Hey, can you tell me which model did you have and what did you do maintenance wise to keep it running for 12 years without issues? I’m toying with the idea of RX8 ownership but everybody is scaring me about the non-existent reliability of the engine….
@@TheGabrca it's not about the model, it's more about it's maintenance history. I did oil changes regularly and made sure the level never went low. Regular plug changes, more reliable coils, and maybe some emissions related improvements. Maybe I got lucky, but I didn't do anything special outside of being attentive. If this will be your only car, don't get it. I've had mine since basically new, so I know it was taken care of. If you don't know that for certain, assume worst case scenario.
@@TheGabrca If you have full control over the car from start to finish and you keep up with maintenance and don't neglect all the other systems on the car. It will run just fine for years to come. My advice is the same as @ilikecars212 Do not buy one as your only means of transportation. It's just way too risky and expensive to maintain unless you make enough money to cover a 10k dollar engine replacement at some point. Don't buy an RX8 from a random dealership that has no idea what condition it is in and is just flipping it. Try and find someone from a forum or has some sort of work history and knows what they actually own. Just to give you an idea of what my history is like, I bought my 2004 RX8 with 86K miles for like 7-8 grand or so. I knew it had lower compression on one of the rotors or faces because I could hear a slight weaker pulse in the exhaust so I was already slightly concerned. 6 months later either the engine died or flooded or something happened. Ended up buying a rebuilt engine with used parts from a rotary rebuild shop in Texas. Even without labor and doing the engine swap myself, it cost around 4 grand for just the engine and closer to 6-7 grand after changing a bunch of parts to freshen up the whole car. Clutch, Solenoids, Starter, Coils, etc... I've owned the car now after that happened for 4 years. I also ended up spending another 4 grand or so at the dealership because shortly after buying the car it also had weird power steering issues with vibrating and just losing power steering entirely. Tried fixing it myself with bypassing connectors, but to no avail. Apparently it was a common issue with a sensor inside the rack that goes bad. So all in all for a 90K mile car I have probably put in nearly 16 grand into the car including the purchase price. So if that gives you any idea of how bad it can get, it can get very bad. I fortunately got help from my parents, so I only paid about half of that. But I know not everyone has that kind of luxury (most don't). Hopefully that gives you some insight of what can possibly happen. My advice is yes it's a cool car and all, but it just doesn't make financial sense to own unless you are like balling out like crazy and a car collector. They can just have someone else fix it and have no worries about financials.
8's smoke like that after a deflood, you might have stuck apex seals if it's low on compression. Give it a really good thrash with high revs whilst working it hard and you will clean it out. Your compression in the 6's is absolutely fine you only need to get really worried once it starts to hit the 4's
Fake parts are also a really big problem, stick with known good NGK suppliers for plugs as both fake plugs and coils have been known to enter the dealer network.
The tyvek suits and masks probably seem like overkill but I had a friend in high school who got spinal meningitis from messing with a mouse nest. Good looks on the jump suits.
It always amazes me to see so many channels (like tavarish) work on a very similar state of car without any kind of protection, not even eyes I always wondered if it was worrying about perception from other insecure men (those at the heart of the anti-mask movement for example, imagine rejecting a simple considerate thing) in their viewership
It’s pretty common for rotary’s that sit for a while to have their seals stuck. Keep starting it and let it go through the warmup cycle a couple times and the compression numbers should wake back up if the engine isn’t worn out. And with difference between the front and rear rotor’s compression I’m willing to bet on them being stuck. And definitely take it on some test drives to clear it out. Do a coolant pressure test if you’re worried that the coolant seals have failed from sitting
Especially with this rx8 being owned by an older man I’m sure he wasn’t redlining it often enough to clear out carbon. I think it’s very likely that this car needs a couple heat cycles to free up some seals and then a good bit of hard driving to wake it up
partly correct. ive owned multiple rotaries and recently even brought one back to life after sitting in a field for over 10 years. spray like a whole can of fogging oil into the spark plug wells. this allows for lubrication and allows the seals to come unstuck without the chance of cracking them. you should only redline this engine after driving it about 50 miles to allow the seals to reseat into the housings properly. after that, you're OK to beat the snot out of it. on a generation 2 rx8 you dont need to premix but i would stick 0.5oz/gal of premix for the first 5 fillups. honestly im sure these guys have plenty of money and resources to figure this out, or they'll just go full youtuber clout and stick a K in it for ragebait. im leaning towards the latter.
The cars handle, rev, and accelerate well but the fact is, the rotary in them burns more oil than gas. When I drove them at my dealership they were amazing but I'd hate to own one for more than a weekend warrior. If I had one and had the money I'd drop a K20/K24 in it b/c the Rotary just isn't reliable in the long term. So great chassis, handling, turning, weight to power ratio, but the engine was not so good.
@matthewmohri9990 why do people always bring up the oil burning thing? They are literally designed to do that. There is an OMP which injects oil into the combustion chamber for lubrication. Just more hate due to a lack of understanding of how and why these motors work the way they do. Also, the renisis motor is a fantastic motor. 200-230hp out of an n/a 1.3l is genuinely impressive. The downfall of the rotary came from mazda trying to make a race car motor work like a regular car motor. They made it a 4 door like you're going to put a child seat in the back and daily drive it. Had they advertised these as the car that they are (a fantastic handling sports car with a race motor in it), you would see more on the road today.
