay more than the cost of the car.

Alright. This paired with everything everybody else has said has pretty much made this a clear cut decision.

That said, what can you guys tell me about the is300? Things to look out for, things to consider, recommended modifications? I'm gonna look into it on my own and obviously read the manual when I get the car but it'd be cool tosee what you guys know already

You should immediately swap for 2JZ-GTE with manual. Then boost it to >800whp on stock internals.

Ok..I'm thinking somewhere around 500whp would be my limit. And if I did swap the engine it wouldn't be immediately, I'd build one up outside of the car, and probably stick with a tiptronic. I understand that this will bottleneck the performance potential, but my left knee is totally shot and clutchwork for more than 20 minutes sounds like a nightmare. Besides, I quite like the feeling of slap shifting and the ability to shift into auto in congested traffic.

This being a daily, I'm more focused on the experience of the ride. a smooth suspension, quick acceleration, cozy interior, and a deep grumbling exhaust note are all more appealing to me than a shit ton of power.

>This being a daily, I'm more focused on the experience of the ride. a smooth suspension, quick acceleration, cozy interior, and a deep grumbling exhaust note are all more appealing to me than a shit ton of power.
Stock is fine then. You can def turbo+tune a GE, and hit 400whp without trouble. The issue with the GE is that it's not just a detuned GZE, it's missing a lot of the reinforced internals, oil squirters, et cetera and the block is only good to 500hp in the first place. For what you want with it, you'll have plenty of fun in it stock. It's a small, lightweight sedan that's fun to tool around in.

Get the is300 dummy

>My biggest concerns are Reliability
05 RX8
'09 Cooper S
hahahahhahahah. What the fuck man. Is this bate?

Even a simple google search would reveal how unreliable these cars are.

Take the is300

Now your speaking my language. Question though.. when looking at a detuned motor, is there any way to "re-tune" it to acquire its original specs?

I'm still probably gonna wind up building a tranny/engine on the side to swap in whenever the current setup shits the bed. What are the weak points of the is300? Any notorious headaches I should look for when buying or simply plan for ahead of time?

> Either of those cars being easilu fixable.
Last time an easily fixable car was made was the 90s

Replace half the internals.

>Now your speaking my language. Question though.. when looking at a detuned motor, is there any way to "re-tune" it to acquire its original specs?
Again, the GE is not something you want to waste time building up. Adding a turbo and doing an ECU tune, yes. Those are simple to do and you'll get decent power out of it. But when it dies (somehow), swap in a GTE. You will have nothing to 'build' on that motor, it's capable of very high power as is when it lands at your shop. EVen if you do swap out the bearings, rods, pistons, cams, and crank on a GE, you're still missing the oil squirters and some other features, and the block is still weaker. Have a GTE shipped from Japan with a manual trans on the back of it, and you'll be done with it. The GE isn't a 'detuned' GTE. it's an entirely different, lower mark of engine based on the same design and tooling. It will however push the IS300 to pretty decent speeds. It's a bit of a go-kart as far as sedans go. GTE swaps are almost too excessive.

Lexus both what hte fuck is this thread

if you know nothing about cars buy the lexus IS300 (6 cylinder) toyota altezza the rx-8 isnt for mechanical noobs and the cooper has expensive parts made by bmw

no it doesnt it runs a 6 cylinder that is shared with no other toyota model. yes its a oddball.

bucket of nope. the 924/944 is the worst porsche ever. they are cheap for a reason. the reason is they are shit.

Get the Lexus, the RX8 is far beyond you(and most conventional mechanics), and the cooper is a BMW.

Post your local CL and we can prolly help you

If you wanna build the 2JZ as a back up, that's fine, but an engine that would give you immediate power and cheaply would be a 1JZ-GTE VVTi, they put down around 270-280whp stock
As far as manual trannies are concerned it depends, there are stock ones out there with the W58 manual, but its no good past 300whp, that leaves three options:
>R154
Tried and true truck tranny and can bolt up to the JZ engines with no problems, not the strongest stock but there are rebuild kits that will make it handle whatever you want
>AR-5
This is basically the evolution of the R154 as it was also made by Aisin and used in the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon, it was also used in the Solstice/Sky twins and is known to take a shit ton more power and shift better than the R154, can be had for cheap but needs the JZ bellhousing
>V160/161
Getrag 6 speed that was used in the MK4 Supra, strong as fuck with great shifts but expensive as fuck ($4-6k used just for the trans)

If it were me I'd go 1JZ GTE VVTi and the AR-5

>FD Cosmo
I hope you're drunk, because there is no such thing you retard. There is an FD rx7, or a JC cosmo.

I had an '06 RX8 with around 100k miles. It was a fucking money pit. I wouldnt do it.
I love the car and it was a ton of fun, but definitely not worth the cost.

