RX-8: what should I know?

Whether it's worth it depends on the price and condition.

You should be aware of the fact that a lot of them have been treated poorly and have engines on their deathbeds. If you get one, you'll need to make sure it was properly cared for. Then, you'll need to continue caring for it properly.

At the very least, this means:
>waiting for the engine to warm up before driving it
>driving it often
>redlining it once per drive
>going no further than 3000 miles without an oil change

And it's not easy to upgrade significantly with aftermarket kits. Maybe a few HP here and there by upgrading the cold air intake or removing the catalytic converter, but that's about it.

I pay $140 a month for full coverage with a $300 deductible for mine.

I could pay as low $115/month. Doesn't seem that bad.

They didn't gimp it. But the 2004-2005 models have an ECU bug that causes too little oil to get injected. The bug is fixed in the later models, and the Series II RX-8s have an additional oil injector.

Not always, just have one or two in case you're low on fuel and didn't notice it. Otherwise you can just grab one from your house before heading out if you know you need more fuel.

Rotary powered cars are high maintenance machines, so before deciding to pull the trigger on one, read up and read a lot about how you have to babysit the engine, if you're willing to do it, just know that you'll be driving a piece of machinery with one of the most unique sounds on the road and that will make you feel special.

Oem seals are best seals
You say rx8 is unreliable, yet tell him to get an fd Instead
Lmao
I'd like to see a rew go 200k miles with NOTHING but oil and spark plugs... they are lucky to break 120k with crazy upkeep

Renesis is literally the best rotary for daily drivijg unless you want a shitty old 100hp carbd engine

I'm getting some mixed signals.
I definitely am okay with babysitting, I want to learn more about cars and I want my first car to let me do that, I will do plenty of research on rotary engines first though.
How do I tell if the engine has been cared for?

>I'm considering buying a 2006 rx-8 as my first car.
absolutely not

rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

What would you suggest then?

goopy and RA seals are good
but ra superseals will wear the shit out of your housings. the classics won't though.
they'll save your ass if you lose fuel pressure or something else instead of causing the engine to die though. if you're staying stock oem is great. modding then that depends what you're going for, etc
they'll save you from blowing up on the dyno since most tuners can't tune them for shit

Don't do it unless you want to do an autistic level of maintenance. Just get a NA FC if you really want to go rotard.

If your serious I would look at There is plenty of 8s out there, but a lot of them have been poorly cared for. The Renesis can be a solid engine, but it has to have the proper maintenance or it dies quicker than a fish out of water.

Why the fuck would you ever buy a rotary as your first car?

>Pros
Not painfully slow for the price (Still pretty slow though, ~165hp moving 3k lbs will do that to you)
Insurance might cut some slack because it's a "four door"
Very easy to find, at least around here

>Cons
Rotary, in other words inherently less reliable than other alternatives
Kind of ugly (IMO)
Fuel inefficient

Also, kek at the autists ITT saying that it needs too much maintenance and then suggesting a RX-7 instead, that's the opposite direction you want to go if you're worried about reliability.

Wait shit, that's ~165hp / ton

Point still stands that it's not 'fast'

rx-8 got special maintenance :

change enine every 50 000 km

this
>50 % of car don't have original engine...

>slow slow slow
I think it's faster than the BRZ GT86 LEL

dont buy a rotary car.

if it seems like a good deal its because its shit.

engine rebuilds

Is it me, or is this almost a fucking weekly thread?

Should we just add it to the fucking OP?

>How do I tell if the engine has been cared for?

The best/direct way is to do a compression test.

Other than that you can do the following:
>check vehicle history to see if it's had routine oil changes and maintenance
>see if it has problems starting while the engine is already warmed up
>see if it has trouble idling
>talk to the owner to see if they even know what qualifies as "proper care"

>talk to the owner to see if they even know what qualifies as "proper care"
This is the hardest thing when looking for an RX8. Half of the sellers don't even know the basics about rotary care. I would buy a good condition dead RX8 and just have the rotary rebuilt. I can get a dead RX8 for less than 2k.

Quick rundown on maintenance.

an na fc is damn reliable
but's it is old as hell so will need so much immediate maintenance for most you can find. some will have already had the major engine shit done, some won't. they're easier to deal with. easier to fix the stuck aux ports too. easier to delete emissions equipment which means it's less likely to fuck it up. keep the airpump if you keep cats on it because rotaries eat them.
you can get an fc na for 1k-1500 running and do a rebuild. rx8s i've only seen 3k as a low for an ok running one that probably needs a rebuild soon anyways. fc+full rebuild kit and suspension bushings (dtss delete and housings/irons not fucked) will be around shitty rx8 price) dtss delete keeps the cost down otherwise it is an extra 4-600 to fix that. early rx8 doesn't inject enough oil so watch the wear issues for that, the motor mounts like to get killed from the heat, which caused a lot of good engines to be replaced with shit ones and a lot of the cars didn't have a good motor put back in before the warranty was out.
and as slow as they are considered vs other cars. even the rx7 is much faster than the frs

"Well, that is still mostly guess work and theory, though there is some indication from outside sources and leaked Mazda information that around 50% of RX-8s have had at least 1 engine replacement in it's lifespan.
"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

This.

Also, everyone should save this and post it in every single RX-8 thread as soon as possible, maybe they'll get the message eventually.

>maybe they'll get the message eventually
That a Renesis engine is a unreliable piece of shit?

>as my first car

I hope you've given your first blowjob.

>this has become a daily thread

06 is fine, that's 7th gen which started in 03

>Well, that is still mostly guess work and theory, though there is some indication from outside sources and leaked Mazda information that around 50% of RX-8s have had at least 1 engine replacement in it's lifespan.
And somehow people still say that the rx8 engine is reliable and it's just bad owners not taking care of their cars.

Expect to pay for the car at least once a year in fuel, premix, plugs, and coils, and then add on $500 or so every couple of years for apex seals if you DD it.

Also do all of that the moment you buy it, if it doesn't already need a rebuild (just take it to a shop at that point). And it probably needs a rebuild.

On a scale going from a truck engine being a 1 to sportbike engine with a dry clutch, shim and bucket lifters, and a poorly designed automatic CCT being a 10, the level of PITA maintenance is 20.

Thats what I was thinking. That image mentioned making it to 150k miles as if that's really an achievement. My very first car (hand me down '96 Jeep Grand Cherokee) made it to 309k before the engine crapped out on us. 150k is nothing.

>le my first car thread

i want the kids to leave Veeky Forums

I like the RX8, but the engine is just not built to last. After reading through the rx8club forums it seems like once you hit 100k on the Renesis, you are going to have to do a rebuild in the near future. I get it that rebuilds are affordable, but you also have people that get rebuilds and within 40k the engine dies again. Some of the people on that site are going on their 3rd engine. My Chevy Cavalier I had in highschool was able to get to 190k before dying and that car was a total piece of shit.