Ugh, if you say so.

 

Anyone ever thought the S2000 beats the 8 in acceleration because of gear ratio in addition to less weight?!?!

 

Why do I get the feeling you've never driven a 350Z/G35C, or STI? You're so delusional about the capabilities of the RX-8 over these other cars that it's pointless to argue with you.

 

That helps, but the 20+whp edge it has over the RX-8 doesn't hurt either...

 

My neighbor belongs to the Corvair Club of America. He usually has 2 or 3 Corvairs at his house at any point in time....but the nicest was a Bright Yellow Yenko converted car with a 350 V8 mid-engine mount. He never really drove it hard because he said the torque of the 350 would cause the gearbox to scatter. Cool car though.

 

Wait. There's STILL a Corvair Club of America?!? haha it's been WELL OVER 30 YEARS since I was inside a Corvair. Wow... lol, right on!

 

The guy is a total geek and a serious Nadar hater. He has a giant poster of Ralph in his garage that he has shot his bb gun at about a billion times......you can barely tell who is in the poster anymore. Not sure how many people are in the CCA, I really only talked to him when he had that Yellow Yenko in his garage.

 

As long as you're going in a straight line, sure. But it'd be extremely amusing to see a stock GTO in an autocross, or on a road course, against either a stock RX-8 or a stock S2000.

 

I don't know how much of a difference there is between the Vauxhall Monaro VXR and the GTO, but the Monaro lapped the Top Gear track a second faster than the 8. I'm not one to propose this means anything, but since many people here find it to be gospel, they can eat it.

 

The guy who writes the weekly automotive reviews for the San Antonio Express-Nes, G. Chambers Williams III, is a passionate Corvair enthusiast who regularly writes about their clubs, show events, etc. I don't understand it, myself; I've always thought it was a crappy car, ugly design. But in matters of taste, there is no argument.

 

They put the steering wheel on the wrong side! Shoot. Nice cars though. That VXR 220 looks like it'll be a blast.

You compare the Pontiac GTO with these? That seems to be quite a stretch, from the surface, that being I'm not learned in Vauxhall. What basis is there in your comparison?

 

You refer to the closest thing out of USA to the Porsche 911. Haha, I don't care, my first was a hand-me-down and my other was a steal, bought from my brother's friend who decided he would rather ride a bicycle than own a car. After a kid punted that second one up over the curb by rear-ending it with his mommy's Pontiac tank-car, that was it for me. The insurance co. gave me jack squat to replace it and I ended up with a olds F85 p.o.s. that couldn't hold it's water. Add insult to injury - going from air/oil cooled - to - water cooled, and the p.o.s. kept overheating! Who ever decided to use WATER to cool an engine?

 

It's a Vauhall badged Holden Monaro, which is a Pontiac GTO, more or less. I'm not really sure what they changed when they brought it stateside.

http://www.rsportscars.com/slo/avto/...monaro_vxr.asp

 

Ahhhh...because GM owns both Vauxhall and Pontiac...that makes sense now.

 

You underestimate the abilities of the GTO, on a proper roadcourse it would be probably be damn close and maybe even favor the GTO. The S2K and RX-8 certainly handle better but not so much so to eliminate the power advantage of the GTO.

 

You underestimate my power...

*WARGHIAWFHKAMIKAZEFLIPWFUIAFHW*

life support suit plzthx

 

I am under the impression that a GTO would at least have some slight braking problems after a few laps on a road course. But... that's just me.

 

The '05+ has improved brakes and they're supposed to be pretty good. What have you heard that would lead you to believe otherwise, other than the GTO being pretty hefty?

 

Other than 3,700+lbs curb weight, skinny shoes & front heavy? I don't have any specs on brakes, discs, etc...do you have any?

Edit: Jeebuz! I just realize this is an RX-8 vs S2K thread!!! Is this thread originally from 2002-2003?

 

Yeah, it's 3,725 pounds. It has 400 horsies to get it going and 12" vented discs to stop it. The suspension looks pretty plain to me. 55/45 front/rear ratio, probably a significant increase in CG height and polar moment of inertia.

Those 400 horsies should get things off nicely for it, but on a tight course, it's just a matter of time till the RX-8 and the stook real her in. It happens all the time in races - the brakes fade after a while - lap times go to the crapper. The RX-7 in my avatar is ahead of that yellow muscle car, isn't it?

 

RX8-TX beat me in that race, hehe :o

 

dnt get me wrong. The s2k and the rx8 have a much more precise and accurate suspension, steering colum, shifter, brakes etc. You feel much more confident in the imports. But people seem to underetimate the GTO. It is not as refined as the imports, but push the gas on the curves and you will be surprised at how it handles. And the hp and torque dsnt hurt either . BTW, the GTO/monaro got the same track times as the STi in the Top Gear track.

A good driver would definately be able to keep up with the s2k or the rx8 in the twisties anyday. And not the mention the straights

 

yes it is, which means of course that your rx7 would always beat any muscle car in a track, right?

 

GTO is imported from Australia. manufactured by Holden.

 

Horsepower is everything in the acceleration sections of a track (from the last part of a turn to the braking zone of the next). Those secitons are certainly significant parts of a track. So are the braking zones and the turns themselves, where horsepower doesn't help at all. It all depends on track geometry and, maybe moreso, the duration of the race.

Entering the main straight on lap one, that yellow car will pull away from that "RX-7" like it's graggin' anchor. At the end of the straight, that new lead is cut to nothing in the braking zone, but, the yellow car is in the lead.

It's hard as heck to get around that yellow car in the curvy parts because it takes up all of the track. You're potentially faster than the yellow car, but you can't get around that fat ***. So, in the beginning, if the yellow car is pretty fast for a muscle car, you just wait for a while.

Later on, it's tires get greasy and it's brakes go to the shitcan. It's like being held-up in rush hour traffic. Finally you get around it, usually in that same braking zone at the end of the main straight. Then it's asta la vista, baby!

Of course, it all depends on the pairings. We're not talking here about racing Mark Martin in his Watkins Glen - prepped Roush car. Then again, we're not talking about a formula 1 car either.