Mazda RX-8 reliability tested for third time at 24-hour endurance race
The Mazda RX-8's reliability has taken a beating as of late, what with the leaked video and various reports of squeeky brakes, flooding and even failing engines in hot climates. The RX-8, however, shouldn't be written off just yet. You should know that the four-door sports car has competed in and completed two 24-hour endurance races and has been entered in its third, the Silverstone Britcar 24 Hour Endurance Race, which takes place on September 9th and 10th.
Mazda will be entering three cars in the Silverstone race that have been modified only to meet racing safety requirements and are otherwise stock, including their 1.3-liter RENESIS rotary engine.
Mazda began endurance racing the RX-8 back in 2004 when it set 40 records with two cars that drove more than 3,100 miles in 24 hours at average speeds of 132 and 134 mph.
[Source: Mazda]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Steve S 8:18PM (8/16/2006)
Go RX-8!
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Poopy Head 11:35PM (8/16/2006)
Yeah, because everyone knows you have flooding problems during a race. My RX-8 was the most unreliable pile of crap I've ever owned. Not to mention the fact that the horsepower is still over-rated.
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j 1:14AM (8/17/2006)
Rotaries work differently to your regular engine. That's why they are "unreliable". People treat them the same as any other car. Treat rotaries the way they were supposed to be treated and they will be reliable.
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Jake 3:06AM (8/17/2006)
Didn't the RX-7 win more races than any other car
in the SCCA.
The rotary is the only Japanese car/engine to have ever won the 24 hours of Lemans outright. I think it had four rotors or 160 cubic inches of displacement?
Who killed the electric car? Who killed the rotary?
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Tired_Watcher 3:53AM (8/17/2006)
Well I'm sure after the win in Le Mans, some companies that tried the rotary were probably embarrassed to see that it succeed. Of course that’s just a theory. It is banned in the FIA but the ACO does allow rotary engines right? Didn’t Mazda do something last year with a LMP2 in the ALMS?
Yes the RX-7 does hold some big wins:
Won 24 Hours of Daytona 10 years in a row.
Won the GTU championship 7 years in a row.
And had over 100 wins in its class.
Oh yeah the displacement was 2622cc or 160 cubic inches. Man that quad-rotor sounded great.
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zaarin 6:36AM (8/17/2006)
As I hear it from rotary enthusiast friends, the flooding problem that all rotaries (not just the RX-8) experience is alike to Subaru's "glass tranny" myth. That is to say, if you learn to drive/maintain your new vehicle properly, and you acquaint yourself with the technology's's idiosynchrosies, you'll be fine.
I don't know, it's possible that my RX-loving buddies just happen to have somehow gotten themselves the only four rotaries on Earth that don't flood.
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dreesemonkey 8:25AM (8/17/2006)
My friend had an RX-8 for about a year, had the squeeky brake problems (the hubs were even rusted after about 2 months), and numerous tranny issues. For some reason it would grind into second, the shop rebuilt his tranny and it started happening again so he got rid of it. The gas mileage was horrendous, also. Cool car, fun to drive, but consider myself turned off by the rotary. Needs a V8 ;)
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MFJ 8:36AM (8/17/2006)
All rotaries have the flooding problem. I had a second generation RX-7 that would flood all the time. It is usually a cold start problem. If you start the car and don't let it run for a few minutes before turning it off, it would flood. On my RX-7 all I had to do was hold the accelerator to the floor and crank the motor and it would start.
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Mr. Wankel 8:40AM (8/17/2006)
The flooding only happens if you turn the engine off while it's still cold. Not always, not 1 in 10 times, maybe 1 in 50 times, but if you never turn off the engine when it's cold (and that's clearly explained in the manual) you'll never had it.
My RX-8 has 31000 miles and has the squaky and rusty brakes (which brake incredibly good, by the way) but nothing more. I love it.
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Skyraidr 8:05PM (12/23/2008)
I have had three rotary powered vehicles, 74 RX-4, 86 RX-7 and an 05 RX-8, all standards.
The RX-4 had seal issues after 60,000 miles. the RX-7 is still running well with 184,000 miles on it. and the RX-8 with 24,000 miles on it is perfect.
The rotary golden rule on FI engines is "bring up to operating Temperature prior to turning the engine off" The RX-8 warms up faster than my RX-7 and does not heat the garage like the 7 did but I love it anyway. Fuel mileage on the 7 was up to 29 mpg on a trip. I did not take the 8 on any long trips but average 20 to 25 mpg, what’s wrong with that?
My 7 was the most reliable car I'v owned, had to replace the water pump, radiator, drive shaft and rotors at about 160,000 miles, no rust on the car and I have not replaced many light bulbs either. I honestly dod't like people doging the rotary's, great power plant.
