The updated RX8 GT is in the latest issue of Motor. It's part of the line-up for the round 2 of PCOTY. Besides the usual acceleration times, they also inlcuded 0-1000m time, and also took the cars to Wakefield. They clocked a time of 1:11.8 around there.

 

These are the times for other car earlier this year.

It is so different since resurfacing... it was impossible to do a 11 in an RX-8 before

EVO X 1:09.50
135i 1:09.90
FPV F6 1:10.10
STI 1:10.20
HSV R8 1:10.30
350Z track 1:10.30
ss ute 1:11.20
ss sedan 1:11.30
XR6T sedan 1:11.50

 

I don't think Wakefield is that much quicker now,if any.
Certainly the times Rod,Dave and myself have done this year don't suggest that.
Last year 350Z did 1.10.41-this year 1.10.3
Mazda 3 MPS 1.12.81 last year,1.13.0 this year
Mazda RX8 1.12.68 in 2003

2008 RX8 GT 1.11.8 with Bilsteins and bigger tyres-it'd bloody well want to be 0.9
seconds quicker....
Yet a Renault Clio Sport 197 did 1.13.7 on one time this year,then 1.12.6 another,both times driven by Warren Luff.
So I've yet to see proof that the track is quicker.
The times above certainly refute that.
Race tracks are strange places.Variations of a second or so on different days are fairly common.
Cheers
Len

 

With that PCOTY testing, I'd love to see the average time over 10 laps. I'm tipping the bigger, heavier V8's, etc would start to suffer as their brakes faded...

Otherwise, I agree with MACCAA - I didn't notice it particularly quicker when I went back this year. And the Bilsteins would have to be worth a second or so over the suspension fitted to the '03 car (when the 1.12 was posted by Bates)...

 

Last year 350Z did 1.10.41-this year 1.10.3

Both times were on the re-surfaced track. Compare to 2006 to see the difference and the post-surfacing times are about 1.5sec quicker. Best cars to look at are the ones that have not changed between those years (ie. Commore / Falcon, EVO 9, STi to name of few).

2008 RX8 GT 1.11.8 with Bilsteins and bigger tyres-it'd bloody well want to be 0.9 seconds quicker....

Why? I can't see the tyres making any difference, but the Billsteins should help. How much who knows ... but I do know that there is 1sec at Wakefield between a stock STI vs one with complete/comrehensive suspension mods.

Also isn't the new RX8 slightly heavier?

 

The first 350Z time was reported in MOTOR in Sept 07.The track was re-surfaced in Dec 07......So the same car was one tenth of a second faster on the new track...
Same with the 3 MPS-no difference in time.
Evo 9-1.09.39 last year
Evo X-1.09.5 this year...
We've done enough laps of Wakefield to be able to tell if there's a difference[I did over 50 on Friday testing with Whiteline]-how many have you done?
And you "can't see the tyres making any difference"?????Well,guess what-they do!

 

You're also forgetting that the 350Z has had some power upgrades over the past few years.

 

I am sure DavidM would not, coz DavidM is one of the fastest 350Z driver around.

Perheps there is no improvement on new bitumen's quality??? Len are you saying it is a waste of money? Or just nicer but no one can gain time on it?

 

The times have been consistant between 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006. Same model cars returned times pretty much the same over these years. 2007 saw the times improve by ~1 to 1.5sec, and 2008 times are pretty much the same as 2007.

Also a good reference is V8 Supercars (which are at Wakefield usually in April each year) ... look at their 2007 Qualifying times and compare them to Qualifying times from 2008. There's a 2sec improvement across the field. Yes, the cars get quicker each year ... but not by 2sec ... it's usually only a few 10th. Reference other tracks from 2008 and 2007. Also reference 2006 times which are more or less in line with 2007.

And you "can't see the tyres making any difference"?????Well,guess what-they do!

Let me clarify - In terms of laptimes there's not much difference between the tyres on the new RX8 and the previous one (ie. R050 vs RE040).

You're also forgetting that the 350Z has had some power upgrades over the past few years.

Yes, and also put on close to 100kg and got also got softer. So the car's not getting any quicker.

 

The new surface is much smoother Taka,but with some of the ripple strips being fairly unfriendly[particularly at the top of the hill]there doesn't appear to be much gain time wise.
Cars that have been a bit quicker are generally fairly highly powered,so maybe traction has improved.
Road cars like ours don't seem to reap a big benefit from the new surface.
Cheers
Len

 

I agree that they should do an average of ten laps.I have done about 8 track days on the same brake pads and calipers since I got my car 3 years ago.A big ford or Holden would be cooked after a few hard laps I reckon..Anyway, I think 1.11 is a respectable time for the RX8 anyway..

 

IC, yeah you guys told me about a car flipped after hitting ripple strip

 

We were there when it happened.

The uphill lefthander ripple strip is now a definite no-go area!