Reply to: Anyone want an oil burner?

[unixman]

The SD1 wasn't designed by The Rover Car Company Ltd. but by JRT under Leyland management.

Quality had taken a nosedive by then.

Indeed. Or c*ck, as James May would say. Red Robbo and the dead hand of BL were doing their grim work. SD1 was still a good car though, even as BL quality was starting to wobble. Wikipedia says Rover designed the SD1.

[unixman]

150 two days after leaving the factory when the SU carbs went out of calibration.

Which carbs are those? Rover SD1 Vitesse was fuel injected...

[DimPrawn]

That doesn't sound right. Peugeot, Volvo and Citroen were getting 144 BHP from their joint 2.7 litre V6 from 1975 onwards. According to Wikpedia, the Vitesse V8 delivered 190 BHP, which would seem to make more sense.

150 two days after leaving the factory when the SU carbs went out of calibration.

[unixman]

3.5 litre V8 and in Vitesse form those magical British engineers managed 150 bhp from it.

Where are they now eh?

That doesn't sound right. Peugeot, Volvo and Citroen were getting 144 BHP from their joint 2.7 litre V6 from 1975 onwards. According to Wikpedia, the Vitesse V8 delivered 190 BHP, which would seem to make more sense.

[DimPrawn]

Those were the days when the Rover SD1 3500 could give BMW and Audi a good thrashing V8, rear wheel drive. Not by halves indeed.

3.5 litre V8 and in Vitesse form those magical British engineers managed 150 bhp from it.

Where are they now eh?

[anonymouse]

Barn find from earlier in the year, sold for about £5k

Those were the days when the Rover SD1 3500 could give BMW and Audi a good thrashing V8, rear wheel drive. Not by halves indeed.

News : Rare SD1 Twin-Turbo unearthed - AROnline : AROnline

[unixman]

Those were the days when the Rover SD1 3500 could give BMW and Audi a good thrashing V8, rear wheel drive. Not by halves indeed.

[unixman]

Mind blowing emissions from rotary engines means, unless some yet unknown technical breakthrough is made, the RX8 will be the last mass produced el ever made.

From that perspective I think everyone should own one for a while to piss of the global warming brigade.

I think they will probably come back in some form, with whatever refinements. They are suitable for use only in sports cars really. The engine is a tiny tube shoved between the legs of the driver and passenger, and that gives great handling.

[OwlHoot]

My jag apparently has an "idiot's oil gauge" (or did the guy call it a "poor man's oil gauge" ?) in which the needle has only two positions, half way or zero.

I'd rather have a proper oil gauge that actually shows the oil level, and I believe one can buy and fit one separately.

[VectraMan]

I can vouch for the Ford Ka not needing oil for at least several thousand miles. Somebody i used to work with drove with the oil warning light on, so I checked the oil level for her, the dipstick didn't register any oil in the sump.

In a way that proves what a poorly built engine it must have been. Apparently the S2000's oil light only comes on after the engine has blown up.

The good thing about the S2000 is that people who are too stupid to check the oil probably write it off on a roundabout before the oil runs out.

[anonymouse]

I can vouch for the Ford Ka not needing oil for at least several thousand miles. Somebody i used to work with drove with the oil warning light on, so I checked the oil level for her, the dipstick didn't register any oil in the sump.

[OwlHoot]

It's absolutely astonishing that these oil guzzlers are still being sold new.

I thought they went out with manual starter handles, and that modern cars used about a thimble full of oil every 10K miles!

Could it be a manufacturers' wheeze to increase the chance of unwary owners wearing out their engines prematurely and having to buy a newer car?

[DimPrawn]

Mind blowing emissions from rotary engines means, unless some yet unknown technical breakthrough is made, the RX8 will be the last mass produced el ever made.

From that perspective I think everyone should own one for a while to piss of the global warming brigade.

[unixman]

Rotary, they are designed to use oil. Unfortunately dippy owners don't realise, hence why RX8s are so cheap and have such a bad reputation.

My RX8 consumed about 1 litre every 1500 or 2000 miles, as it was designed to do. Superb drive and I kept it for 7 years with zero mechanical problems. Stories of rabid oil consumption are an Internet meme only, and in fact a quick way to tell if a reviewer actually did any research was if he put "eats oil rigs whole!" into the review. If he did, you knew he never even skim-read the Mazda press release, and just repeated the internet meme instead. I believe one UK magazine does not even drive the cars it "reviews" (hunch only).

Engine rebuilds and rotor tip wear stories similar nonsense. Associated only with high mileage RX7s and never the RX8 to my knowledge.

Petrol consumption about 24 MPG average - fairly heavy but comparable with cars of the same class (in 2004). And it was unleaded not premium, so 10% or so cheaper. Fuel tank was small though.

Proper and I mean proper handling. And seeing the rev counter charge past 8000 was slightly orgasmic. I banged it to 9500 on a regular basis and might have even got 10k on a couple of occasions, or that might just have been the rev counter...

[VectraMan]

Rotary, they are designed to use oil. Unfortunately dippy owners don't realise, hence why RX8s are so cheap and have such a bad reputation.

And petrol by the tanker load. And engine rebuilds.

Nice cars, and if anything they have a good reputation amongst petrol heads. It's just that few people are stupid enough to own one.