Mom needs a new car, and I think the RX-8 is just right. Is it at dealerships yet?





-Matt

 

I think it comes out sometime this month. I could be wrong though.

 

I called a local dealership here in Miami. They said it would be in the 2nd week of May. Can't wait. I asked the salesman, if we are going to be able to sit in it, test drive it and not look at it from afar. He said "If it's here.. You can test drive it". I go SWEET! Don't want what happened with the Z to happen to the RX8.

Oh and my brother called the Mazda dealership in Macon, GA and they said it wouldn't be in till the summer time. Luckily he'll be home just in time so we can go check it out.

 

In dealers 5/8/03

I am not sure how long that engine will last, though. It is a nice car, but Istill an not real confident about a rotary engine.

 

Remember that the RX7 motor was unrelable due mostly to the turbos and overheating problems. The RX8 motor is an all new non-turbo (as I'm sure you already knew) and is different in many different ways, so I'm sure it shouldn't have nearly as many problems as the RX7 rotary.

 

The 13B turbo (FD chassis RX-7 Engine) was unreliable because it had extreme thermal stresses stemming from the incredibly complex sequential twin turbo system. the way it worked was to give it a seamless surge of power similar to an N/A piston engine. also, they wanted to make it less-prone to boost spikes which would upset driveability. in any case the Hitatchi turbos are very small for the amount of boost they produced, and created pretty bad backpressure. occasionally the exhaust gas would get sucked back up into the engine when the throttle was closed abrubtly, a condition known to RX-7 owners as Exhaust Gas Reversion. This was very hard on rotor housings and rotors, because it heated them beyond what normal running temperatures for a piston engine would be. Ineffective intercooling and a small radiator coupled with a stubborn ECU that was ill-suited to ignition timing retardation resulted in abnormally high temperatures under the hood and subsequently owners had problems with high mileage or hard run engines(mostly with cracked rotor housings which exposed the O rings surrounding the housing to actual combustion heat and pressure. Kaboom.)

Non-turbo RX-7's have a fantastic track record both in a racing venue and in terms of reliability. There's an inherent simplicity to rotary engines which makes them easier to work on and maintain(very important to pay attention to it though). I don't think that the RX-8 will have problems with this, either, because it's N/A and they've learned a lot about how to make a rotary work in their experience with the 13B. I certainly would not turbocharge one if i got one, without adding some serious radiator and fuel system upgrades and a continent-sized intercooler, but a stock RX-8 should be no big problem(they've had it under development for much longer than most engines, too, including the F20C...if it had reliability concerns i doubt they'd bill it as their flagship sports model, or even build it at all.) Sort of like adding brakes before you add power, you have to add cooling capacity and a more friendly and flexible fuel system before you add power to a rotary.

I do believe that an RX-8 will one day be in my possession...I can't afford one since I'm starting university and have to give up my source of income to learn how to get a better source of income. hehehe, gotta go get my learn on before i can get my on.

My S is almost paid off...there's no way i'm going to sell it because I'd lose so much from when i bought it. so i guess I'll just cancel the insurance and let my dad drive it in the interim as an Auto-X car. I'll be 50 and still have this thing, when it's a classic, and when i will be able to afford insurance payments. (damn being 18 and male)

Cheers.
Quick2K

 

I saw a Red one twe weeks ago in LA. It looked damn sweet in person.

 

You think the RX-8 is just right so you can take it out sometime.


Hope she can drive manual, otherwise the automatic version is a bit "short" (210hp).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Quick2K
[B]The 13B turbo (FD chassis RX-7 Engine) was unreliable because it had extreme thermal stresses stemming from the incredibly complex sequential twin turbo system. the way it worked was to give it a seamless surge of power similar to an N/A piston engine. also, they wanted to make it less-prone to boost spikes which would upset driveability. in any case the Hitatchi turbos are very small for the amount of boost they produced, and created pretty bad backpressure. occasionally the exhaust gas would get sucked back up into the engine when the throttle was closed abrubtly, a condition known to RX-7 owners as Exhaust Gas Reversion. This was very hard on rotor housings and rotors, because it heated them beyond what normal running temperatures for a piston engine would be. Ineffective intercooling and a small radiator coupled with a stubborn ECU that was ill-suited to ignition timing retardation resulted in abnormally high temperatures under the hood and subsequently owners had problems with high mileage or hard run engines(mostly with cracked rotor housings which exposed the O rings surrounding the housing to actual combustion