Comments on: 2008 Mazda RX-8 GT review

By: Rex

Rex — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 08:03:50 +0000

I’ve owned quite a few sports cars in my time and the RX8 is the best car I’ve ever owned. Anyone who thinks it isn’t fast enough has real problems with reality. I sat at 180 on a country road in NSW and it just sat firm on the raod all the way – it wanted more. The handling is fantastic, especially the steering. So I can understand people saying that it doesn’t have a V8, but so what? As for realiability I’ve never had a problem – and that includes oil petrol and everything in between.

By: whereisv

whereisv — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 13:03:58 +0000

I have had a Rx8 for a couple of years now. Absolutely wonderful car to drive. The only draw back is that if you are using for city driving then the car is very very very thirsty… The rotary oil every 2K you drive also gets rather expensive.
The CD player also is prone to konking out rather easily (especially if you use burnt CDs) and there is an issue with engine mounts, I think this issue is resolved in the newer models. However for the price I would compare the drive against a Z4 and its a lot lot cheaper

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:02:31 +0000

Just bought an RX8 a month ago and its the best car I’ve driven. The more you drive this car the more you love it. Its just wants the revs and corners like no other thing on the road and its fun. The Mazda finish is great so to all those sceptics – get a drive in one and enjoy.

By: DanMan

DanMan — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:57:57 +0000

‘3/ emissions would not pass euro 5′
This is still true… and the real deal killer for mazda.

Yes but the thermal load under bonnet would still cause issue’s…

Yeah my bad. I only sold 18 of these in my career with mazda (GP mazda and Centenary mazda in Brisbane) and had a Winning blue RX8 for 2 months with a nice HYMEE exhaust system which i drove down to Kingsgrove in Sydney in to tour the head office and meet Allan Horsley and chat about all things petrol…

I DONT talk about things unless i am aware of ALL the facts. Amazing yes, but i actually am a jack of a few trades… and a master of same…

By: Revolver

Revolver — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:06:44 +0000

DanMan said as follows:

Oh yeah a turbo.. nice to see some garage engineers here.
1/ the bonnet would melt (it has ’shock cones’)
2/ fuel consumption would change from bad to terrible
3/oil consumption would go to 2 litres per thousand klms
3/ emissions would not pass euro 5
4/ price (and insurance) would surpass evo money..
Mazda aust made one in kingsgrove sydney. Mazspeed head office. Hiroshima laughed…

Well Danny, I’d suggest before slagging off others you acquire some knowledge of your own. I know of quite a few turboed RX8s and to answer your assumptions:

1/ Um, no – although some fit a vented bonnet, plenty have retained the stock bonnet with no heat damage, including track use.
2/ Funnily enough, some haven’t noticed any change in fuel consumption in regular driving. And despite reports to the contrary, even stock this car is only marginally thirstier than other cars with similar performance (unless you pay megabucks for Porsche technology, etc).
3/ The oil consumption remains pretty constant and is no trouble for those of us who don’t mind checking our car’s fluid levels regularly. After a while, it just becomes a habit and isn’t expensive. I use about 250mls per 1000kms.
3/ All the turbos I am aware of have been engineered and registered for street use. Go cry to the greenies about anything else.
4/ Pretty much line ball with Evo money and for that you get a car which is much more liveable day to day and ten times better looking, not too mention better interior quality…the Evo does one thing well, the RX8 does many.

As for the Mazda Aust version, they had their own reasons for doing it but couldn’t mount a strong enough business case in Australia’s small market. Happens to a lot of skunkwork cars. Doesn’t mean it can’t work.

Short answer to others – don’t write this car off if you haven’t driven one. 10 minute test drives in suburbia also don’t give too much away about it’s strengths. And does anyone still believe 0-100km/h straight line times are the last word on performance? That’s fine for bogans talking about HSV’s/FPV’s in the local pub but enthusiast drivers look for a whole lot more than that when it comes to choosing a car…

By: ASH8

ASH8 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 02:52:47 +0000

Rotaries are designed and meant to use a little engine oil, that will NEVER change, it is not a fault of the car or engine.

“ALL Show and No GO”???UHH…
Top Gear UK had a 2004 RX-8 time their track in 1 min 31.08sec, the same as a BMW M3, Nissan 350Z, Holden V8 Monaro.
Yes, it is not blisteringly fast in a straight line,BUT, it out handles every car in its price range and better than many so called exotics.

The RX-8 has a Brilliant RWD chassis, and is value for money, even today (2008) there is still not a sports car that comes close to it with features and OVERALL performance.

BTW, You will never see a factory Turbo rotary again, just remember the extra $6000.00 it would add onto the price.
The 13B RENESIS is only 28HP down on the last 13B REW RX-7 twin turbo.
If the RX-8 was 200 kilo’s lighter it would be the fasted twin rotor made by Mazda.

