I feel the car is somewhat quick, most noticed once past 3rd gear. That said one does have to punish the drivetrain to get fast launches. This combined with the rare grinding of 2nd gear shift which seems to happen no matter how deliberate the shift is disconcerting. I have been driving stick shift care for over 37 years so I feel this grinding is inherent to the transmission or shift gate. If this were to happen with high rpm shift say bye or at least damage to your transmission. I agree the manner of abuse to get published times is unacceptable.

Bob

I never said I don't drive over 7000, I just will not go from stopped dropping the clutch at that level. While I've got your attention, what do you mean by feather? When you accelerate using this technique do you get the burning smell?

Was this comment necessary?

Did you drive one? or are you going by magazine reviews? I think you should visit you local Subaru Dealer (too much NPR for me... :p ) and take a look at it...again. Because..."Subaru, driven by what's inside."

Just have a question about your last sentence....how do you know?

nope no smell because although its a very fast technique it takes a measure of finesse that you cant have dumping a clutch (while im sure this wears it out fast too, its not noticeable). rev up to desired rpm, let clutch go slightly to engage, and increase pressure on the accelerator coincidentally with your lifting off the clutch pedal. (you'll get faster at this with practice but start slow) Should feel the car surge forward but you wont get the same amount of tire spin as a clutch dump, you will get a little bit, but will catch asphalt very quickly and when you do you're accelerating in the good power band.

the key is on not mashing the gas, but methodically pushing the gas harder as you lift your foot off the clutch.

Do most of you guys who give the 8 a quick start from a stopped position, feel like your abusing the car? Anytime I take of quick, I honestly feel like something’s going to break? In my experience if it feels that way you should back off!

I have never really owned a sports car so I don't know if this is unusual but the RX-8 just feels really delicate when I drive it. Every time I mash it hard I worry about breaking it. Have any of the guys who owned something sport before the 8 experienced this in their former cars?

not at all sports cars are designed to go and go fast. i feel if im not driving the 8 fast im doing something wrong to it, it was designed to rev high and handle at maximum tolerances, remember the thing was partially designed by a race car driver.
ive driven a 240SX and on a few occassions a porsche 996 C4 and i can say both those cars never felt delicate. Same here.

The Trap speeds on the 350z and the Rx8 are very close, 92, and 95 mph I think. And as for how well he drove the 8 in the video, I think there is actually much room for improvement. He was all over the track, and lost the back end alot. I think if he really worked at it, he could get the time down. I am currently looking for the 350z video to compare.

Actually the 350z traps around 100 mph on average.

Pkskull - I know what you mean about the RX8 needing to be rung out to beat the average SUV. While the RX8 is certainly quicker at any speed, at low speeds most cars/trucks are fairly quick. Especially when they have a boat load of low end torque (full size trucks). It's at the high end that sports car really shine and easily pull away. And by high end I mean 60mph+.

Also, don't worry about your clutch with high rpm shifts. 90% of the wear and tear on a clutch is getting started. Up and down shifts hardly do a thing. The RX8 needs all 9000 rpms to feel quick, imposing a 7000 rpm limit would drastically reduce maximum acceleration.

Thanks for paying attention to what I was saying, as soon as most people see the 8 and acceleration in the same sentence they start flaming. I do not impose a 7000 rpm limit, I just will not drop the clutch from a stop that high. I have taken the 8 all the way to the top.

The MS6 Numbers are out there... :)

and as we all know the numbers dont tell you anything about how the car drives or feels...just what professionals were able to wring out of what they were given.

Based on your statements so far I think all of these clauses are false. You may think they are true, but the reality is different. If you love driving and love sports cars you should love this car because it's a great sports car (or at least a really good 4 seat sports car-like car). Sports cars are about handling, something that almost never comes up in your complaints. For a sports car the turns are the thing (lateral acceleration). If cornering or suspensions don't interest you most then you shopped in the wrong car category.

Since almost all your whinings are about linear acceleration and suburban drag racing, you need a muscle car or a sporty/sports sedan. If most of your thinking involves straight lines then you shouldn't even be interested in sports cars, let alone love them.

Almost all of my commuting involves straight line driving, but I have a great time with my 8. There's about 10 minutes of suburban stop lights, but accelerating in a straight line to the next light holds no interest for me. Then it's about 20 minutes of freeway driving, which is pretty boring. But between those two is a moderately tight, two-lane 270º on-ramp that is great source of fun. I love the way the car's weight shifts on the turn as I adjust the gas pedal, the squeal of the tires on those days I'm feeling really spirited, bringing the car to the outside on the exit, the whine of the engine as it approaches the redline...and especially when there's a muscle car or sports sedan right behind me on the entrance (or better yet, in front of me with the other lane open), and by the time they get to the freeway I'm 200 yds downrange and they're just a dot in my mirror. That single turn makes the whole drive fun; the anticipation, the turn, and the remembering. It's what sports cars are all about.

I've been in the company car and driven by turns with elevation changes or bumps and wished that I had my 8 and how much fun it would be to take those turns. Someday I may even drive the hour it'll take just so I can take those turns a few times. If you don't think like that then you don't want a sports car.

