Tempock

Mazda's aren't as reliable as Toyota and Honda, let alone Lexus and that's just a fact buddy. A friend has a Maserati and he hasn't had any problems for a couple of years, but that does't mean the reliability of Maserati is on par with Lexus. If you look at the consumer reports on reliability Honda and Toyota/Lexus are at the top, not because of brand loyalty.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Wait, now Honda is good? See, that's why I put more stock in my own experience than in that of others. Most people are way too biased to give an honest assessment.

Honest question: Does Lexus actually rate better than Toyota for reliability? I wouldn't think so, as the basic engineering tends to be very similar and luxury stuff is what usually wears out first. I've never seen paid attention to their relative ratings, though.

Tabaka

iTrader: (8)

Mine has 170k now, feels like I have 520k. Though it's lasted 25 years, I've had to replace nearly every part of it. Obviously car reliability comes down to maintenance.

czar07

You are comparing apples to oranges. Completely different design philosophies

The SC is a luxury GT car with plush seats designed in the late 80s. Comfortable cruising was the ideology IIRC.
The RX8 is a sports car with a motor notoriously low on torque thus requiring engineers to cut mass wherever possible. The car is also designed and build almost 20 years after the SC so improvements in manufacturing process and materials...

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

That's exactly my point. Each company has different strengths and weaknesses, largely due to design philosophies. The good ones are pretty comparable overall.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I would be remiss to not come back to this:

The SC used the same boat anchor seats through 2000. The RX8 was released in 2004. That's only 3-4 years of potential manufacturing improvements. Lexus obviously saw no need to lighten the load late in the model cycle. Have you opened up a SC/Soarer seat? You could hang iron girders from those seat back frames.

A heavier car results in more forces in the event of an impact, requiring heavier duty safety equipment. It's an equation that quickly spirals out of control. Think about the critical reviews of modern Lexus offerings. The typical negative comment you see is they're too heavy. You can go all the way back to the MKIII Supra / Cressida weight complaints to see, this just isn't an area that Toyota has a good grasp on. They build drivetrains like nobody's business, though.

If Mazda built the SC with its same Toyota underpinnings, it would be 10% smaller, 800 lbs lighter, offered 80-90% as M/T, and one of the greatest cars of all-time. That's where I think people miss where I'm coming from when I highlight the negatives. Why be satisfied with flaws when you can take a great platform and improve upon it?

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

800lbs lighter on a vehicle that size? Show me one car that's that's got the dimensions of an SC that is 800lbs lighter in full trim.

Why does the new Miata weigh over 2,300lbs if Mazda is so good at what you're saying. That car is half the size of an SC and has no luxury features on it. Shouldn't it weigh 1500lbs by your logic?

mikef

iTrader: (3)

I used to own a 2006 rx8 and it was junk, they stuck a rotory engine in it. engine flooded, head and tail lights fogging up. weak power train. it seems like the rx8 was a BIG step back from the rx7

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

From what I have seen, it is every 100k or so the rotary wankel and the clutch need replacing.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

it was true but to rebuild a rotary was super easy. and you can pick the engine up your self with a buddy and some beer with no hoist basically

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I rather don't mind the weight of the SC. Similarly I don't really mind the weight of an 80's-90's Benz. For all the weight and size it has, I'm surprised at how nimble it can be. Granted I'm not going to autocross it against a Miata but that's not what the car was designed for.

An RX-7 FD3S, however, was made to be exceptionally light and was not intended to be a muscle luxury machine with a long wheelbase. As an example. I like the twin turbo twin rotor Wankels personally but they're for someone who REALLY wants to put up with them Not sure if the RX-8 is quite as worth it.

t2d2, there are always 93-96 Supra MKIV seats. They were the sportier seat designed for the same base chassis. They weigh considerably less than the stock SC seats and just bolt in. Wiring is not difficult to convert at all and if you're already going to recover them you can install aftermarket seat heater pads at the same time and connect up the available factory seat heater circuitry and console buttons, even on manual cars. You lose seat memory functions, some extra adjustments and the very nice auto-roll-forward function for rear seat ingress/egress but that's not a big deal. And the passenger side becomes non-powered.

