My Mazda RX8 in Velocity red
Discussion
Hi all
At the end of 2019 I decided it was time to 'finally' buy one of my dream cars. I had been driving Subaru's for the past few years and altough I fancied an AWD 'performance' car like a WRX, STI or EVO they simply have become to expensive. The RX8 had always been a car that I admired for 'what it is' rather than how it looks and performs. I had never seen one in the flesh and people who had driven them all told me they were slow and unrelliable.
After spending a few weeks reading up on them (I knew nothing about them, to be honest, I didn't know much about mazda in general). In the end, I made up my mind: it had to be a 231 PS (high) car in blue or black. I certainly didn't want a red car... Can't stand them. But altough there were always some for sale, non were 'good enough' so I ended up visiting a Mazda dealer who specialises in rotary cars in the Netherlands. The first contact I had with Kees (the owner) was on the phone. I told him what I was looking for, but admitted I had never seen or driven one. He invited me over and told me he would have a car ready for me that I could take on a testdrive to get a feel for them.
It was a velocity red, 192 bhp car which had covered 60 000 miles. To make matters worse, it had a black/red interior and steering wheel. It all seemed a bit busy, but I was impressed with how well the car felt and even more so, how 'modern' it felt. Still, it felt 'fast' enough to get me in a lot of trouble. I had some coffee afterwards, we talked about mazda, jdm and others cars in general and asked Kees to keep me informed if he would have a blue or black car for sale.
A few days went by and I went back to have a proper look at the red car. For some reason, I had changed my mind about, well, everything. So, a deal was done and I decided to pick up the car in a few weeks. It was the middle of january, weather was bad I wasn't in a hurry.
And then Covid come along and I wasn't allowed into the Netherlands... I had to wait untill june before I could pick it up and since our DVLA equivalent was overbooked, it took another 4 weeks to have it road legal.
I'm the tall guy in the white shirt. Car was sitting on Dutch transit plates.
Took the car for a spin after it's fresh MOT. I must admit, that I truely adore the colour in the, esp. with the proper lighting.
Sadly, I didn't do much to the car in the first two years of ownership. Life got in the way, so I'm hoping I'll make more progress this year.
I did manage the do a few little things:
Had the underbody bracing blasted and powdercoated. I also cleaned all the threads.
I swapped the black wiper-washer tank for a white one.
And did some general servicing one the car.
Next on my list are two rear wheel bearing and new wheels and tyres. Will keep you all posted.
Cheers
T.
At the end of 2019 I decided it was time to 'finally' buy one of my dream cars. I had been driving Subaru's for the past few years and altough I fancied an AWD 'performance' car like a WRX, STI or EVO they simply have become to expensive. The RX8 had always been a car that I admired for 'what it is' rather than how it looks and performs. I had never seen one in the flesh and people who had driven them all told me they were slow and unrelliable.
After spending a few weeks reading up on them (I knew nothing about them, to be honest, I didn't know much about mazda in general). In the end, I made up my mind: it had to be a 231 PS (high) car in blue or black. I certainly didn't want a red car... Can't stand them. But altough there were always some for sale, non were 'good enough' so I ended up visiting a Mazda dealer who specialises in rotary cars in the Netherlands. The first contact I had with Kees (the owner) was on the phone. I told him what I was looking for, but admitted I had never seen or driven one. He invited me over and told me he would have a car ready for me that I could take on a testdrive to get a feel for them.
It was a velocity red, 192 bhp car which had covered 60 000 miles. To make matters worse, it had a black/red interior and steering wheel. It all seemed a bit busy, but I was impressed with how well the car felt and even more so, how 'modern' it felt. Still, it felt 'fast' enough to get me in a lot of trouble. I had some coffee afterwards, we talked about mazda, jdm and others cars in general and asked Kees to keep me informed if he would have a blue or black car for sale.
A few days went by and I went back to have a proper look at the red car. For some reason, I had changed my mind about, well, everything. So, a deal was done and I decided to pick up the car in a few weeks. It was the middle of january, weather was bad I wasn't in a hurry.
And then Covid come along and I wasn't allowed into the Netherlands... I had to wait untill june before I could pick it up and since our DVLA equivalent was overbooked, it took another 4 weeks to have it road legal.
I'm the tall guy in the white shirt. Car was sitting on Dutch transit plates.
Took the car for a spin after it's fresh MOT. I must admit, that I truely adore the colour in the, esp. with the proper lighting.
Sadly, I didn't do much to the car in the first two years of ownership. Life got in the way, so I'm hoping I'll make more progress this year.
I did manage the do a few little things:
Had the underbody bracing blasted and powdercoated. I also cleaned all the threads.
I swapped the black wiper-washer tank for a white one.
And did some general servicing one the car.
Next on my list are two rear wheel bearing and new wheels and tyres. Will keep you all posted.
