Ian Cushway searches out new and used parts prices
The rotary-engined RX-8 is a hoot to drive and now silly cheap to buy. However, care is needed when purchasing one and meticulous maintenance is essential.
The pretty Mazda’s ability to turn heads is equalled only by the horror stories about its thirst for oil and rotary engine issues.
However, if you do your homework first and tread carefully, you’ll bag yourself a terrific four-seater sports coupe with 228bhp on tap for very little money.
Mazda’s choice of engine represented the latest in a line of rotary powerplants that can be traced back to the late Sixties – but it wasn’t the RX-8’s only quirk. Behind each of the front doors is another ‘suicide’ door which opens rearwards to create a large, pillarless aperture to allow rear-seat passengers’ easy access. As you might imagine, this makes the RX-8 a surprisingly accommodating four-seater.
The RX-8’s cabin echoes the sportiness of those bold exterior curves, blistered wheelarches and slanted headlights with a high transmission tunnel running through the centre of the vehicle adding to the sense of drama. One of the advantages of the RX-8’s tiny engine is that it happily sits close to the centre of the car for almost perfect 50:50 weight distribution, and we don’t need to explain the benefits that brings when it comes to handling. With its taut suspension and vocal, rev-happy engine, driving one is a fun and hugely rewarding experience.
The first RX-8s arrived here in 2003 and some 17,000 were sold during its seven-year lifespan. There was a mild facelift in 2009 when, among other things, Mazda beefed up the front strut brace to add rigidity and shortened the gear ratios to improve performance. The R3 with 19in BBS alloys, rear spoiler, a lower front splitter, sill extensions, stiffer Bilstein shocks and Recaro seats joined the range at this time, too, before the curtain finally closed on the RX-8 here in 2010.
Engines
The engine in the RX-8 is a twin-rotary affair with a combined displacement of 1.3-litres. That might not sound like much, but it was enough to produce 189bhp or 227bhp, depending on the state of tune.
The engine itself features a triangular rotor that spins concentrically in its own chamber (up to 9000rpm, no less), so it’s silky smooth and there’s only three major moving components. But here’s the rub. Its rotor tips require constant lubrication – hence its thirst for oil. Mazda predicted when new the RX-8 would use around 250ml of oil per 1000 miles and advised owners to check the oil level after every second fill of the fuel tank. This might sound drastic and most well-looked after cars will drink a lot less, but it’s probably still good advice.
Mazda suggest a 5W-30 mineral brew, though according to the RX-8 Owners Club, experts now suggest a 10W-40 offers better protection to eng
