So after reading people complaining about Dyno numbers and accelerating not being that fast, I wanted to get an opinion from the actual OWNERS of the Rx8's so far.

Does it really feel slow unless you rev it to 8500 RPMs? Or is there plenty of pep down low?

I am coming from a 98 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST tubo, and hope that I am not let down.

 

no it's not slow. it pulls like a ***** fuka

 

It's not slow, it's just high rev and a little low on torque, and does not pull as hard as some of the other cars with similar horsepower, price, and appeal. I think there are a few factors involved here, low torque as stated above, it's a quiet engine and louder engines can give the perception of speed, rather than pulling hard to red line it does seem to tail off a bit in the higher revs.

I think your expectations and previous car will determine whether you think it's fast or not, but by no means is it slow.

Warning: I do not own the car and only test drove it, so take my perceptions as you will.

Ike

 

I just got mine Thursday and it doesn't feel slow to me at all. I'm coming from a 2000 V6 Accord coupe, and the RX-8 feels faster than that. I don't know about the Eclipse, so I can't answer your question about comparing the two.

You should just test drive the 8 and find out for yourself.

 

No, it's not slow at all. The speed just creeps up on you. In fact, it's hard to keep from taking off at lower RPMs- the car just wants to go, and go fast, as quickly as possible. It's not going to push you back in your seats like an EVO, but then, if that's what you want, you shouldn't be looking at this car.

So far, the 8 is one of the smoothest, most exciting and fun cars I've ever driven. And it's beautiful to boot.

 

Yeah, speed creeps up on ya in this car. I think it goes just fine, but then again, I've only had dinky 4 cilinder cars before.

But right now driving home down the turnpike I normally would do 75 in my Neon (70MPH limit), and as I'm driving I'm wondering why everybody is going so slow. I *thought* I was doing about 75. Then I glance down and see I'm doing 98.

The engine is such a dream. When cruisign it's mouse fart quiet, and when you rev it up, it feels like it's hauling ***. It might not haul *** as much as some cars, but for me it's a fantastic combo of looks, functionality, style, and inovation. Of course, I'd never owned a rotary before.

of course, like all good things, it's not all perfect. In my car, if I run the AC, I get about 55 miles to 1/4 tank of gas. If I dont run the AC I can get 98 miles out of the same. And here in Miami friggin Florida, the AC is a common thing in the summer months. Since I like open windows anyways, I use it less than a lot of people here, but days like today with 95 heat and humid like all else (heavy downpours during the day then sun), you just HAVE to use the AC.

Even so, the big sticker on the car window told me not to expect great mileage, so I am NOT complaining. Just giving a friendly heads up.

The whole missing HP issue has been well documebnted elsewhere on this forum in extreme detail, and although there is no final response as of yet, I personally am not worried that a satisfactory outcome will be apearing, since it literally could spell the end of a lot of new stuff from Mazda, and that would hurt a lot of peoples pocketbooks, and lets face it, money makes the world go round. So after all that ramble, I am sure it will all be well sooner rather than later.

 

Don'T worry, it feels fast, is fast and can be driven a low RPM without feeling like it's a Lada. when you go 100 mph and you can feel the car wants more... it's fun !!!

 

Not slow at all, but...it doesn't have the Umph I thought it would above 7K.

 

Yes, it is FAST, the problem with the car, if you can call it that, is that it WANTS to go faster and you don't notice the speed your going!

THere is this wicked off ramp near my place that is from a 100Km/h highway to another, I use to take it at 110 and be scared I would skid and hit the wall, but now at 120 It feels like a straight road!

 

Yeah, I'm at 1400 miles on mine now, and basically here is how it feels compared to my 1991 RX-7 NA (sold it a couple of years ago):

1. More low end torque. It really scoots at low rpms, compared to my FC. This was surprising considering all the "lack-of-torque" discussions.

2. No big power kick from the auxiliary ports like my FC had. This would jive with the dyno/missing HP threads. It revs sky high, but doesn't feel a whole lot faster up there, which is very unusual for a rotary of ANY generation.

If the upper rpm band were to kick it open to the same extent as previous rotaries, then this car would scream. I think there is more to this story, and the situation WILL be resolved in time.

 

One thing I notice about my RX-8 (still in break-in) is that the gas pedal position doesn't really follow the provided torque too well.

