Potential Owner

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TayeMPS
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Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Hi Everyone,

I have always loved the RX-8, in fact weirdly enough at one point it was my dream car.

I currently have a 320bhp Mazda 3 MPS, but I am getting bored of it and thought im still young so why not have some fun with other cars.

I am debating between an RX-8 or a 350z. I do love the rotary and I understand they will last if taken care of, so i have no issues with it being my daily.

I have found these 2 on Ebay and was wondering if you guys think they look like a good deal:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-Mazda-R ... 3561719035

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-Mazda-R ... 3586018975

Thanks guys
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by SmuttyHutty »

If you join the club you'll get access to the area where members are selling their cars - there's an absolute cracker for sale with low mileage and looking in amazing condition up for sale today...
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by warpc0il »

The For Sale area is available (read only) to forum guests
viewforum.php?f=145
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SmuttyHutty (Wed Nov 25, 2020 3:20 pm)
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Potential Owner

Post by GreySilver Beast »

Hi & :welcome: to the RX-8OC :thumleft:

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Please check out the EVENTS SECTION's for anything coming up soon in your area :thumleft:

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Re: Potential Owner

Post by *thomas* »

Out off those two, I would choose the 40th an. , but with that kind of a budget, you're almost into good R3-money, so make sure an R3 is not what you're really after.

Apart from that, I would choose the rx8 over a 350z. The rx8, altough most importantly being a very well balanced sportscar, is also the nicest of the two to be in. It's quite plush for a car that was introduced to the general public in 2003 still doesn't feel 'old' 17years later. This 'plushness' was infact the thing that struck me most when I first drove an rx8...

BTW, nothing wrong with it being your dream car. I have a few obtainable dreamcars, and the rx8 was on the (very) shortlist.
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Thanks for the replies boys. From what i understand the face lifted rx8 had a little revise in the engine bay and they tried to iron out the issues the first gen had.

Correct me if im wrong but is that the starter motor and the reliability issues etc.?

I love the R3 but they are all around 6-7k atm and the whole reason im looking at a rebuild is i have more piece of mind it hasnt been owned by someone who had no idea what they were doing. My sister owned one a few months ago and sold it to a poor boy who had no idea what it was.

Unfortunately the reason i am selling my mazda is to pay off bills so i only have around 5k so the R3 is a bit out of budget, take a look if you like:

I much prefer the look of the 40th anniversary as well.

Ive given Rotary Motion a call to see what they actually did with the rebuilt, apparently the seller said it was only completed a few months ago and hasnt fully broken in. Does it seem strange they rebuilt it to only sell it?
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by Dom-PZ »

Presumably the trader was confident enough that they could buy the car, get it rebuilt and get it sold whilst making enough profit to make it worthwhile.

I've not had any issues with my Rotary Motion rebuild, so on a sample size of 1, they must be reputable :D
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Well im glad you have a positive review for me.

If you dont mind me asking when did you have your engine rebuilt and how many miles have you run on it since.

So absolutely no issues? Also if you know what were your compression test before and after
Last edited by TayeMPS on Thu Nov 26, 2020 7:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Also from what i can see if the car has 18 months warranty from Rotary Motion it seems they went for the middle rebuilt:

http://www.rotarymotion.net/services/en ... uilds/rx8/

Im not actually sure what the 18 month warranty involves but it was £1,800 so must be decent
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by Nickp47 »

£1800 plus vat 🙂
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by New Duke »

TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:52 pm
Ive given Rotary Motion a call to see what they actually did with the rebuilt, apparently the seller said it was only completed a few months ago and hasnt fully broken in. Does it seem strange they rebuilt it to only sell it?
In most cases the extra sale value will make back cost the cost of rebuilding the engine, especially if a specialist rebuilds the car themselves to sell on. So it's not odd in itself. Newly rebuilt cars are desirable too. Just be careful to check with the rebuilder directly that any warranty would transfer to you as new owner.

I'd go for the 40th if I was you. That other one is strong money for a standard 231 IMO. The 40th is a bit of an evolutionary step between the S1 and the R3 RX8s. It has some modifications, but not the modified engine (and literally hundreds of other things) that were changed for the R3. Which yeah were intended to improve reliability, increase torque and other stuff. Whether they achieved that is another matter! :lol:
Remember to check for rust underneath and all the usual stuff. There's a wealth of info on here to dive into when you have the time. Sounds like you already know the right questions to ask :thumleft:

I think in your budget range finding a good 350z would be more of a risk. RX8s give you a lot for the money and are simple and relatively cheap to fix.
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Thanks for all your replies. This forum is so lively compared to the Mazda 3 MPS one. Your lucky to get a reply on a post, ghost town with that lot.

I do love the subtle additions the 40th has, i have modifications in mind so it saves me from adding side skirts and spoiler etc.

I am waiting for a call back from Rotary Motions to confirm all the above.

Im very very excited, although its a big step back on power compared to my 2010 Mazda 3 MPS i love the rotary engine and for sure a future classic.

