ok so i have been reading this forum and after like 9 or 10 pages i realized nobody said...

REAR WHEEL DRIVE!!!!

 

that's not a little thing.

 

Yeah this is a big little thing that i learned first hand. The dexterity of the vehicle and safety. I sadly totalled mine last fri night when I took a blind turn and swerved to dodge a chow. Fought for control of the car for what seemed like an eternity but ultimately went airborne off the road and literally landed in a grove of small pine trees. The trees saved my *** actually or I would have been flipping. The car was resting 2 or 3 feet off of the ground being held by the trees. (17000+) damage. The car was TORE up. That was a very very hard impact( 70+ mph I think, so yeah, dog and all, it was still my fault). But I was amazed that nothing in the cockpit was bent, broken. And the frame was not the least bit damaged. Engine was intact, no fluids were leaking. Everything else however was completely destroyed. My brother and I were amazed that I could walk away from that crash without even a scratch, soreness, bruise, nothing. Insurance has payed it off and I got a pretty good down payment to replace the vehicle. Im looking for an exact copy of that car. Dealership that Im a tech for is currently trying to hunt one down with the exact same package and specs. So we'll see. Only owned it two months but I immediately fell in love with it. Converted me from a Mustang Cobra motorhead into a Rx-8 loyalist. Actually a good learning experience and the damn dog came back to the crash site. And I took her home with me that night. Someone prob owns her but they let her get in the road and that and my own stupidity cost me a beautiful RX-8. Later everyone and drive safe.

BRP aka DK of the RC.

 

some of the points mentioed are interesting but some arnt, for e.g. i see many mentions of the cars extremely great fun at 'twisties', 'corners', winding roads,mountain roads etc.... also i see alot of cheezy lines like, "cant beat evos in a straight line but wait till the twisties.." sounds real childish. like "oh yea?? i dont have this but i got THAT!! :P"

Jesus Christ... what the heck is so trilling about driving fast in the corners? no matter how good the handling is, it will still trow your stuff in the car and in the boot around... and its gonna make a mess in the interior no mater how minimal u may have in the interior its still bothersome to hear stuff crashing in the cabin, just sounds bad. and the whole thing is just silly man, giving the car stress and all that ****. the car has to be judged on overall, so straights are prety important too.

 

^^what is your point? This thread is not a debate it's just about what we love.about the car. There are plenty of other threads for you to post that worn out line.

Please stay on topic.

 

The really sharp turning radius..

It's wonderful when I'm looking for a parking spot as I can easily pull into the diagonal lanes meant for cars moving the opposite direction..

With my truck, and even my Camaro I always had to backup before I could pull in straight..

 

I have quarters in the change box to the left of the steering wheel, The owners manual and tire gauge in the glovebox, A quart of oil tucked in the engine compartment, and a second bottle in the trunk held secure by the straps for the tire patch kit.

Why would I ever weigh my 8 down/get it dirty by keeping anything else inside of it?

If your trunk is full of garbage, you are doing it wrong.

I love the way I can tuck a bottle of oil in right next to the washer fluid tank and it never goes anywhere. I love the way the patch kit strap has enough slack to allow you to stow 2 bottles of oil and keep them from sliding all over my trunk.

I love how the interior looks after detailing it.

 

hmmm - never thought of stowing oil there - thanks for the idea

 

I always keep the opened container in the engine compartment, I don't want any oil getting on the carpet in my trunk.

 

Where do you keep the oil in the engine compartment?

 

^ Between the washer bottle and the fender, on the LHD US version.

Don't know if the Aussie version has room, the Canuk one has the headlight washer pump right there.

S

 

Stand in front of your car. and open the hood. Find the washer fluid container on the left hand side of the firewall. There is a gap between the left hand side of the engine compartment and the washer fluid container. It is just barely big enough to slip a bottle of oil between the two, the tight fit and the washer fluid hose makes sure that there is no way the bottle will ever go anywhere.

I got the idea from this site. There are pics somewhere if you go looking.

 

I'll have a look when I go outside for a breather ...

... this office is rather stuffy today!

 

His brake servo is there......and upsidedown, too!

He's in Australia

S

 

Yeah, I doubt it will be there thinking about it.

I'm right side up here! Y'all must be upside down there! hehehe

 

I don't actually own one yet but test drive them every week :D Be getting one in another two or three months now. I love the way the door curves are perfectly level to my arm so I don't have to disconfigure my shoulder to get a good confurtable position. I also love the artistic design of the speedo. Great gripping ability. Uh.... Fast (by what I am used to) Which remind me about the OP. The reason people gripe about the horses not feeling like they are there is: One, the Tranny loses a ton of horsepower, if your tranny goes put an RX7 6 speed in there and those complaints will deminish to nearly nothing. Two, the torque isn't as great with rotary engines. Supposedly increasing the 1.3L to say 1.5 should greatly increase the troque but also decrease the milage. So I've heard.

I think I posted here before and forgot about it. If I repeated myself than ignore me :P

 

Welcome to the board and we're glad you're a fan. I don't want to flame you too bad but I think you have some mis-information about the trans.

Either way we're just talkin' about what we love about the 8.

 

By what I hear from the modders in my area and then some is that the tranny has like a 16 - 18% power transfer loss. The new Renesis comes with 230 hp output but gets about 190 to the wheels. Actually 190 was the most. On average it was around 184. But not to worry. The car still kicks Ace in my PO.

 

here is one nobody has come up with so far :
That compressor they supply instead of a spare tyre is bloody handy for pumping up the kids bike tyres .

 

Dude - that compressor is no joke! For how tiny it is, it works damn fast and damn good!

Here's a little thing that I don't think has been mentioned yet:
Mazda didn't skimp out on any engineering details when they made the car. $5000 worth of bolt-on mods get you 10-20 HP tops. Mazda already tricked the **** outta the engine - no need to go aftermarket.
Whenever some F&F "import" street racer asks you what mods you've done, you can confidently say "ALL of them." :D

 

Yes!! It's not like Ford where you get 30hp from a friggin intake because you paid for a crappy design from the factory!

 

uhhh .... THE SMELL !! now I hope it does'nt mean there is something wrong with my car ...

But as you start it , It smells great outside ! , maybe the oil I'm using ?

SWEET !!

With

 

My AC has the new car smell still. Maybe it's because i usually pull down the window, but its a nice smell.

 

I live in L.A., so there is pretty much constant traffic in those 8 lane freeways. However, and I can't really explain it, but it still is a blast to drive when I am barely moving in the traffic jam. Just being in the car makes me feel happier. My 8 is a great remedy for stress.

Of course, when the road opens up, the potential of the car to just explode from crusing to 100 miles makes it really tempting to risk a speeding ticket and just floor the pedal. Sometimes it really gets tough to resist the temptation, so if there is long enough space between me and the car infront I step on it little bit to quickly catch up to the car that is 1/4 infront.

I have drive it all from the muscle cars to giant SUV's to European sports sedans & coupes (*though never owned and driven a Porsche or Ferrari or any other exotic cars), 8 is a great car to drive. I just can't pinpoint why it is the most fun-to-drive car that I have owned.

 

My car came with a Stevie Ray Vaughn CD as an option for an extra $1000 and man, it was worth it.