Cheers
T.
For years now they have seemed like a lot of car for the money, although that seems to be driven by the rotary fear-factor, fuel consumption and expensive Road Tax on UK models registered after March 2006.
The metallic blue is my favourite colour, but I also love the red/black interior which works best in a red car!
Looking forward to the updates.
The metallic blue is my favourite colour, but I also love the red/black interior which works best in a red car!
Looking forward to the updates.
Mr Tidy said:
For years now they have seemed like a lot of car for the money, although that seems to be driven by the rotary fear-factor, fuel consumption and expensive Road Tax on UK models registered after March 2006.
The metallic blue is my favourite colour, but I also love the red/black interior which works best in a red car!
Looking forward to the updates.
Well, pricing for these on the continent is a bit different (as in: they are more expensive). I ended up paying just shy of 6000 euro for it, which would translate to approx 5500 GBP at the time of purchase. In the UK, I could've bought a nice RX8 R3 for the same money, but like with many JDM cars, driving a RHD car in a LHD-designed country doesn't rock my boat (tried it).The metallic blue is my favourite colour, but I also love the red/black interior which works best in a red car!
Looking forward to the updates.
Still, same goes for other JDM cars. For a well sorted WRX I would've payed double that, an EVO X would've set me back 20 000 euros.
I forgot to mention that the dealer swapped out the black/red steering wheel and red door panels for black ones. So I know just have the black/red seats. It makes the interior less 'look at me'.
thomasrs50 said:
I'm big fan of these cars although I've only ever been in one once. For an occasional-use car I think the fuel consumption is worth it for everything else they offer. Enjoy
I haven't driven the RX8 all that much during the last few months, but every time I wanted to take it for a spin, I needed a jumperpack. Time for a new battery. The old one was the wrong size/type/strenght, so after reading into it on the interwebz I went with the Varta E23. It's a tight fit, but it fits.
Out with the old.
Cleaned out the case.
New one in place. Note that the cable routing is finally as it left the factory. I tought I needed a new postive battery terminal clamp (is that a 'word'?), but seems the angle at which it was installed was the problem.
Out with the old.
Cleaned out the case.
New one in place. Note that the cable routing is finally as it left the factory. I tought I needed a new postive battery terminal clamp (is that a 'word'?), but seems the angle at which it was installed was the problem.
With the new battery installed, the car now starts flawlessly every time. How I managed to run it for so long without the proper battery is a mistery.
Yesterday I finally finished a job on the car that I had been postponing for over a year. In June of 2021 I wanted to replace 4 suspension arms from the rear suspension (the ones that enable you to do a proper wheel alignment). Sadly, the bolts that secure the arm into the knuckle were badly seized on both sides. They sheared off and it was impossible to remove them. I gave up and the dealer from which I bought the car made sure I could drive it for the time being.
In the mean time, I sourced two rear knuckles from ebay (which was harder than it seemed) and trough last winter I rebuild them with the bearings, silent blocks, wheel-speed-sensor and heat shields and wheel bolts.
I ordered the remaining lower suspension arm directly from Japan, together with a few other bits and bobs and installed everything this week. Apart from the RHD halfshaft that wouldn't come out, everything went smoothly.
Cheers
Yesterday I finally finished a job on the car that I had been postponing for over a year. In June of 2021 I wanted to replace 4 suspension arms from the rear suspension (the ones that enable you to do a proper wheel alignment). Sadly, the bolts that secure the arm into the knuckle were badly seized on both sides. They sheared off and it was impossible to remove them. I gave up and the dealer from which I bought the car made sure I could drive it for the time being.
In the mean time, I sourced two rear knuckles from ebay (which was harder than it seemed) and trough last winter I rebuild them with the bearings, silent blocks, wheel-speed-sensor and heat shields and wheel bolts.
I ordered the remaining lower suspension arm directly from Japan, together with a few other bits and bobs and installed everything this week. Apart from the RHD halfshaft that wouldn't come out, everything went smoothly.
Cheers
Edited by thomasrs50 on Friday 28th April 17:15
Enjoy it. We loved ours. It's IMO a car where Mazda was very canny about what they spent their money on and so for the money it punches seriously above its weight. For example, when you look and realise it has very simple single piston sliding brakes...yet was one of the best stopping cars at the time.
The one thing though that pissed me off about it was that for a car where they recommended checking the oil every other fuel fill up... it's a pain in the arse to check the oil! Both current "piston" engine cars are *far* easier to check and while I do still check them once a month they're not meant to burn oil!
It would have cost about £1 to add an oil level sensor then you could check it every time you started it up!
Not that we checked it that often when we got used to it, used to check/top it up once a month but even if we missed a month it wouldn't get low enough to be of any concern!
