New Wheels!

[OtherSyde]

OK so I've been needing a new car for awhile now, my old Contour wasn't gonna last much longer. I'm getting divorced as well, so I sort of decided to take the opportunity to restyle my life. Maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis, but I really hope this isn't "mid-life" since I'm only 29 and I want to live past 58...

 

Anyway, I was going to go for something sporty but practical, possibly less loud than my ultimate choice; I was bent on a 2011 Subaru WRX. However, those still run about $20k to $24k; I have more than good enough credit to swing that, but I just didn't want to make that big of a financial commitment right now. So I was trolling the Cragislist classified's and found this 2007 Mazda RX8 with only 34,000 miles on it being sold by a local family-owned dealership. It's an Asian family who specializes in repairing, trading and dealing Mazdas, Lexuses (Lexi..?) and a few other Asian brands. I picked it up for about $8,900 (several thousand below current value), and so far couldn't be happier. No wait, I could be happier - rotary engines are not very good on fuel... But that's my only gripe so far.

 

Since way back in 2004 when it first debuted, I've always admired the RX8 as a strange novelty car with its rotary engine and strange suicide doors, and it seems fitting as a successor to my 1998 Ford Contour SVT - another rare novelty car with a devout following online. The thing drives great, the engine revs to 10,000 RPM with the 6-speed manual, and it sticks to the road like glue with the 9-inch-wide tires. I didn't pick the rims; they just came with it and were apparently powder-coated by the previous owner. At first I was really put-off by them, but eventually they sort of grew on me; I get a lot of comments and they generate lot of controversy and opinion where ever I go.

 

So yeah, just thought I'd share what is sort of a milestone for me, being my first new (well, new to me anyway) vehicle in about a decade (over nine years now!).

 

Whaddya think - too much?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spanker]

First, sorry to hear about the divorce.

 

Those rims are sick! I think it is a sweet car. At about 6'3" 225 pounds it looks too small for me, but I really do like it. I was stationed in Hawaii. I left about 12 years ago and I still miss it badly.

 

For Hawaii, definitely not too much. For Wyoming, maybe.

[Rothki]

Hey mate, nice car. they look strange being LHD rather than RHD. We see quite a few of them here in Australia. Keep genuine mazda rotary oil in it and drive it hard and you shouldnt have any problems with it.

 

Those wheels look sick in green! i have a STI, and i want similar wheels but in blue. What wheels are on it?

 

Those tail lights are mighty tinted too

 

cheers

 

Tom

[MAGNUMpi]

That car..living in Hawaii. You got it made.

We go cruize the Pali bra!

[OtherSyde]

Thanks for the input guys! The soon-to-be ex wife and I are actually on good terms, we just both sort of realized that we didn't belong together and needed to move on to our respective next phases in our lives. It feels strange but good, and now that I'm single I'm definitely all the more glad I got my hair fixed!

[TakingThePlunge]

OtherSyde,

 

I dig it! Enjoy!

[s2thoudriver]

Good cars, well done. I've had rotary power before now too.

 

My tip to ensure your car stays reliable is to check the oil level very regularly and keep at least a litre spare in the boot (or trunk).

 

They drink a lot of oil (they all do it), so keep it's thirst quenched to avoid any oil starvation issues.

 

Other than that, rev it and enjoy :cool:

[StaggerLee123]

Ah the good ole Wankel Engine... smooth power delivery. I had an RX-7 back in the day, fun little car.

 

Do those wheels glow in the dark? Got Rice? :cool:

[StaggerLee123]

Ah the good ole Wankel Engine... smooth power delivery. I had an RX-7 back in the day, fun little car.

 

Do those wheels glow in the dark? Got Rice? :cool:

[OtherSyde]

Good cars, well done. I've had rotary power before now too.

 

My tip to ensure your car stays reliable is to check the oil level very regularly and keep at least a litre spare in the boot (or trunk).

 

They drink a lot of oil (they all do it), so keep it's thirst quenched to avoid any oil starvation issues.

 

Other than that, rev it and enjoy :cool:

 

Yeah, I did a lot of research in the 3 or 4 days I was considering buying it, learning about the oil consumption and the need to rev it above 5k RPM at least once each time you take it out in order to prevent carbon buildup and carbon lock, and not to use synthetic oil since it burns at too high of a temperature and the engine can't break up the deposits and spit them out the exhaust in its self-cleaning routine, like with regular oil. The Top Gear review is what finally got me; they're so critical of everything, but seemed to like it a lot!

