Wow - It's Been a While

Nearly two months since my last post. I'm just not good at the blogging thing. Ah well - not like it's my job or anything.

These past couple of months have definitely brought some changes. I'm at nearly 2500 miles on my new 3 and I'm averaging 24.7 m.p.g. according to my Gas Cubby iPhone app. I was particularly happy this past Thursday when, during a 250 mile trip, I managed around 30.5 m.p.g. Obviously that's pretty much all highway.

I've also made some changes to the 3. First, I got bored and painted the brake calipers red. It's kind of hard to see in the pictures but definitely easier to see in person.





I installed a pair of 35W 5000K HID headlights and a pair of 35W 5000K HID foglights.



And I had the windows tinted by Mr. Tint on the south side of Columbus. I went with 50% in the front and 20% in the back. I think it turned out pretty good.







Next week I'll probably have some new wheels and tires. Hopefully I'll get pics up more quickly than this time.

I also did an oil and filter change at around 2,000 miles. I switched over to Mobil1 synthetic (5W-20) and used a Mobil1 M1-102 filter. I've had good experience with Mobil1 in the past so I figured I'd stick with it.

More Saddle Time

Well, yesterday I took my first road trip in the new Mazda3 and it was quite pleasant. The best thing was I went around 300 miles and only had to fill up once. It was mostly freeway and I figure I was averaging the EPA estimate of 29 m.p.g.

The car was comfortable and, with the windows and moonroof closed, quiet. I spent most of the time listening to my iPhone via Bluetooth, which worked very well. I also tuned in to the Sirius and found no problems there either.

One bonus I've noticed is that Mazda seems to have fixed the clutch pedal/gas pedal distance problem. In the RX-8 and the Miatas before it I always found that either the clutch pedal was too far away or the gas pedal was too close. The result was that when the seat was in a position where I could comfortably engage the clutch my right leg was bent to 90°. Consequently I've always had to "mod" my clutch pedal by zip-tying a block of wood to the clutch so as to "extend" it out towards me. With the Mazda3 the problem seems to have been resolved as I don't feel the need to extend the clutch pedal.

That being said, I'm still trying to find that perfect seat/steering wheel position. I generally like my seat scooted forward (I have short legs) and my seat back reclined a bit. I also tend to like my seat to be lower to the floor. The Mazda3 has a tilt and telescoping steering wheel which definitely helps with the seating position. I'm pretty sure I've got it where I want it but only time will tell.

De-Logo'd

At the suggestion of my buddy Mike, I spent this morning taking off the Byers Mazda Subaru dealer sticker. He's right - it looks a lot better.

Burnsy - this one's for you:

Before:


After:

Still Seizing the Zoom

But with a different car now.

Last week we got a new minivan. In 2003 we got a Mazda MPV ES. It was a nice minivan and, at the time, the smallest on the market. For us, though, that was the point. We wanted a small minivan. And since 2003 my wife has faithfully and proudly driven the MPV, though in the nearly seven years we had it we put only around 43,000 miles on it. Anyway, the time had come to upgrade and so last week we got a 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The Ody is a wonderful minivan. It's bigger and more luxurious than the MPV and has more features, including power sliding doors and a moonroof. However, getting the Odyssey resulted in a bump-up of our monthly budget. As a result, I decided to downgrade.

It wasn't that we couldn't afford both the Ody and the RX-8; but saving over $100.00 each month isn't a bad thing. Not surprisingly I was upside down a bit in the 8, but Mazda is offering what I felt was a great deal on a lease of the Mazda3 - $239/month with $0 down. The problem (for me) is the deal is on a base Mazda3 S hatchback with automatic transmission and absolutely no options. I needed - okay, "needed" is a strong word - I wanted a moonroof and I wanted manual transmission. Fortunately, Byers Mazda, the dealership from which I've now bought or leased somewhere in the neighborhood of eight or nine cars, had one exactly to spec, with the addition of Sirius satellite radio. The Sirius only added a couple hundred dollars to the price and included a free six-month subscription. And even with the Sirius and my negative equity we're still saving over $100.00 per month.

But here's the thing - the car's white. I've never owned a white car and, quite frankly, I've never been a huge fan of them either. But for some reason I took a liking to the Mazda3 in white. It's a sharp white - crystal white pearl mica. Theoretically it's a cooler (temperature-wise) car since white reflects the light. White also hides dirt better - or so I've heard.

