reptile718

iTrader: (109)

I had originally purchased a fully loaded RX-8 last year. I liked the overall appearance of the car. It was an auto with the paddle shifters which where fun to play with. One major disappointment was the lack of aftermarket mods. The things that where available barely made any power over the stock pieces and cost a bundle. Even after some serious modifications it could barely keep up with a stock Z. The handling however was excellent and I do miss that, the interior was also nice and the sounds system rocked. I had every intention of keeping my go kart then the problems came. In less then one month after I had purchased it my radio died then the 8 left me stranded on the side of the road. The dealer explained to me that the oil pump was faulty and was not lubricating the engine causing the seals to blow from pressure, I was like WTF?!?!?!? I never got so much as a warning light. They told me this was rare and took full responsibility for the vehicle considering I only had it less then a month and barely put any mileage on it. Since it was bought used they could not replace it with a new one instead I got my money back and looked for either an S2K or a 350z. The S2K felt to much like the go kart I had before so I went with the Z and could not be happier. If they ever perfect the rotary design and beef up the power I will be the first in line but for now ill stick with the Z, it has yet to give me any serious problems.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

I'm just going off of the actual recall letter:
http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ecall4206F.pdf

2004-2006 RX-8 Voluntary Emission Recall Campaign 4206F

Dear Mazda Owner:
Mazda Motor Corporation has decided to conduct an Emission Recall Campaign to reprogram the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) and replace the spark plugs on certain 2004-2006 RX-8 vehicles produced from April 10, 2003 through June 1, 2006. If you are a recipient of this notice, your vehicle is included in this recall.

What is the problem?
Due to PCM software calibration issues, the following conditions may result:
i) The oil-injection metering system may be inaccurate causing poor engine sealing of the combustion chambers resulting in drivability or emissions problems.
ii) Too much fuel may be injected at the time of engine start causing carbon to be deposited on spark plugs or plugs may be flooded, causing a difficult start condition. In addition, the catalytic converter may be degraded on some vehicles.
iii) (Only 2006 RX-8 vehicles are affected.) A test value indicating engine coolant temperature may be incorrectly shown on the service tool when a diagnostic function test is performed at dealership.

What will Mazda do?
Your Mazda dealer will reprogram the PCM to include the latest calibration. In addition, the following components will be inspected and repaired or replaced if necessary: spark plugs, engine, and catalytic converter. All of these inspection/repairs are carried out free of charge.
The repair should take approximately 1 hour to complete at minimum. However, it may take longer depending on the necessary repairs and service workload at your Mazda dealership.
Mazda is offering a Daily Rental Program to provide alternate transportation when your vehicle is at an authorized Mazda dealership for this recall. Ask your dealer for details about this program.

dutchboy350Z

iTrader: (5)

I seems Mazda doesn't want to announce a huge recall. Instead they're doing it on a case-by-case basis.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

They did mail out a notice to all RX-8 owners informing them of this recall. I'd say its publicly known. Granted there is no need to replace the engine in every car, they are still going to test it to see if it does. And based on the number of people who have voted on an RX-8 site, about 10% did have theirs replaced (not sure how valid the results are).

swipe112

iTrader: (1)

Thank you. My point exactly. But.....I still prefer my Z.

PDX_Racer

iTrader: (2)

And how many 8s? Zs? MR2s? Out of sheer numbers, the MR-2 rocked (1 out of 2 cars, 1 out of 4 drivers).

Of COURSE they had more trophy positions! There simply weren't enough outstanding Z and MR2 drivers!

We won't even talk about the tire size that is better for the 8, or the fact that the top drivers in the nation are driving RX-8s instead of Zs (something about $$$ draws a lot of top drivers).

tropicalypso

iTrader: (6)

Everyone claiming that the the RX-8 is a better track car then the Z should pick up the November edition of Car and Driver. In an articled titled "The Lightning Lap", the editors compared 17 different sports cars on Virginia International Raceway (pretty much the closest thing American's have to the Nurburgring). The cars were segmented by price, with the Z paired up in a group containing the Mitsu' Evo MR, the RX-8, the Cobalt SS, the 'Stang GT, the Volkswagen GTI, the Civic Si, and the Mazda MX-5.

