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I own a 2008 40th Anniversary Edition RX8 (only 1000 made like this in the world) . I bought it new in 2008 and now it is insured as a Classic Car for 150% of what I bought it for new in 2008, full value, no depreciation. I have owned seven rotary Mazdas since the 70's; one RX3, two RX4, all three generations of the RX7 with two of those RX7 modified by Racing Beat for the track. I easily have over a million rotary miles on street and track . Yes I have upgraded and improved my RX8, cooling modifications with Koyo-Rad radiator, Pettit Racing closed system, Racing Beat hoses, low temp thermostat, oil cooler low temp thermostats , low temp fan control, upgraded water pump, ; Mazdaspeed CAI, high performance BHR ignition coils and wires, upgraded starter, performance Cat and mid-pipe from Rotary Performance, BHR clutch pedal assembly, Series Two fuel pump upgrade, new clutch and engine (from Mazda warranty, no cost to me) and a few other things. I will be keeping my 40th Anniversary Edition RX8 forever. Wish I could have kept them all. Nothing drives like a rotary. Cheers and Thanks
@@Haze3815 in USA 40th Anniversary Edition special trim and color, only 1000 were made like this in the world. everyone knows that. Other trims and colors were made for other countries. The rest of the world is were the other 1000 copies you are speaking of were made for. Know the facts. Cheers
Finally a review of the rx8 where it's not being shit on, people sleep on the rx8 "it doesn't live up to the rx7" but it does in it own way. I love my rx8 every ride is a fun enjoyable ride and their super easy to work on
Test drove one of these when they came out. 9000rpm and smooth all the way. It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the experience. Still have the exhaust note burned into my memory.
Back in the mid 2000’s a good friend was a general manager of a Mazda dealership. He send to organize lapping days at Shannonville for RX8 owners. I was one of the instructors for those days and drove a lot of RX8s. I grew to live driving those cars. You definitely had to keep the revs up for maximum speed but when you got it right it was magic! Thanks for this video it brought back memories and many smiles.
I learned only recently that the RX-8 had full electric steering. The steering calibration they managed and back in the early 2000's no less was really remarkable. Other sportscars using electric steering can take a lesson from this car.
@@ciello___8307you dont know what you are talking about mate. I refurbish the racks its a full electric Showa unit the screw type. They often steer one way heavier than the other and its one of two reasons. The overflow pipe from the expansion tank leaks onto the power steering connectors on the beam at the top of the radiator.. Or they need the large slim profile bolt head taken out of them that holds the spring onto the carbon graphite block, from there you clean it all and put it back in 180 deg so the block has a fresh edge and tighten the cap to the proper torque then judge from there how stiff you want it at low speeds. The torque sensor in the piggyback casing rarely go bad so dont remove them as they become brittle you will break the long one. Its almost always the front power steering connectors getting corroded that causes issues on this Showa unit. The S2000s unit was way worse it had bearing and seal issues as it was a cheaper made electric unit. NO RX8 ever made has had hydraulics anywhere in the steering. They are all Showa units full electric screw type units. You can even change the voltage on them to get them to feel perfect for you. The Showa electric steering unit in the RX8 can also take a hit, it doesnt care if you tramline kerbs and blow the wheel bearings and suspension clean out the front end, by design it can take untold amounts of sideways damage and capable of rapid movement. Another immense mechanical part of the RX8 is the Spring Type Torsen Diff. A cone type Torsen LSD like in s2000 or a single seater Ford Race car and all that is impressive and Mazdas Super LSD is impressive too so kudos to Mazda for having two immense LSDs.. but the RX8s is a sprung cone torsen diff that manually locks. Its one of the all time great diffirentials and is the first diff sold to the public with true mechanical torque vectoring. They even had a carbon fiber prop shaft mate made from Daiwa fishing rod spec carbon. Theres some facts for you from myself, one of the only rotary rebuilders in Scotland. Cheers
My 04 is only 61K and I bought it in '12 with 7800 miles. 1 owner, good history. Car people take care of their cars, even when they're not able to enjoy them. You should too. I drove mine daily (with a small commute), through winters in MN for almost 7 years, then stored it and drove it in the summer until I moved to TN. It's still on all original drive train. I took care of it and it runs like a dream. I drove it for an errand today. Don't doubt car enthusiasts. We know what we're doing.
