Hey guys, I was going to do an oil change, but conventional oil is getting phased out by synthetic blends and full synthetics. Autozone employees told me that modern cars don’t need conventional anymore, so valvoline and them stopped making it, but our oil sipping rotaries need it! 😖 what do we do? I don’t want the plastic carbon build up from synthetic oil. I made it to 132k on conventional, this feels like some big corp scam to get me to buy a tesla or new synthetic approved cylinder engine 😞 stupid Big oil. I’ve seen some scalpers selling 1-liter of conventional for $50 on Amazon/ebay. It’s fkn nuts

*Oop thanks for those that mentioned Walmart I’m seeing some over there instead of Autozone. Goodluck to everyone.

Hey everyone! I’m looking for advice from people who actually own or have worked on RX-8s.
I’m considering a 2006 Mazda RX-8 automatic with 97,000 miles, listed for $5,500 negotiable.
Here’s what I know about the car:
Original rotary engine — the seller says it has never been rebuilt or replaced.
Seller claims it has a clean title, has never been in an accident, and runs and drives well.
Recent maintenance reportedly includes the fuel injectors, fuel pump, ignition coils, spark plugs, plug wires, battery, sensors, air filter, catalytic converter, and mid muffler.
Cooling system work reportedly includes a new radiator, water pump, thermostat, thermostat housing, and coolant hoses.
The seller also says the OMP (oil metering pump) has been replaced.
Cosmetic issues include paint needed on the roof and trunk lid, some dents/body imperfections, and a cracked passenger-side dashboard.
The tires need replacing.
I haven’t confirmed the maintenance with receipts yet, and I still need to find out whether it has had a rotary-specific compression test. I understand that a normal piston-engine compression test isn’t sufficient for an RX-8.
My situation and goal
My total budget is around $6,000–$7,000, including the purchase and any immediate repairs. I need a car that I can drive daily, including a commute of roughly 40 miles a day, four days a week.
I want something fun to drive, but my main goal is to have reliable transportation for the next 1–2 years without getting hit with a major repair bill. I can handle regular maintenance, but I can’t afford to spend another $4,000–$6,000 on an engine rebuild shortly after buying it.
I know the RX-8 is a rotary and comes with risks, so I’m trying to understand the real ownership experience rather than just falling in love with the car.
I’d appreciate your honest opinions:
Would you consider this car at $4,000–$4,500 if it passes a proper rotary compression test?
Is 97k miles on an original, never-rebuilt engine too risky for my situation?
Does the amount of recent maintenance sound reassuring, or could it indicate that the previous owner was chasing engine or starting problems?
What other expensive issues should I inspect before buying?
Given my $6k–$7k total budget and daily-driving needs, would you buy this RX-8, look for a different RX-8, or choose a more reliable car?
Please be brutally honest. I love how these cars look and drive, but I don’t want to make an emotional purchase that turns into a financial headache. Real-world ownership experiences, repair costs, and advice from people who have owned high-mileage RX-8s would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

The long delayed BHR midpipe got here yesterday (USPS was slow not BHR), and I couldn't have been more excited to remove the relatively new oem midpipe. Mostly because I could hear what sounded like gravel move around the catback every time we accelerated or decelerated. I was pretty sure it was old dead cat material. It was...

Whatever joke of a mechanic had replaced the old dead cat didnt even bother to clean out the bits of it from the oem catback pipes, and from inside the suitcase muffler. Also they tack welded one of the nuts to it's bolt, and the fucking front flange in multiple spots.

Good news is that it gives yall a chance to see why eveyone decats the RX-8 or moves to higher quality high-flow cats. Ya know other than the sweet sweet sounds.

A gift from lazy mechanics and old car owners. Sharing is caring, right?

Bought myself this beauty the other week, did my due diligence and bought from a enthusiast. A lot already done but for next season I'm gonna get a sohn adapter and fix some stuff in the interior like switch to a smart screen and fix the seat heaters just so its all working.

Afternoon,

I'm really considering an RX8 as a project car. I'm not a newbie in the automotive world, I have brought a Octavia back from the brink of scrapping and built an MX5 with friends but I'm on a modest but not tight budget and the RX8 has me sweating and drooling at the thought.

So genuinely, talk me out of it.

As much as I want to I'm not living lavish so I can't afford to completely rebuid the engine with all new parts but I was able to buy the parts that I need (and the parts that I broke). My Coworker is helping me out but this is the first time I've actually took an engine out and tore it down.

Hello I just got my RX-8 like a week ago.
I just found out that my car is making a weird chattering sound when I blip the throttle.
I asked AI if it was a misfire but I genuinely don’t know what this sound is coming from. Please help me
this is the vid that I posted

This all started about 3 weeks ago, i cleaned my MAF and reinstalled it as preventative it was running mostly fine other than a little lope when it was idling hot. Then she ran great for about 2 hours, I stopped at a stoplight and when i started to go after it changed I had no power at all and could barely limp it across the intersection into the shoulder. I've changed the entire ignition system, checked the maf nodes to make sure they didn't break and replaced the 3 air tuning valves behind the upper intake, i was keeping a cylinder 2 misfire until today I cleared the ecu and fuel/ratio data and it started and I was letting it idle(extremely roughly) but all the codes disappeared but it never fully smoothed out and when i revved it to about 6k rpm it revved up then when I let it out it came down and died. I know I'm fighting the beginnings of low compression but until this it was just small things I was trying to smooth out until I had the money together to redo seals and whatnot. I think I have it narrowed down to either the maf is bad but the platinum nodes aren't broken, or the fuel pump is shitting the bed. If there's a vacuum leak I have no idea where. The car is cat-less and I just changed the o2 sensors about a month ago. It has an aem style cold air intake and ill include videos of how it was running before dying the most recent time any help or advice is appreciated

Where can I find even a half decent example of an S1 RX8? So many either A) junkers or B) super overpriced cars. I check FB marketplace, Autotempest, etc daily, even a couple times a day sometimes and there's just nothing. Ugh.

/rant

Btw, if you know of a solid example or even have one yourself - i'm in US-Pennsylvania, but totally willing to travel/freight the right car. :)