First off, love that car and the idea of an elderly man in a rural area drifting it. As for the rotary, as a viewer it's very compelling to see what you could do with it as it's more niche. Either way, looking forward to the series. Cheers
@@funtyes1970 what's so hard to believe about someone buying an RX-8? I might buy one in the future too, cuz they're fun little cars and I love the suicide doors. besides, they're cheap as hell.
Happy to see more rotaries on the channel, please keep it rotary! Ill add to the other comments recommending a good hard drive. Sometimes you can get the seals unstuck after sitting awhile. I’ve also never heard of such a long deflood process before, 6 x 10 seconds seems like a lot
If you can find a stock air box, go back to that. There is pretty much no benefit from using an after market intake. Especially a hot air box like the one already in there. More heat is the last thing you want in the engine. The wheels were also used on the Mazdaspeed 3 for awhile but mostly unobtanium in my area. Please keep the rotary engine. You will spend way more swapping it than rebuilding it.
Not if you live in a wet climate. I live in Washington and I am a Mazda tech and always see cars tow in because Mass Air Flow reading incorrect because it collect water.
Gotta keep the rotary in it because its an r3 model. They are soo hard to come by. If it was a regular rx8 then do whatever but this model deserves to keep the rotary
imma be honest ive had my R3 for 2 years now and they're really not that rare, maybe in america they are? but worldwide the total production units is quite high theres always many on the market in the UK theres currently 577 known R3's in the UK as of Q3 2023 but i would agree keep the rotary maybe keep the S2 renesis as they are a great engine compared to the S1
It is actually completely normal to smoke like this when de-flooding. If not mistaken these rotary engines, that comes with the rx8 and r3s does have the direct oil injection into the housing. That does not mean, apex seals are good tho. But sitting and having gunk in the sparks means there is probably gunk under the apex seal as just as piston ring it has space underneath. Anyway if you did not keep your FD rotary this engine that comes with RX8 is not worth saving from my point of view. But the R3 as a car is gorgeous.
Stoked for RX-8 content. I love mine. Keep it rotary. You have plenty of piston engine cars already, and it'll be better content anyway. Don't take its soul away!
this looks so unreal to me... seeing a modern car in a layer of dust and grime sitting in some shed. until now i've only seen like 25+ years old cars in a state like this.
Near me, there’s a 2008 Audi a4 1.9tdi (s-line) that’s been parked under a tree for 5 years. Checking the reg, it says that it only has 100,000 miles. Very sad for such a nice car
Go into Rural areas, and this will be pretty common, I've seen dozens of rural houses with a slew of 2000s sedans, sports and trucks wasting away in tall grass.
I swapped a renesis into my 1st gen rx7. After sitting for months, i also have intermittent low compression, but after a long drive and 8000 rpm whatever gummy seal unsticks and it runs perfect again. It shouldnt smoke though, low compression or not. Thats definitely an oil seal that was damaged.
Be sure to use Black Horse Racing direct fit coil pack upgrades. OE improved coil packs should be used only for 30k miles due to high duty cycles of rotary engine. Worn coils clog the catalytic converter and kill the engine via heat build up weakening the side exhaust seal spring.
When I got my license I was trying decide between a well kept RX-8 in my area and a SG5 Forester XT. I ended up going with the Forester because I thought it would be a bit more easy to daily. (I know, I know I was ignorant to think dailying a 200'000 mile FXT was going to be reliable but I enjoyed every day with the car even when it broke.) Back to the point I always admired the RX-8 and will probably get on at some point. Glad to see this one is going to be loved once again.
@@0HOON0 So true, I laugh about it now looking back. But that car was the reason I had so little savings. I can remember so many nights raising it up to do a "quick fix" or even maintaince. And then it's 3 am and I have classes in a few hours. Also did not help I always wanted to modify it. Sold it to cover a couple of sesmerters in college. My school did not have a shop class but everyone joked I did not need it.
Being a big Nissan/Honda guy my whole life I always lusted over these. I’m glad you guys were able to pick this thing up and on your way to restoring it to its former glory. Would love to see you rebuild the rotary but seeing a k swap go in wouldn’t be a bad idea either! This is such a great chassis that’s really slept on due to the “stain” it gave the RX legacy being a lot chunkier and having a far less reliable motor the its predecessors. Honestly for the money these things are such a bargain, the market is gonna go up on these in a couple years mark my words.
I've Owned my 06 RX8 for about a year now and I've had my fair share of issues (clutch right now) So please Cherish when it works and when it works its the best car I've ever driven! DO NOT unrotary her please, the RX8 doesn't get enough love in the car community and JapandaTuning was the last youtuber who actually made good RX8 Rotary content, I miss him so bad, do the RX8 Justice!
