Why is the Mazda RX-8 So Hated?

The Mazda RX-7 captured the imagination of millions of car enthusiasts around the world. Its sequel the Mazda RX-8 unfortunately did not do the same. Today we drive a modified Mazda RX-8 and talk all about why this rotary powered car was the end of the legendary engine for Mazda. Let's go for a drive and talk about it.
#mazda #mazdarx8 #mazdarx7 #rotary #rotaryengine

[Redshift]

The most misunderstood car on the internet. I've had mine for 19 years next month. Original owner, original engine. Never flooded. Well maintained, well modded and it's been a great car. Done many track days, autocross, many long road trips (Canada to Deal's Gap Rotary Rally twice etc.) I'll keep in my fleet forever.

[bv]

Here's the deal with the Renesis, first of all the apex seals don't really explode like everybody thinks. They either get stuck because of carbon deposits, shrink because of insufficient lubrication (that's why you premix) or the bearings get chewed up, the shaft with the rotors starts to wobble and they hit the housings and break. The RX8 has the same bearings and shaft as the RX7, but because of emissions and fuel consumption regulations it was recommend by Mazda to use 5w20 in the US and 5w30 worldwide, much thinner oil than the RX7's 10w40. The latter didn't get bearing failures, while in the case of the RX8 it was the most common reason for why these engines died, especially in the US where they barely made it out of warranty. They do flood, Mazda changed the starter 3 times during production because of it, so if you upgrade your battery and you put an R3 starter the problem disappears. Another weak point are the coils, they get weak after around 30k miles and don't ignite the mixture properly, clogging the cat, which in turn overheats the engine. The car has some design flaws, but luckily the aftermarket has solutions for all of them, and in the end you end up with a reliable great driving sports car, for very little money. You can't get away from the fuel consumption though, they love to drink! 😅

[IStratz]

I love my RX8. My engine died in it and almost had to sell it because I could not afford a rebuilt engine. Managed to work that out and I still don't regret it. It's probably cost me over 10K in repairs at this point when the car is probably only worth 6K (at the time) on the market. It's such a fun car to drive and hoon around. I don't want driving to be a tedious boring thing that you have to do. I want to have fun doing it if I can, and the RX8 definitely accomplishes that. I get thumbs up from people all the time in it, and it's always cool to see someone else on the road with their own RX8. It's kinda like "If you know, you know".

[ThaKenMan]

It’s hard for this car to live in the shadows of the RX-3 and RX-7. If the engine was more reliable, had better fuel economy and could hold power this would have been a another legend in the rotary history. But at least it’s cheap now. Cuz in today time it’s hard to find a cheap rwd car. You just gotta be mechanically inclined and have some money set aside. Plus it’s hard to beat the sound of a rotary engine at 9k. Sounds so good!!!

[therotaryguy]

I’ve been owning my rx8 for almost 3 years and I know every single thing about this car, I’ve rebuilt and ported and machines my engine myself and now I build rotaries all the time and it was automatic so I manual swapped it myself as well which took 2 days to do and I’ve installed tons of suspension and performance and reliability mods to it and it’s great! Love it and would never sell it, zero rust on it as well. Planning on making some YouTube/tiktok videos with it :)

[interwebuser]

Well, in term of reliability and longevity Rob Dahm made a special on which parts needs to be changed/buffed to make one bulletproof it would be nice to see a colab/update on this blue baby being improved.

[Mazhura_B]

Currently restoring an 8 that was pretty much abandoned by a previous owner and left at a shop. Got it for $1k with full interior. Just needed a new engine. Now I'm replacing all the defective parts that plaqued the 8 from factory (starter, coils, better fuel pump, etc)

[CelicaDan]

in my heart, I think people dislike the RX8 because the Renesis (and it's flaws and drawbacks) kind of shows how non-viable the rotary engine is in an ever more emissions stringent industry. Personally, I love the RX8, but it really is sad seeing just how many issues the Renesis had from all it's emissions-fighting techniques and knowing that the situation likely wouldn't be any better *IF* a modern rotary engine were to be produced.

