My condolences to owners of automatic RX-8s...
08-10-2004, 11:38 PM
#77
I don't buy Kool-Aid
Originally Posted by Gord96BRG
Guys, this thread was dead for over a year until someone resurrected it yesterday. Just leave it dead! The original troll is loooong gone.
Regards,
Gordon
Regards,
Gordon
08-12-2004, 03:11 AM
#81
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amen to whatever u said brother. I took ur word and bought both the 6 and the 8. I guess i have the best of both worlds. Loving my 30k car that only looks good car. Dude let me tell u something the stuff that i do with my 8 at higher speeds on the freeway or around turns. If i attempted in my 6 i would be dead by now. I don't think what you said is correct. Simply because you took the looks of the car and thought it was a ferrari but with a mazda 8 engine. ITs still an rx-8 brother.
08-12-2004, 08:23 AM
#82
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The 8 was never ment to be a good 1/4 mile car, but she will hold her own on a road course... When I get done with her she should be pushing about 300-320rwhp; that is the plan... She will handle amazing, out brake any other car on the road and keep up with the best of them on the straights...
08-12-2004, 10:24 AM
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I happen to own an automatic RX-8, and while it's not the fastest car off the line, it certainly is pretty fun to drive. I had no choice in getting the auto, given that I'm in a wheelchair. This was one of the first cars with paddle shifters that allows me to drive somewhat like a standard transmission, something I haven't been able to do in 17 years, so I was very happy. The power off the line is pretty unimpressive but does show up all throughout the midrange and high end. The car handles like a dream, stops on a dime and gets non stop second looks and compliments. Would i trade it for a sedan? Who want a sedan unless they are dragging their family around?
08-12-2004, 10:41 AM
#84
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I purchased this car in automatic for a few reasons. One I cant drive stick worth ****, even with my 2 hours of practicing in my friends rabbit 
Second the California freeways suck, I wouldnt be able to handle shifing non stop. I got the auto in triptronic for a few reasons, those listed above. The first could be corrected, but this being my first car I didn't wanna f* **** up. lazyness? :P
If I could rebuy the car in manual would I? Probably would just because my souroundings changed.
Second the California freeways suck, I wouldnt be able to handle shifing non stop. I got the auto in triptronic for a few reasons, those listed above. The first could be corrected, but this being my first car I didn't wanna f* **** up. lazyness? :PIf I could rebuy the car in manual would I? Probably would just because my souroundings changed.
08-12-2004, 11:48 AM
#85
2010 Velocity Red R3
I don't need your condolences for my car choice. I got the car I desired to own, not because it was the fasted thing out there but because it was a mixture of things. It looks damn nice inside and out, it is speedier than the average car, (197hp is not slow compared to most traffic I come across) the price for me was doable, it handles well and it was a rotary which in itself is awesome. I love my car even as an automatic. My wife hates stick so when she needs to she can drive my car. Maybe instead of offering your condolences you should just be happy with your choice and us Auto8 owners will continue to be happy with ours.
08-12-2004, 12:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Gord96BRG
Guys, this thread was dead for over a year until someone resurrected it yesterday. Just leave it dead! The original troll is loooong gone.
Regards,
Gordon
Regards,
Gordon
08-12-2004, 03:34 PM
#87
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boost up ur auto 8.. don't feel sad la..
dude
auto 8 is not too bad... just put a trubo in to the 8. u car still can go fast as hell. here is the website of jp company Re-amemiya. they boost up the auto 8 to 260hp. no worry u car will get faster then u expect la..(if u boost it up)
http://www.re-amemiya.co.jp/rx_8/
auto 8 is not too bad... just put a trubo in to the 8. u car still can go fast as hell. here is the website of jp company Re-amemiya. they boost up the auto 8 to 260hp. no worry u car will get faster then u expect la..(if u boost it up)
http://www.re-amemiya.co.jp/rx_8/
Originally Posted by A 6s Owner
Since the Mazda 6 forums that I frequent are down and don't seem to be coming back anytime soon, I thought I'd offer my review...or two cents... on the automatic RX-8 in this forum.
Just a little warning: it's a nasty one, and if you happen to own an automatic RX-8, either stop reading, or prepare to be offended.
I'm going to jump right into it by saying this: There's no way in hell I'll be trading my 6 for an RX-8..not even for the 6 speed manual because of its price.
Let me put some numbers into your heads first..
The Mazda 6 I own is a 5 speed manual 6s (the "s" denoting the v6 220hp stock engine) in Lapis Blue and cloth. This included a Sports Package, Bose Package, sports grille, and alarm shock sensor upgrade.
Its got an MSRP of $23,720, though I scored a deal and took it for $23,000 out the door for it.
An RX-8 in automatic starts at a base MSRP of $25,700 (where I live at least).