The one thing though that pissed me off about it was that for a car where they recommended checking the oil every other fuel fill up... it's a pain in the arse to check the oil! Both current "piston" engine cars are *far* easier to check and while I do still check them once a month they're not meant to burn oil!
It would have cost about £1 to add an oil level sensor then you could check it every time you started it up!
Not that we checked it that often when we got used to it, used to check/top it up once a month but even if we missed a month it wouldn't get low enough to be of any concern!
thomasrs50 said:
I completely agree.
And as you say, the dipstick for the oil is located in such a place it's a true PITA to check the level, as you say.
On the second gen (R3) they 'sorted' this problem, altough it seems you need to remove the engine cover.
I mean it's better but still not great!And as you say, the dipstick for the oil is located in such a place it's a true PITA to check the level, as you say.
On the second gen (R3) they 'sorted' this problem, altough it seems you need to remove the engine cover.
Oil filler still in the bloody middle though.
Hadn't seen an R3 engine bay before, quite a chunky additional brace bar there as well vs the older 231!
For contrast, this was ours
I have to admit if I was to have another I'd have a serious consideration to fitting a Sohn adaptor and tank of two stroke oil.
The second gen RX8 had a lot of revisions to the engine (three oil jets per rotor instead of 2, oil filter relocation, larger oil filter, revised gearbox etc).
To my understanding, the original sohn is no longer for sale (they used to be for sale on ebay, but no more). I still don't mind the oil burning and add 2 stroke when I fill her up, but I've considered installing one too.
I still don't get why the RX8 is still so cheap. Even in continental europe they are still far cheaper when compared to others Japanese cars from the same era. If I would be living in the UK, I would get myself an R3 in a heartbeat.
To my understanding, the original sohn is no longer for sale (they used to be for sale on ebay, but no more). I still don't mind the oil burning and add 2 stroke when I fill her up, but I've considered installing one too.
I still don't get why the RX8 is still so cheap. Even in continental europe they are still far cheaper when compared to others Japanese cars from the same era. If I would be living in the UK, I would get myself an R3 in a heartbeat.
Yeah, I'm aware of the R3 differences.
In the UK, they sold an utter f
kton of them. Last I looked it was something like more RX-8's sold than S2000's, 350Z's and GT86's combined.
...but then VED went through the roof, fuel went through the roof and there were a *LOT* of them on the market so they became cheap and then weren't treated well.
The engine issues are IMO overegged by many but there is no doubt they are higher maintenance than more mundane piston engines. They're basically a two-stroke, with all that entails. Buy a two-stroke bike and it's new piston and rings every 10k, new barrels every 30k etc. It's the price you pay for the high power to weight and small size. No different to the RX-8.
I think personally that Mazda screwed things up by trying to make it *too* normal, use a separate two stroke oil system and stipulate new seals/rebuild as part of the service schedule every 50k or so and while less "normal" it would have been far more understandable rather than the "lottery" of does it need a rebuild or not that we have now.
But all that aside, they're not a car that likes to be babied, carbon build up is bad. A beep a day keeps the mechanic away!
Whenever I drove ours I would always *intend* on being sensible but every time....BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
In the UK, they sold an utter f
kton of them. Last I looked it was something like more RX-8's sold than S2000's, 350Z's and GT86's combined. ...but then VED went through the roof, fuel went through the roof and there were a *LOT* of them on the market so they became cheap and then weren't treated well.
The engine issues are IMO overegged by many but there is no doubt they are higher maintenance than more mundane piston engines. They're basically a two-stroke, with all that entails. Buy a two-stroke bike and it's new piston and rings every 10k, new barrels every 30k etc. It's the price you pay for the high power to weight and small size. No different to the RX-8.
I think personally that Mazda screwed things up by trying to make it *too* normal, use a separate two stroke oil system and stipulate new seals/rebuild as part of the service schedule every 50k or so and while less "normal" it would have been far more understandable rather than the "lottery" of does it need a rebuild or not that we have now.
But all that aside, they're not a car that likes to be babied, carbon build up is bad. A beep a day keeps the mechanic away!
Whenever I drove ours I would always *intend* on being sensible but every time....BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
I've spend the best part of the morning giving the RX8 a good wash. No detail, but just getting out all the dirt with a small, soft brush and quick rince and wash for the whole car.
I've also replaced the rear boot struts. The original ones were a bit tatty and every time I closed the boot you could feel nothing was 'supporting' it.
It's a small and cheap fix, but it's always nice to do these trouble-free jobs on cars.
I've also replaced the rear boot struts. The original ones were a bit tatty and every time I closed the boot you could feel nothing was 'supporting' it.
It's a small and cheap fix, but it's always nice to do these trouble-free jobs on cars.
I'm going trough the pile of spare parts I'd bought the last two years. I hope I'm not the only one who buys stuff, just for it to gather dust in the garage for a few months before installing them on the car...
