RX-8 has world's best engine

[Coventrysucks]

I bet it is having problems because people aren't keeping an eye on the oil levels, or running it in properly.

[Falcon500]

Possible...but them saying that EVERY RX8 they have sold has come back with problems and sometimes even ona trailer doesnt fill mewith confidence...that said i am currently looking around for a new car and a mazda rx7 (despite what they say) is stillvery high on mylist...im just repeating what i ahve heard from reliable sources not knocking just adding a new dimesnion to the conversation...

[Renesis]

ow falcon thats a little harsh
Yeah it may be a little bit slower than the 7
Yeah it may not be as pretty as the 7
But dont forget the car is naturally aspirated, and for a natural engine to punch out 238 standard isnt bad. The car weighs about 2900 pounds, a lot less (200 pounds about) than the lancer evo and even the wrx sti, both of whom punch out around 300-350 (i dont know exact numbers)
Do the math- turbocharge it, supercharge it, do whatever. That number on your rotors will climb to 300 or more.
As for reliability everyone knows that isnt really true. I've got one and have driven it a lot for about five months.
The thing about rotarys is that they are more reliable than piston driven cars-less moving parts which are well lubricated, but since they're so damn complicated in terms of build and everything, when they break, they break hard.
next time you're critical dont be an ass about it

[babel17]

The RX8 and the Renesis are both new designs, so there are bound to be problems. I think we won't know how good or bad they are for at least a couple of years. I know that mine has been flawless for it's first 2000 miles (not that that means a whole lot).

If reliability were a requirement, Ducati wouldn't sell a single bike.

[badboyzbadboyz]

Personally I think the RX-8 is a great car but the engine is its weakest link. I have test driven the 230bhp version and as much as I liked the styling the low down torque honestly reminded me of my previous Citroen Saxo 1.1 This lack of low down performance ruined my experience of the car. If you keep the revs high, very high, then it is fast but on a day to day basis I would soon find that tiresome having to work the gearbox and engine so hard.

[Kitdy]

Sorry to revive this long dead thread but I was wondernig where I could find some information about this engine. I know the hp/L is amazing, but I am trying to find the mass of the engine to determine the power to weight ratio of the engine Anyone either know the mass of the RENESIS rotary engine or where I could find it?

[Matra et Alpine]

from rx8club.com Renesis rotar vs. F20c (s2000)

                             Renesis Specs             F20C Specs
Dressed Weight (lbs)             273                       326
Max Power (hp)                   260 @ 8,500 rpm           250 @ 8,300 rpm
Power/Weight (hp/lbs)            0.95                      0.77
Specific Power (hp/lbs/1000rpm)  0.112                     0.092
Max Torque                       159 @ 5,500               153 @ 7,500
Torque/Weight (ft-lbs/lbs)       0.58                      0.47

Best I coudl find for you.
Watch out for the power and torque though as their are variations on market and measurement methodf

[roosterjuicer]

i dont think the renisis is a very good motor. it doesn't make a whole lot of power (only 230) and it has very little torque. also it gets horrible gas mileage when you take into account how little power it has. and ive heard about it burning oil.

i have driven an rx-8 and while they are neat cars i would say they are about 100hp shy of being a great car.

here are some motors i think are better than it and should have won that contest:
1)bmw motor out of the 335i
2)ecotec 2.0 turbo out of the solstice gxp, saturn sky redline, and the opel version
3)the 427 small block out of the z06

i think these motors are all much better than the renisis because they all have lots of power that is usuable throughout the powerband not just at high rpm's like the renisis and they all over respectable gas mileage to horsepower ratio's.

[jediali]

well wasnt this survey back in 03?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

The Ecotec is considered a harsh engine by most observers and those in the know - highly adaptable and tunable, yes, but still not very good.

the 427 isn't too much of a technical marvel. it's good at what it does, however.

And the motor out of the 335i wasn't available when the original post was made However i'm in agreeance with you - it's a fine motor.

[jediali]

by todays standards, the RS4, 2.0TFSI, or TDV8 would get my vote

[Kitdy]

from rx8club.com Renesis rotar vs. F20c (s2000)

                             Renesis Specs             F20C Specs
Dressed Weight (lbs)             273                       326
Max Power (hp)                   260 @ 8,500 rpm           250 @ 8,300 rpm
Power/Weight (hp/lbs)            0.95                      0.77
Specific Power (hp/lbs/1000rpm)  0.112                     0.092
Max Torque                       159 @ 5,500               153 @ 7,500
Torque/Weight (ft-lbs/lbs)       0.58                      0.47

Best I coudl find for you.
Watch out for the power and torque though as their are variations on market and measurement methodf

Thanks Matra, that's a pretty good power to weight ratio there too.

[roosterjuicer]

Thanks Matra, that's a pretty good power to weight ratio there too.

problem is the renisis is only 230 hp. they originally rated it at 250 but after people who bought it did dyno tests and the car came up way short they lowered it to 230

[Matra et Alpine]

problem is the renisis is only 230 hp. they originally rated it at 250 but after people who bought it did dyno tests and the car came up way short they lowered it to 230

no. They published Japanese power figures widely which weren't to teh US SAE standard so were "wrong"
Nothing to do with "dynos".
More Mazda myths ... just like the Renesis burns lots of oil, or doesn't have enough torque or doesnt' have enough power !
( Torque is a minor issue granted unless you're used to riding motorbikes... use the revs )
HOWEVER< power consumption is still an issue. But nobody buys an RX-8 to not thrash it and enjoy the grin, so fuel costs are secondary if considered at all !!!!

[Matra et Alpine]

ii think these motors are all much better than the renisis because they all have lots of power that is usuable throughout the powerband not just at high rpm's like the renisis and they all over respectable gas mileage to horsepower ratio's.

The RX8 has to be driven like a motorbike
Many owners take a while to convert, but Mazda helped with a beeper that goes off at 9500 revs to remind you to plan a gear change before the rev limit circa 10k
So drive it from 6000 to 10000 rpm give a totally usable 4000 revs of powerband.
True, it's not a lazy persons car and needs the driver to plan and anticipate and often drop a couple of gears and floor it. But it is so involving in the experience every RX8 owner talks about the "grin"