Ive owned 5 total over the past 10 years. The 4 i sold are all still on the road. The engine is actually very reliable if maintained properly with oil changes every 3000 miles. Hot climate youll want to use between 5w - 10w-40 oil. Spark plugs need to be changed every 10k miles and they are quite expensive at $100 for the set. The gas milage is really bad but its still such a great handling car even today.
Great review really highlighting where the car shines! Love my 07 6spd, the chassis is amazingly rigid stock and brakes are also a highlight. Have to be careful when buying used, too many rusted/low compression ones out there. Revving to the moon is addictive!
I have always been in love with these cars. I remember considering one when they were new, and the sales person had said that my 87 Mustang would have gotten better fuel mileage.
I have a 2004 RX8 6MT Base, and I've owned it for nearly 20 years. If you change the fluids often and on time, and you are mindful of all the wear parts related to the rotary engine and its auxiliaries, this car will last forever. The RX-8 is a 2000s time capsule, and it was one of Mazda's best. I think they did the best they could to keep the rotary engine in production, along with making a comfortable sporty car. Thank you for this review.
I have owned 3 of them and all that every broke was the drivers door power window motor. Never flooded it, never broke down, and never even had CEL come on.
I still drive a 2007 RX8 5 speed, and I love it so much, after 142 000 km I just last month gave it a fabric new engine. I just can't say goodbye... ;-)
Great review! As I tell others, you need to drive a R3. They are so different, from body, interior, transmission, final gear etc. there’s not many reviews on them and it’s the best kept secret from 09-11. Thanks for the review none the less 😊
Beautiful and realistic review of this unique and brilliant car. There is nothing else like them on the road. Take heed of Brian's informative and perceptive review, don't be dissuaded by negative internet comment, do your research, and you will be immensely rewarded. (I am a former owner of a 2005, 231 RX-8, and current owner of a 2010, RX-8 R3).
Great review. I bought a 2009 really right in 2020. Bought from a friend who bought it new with only 7,103 miles on it for not much more than that 2004. It lives in a collection with a NA and NC Miata. I call it my hardtop Miata with a back seat.
I owned a 2004 model from 2006 to 2012, putting 100,000 km on it (for a total of 160,000), dumping it when the engine started to go soft. I made some mods both brilliant (subwoofer, springs/shocks/sways) and ill-advised (straight-thru exhaust). I drove it year round, schlepping everything from my drum set, to my goalie equipment, to 2 large friends back and forth from Kingston to Indianapolis for the US GP. I loved the car, being so unique and quirky and practical and fun to drive. But it was a high-speed (relatively) autocross at Picton airport where the magic of the car really shone through. No idea how you managed almost 18 mpg, though!😅
I was born in 05’ something about seeing the rx8 for the first time just hooked me, and being the last commercial rotary they made makes it even more desirable for me (besides some miata’s having rotaries) Alot of people hate the styling and the half doors, but to me it adds to the charm because their are just few cars like it. One day i will have one. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL I HAVE ONE😂 Especially if i can get an 05’ model, i dont really like the redesign they made with the newer models.
I bought a 2005 last year from a coworker. I’ve really enjoyed it, fun car to drive, the gearing is very short, fuel economy isn’t great, you should be premixing the fuel. The engine does have potential to fail, I knew this going into it and have the intention of putting a V8 into it once it fails. It’s a very niche car, but overall it’s a fantastic value.
@@tjn2254LS3 crate engine, i have the ls1rx8 mount/swap kit, I have a t56 Magnum F transmission, keisler automation 8.8 rear differential mount kit and rear axles. The rear differential has 3.73 gears and an Eaton truetrac differential. I’m planning on using a Haltech nexus r3 computer.
Great review! I've always loved the RX8 design. Test drove once, but it was so short I cohosh put it through any paces. Glad I didn't purchase because I knew nothing about the temperament of the spinning Dorito. The manual was ❤❤❤. I'm surprised I haven't seen one with a Miata's engine fitted.
Reminds me I picked up my 04 RX8 exactly 20 years ago this month. Tracked and raced it. Miss that car. Don't miss needing to downshift 3 gears for power on the freeway.
Thank you for informing people about the rear doors being not called "suicide doors". From memory, I'm pretty sure Mazda referred to them as the "Freestyle Door System" in the brochures when they were released.
Thank you for the good advice, I am picking one up this coming week, it will be my weekend fun car for date nights with the wife or cars and coffee meets with other car enthusiasts and i cant wait to go get it.
