I just test drove a 2005 RX8 and am IN LOVE except for the road noise. I've not seen any other complaints, and wonder if maybe it was just the particular car I was driving. No, I didn't check to see if it had factory tires (dumb oversight) and I'm now 65 miles away from the dealership. I've owned 2 generation 1 RX7's and am excited to order up my new red 8, but the noise has me hesitating. Anyone else experiencing this? Also - what are your experiences with working a deal? Are dealers usually willing to come down in price at all or are they holding a hard top line?

 

The Bridgestones are quite loud on rougher surfaces but smoother blacktop isn't bad. I've heard the Dunlops are quieter, but I've not driven them.
Most dealers have a handful of '04s to move, so I'm not sure what you'd get off an '05 yet.

 

Just judging from some magazines I've read the RX-8 is a little loud, louder than the Mustang Cobra and G35 and multitudes of other cars at 70mph cruising, and louder than the G35 at WOT. The rotary itself is louder than a lot of other cars but quiter than most other high reving cars. Just out of curiosity what are you driving now. IMO in order to have a good sportscar it's going to be somewhat loud. I think it's really tough to have good road feel without loudness, and driving a sportscar should appeal to your aural senses as much as any other sense. In short a sportscar that has a cabin as quite as say a luxury sedan just wouldn't feel like a sportscar.

 

Ike - I had a '79 RX7 for 13 years and a '85 RX7 for 8. The RX8 was fine on some of the roads on my one-hour test drive, but LOUD on a couple of the highways. The engine noise was fine - just what I expected. I'm pretty sure it had Potenzas on it, but didn't pay too much attention. (I should have, huh?)

 

I have the dunlops and think the road noise isn't bad. And down here in FL, we have some bad roads. Compared to my dad's porsche (in washington) and my buddy's 350z (also down here), I don't have any road noise.

 

jbaseball, the Dunlops are pretty loud, if you are specifically concerned with road noise. If I remember correctly, the TireRack surveys had the 040's pretty low on all counts except for handling. Falken claims to have a set of "silent" high performance tires. Personally I haven't experienced them, but when it comes time to replace the 040's I plan to find a Falken dealer willing to do a try and buy. You might want to cruise over to the tires section of this forum and see what others are doing.

 

I have driven my friends G35 and at 75 MPH it was the same as my 8. The only thing that was really different was the sound of the V6. It does sound noisier

 

Speaking of noise, I wish the engine was louder. Damn Mazda, they cheated me of my decibels. It's like I have 10 chickens and only 8 of them are squawking.

 

AMEN!

LOL

When I test drove the 8....so long ago...;0(....it was smooth and felt like an electric car or something...cause I heard very little...

 

Thank you all for the feedback! I'm going back to drive a different one on Friday - I'll be a little more observant this time.

 

The RX-8 in the tests I've read where dBA was tested had the Potenzas. C&D for instance recorded 73 for the RX-8, 72 for the Cobra, 71 for the G35. Could the average human even decide which one is louder acurately, my guess would be that some could but it wouldn't be all that different. Maybe go drive a G35 for kicks just to see the difference. I can almost certainly say that my WRX would be louder than all 3, it bother me sometimes on long boring highway trips, but the sounds I hear when it really matters more than make up for it.

Jbase, judging from your past cars I'd say it's almost all in the tires. Unless for some reason your RX-7s had low profile performance tires on larger wheels.

 

An aftermarket exhaust will sort you out . And solve jbaseball's problem as well....

 

Exactly.

 

I'm surprised no one used the old "crank up the stereo" line yet :D.

 

I notice it also pretty noisy when going over bumps. I think it's got to do with below-par wheel-well noise insulation.

 

Mine's pretty noisy on all surfaces.

There's always this annoying, YEEEE-HAAAHHHH! sound coming from the cabin. :p

Sometimes the noise starts before I even get in the car. Unlocking the driver's door with the fob can set it off from 30 feet away. It's very strange....

 

My 8 is definitely louder than the average car. I have a Ford Fuckus right now while my car is at the dealer. The Fuckus is much quiter. Of course, the 8 is faster, handles better, looks way better, and is overall a much more fun car to drive.

Btw - The 8 has nothing on my old Integra when it comes to cabin noise. That thing was LOUD!

 

Next summer I should be adding my Yokohoma AVSs and I'll let you know if it quiets down.

 

When I put my Pirelli Snow tires on my road noise dropped condiderably from the Bridgestones it comes with. Tge engine noise is another thing. Loud but I love that sound.

 

The wheel wells are covered in carpet outside to help keep the road noise down. I get it on rough cemet road surfaces and it goes away on smooth tar roads. I had an 04 Pontiac Grand Am that also had really loud road noise when it was rolling along. Since this is a sports car I over look it and its just not an issue with me.