kreuznach

Would you still have bought the RX-8 if it didn't have a rotary engine? I guess that would make it an MX-8, right?

mamccubbin

My vote is no, though it's hard to say without knowing what engine it would have had. The car would have still looked great and handled great. But oh that rotary.

hotpot

There's no Maybe?

mamccubbin

Why do you need a maybe? You either buy it or you don't. Tell you what, take it home today and we'll toss in some free tickets to the circus.

G8rboy

I would have kept my Miata, and put the FMII turbo kit I'd had my eyes on instead of using that cash for down payment on the 8. I still planing on doing that someday...

RX Renesis

the car wouldn't handle AS greate cause a V6 block would be way bigger and weighs more... which make the 50/50 go away... BUT unless they put a I4 in it... then it'll be powerless so what's the point of that...

GiN

I would have rather dumped $5g and resurrected my RX-7 turbo.

OR tried to import a Cosmo2000 from Japan. :D

rx8wannahave

I don't got one but I know I would have gotten if it did not have a Rotary. When is Mazda going to make a V8 engine...that would have been cool. Maybe a small 4L V8 or something.

The 8's main selling point is the looks...all the other great stuff comes after that.

RXE16T

It didn't matter that the RX8 had a rotary, that was a bonus!

SoSaRX

No Flippin' Way!

valpac

iTrader: (2)

what's the point of having a unique car if you dont have a unique car?

MedicineMan

Most likely it wouldn't have the 50/50 weight distribution with a heavier non-rotary power plant. Consequently...not the handling we all love and write about and GRIN about. That SOUND....... hmmmmmmmm.......that has a turning off ZZ Top to listen, wouldn't be there.

AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!! We'd be driving G35's or Mustangs or whatever. But worse would be .......missing out on the anticipation of an "N" flash or waiting for FI.

Thank you Mazda for the Renesis.

G8rboy

Without a rotary the RX8 would never had been made, but if it had been anyway, I don't think sales would have been nearly as good... although the bitching and moaning on this forum would be about HLA clatter, timing belt lifespan, and the nose heavy understeer instead of fuel economy, flooding and missing horsepower. The initial momentum of activity from the previous RX7 and other rotary owners is a huge factor in generating hype of the enthusiast level.

(edited ridiculously bad grammar on my part)

StewC625

Echoing G8rboy: Agree - the car wouldn't be the car it is without the Rotary. An equivalently powered V6's package would be 3x the size (volume) and twice the weight - no 50/50 weight distribution, no low hood line with the engine tucked under the cowl, etc.

Once again: No flippin way! The engine entirely makes the car. Without it, it's an ordinary sports/GT car like the G35 or 350Z. Emphasis on ORDINARY.

rx8wannahave

The Rotary is special and rare, no DOUBT, but you do not have to have a rotary to get a car to get a 50/50 weight distribution. From what I hear the Renesis is about 100-130 pounds lighter than the LS6 (or is it LS2)...hummm, but then again the tranny might add more weight but that would be in the middle of the car so it would even out some...hummmm

Well, no doubt it would make a difference in HP, weight, weight distribution, and some characteristics of the car but I think in the end it would work out.

Oh, and for all the people who would not have gotten the RX8 if it lacked the rotary engine...even MORE people would have gotten the 8 because they were not scared away by the rotary. Just my two cents...

Deep down in my piston heart I kinda wish it had a POWERFUL V6, I6, or a sweet small block V8....but I am growing in respect and love for the rotary engine the more I learn about it.

mysql101

I would not have considered the RX-8 if it didn't have the rotary engine.

The looks didn't attract me to this car, it was the 4 seats and the rotary engine. Essentually the whole package.

Plus it was in XMEN2.

mysql101

You make a good point, but that would only give many of us more reason to not have bought the RX-8 if it didn't have a rotary.

I wouldn't want the new 2005 Mustang even if I could get it at half price (assuming I had to keep it and couldn't just sell it for a profit) simply because everyone will own one soon.

Feras

iTrader: (1)

the renesis isnt as light as you think it is, it just happens to be compact...regardless if they designed an mx-8 and they wanted a real performance machine they would of changed the design a bit (lengthened the front end) and still probably managed near balanced handling. the 50/50 that we are getting so nit picky about is actually above 51/49 in reality. (350Z is 52/48 for comparison). so honestly an mx-8 may have indeed handled and performed pretty similarly to an Rx-8 but we're all talking hypothetical. If the rx8 didntt exist the wind would be blowing through my hair in a s2k.