In regards to a 350z i agree with you thats its out of budget, id want the HR face lifted version as well.

This will be my daily so i need it to be reliable, got to get my reading in. But from what ive read as long as the oil is on good levels, its revved the nuts out of it and i put the additives in it when putting petrol in they are a good car.

Should i be getting any first mods just to make it way more reliable? Starter motor? Ive also read you need to rev it to like 2k rpms for a few seconds before turning the car off or is that just the s1?

Im not worried about mpg or any of that crap, i am going to a test drive of that 40th next week when we are out of lockdown. Will let you boys know how it goes
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ChrisHolmes (Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:07 pm)
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by New Duke »

TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 8:03 pm
Thanks for all your replies. This forum is so lively compared to the Mazda 3 MPS one. Your lucky to get a reply on a post, ghost town with that lot.

Should i be getting any first mods just to make it way more reliable? Starter motor? Ive also read you need to rev it to like 2k rpms for a few seconds before turning the car off or is that just the s1?

Yeah we're a troublesome lot :lol:

Careful what you read out there, some of it does more harm than good. There's no need to rev the car before turning off except in one very rare instance. So rare that in 4 years of daily driving I've never needed to do it. The only thing you can't do is shut it off until the coolant temp needle has moved up. So if you're moving the car on the driveway take it round the block first (and have endless excuses to 'go for a quick drive'). It literally takes a 2 min drive to warm the coolant up enough to remove the risk of flooding the engine.

I'd suggested just servicing it well and changing all fluids when you get it (rebuild warranty permitting) and premix. Then just treat it like you would any other car; when the engine is cold drive it like you broke it, when the engine oil is hot (about 20 mins of driving later) drive it like you stole it! :lol:

The FAQ section has loads of good info: viewforum.php?f=25
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30405 (Thu Nov 26, 2020 8:24 pm)
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by SmuttyHutty »

A few things:

This is a brilliant forum with a thoroughly decent bunch of folk who genuinely love their cars and want to help. There are plenty of highly knowledgeable people on here who will bust a gut to help you and also take the mickey when you deserve it!

Revving to 2k when the car is warm is rubbish. You grab the key and turn the car off. Don't ever move the car 10m then switch off, though. When I need to move my car I take it round the block (I live in Suffolk so the block is a few fields which is a good excuse for a burn) then park it up at home. Learn how to start the car after flooding it - I've done it once.

When I got my car it was totally original and I to try and keep it that way but also be sensible. I put a beefier starter motor on straight away, changed the gearbox and diff oils because there was no record of any change, and put a better exhaust on. I've also done an oil and filter change because I did 3000 miles last year. And replaced the spark plugs.

But that's about it.

Honestly, the best recommendation I could give you is to join the club. And I am sure others will follow on from this post with their own recommendations.
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ChrisHolmes (Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:09 pm) • HarSc (Fri Dec 11, 2020 9:13 pm)
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by nightfire10 »

TayeMPS wrote:Thanks for all your replies. This forum is so lively compared to the Mazda 3 MPS one. Your lucky to get a reply on a post, ghost town with that lot.

I do love the subtle additions the 40th has, i have modifications in mind so it saves me from adding side skirts and spoiler etc.

I am waiting for a call back from Rotary Motions to confirm all the above.

Im very very excited, although its a big step back on power compared to my 2010 Mazda 3 MPS i love the rotary engine and for sure a future classic.

In regards to a 350z i agree with you thats its out of budget, id want the HR face lifted version as well.

This will be my daily so i need it to be reliable, got to get my reading in. But from what ive read as long as the oil is on good levels, its revved the nuts out of it and i put the additives in it when putting petrol in they are a good car.

Should i be getting any first mods just to make it way more reliable? Starter motor? Ive also read you need to rev it to like 2k rpms for a few seconds before turning the car off or is that just the s1?

Im not worried about mpg or any of that crap, i am going to a test drive of that 40th next week when we are out of lockdown. Will let you boys know how it goes
Yep 40th all day Image

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Hayward's Street/bridgeported rebuild,595's,Tein coilovers edfc Racingbeat rear anti roll bar oil pres oil temp gauge pod's,lockwood front rear grills,Tinted wind ws folding tow hook's,595s,connect2 ,at long last sohn and ap50 tank instaled ,revi ram air duct already fitted ! calipers painted,diff oil changed .
just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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Re: Potential Owner

Post by SmuttyHutty »

New Duke wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 8:19 pm
TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 8:03 pm
Thanks for all your replies. This forum is so lively compared to the Mazda 3 MPS one. Your lucky to get a reply on a post, ghost town with that lot.

Should i be getting any first mods just to make it way more reliable? Starter motor? Ive also read you need to rev it to like 2k rpms for a few seconds before turning the car off or is that just the s1?

Yeah we're a troublesome lot :lol:

Careful what you read out there, some of it does more harm than good. There's no need to rev the car before turning off except in one very rare instance. So rare that in 4 years of daily driving I've never needed to do it. The only thing you can't do is shut it off until the coolant temp needle has moved up. So if you're moving the car on the driveway take it round the block first (and have endless excuses to 'go for a quick drive'). It literally takes a 2 min drive to warm the coolant up enough to remove the risk of flooding the engine.

