Had a '95 RX7, how will an RX8 feel?
 

Hey all,

I had a '95 RX7 from '97 to '99. I had to sell it when I moved (company wouldn't move 3 cars and I needed the cash) and miss it every day.

My wife and I are looking for a new sports car and we're thinking about an RX8. My biggest concern is the complaint about torque. I don't race, so I don't care about 'off-the-line' starts. However, my wife and I both like the feeling of downshifting (2nd or 3rd) as you turn onto a road and then punching it. The RX7 used to glue you to your seat when you did this. Will the RX8 be similar?

Thanks,
BoB

Sorry to disappoint you, but it will not feel the same. Although our car is relatively fast stock, we lack the torque you were used to with the 7. I guess if you downshift in the short powerband you might be happy, but you should just go test drive it for yourself.

In my experience, the 8 is atleast as good a handler, better IMO, but a way better cruiser than the 7. I went on a 300k drive this weekend and my wife went on about the smooth ride. Brakes, steering feel, flickability are similar, stability is better. Power is less, a '05 7 should do low 5 0-60 and 1/4's at 13.8. Best 8 times are 5.9 and 14.4. But I think the feel of the renesis is unmatched, with a redline over 9000rpm, it'll still "pin you" if you are in the power band, but not like the 7.

Best way to know is to check it out, but leave the salesperson at the dealer!

I own a modded 93 RX7, and before that I owned a 86 and a 84 (12A). If you're a rotary lover like me you'll love it, test drive it and make sure you redline it, it's a wonderful feeling.

It is faster than a TurboII and slower that the FD but it handles so well you won't mind. The FD has higher limits but you need to be really careful when you try to reach them, the 8 is just much easier to drive hard and the feedback is great so you know when you're at the limit without a sudden tail out scare.

It kinda feels like an brand new upgraded turboII but n/a, larger, more confortable but at the same time faster, better handler and much more fun to drive. And it looks so hot inside and out!!!! I wish my FD had that interior!

I've said it before, if I could afford to, I'd have the 8 as a daily and the FD as the weekend warrior.

It will feel like a new car and smell like one too

I'll take Slow for $400 Alex :wavey:

Go drive one though, it's been a while since you had the FD and your butt dyno may have recalibrated. :hahano:

Then the 8 will be perfect.

It will be slow. But you will still love it!

I sold my FD because i was moving. I do own a 8 now and I wish evry day that I still had my 7.

Funny you should mention that. My 7 was my first "real" sports car. I had an '85 Fiero GT (2.8L V6) in High School, but that doesn't count.

<storytime>

Anyhow, 3 days after getting my 7, I was thinking I had figured out the throttle/clutch. As I pulled (left) out of a parking lot, dropped it into 2nd, and gunned it. I hadn't quite straightened it out yet and the tail let me know it. It slid hard to the right, I turned into the slide as I had been taught. Big mistake, with the wheels now turned to the right, the slide turned into a left whip of the rear end. It came around 180 and I was now perpendicular to the road. Just then, the rear wheels grabbed the road and I shot straight into a ditch. Yep, a new 7 into a ditch. Totally my fault. But the story gets better, in a good way.

Remember when I said "into a ditch"? Actually, I was going fast enough that the front wheels *cleared* the ditch. No idea how that happened. After I stopped shaking and realized I wasn't dead. I got out and looked, expecting the worst. The car was, for all intents and purposes, fine. The front facia flexed a bit and spider-webbed the paint, but that was it. The lot I was pulling out of was a lumber yard. They brought over some planks and I literally just backed over the ditch, washed 'er off, and went on my way.

I got lucky and learned a valuable lesson. Respect the power....and get some quality time learning how to drive a real car. I'm a vastly better driver as a result.

</storytime>

Thanks for all the input,
BoB

I had a similar experiance with my 8 this past friday. Was doing about 35 around a relatively sharp turn and hit a patch of sand and skidded into a ditch. I was about to freak out but calmed down and looked around it and noticed that there was no visible damage. After that I called up my neighbor with a f250 and he pulled it right out. The only visible scratch was a good many light scratches on the left rims. But I think I can get a body shop to fix that for pretty cheap. But it really taught me a lesson and I am very grateful that it suffered very minor damage.

You have DSC on your 8?

The 8 is blast to drive. I prefer the slick 6sp with this high revving rotary. I'd rather drop my car down to 3rd gear instead of having a torque monster. the handling brings a smile to my face every time i drive my car. If you are good with a stick, you wont be worried about not tons of torque , just keep her in the right gear and powerband.

You'll love it!!!

:Eyecrazy: :Eyecrazy: :Eyecrazy: where can i get one of THESE?!?!?!?!

