Hi there, I'm new here, obviously. :P I have been considering an RX-8 for some time now and I've got the cash together to do it. Now that it's moved from dream car to possibility status, I'd like to ask a few questions. Acutally, there's a lot of them. >< Bear with me.

I want it to be a daily driver, but I want to do my fair share of motor mods because I'm a speed addict, but I want it to be reliable enough for me to drive around in. (My fiance is a model, we travel all over the state, I don't want to break down on the way to a shoot). Will this car fit the bill?

I've heard that every 30K miles I have to go get a major service performed and that it costs around $3000 every time, is this true?

I hear that there's some sluggishness in the mid range, is that true? If so, how do I overcome it?

I have been considering the Apexi PS Revolution exhaust, since the cops around here are **** about noise violations, but I don't want to have to take out a silencer every time I want to show someone up. Any thoughts/ideas about it?

How often do I need to perform maintenance on the car, outside of normal tune-ups and oil changes?

How hard is the car to work on? I have no real experience with rotaries, this will be my first. I've got years of experience tinkering and modifying other cars, but I feel a bit overwhelmed with this project. :P

I called a dealership nearby that had a few used ones, and he kept going on and on about a mazdaspeed edition he had sitting there, but I don't recall ever hearing of one. What is it, what are the differences, and is $1000 more then a regular one worth it? lol

Down the road, I'd like to get a small turbo to help with acceleration, is it dangerous/seriously unhealthy to turbo a rotary? I'm not looking for huge boost, just something small. It is feasible or should I just turn away from that line of thinking now?

I was reading something a few days ago about spark plugs, and that aftermarket ones have no real effect. Is this true? I saw huge changes when swapping out plugs in my older cars.

Is upgrading the ECU an intelligent choice early on? I'm sure the ECU is precision calibrated and I want to make sure that an aftermarket ECU won't damage anything. Any brand choices/suggestions?

Sorry for so many questions, I am trying to form a whole new line of thinking for this car, it's a brand new monster to me. I'm excited, but nervous, and I feel like the more information I have the happier and better equipped I will be to handle it.

I leave tomorrow for a week and when I get back I'll be more active. In the mean time, I will be able to check this tonight and tomorrow morning. I look forward to your responses guys, thanks.
Jon

 

I test drove one about a week back and the rotary deffinatly feels and drive differant than other cars. The engine has a realy flat torque curve so you don't get that lurch of acceleration when you hit it a little higher in the upper rpms, but that dosn't mean it is lacking.

 

Alright, I'll keep that in mind. The only one I could test drive had 35 mile an hour roads all around and I couldn't really push it. When I have cash in hand I'll throw my weight around a bit more and take one somewhere, but in the meantime, I can't really say hey, do you mind if I drive 5 or 6 miles down the road and test this car out. ><
Thanks for the response.

 

I'll be on in the morning to see responses, then I'll be gone till Tuesday, thanks in advance for help and answers.

 

Also, I've been looking at the Racing Beat Exhaust, I like that tone a lot and it doesn't seem to terribly loud. Anybodyhave any experience with this exhaust? In the past I've been a big fan of the Apexi N1 but I would like something different this time, so again, I'm a bit naked info-wise here.

 

2004 rx8 auto with 118k, runs great when cold but will start missing then shut off when warm up, will restart after 10mins
Thanks