The Surprising Things I've Learned from Owning a Mazda RX-8

Автокөліктер мен көлік құралдары

Rotary cars are interesting to say the least and require a bit more attention than most other cars. The Mazda RX-8 specifically is known for being unreliable and a problem child among enthusiasts cars. Well, I've owned one for THREE YEARS and I've learned a thing or two about them. So if you've ever wondered what it's ACTUALLY like to own one of these cars, this video is for you.
#rotary #cars #jdm

Пікірлер: 100

  • @akagels
    @akagels Жыл бұрын

    So the question is, would you own a RX-8?

  • @mastercricket7626

    @mastercricket7626

    Жыл бұрын

    not only would i but i am hope to aquire one sooner than later if i financially can , my wife loves them but wont drive manual n i dont think they come auto lol peace n love brotha l8z

  • @blackknight205ify

    @blackknight205ify

    Жыл бұрын

    @@mastercricket7626 I believe they do come auto

  • @damiersg

    @damiersg

    Жыл бұрын

    They do, I just wouldn’t recommend it. Not as reliable as the manual plus it has less hp

  • @zallas_99

    @zallas_99

    Жыл бұрын

    Yeah, as soon as the Financials are in order. I plan on getting 1 as a weekend warrior. Already have a little city car as a daily, all that's missing is a fun weekend car.

  • @chrisphipps4589

    @chrisphipps4589

    Жыл бұрын

    You can get an auto but they are 4 port only and lower power. It's a great manual box, she'll learn to love it.

  • @AlexMartini.
    @AlexMartini. Жыл бұрын

    Hmmmmmm...Gels trying to convince me rotaries are good...hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT ALL THAT GELS.

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    Maybe some day 😂

  • @hogibunz834

    @hogibunz834

    Жыл бұрын

    Love you guys 😂

  • @JamarcusWilliams884

    @JamarcusWilliams884

    Жыл бұрын

    but alex, brap brap

  • @okexotics7576

    @okexotics7576

    Жыл бұрын

    Yes Alex it’s a forbidden fruit that’s so addictive! Even when something’s wrong you just can’t get out without a smile 😊

  • @jerryglennie5375

    @jerryglennie5375

    Жыл бұрын

    Alex! It's the drug you never knew you needed for awesome braps and a "long stroke" power band! Join the Doritos

  • @damiersg
    @damiersg Жыл бұрын

    I’ve had mine for a little over a year & half. Daily driver though I really don’t have to I just love driving the car so much. It has 108,000 miles on it still going strong on the original engine. It’s all about maintenance ! Take care of it & it will keep smiles on your face day in & day out

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    100%!

  • @chrisphipps4589
    @chrisphipps4589 Жыл бұрын

    I've had my 2004 RX8 for 3 years now. Maintenance is the key. Regular oil changes with a good quality oil is a must. Mine has been super reliable so far and passes MOT and emissions every year. Thanks for the content, keep it coming please.

  • @jerryglennie5375

    @jerryglennie5375

    Жыл бұрын

    I have an 05, I would say it's been reliable but... 2 stage 3 clutches later my wife is still wondering why I need new tires.....

  • @garyc4943
    @garyc4943 Жыл бұрын

    I've had my series 1 since 2017, sticking to the advice about premix, upgraded starter motor etc and so far so good. I did buy mine with a blown engine and it was rebuilt as part of the sale we agreed though so I know its been treated correctly since day 1 engine wise.

  • @Bavariaria
    @Bavariaria11 ай бұрын

    Owned one of these for 5 years until a few years ago. Probably the best, most fun car I’ve ever owned. So perfectly balanced. Not fast but perfect amount of power to be fun. Great interior. And mine was dead reliable other than fairly frequent coil replacements…..until the end, when the cat got clogged (presumably due to all the times it misfired before coil replacement ). I didn’t replace them soon enough and it resulted in damage to the seals.

  • @neoanderson7
    @neoanderson7 Жыл бұрын

    I traded in my 10yr old 08 Miata for a 2010 R3. I've had it now for 4yrs. Daily driven. Temperature ranges from -40C to 45C. Has never let me down. Picked it up with 50k Km's on the clock, and now has 102k km's. In order to keep the engine going I freed up all the restraints. Has a RB Header, going into a BHR midpipe and out the back with the RB twin muffler exhaust. Very civil but enough bark when you rev it out. Only thing I had to do by necessity was the oil cooler lines. They corroded to the point where it was pissing oil substantially. Went with the RB lines for both oil coolers. That was not a fun time! They don't make it easy to swap out those lines. However, now there's only 3 lines as opposed to 11 different line connections. Funny enough, since the change over, the car has a bit of a supercharger whine when I rev it out. It's odd.. but a welcome addition. 🙂 If you want to drive the car more like a regular car, make sure you get a series 2. There are many things you don't need to do with a series 2 as opposed to a series 1. I absolutely love my R3.