Participants (experienced drivers) drove the cars while logging comments and storing data for each car as it passed through one of five different sections on the course. Each section possessed a different characteristic (horseshoe turns, uphill sweepers, blind downhill turns, high speed straights, etc...). For each section, various hard data figures were recorded (entry speed, average speed, exit speed, lateral grip, etc...).

In the end, the Z ranked as the top contender for most of the recorded figures, and was never out of the top 3. Most importantly, it recorded the fastest laptime, beating the RX-8 by six and a half seconds.

...and for those are interested, it beat the venerable Evo MR by a full second around the course

Xoulrath

+1, tropicalypso.

titanjc

iTrader: (11)

tropicalypso, I saw that test too. I'm happy one of the magazines finally gave the Z some respect. Somehow it never comes out in a favorable light against other cars, and I think that's part of the reason that a lot of people have a negative attitude towards the Z. I know that on a lot of other forums, people have a lot of misconceptions about the performance numbers, handling, and just general stats on the Z, and it's very frustrating trying to correct them.

titanjc

iTrader: (11)

My impressions from the RX-8:

I test-drove a 6M a while back, when they first came out, and was completely unimpressed. The car has a nice interior, but they really need to do away with that back seat. No adult can comfortably sit back there, and seriously, how many people with kids are going to use the RX-8 as their family hauler? Ridiculous concept Mazda. The engine was gutless, I personally HATE having to rev to 10000000 RPM to make power, give me torque down low any day. It did have a very nice feel to it while driving though, and although I live in the flattest part of the country and there are NO good twisty roads, the car felt tight.

Even worse though was the automatic. My cousin actually leased one of those about 2 years ago, and wow. No power at all. Might as well have been driving a Civic EX.

Overall, I think Mazda needs to reevaluate their RX idea and get back to its roots. They need a 2-door car that looks as good on the outside as the RX-8 (because I DO love the looks), handles as well, and makes a lot more power. Putting down less than 200 whp just isn't acceptable in an RX-car, especially after the FD RX-7 TT.

efx

iTrader: (4)

I have the base model 06. This is weird that I read this, I went to a party and theres this girl who drove a Z who parked right next to me on a the bottomside of the hill. (Wet WA state grass + slight dirt) She probably had an enthu and had tcs on. She made it up the hill easily. I burned my clutch soo bad that day. I had it on first and went a little over 1k rpm. I would do fine and when I hit that nasty side of the grass, it would just burn out. I tried releasing the clutch so it would stick, but theres too much damn hp it would just keep spinning. Good thing it was a semi-sausage fest, I had some dudes help push me up.

efx

iTrader: (4)

LOL!! 306.5 bhp!

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

Next time your in a situation where its hard to get traction because of the power, try starting in second gear.

efx

iTrader: (4)

The roads were too wet. I did that, I should have tried third. Damn RWD (sometimes). I tried different angles. I think at a certain rpm the clutch will auto-kick in and will add more rpm on the wheels. If it maintained a slow speed, i probably would have made it.

Black Duck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2emH...ssan%20topgear

Check this out. Apologize if anyone has already posted this!

efx

iTrader: (4)

seen it. I watched this before I bought the Z. I was thinking of getting an rx8 from this commercial. lol. I want his job!

stan

iTrader: (2)

tell that to my 06 that's been sitting for 18 days waiting for a new longblock

shinkuu

iTrader: (4)

what happened stan?

Xoulrath

I would imagine he had an oil consumption problem. I am still praying that I have no problems, as mine has less than 1,500 on it, so I haven't really been able to see if there is consumption. If it does, and I need to get an engine, I will probably just try to get the car bought back and get into an 07.

efx

iTrader: (4)

lol im on 27xx. No oil consumption yet...