Still packed in the box in which they were sent to me from the UK was a set of good taiilights. I've taken some pictures from the old ones sitting on the car. They were in a very sorry state. Corrosion on the reflectors, holes drilled into them to let water out etc. Esp. the one on the left was in bad shape. The camera makes them look less shabby.
'New to me' pair:
Pair of seals from the bay of fleas:
You need to remove both trunk liners to have access to the connectors (4 on each side).
I was expecting more dirt TBH.
All clean:
Final result:
This took me about an hour, including getting the old gasket from the taillights off. Will get some clearer pictures.
Still packed in the box in which they were sent to me from the UK was a set of good taiilights. I've taken some pictures from the old ones sitting on the car. They were in a very sorry state. Corrosion on the reflectors, holes drilled into them to let water out etc. Esp. the one on the left was in bad shape. The camera makes them look less shabby.
'New to me' pair:
Pair of seals from the bay of fleas:
You need to remove both trunk liners to have access to the connectors (4 on each side).
I was expecting more dirt TBH.
All clean:
Final result:
This took me about an hour, including getting the old gasket from the taillights off. Will get some clearer pictures.
Two weeks ago (just after replacing the rear spindles) I took the car for a spin. After getting the engine up to temperature, I took it for my usual blast down the highway to hit redline a few times. In my excitement of getting the car back on the road, I kept revs quite high (7K) for a bit longer but I was greeted with what seemed like loss of power, some misfires and a flashing check engine light.
Shifted from 3rd to 5th to get the revs down and drove the car home. You could hear it was misfiring at idle. Took my OBD-scanner and it had a misfire on the second rotor. After letting the car cool down, the misfire was still there and I did not drive it again.
So, I ordered new coils and leads (the plugs are 3000 miles old, but I might replace them in the future). Replaced everything today and noticed there was oil in the inlet tube and around the MAF. Cleaned everything out and took the car for a spin down the same route.
The rusty nuts bothered me, so changed them out.
And the new coils:
The initial idle was smooth and the car felt good. On the last highway stretch, I kept revs high again. At first it behaved correctly, but after the third time, I could clearly feel 'a hiccup' and some black smoke. Not as major as the last time and no CEL. When shifting trough the gears and redlining shortly, there are no problems. My guess is that the car suffers from 'oil burps' and this has caused the problems. So, a catchcan it is. Altough once again it's something that will require some time and money, at least now I know the cause of the issue.
Shifted from 3rd to 5th to get the revs down and drove the car home. You could hear it was misfiring at idle. Took my OBD-scanner and it had a misfire on the second rotor. After letting the car cool down, the misfire was still there and I did not drive it again.
So, I ordered new coils and leads (the plugs are 3000 miles old, but I might replace them in the future). Replaced everything today and noticed there was oil in the inlet tube and around the MAF. Cleaned everything out and took the car for a spin down the same route.
The rusty nuts bothered me, so changed them out.
And the new coils:
The initial idle was smooth and the car felt good. On the last highway stretch, I kept revs high again. At first it behaved correctly, but after the third time, I could clearly feel 'a hiccup' and some black smoke. Not as major as the last time and no CEL. When shifting trough the gears and redlining shortly, there are no problems. My guess is that the car suffers from 'oil burps' and this has caused the problems. So, a catchcan it is. Altough once again it's something that will require some time and money, at least now I know the cause of the issue.
I finally took the car for an alignment. The drive home confirmed just how bad the alignment was before. The rear was out of whack ever since I changed the control arms. The front needed some adjusting.
Sadly, the nut on the front left track arm was seized which made it impossible for the guy at the shop to finish the alignment. He also showed me the outer balljoints were leaking grease so they would need replacement anyway. We agreed that I would change the parts (which I prefer - I really don't like other people working on my cars unless there's no other option) and that I would go back once it's done.
To my surprise, he told me I'd only have to pay for the work once it's all done.
Sadly, the nut on the front left track arm was seized which made it impossible for the guy at the shop to finish the alignment. He also showed me the outer balljoints were leaking grease so they would need replacement anyway. We agreed that I would change the parts (which I prefer - I really don't like other people working on my cars unless there's no other option) and that I would go back once it's done.
To my surprise, he told me I'd only have to pay for the work once it's all done.
Two weeks ago I took the car to the shop to have the aligment done. The LHS steering knuckle was damaged and the locking nut was seized solid onto the inner tierod. So I ordered a pair of new inner and outer tierods and replaced the lot today. It's quite a straightforward job and the most fiddly part is reinstalling the locking washer and inner clamp (around the steering rack).
The other balljoing was leaking even more:
Ready to go on:
Can you tell which nut was seized solid?
Cheers
The other balljoing was leaking even more:
Ready to go on:
Can you tell which nut was seized solid?
Cheers
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