How is this not an RX8?

[MVJ1975]

I had my MX-3 for 17 years and it never let me down. Great little car. I'd buy another Mazda, and would have if they'd actually produced the damn Kabura.

I really liked the RX-8 but the engine issues and gas mileage were a killer for me.

[Tanuki]

Originally Posted by ZDan

The third door seems strange to you, but presumably the fourth one doesn't? But then how can there even be a fourth door without the third one?

Well since they are both half doors, they make one full door. BOOM 3rd door.

[sho220]

Originally Posted by wbradley

I wouldn't buy a Mazda product if you paid me to take it! I sold cars for 2 years in the late 80's. It was a tough go, to make it as a 24-25 year old at a few dealerships I worked at, including GM Cadillac and Nissan.

At that time Nissan seemed to hire 10 salespeople/week and fire 11 . Mazda hired 3, kept them on with a company demo as long as they stayed, and no matter what the salespeople did they couldn't piece together anything remotely resembling a living . Generous Motors was generous with reasonable minimum commissions etc but the product just wasn't in high demand.

This might have been the times, the particular dealer I worked for, who knows. However as a result this stuck in my head and I wouldn't give Mazda the sweat off my
b@lls! Plus, the rotary is a novely piece with no discernable advantage I can see for a daily driver.

You've had a grudge against Mazda for nearly 3 decades because you weren't paid enough as a salesman?

[wbradley]

Originally Posted by sho220

You've had a grudge against Mazda for nearly 3 decades because you weren't paid enough as a salesman?

Dude, I was in my early 20's living on my own and at that time couldn't afford to get my own car due to insc issues. Being a car guy of sorts it made sense to take a job that included one.

Bottom line, I have worked in sales many years and have had success. The Mazda people weren't a sales organization. The dealer was profiting on the rebates, etc. at the back end so to speak and bypassing their sales staff 90% of the time. Eight months of my life I will never get back. Fortunately, later on I managed to find employers that value their people and I have earned a decent living, have a nice home, married with 2 kids. All I got from Mazda is a lower bank balance every month I stayed there. Bitter? YES.

I dont deny it whether it looks like I am a poor loser or not.

They will never get my money.

[Yenadar]

Originally Posted by Tanuki

No, I am saying exactly why I didnt like the car. I don't think that mazdas are complete garbage, I just have never thought their quality and reliability to be on the same level as Toyota's.

Just expressing my real opinion.

Also, reason 3, is that third door always seemed really strange to me.

I find this statement more than slightly humorous, since my Toyota Corolla's engine lasted 62,000 miles, transmission fried shortly after. The warranty covered engine rebuild (it was the sludging problem that generated a recall a few years later) took 2 months, and when I was driving off the lot after finally getting it back the dash under the steering wheel fell off and was laying on my legs. Plus they further damaged the roof of the car and lost my lug nuts and put on random ones of 3 different sizes. When the transmission was torn down to find a reason to determine warranty coverage, the Toyota dealership doing the tear down found that the transaxle seals weren't reinstalled from the prior dealer removing the transmission and engine for the engine rebuild.

Toyota Corp refused to get involved, Toyota Financial (which handled the extended warranty I was under) said it's clearly a dealer problem, and the dealer said it's clearly a warranty problem. I had to take them all to court.




Yeah. Quality right there.




Everyone has their own story and own preferences. It's what makes us interesting.



Although from what I've been seeing, I don't think the FR-S/BRZ can be called "more reliable" yet In 5 years and 100,000 miles, my 8 has had a grand total of about 3 weeks of unexpected down time due to a parts failure, and cost me about $1,000 in repairs for those down time. Total combined. I'd call that quite reliable.

Rotory "failure" is usually just a slow loss of compression that still allows you to drive on it for 5, 10, 20, 30,000 miles. Even an apex seal shattering means the engine is still drivable. Piston engine failure is usually a catastrophic event that leaves you on the side of the road without warning. Rotary failure doesn't bother me at all. Piston engine failure bothers the hell out of me.

You say apex seals, I say valvetrain I'll add a BRZ back to my consideration list if they figure out those critical little bits.

[yomny]

Frs/brz looks good, rx8 is fugly.

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by Yenadar

Yeah. Quality right there.

I'm sorry but anecdotal evidence doesn't count when you are talking about the reliability of one car company vs. another.

http://www.autotrader.com/research/a...car-review.jsp

ConsumerReports.com only has ranking for the 2004 and 2005 RX-8. Given the car's low scores, maybe they just decided to give up on the other model years. A below average rating includes poor scores for the engine, transmission, electronics, climate control and paint. JDpower.com seems to echo CR's sentiment, giving the RX-8 models it tested only average to below average scores for initial quality and reliability, but slightly higher scores for performance and design. Enthusiast sites such as RX8club.com and Mazdaforums.com are full of exciting posts referring to the RX-8's great handling, elegant interior and versatility. There are also lots of helpful tips on how to modify the engine, exhaust and suspension. Along with the praise, however, is a healthy dose of complaints, covering everything from fuel economy, to oil consumption, to poor service, overheating engine coils (2006 and earlier), updates to the complex computer management system, engine flooding and a rough idle (sort of a rotary engine trait).

