I think this is the hush-hush video that was supposedly shown at SevenStock. Since the RX-8 is out of the bag, I think it's safe to post the link to the video.

Anyway, the video showed a RX-8 and RX-7 testing at the Miyoshi Proving Ground. In the first video, the RX-7 followed the RX-8. Note how far the RX-8 distanced itself from the RX-7 in the sucession of corners. The RX-7 pulled it back in the straight.

RX-7 behind RX-8 (http://www3.stream.co.jp/web/mazda/meta/021118/7vs8run01c300k.asx)

In the second video, the order is reversed, the RX-8 followed the RX-7. As soon as they are both in the corners, the RX-8 is right on the RX-7's tail. But again, the RX-7 pulled away in the straight. Also note how much steering inputs go into the RX-7 as compare to the RX-8.

RX-8 behind RX-7 (http://www3.stream.co.jp/web/mazda/meta/021118/7vs8run02d34k.asx)

Since I'm at school it's impossible to see but thanks for it! :)

nice videos!!!!

Nice videos, but neither of those cars were NOT being pushed hard. A couple of days ago, I watched some Japanese DVDs of car races. They had cars like RX-7, Skyline GT-R, and Supra in hardcore serious races. BIG difference.

The videos are nice, though, but they really don't tell us anything. Probably there will be some independently-produced videos after the release of the RX-8 in Japan to compare it to the RX-7 and other cars. Now those videos will be much more interesting to see...

while they were not racing it looks to me like the drivers were pushing the cars pretty hard. they were not trying to pass each other but they were driving hard to keep up with each other.

edit: almost forgot to thank you for posting the links. now i can say that i didn't see them either:D

Could some post these in a downloadable format.. or link me to some software I could download to do this as my 56k connection won't even show it.

Good find Duck...

Umm, is it just me or is there supposed to be sound in the video? :(

Originally posted by fritts
Could some post these in a downloadable format.. or link me to some software I could download to do this as my 56k connection won't even show it. Yes, please, someone have pity on those of us still using string and coffee cans to connect to the internet. :p

I'm not too knowledgeable about cars overall so this could be completely wrong. From the looks of the video (damn cool btw, thanks Good Duck), it seems like the RX-8 is master of handling. The one series of turns when the RX-8 really pulls ahead, it seems like it's on rails or something.

Is this a case of NA versus Turbo? I've heard that all other things being equal, an NA car is better for entering a turn and a turbo performs better leaving. Basically, the effects of turbo lag.

Would this be a reasonable explaination for the performance shown in the videos or should I not be getting my racing knowledge from Initial D?

On one of the turns the RX-7 started to drift... you can see the driver countersteering to the left as the rear end goes left....

Kinda funny :)

I noticed that too. The RX-8 is supposed to have a stiffer suspension than the seven, making it a dominant handling vehicle.

for the love of god Please someone change these to a downloadable format for poor fools like me.....

These videos are stream directly from Mazda. I have no control over the format. If I remembered correctly, BlueAdept (moderator) has capability of recording these streams and make them downloadable.

There's a higher quality stream of the 8 following the 7 here:
http://www3.stream.co.jp/web/mazda/meta/021118/7vs8run02d300k.asx

That's better!!!

Originally posted by Renesis08
I noticed that too. The RX-8 is supposed to have a stiffer suspension than the seven, making it a dominant handling vehicle.

i highly doubt that. the 7's suspension was detuned from 93-95 because everyone said it was to harsh. add that to the fact that this is being aimed at a more family oriented set of buyers and i don't see the suspension being harsher.

Originally posted by Renesis08
I noticed that too. The RX-8 is supposed to have a stiffer suspension than the seven, making it a dominant handling vehicle.

Better handling does not always corrolate to stiffer suspension. If suspension tuning was just plain stiffening the suspension, then it wouldn't be such an art. A recent article in SCC had an example wherein a car's handling was made worse by careless tuning.