By: G Easton

G Easton — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 18:42:59 +0000

^^ Fenno is right on the money. I didnt even consider an RX8 b/c of the low tourqe rating of 160lb/ft, I mean that seemed low like a Honda S2000 with its 138lb/ft. But you know what once the tires stop spinning and you are moving it is horsepower that takes over and moves you down the road. Back to the Honda, Yes it revs to 8000rpm but as a piston engine it sounds like its going to implode at those rpms and takes longer to rev up past 7k than the rotary. The rotary is so smooth it feels the same at 3000rpms as it does at 9000rpms its just louder, it only has 3 moving parts after all. At 5.9 sec to 60 and a 14.2-14.4 in the 1/4 mi. this car is not slow and once you hit a turn this car leaves everything in its price range. I also drove the Nissan 350Z w/ a S2000 but niether had the combination of handling, ride, interior quality, exterior style, and overall smiles per mile the RX has. The 350 has no sunroof, the S2000 no hardtop and niether has rear seats and both cars hurt my kidneys over large bumps. I can live with the extra second it takes me to get to 60mph vs. alot of other cars but would find it harder to live with the day to day trade-offs and shortcomings of any other car in its class when it comes to refinement, handling, interior and exterior looks. There is nothing else like the RX out there, hats off to Mazda.

By: Fenno

Fenno — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:33:27 +0000

As an owner of an’04 RX8 I would say this to you people out there that knock this car – Morons.
My 04 gets me looks everywhere I go. I dont feel like a bogan (as one does in an import) in it, nor a pretentious brand owner(euro dross). It handles better than anything I have driven under 100k (and that’s a fair bit in my line of work) but is not a car that relies on it’s 0-100 or 1/4 mile times to achieve the result. It’s the whole package. For those who complain about the lack of torque…buy a V8. I’ve never been left feeling like it needs more power (on the road or the track) as the balance is perfect and believe me, if you saw me in your taillights on a twisty road, you wont be getting away in anything too quickly.
I have driven a turbo’d version, a supercharged version and a ecu tuned version and can say that turbo’d RX8 is unbalanced, a supercharged version or an ecu re-write is a much better proposition.
It’s a different car to drive than what most people expect and doesnt reward hamfisted WRX/HSV drivers in any way whatsoever.
The funny thing is that half of the afore-mentioned ‘knockers’ of this car have never even driven one.
So please…stick to your Excel’s with WRX bonnet scoops or SV6’s with the badges removed.

By: yamum

yamum — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:06:02 +0000

They should have put some racing inspired trims on the inside such as Carbon Fibre. and why not a fake rollcage in the back like 2 carbon fibre bars behind the back seats ?

like the Porsche GT3RS !

By: Falcodore

Falcodore — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:34:48 +0000

Mazda are using the rotary for their hydrogen fuel trials because they’ve found its better than a piston engine, hardly redundant technology.

By: Nemesis

Nemesis — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:21:25 +0000

The reason others haven’t followed was the apex seal problem. Nothing to do with thermal efficiency. Go back to your dinosaur-age piston engine and don’t knock the rotary engine, which is the only new engine of the 20th century!!!

(yes I’m a die hard rotary fan and will gladly beat you and your piston engined car any time!! see you at the track!!)

By: DanMan

DanMan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:04:57 +0000

Well why is lubrication such a problem? Thats like saying death is caused by a lack of oxygen.. Yes Chatter marks are a problem but the biggie is thermal efficency.. Everything leads on from there. Basically there are more advantages to pistons, more of the time, for most people…
there is a reason why no one else has followed..

By: riceboy

riceboy — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 05:13:20 +0000

good on Mazda for sticking with something unique…

By: GTRmon

GTRmon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:06:44 +0000

I like this car, but have always found it a disappointment following on the heels of the RX-7. The RX-7 was and still is an awesome car. The RX-8 is too “real estate agent” to be a hard out sports car.

DanMan, I wouldn’t say rotaries are a dead end technology wise. Extremely light and small package with high power outputs. Main problem they’ve always faced is one of lubrication.

By: Fabio Caris

Fabio Caris — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:08:08 +0000

Forget the turbo idea, just add another rotor and make it a 3 rotor!! Imagine a 20B Renesis!! More power, more torque and not as much more fuel consumption as a turbo version!! Plus it would sound so much better… Just listen to any http://www.pacperformance.com.au street or drag car with a 20B 3rotor engine!!

By: Gift-Ed

Gift-Ed — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:30:34 +0000

Pious – they use heaps of oil to begin with, but less as they bed in.

By: pious

pious — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:41:35 +0000

one of the boys at work has one bought new last year – looks sweet, but we give him heaps that he has to change gears 5 times to get to 100 in 6.5 secs. What surprised us all is that the rotaries chew oil like anything – about a litre every 4 tanks of petrol, and that is for a brand new car.

By: DanMan

DanMan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:33:24 +0000

By: DanMan

DanMan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:28:13 +0000

Yes a nice car. had one for two weeks in 05. funny how the engine was the weakest link. A ‘normal’ two litre turbo would be sooo much better. the roatary is a dead end technology. I used a tank of fuel in 350 klms… thats pretty bad. and the performance was falcon like… good but when a car looks fast it should be.. plus i would need a new engine at 60,000 klm. I worked at a massive mazda dealership in Brisbane, not going to mention there name.. but they were lucky to sell one a month…

By: Stevo the Devo

Stevo the Devo — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:11:48 +0000

I remember as a teenager going for a ride in a mates RX-2. Top speed 200kph came up in about half an hour just before the fuel ran out. With skinny 13″ tyres and dodgy handling it’s a miracle we’re still alive today.