alerx-8's

instead of the 40th Anniversary Edition another 40 hp at least or more : (

MazdaJeff

I hate to say it. We won't see any more HP until the next version comes out.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Someone said something about 2009??? What upgrades are expected in 2009?? Sorry to sound stupid..

New Yorker

Hey Mazda—if you're reading this, I'm very happy with the way the car is NOW. And that includes horsepower. (Though a functional oil gauge would be mighty nice.)

Labop

You're not stupid, it's just wild speculation and high hopes around here as always...

Stavesacre21

because it's not just yet! everyone seems to have thought the same too...just a bit more umph woulda put it over the top for the ultimate package! Is it weak now? hardly! But what seperates it from the legendary status of the FD? (besides weight). It would have to be the power that we KNOW the rotary is capable of!

scsi

sorry kane, youre not the only one. i frequently see in Aiea a stock one parked next to Aiea High School, and another with 20" chrome driving around pearl ridge often. and thats just in Aiea

Kane

iTrader: (1)

U must destroy them. ^^^

SureShot

How about a southern redneck version?
Replace the back seats with a dog box & gun rack.
Paint color? - flat camo of course.

Detrich

my car's paid off already... 100+ more hp's please, and i'll trade-up and i'd happily pay for another year...

MazdaJeff

We need some more shades of gray and silver....

danielk015

iTrader: (1)

^ personally, i think we need some more shades of white

dbdbdb

What we need is for Mazda to treat this car like it was intended to be "A Sports Car"

* More HP
* More Features
* More Colors
* More Options

And for once ................ listen to the very people you are trying to market the car to. Jeeesh, it ain't rocket science, the normal person isn't going to go after the RX8. Its a niche market, so cater to that niche market. Mazda is never going to win over the Camry\Accord market with the RX8 ......... so forget about it, cater to the fans of the RX7\RX8 ............. That's the market, right there.

Give us the car we want!!!!!!

Raptor75

Should we tune it for 20 more HP or add 100HP with a turbo or add 100HP with a supercharger.....nahhhhhhh....lets paint it another color that will make it sell.

chickenwafer

iTrader: (9)

Mazda isn't going to increase the horsepower now- they'll wait until they can moveover the entire 8.

Besides, emissions regs are getting tighter. A turbo/supercharged Renesis has zero chance of passing emissions in California or states with as-strict emission laws as CA. Sorry, but California ruined it for all of us!

MazdaJeff

I was trying to be sarcastic.

LionZoo

More features and more options makes it more of a sports car? This just about confirms my belief that sports cars aren't anymore.

nike178

+1 on the HP.. 100 seems drastic so i'll gladly take 99

refugeefrompistons

Damn you California!!

Stavesacre21

ha. considering how HP hasn't moved up since the car came out, i'd even settle for a small 20-25HP. Oddly enough, i'm still content with it just the way it is.

dbdbdb

A pretty good article on how the sports car is being redefined in recent years beyond the norm of performance, handling, power etc...

"Traditionally, a sports car is regarded as a two-seater, two-door vehicle designed for performance - a mix of speed, manoeuvrability and acceleration, with responsive handling that provides a rewarding challenge for a skilled driver.

Today, the boundaries of what constitutes a sports car have stretched. Sports drivers still expect speed, a thrilling ride and great handling - but they also demand comfort and practicality. "

LionZoo

Where exactly are you quoting that from? Having more features on a sports car makes it less able to do its original mission, which is to be an actual sports car. It's simply a matter of physics as more equipment adds weight to the car, dulling its responsiveness. With more features, the handling is going to be less great, the ride less thrilling, simply because of the weight, nevermind the extra isolation that ride and noise comfort often demands. Besides, a good driving car that is comfortable has a definition and it's not a sports car, it's a GT car. The RX-8 is probably closer to a GT car than a sports car anyway, but that fact alone does not mean more features makes a car more of a sports car.

Granted I'm not an ultra hardcore sports car militant or else I'd be driving a Caterham. However, the RX-8 has more than enough comfort for me already; I'd gladly lose some sound deadening for weight savings and I definitely wouldn't mind losing the backseat and about 15 inches of wheelbase.

