ms3 or rx8?
#51
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I'm now counting on my fingers how many people I know that care about or know what the Rolex series is. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up? Now I'm counting how much the Rolex cars have in common with a standard RX-8 powertrain and chassis wise. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up...
Anyway, the MS3 is an incredible bargain. I chose the 8 solely because it is purely my weekend car. The neutral balance, steering feel, and rev happy engine won me over. If it wasn't for the fact that it was a 5 door and FWD I would have chosen it instead. I didn't need the extra capacity, mileage isn't a concern for 5000 miles a year, or Mazda 3 looks.
If I needed a daily driver, I would have taken a more serious look at the speed3. That is probably one of the only FWD cars that could have convinced me to cross over.
#52
I'm now counting on my fingers how many people I know that care about or know what the Rolex series is. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up? Now I'm counting how much the Rolex cars have in common with a standard RX-8 powertrain and chassis wise. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up...
probably the same amount of people who care what a MS3 runs on the nurburgring.
#53
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RWD dominates. Piston engines dominate. What is your point? Give any professional race driver the choice to drive a FWD car or a comparable RWD car to drive around the Nurburgring and what do you think he's going to choose?
Last edited by JRichter; 04-05-2008 at 11:27 AM.
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Any FWD car can be made faster than any RWD or AWD car. The truth is any FWD performance car you see is and was always based on a car that was never designed with sporting as its primary intention. Majority of performance FWD cars came directly from economy cars or family sedans therefore it's already compromised. A MS3 has 30 more hp and almost twice the torque of a RX-8 so it should easily be faster than it. Imagine how much faster it's lap time would be if it was RWD and had perfect weight distribution. Just the fact that it has to reduce it's torque output in the first two gears means its compromised. There is no comparison. It's oranges to apples. The only AWD car I would choose is one that can send a higher percentage of its torque to the rear wheels which is what most highend AWD car makers are doing these days. Oversteer is always a funner problem to have than understeer and I think most would agree. Each car has is strengths and weaknesses and when I choose a car to drive on the streets FWD in my book always = How did delhi put it?....fail.
Last edited by JRichter; 04-05-2008 at 11:45 AM.
#55
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I'm now counting on my fingers how many people I know that care about or know what the Rolex series is. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up? Now I'm counting how much the Rolex cars have in common with a standard RX-8 powertrain and chassis wise. Guess how many fingers I'm holding up...
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Not everything is a race or involves the 'Ring. Especially when it comes to sub -$25K sport compacts.
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#61
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I used to be a BIG Honda guy.. was debating with sticking with it and getting a S2K... Let's say this is my very first Mazda... And I made the best decision in my car-career everrr!!
Go with the 8 man.. It's worth it. just take care of it and keep up with the daily maintanence.
Go with the 8 man.. It's worth it. just take care of it and keep up with the daily maintanence.
#62
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Professional race drivers drive professional race cars. They don't pick up cars off the Mazda dealer lot and drive to the Nürburgring to go prove their car is the bestest.
Not everything is a race or involves the 'Ring. Especially when it comes to sub -$25K sport compacts.
Not everything is a race or involves the 'Ring. Especially when it comes to sub -$25K sport compacts.
Not when they are not racing, which is the point of this thread: To compare these two cars for everyday use I would think. I'm sure the orginal poster is not buying these for Nurburgring racing.
You said yourself why you chose the RX-8 over the MS3. I did for the same reasons. Bottom line: I would choose a RWD car over a FWD car any day no matter how much faster.
Last edited by JRichter; 04-05-2008 at 06:46 PM.
#63
I used to be a BIG Honda guy.. was debating with sticking with it and getting a S2K... Let's say this is my very first Mazda... And I made the best decision in my car-career everrr!!
Go with the 8 man.. It's worth it. just take care of it and keep up with the daily maintanence.
Go with the 8 man.. It's worth it. just take care of it and keep up with the daily maintanence.
