This is old news to many of you, but for whatever reason, I only recently bothered to learn that the RX-8 has torsional rigidity that is extremely high compared to many vehicles in the same class (or even vehicles deemed a notch or two above).

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51723

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706421

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=412483

This is yet one more reason that probably helps to explain why my multi-year quest , test driving well over 15 new cars, in an effort to find a replacement for my 8, came up empty.

Mazda RX8 - 30,000 Nm/degree

These numbers for torsional rigidity are hard to find, and the list that I did find is not perfectly up to date, but it pretty much establishes that only a few cars short of 100k (or even more, for that matter) can match the RX-8 in this area.

I had both BMW E46 that I thought was solid, but a jaunt over railroad tracks at 55 mph+ has always suggested to me that the RX-8 has an especially rigid structure, and now I know why.

What's remarkable is how Mazda engineers accomplished this WITHOUT fixed B pillars.

Edited: Included links above

 

Never knew that and its very interesting to know...

 

yes, it is. in the chassis/suspension department, Mazda has been world class for a couple of decades. the body rigidity sort of starts with the 1st gen Rx7, which is fairly stiff by accident ~7,000nm/degree, and then the FC which is like a lasagna noodle, and then the FD was made enough of a priority that there is an SAE paper about the body design/stiffness. (920244)

we raced an E46 for a season and once we put it under the microscope, its really a lousy POS. the strut towers bend, on STOCK cars, the rear suspension is literally bolted to the trunk floor, IE a single layer of sheetmetal, with 4 bolts. the E36's have 2 bolts and the suspension falls out, so they just added 2 more bolts, so it still falls out it just takes twice as long. the beefiest part of the car is front of the hood, which is inexplicably 8 layers of sheetmetal, that's 7 layers more than the structure of the car!

chicks dig it though.

 

I knew the body was rigid, but that's crazy.

 

lold at them ripping into the 8 in OP's link

 

I test drove an E46 M3 convertible before I was thinking of trading my 8 in. test drove it. man it felt like a soggy take-out dinner box. 8 is so much better.

 

it doesn't matter,

8 doesn't have vtec, no kickEd in y0, so it sucks.

drop a SAAB pos in and 8 will suddenly becomes a good car or 2jz

 

People love to hate the car. Ignorant folk.

Might not be the best swap, but you have to give the guy credit. He has done a fantastic job, and very quickly to boot. Though electronicals might be a different story...

 

well, that's what the interior is made from...

 

Link I forgot to post where someone claims the RX-8 has higher torsional rigidity than any BMW ever produced but one?

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=706421

 

whats the one? the Maclaren M1?

 

Interesting and cool to see and 8 talked about that positively in a different community...