Six speed manual starts at a little over 27 grand.
Even though you 8 owners could care less, here's what I got for that price in these two packages:
The Bose Package included 6 Bose speakers (2 tweeters), a modest subwoofer in the trunk, and a 6 disc cd-changer.
The Sports Package is basically a sportier exhaust, better looking front and rear bumpers, side moldings, a rear wing spoiler, 17" wheels (instead of the standard 16" ones), and more stylish display gauges.
At any rate, I've owned the 6 for about 5 months now, and yesterday after my oil change at the nearby Mazda dealer, I decided that it was time to test drive an 8 because one near the waiting room caught my eye.
They only had two RX-8s that weren't already sold/pre-ordered aside from the one in the showroom: one was a fully loaded black 6 speed, with over $30,000 or so on the sticker; the other was a silver automatic in a Sport Package with cloth for almost $28,000. The salesman was reluctant to let me test drive the 6 speed since I told him I was just "checking out the car," so I went with the automatic. Big mistake.
The interior was amazing looking (like the exterior), and it was comfortable as hell. (And this was just cloth.) That's saying a lot for what's supposedly a sports car. The driver and passenger's air conditioning vents are just like the ones on my 6 though. Steering wheel controls are also identical to my 6's, except for the shifting buttons of course.
When I was about to pull that gorgeous looking silver automatic out of the lot, I got excited and buckled my seat belt thinking, "Alright, let's see what kind of a kick an extra $4,000 would give me," even though it was just an automatic.
For about 15 minutes, I drove the hell out of this car, stopped at a redlight and then floored it (did this twice actually, and the salesman didn't seem too thrilled). Within 6 minutes, I realized that the speed I was looking for just wasn't there. I couldn't believe how awful the performance was in this automatic sports car. It had a nice pick up when you reached higher RPMs, but from a dead standstill, it simply sucked.
Reaching 60 from 0 felt like forever in this RX-8 I test drove. As a wild guess, I'd say it's gotta be somewhere over 8.5 seconds. Is that where the 8 comes from in this car's title? (Just joking.)
The pathetic part is, my 6 reaches zero to sixty somewhere around 6.7 - 6.9 seconds. Hell, I almost bought a 6 in automatic because I had such a difficult time finding one in manual, and if I remember correctly, even THAT seemed like it was faster than this auto 8!
After I got back to the lot, I pounded the salesman with a bunch of questions about the pickup and non-sporty performance. He uneasily admitted that the automatic 8 has less horsepower than my 5 speed sedan does. Bleh. What a let down. (Especially at that price.)
While it's completely understandable that an automatic is obviously going to be slower than manual, Mazda really seems to have taken the zest and fun out of the 8 in this 4 speed automatic version. The automatic RX-8, to my surprise, has about 50 less horses than the manual 6 speed. I don't know why the hell they've decided to do this, but what I can tell you is that there's no way I'm going to trade in my Mazda6 + spend an extra 10 grand on a 6 speed RX-8 that isn't even fully loaded.
A BASE MSRP of $25,700 is one hefty frigging price to pay for one of the slowest automatic sports cars I've ever had the chance to drive. I'm not kidding either when I say one of the slowest. For that much cash, you can get a 5 speed Mazda 6s that is fully loaded, and it has a helluva lot of better performance. Yeah, the RX8 is hands down more stylish and attractive than the sedanish looking Mazda 6, but when you're spending that much cash, looks should come secondary to performance. The automatic RX-8's performance is comparable to today's automatic V6 Mustang (hell it's probably even slower), and you can get that car for under $20,000.
A $27,500 sticker places you in either a 6 speed manual with no packages, or an automatic with the Sports Package. "Truthfully, you're not going to get both performance and luxury out of an RX-8 unless you buy one in manual and come up closer to the $30,000 range," says my cunning little salesman. That statement of his blew the whole trade-in idea right there for me.
I was under the misconception that the 4 speed automatic would be only a tad bit slower than the 6 speed manual. In reality, these two versions of the RX-8 seem like they're two completely different cars. Review sites say the 6 speed can do 60 in 6 seconds flat (maybe even in the upper 5s), so I was expecting... say... maybe mid/high 7s to get to 60 seconds in the automatic. That would be a much more acceptable performance given the $2,000 price decrease. Instead, the auto seems to have the performance of an automatic sedan. Sorry but, that's just not worth it.
I left the dealership today disappointed about what I learned, and I'm definitely going to be sticking with my manual 6s. I'd rather waste money modding my 6s to get it closer to the 6 second mark of the 6 speed RX-8, than trade it in and blow $10,000 on a manual RX-8 with no packages included.
Many of you would disagree with that, but I'm looking at the cars by performance versus price. Style comes into play here as well, but then again, the 350Z is quiet stylish too if I recall.