[JLOT]

Love My RX8! Has gave me no problems except for a failed clutch slave cylinder ! Engine still running strong with 158k miles factory motor!

[lamma]

I had one, great experience in terms of driving, really world class. The gas mileage made no sense, i got around 8-13 mpg for ~200 hp lol

Also mine blew up, so theres that lol.

[Ben-Rogue]

The RX-8 is one of the nicest cars I've ever driven. So smooth, the chassis is solid, it goes where you point it, revving it to the limiter is glorious, the 6 speed transmission is one of the best feeling (especially with the factory shifter). It feels like you're driving a budget supercar, with the reliability of one too

[racerx]

I actually like the way the rx8 looks. All the reviews when it came out love how it handled. I believe it made car and driver car of the year bc of it. As the engines aged the issues of unreliability came from a lot of the emissions crap on them. Also dealers didn’t really tell owners that they had to mix the fuel with some oil. That’s a game changer there to help the apex seals. I think the biggest let down was the fact that the auto engine and manual engine were different. The hps were way lower in the auto. But the biggest thing I don’t understand is how now with the hype of the rotary kinda coming back that nobody takes an rx8 and puts a rx7 13b engine in or even. 3 rotor for more radness. I think I’ve seen more non Mazda swaps in them

[AliasProductions]

Drove my RX8 for years, every day, and never had any issues. Keep oil in it, premix the gas, and beat the hell out of it and it’ll live forever.

[SpiceofLifevariety]

I've always eff'd with this one because NfS carbon. First, you can use it to beat the initial boss lvl RX-7. Next, even if you don't lottery win the pinks to that whip; you can almost build the 8 just as good. Video games aside, I'd drive this any day. My best (pos) car was an '11 SRT Charger and I wish I had the 8 instead.

[Mike.Macmyazka]

As soon as I saw the thumbnail I knew it was Gels car. I laughed because of course since you were on FI for SZN FOR of Driver to Driver, you’d get some content too. Also kind of cool you were so close yet so far to MN to film something.

As far as the car goes I’ve always like rotary engines and RX’s. Never driven one though.

Lastly…Fifty Shades of Blue. You know what Dakota said…lol

[michaelcanton]

Rx8 are amazeballs and extremely fun when they work. Mine is currently in my driveway dead lol

[azeembocas]

To be an owner of one of these machines and to see that in 2022 theres a video from thatdudeinBlue talking about how amazing this car is ! Damn its really a unique experience. Ik to some people talk is everything but its uaully by people who has never drove one. Testimonies are way better and this guys knows his cars so the fact that he LOVES it should tell you that theres something very special about this car.

[AxnerSaab]

I personally really like the RX-8. It doesn't beat the older RX-7s but it's still quite good looking car. I also think that the 4 doors is kind of neat with the rear doors being somewhat hidden even though I could imagine them being a little difficult to open and close from the inside.

[jonathanc]

They are great cars, yes they are fragile, but there is more support for it nowadays. Many diy mods to help the engine last longer. It's hit or miss with them, either you get a good engine that lasts or one that dies faster than the 0-6 times. They are making a comeback and it's such a niche platform. It's honestly great.

[brotherloops]

A few things to keep in mind:
in the RX8, the side seals were the likely culprit to fail and cause compression loss than the Apex seals unless you went FI and went with too much boost.
flooding the car would only occur if you shut it off quickly after a cold start, once the car is warmed up they are basically impossible to flood unless you have a bad ignition system.
A lot of the failures early on were from people who literally did not know how to look after the car (for example keeping the oil topped up, let the car warm up before shutting it off etc etc)
Mazda kinda went weird marketing this car as a sports car and also a family car meaning the latter market treated it like a normal car.

I believe most of the bad rap comes from the early failures of these people but mazda also has a bit of the blame, bringing the car out with a weak starter motor in the beginning and sacrificing oil metering for emissions resulting in excessive wear in the low end.