Specs on the car are as follows: engine is a 2.5L 4-cylinder making 167 HP and 168 lbs.-ft. of torque at 4,000 RPM. As noted above it has factory-installed Sirius satellite radio. It also has integrated Bluetooth which includes both handsfree calling and streaming Bluetooth audio. This is great because it allows me to play my iPhone through the stereo without any wires. It's got the Bose/6 cd changer/moonroof package as well. The pearl paint also costs a bit extra.

Anyway - here it is: a 2010 crystal white pearl mica Mazda Mazda3 S hatchback.









So I'm still seizing the zoom. The Mazda3 is peppy with 168 hp. No, it's not the RX-8 but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The 3 uses regular gas and gets much better mileage. There's more room in the back seats and more room in the trunk/hatch. Overall, I'm quite pleased with my decision and I'm sure I'll be even more pleased with it when the time comes to pay the bills.

Another Oil Change

No pictures this time. Just wanted to note that I changed the oil again. I did it the traditional way this time, though. I put the car up on ramps, rolled under it on the creeper and drained the oil the old fashioned way. I bought a filter and a crush washer from Byers Mazda Subaru in Dublin and Castrol 5W-20 motor oil from Advance Auto Parts. Advance had a deal going on - 5 quarts of Castrol GTX + an oil filter for $16.99. As usual, the change went smoothly. I'm a little dismayed that I've put 3,000+ miles on the car in less than three months but, then again, I've been doing a lot of driving for work so it's not really that surprising.

Actually, one photo is required here. Early on I was having difficulty getting the oil filter off. My filter wrench attachment kept slipping on the filter. At the same time my iPhone suddenly stopped working (I had it playing through the car's stereo while I was changing the oil). In complete and total frustration I went to open the car door to see what was going on with the iPhone while, simultaneously, I was messing with the filter wrench attachment to see what was going on there. The result? I opened the car door right into my head.

Saddle Time

I've spent a lot of time in the car recently . . . and have pretty much loved every moment of it. My job has taken me to Huntington, WV twice in the past three weeks and then today to Ironton, Ohio, which is only about 30 minutes up the road from Huntington. Since February 28 I've filled up my tank six times and I'm down to a quarter tank right now! During this time I've gotten some pretty good gas mileage. I'm getting in the neighborhood of 22 m.p.g. on the highway and got nearly 18 m.p.g. in my most recently mostly-around-town tank.

Anyways, the trip to Ironton can be pretty boring. Usually I take U.S. Route 23 south to almost Portsmouth where I zip around Portsmouth by taking a fun back-road trip that winds up a mountain. Eventually I end up on U.S. Route 52 which I take down to Ironton. It's easy; it's not terribly slow; and it's boring. Today, though, I took a slightly different route. I took 23 south to Chillicothe where I picked up U.S. Route 35. I took 35 east into the Hocking Hills and down to Jackson, where I caught Ohio Route 93, which I took south into Ironton. This drive was a blast. Lots of curves and hills . . . good scenery. I planned to do this in advance and consequently took my camera with me. Luckily, I was able to find an okay location to take some pics.

New Wheels Are On!

With highs predicted to be no lower than the mid-forties over the next 10 days, I broke down and decided to throw the non-winter tires/wheels on the car. As you may recall, in February I bought some BBS wheels off of Craigslist. Yesterday I had the Yokohama YK520s put on them and then attempted to mount them on to the car. Unfortunately, the wheels all had centering rings that had to be knocked out. The first one knocked out pretty easily; the second one, though, took some work. The third one took even more work and I couldn't get the fourth one by myself. As a result, I ended up with a car with 3 BBS wheels and 1 stock wheel.



Oops.

So this morning I took the fourth wheel into the shop and had them knock out the last centering ring and put the wheel on the car. I have to admit I really do like the look of the BBS wheels on the car. It gives it a bit of a more elegant (vs. sporty) look.





Since I broke down and took off the snow wheels and tires, it's all but certain that we'll get a foot of snow within the next 2 - 3 weeks.

Maintenance Day

The weather has finally turned for the better. Today was sunny with a high of around 46° so I decided to finally do the transmission and differential fluid changes and the spark plug change. All three went pretty smoothly.

First, I put the front end of the car up on jack stands and then put the rear up on Rhino Ramps.



I did, eventually, take the front wheels and tires off.

Thanks to this DIY the fluid changes went pretty smoothly. The only downside was the pump I got to put in the new fluid wouldn't fit on the Red Line oil bottles so I had to use an empty milk jug. The milk jug wasn't very strong so it crunched up a bit under the pressure of pumping and the tubing running from the pump into the jug fell off a couple times. Other than that, though, the fluid changes were pretty easy. I do have to say, though, that the differential oil smells horrible. It is, quite possibly, the worst thing I've ever smelled.



