I think I read this a thread similar to this before... just wanted to share my experience on my commute to work this morning.

Knowing that everyone in the world thinks their states/cities drivers are the worst and most inconsiderate on the planet, and you live in by far the worst traffic congestion ever concieved, I am going to go ahead and follow suite :).

Austin drivers, suck badly, and they all tailgate regardless of speed or traffic conditions. They all drive 90 ton SUVs and talk on their cell phones while they drve like a nimrod.

Every time I hear the squeal of someone locking up their brakes when I am driving my 8... I get nervous.

So on my commute this morning some dumb-dumb decided to pull accross 3 lanes to hit his exit and almost caused the 4 cars in front of me to start a chain reaction pile up. I of course saw the brake lights, saw the smoke from the tires as they locked up and hit the brakes hard. The SUV behind me was still locked up, but still plowing straight ahead as I came to a stop. I had to pull off of the road and on the shoulder to avoid being hit... and that wasnt the bad part, the car behind the SUV, also braking hard, would have slammed into me as well. Needless to say I didn't need any coffee this morning at work to wake up.

So I guess I need to turn off ABS or something or force everyone else to buy an RX8.

Amen! I don't know how many times I've looked in my rear view mirror on MoPac wondering if the guy behind me will make it or not. There must be at least 2-3 a week. I get them going to work mostly but I've had it happen on my drive home as well.

Glad to hear you were unscathed and had the presence of mind to avoid not only the cars in front but those behind as well.

The 8's brakes have been wonderful so far. Powerful and easy to modulate. It's a very safe feeling. Of course they don't do anything to slow down the vehicle behind you. The best defense there is to leave plenty of space in front so that in an emergency you can slow down at a rate that both you AND the trailing drivers can handle. If the car ahead is tailgating I increase my distance even more. Likewise if the car behind is tailgating I increase my following distance. You really have to manage the situation for at least 3 vehicles because often they are not doing so for themselves.

well i can say i drive a 97 f-150, and i drive relativly fast, faster then the limit and the people here in riverside, california drive so damn slow! as soon as the light turns yellow nobody attempts to pass it. just my 2 cents. on the driving conditions in riverside.

no such thing as breaks being TOO good :) but yah at least u made it out safe

The rx8 is so much like a bike. They both can stop shorter distances than a car. Fast breaking, I'm used to getting out of the way on my bike because I know the guy behind me can't stop as fast. I'll be using that experience when driving the rx8 too.

Nubo, your point is well taken. If you allow a decent following distance, then you're not as apt to have to use these wonderful brakes and thus hopefully will give the guys behind you time to stop "gracefully".

Tony_Montana, be glad drivers in your area don't push red lights. In Houston, it's simply understood that a red light means "only 3 more cars can go through" and believe me, in most instances, all 3 cars (and that's 3 cars per LANE), do go through the red light. It's hazardous as hell, especially to out-of-town drivers who think green means GO.

I probably see one accident a month that appears to involve a redlight-runner t-boning an unsuspecting guy with a green light.

Maybe we could mount a cowcatcher on the back to shunt rear-enders off to the side. Wouldn't be terribly atractive though...

Originally posted by Tony_Montana
well i can say i drive a 97 f-150, and i drive relativly fast, faster then the limit and the people here in riverside, california drive so damn slow! as soon as the light turns yellow nobody attempts to pass it. just my 2 cents. on the driving conditions in riverside.

who lives in riverside? no sane person lives in riverside voluntarily, get out of there man! haha, j/p.

i'd say the riverside folk know how to drive safely. but thats my 2 cents.


on topic, the breaks on the rx8 are fantastic, as long as you dont do too much aggresive driving. I find that they are a bit lacking when you push them to the limits though, and a bit slippery when heated up. I seriously need brembos.
but nobody in their right minds would drive the rx8 to such extremes i guess....

We need like a heavy duty airbag that pops out from the rear bumper. :D Yes, I do not like people following me too close, but at times you can't do a thing about when traffic is heavy. I now come in to work a hour early to avoid just that.

Originally posted by grogiefrog
I do not like people following me too close, but at times you can't do a thing about when traffic is heavy.

...this is why a flame-throwing exhaust is good. :)

no.. i'm under the impression that TX drivers are the worst.. I'm up in dallas and god damn i'm afraid to drive to work most days as everyday, someone seems to want to kill me.

I'm glad the car has good breaks.. Now if I could just find some empty roads to drive on, I'd be set :)

I'm originally from IL and up that way, wisconsin's drivers are definitely the worst.

It is not just the RX-8. The exact same thing has happened to me with every sports car I have ever owned. Simply put, sports cars do brake better and with more feedback so modulating is far easier than regular cars, let alone heavy (and ugly) SUV's !

He's not joking about the SUV's. Gotta be around 75% large suv's around here. I am concerned about the exact same thing since I just got a new Silver8. Had an old car before this so it wasn't much of a thought.

Maybe we should all get that rear-end rotary brake light mod ?

Give them a chance to see us braking earlier. :)

Originally posted by FirstSpin
Nubo, your point is well taken. If you allow a decent following distance, then you're not as apt to have to use these wonderful brakes and thus hopefully will give the guys behind you time to stop "gracefully".


Agreed...in theory. However leaving a large space in front is an invitation here in Hampton Roads for others to cut in front of you. I do leave a space but sometimes I feel like I am going backwards down the road.

P.S. And the 'cutter' (with me being the 'cuttie') is ALWAYS a HUGE SUV (normally an Avalanche or Expedition). Like driving down the road behind a wall...I love it.

P.S.S. The large space I mentioned does not have to be much more than one car length...it seems somehow someone will always fit in there.

Originally posted by boarder
He's not joking about the SUV's. Gotta be around 75% large suv's around here. I am concerned about the exact same thing since I just got a new Silver8. Had an old car before this so it wasn't much of a thought.

Maybe we should all get that rear-end rotary brake light mod ?

Give them a chance to see us braking earlier. :)

Actually, I have found that if you go down the road waving your AK-47 out the driver's window people tend to give you a wide birth.

What? You all don't have an AK? *tsk tsk*

I concur about Austin drivers, and I've driven in a lot of places, from Atlanta to NYC to LA. Austinites are among the worst. Big-ass SUVs, huge trucks with those chromed-tube Miata-catchers mounted on the front, and everyone's yacking on the cellphone. And yeah, a red light means "keep on coming, three or four more can get through." I'm a pretty safe driver, but I'm becoming increasingly convinced that one of these morons is gonna kill me one day. There's no sure protection against virulent stupidity.

sorry did not read all post but did read first couple.

with that being said

just be cause you can stop better than most cars in traffic it does not mean you have to.

dont get rear ended and blame it on mazda.

I think i made my point if not let me know

Does anyone know the exact 60 - 0 braking ratio? (like 0 - 60 in 113ft) I was just curious! :)

I love the brakes on my 8. Seen the same thing happen here in the DC area everyday.

But geez do those brakes get the rims dirty in a hurry!

Seems like I am ALWAYS out there cleaning them.

<looks around>

Anyone seen my bucket?