If u don't rebuild the renesis. Swap in either a 13b Rew from a fd. Be a cool swap considering you have a fd that's engine swapped or the cooler option 20b swap it. Full P port 3 rotor no turbos making 400whp would be perfect
Honestly, the engine sounds surprisingly strong after the first start. My RX-7 smoked like a chimney after I started for the first time. After I got all of the bad gas out of the system, it stopped smoking and ran like a top ever since. Your engine for sure has some issues though… lol
As someone who had a twin rotor 1100cc each one 2 door rx8 it warms my heart every time I see one online or on the road 👌 I had equipped it with an aftermarket exhaust aswell as a front bumper and Avid av-06 beige rims heh. Loved that red thing with it's trash gas mileage 💖
My uncle did have a single rotor rx8 at one point before he got an s2k. I do recall some having v6-v8 swaps (around 2019 with uz and gr swaps), they are a rarity now among all the mehrans and corollas
@@ibgh24 a "single" rotor rx8? what are u talking about lol. im assuming this was awhile ago when single rotor engines in general were extremely hard to find and not only that even now with aftermarket single rotors they'll still very hard to find and stupid to ever put in a car i highly highly doubt it was single rotor it was probably running bad and running on a single rotor but deffo wasnt a single rotor engine swap lol
@@Diontb I just noticed my mistake, im not really familiar with the wankel engines. I heard my father talk about one of his mates from uni having an rx8 just like my uncles that was higher spec, didnt realize the rx8 only had one engine option. Thanks for the clarification thou.
I worked selling Mazdas when the rx8 was still in production and I loved them. We had an r3 in our showroom that took forever to sell. Such a beautiful car.
LETS GOOOOOOOO NOOOO DONT SWAP HER YET TRUST ME. The rotary is a drug. Do one track day and you'll fall in love. Having the rev range and the car being a momentum car gives so much pleasure. At least give the rotary a shot before you swap it, so you'll know what you're missing :) Swap her after you experience it, though. I fully support post rotary swaps, as an owner myself (haven't swapped), especially with rotary parts these days. But at least experience it first!
Leaving it dirty, so you can have someone wash it (in another episode) is such a RUclips content thing... I get it, but I hate it when... you know... you'd never do that in real life.
I had an Rx8 R3 as my daily for 3.5 years and only ever had one oil leak in that time and no compression/starting issues, I think people bought these cars ignorant of the care for the engine then gave them a bad name. I freaking LOVED that car. I only sold it because I was moving to new country.
Ive always felt the deflood procedure is just for when youre stuck away from home without tools. Its super easy to foul the plugs on that first restart. To deflood I prefer remove fuel pump fuse, pull both leading spark plugs, then crank it for a while with no plugs installed. Brake clean the plugs then start it up.
OMG that’s exactly the color and R3 I always wanted. Tried to find a R3 a few years ago and couldn’t find one. Please get with Rob Dahm get this rotary into full awesome.
Looking forward to seeing the RX8 fully detailed and (hopefully) with the silly looking ski rack removed. I really hope you keep it rotary, but it will be cool no matter what.
Oh my god i have the exact same car, 2009 blue r3. Its incredible seeing it in that shape, mine also at some point got drift hit on the passenger side lol. Its a great car love to see it on a channel like yours!
And for some reason I have a feeling that this beautiful blue RX8 will get K-Swapped. Not complaining, a properly done K-swap would be superior in terms of fuel efficiency... but if I remember from the RX7... is hell of a lot of work to get everything working properly... so... I would be happy to see this engine get properly rebuilt. Someone certainly is weighing in the pros and cons of both ideas.
@@dohc7232 30+ mpg isn't crazy, I used to get 31+ in a 350+hp Mk7 golf. Also gotta remember that there's a difference in UK and US gallons so CT's 30mpg is about the same as 25mpg in the US
That’s not the reason he would k-swap. Actual power potential, decent sound and a well designed engine that doesn’t require ridiculous maintenance is why you would k swap it
@@HondaEnjoyer12 you have a weird way of spelling "TERRIBLE sounding" and nothing about the 13B is ridiculous maintenance, at best its a minor inconvenience...
@@dohc7232 let’s not lie here and say the na rotary in the rx8 sounds better than a k20… 13b turbo I agree is one of the best sounding engines ever, especially when ported, but the rx8 engine is the worst sounding engine of all time. It’s a shame as it’s arguably a better chassis then the rx7
I love watching these types of videos. The ones where you find cars and God awful conditions and then you bring them back to life and afterwards you wouldn’t even know how bad of a condition you found it in. Great video. Looking forward to the detailing on this.
Ben, it's your car. 🚙 As a fan I respect your choices and if you wish to help this RX8 and Gear & Gasoline fan smile 😀 😊. Keep it rotary. ❤ That is all. 😅
I'm living vicariously through this video!!! I had a chance to buy an RX8 R3 a number of years ago off of a family friend, but I didn't have the money for it. Always loved these. It's still on my list of cars to buy one day. I've got a 2013 Speed3 right now and I love it more and more every single day. The dream is to have one of these, an RX7, Speed3 and Speed6 in my garage one day. Please keep it rotary and keep them alive.
I always had to fight with mine every spring (as she gets stored for the winter). Could be from sitting, could be from the fogging oil I use when I store her away. I've spent hours and even burnt out a starter deflooding it, pulling the plugs, cleaning them and repeating. Honestly, a spray of starting fluid saves so much work and aggrevation, and not washing the rotors with gas before it's first fire up.
