Originally Posted by yuning83,Dec 23 2010, 07:13 AM

There was an issue with the rx8 engine being flood by fue thatl you wouldn't be able to start the car up again. I have no idea if they addressed the problem with newer models, but it was said that if you start your car in the winter time and immediately turn the car off say maybe moving it for snow cleaning. You'll end up flooding the engine with fuel and the car will not start back up. Dealership said the trick was to rev it past 4k rpm then shut the car off.

Originally Posted by azn akira,Dec 23 2010, 04:27 PM

Not for me, hell I'd buy an MX-5 over either of those cars. I much prefer a well balanced nimble car over one of those things

Originally Posted by tarheel91,Dec 22 2010, 04:15 PM

Which would require both someone in the aftermarket and someone owning the car who actually know something about rotaries and won't treat them like piston engines.

Yeah, it's a hyperbole, but people treating rotaries like piston engines is very common, and it's a shame since rotaries are practically made for turbos.

Originally Posted by YoZUpZ,Dec 23 2010, 06:24 PM

Not just the winter time, anytime. The owner's manual says something to the effect that if you are cold-starting the car (not cold weather, a cold engine). That you need to let the car run for at least 5 minutes before turning it off... Sadly, nobody read the manual or thought it would be a problem, and we had quite a few come back to the dealership I worked at with flooded engines.

Also, you are supposed to run the engine hard once and awhile, they recommend redlining the engine at full throttle once a week to get rid of the junk that gets built up.

Finally, we all know that lots of people are super easy on cars during their "break in" period... You are supposed to do the exact opposite with the RX-8, you're supposed to run it hard right out of the box...

Most people did not do any of these 3 things (and did not check the oil everytime they refueled the car, which you are also supposed to do) and ended up ruining their engines, giving the RX-8 engine a bad rap... as for the gas mileage though, yeah, it sucks.

Originally Posted by Bullwings,Dec 24 2010, 02:07 AM

Maybe people should stop taking them to car mechanics and the dealership and start taking them to small airports for cesnas...

Originally Posted by ElTianti,Dec 22 2010, 05:26 AM

Despite my vehement counsel to the contrary, my brother purchased a 2010 RX-8 touring for 26K + TTL. In a previous thread, I described the RX-8 as a car that combines the performance of an economy car, the utility of sports car and the fuel economy of an SUV. Well, I take (most of ) it back.

While the RX-8 does get truly abysmal MPG (high teens), it is a very nice driving car. I loved the interior, it offered fantastic ergonomics, great seats, high quality materials and perfectly placed pedals for heel-toe. Though, I wouldn't describe it as a true 4 seater, there's certainly enough room for a child's car seat and it has a decent sized trunk.

I just loved the engine, it had more then decent power, sounded great and revved forever. Acceleration was on a par with the S2000, so I wouldn't describe it as slow, but it wasn't possessed of LS1 like torque either, but I like zingy engines.

The steering is precise and the handling is superb, combining high limits and neutral corning with no obvious vices. Though I wasn't at a track, the brakes felt very strong, even if the pedal was a bit soft for my tastes. My only real complaint was the clutch was very abrupt and non-linear, but after 15 minutes or so, I stopped noticing.

Now that I have been blessed with a howling, poop factory (Luke!, see below), a car that I can transport him in AND track is very appealing.