Car Talk - Non S2000 General Motoring and Non S2000 Car Talk

RX-8

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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:14 AM
  #1  
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Default RX-8

Used RX-8s look value for money and are an option for replacing the 111R.

I need to test drive one!

But what do people think? Has any one owned or driven one?

Is it really a FUN car to drive?

Is that rotary engine a hassle to own? What does it cost to run and how reliable?

Answer on a postcard please (or failing that a post on this thread will do).

Thanks

Nick
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:19 AM
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A work colleague has one.
It's fun - but thirsty.

Try the RX8 owners club - I'm sure there is a treasure trove of current knowledge there.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:20 AM
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Fun car to drive. But even more of a torqueless wonder than the S2000.

Really low mpg (expect less than 20), flooding the engine is pretty much an AA callout, they get through starter motors at an alarming rate and get through oil pretty quickly.

They also depreciate like a Lada covered in poo.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:20 AM
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Nick

A friend of mine has had a high power one (the 220 rather than the 190 i think) and I went along for the test drive and have seen it / been in it on the roads and at an academy day.

The lower power one is not really worth it, but the hi power is worth it. The chassis is very communicative for a long car and the brakes, I have to say, were a real selling feature. The car was great for a new family and he loved it.
The fuel consumption was awful (compared to his diesel passat) but the performance was quite surprising.

The next best feature was that I could actually fit comfortably in the back - at 6'2 and all legs for my height, I was amazed I fitted so easily - but it is only a 4 seater from the layout unless things have changed.

To drive it was fun and relatively quick, lots of nice finishes incorporated the rotary shape theme etc.

Not a bad car at all IMHO (apart from fuel and oil thrists)
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Gaspode,Nov 16 2009, 01:19 PM
A work colleague has one.
It's fun - but thirsty.
Same here and it gets the same report on both counts.

He had to sell it not long after getting it as a result of picking up 3 lots of 3 points in pretty short order
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:23 AM
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A nice interesting car but POOR fuel economy (lucky to get into 20s) and oil consumption isn't great either and must be checked more regularly than you would in an S!

All conjecture blah blah blah.

Went in one at Silverstone, nice neutral balanced/handling car but nothing edgy/sporty/raw about it for me. All the race car drivers (mostly touring car drivers) I met on the day much preferred the S2000 for fun.

Rotory as a hassle to maintain on the RX7, Mazda "claimed" when released that this is not an issue with the RX8 but not many had done 70/80k back then LOL and many will be at that mileage now so would be interesting to know if they've "really" solved the rotor tip wear issue.

I'd think of it as a bit like a 4 seater S2000 coupe all in all though.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:25 AM
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Oh - and design flaw with the suicide doors... Try opening them in a car parking space in a multi storey.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 04:53 AM
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I have one, bought recently on return to car ownership after 5 years.

Good points:

Fits kids in the back easily :-) (main reason for me)
Reasonable performance (JDM is 250PS) with good handling/feedback.
Looks good with solid build quality

Bad points:

Fuel consumption - I'm lucky to get 22-24 mpg, even driving like a granny (yes, it really is that bad....)
Lack of torque/pull below 5k (similiar to the S really).
Small boot space (about the same as the S as well)

Overall, very pleased with it.
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 05:08 AM
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My mate ran one for a year before he had to sell up due to mortgage issues.

He loved it and he has 2 kids too. It saw it's fair share of multi-stories but he never mentioned the rear door being an issue.

He also never mentioned anything about oil consumption, but did mention that fuel economy was an issue although he was regularly seeing 22-24mpg which is better than what I get from the S.

Flooding was certainly an issue though - popping down the shops and back IS NOT something you should do with a rotary, unless you can leave it ticking over for a few mins after you get back.

He found his cure to the issue revving the car to a sustained 5000rpm for 10 seconds and then shutting ignition off.

Never did it again after he started doing that.

Performance was interesting.

He had the high power 6 speed jobbie and I had a fair bit of passenger timei n it.

It is certainly very linear and the noise gave you no clue on how fast the car was going.

It made progress though
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Old Nov 16, 2009 | 05:25 AM
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i cant imagine nick driving an rx8.


take the x away and thats more like it.
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