i firmly believe if the rx8 wasnt the follow up to the rx7 it would be one of the most succesful sports cars out there. stunning design, really cool practical doors, really fun engine, great handler. the rx8 is what got me into cars and i love them
I just watched this video today. I'm a Mazda guy from my dad who is a lifelong Mazda Tech. Can't wait to see this Project done, and I laughed after seeing this car was bought at the same dealership my dad works at now. Bob King Mazda in Winston Salem, NC LOL
I’d be so let down to see this car get its engine swapped for anything but a rebuilt motor or 13B from an FX-7. Something like that platform being as rare and collectible as it is should be honored with the high revving and crazy weird engine that it was bestowed. Truly love the channel and its contents though and hope to see more of what you guys do with this car
@@pakigangsta5 Definitely worth it. He said it himself that the car is the rarest trim the US market got. To botch the heart of the car would be worthless. The LS is great but if you want an LS get a corvette. The platform is special and deserves something just as special. The basic LS/Coyote/Hemi treatment is so overdone and doesn’t show skill or effort in my opinion. People like Rob who have made a four rotor RX-7 and have it for years on end going to multiple events and make more power then anything in its weight class is more then enough proof that the platform is worth it if you actually put in effort. Besides, throwing in an LS messes up the weight distribution completely kills what the car was made for, which is taking crazy corners and downhills and just revving through to crazy speeds. It’s not really that good in a straight line even with an LS and would just be a waste of money. A C5 corvette would be a cheaper and easier build for those just wanting a washed up and repeated cycle of LS engines
I LOVE these episodes of buying/finding a rare care and giving it the “tlc” it deserves…this could turn out to be a great addition to the fleet🤟🏻
You nailed it mate! These type of content is the bee's knees!
This is far from rare people
@@rolexmd69 I swear half of youtube is brain dead teens mimicking bot comments over and over again to farm thumbs up's... its sad.
if a RX8 is rare then im john cena....these things are everywhere and not in good shape
I've had a 2009 RX8 for 12 years without issues. Best of luck fixing whatever the previous owner caused
Hey, can you tell me which model did you have and what did you do maintenance wise to keep it running for 12 years without issues? I’m toying with the idea of RX8 ownership but everybody is scaring me about the non-existent reliability of the engine….
@@TheGabrca it's not about the model, it's more about it's maintenance history. I did oil changes regularly and made sure the level never went low. Regular plug changes, more reliable coils, and maybe some emissions related improvements. Maybe I got lucky, but I didn't do anything special outside of being attentive.
If this will be your only car, don't get it. I've had mine since basically new, so I know it was taken care of. If you don't know that for certain, assume worst case scenario.
@@TheGabrca If you have full control over the car from start to finish and you keep up with maintenance and don't neglect all the other systems on the car. It will run just fine for years to come. My advice is the same as @ilikecars212 Do not buy one as your only means of transportation. It's just way too risky and expensive to maintain unless you make enough money to cover a 10k dollar engine replacement at some point. Don't buy an RX8 from a random dealership that has no idea what condition it is in and is just flipping it. Try and find someone from a forum or has some sort of work history and knows what they actually own.
Just to give you an idea of what my history is like, I bought my 2004 RX8 with 86K miles for like 7-8 grand or so. I knew it had lower compression on one of the rotors or faces because I could hear a slight weaker pulse in the exhaust so I was already slightly concerned. 6 months later either the engine died or flooded or something happened. Ended up buying a rebuilt engine with used parts from a rotary rebuild shop in Texas. Even without labor and doing the engine swap myself, it cost around 4 grand for just the engine and closer to 6-7 grand after changing a bunch of parts to freshen up the whole car. Clutch, Solenoids, Starter, Coils, etc...
I've owned the car now after that happened for 4 years. I also ended up spending another 4 grand or so at the dealership because shortly after buying the car it also had weird power steering issues with vibrating and just losing power steering entirely. Tried fixing it myself with bypassing connectors, but to no avail. Apparently it was a common issue with a sensor inside the rack that goes bad.
So all in all for a 90K mile car I have probably put in nearly 16 grand into the car including the purchase price. So if that gives you any idea of how bad it can get, it can get very bad. I fortunately got help from my parents, so I only paid about half of that. But I know not everyone has that kind of luxury (most don't).
Hopefully that gives you some insight of what can possibly happen. My advice is yes it's a cool car and all, but it just doesn't make financial sense to own unless you are like balling out like crazy and a car collector. They can just have someone else fix it and have no worries about financials.
@@IStratz why buy a car if you can't drive it every day. this is why I never like rotary motor. it not reliable
@@funtyes1970You totally can and I do! its just about making sure the maintenance is taken care of!
8's smoke like that after a deflood, you might have stuck apex seals if it's low on compression.
Give it a really good thrash with high revs whilst working it hard and you will clean it out.
Your compression in the 6's is absolutely fine you only need to get really worried once it starts to hit the 4's
Also worth noting that R3's were not a limited model, you are probably thinking about the spirit R
Fake parts are also a really big problem, stick with known good NGK suppliers for plugs as both fake plugs and coils have been known to enter the dealer network.
@@HitpersonI thought the spirit r was a Japanese exclusive. If that's the case, then the r3 are the rare models everywhere else
@@dannythor2012 not in the UK they are not, definitely more than 500 here...
@@Hitperson The R3 is rare in the US. Its the rarest version of a Series 2.
I hope they keep the rotary, different content is always good.
K swap RX8
@@AudiRSAvant gross
@@AudiRSAvantNAY! I've owned my RX8 for about a year now, its not worth the hassle and you'll end up spending A LOT
i smell K-series
Definitely these guys make awesome videos and something new would be cool to see especially with them learning along the way
The tyvek suits and masks probably seem like overkill but I had a friend in high school who got spinal meningitis from messing with a mouse nest. Good looks on the jump suits.