I'd suggested just servicing it well and changing all fluids when you get it (rebuild warranty permitting) and premix. Then just treat it like you would any other car; when the engine is cold drive it like you broke it, when the engine oil is hot (about 20 mins of driving later) drive it like you stole it! :lol:

The FAQ section has loads of good info: viewforum.php?f=25
Dammit, Duke! You beat me to it!!!
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by nightfire10 »

New Duke wrote:
TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 8:03 pm
Thanks for all your replies. This forum is so lively compared to the Mazda 3 MPS one. Your lucky to get a reply on a post, ghost town with that lot.

Should i be getting any first mods just to make it way more reliable? Starter motor? Ive also read you need to rev it to like 2k rpms for a few seconds before turning the car off or is that just the s1?

Yeah we're a troublesome lot Image

Careful what you read out there, some of it does more harm than good. There's no need to rev the car before turning off except in one very rare instance. So rare that in 4 years of daily driving I've never needed to do it. The only thing you can't do is shut it off until the coolant temp needle has moved up. So if you're moving the car on the driveway take it round the block first (and have endless excuses to 'go for a quick drive'). It literally takes a 2 min drive to warm the coolant up enough to remove the risk of flooding the engine.

I'd suggested just servicing it well and changing all fluids when you get it (rebuild warranty permitting) and premix. Then just treat it like you would any other car; when the engine is cold drive it like you broke it, when the engine oil is hot (about 20 mins of driving later) drive it like you stole it! Image

The FAQ section has loads of good info: viewforum.php?f=25
Must be lucky with mine you couldn't flood it if you tried Image

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Hayward's Street/bridgeported rebuild,595's,Tein coilovers edfc Racingbeat rear anti roll bar oil pres oil temp gauge pod's,lockwood front rear grills,Tinted wind ws folding tow hook's,595s,connect2 ,at long last sohn and ap50 tank instaled ,revi ram air duct already fitted ! calipers painted,diff oil changed .
just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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Re: Potential Owner

Post by Dom-PZ »

TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 7:06 pm
Well im glad you have a positive review for me.

If you dont mind me asking when did you have your engine rebuilt and how many miles have you run on it since.

So absolutely no issues? Also if you know what were your compression test before and after
The guy I bought mine off bought it from Rotary Motion, so they must have bought it (perhaps from a customer) with a dead engine, rebuilt and sold it on. It's not been compression tested since, but given it was about 6k miles ago that it was rebuilt and there's nothing obviously wrong with it, I've not gotten one done. Well I say there's nothing obviously wrong, I've not driven it since August so you never know!
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Haha i got ripped a new one.

I thought that revving to 2k was a load of balderdash.

I know about the dont start it to turn it straight off, i do love a drive around the block. I have treated all my 2 cars this same way so that wont be a problem.

Thanks again everyone for your help, hopefully i will be a rx8 owner by sometime next month.
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by TayeMPS »

Apparently balderdash is a bit of a bad word. I love whoever made it balderdash
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Ainmhidh (Thu Nov 26, 2020 9:03 pm)
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by *thomas* »

TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:52 pm
Thanks for the replies boys. From what i understand the face lifted rx8 had a little revise in the engine bay and they tried to iron out the issues the first gen had.

Correct me if im wrong but is that the starter motor and the reliability issues etc.?

I love the R3 but they are all around 6-7k atm and the whole reason im looking at a rebuild is i have more piece of mind it hasnt been owned by someone who had no idea what they were doing. My sister owned one a few months ago and sold it to a poor boy who had no idea what it was.
The R3 is more than just 'fixing' some reliabilty issues. It has the bilstein suspension (which also came on the Prodrive and 40th if I'm not mistaken); it has the recaro seats (which look amazing, but are prone to bolster-wear and are less comfy if I have to believe most owners); it has forged bbs alloy wheels that cost a fortune and due to the facelift it just looks so different compâred to the first gen. I always found the first series to look like a '90s car (which makes sense looking at the development time-line), whereas the R3 really does look like a 21st century car.
TayeMPS wrote:
Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:52 pm
I much prefer the look of the 40th anniversary as well.
If that's the case, choices are easy, go for the 40th ;) . I'd choose a white one tbf 8) .
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Re: Potential Owner

Post by nightfire10 »

I'd chose a white one as well Image

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Hayward's Street/bridgeported rebuild,595's,Tein coilovers edfc Racingbeat rear anti roll bar oil pres oil temp gauge pod's,lockwood front rear grills,Tinted wind ws folding tow hook's,595s,connect2 ,at long last sohn and ap50 tank instaled ,revi ram air duct already fitted ! calipers painted,diff oil changed .
just oil lines to fit at some stage ( had them a while too) :P

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Re: Potential Owner

Post by SmuttyHutty »

That flipping Banksy has drawn all over your lovely white car!