I said Corvette not Mustang, a Corvette can handle quite well and is all of 200-300lbs more in weight while having almost double the hp. An RX8 is slow when compared to an STI (IMO) and that’s only 70hp difference. You can carry more speed through the corners with an RX8 and make up time on a track but eventually you hit a straight…unless you are AutoX and then the RX8 is the better tool for the job.

I think you could add FI to an RX8 without upsetting the balance too much. Yes the smoothness of throttle delivery would be affected but I think if done well it wouldn’t be jarring, supercharging vs. turbo charging might be better in that department.

 

I have never had anyone tell me that the RX-8 is slow, but if I did, I would just nod my head and agree. Then I'd smoke them and tell them, "but your car is slower."

 

Only because you have one of those futuristic doohickies in your engine bay!

 

Fast, no...
Slow, no....
Very quick, hell yes!

Learn how to drive,or pays somebody to teach you how to drive your 8 to its limits, thats the best mod for this car, you!

 

but have you guys noticed that whoever is calling you car slow, either doesn't own a car, has a car that will do the 1/4 in 16 seconds or more?

"cool car, but it's slow" - quote from a friend who drives a v6 dodge ram....

 

With Hymee's pro tuner you can adjust all the throttle maps . I can dial in anything from quiet acceleration to OMFG in very controllable steps ....

 

i dont remember anyone telling me that my car is slow,

its pretty quick

 

My friends love to judge my 8 by it's acceleration speed from a dead stop. I think it's because the 8 rapes in most other aspects, and people with other cars like to point out flaws. From 60+ the car is ridiculous with how quick it is. At a dead stop, it's not even worth trying to race anyone. but hey, i'd take the handling over the 0-60 speed anyday. Plus, the car is a **** load better looking than any Scion Tc or Dodge SRT-4 Neon.

 

^zach i TOTALLY agree with you...off the line, people kind make fun of it, untill i take em on the freeway onramp, they sh*t theyre pants...i see their feet stand out and try n hold on, its funny

 

Hahahaha. Yep! I see that too! How are those new rims treating you Dozer?

 

It's sad that so-called driving enthusiasts has degenerate to equating pushing down the gas pedal and point the steering wheel on a straight line as the final performance measure.

 

No I don't get annoyed. I know my car is slow... it actually annoys ME sometimes when I can't pass a suburban.

 

Willpower = +25HP...
Granted we all know we wouldnt mind an additional 60HP but there comes a time even when our cars can kick most cars in the handling department our lack of HP still wouldnt allow us to beat them. Ive read ppl saying, well we won the 24 hour Rolex, but remember ppl that 8 isnt a 13B... All im saying is the cars that we get compared to is very funny because we kick the **** out of all of them except the missing hp.
Like the comparo between the R3 vs. the 370Z, that solstice and the 135i BMW which is twin turbo'ed.... i just laugh because we have a 1.3L compared to these twin turbo'd and 3.7L V-6's... I cant wait until the new 16X comes out...

 

i don't think we'll get much of a power gain with the 16x unless displacement is changed. but yeah our handling is just so amazing.

and to the surburban comment...true, very true. you can find old suburbans with 454's!

 

There are too many RX-8 fanbois in here saying the same thing over and over again.

Example: "My 8 is slow but it pwns in the twisties."

 

Are you serious? -.0

I have both cars and the rx-8 can destroy my mazda 6s from any point in a straight line. 0-60, destroys it, 0-100, destroys it, 0-120, humiliates it.

But the 6s is still fast for me

I haven't had anyone tell me my car is slow, they all said it was fast as hell! And they love the awesome Red and black interior with the VR color... which looks pretty damn sick if you ask me. Maybe I have a special rx-8 that gets 232whp

Seriously, people who say this car is slow is either a Mustang owner or has a 20 second car @ the 1/4 mile. The handling is godlike, you could put the car where you want it to and bam, it just does it.

 

I had a corvette driver ask if he was in my way on the track last weekend.

The RX8 isn't a "slow" car and the whole notion of "fast" and "slow" are relative terms which are defined differently by everyone.

The problem is the majority of people in America define fast and slow by how fast they can go on the highway onramp or from a stoplight. They forget that all major racing doesn't happen on the highway and not all racing is drag racing.

The problem is you'll never convince these people of anything. I stop even trying to change the minds of people like that. I've put down cash trying to get people to come to the track but they always give me excuses like "my car doesn't turn well" or "I'm built for drag racing" or garbage like that.

I've blown the doors off of cars that cost twice as much as the RX8 on the road course. It's all in the driver.

It's an argument you'll never win because people won't back up their mouth. It's best you just enjoy the car cause you enjoy it and not try to prove it to anyone else.

 

I'm confused... the whole reason the 16x is worth mentioning is the fact that it has more displacement... From what I've read, it's a pretty good guarantee they'll be making at least a decent amount more power with the 16x.

It is a bit annoying to hear that the 8 is slow, but it is compared to a lot of cars. What actually annoys me, is when people make it seem slower than it is. People will equate .1 second in the 1/4 mile as being in a completely different league.

 

Compared to what? In what kind of setting?

There will normally be two kinds of outcomes when comparing sports cars to the RX8. Either the RX8 will be a faster car around the turns then the other vehicle, or the other vehicle will cost much more than the RX8.

For instance, it's been said the 370z is a faster car than the RX8. Perhaps, but the "track" version of the new Z is what...$40,000?

90% of the people who call your car slow don't have the ***** to prove it doing anything other than racing stop light to stop light. Not people I would waste time impressing.

 

Now the 370Z crowd can say the same thing! LOL!
...of course without the slow part!

 

Around a curvy track the RX8 is an excellent choice and as any trip to Skip Barber can show you how much driver skill is a main factor (They used to have instructors in Neon SRT-4’s against students in e46 M3’s and they would wipe the floor with them).

But for most people it’s the daily drive to and from work or wherever you are going and in that scenario what makes the 8 a great car isn’t utilized. Unless you can hit the track or you can routinely hit mountain or canyon roads you begin to see the limitations of the car more than the benefits.

If you look at C&D’s LL at VIR when they had the 350z and the RX8 the RX8 was well behind and the 370z is considered a better car (than the 350z) by all reports. That’s not saying the 370z, Evo, Sti or whatever are better cars than the 8 just that they are different.

 

That being said, just going to Skip Barber shows their love and general preference for Mazdas Not that they don't use other cars, but the RX-8 and the MX-5 show up time and time again there, even though each is considered 'slow' and 'underpowered' within their classes by the rest of the world.

Last Wednesday at Lime Rock, I swear the Spec Miata drivers doing the hot laps were having TONS more fun than the Lotus driver. The last ride of the day I got, the driver was bouncing almost giddy on the steering wheel impatient to get going again after doing 2-lap hot lap rides for 8 hours.

It says something.

 

350z is a tad faster and doesn't cost much more. If you're looking for used, you can probably get an S2000 in good condition for the price of an rx-8..

 

i wonder how was it would be to fit a subaru ej25 into the rx8...... that would be cool and unique.


do we have any engineers in the house?

 

I had a '94 Miata, and I wouldn't call it slow, but it was not fast. IMO, anything that can do 0-60 in about 7 seconds or less is reasonably quick, if not fast. Doesn't the RX-8 fall into that category?