 

 

 

 

 

Also, it may interest rotary fans to know that two HUGE breakthroughs have been made just in the last year. These seem to herald a new generation of cooler-running, more fuel-efficient, and more powerful rotaries by modifying the shape of the combustion chamber where the spark plug sticks into the main chamber, and also by changing the shape of the hollowed-out area of the triagular rotor to lose a lot less compression with each rotation. It's fascinating - this guy Ernie Brink, a former Mazda/Lexus engineer, sums it up in about 3 minutes and I'm stoked about it!

 

 

 

 

 

Also, in light of these advances, it looks like Mazda's planning a new car around these new engines, unofficially dubbed the RX9, due out as early as 2017:

 

Mazda RX9 to Keep Rotary Power, Improve Fuel Economy

 

 

 

So yeah. I'm glad I'm jumping into the rotary scene right now, and I want to learn to work on them since they have much less moving parts that traditional piston engines, and because it seems the Wankel is about to take flight in a whole new way!

 

I wonder if I'll be able to put one of the new rotors in my engine, or maybe just swap out my RX8 engine altogether for one of those next-generation RX9 rotaries...

[OtherSyde]

Ah the good ole Wankel Engine... smooth power delivery. I had an RX-7 back in the day, fun little car.

 

Do those wheels glow in the dark? Got Rice? :cool:

 

Haha yeah, that's what turned me off about them at first, but they sort of blend into the tropical scenery and wild ambiance around here, as Spanker pointed out. Eventually I think I will replace them with my set of Konig rims (my personal favorite brand for some reason, also Konig is German for King), specifically a set of 18x8 Konig Moments, which I think will look better in real life than the green rims and my hastily-created Photo-chopped images:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does that look better..?

[Spanker]

I like both of them. In Hawaii, you can really get away with the green ones. They really pop. But in midwest America the other ones look more appropriate.

 

Hard call.

 

I kinda dig the green.

[StaggerLee123]

I like both of them. In Hawaii, you can really get away with the green ones. They really pop. But in midwest America the other ones look more appropriate.

 

Hard call.

 

I kinda dig the green.

 

^^Yup^^ After seeing you were in the paradise of Hawaii the green wheels are starting to make more sense to me. I say live with them for a while and check the vibe. That review by the Fifth Gear was impressive. Those guys, especially the big dorky one, are usually very difficult to please and he gave it a great review. He pulled it back a bit after driving it in the rain but you know its rear wheel drive and prone to oversteer so driving in the rain should not be an issue for any driver that has talent.

 

That Contour SVT aka The Mini SHO was a great car. Make your next car a 911 and your sports car progression will be complete!

 

Have fun with it.

[OtherSyde]

^^Yup^^ After seeing you were in the paradise of Hawaii the green wheels are starting to make more sense to me. I say live with them for a while and check the vibe. That review by the Fifth Gear was impressive. Those guys, especially the big dorky one, are usually very difficult to please and he gave it a great review. He pulled it back a bit after driving it in the rain but you know its rear wheel drive and prone to oversteer so driving in the rain should not be an issue for any driver that has talent.

 

That Contour SVT aka The Mini SHO was a great car. Make your next car a 911 and your sports car progression will be complete!

 

Have fun with it.

 

Thanks! Also, Jeremy on Top gear specifically mentioned "something about those tires," likely referring to the stock tires and rims; The stock rims/tires are only 8" wide, while I have 9.5" wide racing rims and aftermarket tires, with 10" wide tires on the rear, so it sort of balances that out I think. Still, as with any RWD car, gotta be careful with that throttle on the wet curves

 

Plus, I found the 18" Konig Moments on Amazon.com for only $100 apiece - $400 for the set brand new, but to ship them to Hawaii it would cost almost $100 per rim to ship them here! Almost double the price!! I'll wait till I get back to the mainland jeez.

[Guest marie4u]

really nice wheels. loved it.

[Guest marie4u]

rx9 is a very good ride.

[OtherSyde]

rx9 is a very good ride.

 

Thanks for the bump! I actually have an RX8, but if they ever make that RX9 with their new 16X rotary engine, I will have one ASAP.

 

 

Also, I did a couple upgrades since I got the RX8...

 

I added eyelids, an EVO-style front-splitter lip, front grill mesh, rear exhaust hoods, and added some green highlights (tried to match the wheels and keep the green theme without getting ostentatious or ricey).

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I also installed some interior lighting effects...

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Night:

 

 

 

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And installed my system, with a new low-profile box to keep my trunk space.

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