Best thing you can do is take one for a drive. Forget about the measly torque figures on paper, and run it to redline through the gears.

It's a completely different feel from a turbo'd engine; yet, the rotary smoothness remains. Not having to shift in the mid 6Ks (like most cars, including the 350Z) sure adds to the fun factor. Only you can decide whether you're looking for the torque feel (which any large displacement or forced induction engine will give you) or whether you want an incredibly well-rounded machine that is deceptively not slow.

I don't know. I've never driven a 7 so i'm not too sure on comparison.
I do think that the rx-8 is pretty quick. I know when i'm driving normally and safely i look in my rear view and people are way behind me. I do an over the shoulder check too.
A downshit at about 3000-3500 can give you a little bit of a kick. I've had four cars and the RX-8, I think, I definately the fastest. '93 mazda mx-3, '90 Nissan 240sx, '03 Mazda 6, and now a '05 RX-8.

Some guy tried to tell me the RX-7 was an all around better car and i just said "RENISIS" as my response. It was quite funny.

But again, my opinion might not matter considering i've never driven the 7.

You sold a 95!?!?!! :SHOCKED:

You had 3 cars and you sold the FD, wow :Wconfused.

I DD my 8 and I love it. I do find myself bracing for boost after driving the FD but that goes away after a couple minutes. The overall ride is just so much better in the 8. If you drive the 8 in the power band (6k+rpm) you will not feel slow at all.

The other thing to adjust to after driving the FD is getting rid of that feeling that you are faster than just about any other car on the road.

Don't remind me. :puke:

I bought it off a two year lease with 18k miles for $20k. I shoulda known something was up when I sold it two years later with 20k miles (Sunday driver) and got the same price.

BoB

I think there is something to be said for a lower power car that engages the driver more, especially on the street, taking to it redline every shift. This describes the RX-8 compared the the FD RX-7. Any turbocharged RX-7 with minor mods will blow the doors off an RX-8 however, and there is also something to be said for not having to wring the engine out, just lower your right foot, and off you go, a more relaxed way to drive.

The RX-8 however has the best steering of any RX, Does anyone else think that it is amazing the job Mazda did with the all-electric power steering on this car?

The additional suspension travel is very welcome, this car is very well behaved in bumps and faster in the real world of driveways and whoop-dee-doos than an FD. Overall the new suspension has the overall feel of both increased precision AND compliance. We haven't yet seen a tune from Mazda on the RX-8 suspension that is as sharp in lateral transitions as an FD, but it won't be long.

I love the RX-8. When they get the FI version, it will be mine :evil_laug

Nucleus

If you're posting "best" times, you can find tests of the 7 that show it in the upper 4's for 0-60. Not that it matters at all, just a personal pet peeve when people post the average numbers for one car to compare it against the best numbers for another car.

Otherwise I agree completely with your post.

I hear you, I have the same pet peeve, but I didn't know the best times of a 7 so I just went on memory of what I saw. I've also seen them into the low 14's in the quarter, but the typical times I remember was 13.8.

All stats aside, its simply faster in a straight line. It'll likely feel that way simply because a 7 was louder, and that on its own will make it "feel" faster to most. Feel is everything. I rode an old sportbike that would easily lift its front just off moderate throttle, therefore it felt really fast. I replaced it with a much faster bike that didn't wheelly as much because of its longer swingarm, and therefore feels slower.

Stat junkies don't get this though. They think they can feel the fraction of a second by the hairs on their ass. ;)

Is the stock 7 really louder? I always thought the 8 was louder because it is unmuffled by the turbos?

I recently and reluctantly sold my '94 FD, but still have my '86 FC and my 8. Athough all three cars share the 13B engine, they're completely different from each other. I think the 8 is the best "real world" car of the three: quicker and more involving than the FC and more usable and MUCH more forgiving than the FD. And no, the FD and the 8 do not handle "about the same". When properly set up, an FD is as close to a race car on the street as you can get, this side of a super-exotic. Bottom line: when I got my 8, I kept my FD for weekend fun runs. I sold it in part because I never took it out. The 8 is plenty of fun.

This is so true....i was wondering how in the world can someone tell the diffrence from 4.9 sec vs 5.0 seconds? I think its best to say the RX-7 was fast in its own rights, hell a tail wind or head wind could have made that .1+/- sec diffrence.

I also have to agree with the sound part, my 86 Turbo Z that was modified made you feel like the earth was turning the opposite direction under WOT,yet my TTZ '94 stage III modified was loud but not as abnoxious as my 86, was 10 times faster and a helluva lot smoother, which also gave you the perception the car was "slower".

So yeah , sound plays a big role in the perception department.

If the car is not fast enough for you, throw boost at it till it is.