2 Years Of Owning An RX-8 | Is It Worth It?

The RX-8 is famous for being an underdog, that people will always tell you to stay away from. Rotary this, oil that...but have you ever really taken the time to drive one? Work on one? Or even talk with someone who has owned one for 2+ years? Today Gels answers your questions you have about the RX-8, or the car in general. Want to see if this could be the car for you? Gels has the answer.

Parts for your RX-8 build or any other build HERE 👇

0:00 What Car Causes The Most Drama?
0:49 Two Years Of Ownership
1:17 From Stock To Fully Built RX-8
2:36 Precautions For A Healthy Engine
3:59 We Answer Your Questions!
12:44 Your Thoughts?

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This video is about the Mazda RX-8, and also specifically touches on Gels 2004 Mazda RX-8. He answers build questions, maintenance questions, if an RX-8 is a daily driver car, and how reliable the Mazda RX-8 is.

[Huebie]

series 2 rx8 r3 owner here, its worth it if you have deep pockets and either a shop to do your maintenance and engine swap, or if you can do it yourself. what you dont make up in money, you can make up in time to diy and learn it yourself. still really costly either way. but if youre about that life, its such a joy

[Toxofox]

I've had my current RX-8 for almost two years. This is my second one.

For a car often slated as unreliable and thirsty, I've just come back from a 1021 miles/1643km trip over 5 days and not a single problem or warming light. It's been punished by battered Belgian roads, driven at 10mph through towns and got stuck in traffic jams during a heatwave. It's also been regularly driven at 80mph/90mph on Belgian motorways. Running temp has never spiked above 103C (112C is the safe limit) and its returned 26.9mpg/ 10.5l/100 which is great for a rotary engined car. It's also gone through 375ml of oil. My usual mileage on normal daily commute is around 21mpg.

I have a cooling mod (ECU remap for fan temp triggers), a Sohn kit and an aftermarket ignition kit (Ryan Rotary Performance). I also premix. That's it. I change engine oil twice a year. I change diff oil and gearbox oil every 18 months. Spark plugs every two years. I also only use high octane fuel (Euro 98 or 99). I never cheap out on oil or parts: Only quality products.

Take care of her and she'll take care of you.

[gwilliams]

RX8 Club’s recommended maintenance schedule, more comprehensive and proactive than Mazda’s schedule.
30, 000 miles:
- Replace Ignition coils
- Replace Plug wires
- Replace Spark plugs
- Clean MAF (mass air flow sensor)
- Clean ESS (e-shaft sensor)
- Reset ESS profile
- Clean power steering connections
- Clean battery terminals and clamps
- Replace transmission fluid
- Replace coolant (Mazda FL-22 is highly recommended)
- Replace air filter
- Replace brake fluid (fluid in the brake lines AND the clutch line)
~$300 USD in parts if you shop smartly.


every 60, 000:
...all 30, 000, plus...
- Clean all chassis electrical grounding points
- Replace accessory belts
- Clean OMP lines
- Replace rear differential fluid
- Replace thermostat
- Clean / Straighten AC condenser fins
- Clean / Straighten oil cooler fins
- Inspect catalytic converter
- Clean / Inspect intake valving
- Consider / inspect all points in 90, 000+ as well, many items fail early
~$130 USD in parts if you shop smartly.

90, 000:
...all 30, 000, plus any 60, 000 not yet done, plus...
- Replace coolant bottle
- Replace radiator hoses
- Replace radiator
- Replace front O2 sensor
- Replace motor mounts
- Inspect clutch pedal assembly for flex / weld breaks
~$900 USD in parts if you shop smartly.
At 100k, anything original in the cooling system and any original cat are really suspect and failure prone. They represents the biggest threat to your engine. Replace.

[dylanlabbate]

I personally have a 2005 RX8 at first I fell in love with it. How it sounded. How it drove. It was great. Til I had to put a motor in it. But then I did. I had to change the fuel pump on it, replace the slave cylinder and clutch master and aside from that I did more preventative maintenance on it. I live in texas so it’s HOT. Put a aluminum radiator in it, 3168 CFM fans, lower temp oil cooler thermostats. And soon to come a ECU reflash so the fans turn on at a lower temp and the air fuel gets adjusted. Like he said pre mix is HUGE. I have a delete OMP. So I premix 1 ounce per gallon. It’s a 16 gallon tank sometimes less. I get 12-15 MPG half highway and half city.
Agreed though it’s something you want

[Redshift]

Good video. Have had my RX8 for 19 years as of last month. Been a great car and I'll keep it forever. Was my 3 season daily for the first few years I've owned it. Just one of my weekend toys now. Been a very dependable car thus far and still going strong on stock motor. The most misunderstood car on the internet.