I don't believe that the RX-8 will have stiffer suspension than the RX-7. But I do think that it will be a better handler.

Originally posted by Good Duck


Better handling does not always corrolate to stiffer suspension. If suspension tuning was just plain stiffening the suspension, then it wouldn't be such an art. A recent article in SCC had an example wherein a car's handling was made worse by careless tuning.

I don't believe that the RX-8 will have stiffer suspension than the RX-7. But I do think that it will be a better handler. I think the same. BMW's philosophy has been 'firmness without harshness', and I think the RX-8 will go for the same thing, not to mention a more competent handling car.

:mad: :mad: :mad:
Stupid ASX streams...
The only thing I see is one or two frames in the whole movie...
:mad: :mad: :mad:
Isn't there anybody who can copy this with asfrecorder? It's so slow over here that my asfrecorder gives a timeout... :(
please, somebody help me

BlueAdept,
Some of us are hurting here we are handicapped with dial-up modems and cannot watch this amazing video. I downloaded an ASF recorder but could not get it to work on the format. Could you try and work you magic so others of us my view this blessed movie.

I wish those streams had audio -- I'd love to hear the 8 winding up at its upper limits. 7k RPM in my rx-7 is intoxicating enough, but with the 8's redline...

I dunno if I'm seeing too much in that video, but it seemed to me that the rx-8 there was changing direction <b>insanely</b> quickly. It seems like the low polar moment of inertia really shows there. It's going to be a beast at the autocross track.

Originally posted by xmatt
I wish those streams had audio -- I'd love to hear the 8 winding up at its upper limits. 7k RPM in my rx-7 is intoxicating enough, but with the 8's redline...

I dunno if I'm seeing too much in that video, but it seemed to me that the rx-8 there was changing direction <b>insanely</b> quickly. It seems like the low polar moment of inertia really shows there. It's going to be a beast at the autocross track.

now that you mentioned it, after I watched the high-res video clip, the responsiveness of steering input reminds me of go karts, one quick flick of the wrist and the car turns that way RIGHT NOW.

these things will have to be experienced to truly appreciate :)

Guy1:"I guess that settles that.."
Guy 2: "Yep."

Seriously though, that video reminds me of how the MP3 is able to keep up with faster cars in the corners, and beat most.

Looking at both videos, it seems that the RX8 has more understeer than the RX7. Although the 7 seems to be working harder, it may be that the steering just has more feel than the 8. Early driving reports seem to confirm this with slightly numb steering feel compared to the 7. Depending on the track, stock to stock, i think the RX7 would still win but not by much. The extra torque gets it off the corners better and with slightly more hp, less weight and a better power curve, it'll leave an RX8 for dead on faster tracks. Sort of reminds me of 2-stroke 500cc vs. the 4 stroke MotoGP bikes....The two strokes have higher corner speeds but loose out to the higher hp 4 strokes.
Michel

rx7tt95,

Oh Jesus, your signature! I think you forgot the kitchen sink. Oh wait the minute, I see it.

rx7tt95 - yeah I bet you think you're fast or something... but PH33R my downpipe and RB dual-tip!! :p

Great Find Good Duck !!!

Thanks for the vids!

LOL, no, don't think I'm that fast...competent but definitely not fast. :-) I am a regular track day junkie though...haven't had the 7 out since the single turbo conversion. Should be great at Sebring, not so good at tighter tracks. I just copied my sig from the RX7 forum...I guess I should go back and try to eliminate the extra space. And I'd never have a kitchen sink in my 7, they're too heavy!javascript:smilie(':)') Most people heavy in mods list them because if another is having issues with a similar mod or thinking about upgrading, they can contact that person with the modification in question. Not trying to showboat.

