2011 Mazda RX-8 R3: 2 months after purchase

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
11,956
Location
PA
So, a couple of months back, I bought this baby:

20140529_145442_zpsdd0c6a0f.jpg


Sorry for the parking lot junk. I still don't have any decently posed pics.

Either way, I had been meaning to post a thread about it for a while, but never got around to it. Then, MCompact asked about my new (to me) car, so I figured it was about time.
smile.gif


As a preface, this wasn’t an ordinary car purchase for me. It was more than just a good deal on a cool car. I’m deeply invested in this car philosophically and have been for a long time. So, while I generally do my best to account for bias, please take the overwhelmingly positive parts of this review with a grain of salt.

I feel like I should stress that this car is NOT for everyone. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Fuel economy is laughably bad. Engine sounds are weird, grating, and dissonant (though I find them strangely fun somehow). Refinement is lacking. Rear seat room is nothing special. Interior rattles started showing up at 22k miles. The trunk is a bit small and severely compromised by the tiny trunk opening. You have to check and top off the oil constantly. The engine needs to spend as much time as possible in the TOP half of the 9,000 RPM rev range. And then there’s the specter of premature rotary engine failure; this is a Series 2 (2009+) car, so it has a host of reliability-related modifications, but so few Series 2 cars have been produced that there’s no real data on whether those modifications have worked. Finally, the R3 trim adds some whoppers: race-ready seats with zero lower back support (ouch!), and ride quality that is very firm and doesn’t smooth out much at highway speeds.

There are shortcomings compared to other sports cars, too. Oh boy is this car gutless in a straight line, especially at low speeds. Forget sporty sedans; unladen minivans will beat it from 0-40 or so. Going fast requires real work, mostly in the form of gearshifts and careful planning. Steering feel isn’t terrible and beats most other electrically assisted competitors, but it isn’t great either; it loads up very nicely, but there’s little to no information about the road surface.

In all honesty, for 99% of people, a BMW 128i is just a better car. What it sacrifices in capability and handling would rarely be noticed; what it gains in ease and comfort would be noticed at all times.

So, with all that on the table, here’s my verdict in a nutshell: I’m deliriously happy with my RX-8 R3. Every day leaves me more convinced that I made the right call. There are two main reasons and a bunch of secondary reasons.

The first main reason is the handling. I’m not just talking numbers; I’m talking precision, balance, and driver involvement. If you look across the entire automotive landscape for cars with similar or better back seats compared to the RX-8, you’ll find exactly one that handles similarly well in stock form, and that’s the BMW 1M. Nothing else at ANY price compares unless it has smaller back seats or no back seats at all. It’s that simple.

The second main reason is what the RX-8 represents in the current automotive landscape. Most cars are focused on typical car buyer priorities: ease, comfort, and economy. The RX-8 makes huge compromises in those departments, but it makes them in favor of the kind of responsiveness that really makes driving rewarding. The engine is the best example: massive fuel consumption and tons of heat, but compact dimensions and low mass. Anything bigger or heavier would have hurt the handling. Other cars are built much more sensibly, and end up eminently boring as a result. The RX-8 is about as entertaining as it gets, at least for the price. I genuinely believe that everyone would be better off if more people demanded less ease and more involvement from their cars. Owning and driving this car is one way in which I make that statement.

On a related point: Most sports cars are fast, but don’t feel fast; the RX-8 feels fast, but isn’t really. I think that’s perfectly sensible for a street car.

One fringe benefit is that the RX-8 R3 seems to be a great way to nip my modding tendencies in the bud. The chassis is so good and so well set-up that I would feel horrible modifying the suspension, and the engine isn’t worth modifying because it simply doesn’t respond to power mods.
lol.gif


The particular car I bought came from Florida with low miles (just over 21k at purchase) and LOTS of warranty left. It hit the road in late 2011, so I still have time on the bumper-to-bumper warranty. It has Mazda’s CPO powertrain warranty, which has me covered for another few years. And on top of that, all RX-8s carry an 8-year/100,000 mile warranty on the engine. I’m not aware of anything this fun at this price that would carry such good warranty coverage. Moreover, because of its newness, this car stands a good chance of being LESS troublesome to own over the next few years than most of my alternatives at the same price (e.g. BMW 128i).

Coming back to the disadvantages for a moment: Some of them are worse than I had expected (e.g. fuel economy), but most are the kinds of things that I either don’t care about or positively enjoy. I always check oil and drive in the top half of the tach anyway, so the fact that this car requires me to do those things isn’t really a problem. Everything else, I can work around.

There's more to it than that, but really what it comes down to is that I LOVE driving it and can't imagine driving anything else, at least for now. It's that good. If anyone has more specific questions, I'm happy to answer.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Very nice review.

What happened to your M3?

Thanks!

The M3's head gasket finally failed. 209k miles, none of them easy. I wasn't about to rip open an engine with that long and that harsh a history only to replace one item, so the only sensible repair was to swap in a lower-mileage engine or do a rebuild -- and then I still would have been left with a 209k mile car. Instead, the money for the repairs plus the proceeds from selling the car became my downpayment on the RX-8; the M3's monthly running costs became the RX-8's monthly payments. The RX-8 still represents an increase in cost-to-own with fuel and maintenance factored in, but not by much -- and it's a HUGE increase in peace of mind and fun.
 
