Hi, I am new here and I haven't made an introduction and apologise for getting right to the point. I bought a '54 RX8 about 4 months ago adn everything was fine, then a few weeks ago i noticed that she started to seem a little gutless, as if she wanted to go hell for leather but something was stopping her. Then the engine light came on so i took her to mazda to get checked out. Got told that the fault codes that came up were incorrect and there was no fault connected with the light coming on. But they checked the compression and came up with low compression in the rear chamber, now please bear in mind that I know very little about cars and if i sound as if i know what i am talking about here then its pure coincidence. Went to pick up the car out of hours the next day and she wouldnt start, never had the problem before til mazda got their hands on her!!!!! They then tried to tell me that after they drove it out of the workshop and over to the car park that somehow the engine got flooded!!! They finally got it started and since she feels more gutless than usual and is juddering at around 5000 rpm. I spoke to someone else who said they had the same problem and replaced the starter motor and it cured it???????????? Or does it cound like I need a new engine which is what mazda have told me at the bargain cost of £8200!!!! I have found on the net these rebuild kits, are they worth a look. Any suggestions gratefully received Thanks

 

IF there was a check engine light on, there was a code set - there's no other way to light the lamp unless there is a wiring problem, in which case it never would have gone off. So get a list of what fault codes the car had logged... then again i'm sure they will come back soon.
Flooding after being run for a short time is a problem with rotaries, why / how mazda hasn't come up with a fix is beyond me. But you can try pulling the fuse for the fuel pump, crank the engine, and (at least on my old 84 GSL-SE) the engine would fire, at which time you put the fuse back in and it'll keep running.
It is very possible you have low compression, and that could cause issues with running, though i'm not sure exactly what it would feel like.

As for a rebuild kit, if the engine is old enough to have compression issues i'd say just replace it. It is possible that whatever caused the low compression has scratched or otherwise damaged other parts in the engine. So if you were a car nut, have it rebuilt, but otherwise the rotary engines take a lot more detail to rebuild properly compared with a standard piston engine. The seals have to be filed to fit, which takes some time and experience.
I'd suggest buying a rebuilt engine with a warranty and having someone put it in that's got a good reputation - hopefully the dealer does, though saying the engine code didn't set the light it a line of crap, so i'd find the next closest dealer and see what they say.

Good luck.