Front wheel drive cars don't have enough traction that is why too much torque or horsepower causes a lot of torque steer. I drove a 2004 Maxima and the torque steer was bad with that too.

 

Torque Steer is caused by unequal driveshaft lengths, traction has almost nothing to do with it.

 

You know how much energy a whippet has? you can't contain them in small places

 

Nah... I'd really liek to take on an altima or eclipse on the mountains with my rx-8. Im pretty sure it'd be no competition. Then maybe we can have a "I killed a (car name here)" thread.

 

Well, I have a pit bull and he fits fine in the 8. I'm not sure if the whippet is as hyper as my terrier but c'mon, they're not royalty. It's a dog and I'm not buying a different car to suit my dogs needs. Besides, it is very unsafe to drive your pet around all the time as it wouldn't fair to well in an accident, even if it was just a minor one.

 

problem is, no one will respect a car in the United States of America if it is not fast in a straight line. Drag racing if I'm not mistaken was born in the US and is the roots of American racing today. My mother lives in Atlanta and I still don't get what's so great about nascar. I guess I have A.D.D.

 

Hahaha... very true... dang what a screwed up country.

 

It is better. Cheaper, faster, and you dont have to deal with those annoying hotties.

 

Perhaps you’re looking at the wrong Mitsu. I had to make a similar decision, and neither car is your best option if you concerned about your dogs comfort. Even more important is the snow driving, and neither car is particularly good at that. If you want to keep the sport, but get some more utility, look at an Impreza or an Evo.

Dogs prefer a full sized window, a personal door, and they need more headroom than we do, because of how they sit on the seat. I can say for sure the 8 was not good for my dogs, and I would imagine that Eclipse would have similar problems. Getting a dog into a hatch can be a real hassle if their not athletic enough to make the jump. Furthermore, their likely to screw up the paint around the hatch.

As far as winter weather goes, nothing beats an all wheel drive vehicle, except maybe a tank, but that’s not a whole lot of fun to drive. Good luck! Oh and if you do decide to get the Eclipse don’t expect any 7’s to bow to you as you drive by.

 

Our cars are great looking irregardless of numbers. True, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I just prefer my eye than some others. :D

 

Amen to that!

 

Somewhere in this mess I actually offered some advice on this guys question, I guess he'll never see it. Since I'm here I will chime in on this age old debate. I think car forums are a whole lot like athletic forums. Generally speaking you choose a team when you buy a car, and then you route for that team until you get another car.

When it comes to matter of (car/team) loyality, logic sometimes gets pushed aside, and arguments start coming from the heart. Listen to enough sports talk radio, or go to an athletic event, and you'll know what I'm talking about. Fans will make the most irrational statements, trying to defend their teams performance.

However, unlike proffesional sports, we don't get to have the debate settled on the field. All the smack talking in sports ends up dissapearing after the game/season is over. Cars don't realy work that way, becuase unlike sports some of the debates rage over more than just the numbers (eg looks etc). Furthermore ever person in the argument has a differnt car (team), so the debate never gets settled via a showdown.

Therefore, unless one car is a clear winner, people are going to debate topics like this until the internet dissapears. If people don't like it than don't go to forums it's that simple. Personally, I think debates like this are the most fun to read.

 

deleting all the crap out of this thread. Steiner and everyone else with the "fanboi" and "rx-8 sucks" comments, quit with the bitching. This "RX-8 Owners live in their own little world" bit is getting REALLY old VERY quickly. You can figure out a way to post your position that the RX-8 isn't quite as nice as everyone thinks it is without being controversial or being a jerk about it.

 

Different huh? Lots of cars have recalls like this, there is no reason to get down on Mitsubishi or Mazda for either of these.

"Separately, NHTSA said Mazda Motor Corp. is recalling 27,800 2004 model-year RX8 cars as cracks may occur in the ball joint socket due to improper forging of the lower control arm.

In severe driving conditions, the ball may separate from the socket and a loss of steering may occur, which could result in a crash, NHTSA said."

 

Yes, I said different. At least with the 8, it has been out long enough to where those who already purchased it, have already developed a "driving relationship" with their vehicle. Eclipse owners barely got there tags and tax paid before this recall happened.

 

So because it took Mazda longer to catch a safety issue it's better

 

 

:D

 

:D :D :p