But anyway...I do think the 8 will be an exceptional car and will also respond to suspension mods really well due to it's stiff chassis. That'll let the upgraded suspension do do their job without interference from deflection and flex. I'm sure spring rates were chosen for real world comfort over outright handling. Has anyone seen specs on the swaybars yet? Size? Hollow?
Michel

Originally posted by rx7tt95
Has anyone seen specs on the swaybars yet? Size? Hollow?


According to published spec:

6MT
front (diameter/thickness)- 26.5mm/3.5mm
rear (diameter/thickness)- 15.9mm/2.6mm

4AT
front (diameter/thickness)- 25.4mm/3.5mm
rear (diameter/thickness)- 15.9mm/1.8mm


rx7tt95, are you going to Sebring? Check your PM.

Yup, thinner than the third gen's swaybars...Can't do Sebring in January as I'm on weekends this month at the paper, sigh...next event I'll do is with www.performance-drivers-club.com at Homestead the middle of February. I think it's a shared event with two other clubs. I highly recommend PDC once you've been signed off (they don't have instructors) by BMWOC or whoever you're tracking with on a regular basis. You can see some of my photos and multi-image prints on that site as well.
Michel

Can anyone PLEASE snap those streams with ASFRecorder?? Pleeeeaassseee :( :( :(

Originally posted by fritts
BlueAdept,
Some of us are hurting here we are handicapped with dial-up modems and cannot watch this amazing video. I downloaded an ASF recorder but could not get it to work on the format. Could you try and work you magic so others of us my view this blessed movie.

Enjoy....

ftp://rx8:mazda@ftp.fsck.co.uk/7vs8run01c300k.asx
ftp://rx8:mazda@ftp.fsck.co.uk/7vs8run02d34k.asx

I think they were pushing the cars hard. In the the 7 following 8 video, there are a few moments were you can clearly see the tach in the 6000rpm range. As far as the sensation of speed goes: videos like this always appear to be slower than real life because of where the camera is mounted and the wide angle of its lens.

Can anyone download those? I'm getting errors in the path name. Not sure what I'm doing wrong now..

Originally posted by fritts
Can anyone download those? I'm getting errors in the path name. Not sure what I'm doing wrong now..

Tested from my works site, the URL appears to be correct.

If you are having real problems I suggest using the command line FTP client and simply logging in with the username:password included in the URL.

Thanks Blueadept,
I got it running the evil windows just needed restarting.

Originally posted by BlueAdept


Enjoy....

ftp://rx8:mazda@ftp.fsck.co.uk/7vs8run01c300k.asx
ftp://rx8:mazda@ftp.fsck.co.uk/7vs8run02d34k.asx


Could you please also record this one:
http://www3.stream.co.jp/web/mazda/meta/021118/7vs8run02d300k.asx

Thanks

Blue... are you starting a data conversion service?

Cool vids. I would say they are pushing pretty hard, about as hard as you could get on street tires, you can't compare them to racecars on slicks :)

The lack of sound also takes away some of the sense of speed.

Originally posted by evel333
I think they were pushing the cars hard. In the the 7 following 8 video, there are a few moments were you can clearly see the tach in the 6000rpm range. As far as the sensation of speed goes: videos like this always appear to be slower than real life because of where the camera is mounted and the wide angle of its lens.

Although the video is not clear because of compression, it is possible to tell the speed of the Sprit-R RX-7 at different points in the video. I converted the speeds into MPH and marked the points on the Miyoshi track where they approximated. Both cars seem to be going approx 112 mph to start the video and the turns are taken at speeds of 42 to 99 mph.

Buger, you simply amaze me!

Wow, nice work Buger! Too bad the 8 doesn't come with white-faced gauges.

btw, I put a copy of the higher-res (320x240) video of the view from the RX-8 (about 3.2MB zipped) on my server:

http://www.rasterwerks.com/vid/7vs8run02d300k.zip

Anyone else having problems opening this link? :confused:

Edit: The link seems to be working now. :D

Thanks ZoomZoom, Gamera,

I must have too much time on my hands. ;)

Brian