  • @scottarnold8637
    @scottarnold8637 Жыл бұрын

    What up gels love the content you and Dakota are putting out keep it up bro

  • @SapphireNexus
    @SapphireNexus Жыл бұрын

    I have an 05 Shinka that is still mostly stock minus a few upgrades (BHR coils, sohn adapter, BHR decat midpipe), and I get pretty decent fuel mileage. I average 20-21.5 mpg. I run most of the miles on the highway (75-80 mph), but a bit of around town too. I dont idle her until warm. I fire it up, let the revs level out to 1250 at idle then drive. As long as you keep revs to no more than 3-4k until it warms up, you're good. That usually only takes a few miles in warm/mild temps. In winter it takes a bit longer. I take advantage of freeway onramps to hit at least one redline per day. The only days I don't redline it are rainy days. Traction is a slight issue above 5-6k rpms on wet road if you're just looking to rev the snot out of it, but that can lead to some fun times too, haha. The biggest tip I can suggest is check out the rx8club forums. Looots of knowledge and ownerships info. They are less tolerant of people starting threads looking for handout answers, but if you take the time to learn before buying it is worth it. I had very little experience modding and maintaining cars when I purchased my 8, but the forums and KZread vids inspire a lot of confidence.

  • @DakotaStone
    @DakotaStone Жыл бұрын

    COOL RANCH DORITO GANG WYA

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    💙💙💙

  • @okexotics7576

    @okexotics7576

    Жыл бұрын

    We here

  • @MavvSpeed
    @MavvSpeed Жыл бұрын

    I feel like the internet blows things out of proportion. It’s trendy to say that the rx8 is a horrible car so everyone says it. But at the end of the day, it’s one of the best cars you could drive for the ~100,000 miles it will last!

  • @Hayaweh
    @Hayaweh Жыл бұрын

    I'd really recommend doing the coils yeah. I went with the AEM (IGN1-A) type, it's also common to go with the D585 coils, personally not a big fan of it, but yeah. For premix, you can really use any oil you'd premix a 2-stroke engine with, Idemitsu is nice, but also the premium on each bottle is insane (at least here in Europe) :D Still do love the RX8 tho, so much fun to drive, great sound and enough power to be fun but not enough to be scared of driving myself in a ditch if I miss-touch the throttle. :P

  • @AndyDufresne4
    @AndyDufresne4 Жыл бұрын

    Had one for 8 years, did everything under the sun on/to it. Loved that car

  • @RenardIIDX
    @RenardIIDX Жыл бұрын

    moremoremoremoremoremore videos about the 8! I love them 💖

  • @jbone1014
    @jbone10149 ай бұрын

    Gels, great looking machine bud. I daily drive my 8 for like 2 years. My water seals failed thus putting an end to driving it daily though I should say that my commute to work was an hour each way. She got her redline on every trip and she was a fun car to drive. I’m a rotary guy and have had my share of rotaries, love ‘em to death. I will always drive a rotary… hybrid Renesis build is currently on the table for my 8. Can’t wait to get back behind the wheel. Great content Gels, I love your videos… awesome work man 🙌

  • @Toxofox
    @Toxofox Жыл бұрын

    5 years of owner's club membership. Third year of ownership with my current car. She's expensive to run, maintain. And uograde. But she has never let me down or left me stranded. One issue in three years: OMP failure. I doubled up on premix and drove the car in limp mode to the nearest specialist who swapped the unit in no time. Sorted! My Rx8 has been a reliable car, is tons of fun on a little B-road and is comfortable on long distance road trips. I love mine.

  • @aaron40cavalier
    @aaron40cavalier Жыл бұрын

    I have had my RX-8 almost 3 years and have put on about 20,000 miles I take turns dayly driving it with my truck. The only "major" repair I have had to do was also oil cooler lines. I got mine mostly stock with a coil upgrade and the engine out but included with the car. After a compression test and checking the oil pan I put it back in the car. Since I have put a cat back, intake, Bluetooth adapter, and clean oil feed adapter in (very similar to sohn adapter) it has been very reliable so far

  • @StefanMailey
    @StefanMailey9 ай бұрын

    Great video! Just jumping in on the spark plgs comments. 2 stroke oil won't hurt the plugs. They're a hotter plug to begin with and a mix of 100;1 etc.. Won't really foul out those plugs. We racr 2 stroke bikes at a 32;1 ratio in extreme temps. Plugs can take it. Its more, that the RX8 plugs a a very thin/tiny bridge pin. The eventually crust up and die. Heat and carbon build up does most of that. Now, back to the video! Subscribed!

