Originally Posted By: Tundraz
Thinking of trading in my tried and trusted Mazda 3s for a Mazda RX8, My 3s is my daily driver, she has 120'000 trouble free miles and she dries and handles like the first day i took her home with 7 miles on the odo, she has never spent a daY IN THE SHOP (knock on wood)all i have done is buy gas , change the tires twice, change the brakes once, truly a superb automobile, So my question is Could the the rotary engine in the RX8 stand up to the rigors of being a daily driver commuting car? I drive 120 miles daILY 5 days a week, how would the rotary handle the wear and tear as opposed the the regular engine in my 3s ? I understand that rotaries use up a lot of oil is this one of the drawbacks?
I really dont want to get rid of my 3s, but i'm thinking about the new fancier RX8 , What is your opinion,
I would say it depends. If you're commuting 120 miles 5 days a week, it seems like fuel expense is something that would be a concern with you. As it has been stated, the RX8's fuel economy is nothing to brag about. On highway trips, I average anywhere from 21-23 mpg. I would imagine your Mazda 3 was averaging around 30 mpg. If you're willing to take this financial hit, then you've overcome one of your greatest obstacles to owning a RX8.
In regards to oil consumption, every other gas fill up, check your dipstick to monitor the oil level. If it gets low, just add a bit of oil. My average oil consumption has been ~1 quart every 2500 miles.
I own a 2006 manual transmission RX8 GT with all the options. MPG aside, I love the car. The suspension is very comfortable when you're cruising on the highway or just taking it easy but when you wind that thing up and whip it around some corners, you would swear that the suspension has somehow changed without your knowing. Through the corners it's a very compliant car and very easy to control. You turn the steering wheel and the car goes where you want it to go. Although it has less space than your Mazda 3, I found that the vast majority of times, I'm either driving by myself or with one passenger. However, the situations where I needed to carry four people turned out great. The back seats are surprisingly roomy (plenty of head clearance) and everyone fits into the car nicely. As th driver, I'm 5'11" and all I do is scootch my seat up an inch or two and the passenger behind me has plenty of space.
As other people have hinted, don't forget to rev that engine up (after it's been warmed up)!
In regards to problems people have been having with these engines, the engines are hand built so one can expect some variablitiy in terms of quality. However, the engines have a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty on them now! The best thing you can do is listen to the advice of the RX8 owners who have commented on this forum.
Thinking of trading in my tried and trusted Mazda 3s for a Mazda RX8, My 3s is my daily driver, she has 120'000 trouble free miles and she dries and handles like the first day i took her home with 7 miles on the odo, she has never spent a daY IN THE SHOP (knock on wood)all i have done is buy gas , change the tires twice, change the brakes once, truly a superb automobile, So my question is Could the the rotary engine in the RX8 stand up to the rigors of being a daily driver commuting car? I drive 120 miles daILY 5 days a week, how would the rotary handle the wear and tear as opposed the the regular engine in my 3s ? I understand that rotaries use up a lot of oil is this one of the drawbacks?
I really dont want to get rid of my 3s, but i'm thinking about the new fancier RX8 , What is your opinion,
I would say it depends. If you're commuting 120 miles 5 days a week, it seems like fuel expense is something that would be a concern with you. As it has been stated, the RX8's fuel economy is nothing to brag about. On highway trips, I average anywhere from 21-23 mpg. I would imagine your Mazda 3 was averaging around 30 mpg. If you're willing to take this financial hit, then you've overcome one of your greatest obstacles to owning a RX8.
In regards to oil consumption, every other gas fill up, check your dipstick to monitor the oil level. If it gets low, just add a bit of oil. My average oil consumption has been ~1 quart every 2500 miles.
I own a 2006 manual transmission RX8 GT with all the options. MPG aside, I love the car. The suspension is very comfortable when you're cruising on the highway or just taking it easy but when you wind that thing up and whip it around some corners, you would swear that the suspension has somehow changed without your knowing. Through the corners it's a very compliant car and very easy to control. You turn the steering wheel and the car goes where you want it to go. Although it has less space than your Mazda 3, I found that the vast majority of times, I'm either driving by myself or with one passenger. However, the situations where I needed to carry four people turned out great. The back seats are surprisingly roomy (plenty of head clearance) and everyone fits into the car nicely. As th driver, I'm 5'11" and all I do is scootch my seat up an inch or two and the passenger behind me has plenty of space.
As other people have hinted, don't forget to rev that engine up (after it's been warmed up)!
In regards to problems people have been having with these engines, the engines are hand built so one can expect some variablitiy in terms of quality. However, the engines have a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty on them now! The best thing you can do is listen to the advice of the RX8 owners who have commented on this forum.
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