RX-8 Discussion Discussion on Mazda's newest rotary powered vehicle.

RX8 Engine Opinions

Old 11-30-2009, 03:27 PM
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I am new to forums altogether, especially this one. I have just purchased an 04 Titanium Gray w/ 95K miles. It has its original engine. This is going to be a project car, however I am concerned about the engine. With 95K miles what are the odds of it lasting another 50K miles? Compression is good, and the car does not give any indication of problems. Should I baby it (below 4k rpm) or should I drive it with some spirit (higher rpm)? In addition to a project it is my everyday driver, so my children are dependant on it.



I have replaced the radiator (which had a leak) with a Mishimoto, and have replaced the intake with an AEM. Many more mods on the way......



Thanks
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Old 11-30-2009, 07:22 PM
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NA rotaries will run forever as long as you keep oil and coolant in them haha. as for your mods, be careful. I've heard of a lot of issues with mods on the renesis due to the ECU. not sure of the validity of that, but thought i'd share what i'd heard
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Old 12-09-2009, 02:06 PM
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Just took my car into Classic Mazda of Denton. Ramsey the service tech took really good care of me. I will bring it back in at 99,000 miles for a compression check ( has 96000 miles as of now). I am going to try to build a top speed luxury cruiser out of it. I will keep it naturally aspirated and if I do not acheive my goal with the Renesis , I will upgrade to a 20B NA and see what she does. This is my daily driver, so my kids and I depend on it, so the key is reliability.
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Old 12-09-2009, 03:19 PM
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Originally Posted by CashatMVP
This is my daily driver, so my kids and I depend on it, so the key is reliability.


You keep bringing this up, and on some level it bugs me, so I'm going to call you on it. I have two sons, 4 and 6 years old. I have a daily driver ('05 MPV) and I would never choose to make any performance mods on it beyond a cat-back and an intake. But really, what's the point? If you intend to go so far as an engine swap, I would urge you to find a new daily driver, preferably with a warranty.



I'm a big believer in having a bone-stock and rock-solid reliable DD, and I play with the other junk in my garage.



My .02. It's a free country. Do what makes you happy.
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Old 12-10-2009, 08:21 PM
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^ +1



i have a rediculous FD, and then an fb for daily driving. i don't have kids and don't plan to for awhile so the 2 seater will be fine for quite awhile lol
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Old 12-10-2009, 08:41 PM
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A 20B? Yeah that just screams reliability, you can rely on having that turd in for service at someones shop constatntly.



Its sort of like Red T2 said, go find a hunk of junk FC that hasnt been too badly hammered and mod the ba-jesus out of it, leave the 8 fairly stock and enjoy it. Ive seen plenty of people who get all hell bent on bringing a car back to life, get halfway into it and then life happens. The car rots in the driveway for years and eventually gets scrapped or stripped for parts
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Old 12-14-2009, 02:25 PM
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My 2 cents...



The Renesis in the RX-8 needs to see 7k+ rpm (after being fully warmed up) each startup for proper sealing.



The rotary motor doesn't like to be started and shut off repeatedly without being fully warmed up.



So, you might hurt it more by "babying it" than by giving it some throttle.



Raul
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Old 01-08-2010, 04:31 PM
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i worked at mazda from 04-07 and the rx8's that were driven pretty hard were the trouble free ones. its the old lady automatics that were in flooded all the time.



granted at that time the highest mile one had like 50k on it
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