2006 Shinka Mazda RX-8

[XtremeGrandAm]

Well I terminated the lease on the Cobalt and decided to purchase this. It used but barely it was owned by the manager of the Mazda dealership and had almost no miles.

Features:
HID, Heated Leather, 6 disk with sat radio, advanced entry system where you dont have to have a key just the fob to start it or unlock it, interior led mood lighting, Sunroof. Every single feature except for the Navigation.

Must say the Rotary engines are a lot different from having my supercharged Cobalt.

The pictures are terrible but I will take better ones tomorrow during the day light
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00151.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00153-1.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00155.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00154.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00161.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/Dsc00159.jpg

[WhiPontiac]

Cool car, but they are high-maintenance. Looks great though.

Why did you terminate your lease early?

[XtremeGrandAm]

Cool car, but they are high-maintenance. Looks great though.

Why did you terminate your lease early?
Pretty much it came down to the payment and premium gas. My lease wasnt under very good terms the payment was not low. The dealership is a Pontiac Mazda GMC so they were able to work out the termination with GMAC. Funny thing was I purchased this car for less than GMAC wanted if I were to purchase the Cobalt and finance it traditionally.

[TA^Guy]

Eh, not a fan of the RX8 sorry.

[Gagt518]

Not bad looking at all! It's rear wheel drive right? Is it quicker than the SS?

[XtremeGrandAm]

Not bad looking at all! It's rear wheel drive right? Is it quicker than the SS?

Yeah its RWD. I'm not really sure yet. I've seem mixed numbers online some show it as faster some dont. It doesnt have the power off the line that the supercharger made in the SS. at those higher rpm's it seems to do a lot better where the SS would loose power

[imstock]

I love my buddies SS, everyone underestimates those cars until they are in one.

Nice find though. Whats Shinka mean? Never seen one.

[timberwoof]

watch that seal for leaks

[XtremeGrandAm]

watch that seal for leaks
Thanks for the tip. I have done my research and I know many 2004 had tons of problems the 2006's haven't had the issues of the earlier models. But they still use oil and it has to be constantly checked and maintained

I love my buddies SS, everyone underestimates those cars until they are in one.

Nice find though. Whats Shinka mean? Never seen one.
I loved my Cobalt SS Supercharged I did not get rid of it because I was dissatisfied. It was purely financial. I lowered my car payment by over 100$ I'm not really sure what Shinka means I just know it was a special edition that has its own unique colors and upgrades.

[Artic]

>< my god man you change cars like some people change underwear.

[XtremeGrandAm]

>< my god man you change cars like some people change underwear.

lol,you have to remember though the Cobalt was only a lease I had it for just short of 2 years and my lease was only for 2 years.

[bryan]

I like it, congrats. :thumbup:

[XtremeGrandAm]

Thanks.

Here are the daytime pictures.
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/New/Dsc00167.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/New/Dsc00166.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/New/Dsc00165.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/New/Dsc00163.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/RX-8/New/Dsc00162.jpg
http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o276/xtremegm/Dsc00164.jpg

[WhiPontiac]

Hey, will you trade me your 18s for my 16???

[DontPassTheFence]

Shinka used to be a special model - only a limited number for 04-05 with the special interior, HIDs, leather, advanced entry, and the special paint - Midnight Cherry Blossom or some such. (it looked black at night, and dark red/purple during the day depending on the light, amazing paint)

It looks as if yours is just deep maroon met. (I dunno mazdas name for it, Ive lost interest in the RX8 as of late, turned my attention to the Miata)

Shinka for the newer RX8s is probably just an option package or the top trim level now.

While some may argue the car is slow and high maintenance, get that thing up to 9000rpm and fly into some hard corners and you will quickly see what you were missing out when driving the Cobalt.

The Cobalt is great for street racing antics and bull like that, but the RX8 is a track car - as much as people refuse to acknowledge. In the hands of a capable driver its quite the beast without any modifications aside from sticky tyres.

Sadly, many people never track their RX8's since they are relatively expensive to purchase and repair. Many are used strictly as daily drivers - which the RX8 does VERY poorly at. Its as pure as any other sports car Mazda has created, albeit slower and a bit softer than the legendary RX7.

I hope you have fun with it :D

[XtremeGrandAm]

Shinka used to be a special model - only a limited number for 04-05 with the special interior, HIDs, leather, advanced entry, and the special paint - Midnight Cherry Blossom or some such. (it looked black at night, and dark red/purple during the day depending on the light, amazing paint)

It looks as if yours is just deep maroon met. (I dunno mazdas name for it, Ive lost interest in the RX8 as of late, turned my attention to the Miata)

Shinka for the newer RX8s is probably just an option package or the top trim level now.

While some may argue the car is slow and high maintenance, get that thing up to 9000rpm and fly into some hard corners and you will quickly see what you were missing out when driving the Cobalt.