Machiavelli

I guess it comes down to a distinction between the "classic" sports car, built with an eye toward a minimalist, light weight, approach, and the more modern "I want a sports car along with all the conveniences" attitude. I think that it's generational. Those of us that recall, and lusted after, sports cars in the 60's have that minimalist (purist?) approach in the back of our minds as to the way a sports car ought to be. But I think we forget that modern engineering and light weight materials make it possible to squeeze the same kind of experience (or at least somewhat close) from a car that affords creature comforts. I suspect that a lot of those cars weren't minimalist merely because that was desirable; they were minimalist because they needed to be to achieve the results they were after.

I could certainly do without some of the stuff on my GT. I argued with the sales manager when I bought it about whether having a sunroof reduced chassis stiffness (another old-school attitude on my part?). But at the end of the day I'm glad I can toss a set of golf clubs in the trunk or ride home on a suspension that doesn't beat me to death after a very long day of work.

½mv²

Perhaps someone can clarify this for me... forgive me for being so stupid...


IF YOU WANT THE EXTRA PERFORMANCE, WHY DON'T YOU GO OUT AND GET IT ALREADY?

I'm seriously getting tired of hearing people rag on Mazda for being "too lazy" to add on a few extra horses or make the car 'better'. Why don't you get off your *** and do something about it? It's not like the options aren't out there.

If you want the extra 100hp so bad, go out there and get it! Everyone talks as if the Mazda has a "Slow/Fast" swtich hidden somewhere on it and Mazda just wont tell us where it is. Have so few really stopped to think that maybe, just *maybe*, if installing top-notch exhaust, flywheel, pulleys, clutch, intake, cats, and every other bolt-on known to man only adds 10-20hp, that perhaps Mazda already dished out every last horse they could?

There are a handful of turbos and supercharger kits to install on our cars. If you want that extra 100 hp so damn badly, what is stopping you from going out and getting it? Money? Reliability? Waranty?
Let's pretend for a second that Mazda DID release a turbo model. Do you really think, of all people, that the DEALERSHIP is going to give you a good bang-for-your-buck deal on the FI models?? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!! Get real!! You think they're going to put a nice, good, powerful, reliable, $5000 kit in one of these cars and only mark it up $6000 or so? You'd end up paying DOUBLE - at the LEAST - the cost of the kit if you did it yourself.
And like any other stock FI car, the kit would be made from cheap parts to keep the price competative, and would either push a pathetic amount of boost in order to last more than 30,000miles before breaking, or it would be overstrained and in the shop getting fixed every 30,000 miles. You think the RX8 has a bad rep and/or bad recall rate now? hahahaha!


I'm sorry to be so critical, but it's really starting to bother me when I see people post like this:

Day 1: "I <3 my car, but it breaks too much"
Day 3: "OMG these engines suck & break all the time. I hate my dealer."
Day 5: "*******-a!! All my resale value is gone! These cars are cheap and not worth the money I paid!"
Day 10: "Dunno why, but I still love my car."
Day 15: "GRRR!! This car is slow! This car is unreliable! This car is overpriced!"
Day 18: "So WTF, Mazda? When are you going to release a twin-turbo RX-8? I WOULD SO SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY TO GET THIS CAR IF IT HAD MORE HORSEPOWER BECAUSE I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS CAR. Mazda is clearly ignoring us."




I'm not the most intelligent person here, nor am I the most car-telligent... but come the **** on - am I the only one here that's bothered by the hypocracy of these people? You want more horses - go buy them! You want "purer" sports feeling - strip your interior! Stop blaming Mazda for not making the changes to your car that you've been too lazy to do anything about!

LionZoo

I'm not sure where I picked up the desire to have a sports car without all the bells and whistles and the ability to play MTV while driving down the freeway, but it certainly isn't generational as I was a child of the mid-80s back when manufacturers were really trying to put all the bells and whistles in sports cars. (Remember electronic four wheel steer?) Perhaps it's my appreciation of vehicle dynamics and physics, but as much as people say you can have a decent handling car with lots of equipment; you'll have an even better handling car with less equipment. It's why you don't see the serious autocrossers driving Touring or GTs.

And I hope 1/2mv^2's rant isn't directed at me. As much as I appreciate a pure sports car, I actually like the middle ground. I want AC and a CD player in my car and power windows are convenient. However, I can do without a nav, CD changer, power seats, auto dim mirrors, moonroof, leather, heated and cooled seats, etc. etc. I like having a more basic level of creature comfort; basically just enough that the car won't fatigue me even more on the drive back from some fun run.