cesc

My new setup:

24 years old, driving for 6 years, 0 NCB, 0 points, 0 claims, parents as named drivers. Admiral £879. Can't really complain.

I bought a Zed for better fuel consumption

I was getting 11mpg from my RX-8

Husky

In the same vein, will two leather seats (for a 350Z) fit in a Zed? I'm pretty sure they won't but it'll be good to get clarification.

That ridiculous chain e-mail again.

I'm sure Ekona et al will be thrilled!

There's some fool who has one in Catford, and he charges it at night using an extra long extension cable out of his bedroom

Modern engines are tested for many hundreds of thousands of miles before being put in a production car, I think you'll be alright.

As long as all the fluids and engine components are in decent nick, these engines will go on and on. We had an old Audi 80 B-reg which was on 350,000 miles before it was scrapped due to a dodgy suspension. The engine was fine though.

In my opinion you either have to be very unlucky or very negligent to get an engine failure nowadays, because testing is so thorough.

No matter how clean a car looks after a wash, it always still manages to look dirty if there's no tyre dressing!

Sounds like a most excellant idea, a nice drive down to the sea and fish n chips on the sea front

Those fish and chips won't leave you with much change from a tenner!

The doughnuts are delicious though, I can just feel my arteries clogging up as I eat them.

Thanks for the quick replies.

At least I know now it's not a fault with the system. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that a car with a cassette deck has an antiquated levelling system

Evening chaps

Got a strange question here, but do the auto levellers on the UK Zed's headlamps move visibly on startup? Meaning do they look a bit like the video below? Or are they the older style versions which only move the beam slightly?

I've seen a local Zed which I like the look of, but the headlights seem static when you start them, and in every car I've had with xenons they do the whole dramatic sweep like in the video.

Anyone shed some light ( ) on this?

That S2000 looks very cheap. Might be an import as it doesn't have headlight washers.

Ever considered an RX-8 Sarnie?

I used to be on UK-MKIV's a few years ago when I had my GTi and R32. Great forum.

This place isn't quite as busy, but it's still very good, there are a lot of knowledgable people on here and lots of traders trying to bleed you dry!

I'm assuming by now that you've already picked it up in which case

Also I'm assuming the OP is the same guy on the RX8 owners club?

 

I know it's all down to personal preference, but IMO the 350Z is the better car all round. Similar running costs, better performance and better reliability in the Zed. I'm also not a fan of the RX8OC forum, this place seems a bit more relaxed and impartial.

I always assumed the LEDs would be plug and play for ALL variants?

I have an '03 JDM, will the LEDs from a UK car not fit directly?

Also I'm assuming the OP is the same guy on the RX8 owners club?

I knew Lexx would be in to defend the honour of his precious RX8!

I wrote an essay but the damn server timed out and my post was lost never to be seen again

Anyway back on topic. I have the RX8 at the moment, and I can't wait to see the back of it as the novelty has definitely worn off. Although mine is mechanically sound, there are some absolute dogs out there with knackered engines, blocked CATs, faulty coils, corroded alloys etc. Find yourself a good one and you'll still have to live with the quirkiness of the rotary which can get a bit wearisome after a while. The rotary engine, whilst being the RX8's best feature, is also its biggest downfall. You only have to trawl through the forums to see that many have suffered from low compression at low mileage and after 5 years Mazda don't want to know about it leaving you with a bill of £3.5k for a new engine.

I'm aware that every car has its quirks and problems, but I bet you can't find me one with such widespread and costly issues as the RX8.

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This is my review on the RX8 I wrote on AutoTrader.

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I've owned my Mazda RX-8 for around a year now and for the most part it has been a pleasurable experience. It is very cheap to buy now, because there are simply so many available.

I will talk you through the pros and cons of this unique car.

Pros

- Handles brilliantly in the dry, amazing balance and agility.

- Very practical for a sports car; big boot, four doors and lots of room for four occupants.

- Excellent interior, the seats are comfortable, driving position is good and overall build quality is excellent.

- Well equipped, mine came with leather electric heated seats, Xenons, BOSE 6CD changer & a multitude of other toys.

Cons

- Engine is a massive liability. Mazda have had to replace many engines due to low compression. This is partly down to negligence, but not entirely. It's just bad engineering. Low compression can cause starting problems, bad fuel economy, reduced performance and can affect other parts of the engine.

- Ignition coils are a big weak point. These need to be changed at 30k mile intervals to keep the engine happy. Of course most people don't know this until it's too late, and Mazda do not change them in services unless asked to. Many people are unaware how important the coils are to a healthy engine.

- Car cannot be started from cold and then shutoff before it's reached normal operating temperature. This, while annoying, is part of the rotaries 'charms' but it fills me with fear whenever I leave it with the garage or MOT place.

- Horrific fuel consumption. Horrific may seem reactionary, but that's exactly what it is. Expect to average no more than 16mpg with mixed driving. Short, stop-start will get you 11mpg. Motorway around 22mpg. Audi's 4.2 V8 in the RS4 actually drinks less fuel than the Mazda which has nearly 200bhp less.

- No torque. This car is not for you if you cruise around everywhere in 5th gear; it has very low levels of torque and the engine needs to be in the 5k + RPM range if you want to overtake. This can get very tiresome.

- Checking oil is made infinitely more difficult by the engine cover, white deposits and general awkwardness of the dipstick. For a car which is so reliant on correct oil maintenance, Mazda have really shot themselves in the foot with the RX8. It takes several tries to get an accurate reading of oil level.

- Road tax, tyres and servicing are expensive (relative to purchase price). The Mazda may be cheap to buy but it's definitely not cheap to run.

Do not get an RX8! They are difficult to live with as a daily driver.

Currently getting 200 miles to a full tank at a shade under £70.

I drive an RX-8 though!

As above, I need the OEM spoiler and rear UK bumper in Gunmetal Grey.

Can anyone help?

With the facelifts you get the slightly more powerful engine, LED taillights, bi-xenon headlamps, different bonnet and a redesigned interior. The differences between the two are minimal, so if you're on a budget I'd get the pre-facelift.

350Z - 2011 (Age 24)

Mazda RX8 - 2010

Audi S3 - Nov 2008 - April 2010

Golf R32 - 2008

Audi S3 - Nov 2007

Audi A4 - 2007

Golf GTI - 2006

Vauxhall Astra - 2005 (Age 17)

MK4 R32

The price of LPG is now 84.9p, wasn't it about half the price a few years ago?

The R32 is a great car, I used to have the MK4 and the engine/exhaust note was glorious. The MK5's are very refined and easy to live with, so your wife will love it. They're fairly thirsty so expect to average 20mpg in mixed driving.