StewC625

Those that have never had an original RX-7 don't understand us "no flippin way" types. there's no engine like a rotary.

rx8wannahave

You know I have thought about this alot. I've told myself..."When I was worrying about the rotary engine"

"You know, in the future you could always pull out the Renesis and put something else in that weighed similar or close to it but made more HP or was easy to mod"

I think the RX8 is a great looking car. Along with that it's light as all sports cars should be, it seats 4 very well, has extra doors to help in the in & out of the rear seats, and finally it's quality is better than...let's say a 05 Mustang.

Since I love the car so much (and I don't even got one yet) I have thought about keeping it permenantly. So, while the rotary is rare and fun...I love the car for more than one of it's points but all of them taken together MAKE A HELL OF A CAR! The only thing that would kill the experiance for me would be the loss of the rear seats since I plan on needed them.

I hope Mazda makes the RX7 once again...what a GREAT sports car it was!!! I have lusted after that car since it came out but I hope they never stop building RX8's for those of us that need a place to stuff the little kids...LOL (when they come)

Note: I must be crazy...Im talking about a car I don't have...and needs I have for my next car without the babies either to fill those seats. I hope I am not speaking ahead of myself and that both those dreams, especially the babies one....comes true!

rx8wannahave

Oh yeah, like I've said before...

I test drove the 05 Mustang GT and it looks better in person, makes sweet V8 music, has good overall quality...but the rear seats and cheap door panels took away from a overall good package. The bang for the buck factor is great but it's rear seats don't stand a chance against a RX8...or the GTO's rear seats which are still the best 2+2 rear seats I have ever experianced.

G8rboy

Possibly- but I don't think many people are being scared off by the rotary- it's actually selling per Mazda's expectations, which I thought were extremely optimistic. For the 10's of thousands of 8 owners that never visit this forum or even know much about rotaries, they just bought the car because of the cool factor.

Piston, or rotary- those options above don't attract me at all. A sports car experience is about have a high-revving, peaky powerplant... something you have to use the gearbox and really drive... like the I4 in the Miata, S2000, Lotus, and any rotary. I wouldn't want a slow revving, low rpm 6 or 8 cylinder to detract from that... That's what sets the 8's driving experience apart from the 350Z, Mustang, GTO, etc. I don't want to just stomp on the gas and try to coax it around a corner- I want to play with the powerband and really be a part of the driving experience. Nothing compares to 9000rpm and a 6 speed gearbox for that.

rx8wannahave

How many RX8's have been sold so far...total? I think some are scared away...you just dont hear about it cause....well...they did not buy the car...LOL. But, you can say that about any car...well, about this or that making them not buy the car.

I love sports cars in general and so far played with a NX2000 & Probe GT and I liked them both. I don't know much about V8...feeling power that is, nor the rotary engine's 9K limit (while I think that the limit is really 9.2K with a video I saw from Japan) but I don't think there is ONE way to make a REAL sports car. Not saying you are saying that either...

An American V8 is a HECK of an engine (Chevy in particular)
The S2000 has a HECK of a I-4
The NSX has a HECK of a V6
Nissan's V6
Old timer 427, 454's...etc
The Rotary...

All of these are great in their own way. The great thing about sports cars is that everyone has a different view of how to put the power down, where to get it from, how their car should look, and handle.

I think of a sports car like...if you attach yourself or your nervous system to the car and it's response is like a flicker of your finger...you are as much a part of it as it is a part of you. You don't ride in it...you are a part of it.

Why do I dislike SUV's, Mini Vans, Trucks, plane Jane sadans, WAGONS (I don't care what they call them now a days)...simple...you ride in them and they float (not sticking to the ground like it gotz claws) around as if on a carpet of air...not really attached to the road.

I wanted a RX7 back in the day (got married and well...poof, that was gone...LOL) but I really hope to get the RX8 so we can grow old together...

dwill9578

a sweet little V8 would have been nice but the rotary is a big draw. It could have had a gerbal on a wheel under the hood I wouldn't care---I love the way it looks in and out.

valpac

iTrader: (2)

AH-HA!. There it is! The explanation. Mazda didn't mislead us. It was a typo. The G is right next to the H. 238 GP is what they meant!!

Debate over.:D