Originally Posted By: splinter
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
The first main reason is the handling...
Yup!

Its raison d'être.
smile.gif


Always a pleasure to meet someone who gets it.
cheers3.gif
 
Nice review. I love an engine that spins up. The concept of "low end torque" doesn't have any appeal to me. I'd probably like your RX-8 also.
 
Beautiful car! LOVE the red! I love the way RX8`s drive and feel,VERY precision and impeccably engineered.
 
Originally Posted By: heynow
Great review.
So just how bad is the fuel mileage?

EPA rating is 16/22. With my driving, I'm lucky if I get 15 on mixed roads 19 on the highway. Some of that may be early-ownership enthusiasm; we'll see where it levels off in a few months.

Of note: My 1996 M3 had a fuel economy gauge and a way to show fuel consumption per hour on the onboard computer; this car is from 2011 and has absolutely nothing that indicates fuel consumption.
lol.gif


In all seriousness, the MPG issue does bother me. It's annoying and costly, not to mention morally questionable. The only thing that makes me feel (slightly) better is that I walk or take public transit at every opportunity.
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Nice review. I love an engine that spins up. The concept of "low end torque" doesn't have any appeal to me. I'd probably like your RX-8 also.


Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Beautiful car! LOVE the red! I love the way RX8`s drive and feel,VERY precision and impeccably engineered.

Cheers, guys.
cheers3.gif


I originally wanted the blue, but Velocity Red was the only color for the R3 trim level in MY2011. It grew on me fast, though! I have a hard time imagining it in any other color now. Maybe it's true that driving a red car does something to a person...
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Great looking car, I have been looking for a car for a toy for the wife and I to drive.

I wonder if my 6'5'' 240lb body would fit in it well.

Depends how exactly you're built.

I'm 6'3" 190 and the bolsters are a bit close on the sides; if I were much wider around the midsection, it'd be a very tight fit. My shoulders are borderline too wide for the top of the seat. I do have a bit of headroom to spare even though I sit pretty upright and close to the steering wheel.

Give it a shot!
 
I was impressed looking under the hood of one.
2009-mazda-rx8_cc_013-2881.jpg

Not that I'd want to work on one, but it shows what the wankel and the car is about. Low mass, down low...
 
Thanks for the update. That LM20 is becoming even more tempting. The fuel economy bothers me from a strictly financial standpoint, however- especially in light of the fact that my lightly modified Mazdaspeed 3 is making over 300 bhp and 320 lb-ft of torque AND still averages 28-30 mpg. That said, I still prefer the balance and nimbleness of a light RWD car over any FWD sled 100% of the time- if my ti had @100 more bhp it would be perfect.
 
I thought these did low 90's in the quarter? That seems "fast enough" for a "sports car".


2006 – 2011

RX-8 (AT)
0-60: 6.2 sec
1/4 mile: 14.8 sec
Engine: Rotary Engine – Twin Turbocharged 1.3 L
HP: 212 hp @ 7500 rpm
Torque: 159 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
RWD
6-Speed AT
Fuel Economy: 16/23 mpg
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I thought these did low 90's in the quarter? That seems "fast enough" for a "sports car".


2006 – 2011

RX-8 (AT)
0-60: 6.2 sec
1/4 mile: 14.8 sec
Engine: Rotary Engine – Twin Turbocharged 1.3 L
HP: 212 hp @ 7500 rpm
Torque: 159 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
RWD
6-Speed AT
Fuel Economy: 16/23 mpg


Since when did the rx-8 have turbos?
 
op, I am jealous but you made good decision,

I had 2 rx-7s few things you should save for later:

1. Cooling is the single most important thing,
2. Oil cooler cools a fair amount - so change oil often and use good brand oil
3. add a good brand 2 cycle to gas, I used 4 to 14 oz per fill, 14 for a 18 gal fill. Amsoil syn 2 cycle for me.
4. after driving spirited, let the car idle to cool the stuff down just like a turbo.
5. take it easy till the oil warms up.
6. Don't mod the airbox or any thing please, mazda did them the way it is for a reason.
7. It is not if the oil metering pump will fail, it is a question of when, so adding 2-cycle is the way to go and a little blue exhaust does not hurt anything :)
 
This is how I feel about my 1995 Miata. I fell in love with the way this car FEELS. I've never felt a more positive connection to the road in any other car.
 
You must love your kids way too much to insist upon reasonable back seat in your sports car :)

Seriously, what is the reason for NOT considering 2-seat sports car in the same price bracket? I am assuming this is your toy car and not exactly a family hauler.
 
Originally Posted By: stockrex
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
I thought these did low 90's in the quarter? That seems "fast enough" for a "sports car".


2006 – 2011

RX-8 (AT)
0-60: 6.2 sec
1/4 mile: 14.8 sec
Engine: Rotary Engine – Twin Turbocharged 1.3 L
HP: 212 hp @ 7500 rpm
Torque: 159 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm
RWD
6-Speed AT
Fuel Economy: 16/23 mpg


Since when did the rx-8 have turbos?

I didn't see that - that's the previous platform/ engine description.

1593_main_f.jpg
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top