RX-8 vs Maxima
#82
Senior Moderator
I test drove an RX-8 one Saturday I was bored when they first came out. I took it easy for a bit trying to feel the rotary engine & get used to the shifting, etc. The as I'm turning around on an exit/on ramp the salesmen says "feel free to step on it some"...wrong thing to say to me. As we were getting back on the highway I ripped from a dead stop....1st, 2nd....& a big LOUD grind as I attempted to go into 3rd I missed but got it eventually. It was loud & the salesman was sweating.
#84
Burning Brakes
The no torque,power,should have a piston engine RX-8 continually dominate. I'm just not gonna go there, on what that dave guy posted . He obviously did not do any type of research on the history of rotary powered cars in racing and especially in reliability racing, such as the 24hrs of Lemans,24hrs of Daytona etc... and damn I went there oops and thanks guys for getting me through my first 5 posts!
#85
Burning Brakes
Ok, after doing some additional research I have found that the V would not destroy the rx8 in the autox however what I have found is that the stats are just about the same with the rx8 and the v... with that being said... why would y'all try to discredit the v from being a good car on the autox when its got comprable handling to the rx8? And just an fyi y'all the V wasn't made for the drag strip... its a road course car...
#86
10th Gear
Yeah huh, but I'm not talking about speciality rotary race cars that have their rotarties rebuilt after a race. I'm talking about street cars. The facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine. It's gets dismal mpgs, has a short shelf life, and you'd best keep a couple of quarts of oil in your trunk because it burns oil like a 2-cycle. The advantages of the rotary simply aren't there.
#87
10th Gear
#88
Senior Moderator
Yea huh, you can't rebuild the engine in a 24 hour race, thats my point! Rebuilding after the race is for the nascar guys. So how many rotary's have YOU owned and maintained? I have personally owned several so I'm posting on my personal experience. My first was an 83' that I picked up when I was 17 with 173,000 miles and thrashed it well like a 17 year old kid does, and it lasted well over 200,000 miles without burning " quarts of oil " and all the while getting 15+mpg's(not the best, but hey it isn't meant to be! it's a frickin sports car!). There are many advantages to rotary engine: -no blown head gaskets,-no worry about over-revving the eng,-low center of gravity,-lightweight,-compact,no-cams to change out, -no valves to adjust,etc.. I can keep going but the point is made. It's not the best engine in the world but it's definatly not the worst. You have not gave any "facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine" so quit spewing old wives tales and intraweb hearsay.
Couple that with the fact the I've come across several RX-7 owners at the track, nearly all of whom have confessed that you pretty much need to be a mechanic specializing in Rotary engines (OR know someone who is) in order to own one.
#89
Yeah huh, but I'm not talking about speciality rotary race cars that have their rotarties rebuilt after a race. I'm talking about street cars. The facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine. It's gets dismal mpgs, has a short shelf life, and you'd best keep a couple of quarts of oil in your trunk because it burns oil like a 2-cycle. The advantages of the rotary simply aren't there.
Properly built and maintained rotaries will last, and are perfect in the small light cars they power. not many 70 c.u.i. motors can keep up with most V8 motors. but power to weight is a major part in that and that is another story...
#91
10th Gear
The Renesis in my best friend's 04 RX-8 (which he purchased new) has already been replaced via dealership (costing him a ton of $$$) and now that one is having issues as well. Bear in mind, he doesn't race his car nor does he drive particularly hard. (Admitted caveats: It is used for daily driving and it is a first year RX-8. I don't know if Mazda made any updates to the Renesis since then in order to circumvent the issues my friend has in his 04.)
Last edited by e-dub; 01-21-2010 at 02:22 AM.
#92
Burning Brakes
Yea huh, you can't rebuild the engine in a 24 hour race, thats my point! Rebuilding after the race is for the nascar guys. So how many rotary's have YOU owned and maintained? I have personally owned several so I'm posting on my personal experience. My first was an 83' that I picked up when I was 17 with 173,000 miles and thrashed it well like a 17 year old kid does, and it lasted well over 200,000 miles without burning " quarts of oil " and all the while getting 15+mpg's(not the best, but hey it isn't meant to be! it's a frickin sports car!). There are many advantages to rotary engine: -no blown head gaskets,-no worry about over-revving the eng,-low center of gravity,-lightweight,-compact,no-cams to change out, -no valves to adjust,etc.. I can keep going but the point is made. It's not the best engine in the world but it's definatly not the worst. You have not gave any "facts are the rotary is not a reliable engine" so quit spewing old wives tales and intraweb hearsay.
You're talking about 2nd gen RX's and I'm talking about 3rd and 4th RX's. The 3rd gen cars, while being some of the most sexy and best performing cars on the market, has dismal reliability. Don't play stupid here either. These motors were notorious for engine fires and wrecking apex seals. The Renesis? Ha! I personally know 4 guys with them and 3 of them have add the motors replaced. The cars go through a quart of oil every 300 to 500 miles and this is considered normal by Mazda and the nature of the Renesis. The Renesis, like many rotaries, has a history of flooding on warm starts. Many times the flooding can be so bad that the plugs have to be changed. Finally, MPGs in these cars, especially the Renesis, is dismal. We're talking about a motor with an effective displacement of 2.8 liters yet it sees NORMAL city driving mpgs in the 14 to 16mpg range. In the winter, knock another 1 to 2 mpg off that number.
Yes, I know rotaries and IMO, they're pointless and should have been shelved decades ago. I'll gladly take an RX........a FD LSX swap that is.
#93
10th Gear
Its late and I've had a couple of beers so I'll try to keep this short
Thanks for info Dave I didn't know that. Apparently my point flew right over the top of your head, moving along..
You didn't specify,so now some of them are fine,but others are bad?
Sure only 3?
blah,blah, blah you are repeating yourself.ITS NOT A FUEL SIPPING HONDA 4cyl WE KNOW THIS.
You should really lightn up and not get your panties in a bind, matter of fact with your vast experience, spread your wisdom all across the internets so that others may bask in your intellectual know how of this engine.
blah,blah, blah you are repeating yourself.ITS NOT A FUEL SIPPING HONDA 4cyl WE KNOW THIS.
You should really lightn up and not get your panties in a bind, matter of fact with your vast experience, spread your wisdom all across the internets so that others may bask in your intellectual know how of this engine.
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