Fëakhelek

That is freakin' hillarious! :D :D

jeremy

i never said it had enough power for me. i had a wrx and still wished it had a bit more grunt and the turbo would kick in earlier. all i'm saying is that they may fix it for you if the masses start shouting low 0-60 times, and typically that is how they will fix it. i don't think the torque fairy is going to swoop down and grace the wankel with torque sans forced induction. as for the reliability of the 3rd gen, it does eat money but can be very reliable if you are smart in tuning and maintenance. turbo 2nd gens can pop just as easy. 2 rules: no overheating/quick temp changes and no detonation. people mod 3rd gens w/o knowing their stuff or taking a risk and it bites them. i agree with wanting a better 0-60, but they are close enough to production now that you will probably get screwed on gearing to better it. since i take it from your posts that you autox, then you should be more worried about gearing and staying in the powerband. moreover, a wide enough powerband to mainly stay in 2nd.

dong35miata: vast difference there in autoxing and door to door racing. hold the ambulance.

DonG35Miata

jeremy said: I know... I was proposing a track series... I can just see these RX-8s with four people in them screaming around the track... HOPEFULLY screaming around the track. We don't know how well it is going to perform just yet!

jeremy also said:The torque fairy LOL

I think the torque fairy would be welcome in any enthusiast's garage. What do we do, put replaced parts under our cars when they are garaged at night?

nk_Rx8

I think you gotta somehow get the Renesis under your pillow and then maybe she'll come.

nk_Rx8

Sorry, I thought you were saying that we should just leave it to aftermarket mods if we wanted power. I want my next car to not have to be modded. I've been there, done that and I don't want to do it anymore. That's also why I'm still hoping for a Mazdaspeed version because I want a factory modded/enhanced version of a car next.

And I still really love the 3rd gen RX, but after first hand experience (especially after hearing all the stories) with one blowing seals I am really wary of them. My friend's was basically stock too, except for a bigger intercooler from M2 and an intake. The intercooler should have helped, but maybe the intake allowed it to run leaner. We were actually reallly surprised that the engine went, but I guess road racing is really, really hard on the cars. He probably should have ordered a bigger radiator too. I would love it if they kept the 3rd gen body style for the next RX7 and the engine had the NA rotary reliability. I would be first in line with a deposit.

FritzMan

Don't be surprised they offer a "crate" motor package to slip into the FD chassis.

I went through 2 motors on my FD, and personally replaced the last one. Intercooler and air filter can raise boost pressures and/or a leaning problem creating a potential issue. Also, there's the restrictive exhaust, and in my case a clogged pre-cat which cause the demise of the first block - hence a warranty replacement. The second was after a few years of lapping, 12.8 1/4 mile times, and too much living at 15psi (this was before the really extension progammable ECUs were out - I used an Apexi AFC). I guess both blow-up could be attributed to heat. I'm confident a NA rotary will survive much longer. Hence, should I get this car, it will definitely stay normally aspirated, and the exhaust will be cleaned up a much as legally possible (read: header and cat-back).

SmokingClutch

"And sometimes driving pleasure involves power and speed. A sub 6sec 0-60 is all that was expected. Some of us may even want to roadrace/autocross it occasionally too."

I plan on taking mine to the track as well. I currently take my FC RX-7 (nonturbo, for insurance purposes, I'm only 21) but I'm tired of hearing how "what's the point, I'll just buy an Altima?" when we all know that the RX-8 will more than likely stomp all over a car like that on a track despite having "only" ten more horsepower.

And as far as I've seen, the estimates have been putting the car at around the 6 second mark 0-60 all along. It's only been the wishful thinking of us and some automotive journalists that has said otherwise. We all knew this car was going to be slower in a straight line than a 350Z.

"None now and maybe none later seeing as how the car may actually weigh 3000+lbs."

This may be the case, unfortunately just like instrumented tests that will tell just how fast the car is, we're going to have to wait to find out.

It'll vary by equipment level to be sure, likely by more than 150 lbs.

"Some of us aren't inexperienced and would like it to handle as well. And I actually don't doubt that it will. It's the power that's more in question."

As I've said, I drive an RX-7, so I'm familiar with its handling and have no fears about it. However, Mazda wants to reach a larger audience with this car than that of the RX-7 so I'd say it's good to go for a more balanced approach. The current buzz is that oversteer is still easily provoked, but only when you want it. As for the responses being too slow, the wheelbase is only about 2" longer than that of the Z so I'm not worried about that.

"It's not a question of manhood. It's what some of us expected from a car that is marketed as a $30k 'sportscar'. Like someone said in an earlier post, I would also just get a Miata if I wanted a car that was very fun and didn't care about power. You should get the lower performance engine. The lower one should be good enough for you. Car will handle the same. Just as fun for you. If they come out with a Mazdaspeed version or enhance the engine in a year or two or ten years from now, don't get it because you don't need it. That's fine. But some of us will."

