sti-04!!

My dad turns 50 next week & quite fancys the new PZ as his new toy.

Does anyone own an RX8 & can give some views on it please.

Thanks

DARKDESTROYER9

i dont own one but recently left a mazda dealership and the rx8 is overated and the pz is an overpriced set of wheels springs and mats compared to the standard highpowered one oil top ups with every other tank of fuel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tell him to get a mint skyline r34gtr for 23000 pounds

sti-04!!

Yeah no worries

Any other comments

Jay m A

iTrader: (2)

If he plays golf make sure he can get his clubs and trolley in, the boot isn't the best shape.

Of the 5 minute thrash around Bruntingthorpe at the 'Project Renesis' jolly a few months ago, first impressions of the PZ is that its a nice place to be. You naturally want to change up 2k rpm early though! Good driving position and neutral handling IMO. The only gripe was the positioning of the switches for the heated seats, I often switched mine on when changing gear

sti-04!!

He does play but i dont think parking the 8 at the local golf club is what he is after.
I had a play about with a standard 8 over the weekend & i was quite pleased.

Steve vRS

I fancy one of these to repalce the Clio next year and plan a test drive soon.

They are being dicounted heavily at the moment too according to the RX8 owners website and there are lots of low milage pre-reg PZs on the Mazda website (Ex-Project Renesis cars though ).

Steve

Andy M3

For the money i recon they are good, not fast though

Izzy

My mate has a standard "high power" RX8. I've not driven it but have been in it numerous times. My 2 pennyworth is that although they are "nice" cars, they can be rather clostrophobic with the low roof line. I'm 6'3" & have to slump in the seat & even then my head is close to the roof & a pillar. Talking of the A pillars, they are very thick (have air-bags in them) & obscure vision at junctions. Also vision is obsured to the rear quarters & rear due to large c pillars & small rear quarter & rear windows. Seats are of course a matter of personal opinion. My mate (who is smaller than me) thinks they are good, but I can find them uncomfortable on longer journies. The boot is also rather small with an akward opening size.

On the plus side, they are a good handling car that reasonably "nippy".... The engine is designed to use oil & gives around 20 mpg regardles of whether you are crusing around or giving it some go....

Topbombingkid

Guy up the road had one new and got rid after 6 months due to continious problems main 1 being it never wanted to start up in the morning. That was the 230bhp model. Not that fast either IMO.

scooby_matt

If you can show this car to me, I'll buy it!

Chris L

I've owned an RX8 for nearly 2 years (after over 5 years in Scoobs). I went for the RX8 because it was a little different. I've done over 30K miles with no problems - car has been utterly reliable.

I have to say it is proving to be a very good car. I have a hi power 228bhp version. It is standard, apart from a decent exhaust which gives it a lovely note, pops on the over run and the odd flame

The car's best point is its handling. It has a fantastic chassis and the best layout - front engined, with RWD and a LSD. The engine is very small and light and placed well back in the engine bay - so much so, that it is often described as 'front mid engined'. It is a quick car - as fast as a standard UK Scoob (I should know, I owned 2), but you're not going to win traffic light grand prix's - it's not that kind of car. It is happiest when pointed down a twisty road - it simply comes alive.

It's a very rewarding car to drive and responds to being driven 'properly'. If you're ham fisted with it, it will bite, where a Scoob with it's greater mechanical grip would probably save you. That said, you would really have to provoke it - the traction control is excellent. It will let you hang the back out on a wet roundabout before cutting in

The balance and poise is worthy of a car costing twice as much (if you're being very nerdy, get underneath and have a look at the suspension setup - it's a work of art and a wonder on a 23 grand car (it puts 50 grand BMWs to shame).

Other plus points? It's very well equipped, not too bad on insurance and the dealers are pretty good. Seats are very comfy (I'm 6ft 2 or so), stereo's not bad, it's a genuine four seater (and yes I can quite happily get my golf clubs in the boot!) and it's good motorway car (the smoothest car I've ever driven). It also has the best standard brakes I've ever had on a car - so much better than a Scoob (and they are single pot too, which goes to prove you don't need massive 4 pot and 6 pot caliers to do the job). I've just fitted some fast road pads for a little more feel and a set of Toyo T1-Rs, which are a big improvement over the standard Bridgestones (now where have I read that comment before )

Downsides: Front suffers from stone chips (but then I guess all modern cars do), petrol consumption is high (no better than a Scoob). You will need to adapt your driving style - it has six gears, so learn to use them. It's a bit like a VTEC engine in that sense. You have to get your head around the fact that you can quite happily put it in 3rd at 75 and plant your foot down I would also recommend having the parking sensors fitted as they are a pig to reverse.