The Cobalt is great for street racing antics and bull like that, but the RX8 is a track car - as much as people refuse to acknowledge. In the hands of a capable driver its quite the beast without any modifications aside from sticky tyres.

Sadly, many people never track their RX8's since they are relatively expensive to purchase and repair. Many are used strictly as daily drivers - which the RX8 does VERY poorly at. Its as pure as any other sports car Mazda has created, albeit slower and a bit softer than the legendary RX7.

I hope you have fun with it :D

Sounds like you know a lot about them. I spoke to some people last night and what they told me is very close to what you said it is a top level model that was made in limited numbers. It has quite a few suspension modifications and urethane foam injection in the front crossmember, special seats, upgraded interior materials, high polished rims, modified headlights and tail lights, modified exterior items such as lower body kit and a few other items and the entry system and an upgraded 9 speaker stereo.

The color is copper red.

[car audio dave]

well congrats on the new car. it wouldnt be my first (or second...) choice, but thats whats great is that we all have different tastes in cars.

any plans for forced induction? i hear those rotary motors like turbos.

[bryan]

The day time pics do it more justice, I'm really diggin it man.

[New_RevenG]

Nice ride. The color and interior are really good.

[XtremeGrandAm]

well congrats on the new car. it wouldn't be my first (or second...) choice, but thats whats great is that we all have different tastes in cars.

any plans for forced induction? i hear those rotary motors like turbos.
Don't have any plans just yet but thats just because I haven't had the time to look deeply into anything.

[DontPassTheFence]

If I recall, Jackson Racing makes a supercharger kit for the Renesis - which GREATLY helps with its complete lack of torque until 5000-5500rpm.

[XtremeGrandAm]

If I recall, Jackson Racing makes a supercharger kit for the Renesis - which GREATLY helps with its complete lack of torque until 5000-5500rpm.

That would be something I would be very interested in I loved the sound of the supercharger on my Cobalt. I'll look more into that thanks!

[Brandon]

*ive driven your car!!!* if not, tom wood had one just like it they were trying to sell me before i got my bmw.... i liked it alot even though i only took it down the street they sit on to 10th to franklin to washington back to the lot, it was alot of fun

[XtremeGrandAm]

*ive driven your car!!!* if not, tom wood had one just like it they were trying to sell me before i got my bmw.... i liked it alot even though i only took it down the street they sit on to 10th to franklin to washington back to the lot, it was alot of fun

You may have. They had 2 of them right next to each other when I purchased this one. So you will have to keep an eye out for me in this now Brandon. Still haven't seen you in your BMW, do you take the GA to work or the BMW?

[Brandon]

i dont work at lowes any more... right now im taking the bmw to the bus lot (post and rawles<--- school bus driver *not sure if i told you that now or not*)

right now with gas its all the bmw because it gets about 6 mpg better then the ga but i think when it gets alot colder the grand am will see more play time.... next time i see you out in your driveway i might just pull in behind...

when i test drove it, they had the one like yours or yours and a silver one any more details then that and i wasnt paying much attention to the dealer because he didnt take "im keeping the grand am" for an answer when he asked when i was trading it in.

[XtremeGrandAm]

i dont work at lowes any more... right now im taking the bmw to the bus lot (post and rawles<--- school bus driver *not sure if i told you that now or not*)

right now with gas its all the bmw because it gets about 6 mpg better then the ga but i think when it gets alot colder the grand am will see more play time.... next time i see you out in your driveway i might just pull in behind...

when i test drove it, they had the one like yours or yours and a silver one any more details then that and i wasnt paying much attention to the dealer because he didnt take "im keeping the grand am" for an answer when he asked when i was trading it in.
Oh I didn't know that. I understand that gas thing unfortunately I have down graded as far as gas mileage goes. Thats because their stupid salesman told me it used regular and it does not!

When I bought this they had 2 red ones there. But if you see me out feel free to pull in. Now that its getting cold I wont be out that much. I hate winter! Should be interesting driving my first RWD car in the winter.

[Brandon]

first?! its a hoot as long as you stay calm when the rear end decides its going somewhere else.... now if its a panic stop.. well.

the bmw uses premium as well, found out speedway gas doesnt work in her... have to use bp as my cheapest rout... otherwise meijers, shell, or sunoco otherwise she just runs like junk

[XtremeGrandAm]

first?! its a hoot as long as you stay calm when the rear end decides its going somewhere else.... now if its a panic stop.. well.

the bmw uses premium as well, found out speedway gas doesnt work in her... have to use bp as my cheapest rout... otherwise meijers, shell, or sunoco otherwise she just runs like junk

Yeah very first I have had all front wheel drive cars and 4 wheel drive suv's. I have of course driven RWD cars before this one. But never owned one and I don't believe I drove any during the winter.