Driven by what Consumer Reports called "wave of impressive redesigned models in the last few years," Subaru earned the top score overall in the magazine's report cards for 2012 for 13 major automakers.

The report cards -- in the April issue due on sale March 6 -- are based on performance, comfort, utility, and reliability in the magazine's testing and consumer survey.

Granted Mazda took #2, but they also aren't making the RX8 anymore.

[station2station]

Originally Posted by chulooz

Lets just call that torque,

Maybe... but it still felt odd... More like a rear diff with REALLY low deceleration characteristic... Designed to keep more momentum off throttle, but not PUSHING the car... just..

I dunno...

*goes back to drinking smoothie.

[Simmons]

I just sold my Rx8 to buy a BRZ.

The rx8 was setup for STX class in Auto-X, it was a Very fun car to drive/ race. The gas mileage Sucked.

Simmons

[HunterGreene]

My dad's RX8 (2005, i believe) crossed the 100k threshold early this year, and no signs of loss of compression. Although he's fairly conservative driving. The biggest problem he has had is body rust.

[MEJazz]

I bought a brand new 2011 RX-8 Sport 6MT six months ago and so far the best mileage i got was 15.6mpg. I drive 85% Highway and 15% suburban traffic - have no business downtown so never really get into the bumper-to-bumper traffic. The dealer filled my tires with Nitrogen for free so that's that. I don't drive over speed - i redline it once or twice a day in second gear as is required of it but normally drive around 65-70 on highway.

My question to you RX-8 owners who have posted mileage of 18-20: How you guys are doing it? Not doubting you but what am i missing? I'd love to get 20mpg as i have seen anywhere from 13.4 to 15.6 - never even achieved the EPA's average of 18mpg.

And to get back to the main topic: Since RX-8 is no longer produced, FR-S is definitely the next best thing. But i bought the RX-8 due to its practical side of 4 doors and 4 real seats; even though i like FR-S/BRZ, i don't see myself getting one in near future as with 3 kids - its just not practical for me. Also those who wonder, RX-8 6MT is faster than FR-S/BRZ - both stock (watched a video on youtube of two on a drag strip).

[Bluecille]

[QUOTE=Prof1ig8tor;74993]Curious why we (me included) didn't buy the RX-8 if we want a light rear wheel drive sports car with a unique engine? QUOTE]
Is that why people are buying this car? The alien like technology under the hood? (sarcasm)

I didn't buy an rx-8 because the gas mileage was comprable if not better in my mid 80's vette than in the rx-8. And to keep my opinions out of this post I will end it here.

[scorcherjf]

You really need to be researching on RX8 forums like rx8club. Poor fuel economy is probably due to worn out spark plugs. I originally picked my 2009 rx8 up with over 40k miles on it and the mileage was decent... about 17mpg around the city and 21mpg highway. I replaced the spark plugs and mileage improved. I average around 18-19 now on mixed highway and city and just highway driving I can get around 22-23. So yea, you either drive the car like you stole it or your plugs are severely worn out, or both =)

And yes... stock for stock a series 2 RX8 is faster than a BRZ/FR-S in a straight line... the gearing improvements in the S2 alone help significantly.

Originally Posted by MEJazz

I bought a brand new 2011 RX-8 Sport 6MT six months ago and so far the best mileage i got was 15.6mpg. I drive 85% Highway and 15% suburban traffic - have no business downtown so never really get into the bumper-to-bumper traffic. The dealer filled my tires with Nitrogen for free so that's that. I don't drive over speed - i redline it once or twice a day in second gear as is required of it but normally drive around 65-70 on highway.

My question to you RX-8 owners who have posted mileage of 18-20: How you guys are doing it? Not doubting you but what am i missing? I'd love to get 20mpg as i have seen anywhere from 13.4 to 15.6 - never even achieved the EPA's average of 18mpg.

And to get back to the main topic: Since RX-8 is no longer produced, FR-S is definitely the next best thing. But i bought the RX-8 due to its practical side of 4 doors and 4 real seats; even though i like FR-S/BRZ, i don't see myself getting one in near future as with 3 kids - its just not practical for me. Also those who wonder, RX-8 6MT is faster than FR-S/BRZ - both stock (watched a video on youtube of two on a drag strip).

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by scorcherjf

You really need to be researching on RX8 forums like rx8club. Poor fuel economy is probably due to worn out spark plugs. I originally picked my 2009 rx8 up with over 40k miles on it and the mileage was decent... about 17mpg around the city and 21mpg highway. I replaced the spark plugs and mileage improved. I average around 18-19 now on mixed highway and city and just highway driving I can get around 22-23. So yea, you either drive the car like you stole it or your plugs are severely worn out, or both =)

I was trying to remember what caused the problem in my Dad's RX-8, and you hit the nail on the head. The spark plugs are a bitch to replace, though. If I remember correctly, they sit at or near the bottom of the engine, so if you flood the engine even a little (which is easy to do in that car), it will foul the spark plugs almost immediately.