Other things to be aware of are engine flooding and oil. Engine flooding can occur when the engine is cold because it has quite aggressive fuelling. The engine is effectively a sealed unit, so if you do turn off when the engine is cold you can leave an amount of fuel in the engine which will flood. That said, I haven't had an issue with it (as long as the revs are idling at or below 1250 RPM, then it will be fine).

The thing to learn to do when you turn the engine over is to keep it turning. As this will force the fuel out. If you stop and then turn it over again and again, as you normally do, then it can flood. It is also easily solved by the very efficient Mazda assistance service in about half an hour if it does happen. Again, I think it is ignorance that gets people into trouble.

It is worth putting it in perspective though - modern VWs have a nasty reputation for flooding, but you don't hear much about it. As long as you pay attention to a few simple rules, you won't have a problem.

Oil - how can I put this? RX8s DO NOT USE EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF OIL. As part of the ignition process, the rotor tips are lubricated with a small amount of oil, which naturally burns off. This is normal and how the engine is designed to operate. It is nothing more than that. All this crap about filling up with oil every other time you fill up with petrol is just utter rubbish written by people who have never owned one.

I do check the oil, probably once a month and top it up if necessary. It's hardly difficult and means that your engine always has a nice supply of fresh oil. So in actual fact, it is probably doing the car some good.

Fuel consumption that I mentioned earlier isn't great (reckon on mid 20s), but the upside is that it doesn't seem to vary no matter how you drive it, so you might as well floor it! (I remember my Scoob dropping to 8mpg on track - in the RX8 I was still getting 22-23).

As regards the PZ - this is a special edition that Prodrive has breathed on. By all accounts they've improved the handling even more. Given what we know Prodrive can do with a Scoob, I don't doubt this.

The car isn’t for everyone (but then, what car is?) – I would certainly recommend a test drive. Feel free to drop me a PM if you want anymore info.

Chris

scooby_matt

Good write up.
It's also nice to hear from someone who's owned one and not using 3rd/4th/5th hand information

Olly

Very, very true. Way too many people on Scoobynet spout crap about cars they will never even drive, let alone own.

Another ex owner here (rx8 230): if I could write as well as Chris then my evaluation would be a carbon copy of his. Bang on.

Chris L

Thanks chaps (forgot to mention the fantastic headlights too (if you have the Xenon HID ones - standard on the hi power) - they turn night into day

andythejock01wrx

Excellent post Chris. Glad to hear Scoobs aren't the only cars in the price range with poor mpg ! Like the look of them, different, as you say.

Still can't get my head round rotary engines though ie how the cylinders, pistons etc work relative to a std 4 in line engine ?

Chris L

Yeah it is a bit odd. Basically, a rotary engine only has three moving parts (and no pistons!) - 2 rotors and a drive / output shaft. Even the most basic 'normal' 4 cylinder engine has about 40!

With a rotary, everything spins in the same direction, as opposed to changing direction in a cylinder engine and there are differences in how the combustion cycle works. 'How stuff works' has a good explanation of the technical workings of a rotary engine.

Chins

I almost bought one. Put my money down and then drove one - very disapointed with the Power. Being told how to start a car is not how modern cars should be. I have about 3-4 cars a year and not once in the last 15 year had one fail to start, yet the RX-8 needs special attention. As for fuel economy, I think you will find many owners getting under 20mpg - not the 25 reported on here. In context with other similar cars thats diabolical. My 2.0TT is returning over 30 mpg on very mixed driving and will outperform the RX-8.

The other concern is you need deep pockets for the depreciation. Just go see how cheap you can buy a 2 year old Rx-8. Cars are not an investment, but Mazda's oversupply, the dodgy engines and crap economy - buyer beware IMHO.

Best thing I ever did was cancelling my RX-8. Took a 350Z for a while - much better and the boot is designed for two sets of clubs

DARKDESTROYER9

sorry put the wrong number in there i ment r 33

scooby_matt

Thought it sounded too good to be true!