its like a sine wave vs a square wave... appear to perform similarily, but one's smoother

 

i still think we should swap out numbers with the speed3 :P

keep our rotary with 200+ torque yaya :P

 

Great thread man, and good points brought up on both cars. Thank you for taking the time to write this.

I drove a MS3 prior to buying the 8 on a test drive, and while it felt great and was a lot of fun, the connection i feel when i'm in the 8 to the road just wasn't there for me. I didn't see a huge difference in the acceleration (the 3 felt faster b/c of the torque, but the acceleration times were similiar) and I was looking for a screamer, something that would wind up to 9k and still be pulling, torque wasn't a must for me since my TR is torquey as h3ll. That being said I must compliment Mazda on the offerings. If I was in a different situation in my personal life and needed a reliable, true four door car but desired with speed, style and 'persona' I would write a check tomorrow for a MS3. It sucks you had to part ways with your 8, however IMO you could not pick a better option then the MS3.

One HUGE upside - a few thousand dollars and your MS3 goes from quick to FAST in a hurry, gotta love the options factory FI present to you.....

 

Ztriumph,

Haha. Thanks for the comments. Yah I really liked the high winding rotary of the 8. Soooo smooth. But let me know if you want to "write a check" for my Speed3. Just bought brand new tires. Here is a link to the gallery I uploaded.

http://www.myimagehosting.com/album_...77M&f_id=13227

 

Give it time, you will miss your 8.

Just for fun



While it's not side by side with an 8 it's side by side with my other car's cousin the Saturn Sky Red Line and I can tell you that while the Sky is no doubt faster off the line it is not nearly as fun to drive.

 

Titanium - Great looking MS3. I would not give that up so easily, sounds perfect for your current situation.

Are-ex-eight: I agree completely with your posting. My TR runs circles around my RX (personal best was a 12.8@111 on street tires) however the RX just makes me smile everytime I get in it. Last night I found myself driving 30 minutes OUTSIDE of the city just to find a place to eat (GF thought I was crazy)! Everything just flows and molds perfectly together with the RX and works in balance. Last night I sat in my garage having a beer and wondering how the hell I love this car as much as I do, especially after only 600 miles.....