But oh man...I still can't wait. Some hotrod in his new, automatic RX-8, is going to pull up to me at a stoplight, rev his engine a few times thinking he's got some hot **** under there, and then I'm going to die of laugher as I leave his *** in the dust with my modest looking sports sedan. Hey, at least I've got something to look forward to.
Just a little warning: it's a nasty one, and if you happen to own an automatic RX-8, either stop reading, or prepare to be offended.
I'm going to jump right into it by saying this: There's no way in hell I'll be trading my 6 for an RX-8..not even for the 6 speed manual because of its price.
Let me put some numbers into your heads first..
The Mazda 6 I own is a 5 speed manual 6s (the "s" denoting the v6 220hp stock engine) in Lapis Blue and cloth. This included a Sports Package, Bose Package, sports grille, and alarm shock sensor upgrade.
Its got an MSRP of $23,720, though I scored a deal and took it for $23,000 out the door for it.
An RX-8 in automatic starts at a base MSRP of $25,700 (where I live at least).
Six speed manual starts at a little over 27 grand.
Even though you 8 owners could care less, here's what I got for that price in these two packages:
The Bose Package included 6 Bose speakers (2 tweeters), a modest subwoofer in the trunk, and a 6 disc cd-changer.
The Sports Package is basically a sportier exhaust, better looking front and rear bumpers, side moldings, a rear wing spoiler, 17" wheels (instead of the standard 16" ones), and more stylish display gauges.
At any rate, I've owned the 6 for about 5 months now, and yesterday after my oil change at the nearby Mazda dealer, I decided that it was time to test drive an 8 because one near the waiting room caught my eye.
They only had two RX-8s that weren't already sold/pre-ordered aside from the one in the showroom: one was a fully loaded black 6 speed, with over $30,000 or so on the sticker; the other was a silver automatic in a Sport Package with cloth for almost $28,000. The salesman was reluctant to let me test drive the 6 speed since I told him I was just "checking out the car," so I went with the automatic. Big mistake.
The interior was amazing looking (like the exterior), and it was comfortable as hell. (And this was just cloth.) That's saying a lot for what's supposedly a sports car. The driver and passenger's air conditioning vents are just like the ones on my 6 though. Steering wheel controls are also identical to my 6's, except for the shifting buttons of course.
When I was about to pull that gorgeous looking silver automatic out of the lot, I got excited and buckled my seat belt thinking, "Alright, let's see what kind of a kick an extra $4,000 would give me," even though it was just an automatic.
For about 15 minutes, I drove the hell out of this car, stopped at a redlight and then floored it (did this twice actually, and the salesman didn't seem too thrilled). Within 6 minutes, I realized that the speed I was looking for just wasn't there. I couldn't believe how awful the performance was in this automatic sports car. It had a nice pick up when you reached higher RPMs, but from a dead standstill, it simply sucked.
Reaching 60 from 0 felt like forever in this RX-8 I test drove. As a wild guess, I'd say it's gotta be somewhere over 8.5 seconds. Is that where the 8 comes from in this car's title? (Just joking.)
The pathetic part is, my 6 reaches zero to sixty somewhere around 6.7 - 6.9 seconds. Hell, I almost bought a 6 in automatic because I had such a difficult time finding one in manual, and if I remember correctly, even THAT seemed like it was faster than this auto 8!
After I got back to the lot, I pounded the salesman with a bunch of questions about the pickup and non-sporty performance. He uneasily admitted that the automatic 8 has less horsepower than my 5 speed sedan does. Bleh. What a let down. (Especially at that price.)
While it's completely understandable that an automatic is obviously going to be slower than manual, Mazda really seems to have taken the zest and fun out of the 8 in this 4 speed automatic version. The automatic RX-8, to my surprise, has about 50 less horses than the manual 6 speed. I don't know why the hell they've decided to do this, but what I can tell you is that there's no way I'm going to trade in my Mazda6 + spend an extra 10 grand on a 6 speed RX-8 that isn't even fully loaded.
A BASE MSRP of $25,700 is one hefty frigging price to pay for one of the slowest automatic sports cars I've ever had the chance to drive. I'm not kidding either when I say one of the slowest. For that much cash, you can get a 5 speed Mazda 6s that is fully loaded, and it has a helluva lot of better performance. Yeah, the RX8 is hands down more stylish and attractive than the sedanish looking Mazda 6, but when you're spending that much cash, looks should come secondary to performance. The automatic RX-8's performance is comparable to today's automatic V6 Mustang (hell it's probably even slower), and you can get that car for under $20,000.
A $27,500 sticker places you in either a 6 speed manual with no packages, or an automatic with the Sports Package. "Truthfully, you're not going to get both performance and luxury out of an RX-8 unless you buy one in manual and come up closer to the $30,000 range," says my cunning little salesman. That statement of his blew the whole trade-in idea right there for me.