#64
Your telling me this why? My point was to show how many prefer RWD over FWD in a sports car. Random lap times mean nothing with random cars and random drivers. I didn't post the original Nurburgring crap. I was simply making the point that every car listed above what RaDaRkInG posted is mostly RWD, therefore the FWD's on the list mean nothing. Go back and read the sequence of posts. lol
Not when they are not racing, which is the point of this thread: To compare these two cars for everyday use I would think. I'm sure the orginal poster is not buying these for Nurburgring racing.
You said yourself why you chose the RX-8 over the MS3. I did for the same reasons. Bottom line: I would choose a RWD car over a FWD car any day no matter how much faster.
Not when they are not racing, which is the point of this thread: To compare these two cars for everyday use I would think. I'm sure the orginal poster is not buying these for Nurburgring racing.
You said yourself why you chose the RX-8 over the MS3. I did for the same reasons. Bottom line: I would choose a RWD car over a FWD car any day no matter how much faster.
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So would I, but I still respect the performance of cars like the Speed 3 and the new Cobalt SS. However, you seem to immediately write them off as failures. Speed = speed no matter which wheels are driven. Just because they reach their potential limits earlier (ie performance mods) than a more advantageous drivetrain doesn't mean that these cars are any less significant. For $23K, the Speed3 and SS are nearly untouchable in performance.
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So would I, but I still respect the performance of cars like the Speed 3 and the new Cobalt SS. However, you seem to immediately write them off as failures. Speed = speed no matter which wheels are driven. Just because they reach their potential limits earlier (ie performance mods) than a more advantageous drivetrain doesn't mean that these cars are any less significant. For $23K, the Speed3 and SS are nearly untouchable in performance.
Last edited by JRichter; 04-05-2008 at 07:24 PM.
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Hey came back to this forum to check out what was going on in the LAX area meet, and thought I'd look around. And look what I found! An MS3 or 8 comparo.
I'll put in my two cents cause I've owned the 8 and now I have the MS3.
And here's my honest opinion...
with the RX8, I had a love it, hate it relationship. Loved the sports style, handling, shifter, exotic look of the 8, but hated the gas guzzling and lack of power. Not to say that this is a slow car. Now with the MS3, you don't get the exotic look, but you get the power and a little bit better on gas. My worst MPG on the MS3 (free spirited driving) equaled the best MPG I got with the 8 (babying the engine, no hard throttle).
The MS3 also provides practicality. Even though it's a FWD, I still have fun driving the 3. I love my MS3, but I have to be honest, I do miss my 8 from time to time. I just felt more connected to it than I do with the 3. I don't know, maybe I'll feel more connected to the 3 in a year, it did take me that long to have that car connection I had with the 8.
I say do your research on the 8 and go test drive it, btw both cars need to be well maintained. with the 8 you have your rotary to take care of *flood preventing, putting oil. and with the ms3, you need to maintain the turbo *let it cool off.
So good luck!
I'll put in my two cents cause I've owned the 8 and now I have the MS3.
And here's my honest opinion...
with the RX8, I had a love it, hate it relationship. Loved the sports style, handling, shifter, exotic look of the 8, but hated the gas guzzling and lack of power. Not to say that this is a slow car. Now with the MS3, you don't get the exotic look, but you get the power and a little bit better on gas. My worst MPG on the MS3 (free spirited driving) equaled the best MPG I got with the 8 (babying the engine, no hard throttle).
The MS3 also provides practicality. Even though it's a FWD, I still have fun driving the 3. I love my MS3, but I have to be honest, I do miss my 8 from time to time. I just felt more connected to it than I do with the 3. I don't know, maybe I'll feel more connected to the 3 in a year, it did take me that long to have that car connection I had with the 8.
I say do your research on the 8 and go test drive it, btw both cars need to be well maintained. with the 8 you have your rotary to take care of *flood preventing, putting oil. and with the ms3, you need to maintain the turbo *let it cool off.
So good luck!