If you could smell this car… its definitely not overkill
It always amazes me to see so many channels (like tavarish) work on a very similar state of car without any kind of protection, not even eyes
I always wondered if it was worrying about perception from other insecure men (those at the heart of the anti-mask movement for example, imagine rejecting a simple considerate thing) in their viewership
@@jd_99I think it might have to do more with the fact that tavarish is kind of an idiot sometimes.
Leptospirosis is no joke .....from rat 💩 and piss.....better safe than sorry
Maybe the rx8 has covid 😂
please keep it rotary. please put it on the track, please do it justice.
Disagree. Please engine swap it and give it 300 to 400 horsepower. The car will be absolutely insane.
So many of them are ruined by engine swaps :(
Lol more power baby
Ruined?? You mean made awesome?
No and no. LS Swap it and stance it. Just to piss everyone off.
no swaps! revving an na rotary out is a pretty unique feeling to just about anything else, never fails to bring a smile to my face when I drive one.
yeah revs to the moon are part of the fun of a spinning dorito!
Till it blows up
It’s pretty common for rotary’s that sit for a while to have their seals stuck. Keep starting it and let it go through the warmup cycle a couple times and the compression numbers should wake back up if the engine isn’t worn out. And with difference between the front and rear rotor’s compression I’m willing to bet on them being stuck. And definitely take it on some test drives to clear it out. Do a coolant pressure test if you’re worried that the coolant seals have failed from sitting
Especially with this rx8 being owned by an older man I’m sure he wasn’t redlining it often enough to clear out carbon. I think it’s very likely that this car needs a couple heat cycles to free up some seals and then a good bit of hard driving to wake it up
partly correct. ive owned multiple rotaries and recently even brought one back to life after sitting in a field for over 10 years. spray like a whole can of fogging oil into the spark plug wells. this allows for lubrication and allows the seals to come unstuck without the chance of cracking them. you should only redline this engine after driving it about 50 miles to allow the seals to reseat into the housings properly. after that, you're OK to beat the snot out of it. on a generation 2 rx8 you dont need to premix but i would stick 0.5oz/gal of premix for the first 5 fillups. honestly im sure these guys have plenty of money and resources to figure this out, or they'll just go full youtuber clout and stick a K in it for ragebait. im leaning towards the latter.
Really glad to see some youtubers doing stuffs to RX8s. Too much hate on them.
IKR. They don't live up to the RX7 hype. But nothing ever can or will. It's a good car in its own right
The cars handle, rev, and accelerate well but the fact is, the rotary in them burns more oil than gas. When I drove them at my dealership they were amazing but I'd hate to own one for more than a weekend warrior. If I had one and had the money I'd drop a K20/K24 in it b/c the Rotary just isn't reliable in the long term. So great chassis, handling, turning, weight to power ratio, but the engine was not so good.
@@jacobrzeszewski6527 The RX7 was an all time great car, a lot of cars aren't gonna be as great. The RX8 wasn't a great RX7, but it was a great car.
@matthewmohri9990 why do people always bring up the oil burning thing? They are literally designed to do that. There is an OMP which injects oil into the combustion chamber for lubrication. Just more hate due to a lack of understanding of how and why these motors work the way they do.
Also, the renisis motor is a fantastic motor. 200-230hp out of an n/a 1.3l is genuinely impressive. The downfall of the rotary came from mazda trying to make a race car motor work like a regular car motor. They made it a 4 door like you're going to put a child seat in the back and daily drive it. Had they advertised these as the car that they are (a fantastic handling sports car with a race motor in it), you would see more on the road today.
t's also always lovely to see people praising the RX7 but hate on the RX8 for burning oil,
As if the RX7 doesn't do the same thing.
First off, love that car and the idea of an elderly man in a rural area drifting it. As for the rotary, as a viewer it's very compelling to see what you could do with it as it's more niche. Either way, looking forward to the series. Cheers
Funny coincidence, I'm going to buy an RX-8 40th anniversary later today, and you guys at G&G are part of the reason I love rotaries
your saying this to the man that threw out an REW for a stupid K engine...,
yeah right buddy sure you did buy a RX-8. yeah, and I buy 10 of RX-8 today .lol
I've Owned my 06 RX8 for about a year now and I've had my fair share of issues (clutch right now) So please Cherish when it works!
@@funtyes1970 what's so hard to believe about someone buying an RX-8? I might buy one in the future too, cuz they're fun little cars and I love the suicide doors. besides, they're cheap as hell.
Give us an update on how that goes I would like to see pictures and videos if you can
Happy to see more rotaries on the channel, please keep it rotary!
Ill add to the other comments recommending a good hard drive. Sometimes you can get the seals unstuck after sitting awhile.
I’ve also never heard of such a long deflood process before, 6 x 10 seconds seems like a lot
If you can find a stock air box, go back to that. There is pretty much no benefit from using an after market intake. Especially a hot air box like the one already in there. More heat is the last thing you want in the engine.
The wheels were also used on the Mazdaspeed 3 for awhile but mostly unobtanium in my area.
Please keep the rotary engine. You will spend way more swapping it than rebuilding it.
There is Benefit to an aftermarket intake, just make sure its a racing beat or an AEM. But I agree, Generally, its not really worth it.
Not if you live in a wet climate. I live in Washington and I am a Mazda tech and always see cars tow in because Mass Air Flow reading incorrect because it collect water.
