It's only a matter of time before I ditch my loveable SL2 bought 5+ years ago on a budget half the current size I am strongly compelled towards this car, and finally test drove it today after much research. (6-speed GT) The salesperson came with me and my friend, and I was able to take it on the highway, but no twisties. The one turn I took it hard on was a freeway interchange. I noticed that there is a small amount of body roll, especially given the rear passenger on the right side during a left turn. I expected some of course, but not that much, and though at no point did I feel like the car was slipping, I did feel a little lack of communication with the road. I need to drive it more to verify this, but I don't think I was imagining things.

I then took a WRX 5-spd up into the hills with just my friend and I drove it hard. It was amazingly neutral and stable through hard turns (partly thanks to the AWD of course), and the steering was very direct. I've driven an Integra Type-R on the same roads and the Subaru was the closest I've come to matching that. Styling, refinement, and interior wise, the RX-8 is simply in a different league than the frumpy Subaru. However, does has anyone who has driven the WRX have any impressions as to its handling in comparison with the RX-8?

I will of course take the RX-8 on the same route before buying it, but just wanted to know what y'all owners think about the stock suspension setup and body roll.

IMHO the increased body roll of the 8 is a direct result of the 8 not beating you up like the wrx and 350z will. I'm not an expert, but it seems to me that body roll and ride smothness are related, too tight = little roll but you feel every bump, more roll and smother ride. It's all a compromise and I think the 8 hit the right point in the spectrum.

The 8 has very little body roll, but you will notice it at an auto-x for example. For almost all day driving you wont be bothered by it, but if your planning on going to track, you might want to look at some sway bars, springs or coilovers. I am going for swaybars first myself.

I am seriously thinking about the racing beat sway bars. What affect will they have on ride quality?

JoeRX8ter

I first installed the RB sway bars on my Miata and they did not affect the ride quality at all, however the Konis I installed later did give it a slightly more firm ride.

Like Genom, I will install the bars first.

Thanks for the input. red_rx8 - I know there is always a trade-off between ride comfort and handling. However I actually thought the ride comfort between the Subaru and Mazda was pretty comparable. I scheduled another test drive for tomorrow after telling my sales guy about my experience with the WRX.

They are eager to sell these cars - the dealer's starting offer to me was invoice, which for the options I want is about $2100 less than MSRP. I gotta say that raises the temptation level for me, but then makes me wonder if I should wait for the 2005's and possible better financing and a return of the $2500 cash back.

Also remember to add roughly ~700 to the cost of the wrx to pay for real tires and not the deathtrap re92s.

I had the wrx for a couple years and it was more compliant over rough roads thanks to the greater suspension travel, but it also had more roll and dive.

Thanks nt for the info.

Good to hear that you had the opposite experience with the WRX vs. RX-8 than I did, esp. given that you have real time behind the wheels of both, unlike me with my short test drives. I'll drive the RX-8 again tomorrow, this time putting it through the curves.

I actually meant that I could get the RX-8 for invoice, not the WRX - I never did any serious negotiating with the Subaru dealer. Also, the WRX would cost me another $1000/year in insurance, so the equation is even more in favor of the RX-8. I might pick up the car this week if all goes well.