I'm not too worried about it. I'll just go slow. It has the Pirelli Pzero nero mud and snow tires so at least I dont have to change them.

I have been using bp in the Cobalt and was getting the best mileage using the bp gas that is just right down the street I was getting 25mpg in the city. With shell I was getting 23. Although I dont really like the shell station on post.

[Brandon]

yea, that shell is ummm... croud, this is only the second rear wheel drive car ive owned, and will be the second rwd car ive driven in the winter on a regular basis, but i also get the lovely school bus to go in the winter, and i had the lowes truck last winter so its not really that bad... you have it fairly good too, no neighborhood streets to worry about and im pretty confident you know how to control a car so its going to be all easy/good for you.

[bballr4567]

My sqaud mate has one but his is an 07 model. Its not a bad car but I really cant get a feel for it bc its manual and he pretty much blows at driving it. The doors were the only thing that felt weird in the car I guess. They are sharp looking for sure though!!

[puch96]

...be careful with FI. Rotary engines are very sensitive to FI.. especially if not done right...

I suggest for you to visit rx8club.com

[XtremeGrandAm]

...be careful with FI. Rotary engines are very sensitive to FI.. especially if not done right...

I suggest for you to visit rx8club.com

Thanks for the suggestion I have been over there the last few days looking at the information and posts about rotary engines since I know very little about them.

[Silverstone-Z]

The paint on the RX8's are beautiful. The colors are nice and the metallics are deep. Doesn't the RX8 recommend premium gas as well? I had the choice to pick up an RX8 6-Speed but I'm glad I chose the Z.

[Silverstone-Z]

...be careful with FI. Rotary engines are very sensitive to FI.. especially if not done right...

I suggest for you to visit rx8club.com

Also, boosted RX8's don't gain that much out of them. A Greddy RX8 is still a 13 second car :(. Know some people that have been very disappointed after spending all the money.

[XtremeGrandAm]

The paint on the RX8's are beautiful. The colors are nice and the metallics are deep. Doesn't the RX8 recommend premium gas as well? I had the choice to pick up an RX8 6-Speed but I'm glad I chose the Z.

Yes the salesman said it used regular I didnt really believe him and checked the next day and it does use premium. I looked at the Z's but I really need to have the back seat (its pointless for people) but It's great for storage and my dog.

Also, boosted RX8's don't gain that much out of them. A Greddy RX8 is still a 13 second car :(. Know some people that have been very disappointed after spending all the money.

I've read many threads and pretty much it all comes down to tunning. Don't know what I want to do at this point. While the turbo may not add lots of HP they usually do add a fair amount of torque which would be a plus since the car is very lacking in that department. Whether or not its worth the money though at this point I'm not signing up to have anything done.

[Brandon]

turbo!
im half tempted to go test drive the other because i remember it lacked in torque, but i forget how it is..... id still like to meet up with you like the one day with the grand ams that was just fun... lol

[XtremeGrandAm]

turbo!
im half tempted to go test drive the other because i remember it lacked in torque, but i forget how it is..... id still like to meet up with you like the one day with the grand ams that was just fun... lol
Yeah it does lack torque. I so miss the Supercharged Cobalt when it comes to the instant acceleration that you got with it. But the RX-8 does have a faster 0-60 time than a stock cobalt SS. Its weird too how red line is just a little past 9000 rpm's I'm not use to revving an engine as high as the RX-8.

I'm wondering just how hard it would be to install one of these turbo kits. It says if you are able to do minor repairs you shouldn't have a problem.The torque is like 140 or something insanely low for a 232 hp engine. With a turbo its at around 200-212 according to the dyno's that I have seen.
Here is info on the turbo:
Finally a great option for the RX-8 Community that is within the reach of most owners.

300+whp (350@crank) @ 8-9psi out of the box, 340whp (400hp@crank) by raising boost to 12-13psi and tunning without adding or changing any components. 400+whp(470@crank)@16-17psi by adding our upgraded Turbo housing and making the necessary ignition upgrades which are to be offered at a later date with reasonable pricing (spark blowout occurs on the majority of stock Rx-8's at anything above 340whp). All components are designed to scale to 500whp.

Preliminary 300whp@8psi Dyno chart (note:The dyno's RPM Pick-up stopped working halfway through the pull so it cuts out at about 7250rpm. Nonetheless it was already above 300whp at this rpm and about to jump higher due to the opening of tha last of the intake manifold valves which opens @ 7200, a slight dip followed by an inmediate rise in hp can be noted before it cut out)

Very simple installation that anyone with some DIY experience can accomplish within a weekend.

Only common hand tools required for installation.

Completely bolt-on and reversible to OEM within a weekend.