Gotta keep the rotary in it because its an r3 model. They are soo hard to come by. If it was a regular rx8 then do whatever but this model deserves to keep the rotary
imma be honest ive had my R3 for 2 years now and they're really not that rare, maybe in america they are? but worldwide the total production units is quite high theres always many on the market in the UK theres currently 577 known R3's in the UK as of Q3 2023 but i would agree keep the rotary maybe keep the S2 renesis as they are a great engine compared to the S1
That detailing vid is about to be next level. Can’t wait to see what’s in store for this!
Rotary's are around for a good time! Not a long time. Build it, port it and enjoy it! Delete the omp and premix.
It is actually completely normal to smoke like this when de-flooding. If not mistaken these rotary engines, that comes with the rx8 and r3s does have the direct oil injection into the housing.
That does not mean, apex seals are good tho. But sitting and having gunk in the sparks means there is probably gunk under the apex seal as just as piston ring it has space underneath.
Anyway if you did not keep your FD rotary this engine that comes with RX8 is not worth saving from my point of view. But the R3 as a car is gorgeous.
Love the camera work, love the story telling, love the little touches of humour. Thanks for the great content as always !
20B RX8's are monsters on track! Keep it Rotary and get a 3 Rotor in her to let it scream!!!
I wish 20Bs were economical to do anymore, but no one will do rep motors in affordable costs
Stoked for RX-8 content. I love mine. Keep it rotary. You have plenty of piston engine cars already, and it'll be better content anyway. Don't take its soul away!
Keep the ROTARY AT ALL COSTS!!!!!!!!!
this looks so unreal to me... seeing a modern car in a layer of dust and grime sitting in some shed. until now i've only seen like 25+ years old cars in a state like this.
Honestly same
Near me, there’s a 2008 Audi a4 1.9tdi (s-line) that’s been parked under a tree for 5 years. Checking the reg, it says that it only has 100,000 miles. Very sad for such a nice car
Go into Rural areas, and this will be pretty common, I've seen dozens of rural houses with a slew of 2000s sedans, sports and trucks wasting away in tall grass.
YESSS! Can’t wait for more RX-8 content. Love that you were able to find an R3 as well!
I swapped a renesis into my 1st gen rx7. After sitting for months, i also have intermittent low compression, but after a long drive and 8000 rpm whatever gummy seal unsticks and it runs perfect again. It shouldnt smoke though, low compression or not. Thats definitely an oil seal that was damaged.
I know Mark has participated in the channel for a long time but I love that he has been a lot more active now
Keep up the RX-8 content. Don't let these fade away forever.
These cars will have a comeback, people are realizing what they are.
As many comments have already said, please consider keeping her rotary! They’re such fun motors when properly cared for.
Great video!
14:07 they smoke like that on first start up after not running for a bit drive it some and it'll clear up
Over 20 years of relatively trouble free ownership on my RX8. Hope it stays rotary but looking forward more videos either way
im currently at 2 years with my R3 its been the most reliable car ive owned lol just expensive
“I’m the king, I’m the man, I’m the rotary guy”
Yes you are Mark! Hell yeah!
Be sure to use Black Horse Racing direct fit coil pack upgrades. OE improved coil packs should be used only for 30k miles due to high duty cycles of rotary engine. Worn coils clog the catalytic converter and kill the engine via heat build up weakening the side exhaust seal spring.
You mean Black Halo Racing, but yes.
Black Horse Racing hahaha.
just got a set of wires and coils from BHR.
Car Feels alive again, even with compression in the high 6's haa
When I got my license I was trying decide between a well kept RX-8 in my area and a SG5 Forester XT. I ended up going with the Forester because I thought it would be a bit more easy to daily. (I know, I know I was ignorant to think dailying a 200'000 mile FXT was going to be reliable but I enjoyed every day with the car even when it broke.) Back to the point I always admired the RX-8 and will probably get on at some point.
Glad to see this one is going to be loved once again.
Both of your choices are financially risky af. 😂 Seriously like maintaining an exotic.
@@0HOON0 So true, I laugh about it now looking back. But that car was the reason I had so little savings. I can remember so many nights raising it up to do a "quick fix" or even maintaince. And then it's 3 am and I have classes in a few hours. Also did not help I always wanted to modify it. Sold it to cover a couple of sesmerters in college.
My school did not have a shop class but everyone joked I did not need it.
I subscribed for the RX-8. I like a good restoration series! Let's see this rotary back on the road! 💪
I am loving this already and I haven't made it past the adverts at the start of the episode
Finally some substance! The rx8 chassis handles amazingly. Amazing track car
Being a big Nissan/Honda guy my whole life I always lusted over these. I’m glad you guys were able to pick this thing up and on your way to restoring it to its former glory. Would love to see you rebuild the rotary but seeing a k swap go in wouldn’t be a bad idea either! This is such a great chassis that’s really slept on due to the “stain” it gave the RX legacy being a lot chunkier and having a far less reliable motor the its predecessors. Honestly for the money these things are such a bargain, the market is gonna go up on these in a couple years mark my words.
I've Owned my 06 RX8 for about a year now and I've had my fair share of issues (clutch right now) So please Cherish when it works and when it works its the best car I've ever driven! DO NOT unrotary her please, the RX8 doesn't get enough love in the car community and JapandaTuning was the last youtuber who actually made good RX8 Rotary content, I miss him so bad, do the RX8 Justice!
slip angle media has the project gr8 daily
@@ZackNakazora1Yeah I should've mentioned them, Its my other favorite build. I use them for installation guides.
