I've had my 8 for about two months now and I am somewhat puzzled by the horsepower debate. My take is that straight-line acceleration is only of interest to drag racers -- roadracing is more concerned with chassis balance, mid-corner grip, turn-in times, and the ability to put the power down coming out of corners. It seems to me that that this is where the 8 excels.

With the 8, I feel "plugged-in" to the road more than any other car I've driven. In a dead straight line, sure the 8 doesn't kick you in the back like a muscle car, but out of corners, the car hooks up as well as any out there. For my money, that is something you won't find out reading 0-60 times or looking at dyno printouts. A great car is WAY deeper than numbers. Ask any racer whether they would rather race a car that is down on power or a car that is unbalanced and handles like a pig. Just remember what Senna did with an underpowered MP4/8 McLaren against the high-horsepower Williams at Donnington in the rain in 1993. (OK, so maybe that was more Senna than the car's handling, but you get the idea)

Now I am not saying that I would turn down more power, but I will say that I wouldn't sacrifice the car's balance and handling just to get more grunt. But I think a lot of those tuner-car EVO pilots would take more power no matter how they got it.

And the last thing I will say is that a cat-back pipe, a blower, and a stellar dyno run doesn't make the driver one bit better at nailing a turn-in point, hitting the apex, and getting a great drive out of the corner. In my experience, a balanced chassis and a clean line through a corner beats gobs of power and sloppy driving any day.

My two cents....

P.S. Anyone who wants to tell me about how my 8 is "down on power" will have to keep up with me through the twisties first!

 

so you're saying a sports car is not all about driving in a straight line?! oh my gosh, and all this time I was thinking that...well..no not really...just being a wise ****! :D

 

What HP issues?

 

I agree with what you say, but day to day driving (at least mine) most people are not going to be taking corners like a madman. But I do go wot often and redline my car when accellerating and the faster the car the more fun that is assuming it's not some scary rattle trap. You don't have to be a drag racer to appreciate that. In my car I want both exhilerating accelleration and excelent handling and corner grip, and I do have both, but I use the straightline power a hell of a lot more than I do the cornering ability on a daily basis. The RX-8 has decent power but personally I need more, it's slower than the car I owned 15 years and I just can't accept that. Plain and simple I expected more from Mazda after the FD and considering the current HP wars going on. I'm not taking away from the fact that Mazda built a great car, but not for me, I want to rocket down a straightaway and through the twisties, and you can have both.

P.S. Want to keep up with me in the twisties WRX owners run what we call the Lizard here in the midwest, it's very twisty roads through Wi. and is mixed surfaces. But you'll have to deal with your precious exterior taking a bit of a beating since there are gravel and dirt roads involved, and I wouldn't have it any other way. How many RX-8 owners can say that?

 

Bah...I woulda bought a WRX if I wanted to drive on gravel and dirt roads....

There's a difference in what a WRX and an RX-8 were made for...the WRX is made for AWD performance, and accels in harsh weather, and less than ideal road conditions.

The RX-8, is more of a track queen. What I mean is as said before, it's made for handling, grip, and finesse. Granted, it's not the fastest car around the track in the world, it's far from the slowest.

 

rx8 would slaughter a wrx on the twisties.

 

Just like in Best Motoring right

 

Yeah but you can't keep up with our style and looks............... :D

 

And I could care less, I have never bought cars for their looks and I never will. To each their own...

 

Ya know, our RX-8's are great little cars. They really are. I love mine.

But saying things like the above quote doesn't really do much to help our image. Lets be realistic, shall we?

 

Hey that’s on you, just doesn’t make any sense to me that anyone would buy a car based on all performance and not its looks too. Thats all I'm saying...................... but whatever floats your boat.

 

I bought my car because of the overall package. Sure it isnt the fastest, or have the MOST luxury.. but I wouldnt have it any other way.. at least not anywhere near the same price range. :D

 

I like the looks of my car, I never said I didn't, but things like performance and modability are far more important to me. I buy cloths, furniture, and many other things in my life mostly based on looks. But if I'm buying something funtional the funtions always take precedent over how pretty it is. I buy a car for speed, handling, and functionality, and then the looks come into play. When I'm in my car I'm not staring out at how pretty it looks, and I don't care what other people think of the looks of my car.

 

So... About those Dodgers...

 

First time I've heard that but like I said, whatever floats your boat Ike.

 

First time you've ever heard what?

 

Just last night I had a chance to watch a Top Gear video on the Evo VIII vs. the WRX STi. When they took both to the track and cut them loose for the fastest time, it was pretty scary watching how badly the WRX took the turns. Tons of tire screeching and understeering around just about every turn.

The EVO VIII on the other hand blasted through that course like nothing. I definitely would not want to mess with EVOs after seeing it cut through that course like hot knife through butter.

Anyways, yeah the WRX STi is fast, but I dunno about its handling after watching that video...

 

a lot of people buy their cars with performance in mind first.

man have you been in an wrx sti? they're frickin' incredible. i was sitting in the passenger seat for a short ride around the block through traffic. already i can tell you that that car is awesome. the driver (didn't own the car - the owner let him test it out) wasn't pushing the car hard in the slightest and i could feel the torque in my stomach. same thing with the people in the back. afterwards the driver couldn't stop grinning the whole day and all of us were pretty much talking about it non stop.

before we got in we agreed that we would never get the car because of the looks. after the quick little crap "test" drive, all of us were tempted to get it. i have no qualms saying that bad boy would destroy my car in a race.

 

btw the rx-8 running that track screeched like crazy and had under/oversteer problems too.

# Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII - 1.28.9
# Subaru Impreza STi - 1.30.1
# Nissan 350Z - 1.31.8
# Mazda RX-8 - 1.31.8

if anyone else is curious those are the top gear lap times.

 

wow - i'm simply amazed at how often the same topic can be discussed, and i've only reading here a month.

EVO, STi, RX8, 350Z - all totally skookum cars with different strengths. Vive le difference!

Have a nice day

 

And many mags have come up with nearly identical times for the USDM STi and Evo around a roadcourse, they just have different ways of going about getting those laps times. The Evo is more precise and the STi is more of a brute. Daily driving wise it's the Evo that is more the brute.

 

See what I said above and also keep in mind the Evo is just that good as a track car. Watch a video of the Ferrari Challenge Stradale going against the Ford GT around a road course and you might quiestion the handling of the Ferrari, but it's certainly not because the Ferrari doesn't handle well.

 

i thinks its more of a Torque issure then a HP issue. I mean the HP is just dandy, for a 3000 pound car. But the 135 Tq i belive? I just weenie. Kia RIo stuff ( lol just exageration) Still good for a 3000 Pound car but, for a sports car it should be higher if im correct. Still handles good, but cant compete with the STI's and EVo's AWD superb handling.

About handling how dose the RX8 and G35 Coupe, compare and stand up on the handling charts? Dont they both handle the same?

 

Close to the same, the RX-8 has an edge and is certainly more tossable. Back when C&D did their test the G35c had a faster lap time around the track, but that is more due to the HP than the handling.

 

I think it's because a certain somebody likes to bring up the topic of their WRX quite often...