[quake]

More or less usable. They did have a tendency to blow apex seals after 80k miles, which was could end up as a full rebuild of the engine. As far as how finicky a rotary can be, the biggest thing to do is let them warm up before driving, and let them cool right down after you're done. They were never an engine to replace the standard fourbanger, but they weren't any more finicky than say a BMW or Audi at the time of the RX-8

[ynniv]

weren't any more finicky than say a BMW or Audi at the time of the RX-8

YMMV, but my E46 BMW has been very reliable compared to an RX-8 bought at the same time. Audi was still in the process of applying the lessons of the RS4 to their everyday cars, but I still wouldn't call the RX-8 reliable compared to its peers. As you hinted, there are a couple of problems that lead to full rebuilds before 150k miles.

[_archon_]

Mazda shot themselves in the foot reliability-wise with the first generation RX-8 because they:

* Underspec'd the ignition coils

* Didn't do enough on-road reliability testing

* Lowered the oil pressure and removed OMP ports

* Designed the oil filler breather in a way that allowed oil into the intake

In '04, the first wave of RX8s were coming in to the dealerships after 30k with severe misfire from the coils going bad. Mazda didn't have this failure mode in their factory service manual, so the cars got replacement engines (poorly reman'd in Mexico, not made on the Mazda Japan line). These didn't last because of poor manufacturing. Once the coil issue was figured out, the 8 became much more predictable and reliable.

As noted by Busterarm, they fully got their act together with the series 2 update.

[I own an '04 RX8 with ~130k miles)

[busterarm]

09-11 RX-8s are rock solid dependable.

[busterarm]

My FC has 112k miles on the engine without a rebuild. Still has good compression, but on the low side of good.

Pull and rebuild is pretty easy though.

[_archon_]

My 8 made it to 127k before compression mandated a rebuild, and one of the previous owners is a documented idiot. Been solid ever since.

[IgorPartola]

Heh. I mean an engine rebuild at 80k seems kind of crazy. I am both continually amazed at the ICE and at the same time can't wait for it to die out. It's such an archaic technology. Hell, a turbine engine would be so much more fun to have in a car!

[ynniv]

... as long as it isn't directly connected to the wheels? The rotational inertia would make for a very uncomfortable drive.

[linksnapzz]

Chrysler made several generations of turbine cars in the '60s.

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/turbine.html

It was not, in the end, a production car, but there was a lot of data gathered as to performance and reliability in real-world settings.

Not too long ago, Jaguar had a concept CX-75, which was a hybrid mid-engined supercar where the piston engine was replaced with two Bladon Jets micro gas turbines. After 2008, they didn't want to commit to an expensive limited production vehicle, too bad.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/issues/18-october-2010/jet-pow...

[kalleboo]

If anyone wants to see a turbine car in action, Jay Leno owns one and has a YouTube video on it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2A5ijU3Ivs

[IgorPartola]

Damn. That sounds like they almost made it work. I wonder how those cars would have done with corn ethanol. Electric boost for initial acceleration and better heat exchangers would have probably completely eliminated the remaining problems with them. Thanks for the link!

[linksnapzz]

Dunno about corn ethanol, but agave worked: http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a33239/that-time-the...

[quake]

Turbos are definitely taking hold in the American auto industry as well, with stuff like the Chevy Sonic and Fiesta/Focus really making good use of them with tiny engines. The 2015 Focus had an option for a 1L, 3 cylinder engine with a turbo for commuters. Great stuff.