If u don't rebuild the renesis. Swap in either a 13b Rew from a fd. Be a cool swap considering you have a fd that's engine swapped or the cooler option 20b swap it. Full P port 3 rotor no turbos making 400whp would be perfect
Mark’s intro tag in all new videos should be “The king of rotaries” and nothing else.
😆😆😆
LFG!!! Take it out and beat on it the compression numbers should get better.
Honestly, the engine sounds surprisingly strong after the first start. My RX-7 smoked like a chimney after I started for the first time. After I got all of the bad gas out of the system, it stopped smoking and ran like a top ever since. Your engine for sure has some issues though… lol
As someone who had a twin rotor 1100cc each one 2 door rx8 it warms my heart every time I see one online or on the road 👌 I had equipped it with an aftermarket exhaust aswell as a front bumper and Avid av-06 beige rims heh. Loved that red thing with it's trash gas mileage 💖
More rotary content please. I would love to learn along with you guys.
Barn finds and revivals are the best of car content.
While I'll enjoy whatever you do to it, I hope you keep the Rotary. There are so many rx8s here in Pakistan but 90% are just 1jz or 2jz swaps now
My uncle did have a single rotor rx8 at one point before he got an s2k. I do recall some having v6-v8 swaps (around 2019 with uz and gr swaps), they are a rarity now among all the mehrans and corollas
@@ibgh24 a "single" rotor rx8? what are u talking about lol. im assuming this was awhile ago when single rotor engines in general were extremely hard to find and not only that even now with aftermarket single rotors they'll still very hard to find and stupid to ever put in a car i highly highly doubt it was single rotor it was probably running bad and running on a single rotor but deffo wasnt a single rotor engine swap lol
@@Diontb I just noticed my mistake, im not really familiar with the wankel engines. I heard my father talk about one of his mates from uni having an rx8 just like my uncles that was higher spec, didnt realize the rx8 only had one engine option. Thanks for the clarification thou.
@@ibgh24 well no 2 engine options a 4 port 192hp engine and a 6 port 231hp engine but both are 2 rotor wankel engines no problem 👍
I worked selling Mazdas when the rx8 was still in production and I loved them. We had an r3 in our showroom that took forever to sell. Such a beautiful car.
i love the Rx8. i love the renesis engine.
LETS GOOOOOOOO
NOOOO DONT SWAP HER YET TRUST ME. The rotary is a drug. Do one track day and you'll fall in love. Having the rev range and the car being a momentum car gives so much pleasure. At least give the rotary a shot before you swap it, so you'll know what you're missing :)
Swap her after you experience it, though. I fully support post rotary swaps, as an owner myself (haven't swapped), especially with rotary parts these days. But at least experience it first!
Leaving it dirty, so you can have someone wash it (in another episode) is such a RUclips content thing... I get it, but I hate it when... you know... you'd never do that in real life.
I had an Rx8 R3 as my daily for 3.5 years and only ever had one oil leak in that time and no compression/starting issues, I think people bought these cars ignorant of the care for the engine then gave them a bad name. I freaking LOVED that car. I only sold it because I was moving to new country.
You and Rob Dahm will be great friends. His friend/welder Isaiah also has a RX-8
Maybe he'll comment on the video later
Ive always felt the deflood procedure is just for when youre stuck away from home without tools.
Its super easy to foul the plugs on that first restart.
To deflood I prefer remove fuel pump fuse, pull both leading spark plugs, then crank it for a while with no plugs installed. Brake clean the plugs then start it up.
The RX8 is such a good looking car. This project is gonna be epic.
OMG that’s exactly the color and R3 I always wanted. Tried to find a R3 a few years ago and couldn’t find one. Please get with Rob Dahm get this rotary into full awesome.
Please collaborate with the Vargas Brothers on a sick build engine. We all need a little brap brap in our lives😂😂
Looking forward to seeing the RX8 fully detailed and (hopefully) with the silly looking ski rack removed. I really hope you keep it rotary, but it will be cool no matter what.
Oh my god i have the exact same car, 2009 blue r3. Its incredible seeing it in that shape, mine also at some point got drift hit on the passenger side lol. Its a great car love to see it on a channel like yours!
Glad to see a auto RUclipsr doing a import,everyone else is doing high horsepower cars,well this is my 1st video for you guys
Gonna need an AutoAlex Collab. Two days, two RX8s 🤣
Awesome choice ! the perfect RX8 Spec. its gonna be an awesome series
And for some reason I have a feeling that this beautiful blue RX8 will get K-Swapped. Not complaining, a properly done K-swap would be superior in terms of fuel efficiency... but if I remember from the RX7... is hell of a lot of work to get everything working properly... so... I would be happy to see this engine get properly rebuilt. Someone certainly is weighing in the pros and cons of both ideas.
no, just no
and an RX8 can get 30+ MPG, just look at car throttle
@@dohc7232 30+ mpg isn't crazy, I used to get 31+ in a 350+hp Mk7 golf. Also gotta remember that there's a difference in UK and US gallons so CT's 30mpg is about the same as 25mpg in the US
That’s not the reason he would k-swap. Actual power potential, decent sound and a well designed engine that doesn’t require ridiculous maintenance is why you would k swap it
@@HondaEnjoyer12 you have a weird way of spelling "TERRIBLE sounding"
and nothing about the 13B is ridiculous maintenance, at best its a minor inconvenience...
