GTP Cool Wall: 2003-2008 Mazda RX-8 (231 HP)

  • Thread starter Thread starter White & Nerdy
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2003-2008 Mazda RX-8 (231 HP)

  • Total voters
    128
  • Poll closed .
Mild cool. Loses points because explaining rotaries to random people can wear you out.

Gains points because it's a proper sports car, for one. Because it irritates people who hate small displacement motors without actually understanding what displacement actually means, for another...

And because it drives people bat-guano insane when you call it a coupe, even though "Ermahgerd, it has FOUR DOORS! FOUR DOOR CARS ARE NOT COUPES!"

Then again... irritating people who don't understand what displacement actually means is reason enough*. :lol:

The 13B isn't actually 1.3 liters in displacement... well... it is... but considering the firing cycle, it has the equivalent displacement of a 2.6 liter four-stroke piston engine... except without the torque... and without those neat piston rings and seals that keep piston motors from drinking oil (most of the time)... and with an insanely complicated start-up ritual... which, like actually trying to get a car with dual side-draft Webers to start in the morning, just adds to the rustic charm... :lol:
 
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niky
Mild cool. Loses points because explaining rotaries to random people can wear you out.

Gains points because it's a proper sports car, for one. Because it irritates people who hate small displacement motors without actually understanding what displacement actually means, for another...

And because it drives people bat-guano insane when you call it a coupe, even though "Ermahgerd, it has FOUR DOORS! FOUR DOOR CARS ARE NOT COUPES!"

Then again... irritating people who don't understand what displacement actually means is reason enough*. :lol:

The 13B isn't actually 1.3 liters in displacement... well... it is... but considering the firing cycle, it has the equivalent displacement of a 2.6 liter four-stroke piston engine... except without the torque... and without those neat piston rings and seals that keep piston motors from drinking oil (most of the time)... and with an insanely complicated start-up ritual... which, like actually trying to get a car with dual side-draft Webers to start in the morning, just adds to the rustic charm... :lol:
Click to expand...

I really enjoy all of the rotary myths. They are quite intriguing. My '84 RX-7, all original with 130,000 miles drove like a.....car....for the first 5 years I owned it. Burned less oil than my '94 Integra with basically the same amount of miles, and even got more than 20mpg on the highway. Not one time did it ever fail to start, overheat, flood or give any significant engine problems at all.

Of course this all changed when I put on an Italian side-draft carburetor, took off the EFI, and converted it to run on pre-mix; and now I need moar apex seals....
 
I'd say it's less a myth of rotaries and oil than a myth that piston engines don't eat the same... my Protege drinks a liter every three or four thousand kilometers...
 
I vote cool on this car, and I don't really have an explanation other than that I've seen better but I've seen worse from the automotive world.

@daan made a good choice. 👍
 
White & Nerdy
There's only one real answer to a discussion of engine sound:
Click to expand...

That is the soundtrack of everyone that refuses to acknowledge that the 70's was 40 years ago.



A truly glorious engine will make a truly glorious sound.
 
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niky
I'd say it's less a myth of rotaries and oil than a myth that piston engines don't eat the same... my Protege drinks a liter every three or four thousand kilometers...
Click to expand...
My old Panda 100HP needed regular top-ups too. In before "Italian car" stereotypes. Was totally worth it for the zingy little engine that thing had.
 
I had one, got rid of it, and now miss it. It's technically fantastic but they are slowly falling into the hands of morons which is a real shame. Just about cool. For now.
 
Technically fantastic, interesting, quirky, but interesting and quirky aren't necessarily cool, and in this case, it isn't.

Add in explaining how the Wankel is different than a regular engine?

Uncool.
 
niky
I'd say it's less a myth of rotaries and oil than a myth that piston engines don't eat the same... my Protege drinks a liter every three or four thousand kilometers...
Click to expand...

I'm kind in that situation as well. In defense of the M3, it does have damn near 170k miles (270k km) on it, and the cooling system exploded once a couple years back. Woo.

As for the RX-8, I voted meh. I appreciate all the detail in it, the amazing chassis and handling, but the Renesis just didn't bring enough to the table and the gear ratios always felt weird to me. Combined with the fact the Mazdaspeed3 could eat it in a drag race while having more room and better fuel economy just put it in an weird spot.

That, and sewing machine sounds just aren't that cool. Or dealing with obnoxious rotards that won't shut up about "only a few moving parts, man" that have to make themselves known... perhaps "uncool" was in order now that I think about it.
 

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