bobn3

Hi all,

I was wondering does the RX8 suffer the same problems as the nicer :-) RX7, in the engine bay?

Plus, I looking to buy a jap car to do up as a quick A to B car, not an Impreza, had two.

Any ideas ?

Thank

SPIKE LIKE MIKE

nissan micra

SideShowBob

The RX7 and RX8 are completely different cars, aimed at different markets.
The RX8 is a lot more reliable, but unless it has considerable work done, doesnt compare performance wise to the RX7.

The RX7 is an allout performance car, with twin turbo's, massive upgrade potential, and costs to match. The RX8 is a more mainstream car, aimed at people who may otherwise buy a 3 series beemer.

The engines on RX7's are a lot more fragile. The turbo's mean that compression is higher in the chambers, and the whole unit is under much greater loads. This in turn means that tips wear more quickly, especially if you've upgraded the engine, and you also have the extremely complex turbo system, which is a b1tch to work on, and does go wrong, especially as the cars get older.

The tips arent the only problem with RX7 enignes either. Seals between the chambers tend to go as well, which involves an engine rebuild, and tips generally start to wear out at 60k miles upwards. The rebuild kits now have the two piece RX8 tips in them, so following a rebuild, tip wise anyway, they should last better than the three piece tips that used to fall apart when they started to wear.

Basically, you need to have a better idea of the car you want. As the RX8 needs a turbo to make it a genuine performance car, which in turn would make it less reliable, I dont think that considering one is viable if your main goal is performance or performance upgrades.
The RX7 on the other hand has all the performance, but the eninge will fail, and the fuel consumption etc refelcts the fact it provides proper performance.

If you're considering an RX8 for around £23k, get an Audi A3 3.2 DSG, if you're considering an RX7 for around £12k, keep cash back for a rebuild and mods (around £4k for rebuild and decent mods).

WR1 Bro

You selling yours Spike?

Jap2Scrap

That's a bit like comparing a Mark IV Supra to a 7th Gen Celica to be honest. They've very little in common in the way they're designed.

buzzard

EVO

CrisPDuk

You missed out the key difference between the 7 & the 8 motors, on the 7 the exhaust ports were on the circumference of the rotor housing creating an edge which abraded the tips. On the 8, both the inlet & exhaust ports are on the side of the housing, giving the much improved tips an easier life.


PS, on the subject of reliability, Nobody seems to be able to point to any 2 or 4 stroke conventional engine that can get a minimum of 280bhp out of 1.3 litres reliably, for over 60k miles

SideShowBob

Good point, when they do the rebuild, you can request porting, so hopefully that could be alleviated in that way.

Not 100% sure that the porting isnt just change of the existing ports , so it may still be an issue on the 7's engine.

Thing is, there really is no comparison between the two cars, apart from the obvious RWD, rotary engine in the front setup, other than that, I cant see anyone trying to decide between the two, as they are so different in their characteristics and intent, not to mention running costs!!

DaveR

I don't really think you can compare the two cars.
The RX-8 is an averagely-quick car with a trick engine and doors, whereas the RX-7 is a properly quick sports car