This thread on RX-8 Club was very helpful for the spark plug change. I forgot to disconnect the battery but otherwise I was able to follow it to a tee.





And here are the old plugs that were in the car.





The car seems to shift more smoothly now but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me. I'd like to think I didn't change the transmission oil for nothing. I wasn't having any misfiring problems but everyone, including Mazda, says to change the spark plugs at around 30,000 miles so I figured I'd just go ahead and do it (I'm at 31,301 miles). Next up will be the ignition coils. Some owners have had them go early; others have gotten 70,000+ miles on the originals. They're ~$35.00 each so I'm not in any hurry to change them out.

A Break in the Weather

There was no snow today and the snow storm that was supposed to hit us tomorrow shifted north and will now be bringing us a shitload of rain, all of which means things are about to get really messy. Consequently, I took some time today to get the RX-8 cleaned up and then took some better pictures of it. They're not great but they're better than the ones I took earlier.









And, of course, the license plate.

New Wheels!

Well, I pulled the trigger and picked up some new (to me) wheels off of Craigslist. They're BBS RK wheels, 18" x 7.5" with an offset of 42 mm. Most people think that the width and offset combination are pretty wimpy but I'm not terribly concerned with an "aggressive" look. I just happen to like the looks of the wheels themselves. I'll be wrapping them in my Yokohama YK520s this spring but for now the winter wheels/tires stay on. Here they are with the old Kumho tires that came with them. There's a bit a curb rash on one of them but all four look to be quite straight with no bends in them. Not a bad pickup for $400.

More Snow . . .

and still, the RX-8 pulled through. Sure, it's only a dusting at the moment; but it's slippery out there. The temps are low so the snow that's falling is hitting the ground and freezing. I left early for work this morning so as to beat the morning "rush hour" folks and I'm thinking it's a good thing I did. I even beat the Upper Arlington plows! My street was completely snow-covered this morning.

As noted, the RX-8 with its Blizzak LM-25 245/40R18 tires proved to be a trooper yet again, allowing me to comfortably cruise down the freeway at around 50 m.p.h. There was one jackass in the fast lane going about 35 m.p.h. but I was able to get around him. Of course, I shouldn't have had to pass him by going to the center lane but I'm not surprised. There's always someone who just doesn't understand the concept of "Slow Traffic Keep Right." The car had a couple issues getting started from a dead stop but nothing that raised my blood pressure or heart rate. Now she's comfortably underground in the parking garage.

Inside Information

So I switched over to the RX-8 primarily because I needed a "family" car. Sure, the RX is a 2-door sport coupe but it is inherently practical. Just look at the space available on the inside!



Originally I wasn't a fan of the black and red leather; it seemed a bit "ricey" to me. But I have to admit it's grown on me. As my friend, Mike, said - it fits the attitude of the RX-8.

While I was at it, I also took a pic of the front area to show the V1 remote display and my iPhone/iPod solution.

The Snow Is Done . . . For Now

Well, the snow has ended and I measured about 9.5" in the front yard. I'm actually impressed - the meteorologists got it right. I spent the better part of 1.5 hours shoveling the driveway this morning . . . for the second time. I did it once yesterday too. The RX stayed comfortably in the garage for the most part but I did take it out once the drive was cleaned up. Admittedly, Upper Arlington does a GREAT job plowing the streets but the RX did quite well with the Blizzaks in place. The MPV also did quite well, getting tested when we did some street parking in the Short North. Lots of slush right next to the curbs but the MPV didn't blink.

Supposedly there's more snow on the way . . . another 4" - 8". As with before, I'll believe when I see it but given their accuracy the last time I'm a bit more hopeful that they'll be right this time around too.

The Snow Has Arrived . . . and So Have My New Plates

Well, the snow has arrived and it's looking like we're gonna get around a foot. We've already got several inches on the ground (I'm guessing 4" - 5") and it's not showing any signs of stopping. I got to take the car out a few minutes ago because, amazingly, my kids still had gymnastics class and I have to say that the Blizzaks performed admirably. I had no problems steering or stopping for the most part. Starting from a dead stop led to some tire spin, but it really wasn't that bad. Overall, I'm very happy with the tires thus far.

Here's our front drive/front yard. The RX-8 is safely in the garage.



Also, my new plates came. Now I've never had personalized plates before. I tried to get ZMZMZM, an homage to Mazda's old ad campaign Zoom Zoom Zoom, for the Miata but it wasn't available. I was content with just a standard plate when an idea hit me. I checked and it wasn't taken so I snatched it up. Keep in mind that I also took Latin in high school so that probably played a role in it too. Anyway, without further ado.....



