Rover414s Mazda RX8s... and then there were two! 24/08

[Rover414]

On Saturday I ventured down to Cannock to pick up my newest toy:

 

 

51,000 miles, full service history and had loads spent on it, the old guy selling it had just bought a newer one so it was time for this one to go which looking at the history has had no expenses spared on it. Just before I got it, it had new brakes and had a few spares included with it. I know they polarise opinions but I love it! Just the one photo for now but I will get some more soon. It's not perfect, but for £1275 I can't complain, the main bit I was worried about (the engine) is absolutely lovely.

[stripped fred]

I like them but i wouldn't have one due to their thirst. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it.

[Cavcraft]

Are these the things that start shitting out when hot starting becomes an issue?

[John F]

YOU ARE VERY, VERY BRAVE*.

 

Nice car though.

 

 

* and to put that in perspective, I have a Biturbo-era Maserati

[Six-cylinder]

They seem such good value I have considered one myself but have my concerns, it will be interesting how you get on with it please keep us updated.

[trigger]

You've got bigger balls than me!

[Tayne]

 

[Bren]

Keep one of these handy -

 

[Joey spud]

I have just bought a complete RX8 gearbox and prop shaft for a very reasonable £90.

 

The internet is a wash with second hand RX bits and the 5 / 6 speed boxes are the new improved replacement for the ageing expensive Ford type 9 transmissions.

 

I have a cunning plan to fit mine to the Scimitar replacing the 3speed Borg Warner that currently works perfectly but is a bit too Antiques road show even for me.

 

Any way RX8's there is one piece of advice i always trot out.

They overfuel and flood really easy so don't just shuffle it a few feet then turn off (eg getting the lawn mower out of the garage) let them run for a good few mins before shutting down,and buy the best battery available to help with the flooding and iffy hot starts.

[oldcars]

I like these but don't know enough about them. Chap in the boozer said if you fire it up you have to let it fully get up to temp before switch off, is this true?

[PiperCub]

I've fancied one of these for ages as I love the idea of rotary engines, but putting it simply, I don't have the stones to ante up & buy one! Hence I applaud your bravery sir, hope it all works out well. 

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I like these but don't know enough about them. Chap in the boozer said if you fire it up you have to let it fully get up to temp before switch off, is this true?

Yes, that's one reason a mate of mine has got fitter and lost weight since getting his RX8 3 years ago.

He loves it and won't hear a word said against it ,but it's too much hassle to use for short journies to the shops or whatever, so he cycles or walks.

In fact I know two other people who owned RX8s and they loved them too , one has got a V8 M3 now, the other a Mercedes SL ( friends&family lease car from Merc) and they both reckon the RX8 was much more of a drivers car.

[vulgalour]

I want to try one of these out, they make it onto my Modern Car shortlist which is a very, very shortlist.  The only other two that come to mind are the Rover 75 and, weirdly, the Vauxhall Adam.

[Mr A Lawrence]

I nearly paid TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS for one of them back in the day!!!

 

TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND FUCKING POUNDS!!

 

I've heard too that when the wankel wanks it's self there's a standard 4pot that slips in without too much bother, can't remember what though.

 

Probably an engine from a rusted out Mazda 6

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I nearly paid TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND POUNDS for one of them back in the day!!!

TWENTY SEVEN THOUSAND FUCKING POUNDS!!

I've heard too that when the wankel wanks it's self there's a standard 4pot that slips in without too much bother, can't remember what though.

Probably an engine from a rusted out Mazda 6

Corsair V4

[conkerman]

LS1 fits nicely

 

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[twosmoke300]

I've heard of Saab engines as well as ls1's but I'm guessing the rotary is a light engine so these transplants must muck up the balance surely ?

[sutty2006]

i think the corners of the rotary piston wear off quite badly causing problems. Mate of mine bought one for £300 as a non starter. We managed to get it to start with some fresh fuel and by dragging it quarter of a mile behind my Landrover. It got scrapped in the end I think. Engine was past it. GOod luck with it, you'll need it!

[RoadworkUK]

Christ, let this one break first before we all wade in with transplant suggestions!

 

(I guess April)

[cort16]

200sx motor is a good fit (ca18det?) and makes similar power but more torque . There was a really nice one for sale on driftwork last year but it was 5 g's which is the price of a nice one and warrantied wankel engine rebuild .

[SiC]

Had one in 192bhp guise - noticeable by the fact it doesn't have headlight washers (231bhp had HIDs standard). Awesome fun. Also had a Bose sound system that sounded amazing. Most had heated leather too.

 

I bought it with 1 years Mazda warranty from a Mazda dealer.

 

Most money I ever lost on a car. I had it a year, spent £3k on fuel (~8k miles) and lost £3k in depreciation.

 

Apex seals aren't a problem on these. Mazda made them a lot stronger than the RX7. Unfortunately this meant that instead the combustion chamber wore out instead! Looking at around £3k for a full rebuild fitted at a specialist.

 

You need a special tool to read the compression (not a standard compression tester), as there are 3 parts to the combustion chamber and you need to read all 3. Most Mazda dealers and specialists have this.

 

Don't use synthetic oil, as this causes more problems than good. It is a total loss oil system, so its designed to burn oil. At the time, Mazda dealers were actually pretty cheap for it. However I only got through about a litre and half in ownership. Uses a lot less than a lot of modern VAG TFSIs!