What I mean is this... When I first get on the gas, even lightly, the torque of the engine hits pretty hard. But, stepping on the gas pedal harder doesn't really do much. In some cars I've been in, you get more "oomph" the further down you press the gas pedal. Not in the 8. It seems like you get a bunch of it with just a small push of the pedal and then there's not much point stepping on it any further. It's somewhat disappointing because you feel like there should be something waiting for you if you just push the pedal harder and the engine doesn't deliver.

 

I'll echo this... I had been reading for a solid year about how rotaries just grow and grow in power and that is not the case with the RX-8, at least to me. After 6000 its as was said before... "unremarkable".

However, that doesn't make me stray from loving it. I'm pleased with the power and ecstatic with the handling I think that's what drew me to the car, power aside and to be frank.... it's still damn fast. I expected different on the top end but perhaps that will be remedied. And if not, I'm still having a blast carving corners

 

what does the car do after 6000 RPMs? It still accelerates, right? It just doesn't do what was "expected"?

 

Sure it accelerates, and almost all cars will tail off a bit at some point before the redline. But considering your redline is at 9k I think it tails off to soon, especially considering the low end grunt isn't always there.

The car just felt to me like it was missing a little something down low and a little something up high, it's not a huge deal but it takes away from what is a great car otherwise.
I don't think it would have bothered me nearly as much if it didn't feel like it was supposed to be there... if that makes any sense. Hopefully Mazda will hear what people are saying, look at the dynos and find a problem that is easily fixed and give that car the little extra that seems to be missing.

Ike

 

Disappointing? The RX-7's before acheived their performance gains by increasing boost with turbochargers, a 3rd generation RX-7 probably on makes 130-140RWHP without the turbos, considering its making 180RWHP naturally aspirated I think is pretty admirable. Maybe its not 3rd gen fast, but its at least as fast a Turbo II was, without using a supercharger. Then again, the RX-8 isnt an RX-7, the 8 wasnt made to be a true 2 seat sports car.

 

hmm. I live in an area where the main roads have a posted speed of 45-50 mph. I am able to zip around easily and can stay with up even with the fast and furious gang if need be. The problem is holding back. I do not dispute what others are saying about the 6000 + dead zone and I hope that it all works out soon. TO answer your question though I think it is a great car to drive and the torque is not too bad.

 

i guess it depends on what 'slow' means to you...i mean, it's faster than 90% of the cars out on the road and it sure is fast enough to get you in trouble...if you're just comparing fast cars to fast cars then it's probably only above-average...the problem with the 8 is how smooth the Renesis revs...it's so smooth you can't really feel accerleration and you often don't know how fast you're really going until you look down

also, how fast a car is depends on your own perception of the term and the other cars you've dealt with...i've driven an Eclipse GS-X a long long time ago and it compares pretty well to it...i can't say which is actually faster because it's been about 7 years

 

Mine pulls strong from about 2K RPM until about 5,500 RPM and then takes off like a rocket all the way up to 9K. It gets into the primary power band "RIGHT NOW"!

Mazda sent me the RX8 hardcover book. And in there is says that 90% of the torque is available from 2+K on up.

I think what some people are hearing in these boards are a couple of people tried to dyno the engine. They maybe, sort of may or may not have set dyno set up correctly and they tried it on a green engine and came to the conclusion that something's missing. Then all the "RX8 wannabees" chimed in trying to find some downside to the car and jumped on the "it's slow" bandwagon. It's one quick car. If you want anything quicker, you're going to have to go to some V8 muscle or give up the precision and sophistication of the RX8 (as well as the other sterling traits of the car) and get something loud and tinny like the EVO or the WRX.

Unless there are a bunch of cars set up differently from mine, it's one fast, smooth machine. It's definitely faster than the Eclipse 6 cyl.

Even though the RX8 took the comparo crown in C&D, some are looking at the pull from 5th or 6th, as C&D did, and saying there's not enough torque (even though I cruise just fine with plenty of oomph from 5th or 6th when doing about 40MPH and above....I usually leave it in 4th for any lower MPH). Well, if you don't feel you don't have enough speed, drop it down a gear....there's 6 of them to choose from.

 

the car is DAMN fast, but you dont know it unless you look at the speedo cause of the low torque, though when you hit it and get it at like 5k and over it really pulls hard
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The cigar boss