If its not a daily driver you don't have to do much. For instance I only do a service once a year and that's oil change and sparkplugs. Things get tricky when you have one as a daily driver, then it gets a little pricier. But owning one as a weekend car made me realise how better suited they are for that purpose, rather than as a daily. Also here in the UK these cars cost like £3k to 4k, perfectly working and a rebuild costs £2k, some as low as 1.5k. They're basically the cheapest thing you can buy and get warranty at this stage of its lifecycle. The main worry for me is how to get more power and if its worth it. I'm trying to do a gslse rotor housing swap with turbo, but only time will tell if that works well. This car is not for everyone but I like them. I own two 😂
worth noting that the automatic version is a 4-port rotor design while the manual is a 6-port. Between that and a ~1500 RPM lower rev limit, avoid the automatic lol
I've contemplated buying an RX-8 to keep my NC2 MX-5 company... but the Miata has been trouble free and I don't have the same confidence in the RX...I could only live with pain if it was an FD RX-7.
The only trouble I have had with my 2004 RX8 is critters eating the engine insulation, 4 times in the 20 years I had it, taken all the wires doing it, each repair costing $4000 with $2000 being my deductible. So after the fourth time I took the insurance money and got rid of in 2024 with only 16000 miles for $7680.00. Miss it but doing so made my life a little easier. One other thing, do not drive this car with a cold engine, it’s a rotary, you must warm it up, it’s a drag but a lot of troubles can be avoided if you got the patience.
Almost bought a decent condition one for 10k as my first car. I’m still in love with the car and want one but I’m glad I didn’t get it in hindsight. I sorta knew I liked cars but didn’t realize how much a could enjoy until I bought my WRX. Although they’re not the most reliable car (but still more so than RX-8) I know what to look out for and plus I can drive in the winter! All that said, I’m glad I learned about the niche of RX-8 before I just bought one and I’m looking forward to driving my own
We own 2 RX8's. Both cost us under 4K CAD. Both with less than 50k miles on them. Great cars when you can find the right ones for under 4500cad or 3kUSD.
@@reallilacpetal of course you’ve “heard” that. Answer is.. Not at all. Keep oil tipped up and change it often. Add a little premix to the gas. Drive it. Enjoy it. I have a video on maintaining them. Fantastic cars for the money.
The only thing with the heel and toe is that you have to be well and truly on the brakes to rev match easily, you cant be half hearted on the brakes and heel toe, otherwise your passengers headbutt the windscreen 😂
Nice 2004 lightning yellow RX8 in the thumbnail! Only year they offered that color. I believe they changed it on following years, but I never understood why Mazda used a solid black coolant reservoir on the 2004 models. Coolant is a critical element to this vehicle and needs to be viewed. I do know Ford used solid black plastic for a lot of their reservoirs during this time frame also and I can’t recall if Mazda still had a ford connection at this time. Wouldn’t surprise me if they got these tanks from Ford somehow. Regardless, the RX8 is still one of the greatest handling production cars ever made. Front mid engine that thrives on momentum driving!
Just bought a 05 RX8 for 2 grand. Motor had no compression from an older lady who took great care of it and had it garaged. Took the plugs out and drowned the engine with ATF about 8 times. Installed new plugs and replaced one coil. Motor started and smoked out the neighborhood at 6 grand. Car will be premixed and 10w30 oil replaced every 3000 miles.
Would be all over this if I only had my garage of days gone by for maintenance; plus a 100 mile commute twice a week would swallow quite some fuel. Great car though. I'll have to stick to my joint first prize, NC MX5 for now. Cheers Brian.
