So I just drove an 89,000mi RX8

"CallMeTURBO" (callmeturbo) 05/20/2015 at 13:14 • Filed to: Mazda RX8

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... And was terrified the entire time, review after the jump.

It was my friends car which he has had for a few years now. I did him a favor recently and he asked me if I wanted to drive it today. The picture looks similar to his, however his is red and due to a busted iphone cam, I couldn’t get a decent shot.

Of course I did, when was I going to get another chance to try my first rotary and also drive a car that will probably become a unicorn due to their tendency to grenade? So even though 89,000 miles is pretty close to 100,000, and these cars engines are known to grenade suddenly at or around that milestone, I proceeded to go ahead with the drive. I do not regret it.

The rotary engine was disarmingly smooth and responsive. It took me a little while to get used to the immediate throttle response and how quickly it would spin up, so I was a little bit jerky in acceleration and gear change for the first few minutes. It got better with time but I still had to be very ginger with my inputs to drive smoothly.

I was being nice and gentle, worried about the engine, and enjoying the handling at lower speeds around town, flirting with 6000 rpms occasionally when he encouraged me to check out the shift light feature. I asked if he was sure and he told me these cars love to rev, go for it. I’m not one to ever turn down such an opportunity so I happily obliged him.

Holy crap. I never really understood what was so drawing about these rotary engines. I had always assumed the rx-8 would be the same as the AP1 s2000 I drove a few years ago. This motor was a completely different beast, once I passed 5500 at full throttle and kept my foot planted it just spun and spun, like it was willing to rev up smoother and quicker the harder you were with it. And once I heard the beep for the redline, it was time to shift, even though the engine felt like it would happily keep spinning until it took flight. This is contrasted with the s2000, you knew it would happily rev to 9000 all day, but you could tell there was a limit eventually, and 9000 or a little before was a wise time to shift.

Pros: Very well balanced, responsive engine, RWD, 9000 redline, short notchy shifter, low clutch engagement, nicely weighted clutch with a great feel for the engagement point, lots of grip, great visibility and seating position.

Cons: That engine grenade, it kinda sounds like a vacuum cleaner at anything under 3000, I’m only 5’11” but it still felt really small inside, wasn’t a huge fan of the button placement as it was all tucked far toward the dash behind the wheel, needs revs to make power- felt kinda lifeless under 4000, Pedal placement- the brake pedal was too far away from the gas pedal for quick heel-toe action.

While some of those pros are also cons, the inherent compromises are what make sports cars enjoyable to us. I love the high revving nature of it, but that also detracts from the low speed enjoyment. I had great visibility and the seats felt nice because my head was near the roof, it felt really cramped inside. If I were much taller (or weighed more than 130 pounds- I’m a slender guy) I’m not sure much I would have liked it over an extended period (larger statured owners feel free to chime in).

All in all, I had a blast driving it and I did not blow up the engine. However, if it were to come down to it, I would probably have the s2000 over it even though the s2k is down 2 seats. I much prefer the focused ergonomic cockpit of the s2000, also in a car that loves to rev that much I prefer the reliability aspect of the s2000. I don’t know if I would be able to handle driving a time bomb every day, and thats coming from someone who is completely okay with spending most of my free time working on the various failures of my e36.

Feel free to leave me any questions or comments below, I’m just spending the day studying for my LSATs, so I welcome the distractions. I also appreciate tips, I haven’t done much non-academic writing and I’m not sure about how to write casually and still come off readable.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:19

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The funny thing is, the S2000 has more torque and horsepower. lololololol

Milky > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:19

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Unintended pro: when engine does blow, 3-4 rotor time!

CallMeTURBO > Milky 05/20/2015 at 13:20

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That sounds like the devils flatulence in the best possible way

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Milky 05/20/2015 at 13:21

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There’s one in my area with no engine for $2500OBO.

Wheelerguy > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:23

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But no S2K has suicide doors.

Milky > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/20/2015 at 13:25

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When I have the time/money for a project I’m going to be looking for something exactly like that. I want one. Almost bought a RX8, but it would have been a bad only car with a college budget.

Milky > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:25

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Haha, very accurate description.

Nobi > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:32

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I’m sure the spinning dorito fans will vouch for this, but as with other vehicles and their quirks, I’m sure if you fix it enough times, it’s not so bad.

CallMeTURBO > Nobi 05/20/2015 at 13:42

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I believe that holds true for most rotaries but I was under the assumption that the design of these engines make them a pain to fix and no less prone to failure. Theres no peripheral exhaust port for the broken apex seal to get blown out of so the bits of the seal bounce around and damage the closing edge and iron housing of the engine damaging like half of the major parts in the engine. Older rotaries would just blow the seal out and only damage the rotor and rotor housing, which is apparently an easier fix. but i’m not an expert so don’t quote me on it

chaozbandit > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 13:50

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BUT IT SHOOTS FIRE.

CallMeTURBO > chaozbandit 05/20/2015 at 13:54

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is that only when its breaking or all the time?

chaozbandit > CallMeTURBO 05/20/2015 at 14:00

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Nah thats whenever he revved it to near redline and when everything was up to temp - basically on most upshifts and downshifts; the other RX8 present shot flames as well but less frequently and of a smaller degree, so I guess it depends on how worn the rotors and exhaust are.

Cé hé sin > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/20/2015 at 14:08

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Yes, there are RX8s with dead engines everywhere!

CallMeTURBO > chaozbandit 05/20/2015 at 14:36

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haha cool, I was mostly joking about the blown engine part, I’m assuming its blown out of proportion a little bit. But thats pretty awesome, I got to run this one up to redline a few times before I realized that I was doing prison/license suspension worthy speeds. Wish I had a camera on the back to see if it farted flames though