 

Flooding is a problem, I did it a couple of times and had recovery truck out twice...

You don't need to get it completely warm, only enough to move the needle off the bottom. As its so inefficient, it does that pretty quickly. If you do flood it, you need to put your foot right down to the floor (cuts the fuel pump) and turn it over until it catches. When its really bad, you need to remove the spark plugs, dry them out and turn it over (with foot on floor) to chuck the unburnt petrol out. Or just take it around the block to get it a bit warmer.

 

Basically what happens is that because its cold, the apex seals aren't fully expanded, so the fuel washes around getting the spark plug wet.

 

Fuel wise, I bought the 192bhp in the hope it would be better...

 

It really wasn't! Best I ever got was a 100 miles motorway run at 60mph - 22mpg. Usually around town it was anything from 14-18mpg. With the rising fuel prices, this is what ultimately made me get rid of mine. If you're gunning it, you can genuinely see the fuel gauge drop. I was told by the Mazda garage that Mazda didn't put a MPG functionality in because it was so bad. Probably some truth in that.

 

Just for an idea on fuel, it did around 200miles to a tank until the light came on, and the tank capacity is around 50l. The Saab diesel that I had to replace it had a similar tank, yet could do 600miles on it...

 

Had suicide rear doors before they even became a thing again on modern cars. Actually pretty annoying, as in a car park, the rear passengers end up getting stuck in a triangle. Also if you open the front door while the person in the front is belted up they get strangled, the rear door has the front belt mount on it. Don't put that seat belt in the rear socket either as it will jam, surprisingly easy to do if a rear passenger gets in and the door is still open. Easy to get in and out the back and unlike a lot of coupés, plenty of room in the back too.

 

Very pretty car and stands out massively against most euro-boxes. Also a lot of low-milers around too.

 

Personally I think if you want one, its the best time ever to get one. They're at rock bottom prices, cheap enough to throw away if they loose compression and fuel is the cheapest it will be for a long time! Plus as they break/die/rust away, they're getting scrapped so getting rarer all the time.

 

I reckon, like the RX-7, they will be worth big money in 5-10 years time once they get rarer.

[richardmorris]

I really like the design of them, but am too scared to buy one. Good luck with it.

[SiC]

One other thing I forgot to mention. No starts are often caused by:

a ) Loosing compression

b ) Weak starter motor (earlier starter motors were especially prone to this)

c ) Coil pack

 

Actually a lot of the time its ( b ).

 

It was also reckoned that weak coil packs were a big reason why the engines lost compression, as a strong enough spark wasn't produced the fuel washed the oil coating the cylinder walls away.

 

Also too many people drove these too softly, they are designed to be hammered. If not, the mechanical oil pump doesn't chuck enough oil in and also the combustion chamber doesn't get hot enough to burn off all the carbon. This carbon build up can cause the spring-loaded apex seals to jam in, loosing compression - especially worse when cold. A lot of weak compression engine actually have been revitalised with a good Italian tune up.

 

Apart from the engine, the rest is pretty solid. Even the engine isn't nearly as bad as people imagine. It's just the big sticker shock when they do go that scares people.

[STUNO]

I would love one. The RX7 below was mine some years ago and was everything it should be.

 

 

Only something like this could get away with purple upholstery .

[Bren]

[Rover414]

I agree you could be taking a risk with one of these, I read enough on the internet to know when they go wrong they go wrong in style. Having said that, I've always wanted one of them so if it all goes wrong, at least I can say I have had one!

 

It has had new brakes, shock absorbers, cat, a fresh service and a high power battery and upgraded starter motor. I was told later RX8s had upgraded ones and this has one of those fitted now. There aren't many jobs needed for the immediate future but the clutch is next on my list to get done.

 

It doesn't have a leather interior (which doesn't bother me) but it does have the BOSE system with 6 in dash CD changer. I'll get some more photos of it soon.

[garbaldy]

Oof new cat run for the hills.

[xtriple]

I love these and my stones ARE big enough... or were! I had an RX7 FD(?) and I thought it was fooking ace. The way the thing revved was unreal and that buzzer they fitted was very needed. They sound great as well: sort of like a 2 stroke, but not quite...

 

When the 8 came out I too nearly bought one new but got confused and ended up somewhere else buying a German thing (that was great and I never regretted it) and I would love one now. I know all the tales of fuel consumption (but it's still miles better than my 'daily') and the horror stories of the engines going 'futt!' but they are worth the risk in my opinion.

 

I do know of several 'likely lads' buying up 'knackered' ones and then getting them going with new coilpacks or starters but everyone 'knows' it's the seals... One guy always tries a tow start first just in case it's just flooded: he gets a bargain surprisingly frequently!

 

Well bought and I reckon you'll have many miles of fun in that.

[Rover414]

As promised, here are a few more photos:

 

 

I'm loving it so far, had it a week tomorrow, so far so good. I joined the RX8 owners club too as there seems to be a lot of benefit to this. Touch wood, everything is running fine. First thing up is the clutch, this needs doing before July as I am going down to Duxford for Flying Legends in it.

[Peter C]

The clocks are very similar to those fitted to my Porsche Boxster 986, which is nice.

 

Not sure about the car, a bit Asda Mazda, but for the money you (hopefully) can't go wrong.