  • @mastercricket7626
    @mastercricket7626 Жыл бұрын

    the brap brap brap brap makes up for all lol peace n love brotha keep it rad stay safe and build on ... BOOST IT 😂 😂 na but i do want to get me a rotory build going hopefully this year and i kinda wanna do a mini truck rotory build ... l8z fam

  • @Scrape.grape.
    @Scrape.grape. Жыл бұрын

    Very enthusiastic and persuasive gels! I highly admire and respect the rotary platform but I just know my pockets wouldn't feel the same way if I owned one 😂

  • @majestikgenesis7407
    @majestikgenesis7407 Жыл бұрын

    Once you get a cage that room disappears , trust me lol

  • @MrSeatbelt
    @MrSeatbelt Жыл бұрын

    rotary cars are the linux of the car world, people are scared of it because they don't know much about it.

  • @baileybehzadi2308
    @baileybehzadi2308 Жыл бұрын

    I’ve read if you go to D585 coils it’s a good idea to tune for the coils. One mod I would recommend is the Mazdatrix short shifter

  • @johngabitan7243
    @johngabitan7243 Жыл бұрын

    i own an rx8. have it for more than a year now. love the absolute shit of it. also being one of the few series 2 in newzealand and the only one with the anime wrap it feels the best.

  • @michaellowery6201
    @michaellowery6201 Жыл бұрын

    Funny enough it's actually pretty comfy for a sports car Iike you said. I daily drive mine and the heated seats are pretty nice in the winter

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    The stock seats are actually incredibly nice!

  • @Cappa313
    @Cappa313 Жыл бұрын

    My 07 just hit 80k and still running strong. Definitely gotta just give it maintenance love

  • @jyonbalingit7990
    @jyonbalingit7990 Жыл бұрын

    Really is an underrated beauty, If I get a chance would love to own one, with the extra maintenance and effort it requires, the more love you also put into the car. In your opinion, what is the main difference the RX-8 have to the legendary RX-7 that made it way unwanted than the latter? Thanks for sharing your experience heaps of nice to knows!

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    They changed a lot with the RX-8 compared to the RX-7. They tried to take the rotary engine to the "Next Level" and introduced a lot of technology and other features that ended up hurting the platform more than anything. Plus, the car was never released with a turbocharged option which I think truly helped the FC and FD RX-7 gain such popularity.

  • @jerryglennie5375

    @jerryglennie5375

    Жыл бұрын

    From my understanding the largest difference in the 2 rotaries is the potential power is lost. You can take a renesis and build it closer to a 6-700hp limit, if you add a turbo it'll take low boost but pressure the seals. The 7's 13b can be boosted because of port locations and size to use well more than that. So think of it like the rx8 is a fun daily driver with competitive power where the 7 is race ready and no longer street required depending how far you want to go

  • @majestikgenesis7407
    @majestikgenesis7407 Жыл бұрын

    1oz of premix for every 2 gallons of gas.

  • @majestikgenesis7407
    @majestikgenesis7407 Жыл бұрын

    S2 are the best 2009-2011

  • @rx4mandude
    @rx4mandude Жыл бұрын

    There is around an extra 30 whp hiding there with intake/exhaust and a tune 😊

  • @bv2289
    @bv2289 Жыл бұрын

    It's a 4 stroke, just because it needs oil for the combustion chambers doesn't mean it's a 2T. Mine has pretty much the same reliability modes that you did, and a few extra, and it is working for me, 116k miles and counting, hope yours holds up too! 👍 Don't know if it's available in your area, but the thing runs amazing on E85 (with a proper conversion of course) the fuel consumption doesn't matter anymore 😁

  • @rx4mandude

    @rx4mandude

    Жыл бұрын

    It’s has similarities to both. Whilst being a 4 stroke cycle It’s port intake timing is very similar to a 2 stroke with no valves ….

  • @ramonbriones4487
    @ramonbriones4487 Жыл бұрын

    I don't have IG so I wanted ask why or what made u choose this platform? Is it because it's pretty rare to see one on the road? Did u just always want one?

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    Really just always wanted one. I always go back to when NFSU2 came out and I used this car a TON. Plus with the prices of RX-7s right now I figured it was the best way to experience a rotary without spending a ton of money.

  • @michaelfarris1639
    @michaelfarris1639 Жыл бұрын

    What spark plugs are you running? I have an 04 6 port

  • @ThatProjectZcar
    @ThatProjectZcar Жыл бұрын

    I really want to buy another one I miss mine 😕

  • @pv4083
    @pv4083 Жыл бұрын

    Check out -“15 year ownership experience with my Mazda rx8” dude has a 40 min video of his experience with the Mazda rx8

  • @sbeast1216
    @sbeast1216 Жыл бұрын

    Rob Dahm collab? 👀

  • @josiahgibbs4063
    @josiahgibbs406311 ай бұрын

    Someone might have asked this already, but if have the aftermarket premix injection system you were talking about, does the premix in the fuel tank just become a redundancy sorta thing or does it add on to eachother?

