New to Houston
 

Hi everyone.
I just moved to Houston (my first time in Texas) this month from Atlanta, GA. I want to jump right in and get involved with the local Mazda enthusiasts :)
I have a Brilliant Black RX-8 Sport 6-speed Manual with only the Performance Package and a Cargo Net (the best options for the money imo). I just wanted to say hi, and I hope some fellow rotary-heads at the meeting at Freebird's. Do a lot of people typically show up?
MazdaMonkey

Welcome to houston !! Its what you make of it like any other city. Im probably gonna go to Freebirds... might bring pizza for me to eat... im just there to hang out.

I'm usually there.

Welcome to h-town

Which "quadrent" of H-town are you in?

North (Woodlands)
West (Katy)
South (Galveston)
East (Pasadena)

Also, which highways should we look for you on?



If you're ever on the Northwest side and see an identical RX8 (BrilBlak GT 6-spd) zipping by you @ 90mph on the Beltway, that's me :)

I live near the Galleria Mall. I take the 59 South to Sugar Land for work everyday.

Where are some fun places to drive around here? Because I have only seen potholes, lights, and traffic so far. Definitely not worthy of an RX-8

I went on some roads off the brookshire exit north of katy mills mall that were a blast... long sweepers.

damn, katy is a long drive from you

I take the back roads too achieve temporary bliss around where I live... But Austin I think is where it's at... Although I found that out while driving some hulkingly retarded Jeep :(

Houston is flat, and practically destined for muscle cars to go in a straight line... I spend most of my time just looking good though... I find that to be the cheapest thing I can get outta my 8 so far...

we did a little fun run up near spring and conroe. there was a few twisties throught the woods up there.

Twisties in the woods? hm... It's off to the Google maps then...

Hey MazdaMonkey. I'm not too far from where you are, I think. I'm just north of Uptown Park (Memorial and 610W loop). I'll keep an eye out for a Black 8 now. Keep the trunk open so I can pick out the cargo net and be sure it's you. :)

cparka23

hi mazda monkey ;p i live on westheimer ;p we can hang out some time too.. im a VR with strakes ^^ i'll hunt for you

welcome :)

If you exit south onto the beltway feeder from I-10 you'll encounter an S-turn that just screams "I LOVE RX-8's"...
It's a 110 degree right turn, immediately followed by a 90 degree decently banked left turn. It's 3 lanes wide, with excellent visibility through the whole thing, and there's hardly ever any cars there (but PLEASE be careful!). Also, 70% of the bend is located under the freeway, so the reverb of your engine and tires as you blaze through just amplifies your adrenaline rush :)

Also, I know damn near every backroad in the Woodlands (thank you insomnia + '89 FC), so if you want to know some of the more "spirited" routes, PM me (don't know the street names, and my GPS disk doesn't have most of the new roads).

Lastly - the best highway changeover ramps that I've found so far are:
8 East --> 45 North (Real wide, real visible, real fast)
45 North --> 610 West (Wide, "doglegs" twice, bumpy in the fun way)
8 North --> 290 West (Bumpy, downhill, tightens - dangerous, but fun)
8 East --> Hardy North (VERY wide, VERY long - caution: iffy visibility)

EDIT (forgot my favorite!):
59 North --> 610 West (VERY sharp, good visibility. Sadly it's usually congested)




....Should we make a new thread for this? I'm surprised there is no "best roads to drive" thread...
...or did I just overlook it?

Thanks for the help everyone, especially ½mv²! I am glad that your favorite ramp is within 2 miles of my place. I have been on that ramp before, but only in an MPV with tons of traffic. I used to have this great set of turns with tons of elevation change a couple miles from my house back in Atlanta that I used to hit at around 80mph on the way back from work (seen here: Thanks for the help everyone, especially ½mv²! I am glad that your favorite ramp is within 2 miles of my place. I have been on that ramp before, but only in an MPV with tons of traffic. I used to have this great set of turns with tons of elevation change a couple miles from my house back in Atlanta that I used to hit at around 80mph on the way back from work (seen here: Old Alabama Road ) Of course the Tail of the Dragon and Blood Mountain were only a short drive away too. I just hope I can find something comparable up here to test the new RX-8 out in.

Do we have club stickers to set us apart from non club members? I used to have an IS300 and IS300.net has a simple small window sticker that said "IS300.net" you could stick in the fake rear window that didn’t roll down to identify other club members. We should look into that if we don't already have it.

the 225(to pasadena) to 610 exchanges are fun to go down at 80

another favorite i have is 59 through downtown at night going triple digits with the windows rolled down.

kids do not try this at home :)

I'd be up for the window sticker idea, but I doubt most of the people here would go for it...

One of my first posts was a rant about how I have the worst luck when it comes to meeting other rotary owners, and how upset I would get when people in RX-7's & RX-8's would return my friendly nods/waves/thumbs up with sneers and dirty looks. About 25% of the people here immediately jumped on my case for being a deprived child desperately searching for a sense of belonging...
I've been considering putting a distinctive sticker of sorts somewhere on my car to help people here identify me more easily, but - long story short - I'd like to keep my car as annonymous as possible for the next few months...

do u drive bw8 at night? i was driving home from a meet on a tuesday night about 3 weeks ago and a BB 8 passed me hauling ass...i was driving with my cruise control on cause i had a lil too much to drink at dinner :wallbash:

Don't worry about it. Just show up to some meets, meet some other people and have fun. We all have different personalities online.

I'll start with myself...

I lack integrity, knowledge, and a turbo

A couple of good ramps that I frequently travel:

288 NB to 59 SB
59 NB to I-10 WB - This is my favorite, decreasing radius to a small switchback take it at about 80-85 or more if you want to.
59 NB to 610 North Loop WB
610 North Loop to 59 SB
Hardy North tie-in to I-45N in the Woodlands
There are a bunch of side roads off of FM1488 north of The Woodlands that are awesome

Hey man, most people on here don't hold grudges...Most of the time a simple apology and a smile is all that's needed. That's for the integrity part, as far as knowledge and turbo your on your own :) .

Cel

Might have been me...

Was the car dirty as hell?
Were all the windows down?

I think I'm the only person in Texas who hasn't been driving with their heater on full blast for the past 2 months...
I'm from Pennsylvania, so I don't find 55 degrees to be cold at all. I can't help but laugh at the looks I get at redlights - some guy with a winter coat and earmuffs on in a car with the windows up and heater on full blast, right next to a guy in short sleeves with all his windows down and sunroof open...

If that doesn't give me away the dirt will - I had to live out of my car for the first 2 weeks of the new year (and it was already dirty by that point), and I don't think it's gone more than 5 hours without raining since I moved into my new place, so 2 months worth of acid rain and construction site dust have made my car it's home. There is very little 'Brilliant' left in the Black...

yeah we dont like anything under 70