If you do go and test drive the other one let me know my car has been bouncing really weird on the highway and I'm curious to know if its normal or something that isn't right. I took it in on Monday and they said they couldn't duplicate the problem. Yet its doing it again. It only does it when I'm on concrete thats the weird thing. And its bad enough that you can see the front in moving up and down from outside the car.

[Brandon]

i wont be able to untill tuesday as ill be out of town friday-monday night....
but i will prob mosey over there and see what i can get :)

[Silverstone-Z]

Yes the salesman said it used regular I didnt really believe him and checked the next day and it does use premium. I looked at the Z's but I really need to have the back seat (its pointless for people) but It's great for storage and my dog.

I've read many threads and pretty much it all comes down to tunning. Don't know what I want to do at this point. While the turbo may not add lots of HP they usually do add a fair amount of torque which would be a plus since the car is very lacking in that department. Whether or not its worth the money though at this point I'm not signing up to have anything done.

Ahhh yes, I was pretty sure it used premium, ha. Maybe it was a sales pitch to lure you in?

The backseats in most smaller sporty cars are useless. :( But they're still there for storage and whatnot. Fortunately, Nissan just said "screw the backseats". :D

[XtremeGrandAm]

Ahhh yes, I was pretty sure it used premium, ha. Maybe it was a sales pitch to lure you in?

The backseats in most smaller sporty cars are useless. :( But they're still there for storage and whatnot. Fortunately, Nissan just said "screw the backseats". :D

I think it was more like the guy was an idiot. When I got there they said they were going to give me like 9,000 for my car because it was a cobalt. I told them this isnt just a cobalt its the SS Supercharged and the manager came out and was like I'm really sorry they just told me it was a Cobalt not the SS Supercharged.

Either way I would have still bought it. Too good of a deal. I just hate the gas mileage though going from getting 24mpg to 14 right now is not pleasing.......But I'm going to change the oil from the 5w20 to 5w30 and start premixing the gas with the Idemitsu Rotary Fuel Lube and see if it makes any difference. Probably buy an intake in the next few days. Then who knows what.

i wont be able to untill tuesday as ill be out of town friday-monday night....
but i will prob mosey over there and see what i can get :)
Thats cool let me know if you do go if not thats cool I'll eventually make it over there sometime next week also.

[bballr4567]

They get that bad gas mileage??? Damn I had no idea.

[DontPassTheFence]

You can coerce up to 18mpg out of the Renesis with pussy-footing and good shift-work.

Ive heard good things about using the rotary fuel additive stuff.

[XtremeGrandAm]

They get that bad gas mileage??? Damn I had no idea.

Yeah the last tank which I purchased not the dealership I got in the high 14's

You can coerce up to 18mpg out of the Renesis with pussy-footing and good shift-work.

Ive heard good things about using the rotary fuel additive stuff.

Some people have even gotten 21 mpg when using the Idemitsu Rotary Fuel Lube which is what I have ordered. So hopefully I can raise the mpg.

[Brandon]

going back to the whole backseat thing, thats one of the cars my good friend (who found the bmw for me) had me look at was the 350z and the infinity g35 when i told him i wanted the option of having something as a back seat....

and the gas mileage sheeshhhhh!!!! i atleast made an upgrade when i got rid of the cavy for the bmw, went from 21-22 to 24-25 city....even upgraded engine size/power lol (just have to use premo :( :lol:

[bballr4567]

DAMN!!! Seriously those MPG suck. For a midsize car I would expect something around the GA numbers. Thats just pathetic. Do they at least have a decent size tank?? :lol: :lol:

[XtremeGrandAm]

DAMN!!! Seriously those MPG suck. For a midsize car I would expect something around the GA numbers. Thats just pathetic. Do they at least have a decent size tank?? :lol: :lol:

It has a 16 gallon tank. I normally got around 18 mpg from my 04 Grand Am so if I end up getting that I will be happy. The MPG it is suppose to get is 18/24. Which isnt terrible for a car like this.

[Silverstone-Z]

RX-8's get crappy mileage :(
One thing about RX8's that I just completely adore... is the paint. I drool over the RX8 paint.

[DontPassTheFence]

You guys know the RX-8 has a Wankel rotary engine, right? Its not just a 1.3L or 2.6L inline 4 cylinder car.

The wankel engine uses 3 bloated-triangle shaped devices that spin around an 'eccentric shaft' which is how the engine makes its power. There are also 2 sets of injectors (maybe three on the renesis, I dont remember exactly)

But anyways, the primary injectors squirt fuel, compression occurs, then the primary spark plugs fire and ignite the mix, then the secondary plugs fire to complete the combustion cycle. Somewhere in between there the secondary and possibly 'auxillary' injectors squirt fuel as well.

The point of a rotary is not fuel mileage, by any stretch - the main focus was to decrease engine vibration, and more efficiently transfer the power from the combustion into forward motion. (and to sound cool while its doing that)