[animeotherstuff]

I currently own a 2004 RX8 Grand Touring (GT) that I got in February of 2022 and I do not regret my purchase for one second. I've had plenty of people give me 💩 about it, but they don't know how fun it is to drive this car! I bought mine for the reason of learning how to maintain my own vehicle, and I think this is the best car to learn. Learning so much and hope to keep on learning. End game is to hold onto it till the day I die, or one of my future kids want to keep it cause I know it was worth it 🤟🏼

[brandonwright]

I've had my 07 for a little over 8 years now and I still love it! I don't daily it anymore but did so for about 5 years. Sohn adapter, upgraded ignition and a catless midpipe have all helped to keep it running strong.

[DannyGodlewski]

Had my 93 rx7 for quite a while, and I absolutely loved it. These days everyone knows that rotaries can be temperamental, but they aren’t as bad as you typically hear. You deff want to spend some cash on regular maintenance and reliability upgrades first, but it’s worth it. I upgraded all the silicon engine hoses (they would leak whenever temperature got too cold) and it made a big difference. As long as you Go into it expecting some extra love and care, you will love it!

[savergon]

I have a 2005 Shinka RX-8. It was my daily driver from 2006 - 2021. Great car. A blast to drive. I am currently doing a rebuild on the engine and some minor mods. Love the car.

[akagi.fds]

Bought an FD a little over a year ago and it’s definitely been one hell of a learning curve. That said, I did my research for months beforehand so I knew what I was getting myself into. If you know how to treat a rotary (aka drive the piss out of it) and the kind of maintenance it needs, they’re plenty reliable! My engine is approaching 57k miles, unknown when the last rebuild was or if it’s had one yet, and still has extremely healthy compression 👌🏻

[dom]

Thank you for this video, it gives me comfort of buying an rx8 in the future since weirdly enough it's my dream car and my dream project for rotary engines. To me they have a special place in my heart and seeing this video makes me think that my choice won't be so bad after all and to be fair a lot of the points you covered is something that a lot of people should take into consideration. Most important one is "Really wanting an rx8". Thank you for this video and to many more years brapping. I hope one day I can show you guys my rx8 one day ❤️

[chefcc]

10+ years of ownership. If you enjoy pain, lots of refueling, premixing oil, and lots of fun then yes

[MartinMartinez-tqpx]

I've had my rx8 for 17 years now. Bought it 6/7/05. Original owner and I've pushed it to its peak. Just removed the turbo and went back NA. It's hard to find a competent tuner and tuning solution. I no longer care about power. Just enjoy the car for what it is and avoid the people who wanna race you because the rx8 isn't the fastest so its an easy win. Keep it at no more than 10psi. Mine made about 330hp and 279 tq.

[paulkulaga]

In my opinion and from my experience, the biggest things you can do for reliability is:
1. getting a tune for lower fan temps
2. replace oem coils with LS coils
3. keep RPMs under 3000 until its fully warmed up
4. use 10w40 instead of 5w20
5. premix .5oz/gal

[TexasVexes]

Ended up REW swapping mine.Just working bugs out on the dyno.
Stock is fun though also. You hit all the most important points 👌

[nelsonrivera]

I've had my 05 RX-8 for almost a year and it's my daily driver! I live in Colorado and yes, I drive it in the winter also! It's a great car and I average 20 mpg and I drive about 80 miles a day!

[bennyb.]

I always liken them to two strokes. They have twice as many combustion events as a normal engine, generally make twice the power per liter and get half the millage and half the time between rebuilds because of it. On the plus side, the rebuilds are actually really easy, quick and cheap comparatively.

[vetleforseth]

I 100% agree. The Oil cooler lines are a pain in the ass!

[yotaronhornet]

i bought my mazda rx8 2 years ago, with 52k miles on it, its now at 68k miles and so far( knocked on wood) no major issues with it, i recently replaced the alternator but thats legit the only big thing i have done to it, car runs amazing and i love it, it is my first ever bough car with my own money, even if in a future it dont run anymore, i will try my best to save up as much now for a rebuild later. i love this car :D

[jamescollins]

I said it on the post this morning but people miss put on a very fun car simply because of the reputation of it but honestly you summed it up extremely well... its really not that bad.. you just to know that there is a bit more care needed, make sure it doesn't run out of oil... keep it cool... if your looking to buy a sports car and you care about MPG forget it lol you don't buy a rotary or any sports car imo and care about your MPG ... either way I daily my 09 Rx8 R3 and I love it. The looks it gets, random conversations with people curious about it. The pops and bangs the smells ... its an experience that many people miss out on simply becuase they won't take the chance to actually check it out.