Mazda RX8 Review


Thread Starter #1
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Hi All,

I test driven My friend's Mazda RX8 but forgot to review it

My Friend bought a Mazda Rx8 in black. Completely Stock, no modifications what so ever.

About the Car - Features and what is included
-Car comes with Black Interior and Black Leather Trim with Orange/Red interior lights for the dash.
- 18" Alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli rubber from Factory ( Japan Import)
- Sunroof
- Bose Audio System
- Suicide / Butterfly doors
- 4 Seat 4 door car ( but it seems to be a coupe)
- Projector headlamps and fog lamps
- Dual factory exhausts
- Altezza rear lights

Spec sheet attached in the image.


Review:

Unlike most of the sports cars, this car has always left a different impression in people's mind.
As a Japanese car enthusiast myself, I don't expect any luxury rides in any sports cars. However, this particular model of RX series is comfortable then its previous generation RX7. The car has a very smooth ride. You still get the feeling of being in a sporty car when you look at the view. This car sits pretty low. The 6 speed manual transmission has a small shifter that keeps reminding you that it is a sports car. The car has a beautifully designed interior and comes with handheld controls on the steering wheel. Airbags for the safety. Despite of the compact size it still accommodates 4 people.

The ride in RX8 is not as bumpy as you would think for a lowered sports car. This car had a really good grip with the rubber and stock suspension did not miss a beat.

Engine wise I can say without any doubt that it red lines with NA engine.
0-100KMPH run is quiet impressive which lies just under 6 seconds. The car pulls right away in 2nd and 3rd gear . I have taken the car in second gear upto 90 and 3rd over 100. Faster acceleration means we need some sort of braking too ? Right ?
Well RX8 has some serious braking, the car stood still after applying brakes at 100kmph with a very little stopping distance.
Not to forget, this car has a very small (Rotary )engine weight distributed making it have more power to weight ratios.
So these were the good things , lets move on to the bad things.

1. Mazda RX8 comes with a Rotary Engine. Every 100K kms the engine needs major fixes. This includes changing valves and small components that moves twice has hard as normal engines due to a rotary engine. Hence More Money to Fix
2. Expensive parts
3. The car is much lower however the engine setup is bit odd that they had to let the drive train go all the way from inside the cabin to rear wheels. You can see a big bump in the interior that separates the compartment.
4. Fuel Economy on these 2 cylinder cars are worst. These are weekend cars because you wouldn't afford to drive it everyday . It takes over 14 litres for 100 Kilometers when driven with care.

I still think this is an awesome car to own for a bit.
I'd let you decide on what your thoughts are.

Feel free to ask any questions
 

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350Z

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If there is a car I'd prefer to pick after 350Z, this is it. You're lucky to be able to lay hand over these beautiful machines being in Aussie. The thirsty rotary engine is only major issue I have often heard often about the RX8. How about uploading a few more snaps?

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #3
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I would still prefer a Fairlady z (350/370) over RX8 .. and I'll still stick to twin turbo RX7

Yeah sure I'll upload more photos of it if I can find some. We took it to Temple when my mate bought it and took few photos there.

Will update soon
 
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Lovely car it is. One of my friends here has the same car in a dark grey colour though back in America and even though he has a lot of sports cars in his garage, he still swears by the RX8.
 
Thread Starter #6
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This guy Jatin bought this car back then for $28000 and car was imported from japan by the dealer.
he is the first owner in Australia

prices of these RX8 has dropped significantly after the last batch of Spirit R series RX8 . You can now buy one in Australia for around $12000

however its last generation RX7 has high stakes till today and they go for $19000+

I've driven better cars then RX8s
 

350Z

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prices of these RX8 has dropped significantly after the last batch of Spirit R series RX8 . You can now buy one in Australia for around $12000
That is quite affordable. These cars are still selling for a massive premium in India regardless of their condition. This link has some of the prices for reference.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
Thread Starter #9
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That is quite affordable. These cars are still selling for a massive premium in India regardless of their condition. This link has some of the prices for reference.

Drive Safe,
350Z
Holy smokes ! 30 lacs
not even worth it mate

30 lacs roughly $50,000 and I can certainly buy BNR34 ( means R34 GTR)
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR V-Spec - Genuine and Clean | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Casey Area - Narre Warren | 1038939569

Now thats what you call GODZILLA!
Skyline any day over any of these cars anytime

Reasons for me preferring a skyline isn't because am a skyline fan boy or I get commission from Nissan

Its because:
-RB engines are easy to work with
-Aftermarket parts available from different manufacturers
-Lots of information on the internet
-RB has a potential of producing 400 horse power on Stock Internals
-R34 turbo can be boosted upto 14 psi
- Different engine managements tested and implemented

Compared to RX8 with not many mods available, expensive to maintain and very poor engine performance .

Rotary engines are not reliable [:)]

Skyline does 100km is around 10 Litres normally and RX8 does 100 km in 13.1 Litres of fuel
 
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Nice review for a nice car, but a bit too brief though. More pics please :)
Skyline over everything else [cheers] anyday...

Someone do a skyline review please.
 

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