And the MSP Mazda6 looks interesting (but heavy)...just to get it back on topic.

i love clover leafs, too bad im going too fast to see other peoples baffled reactions to a car passing them that fast on a clover leaf.

I meant GT Limited (which seems to be an appropriate moniker), since all the ones I've seen were $30k or above. I'm sure since you bought one you believe the Legacy handles and stops better than the 6, but it doesn't in my book, and test data backs up my opinion. C&D got .81g on the skidpad and 196ft from 70 mph for the LGT back in the Oct. 04. Not only is that worse than all the other cars tested, it's worse than the 6s.

Subaru has aspirations to move upmarket in the automotive chain, they've publicly said so. My point is, if they want to charge near-luxury car prices, justify it with luxury features.

Yes, I've driven a Legacy, both the GT and the so-called Ltd. If they lowered the price about $4k respectively, it might feel like something special. But to me it's overpriced and underperforming (excluding acceleration).

Again...I don't know where your looking, but even the limited doesn't go above 30K; thats STI land. I didn't by one because I think the Legacy handles or stops better than the 6. I bought one because the of the performance of the engine....something the 6 doesn't offer (even the v6) and AWD. Yes, C&D rated the legacy 3rd overall behind the TSX and Volvo S40 and at the same time Road and Track rated it better than both....go figure.

Skid pad numbers and braking distances can vary a bit depending on what tires are on the car. I know the Stock Legacy's tires suck and were the first thing to get tossed off the car. Bottom line is performance wise the 6 compares nothing to the Legacy. The MS6 is close...but performance numbers still show it almost a full second slower than the GT in 0-60 and 1/4 miles times.

Like I said...I have no clue where your lookin, but you can get a 05 Legacy from 24K-28K at best. So no...you are not getting X included in the Legacy for 30K.

All I can say is when I see the MS 8 I will laugh. I will think back to this guy. He goes and buys a MS 6 because it was released two years after the 8 and was faster (somehow I doubt it will be much faster if it is), but then Mazda releases another car in two more years that is faster than his MS6. I can already see this coming on the 6 boards ;).

Guess again. You've crosssed $30k if you buy an automatic Ltd. and can easily get there with a manual Ltd with a few accessories.

Yeah, well, I'd never 'by' one because I think the Legacy handles and stops worse than the 6 and I'm NOT impressed by the engine or even the AWD. You know how it is, to each their own.

I see why it lost so badly in the C&D comparo, but can't figure out how it won the other one. Go figure indeed.

Substitute 'performance' for 'acceleration' next time, because that's the ONLY thing Legacy has on the 6. Official (keyword) M/S6 numbers have NOT been released (please spare us the 6.6 second thing since that's an estimate and a conservative one at that), but the Legacy will likely be faster to 60 since it's lighter than the M/S6. I'm certain it will continue to run rings around the Legacy in everything else though.

If it was $24k BEFORE discounts and negotiations, then it'll be a good deal. But to me, even $24k seems too much for so little.

Now you see what I'm on the 8 board. I have a 6, disappointed in the MPS 6, the recent annoucement that the MPS 3 is FWD...so here I am, waiting for the MPS 8...or maybe something with a slightly lower # :).

I don't know why you guys are so angry at your cars. The 8 is an absolutely beautiful vehicle, thats INSANELY fast. It is going to utterly dominate B Stock in Autoxing this year...just watch and see.

What I seriously recommend (if you aren't happy with your car), is to attend some driving schools. If your luckily enough to be in an area with some road courses, look for when driver education programs are occuring.

Heres two in the VA/MD/DC area!
http://www.virclub.com
http://www.summitpoint-raceway.com/

You'll learn to drive better, learn to enjoy your car more, and enjoy passing vehicles which you'd think were "impossible" to pass. Even better...the person your passing has to wave you by, so it puts a nice sized grin on your face :).

If your looking for more specific training, check out...

http://solo.wdcr-scca.org/noviceSchool.php
The weekday autocrossing is excellent if you can get enough people to bring the cost down.

Also check out...
http://www.autocross.com/evolution/

Everyone can learn to be a better driver, regardless of make or model vehicle. Some insurance companies will even knock off some $$ if you show them your actively taking "driver education" courses.

I've attended the evo school myself, and will be going back for phase 2 before the season next year, as well as attending vir's new opening later in 05. I know I'm not a good driver, but I'm working to improve :).

In the 8s reliability defense--I have not had any issues with my RX8--also N/A rotaries have typically gone well over 200,000miles. The FD is an exception because Mazda used some weak components in the cooling area of the 13B--plus the extra stresses from the added boost.

Yes if I could forsee the future, and know that an RX8 would last 200k miles, I'd have a very tough time not buying one.

However, the highest millage I've seen on one is about 30k, so there really isn't much info on this area yet.

Ofcourse the same could be said about a Turbo Charged Direct Fuel Injection Gas Engine.

Where can I read more about the Turbo and Supercharger kits that might become available for the Rx8?

On the other hand, there are many many more 6's on the road than 8's, your MS6 will look like any other 6 with a body kit.

Uhhh....Ferrari 456? Would work for me :)