I couldn't possibly order the lower powered model - it's only available with the automatic. Regardless, I am not looking forward to tests of the automatic car because I will be very surprised if they aren't filled with criticism.

Believe me, I'm licking my chops over the prospect of the Mazdaspeed model, but once again my gripe is with the people that think it's horrid that it won't be all that much faster in a straight line than an Altima - I'd say the problem isn't that this car is too slow but that in the last 2 years family sedans have gotten so fast.

"Feakhelek's post sums it up perfectly as to why many have asked for more power. For some it may not be an issue, but there is nothing wrong with wanting more, especially since many of us were hoping that this new resurrection of the rotary would top the 3rd gen RX7 in every way (both handling and power)."

It was clear from the day that the first RX-8 concept hit with a 250 hp engine that this wasn't to be. Mazda has said time and time again that this isn't a successor to the RX-7 and was never meant to be as such. Even in raw dollars the RX-8 is cheaper than the FD ever was - I don't think it was possible to get the FD in the US for less than $30,000, and by 1995 it was pushing $40,000. Factor in inflation since then and the RX-8 isn't much more expensive than the naturally aspirated FC RX-7 ($17,000 for a 1988 RX-7 GTU)

I look at 2003 for Mazda being like 1986. Their flagship in 1986 only had 146 hp - there was a higher performance version to come. It will be similar with the RX-8, unless people stay away in droves, in which case we will never see a new RX-7 or a 1.5L Renesis.

Look for a Mazdaspeed 8 or a new RX-7 to carry on the tradition of being faster.

That said, ten years of chassis development is showing through in those movies of the RX-8 being all over the FD in the corners.

"I also wanted to say that that was the knock on the NSX also. It really is marvel of technology and handles like a dream. But for the cost, compared to competition, people said that it is lacking in power. And it is exactly what a couple acquaintances (sp?) who actually do own cars in the price range and above have said and their money has gone elsewhere."

Absolutely, I have the same problem with the NSX - I'd take an FD over an NSX every time. However we're not talking about an $80,000 car getting blown into the weeds by a $35,000 car, we're talking about a $27,000 car that only has one competitor in its price range in overall performance, and that competitor only seats half as many people. The RX-8 will look very good indeed stacked up against cars like the Lexus IS300 and BMW 3-series in both price and performance.

zoom44

i have never really thought about comparing the z with the rx-8. the reason people do in my opinion is because the last z and rx car were compared. i have however always thought of the 3 series as a good camparison. i think the 8 even has a liitle more leg room in the back than the 2 door 3 series. at least as much. and as far as overall performance i think its preeety darn close and for under 30,000 i'll take it.

psukhu

I wanted something like a 5 speed IS300, that's why I am going with the RX-8.

nk_Rx8

Smoking,

I do agree with you about the "just get an Altima" thing. That's kinda taking it too far. Even if the RX8 is not what I am hoping for in my ultimate 'sports' car, I would still love for it to be my other 'practical' car.
I think it is getting criticsm from those of us who really thought that this next rotary release was going to be better than the last in everyway. But the last rotary was the RX7 and it really isn't the same 'class' of car to be compared to. The RX7 was a true sports car, and the RX8 really seems like a sports coupe. So marketing as a sports car is bound to get criticsim if it isn't up to snuff of the sports car crowd. And in the same respect, it probably would have gotten criticism from the 4 seater crowd if they marketed against the 4 seater cars. It would have been too harsh, or the seats weren't big enough, or suicide doors not as practical, etc. So sometimes when you are a hybrid of sorts and walk on both sides of the fence, it's very hard to meet the expectations of everyone on either side.
I'm still excited to see if the car just drives like a dream and wins me over. This is what happened to a lot of current S2000 owners who thought that it lacked torque.

nk_Rx8

I admit that I'm guilty of that comparison. But I'm changing my view of what the car really is as I learn more. But was a natural assumption though since newer cars should get better, and Mazda has always said that it was a rotary 'sports car'. Which naturally leads to images of the RX7, and that this new car must be better in every way since the RX7 first came in '93 and this is the newest car with the latest technology - so it must be better! Mazda marketing along with the rotary heritage thrown in there worked so well that some of us expected a whole lot. In fact, probably much more than what the car was intended.

jeremy

there was his problem. colder air is denser air. so he removed an inlet restriction and dropped temps on the intake charge. reaming on it at the track, it could have boost spiked also. they say 2 mod rule. intake/exhaust, then chip. but sometimes you need to go ahead an chip it. na is far more lenient on detonation but they also have never been sold with this high of compression. so who knows, some people might go cheap and dump too low an octane in and go reaming on it, detonate and pop a seal. i'm sure mazda has its code written to retard ignition etc when it reckognizes a lower octane like most every other company. time will tell as its all speculation now.