I was under the misconception that the 4 speed automatic would be only a tad bit slower than the 6 speed manual. In reality, these two versions of the RX-8 seem like they're two completely different cars. Review sites say the 6 speed can do 60 in 6 seconds flat (maybe even in the upper 5s), so I was expecting... say... maybe mid/high 7s to get to 60 seconds in the automatic. That would be a much more acceptable performance given the $2,000 price decrease. Instead, the auto seems to have the performance of an automatic sedan. Sorry but, that's just not worth it.
I left the dealership today disappointed about what I learned, and I'm definitely going to be sticking with my manual 6s. I'd rather waste money modding my 6s to get it closer to the 6 second mark of the 6 speed RX-8, than trade it in and blow $10,000 on a manual RX-8 with no packages included.
Many of you would disagree with that, but I'm looking at the cars by performance versus price. Style comes into play here as well, but then again, the 350Z is quiet stylish too if I recall.
But oh man...I still can't wait. Some hotrod in his new, automatic RX-8, is going to pull up to me at a stoplight, rev his engine a few times thinking he's got some hot **** under there, and then I'm going to die of laugher as I leave his *** in the dust with my modest looking sports sedan. Hey, at least I've got something to look forward to.
08-12-2004, 03:49 PM
#88
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6s vs RX-8
This is a very simple answer to the debate.
I think that RX-8 auto owners own them for the looks. If you like it enough to pay the price that's fine.
6s owners own them for the price. Great. More power to ya.
The reason I bought my 6 speed RX-8: Rotary, Baby! You will all understand in a couple of years when the turbo kits come out. I expect a super tricked out RX-8 to top 800 hp by 2006. You may think I'm crazy, but does anyone remember the 1080 hp RX-7? You just can't beat rotary power. Except maybe with turbine. Any plans for turbine Mazda? JK.
I think that RX-8 auto owners own them for the looks. If you like it enough to pay the price that's fine.
6s owners own them for the price. Great. More power to ya.
The reason I bought my 6 speed RX-8: Rotary, Baby! You will all understand in a couple of years when the turbo kits come out. I expect a super tricked out RX-8 to top 800 hp by 2006. You may think I'm crazy, but does anyone remember the 1080 hp RX-7? You just can't beat rotary power. Except maybe with turbine. Any plans for turbine Mazda? JK.
08-12-2004, 07:41 PM
#90
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6 owner... You must not be a very good negotiator. I got my RX-8 MT with Nav and the GT package for just a few thou more than you paid. I bet mine is worth a ton more in two years..
Good luck to ya.
BTW -- Wanna race?
Good luck to ya.
BTW -- Wanna race?
08-12-2004, 08:33 PM
#92
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Yes, but unfortunately at the end of the day, or week, or I'm sad to say months or years, Guess What...... I the world of the suave, sophiticated and stylish.....
You will still only be driving a 6. :-)
You will still only be driving a 6. :-)
07-13-2005, 09:50 PM
#95
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0-60
I have an 8, a/t and it is a blast to drive. If you really want a $30,000 car that goes fast in a straight line, go buy a GTO. 0-60 in 4.7 sec. 13.0 1/4 mile
Stock
I was looking at them but chose the 8.
Stock
I was looking at them but chose the 8.
07-13-2005, 10:12 PM
#96
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Condolence, schmolence. I bought the car for me and I'm the only one I have to please. Hit some nasty stop-and-go traffic today and just slapped it back into full auto mode. That took a little aggravation out of my day.
To quote the Bible, go thou and do likewise.
Originally Posted by A 6s Owner
Since the Mazda 6 forums that I frequent are down and don't seem to be coming back anytime soon,
07-13-2005, 10:16 PM
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i hated my auto RX8 with a passion. i had the chance to get a 6spd but the wife didnt want it. i could not stand the power output of the auto rx8. i gave up on this car in 11 months and traded out for an 05 WRX. the car has alot more power potential than the auto 8. i am planning on getting all turboXS gear for it and push it to 220hp for about $1500. cant say i can do that with the automatic 8. the wife was upset that i traded out the car but at least she understood that i was dumping the retarded lease i got ourselves into. now she doesnt like the fact that the WRX is a 5spd and i didnt buy an automatic. i dont plan on ever driving another automatic car like this ever again. it takes all the fun away. at least now i can mod my car and get some good power. i have nothing against the RX8 but it seems like mazda didnt make it mod friendly. seems like they made it to stay stock and simple. you dont get much out of an intake/exhaust swap on an 8. just doing an uppipe and turboback setup on a WRX will yield me 20-30hp (give or take a few) and a turboXS UTEC swap will give me another 20-30hp on top of it.
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