Not saying anything bad about the RX-8 ....

For those of you who gave up a Miata when you got your 8, how do you remember your Miata?

I remember the miata as a car which could outhandle the RX8 without even trying...a car that was loud/windy/inside...a car which felt like an extension of me, not like the RX8 which is just 'something I'm sitting in'.

:-/

But the Miata was pretty darn slow in a straight line. :)

The Miata was my first car when I was 16--I do miss the Miata tho.

I remember having it in Ohio and putting the top down on the first "warm" day of spring. I remember it snowing and putting the top down anyway :). I remember driving through Arizona with scattered thundershowers and realizing I could leave the top down and not get wet as long as I kept it over 70 mph. I remember cruising up and down Palomar Mountain with the top down, listening to the song of the engine. I remember being able to wash 3/4 of the car without moving my feet :)

I remember the car being jittery the 1st day and wondering if all the reviews I'd read had been wrong after all. Then, discovering the tires were filled to 36 psi; lowering them to specs and having the car seem like it was riding on rails.

I remember that the battery it came with was so tiny that I figured it wouldn't last a year. That battery lasted 7 years. I remember NEVER being stranded on the road with a breakdown. I remember having taken it into the shop only ONCE, for a new clutch lining and shocks at 95,000 miles.

I remember the CompuServe "Miataville" SIG, long before the internet became big.

I remember it was nearly impossible to see anything inside the cockpit even with the little aftermarket add-on lights (black top, black carpeting, black dash, black seats). I remember the tiny little blip in the paint on the trunk that I was going to take it back into the dealer to get looked at. Never did.

I remember flat-spotting a set of tires when a little old lady tried merging onto the freeway at 15 mph. I remember going on out to a rural road, and doing burnouts until the rear tires were fairly round again, rotating the tires and doing it over :)

I remember the great little trick of replacing the top zipper pull with a split-ring.

I remember replacing the stock convertible top with a "Robbins" replacement with a real glass window once the plastic had finally turned brown and cracked.

I remember it was probably one of the finest cars ever made.

Funny you asked this question...

I am in the process of selling my Miata to buy the 8. My current 1990 Miata is turbocharged (~190 RWHP) so it will have no problems keeping up with the 8.

However, last week I drove a friend's 8 at the track and within 1 lap, I was hooked!!!

Yes my Miata has ALL the performance upgrades you could imagine and the 8 was a "stock with the sports package". But as far as what was easier to drive at the limit, the RX8 was waaay better... and it didn't "flex"...

Hopefully, I make the right choice...

Pololo

I miss the whoosh of the AVO billet blow-off valve on my 230 RWHP FMII 1992 Sunburst Miata. That car was a complete and total rush. But I love my 8.

I'd like a voting option:

"I Enjoy the RX8 - don't 'love it' - but it's a very nice car...just completely different than the Miata, so it's hard to compare"

:D

My first Miata was a '91 White
My second Miata was a '96 Montego Blue
My third Miata was a '99 Black

Each had some mods that made them all unique to me. I miss them all, but with changed circumstances, the 8 meets my needs.

I agree with dmp, it is hard to compare the Miata with the 8 since they are different.

I do miss my '96M-Edition on spring days like today... Driving top-down to work got my head in the right place for a long day of work, and coming home top-down wound me back down. I miss the snickety-snick of the best manual transmission I've ever had, the sound of my borla with the top down, but I think I miss the handling the most, especially with my KYB AGX adjustable shocks, sways and braces- it was as tossable and nimble as go kart. As dmp said, the Miata is an extension of the driver, not a vehicle you drive.

All that said, I don't miss the road noise, the lack of insulation in the winter (even with the hardtop), and just the general lack of refinement that the RX8 brings to the table. And with three daughters, the lack of a back seat was becoming more and more of an issue. And the rotary... damn I love 6 speeds and 9k rpm to play with.

The Miata will go down as the best $10k I ever spent, and without a doubt the most reliable and fun car I have ever owned.

I can't vote - I kept my Miata when I bought my RX-8!

Best of both worlds... :D

Regards,
Gordon

We still have two Miatas but no comparison to the Eight.

