Trims and Packages
The following applies to the US only
In 2004, there was only 1 "Trim" level, officially: Base In 2005, an additional trim was officially added: Shinka. To these Trim levels factory installed Option Packages were available. In 2006, all major Option Packages were converted to be official Trim levels. |
A side effect of this is that any VIN lookup or used car listing is likely to only list "Base" as the trim level for all 2004s, and "Base/Shinka" for all 2005s. The option package was not reported via the VIN through any 3rd party source. Read on to determine how to tell the packages apart.
Major Trims and Packages
The major Option Packages (2004-2005) which were converted to Trim Levels for later years (2006-2011) are:
The major Option Packages (2004-2005) which were converted to Trim Levels for later years (2006-2011) are:
- Sport Suspension option package: Larger brakes, 18" wheels, carbon fiber driveshaft, stiffer sway bars, firmer shocks and springs
- Touring option package: Sport Suspension, plus a moon roof and fog lights
- Grand Touring option package: Touring plus heated leather seats
- R3 Trim: Takes a Grand Touring package and removes the moonroof, further upgrades the shocks, stiffer sway bars, lower ride height, custom front bumper and side skirts, and 19" unique wheels. It was only available in each country of production in 2 colors. The US got Aurora Blue and Velocity Red, Canada got Velocity Red and Crystal White Pearl, and Japan got Crystal White Pearl and 1 other (I am unsure at this time)
Identifying the Sport Package/Trim
YES if...
YES if...
- the car has a manual transmission and no moonroof
or - the car has an automatic transmission, no moonroof, 18" wheels, and 12.7" diameter front brake rotors
- The car has an automatic transmission and 16" wheels (That's a Base Automatic)
or - The car has a moonroof (That's a Touring or Grand Touring)
Identifying the Touring Package/Trim
YES if...
Identifying the Grand Touring Package/Trim
YES if...
|
Note: Since the leather seats in the Grand Touring are so much heavier than the cloth seats in other trims/packages, for racing reasons many owners have swapped seats with non-Grand Touring owners. The non-Grand Touring owners likewise gain heated leather seats that they otherwise would not have. What seats are installed may not be a good long term confirmation of trim level. |
Base Automatic
Since all manual transmission equipped RX-8s automatically got the 6-port engine and the Sport Suspension package in 2004 and 2005, having an automatic in these two years meant that it was possible to have a true "Base" model, with no packages installed at all, referred to the "Base Automatic".
These are actually rare, since even many of the lower trim automatics were ordered with the Sport Suspension, even if not with Touring or Grand Touring packages. The Base Automatic was most remarkably different in that it was a combination that is missing so many things that made the RX-8 good. It was missing the higher RPM redline, missing the better suspension, missing the better brakes, missing the carbon fiber driveshaft, and it's 16" wheels make it look a bit out of proportion with more wheel gap than even the stock 18s. For the 2004s and 2005s, it also had the lowest power engine that costs the most to replace and is the most prone to failure from carbon caking, as well as the fewest transmission gear count. It can't really even be referred to as more focused on touring, since it was missing nearly all the driver comfort features too, like leather, heated seats, premium audio, moonroof, etc... Largely, it's recommended to avoid these, since they are likely priced the same as RX-8s with the more desired features, but you get so much less for your money up front, and run a greater risk of repairs, repairs that cost more. The cost of converting a Base Automatic to even a Sport Automatic would be more than the purchase price of the car at this point.
Since all manual transmission equipped RX-8s automatically got the 6-port engine and the Sport Suspension package in 2004 and 2005, having an automatic in these two years meant that it was possible to have a true "Base" model, with no packages installed at all, referred to the "Base Automatic".
These are actually rare, since even many of the lower trim automatics were ordered with the Sport Suspension, even if not with Touring or Grand Touring packages. The Base Automatic was most remarkably different in that it was a combination that is missing so many things that made the RX-8 good. It was missing the higher RPM redline, missing the better suspension, missing the better brakes, missing the carbon fiber driveshaft, and it's 16" wheels make it look a bit out of proportion with more wheel gap than even the stock 18s. For the 2004s and 2005s, it also had the lowest power engine that costs the most to replace and is the most prone to failure from carbon caking, as well as the fewest transmission gear count. It can't really even be referred to as more focused on touring, since it was missing nearly all the driver comfort features too, like leather, heated seats, premium audio, moonroof, etc... Largely, it's recommended to avoid these, since they are likely priced the same as RX-8s with the more desired features, but you get so much less for your money up front, and run a greater risk of repairs, repairs that cost more. The cost of converting a Base Automatic to even a Sport Automatic would be more than the purchase price of the car at this point.