Hey serious thanks for doing a non smear review of my all time favorite ride (Same year except mine is red!) Thank you for pointing out that when your shifting at 9k? Torque is apples and oranges as it is trying to define the engine in other normal engine terms like ltrs. Power to weight hardly ever comes up because a V8 is pretty much a V8 unless you had one of those Aluminum? Block engines that buick made way back when. *Had a friend crushing it with one in a car he built. One nit. My 2004 does 0 - 60 mph in 5. something seconds (Still) and I'm not a professional driver. And while your not wrong that there is a Mazda MX-5 that "could" beat an RX8 such as the (quote) 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata Flyin’ LS3 Grand Touring, which was able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. However most MX-5s made were (quote) average 0 to 60 mph time is 6.68 seconds one was just shy of 10 seconds. Its a pretty car but... And while I'm not an MX-5 driver I've seen a lot of reviews that its handling is nothing like an RX-8 which feels to me like its glued to the street in a turn. If you still have access to one try going 60 on a cloverleaf thats posted 25mph! How many cars can you pull Gs in? ha ha. Anyway thanks again for an excellent review. I'm so sick of reading stuff by people that have no time to understand its different and has to be taken care of in a different way. If anyone is reading wondering? Oil from your engine is burned (On purpose) If you put any kind of synthetic in it this will fuck things up. Synthetic doesn't burn right. If you have a 2004 (Or other S1 models) Mazda didn't mix enough engine oil (Which is kind of junky) to keep the engine happy so you need to put some 2 cycle oil in the gastank when you fill up. I just dump in one of those small bottles. There maybe a perfect formula but this has held my car together for 140,000 miles. When you start the car stopping it cold can cause it to flood. In fact sometimes even when its warmed up so you rev to 2 or 3K hold for 3 or 4 seconds and shut off the engine (with your foot still on the gas) no more flooding. If you disconnect the battery the engine will need to relearn how to idle. Not checking and changing the oil is why engines go blamo. Its not a Chevy or a Ford the damn thing red lines at 9k!!! Fun fun car to drive and as you said its got room for a couple smallish friends in the back. P.S. a non car interesting factoid. Way back in (I think) 1946 someone bought a Navy Surplus Bearcat fighter plane with a gagillion horsepower and took the time to climb record and it stood until 4 or 5 years ago? Some aircraft designer looked at the Engine in an RX-8 and calculated things using that power to weight ratio and threw together a small experimental plane and put an actual RX-8 13B that he turbocharged *Has to fly up to 10,000 ft and beat the record that had stood like forever. There is you tube video of him doing it while an official timed him. How cool is that? p.s. I still tell people I got a car with Suicide doors!!! I mean how cool can it get?
Great review. I’ve owned an RX8 for 13 lovely years with very few problems. It’s an 04 2.6 with 40k miles on the clock. It’s only had DIY repairs and is a dream to drive. Totally stock. All my family and friends love it and jumped on me when I was going to sell it for fuel reasons. Recently I changed the ssv solenoid and found a little yellow flow restrictor in its vacuum pipe. Anyone know what it does?
Stupid question but i swear i saw one recently for sale& it looked like it had a T top? It was stunning, light blue. Little side vent, windows you push out! I was in love❣️I never saw one before & it had 34 k on it! The owner was adking 10,500k. Never driven in winter & trickle battery charged in.his garage.. Im looking for a convertible or t top! Any body out here? 🕵️ Please be respectful as I'm just learning about sport cars, ty!
There are no t tops or convertibles. If anything, it's remotely possible it's aftermarket, but that's never a good idea. The basic info about that car sounds ok, but make sure you buy it well. Have it inspected by someone qualified and make it comes with a complete documented history.
In tha American aspect, anything coming from Europe,Europe haven't any emissions testing,but with Americans they change out every part of the vehicles horsepower so the local law enforcement can or maybe able to keep up
The Rx8 is not for straight lines it's for tracks and twisty roads, it has a 50:50 weight distribution similar driving experience to a Porsche, I know, I have own both.
You should get your RX-8 with eiher transmission, you should get it with the 6 speed paddle shift, espcially if you live in the city, and not in the countryside, and the 6 speed manual if you aren't in the city and can benefit from the 6 speed.
A 2004 should not be anywhere near 14K unless it is mint and has only 20K. I bought a 2006 RX-8 with 37K for 10K last years, one owner, clean Carfax. These vehicles are not big bucks.
“We care about driving-“ and then drones on about stupid shit like the lack of Apple airplay and the presence of a CD player in a car from 2004. Listen, my daily driver has a cd player and I wouldn’t have it any other way. To answer the question he poses: yes and yes. 9000 rpm redline in an engine that feels like running it to redline is an inevitability. This doesn’t rev as much as it falls to redline. The rotary is not a bug it’s a feature of this car. And because it’s a Mazda: Chassis is perfectly balanced, steering is precise and well weighted, and the transmission is so easy to operate you could reach your teenager how to drive stick with this. Bottom line: where else can you drive a sports cars to 9000rpm for this price? The closest thing to this is an S2000 and those are going for ridiculous prices these days. The RX8 was blessed with a fragile engine that gets terrible economy- so no one wants them. Good news they’re cheap! And honestly, having an FRS that committed seppuku before 70K- there’s no guarantees even when you buy a Toyota. Reliability just ain’t what it used to be. So my advice: take a chance on this. Just make sure you get a compression test before signing the title!