Vince

I do miss mine and wish I had kept it. I like the 8 more for different reason's but I wished I had bought the 8 to complement my Miata and not replace it. I had a '92 White Miata

I remember having it in Ohio and putting the top down on the first "warm" day of spring. I remember it snowing and putting the top down anyway :). I remember driving through Arizona with scattered thundershowers and realizing I could leave the top down and not get wet as long as I kept it over 70 mph. I remember cruising up and down Palomar Mountain with the top down, listening to the song of the engine. I remember being able to wash 3/4 of the car without moving my feet :)

I remember the car being jittery the 1st day and wondering if all the reviews I'd read had been wrong after all. Then, discovering the tires were filled to 36 psi; lowering them to specs and having the car seem like it was riding on rails.

I remember that the battery it came with was so tiny that I figured it wouldn't last a year. That battery lasted 7 years. I remember NEVER being stranded on the road with a breakdown. I remember having taken it into the shop only ONCE, for a new clutch lining and shocks at 95,000 miles.

I remember the CompuServe "Miataville" SIG, long before the internet became big.

I remember it was nearly impossible to see anything inside the cockpit even with the little aftermarket add-on lights (black top, black carpeting, black dash, black seats). I remember the tiny little blip in the paint on the trunk that I was going to take it back into the dealer to get looked at. Never did.

I remember flat-spotting a set of tires when a little old lady tried merging onto the freeway at 15 mph. I remember going on out to a rural road, and doing burnouts until the rear tires were fairly round again, rotating the tires and doing it over :)

I remember the great little trick of replacing the top zipper pull with a split-ring.

I remember replacing the stock convertible top with a "Robbins" replacement with a real glass window once the plastic had finally turned brown and cracked.

I remember it was probably one of the finest cars ever made.


Damn dude, you have a good memory.

I can't vote - I kept my Miata when I bought my RX-8!

Best of both worlds... :DMe too. My Miatas are like pets, or even family members -- would you get rid of one child just so you could have another?!

One can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many Miatas. ;)

I miss my 02 special edition... But I love my 8

I allready miss my Miata, and I don't even have an 8 yet! I got rear-ended Friday, and I'm pretty certain my '94 A-pkg Miata is going to be totalled. Ten years of fun fun fun sideways fun down the drain, I *wanted* to keep that car regardless of what else I added to the stable!

But now, the only clear choice is the 8. Sourcing a 10 year old Miata would be just gettting someone else's mistake, and I'd have to go through the whole zero-timing engine, drivetrain and suspension..

My handle is missinmahseven -- because in the 10 years since I got the miata (and sold my FB), I *missed* my seven. I miss that Wankel wonder something fierce. Once bitten by rotaries there's no going back to boingers, I guess.. :D

So, here I am, waiting to hear the final dictum from the insurance co.. drove the 8, found it remarkably similar to the FB, just with way more grip, balance, finesse and power.. but otherwise, memories of rotaries past came flooding in from the first time I goosed the gas on the 8.. memories of the electric rush that only seems to happen with a carburated V-12 or a Wankel motor.. :)

Make mine Winning Blue with GT. Or a Shinka.. who knows.

Ahhh the Miata. I've owned three in the last 10 years. 2 in England and 1 here in the US.

I sold a 97 STO special edition to buy the RX-8 three weeks ago. I miss it but I'm getting over it now.

I had to sell a White 93 in England when I moved to the US.

The one I loved the most will always be my White 89. Sadly it died on the M5 motorway in England in the middle of a 40 car pile-up. I will always remember my wife and I walking out of the wreckage with no injuries other than sore necks and looking back at our crumpled pride and joy. That car died saving our lives, the strength of those things is impressive.

Nubo - can you explain the zipper thing?

BTW - used Miatas are cheap and reliable - why not keep both? (I know some of you did)

I have a WRX and a Miata, IMHO it's the best of both worlds.

Thanks,
John

Nubo - can you explain the zipper thing?

When the thin piece of OEM leather used as a zipper pull breaks, replace it with a keyring... easy to grab behind your back and zip the window up.

:lol: I didn't know there was a leather thing there (bought the car used; never had one)

That's brilliant though. With a rollbar, unzipping the soft top is a bish.

Thanks!

john

I miss mine terribly.
Of course, it is only been at the body shop for a day now. I'll have it back when I return from Las Vegas on the 26th.

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=58140