  • @SapphireNexus

    @SapphireNexus

    11 ай бұрын

    It's an added bit of lubrication. The omp does a good job, but adding some to the fuel helps and gives peace of mind. The only problem with premix is it can/will speed the cat to its death. If you do not catch it early, the added heat and stress on the engine will cause it to fail more quickly. I used to premix at the .5 oz to 1 gallon (6.5 oz for 13 to 13.5 gallons when fuel light comes on), but backed it off to 4.5 oz because I just daily drive and don't track it. You can go lighter on premix if you're not aggressively driving it. For premix I use idemitsu, but before I started buying that in bulk, I would buy the Lucas 2 stroke premix from O'Reilly auto. It's blue and has similar ratings/specs to idemitsu and other similar premixes.

  • @bolin38jg
    @bolin38jg10 ай бұрын

    I own an 07,I wouldn't recommend for a daily drivers, cost too much to repair 😂.. But for weekends and go to work sometimes is okay, they are very fun to drive and the exhaust noise is addictive ,I a'm about finishing with the repairs on my ,new ported engine, suspension, fuel pump,high amp alternator, coils,radiator, oil coolers, mishimoto radiator fans,i don't like coilovers so instead I installed bilstein shocks,I love them because where I live the roads are bad ,go to Mr.RX-8 and see for yourself..

  • @thermicdrop2327
    @thermicdrop2327 Жыл бұрын

    Me over here daily driving my rx8 😂😂😂

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    You are braver than most 😂

  • @thermicdrop2327

    @thermicdrop2327

    Жыл бұрын

    @@akagels nope just stupid

  • @Fellow_Gamer
    @Fellow_Gamer Жыл бұрын

    Instead of the video being named "Living with the Mazda RX-8: My Experience", it should be renamed to "Living with Myself: Bad Choices".

  • @javianbrown8627
    @javianbrown86278 ай бұрын

    I wanna see a Rotary Miata

  • @ETERNALXGAMEPLAY
    @ETERNALXGAMEPLAY Жыл бұрын

    He’s saying all this but for me going on 3 years it’s actually been smooth sailing 🤷🏾‍♂️

  • @ETERNALXGAMEPLAY

    @ETERNALXGAMEPLAY

    Жыл бұрын

    My Mazda has been good a reliable for going on three years this august

  • @ClwnJuNkY
    @ClwnJuNkY5 ай бұрын

    Every 3000 kms oil change and I always run 2 stroke mixed in with fuel aswell

  • @Titantitan001
    @Titantitan001 Жыл бұрын

    I like the cars and the idea of those engines a lot. But I seriously felt like you were speaking another language lol. Also there are tons of problems with all new cars too. Mostly because of emissions. So now we have these poorly build money pits.

  • @Treaxvour
    @Treaxvour Жыл бұрын

    Single digit? Holy moly, have thought about getting it tuned for mpg?

  • @akagels

    @akagels

    Жыл бұрын

    Nah it’s really fun as is plus I only drive it during the summer

  • @rx4mandude
    @rx4mandude Жыл бұрын

    They won’t flood that one is a myth. Always shut mine down cold . Not an issue. If it is you may have low compression or coil/starter issues

  • @M-Filip
    @M-Filip Жыл бұрын

    How about using as daily car to drive to workplace? For me it is 18-19 miles in one direction(calculator said that, I am using kilometers), around half hour of driving

  • @stephentan7405

    @stephentan7405

    Жыл бұрын

    i use mine as a semi-daily, and my drive is actually slightly longer, around 25 miles one way. as i have back roads to go to work, its a lot of fun, especially since you really can rev it up. however, im sometimes at the gas station twice a week

  • @M-Filip

    @M-Filip

    Жыл бұрын

    @@stephentan7405 damn this "twice a week" scares me xD I'm visiting gas station with my current car 1 time per one week and half, some times per two weeks Thanks for ansewer

  • @praditpotts3251
    @praditpotts3251 Жыл бұрын

    These cars aren't for just anybody

  • @Skateboss369
    @Skateboss369 Жыл бұрын

    Have you had to rebuild the engine yet?

  • @markflint2629
    @markflint262911 ай бұрын

    NOT A TWO STROKE

  • @boxoffisa
    @boxoffisa Жыл бұрын

    Your audio quality is unreliable too. NGL.

  • @rotarycomptech
    @rotarycomptech Жыл бұрын

    The flooding issue is such an old issue. It’s not even worth talking about anymore the cars don’t even have that problem.

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