@@dohc7232 let’s not lie here and say the na rotary in the rx8 sounds better than a k20… 13b turbo I agree is one of the best sounding engines ever, especially when ported, but the rx8 engine is the worst sounding engine of all time. It’s a shame as it’s arguably a better chassis then the rx7
I love watching these types of videos. The ones where you find cars and God awful conditions and then you bring them back to life and afterwards you wouldn’t even know how bad of a condition you found it in. Great video. Looking forward to the detailing on this.
I think itd be fun to rebuild and keep it rotary. You already derotared the rx-7, so you should keep the rotary for the 8
all we can we do is wait. But i think he's gonna take that engine out.
I can't wait for this series - I'm only 3:30 in but really hope this becomes a thing.
Another vote for keeping it rotary!
Awsome find! Please do a rebuild on the rotary. I can't wait to watch the upgrades!
I've always wanted to build out an RX-8 so I look forward to seeing where this build goes.
Gotta love the free flosser included with the sale of the car at 12:34, never seen someone stash one in the headliner.
Ben, it's your car. 🚙
As a fan I respect your choices and if you wish to help this RX8 and Gear & Gasoline fan smile 😀 😊.
Keep it rotary. ❤
That is all. 😅
So this ole dude in his late 60's decides to buy a top trip RX8 and pop wine bottles, smoke weird ciggies, and get sideways. Glorious.
As i sit here sanding on a valve cover i see this come up, perfect timing 👌
I'm living vicariously through this video!!! I had a chance to buy an RX8 R3 a number of years ago off of a family friend, but I didn't have the money for it. Always loved these. It's still on my list of cars to buy one day. I've got a 2013 Speed3 right now and I love it more and more every single day. The dream is to have one of these, an RX7, Speed3 and Speed6 in my garage one day. Please keep it rotary and keep them alive.
It would be funny if he put lambo doors and a body kit on it. and then actually won a race with it.
It makes sense that you access the plugs from the wheel well but also...... god damn
YES! I voted for RX-8 on the last poll! I'm incredibly happy to see RX-8 on the channel!
I had a 2005 RX8 and 2002 MR2Spyder previously. I like your taste.
*rotary apologists have entered the chat*
Love seeing mark in the vids, and seeing the yellow s2k around town!
You guys found the EXACT car ive been looking for. TOTALLLY not jealous q-q
Fuck yeah!! 8's getting some love. These things are more reliable than they get sold for so keep it up guys.
I still break my neck whenever I come across a R3
I always had to fight with mine every spring (as she gets stored for the winter). Could be from sitting, could be from the fogging oil I use when I store her away. I've spent hours and even burnt out a starter deflooding it, pulling the plugs, cleaning them and repeating. Honestly, a spray of starting fluid saves so much work and aggrevation, and not washing the rotors with gas before it's first fire up.
Man ...I feel old when 2008 is now a "barn find"
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS RX8 TIME! CAN'T BE HAPPIER!
I love the Rx8 so so much
i firmly believe if the rx8 wasnt the follow up to the rx7 it would be one of the most succesful sports cars out there. stunning design, really cool practical doors, really fun engine, great handler.
the rx8 is what got me into cars and i love them
Keep it original, its such a great spec
These late model R3 RX-8's are beautiful cars, one of the best looking sports cars from the era. I'd love to have one one day.
See how long the rotary will last and use it as a budget track car!
First video I've watched of yours. I really enjoyed it. Great repartee, videography, and knowledge. Thanks Guys.
I was itching to see that thing get hit with a pressure washer but I guess I can wait a week or two. Wicked find!
My dad and I have maintained and upgraded his 6spd 05’. Still rotary!!!!!! Super fun to drive and the sounds are incredible.
Plot twist, he J swaps it!
I just watched this video today. I'm a Mazda guy from my dad who is a lifelong Mazda Tech. Can't wait to see this Project done, and I laughed after seeing this car was bought at the same dealership my dad works at now. Bob King Mazda in Winston Salem, NC LOL
Woooo hell yeah another Mazda build, up the mighty rotary
I am so keen to watch the detailing video for this car, going to be so satisfying
Keep it rotary, you guys need to get in touch with Rob Dahm!
I’d be so let down to see this car get its engine swapped for anything but a rebuilt motor or 13B from an FX-7. Something like that platform being as rare and collectible as it is should be honored with the high revving and crazy weird engine that it was bestowed. Truly love the channel and its contents though and hope to see more of what you guys do with this car
Nah not worth the headache, LS it.
20B!
@@pakigangsta5 Definitely worth it. He said it himself that the car is the rarest trim the US market got. To botch the heart of the car would be worthless. The LS is great but if you want an LS get a corvette. The platform is special and deserves something just as special. The basic LS/Coyote/Hemi treatment is so overdone and doesn’t show skill or effort in my opinion. People like Rob who have made a four rotor RX-7 and have it for years on end going to multiple events and make more power then anything in its weight class is more then enough proof that the platform is worth it if you actually put in effort. Besides, throwing in an LS messes up the weight distribution completely kills what the car was made for, which is taking crazy corners and downhills and just revving through to crazy speeds. It’s not really that good in a straight line even with an LS and would just be a waste of money. A C5 corvette would be a cheaper and easier build for those just wanting a washed up and repeated cycle of LS engines
I love it. I also own a 2009 R3 and it's an awesome canyon carver when done right.
I love the Rx8 my favorite rotory car
I like to spray a bit of oil into the plug holes when starting a rotary that hasn;t run in a while. Helps lube the seals and create some compression.