In case you're wondering, you say it as though the Z and the M are separate letters: car pay zee em. But the idea is Seize the Zoom.

Snow Storm Coming.......

This is Central Ohio so I'll believe it when I see it. But the local news has gone nuts estimating we'll get between 5" and 8" of snow between now and Saturday night. They usually oversell this kind of thing and we almost always end up getting only 1" or 2" so I'm not exactly confident in their predictions.

Nonetheless, I figured early on that I would need snow tires for the 8 and so this seemed like the perfect excuse to actually get some. I poked around on craigslist in Columbus but couldn't find anything reasonable (reasonable for a cheap ass like me, that is). I finally found a set of Blizzak LM-25's up in Akron that wouldn't break the bank so yesterday morning (like, EARLY yesterday morning) I headed up to Akron to get them. They're wide (245) so I'm a bit leery of how they'll do but they got great ratings overall from users on Tire Rack's website so I figure I'll give them a shot. I got them mounted at Mr. Tire on Reed Road at Henderson Road. Frank, Tim and the guys there have always treated me well and have always done a good job so I didn't hesitate to go back to them for the job.

In the dry the tires seem a bit noisy but then again I didn't get them for the dry. I'll post my thoughts on them once the snow hits and I have a chance to get out there and drive in it.

First Oil Change!

Today I did my first oil change on the 8. I bought 4 quarts of Castrol GTX 5W-20 oil and a Mobil1 M1-108 oil filter from Advance Auto Pats along with a hand pump and a filter wrench. The filter was pretty tough to access. It's stuck between the engine and the firewall and getting to it took some doing. The hand pump was small so it didn't pull out a lot of oil with each stroke. As a result, the change took longer than I wanted but with the weather being what it is (cold and windy) it beat trying to lift up the car and changing the oil the normal way.

With the hand pump I extracted about 2 quarts of oil. This may seem low but it was actually okay. The oil level was on the low end to begin with and the difference between the low mark and the high mark on the dipstick is about 1.8 quarts. Most 8 owners report getting about 3.7 quarts of oil out when they do their oil changes so between the 2 quarts I got out and the 1.8 quarts that were "missing" I'm confident that I got out all of the oil I could. My confidence was bolstered by the fact that I poured in about 3.5 quarts of new oil to get the level up to just below the high mark on the dipstick.

All in all it was a pretty easy job. I bought an extra quart of oil to keep in the trunk so that I can add it between the oil changes as needed.

This is the 2007 Mazda RX-8

It has a 1.3L rotary engine making 232 HP and 159 lbs.-ft. of torque at 5,500 rpm.  It redlines at an astounding 9000 rpm!

Mine is the Grand Touring model, although the Honda dealership selling it thought it was a Sport model.  The GT comes with a number of amenities over the Sport, including xenon HID headlights, dynamic stability control and a keyless entry/keyless start system.

I first became interested in the RX-8 when I came to the sad realization that my Miata PRHT wasn't going to cut it for a guy with three kids.  The problem was, I'd only ever heard the bad things about it.  The knocks on the RX-8 were: 1) it gets bad gas mileage, 2) it burns oil, and 3) the engines were prone to failure.  However after really looking into it I discovered that 2) and 3) were not what they seemed at first glance.  It still gets pretty poor gas mileage (16 city and 24 highway), especially for a 1.3L normally aspirated engine.  And the car does burn oil but that's actually by design.  It uses the engine oil not just to lubricate the three (yes, that's right - three (3)) moving parts but also the six apex seals found at the three points of each of the two rotors.  Because these seals are inside the "combustion chamber," the oil that is used to lubricate them inevitably gets burned off.  Most people estimate that an owner needs to add about one quart of oil in between 3,000 mile oil changes.  As for engine failures - most were apparently because the owners didn't add that quart of oil in between oil changes.  In other words, the owners treated the rotary engine like a regular piston engine and never checked the oil level between regular oil changes.  As a result, the oil level in the engine dropped below the minimum level and - *poof* - there went the engine.

I've already made my first two modifications to the car; I hardwired my Valentine1 radar detector with a remote display and I bought and installed the XCarLink iPod integration kit.  I'm very happy with both mods.  In the future I plan on adding clear corners and Sylvania Silverstar fog lights, lowering the car with lowering springs and replacing the stock shocks with Tokico D-Spec adjustable shocks.  Until then, though, I'll be motoring happily down the road.

By the way - the pics are clickable to get to higher resolution versions.