I love mine. They suit the car, improve the driving position and cure the two things I never liked about the stock seats: very poor lumbar support (even with the adjustment) and complete lack of side bolstering.

Then again I was perfectly fine giving up some of the power and plush features of the stock seats which were closer to the LS400 seat design.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

Because I said they would make it smaller? Call it 2899 instead of 2800, or even 2999. We're going to quibble over a theoretical pounds statement and ignore the overall point?

It's rather remarkable that they kept the ND Miata at the same weight as the NA Miata from 25 years earlier, despite all the added safety regulations that lead to lots of bloat. Go back 25 years with my theoretical statement of Mazda building the SC and they would not have had all those newer limitations.

Also, anyone on a serious weight reduction kick gets their Miata down to 2100-2200 lbs pretty easily. Sub-2000 isn't a stretch for people willing to make a few compromises.

That sucks. I certainly wouldn't include the rotary in Mazda's list of reliable aspects... But, that's sort of the fun of owning a RX- series, isn't it? You never know what the rotary will have in store for you any given day!

I forgot, I did have a Mazda tail light turn into a fish bowl. However, that's not exactly unheard of for the SC lights, either.

It's one of those things that you mostly notice when switching back and forth. A car with half or a third the HP can run circles around it in the corners, and even feel more lively in a straight line (until the V8 kicks in with a roar). The SC has sooooo much performance potential that's simply locked away behind its extra mass. Maybe if it had a modern traction system to cope with it, things would be different.

I've kept an eye out for those but have yet to see a set (or single) turn up for sale within the state. I've got saved searches and nothing has popped up. I'm curious to sit in them and see how they feel, given some of the less positive reviews on SF, but people generally have good things to say about them. I hadn't planned on getting the RX8 seat, but when I stumbled across it last week, I remembered a thread about it being one of the possible good fits for the SC. I gave it a try and was very pleased. I've got the wiring figured out (still uncertain about the SC wire colors; no one seems to have ever posted them) and have a resource to help with the modification of the mounting feet. If I decide I want to put the SC back in at some point, it'll be an easy plug 'n play swap and the RX8 will make for an awesome chair around the house like it is at the moment.

The Supra driver's seat is powered? I thought they all have manual ***** on them, but maybe I've never seen a close enough picture and it's a bit of both?

Edit: I found in my notes that the Supra driver's seat is 49 lbs and powered slider/tilt. I guess that makes it 4-way power adjustable? (As opposed to 8-way for the ~43 lb RX8 seat.) Also, the SC driver's seat is supposedly 71 lbs.

One thing I'm curious whether will backfire on me is the lumbar support which is a big reason to swap seats. I'm 5'9" 160 lbs -- very average by non-obese standards of today -- and I have to lean a bit to either side to use the arm rests. The window sill is uncomfortably far away to rest my elbow on. The seat is so plush, though, a lil' gangsta lean feels natural. (Aside: I can't believe "gangsta" passes the spell check.) But, with added lumbar support fighting that lean? Who knows.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

So now you are backtracking on your statements? An engine that can crap itself at any moment is all of a sudden a fun aspect of Mazda ownership? So at this point, no matter what people tell you, you will turn it around and make it into some positive to defend your brand. I think the only fanboy here is you dude. Just face the facts, Mazda is not as reliable as Toyota/Lexus despite what your crappy ownership experience was. A Miata or any lighter car is going to handle better than a similar setup bigger and heavier car. Simple physics.

t2d2

iTrader: (8)

I've never owned a rotary, and I wasn't referring to them previously. I've obviously offended you, based on the repeated pissy responses, so I think we're done here.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Yeah you are done... way to get off topic with your Mazda BS. Save that for the Mazda forums.