Steve S 9:03AM (8/17/2006)
As has been mentioned here before most issues with recalls and TSB’s for the RX8 have been on 04’s and 05’s. When you buy the 1st model year of a completely new design, platform, engine, etc you need to expect some problems. So either you are willing to suck up the problems or you wait until they work out the bugs, simple. It is Mazda’s fault for not properly training their dealers so that they would be informed about the rotary engine’s care and maintenance. At least for 06 (05 too I think) every RX8 comes with a DVD detailing exactly how to care for the engine and how to de-flood. It’s also in the manual. I also average about 19-21 MPG in mine. Nothing wrong with the RX8, it’s just not a car for the lazy or for people who like to only drive in straight lines. If you just want to just mash the Go pedal I’d recommend a Mustang GT. Great bang for your buck and easy to maintain.
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Bzzzzzzzzzzzz 9:51AM (8/17/2006)
ALL ROTARIES DO NOT FLOOD. The carbureted rotaries never flood. The fuel-injected rotaries flood if you don't read the manual and can't follow instructions(like the aptly-named Poopy Head).
I strongly feel that like the Z06, nobody should be allowed to own a rotary without knowing some basic skills: 1. Can you read? 2. Do you know how to shift? 3. Never run a rotary *below* 2000 RPM. 4. You must redline a rotary once a day *minimum*. 5. The rotary "driving around" RPM range is 2000-5000 RPM. 6. The rotary "fun" range is 4000-9000 RPM. 7. Do you know what a "rotary" is?
Fail that last question, and we'll send you to the Honda dealer for a bland automatic toaster-on-wheels.
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zoom44 12:14PM (8/17/2006)
i just want to point out , as i do everytime they have doen this since the first time with the 40 records, that it was my idea for Mazda do do this. I posted this idea in September 2002, for endurance racing the RX-8 to improve the perceived reliability of the rotary, and then sent them to Mazda after being prompted to by freinds. It was 2 years later when they set the 40 records in October of 2004 .... to bad i didnt ask for royalties on the idea.
as for dreeesemonkey- how would having a v8 have made any difference to the brakes and tranny isssue your freind had?
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GDUB 12:18PM (8/17/2006)
Love our 05 RX8, but squeeky brakes with 2k on it!!
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Alex 12:37PM (8/17/2006)
Who really cares about squeky brakes, its easy to fix anyway. Besides, the braking performance in the RX-8 is far better than most any car on the road, regarless of price range. I'll trade a little noise for top notch performance anyday.
As previously stated, those with the basic knowledge of rotories never flood their engines.
Bottom line: any vehicle with the level of handling, braking, speed, style and fun that the RX8 has is not going to be a lazy man's car. If you want a quite car with extreme reliabilty and luxury you don't want a sports car, period. Personally, I don't want every chauncey in the world driving this unique, rewarding car anyway.
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NYCGPS 2:21PM (8/17/2006)
Poopy Head, Its pretty obvious that you dont know crap about Automobiles. Rotary is not for you, nor does any automobiles out there. Get lost.
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Poopy Head 5:05PM (8/17/2006)
Who the hell wants a car you can't take short trips in during the winter for fear of flooding? Who the hell wants a car you have to jump through hoops with so it doesn't run like crap. Who the hell wants a car that probably has closer to 220 horsepower and yet still gets 19-21 mpg. I'd take a G35 over that crap every day of the week.
Fortunately, the dealer that sold me the car bought it back at a reasonable price and sold me a used G35 at a reasonable price.
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NYCGPs 6:55AM (8/18/2006)
This is what happends when the car priced too low, and all these "newbies" who does not know how to drive at all got their hands on it. then later these "newbies" complain this and that. Nothing wrong with the machine itself. The problem is with the "newbie" driver.
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Poopy Head 10:04AM (8/18/2006)
Buddy, you are an idiot. I'm 37 years old, I've owned Corvettes, Porsches, and even an SRT-10 Ram at one point. None of these vehicles ever required extra special attention. If I had a RX-7 with 300+ horses, I might be willing to put up with a few things.
But a 220 horsepower quasi-coupe with so-so reliability and horrible gas mileage is just a load of crap.
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MPG > HP 11:20PM (8/20/2006)
Since this thread is about RX-8 reliabilty, I'd like to attest that at 87,500 miles, I've had none of the problems quoted above. I was initially disappointed by the EPA induced (due to Mazda having to enrich AFRs, to extend catalyst life) less than 24MPG, but I do average around 20MPG, which is in the quoted 18-24MPG range. Also, I miss the initially rated 250HP, but as per my handle, the car has more than enough performance to get me quickly through LA traffic and the occasional track day. Also, the AC borders on pathetic, but hey, it's a sportscar! The upsides are: wonderfully balanced (engine, trans, LSD, suspension, brakes, driving position) and drivable, safe (great DCS, TCS, airbags and rollover protection), extraordinarily comfortable to drive (up to 8 hours on one trip with 0 fatigue), great looks, rear seats that 6' co-workers prefer over the fronts, and finally, the same rotary reliability that I experienced with all of my previous 3 Rx-7s. Ok, I'm due to pick up a Prius, shortly, for the increasingly costly daily beating, but will still keep the '8 around for those long jaunts and trackdays!
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