#69
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okay, so opinions are like ********, everyones got one, and heres mine...opinion i mean, get your mind out of the gutter. haha
I work at a mazda dealer and am a mazda fanatic. First time i drove a speed 3, my reactino was Holy crap this thing is fast! I actually wasnt expecting the kick in the *** it gave me. First time i drove an RX8, i thought, holy crap, this thing is slow for how fast it looks. Im now driving an RX8. The speed 3 was so fun and powerful, but at the same time, the clutch i could see being a chore in every day driving, also, my last car was a torquy front wheel drive, and to be honest, i didnt enjoy that experience over the long run. The RX8 is so much more mild mannered. the clutch is a peice of cake, the shifter feel is incredible, the steering is perfect and never fights you, and if you want to turn it into a weekend warrior, the suspension is designed more like a real racecar (upper lower control arms up front and full coilovers all arund instead of the mac struts up front on the three and the seperate spring/strut in the back of the 3). I prefered the speed 6 to the speed 3 for the fact that the suspension was less like an econobox and of course the AWD (because that much power just at the front wheels in the winter is a recepie for getting stuck). To be honest, if you dont have a very snowy winter, an RX8 would probably be a better daily driver if gas price doesnt bother you because the car is less of a chore to drive. and in the end, most car guys will agree that RWD is always more fun to play with. Even today, some *** driving a tow truck cut me off in a parking lot, then drove really slowly out onto the road, i went around him partially sideways. I turned to my passenger, who was smiling, and said "I love RWD!" haha. Good luck with your choice.
Greg
I work at a mazda dealer and am a mazda fanatic. First time i drove a speed 3, my reactino was Holy crap this thing is fast! I actually wasnt expecting the kick in the *** it gave me. First time i drove an RX8, i thought, holy crap, this thing is slow for how fast it looks. Im now driving an RX8. The speed 3 was so fun and powerful, but at the same time, the clutch i could see being a chore in every day driving, also, my last car was a torquy front wheel drive, and to be honest, i didnt enjoy that experience over the long run. The RX8 is so much more mild mannered. the clutch is a peice of cake, the shifter feel is incredible, the steering is perfect and never fights you, and if you want to turn it into a weekend warrior, the suspension is designed more like a real racecar (upper lower control arms up front and full coilovers all arund instead of the mac struts up front on the three and the seperate spring/strut in the back of the 3). I prefered the speed 6 to the speed 3 for the fact that the suspension was less like an econobox and of course the AWD (because that much power just at the front wheels in the winter is a recepie for getting stuck). To be honest, if you dont have a very snowy winter, an RX8 would probably be a better daily driver if gas price doesnt bother you because the car is less of a chore to drive. and in the end, most car guys will agree that RWD is always more fun to play with. Even today, some *** driving a tow truck cut me off in a parking lot, then drove really slowly out onto the road, i went around him partially sideways. I turned to my passenger, who was smiling, and said "I love RWD!" haha. Good luck with your choice.
Greg
#70
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The fact that you can't decide between two very different cars is because:
1. You are totally confused about what you want in a car and/or,
2. Mazda simply makes makes awesome cars.
Simply boils down to fact they they are each top cars in their own way. Each has it's own pros' and con's. Which of the pro's are more important to you? Which of the negatives bothers you the least? Answer that and you'll be a wsier kid on the block
1. You are totally confused about what you want in a car and/or,
2. Mazda simply makes makes awesome cars.
Simply boils down to fact they they are each top cars in their own way. Each has it's own pros' and con's. Which of the pro's are more important to you? Which of the negatives bothers you the least? Answer that and you'll be a wsier kid on the block
#71
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the MS3 is nicer than its competitors save the EVO or STi as is the 8 vs. its competition imo. if its your only car and youneed to haul a tv or large stuff get the 3 but to me its in a lower classification of vehicle from the get go so the 3 already starts out way behind in my book.
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what should i get? an rx-8 or a puggle? girls will like both, and the rx-8 has great handling, but the puggle is just so goddamn cute, what should I do guys?
how many of these threads will there be?
how many of these threads will there be?
Last edited by anti-mike; 10-15-2008 at 10:53 AM.