Actually it's North America that robs the rx-8 of power due to emissions. JDM RX-8s still produce 250hp. Good effort though.
Anyhoo, if I want a fast turbo-charged hatch, my stage II 92x Aero does the trick over and over again without any robbing of power to quell the front wheels from pulling the car to the next lane. And i can do that in the rain and snow too. Now isn't that a revelation.....

 

Actually no, it's just a reskinned porkier WRX with worse resale value.

 

Actually you are wrong again..... look-up the changes in the 92x Aero over the WRX. Amongst them STi steerign rack, STi control arms, 17" Enkei RE011 UHP, upgraded interior, sound-deadening materials etc.... Class dismiss.

 

Don't have to look them up, I already knew them... (fyi, the WRX has the same rack for 05+). The things you point out don't do anything to change the facts I pointed out in my last post. If you want to blame those pesky emisions for the less hp in your RX-8 knock yourself out. I'm going to go around saying that the Evo doesn't come with 350hp stock because of emissions.

My point is that every stock car is "robbed" of power in some way. In fact almost all turbo cars have less boost in 1st and 2nd gear, including your Saabaru. You may "hate anything that robs the car of power" but both of your cars and every other stock car on the planet is full of them. After the robbing is all done the MS3 still makes more power than either of your cars do stock so seems like something silly to be bothered by.

 

bla bla bla bla.... I have no intelligent respond, but let me reply with a long-winded merry-go-round post. bla bla bla bla.... Classic ikea....

 

man...fresh outta the whole rx8 vs porsche and the rx8 vs rx7 threads...we get the second rx8 vs ms3 thread for this year...

ive contacted kittuah control tower and have teh kittuahs on hot standby...

 

The FD was pretty damn badass. I'll bet most people agree.

 

For it's time, yes. That was as 'badass' as Mazda has ever been. In today's market the FD would just be a 'fun' car.

 

I agree with this statement.

 

I drove the MS3 at the Wesley Chapel meet. Cockpit is niceand the feel of the seats were good. Too much torque steer and a lot of low end torque. After about 4-5k the power drops way off. From a start it is very nice but no top end kills it.

 

The power dump is actually around 6000-6500, it just feels incredibly early because of the short gearing...plus this thing absolutely eats through those short gears. When I first got mine I was constantly bouncing off the rev limiter because it would get through a gear long before I was expecting to shift. Now I know to just shift early and keep the power on as much as I can and it will pull pretty hard all the way through 4th.

 

I'm pretty sure I'd really like the MS3 if I ever drove one. Hell, I already like it and I haven't driven one. Very cool car. What's the MPG like? Is it as fun to drive as the 8?

 

MPG is ALWAYS within about .3 of 23 mpg for me. The reading on the dashboard says 25.5, but that's BS. It's more fun to drive than the 8 in a straight line, less fun in the corners, and overall the 8 is much more fun to drive imo. If you're a real torque and power junkie, but still like a car that can hold its own in the corners, you'll like this car. If you like a car that's an absolute pleasure to whip around, that actually PREFERS you beat on it, the 8 is the better choice. I think if you owned an MS3 and an 8, they'd be perfect compliments to one another.

 

I'm getting similar mileage....about 23mpg in mixed driving. I find the MS3 more fun to drive than the RX8.....but that's more a product of where I live (lots of grid like streets).

 

i like the performance of the car, but i just hate the look

 

It's not that bad once you get used to it. I wish it was a bit more sleek, but I absolutely couldn't argue with the thing after I drove it. Any car that can strike fear into my heart on a test drive is a car I MUST OWN.