>don't get a shittier early RX-8 (04/05)
>get one that has been properly cared for
>wait for engine to warm before driving, redline it often, don't neglect the oil

You do the above, and owning an RX-8 shouldn't be much of a hassle.

This seems to be the advice from most people who own dorito meme cars. The remainder is like this Better do a lot of research on the RX-8, OP, if you're seriously considering it. You might find the opportunity for lots of maintenance appealing, or it could be troublesome. A lot of guys with triangle engines have told me that they're not for people short on time.

Ik this is gonna sound like a really stupid question, but would it be at all possible to make use of the tiptronic trannies at higher whp ranges? I'd just prefer to slap/paddle shift when I'm feeling speedy and putt around in auto during rush hour or on congested freeways.

I own a 2002 FD RX7 and can solemnly say I hate my life owning it. Trust me when I say upon purchasing it I was very very keen to tinker and work on it, but it does get super super tiring realising after fixing one problem there is always another. Still have never been in a car that feels as special as the FD does.

I believe there are people out there that can help strengthen it, or replace the stock one with a stronger one, but you're going to have to google that

I am literally a former Lexus employee. It uses the N/A 2JZ-GE, full stop.

You're a fucking retard.

>no other Toyota model
I guess the GS300 and SC300 just come with an empty fucking engine bay then?

>125k miles
>120k miles

Christ man, what is your budget?

>The thing about the RX8 is that I don't know anything about rotary engines, idk what benefits or downsides there are compared to pistons, and I've heard they're not as reliable.

So spend an evening on rotary-specific forums instead of here and learn something. Ignorance is easily curable via the internet.

Ask people who actually work on what you are interested in for a living. If someone isn't a skilled mechanic (I am, and anyone so motivated may become one, you included!) their opinion on machinery is less valid than that of say a dealer line mechanic, a (good) race engine builder, or a good multibrand mechanic who lives balls deep in manybrands.

>Also, for the love of Christ don't buy a 944 or a mini Cooper. Theres a reason why even low mileage examples of either can be had for nothing

Truth. That's why used car dealers laugh at them and they don't sell for much at auction.

>using sports cars as your daily

Your daily should never be a project car unless you want to be a pedestrian or have a backup vehicle.

is300 had supra engine, it's just NA. this engine is 10/10

if you're going to fuck around with it in the future, lexus should be your best bet

Saying the IS300 has a Supra engine is like calling a 350 SBC a corvette engine.

Have fun building it to the point it'll actually take boost, might as well just do a JDM GTE swap

I've seen shops offer a full GTE+V160 swap for a lump sum and some time. It's not impossible at all.

>I've seen shops offer a full GTE+V160 swap for a lump sum and some time. It's not impossible at all.

You're right its not impossible, but a 2JZ-GTE w/ V160/1 is expensive as shit and you might as well get the 1JZ and a R154

Not much user. I'm not necessarily broke, but my money's spread pretty thin right now between the new house and relocation and some other stuff. There's not a whole lot of wiggle room, Somewhere between 6-8k Is the most I'll be able to drop on a car without being financially irresponsible (and hearing about it for the rest of my days)

I have a backup vehicle, and I'm only obligated to be somewhere for 3 days out of the week.
I'm not really concerned about engine swaps right now, as long as it can Cruise at 120 stock without sounding like it's on its death bed I'll be fine. Suspension and exhaust are more my speed, then naturally once I want more out of her I'll opt for a modest turbo on the stock engine.

As much money as you'd be spending on a "modest" turbo kit would be the same amount on a properly turbo'd engine from the factory, it's money best spent to swap, you don't have to even do a manual swap because the 1JZ will hookup to the tiptronic trans

Hmmm.. this is good food for thought. But just to clarify, why opt for the 1jz over the GTE? Is it strictly about cost?

Also suggest the is300, i have one right now and it's a nice nimble car but you 99% won't be able to find a manual one. Some came with an lsd from the factory but you'd have to check the Vin to make sure.

So everyone likes to say "It's got a 2jz, same as the supra!", but unfortunately the gte(turbo) variant has quite a few differences that makes it so you can't just slap a big ass turbo on your IS and go to town.

The gte has stronger pistons and rods, oil squirters, a completely different head and thus a lower compression ratio.

Generally speaking from what I've read, it's about as expensive to drop in a gte engine as it is to go NA-T.

Still, it's enough for having some fun around town, and the 2j is proven bulletproof.

First off GTE is just part of the old generic engine codes Toyota used to use to designate an engine with a performance dohc head and turbo
Second, you should get a 1JZ GTE VVTi over a 2JZ GTE because the 1J is a single twin scroll so no more twin turbo fuckery, and its a cheaper engine with about the sane potential
And as i stated earlier, running on the stock ECU these engines have been dyno'd at 270-280whp, look them up on eBay