cas2themoe

Well as most of us know the RX8 has a fabulous time on Top Gears Track with a Hot Lap time of 1.31.8 In knowing that, how the hell does a car like the RX8 manage to stay up with some of these cars on that track? Cars like 911 Turbo, M3, 350Z, Audi S4, Acura NSX and then actually have a better Hot Lap Time than a Lotus Esprit V8, Audi TT(250HP), SL 55 AMG and so on. Then to add on to it, some of these cars that have around the same time or that actually have worse lap times than the RX8 actually have AWD or are turbocharged. My question is HOW?......................and people actually talk about this car not having enough power. Doesn’t really add up if you really look at it. You just need drivers that actually know how to drive the RX8 the RIGHT WAY!


I'm going to post a chart down below that shows some of the cars that have times around the RX8. I'm just amused at the people that actually say this car is slow. The times speak for themselves!

murix

The 8 is easy to make go fast. With more power it would be faster. I would prefer that. Also consider all these cars were tested in different conditions on different days. Some in the wet and some in the dry. Not really a valid scientific set of results to compare the performance of these vehicles on. More of a general guidline of what they can do and to know they all perform in the same class.

Melkor

I've always asked myself the same question. Most of my friends say that its a bunch of crap and Mazda must have paid Top Gear a lot of money to fudge the results to make the 8 look good. I don't know what I think. I do find it odd that 3 cars got the same exact lap time.

cas2themoe

Just doesnt make any sense to me to why they would test the cars in different weather conditions...................

They say that because they can't believe it and have no other choice but to head into that direction with their thinking.

sjt

the 8 is fast on THAT particular track but on other tracks it has been known to fall behind... (Tsukuba comes straight to mind) but it's all dependent on the type of track.

Put the 8 on the high speed long straights of Fuji Speedway & it'll look like a fish outta water. On the street though, how does all this matter?

The 8 rules, end of story for me!

futureownr4sure

Well, the rx-8 is very easy to drive fast, it takes corners like no other and that track doesn't has too many straight lines, so it proves that the rx-8 has indeed some superb handling.

800Degrees

It's light, extremely well balanced - front of engine is BEHIND the front axle, huge brakes... it's not "fast" or "quick" but it doesn't have to slow down as much as other cars. This is huge.

I do think the track has a lot to do with it. That track seems to suit the 8. I once beat a 427 Shelby Cobra (replica) in an autocross event. I was driving a slightly (suspension, wheels, intake) Integra GSR... The track was tight, the Cobra was so overpowered for the track. On another track, he'd have killed me.

NortonRX8

It is all in how you drive the 8. When you keep your rpm range up the 8 rips up the track.
Anyone who rides motorcycles can tell you that it is all about torque range. The 8 is bad as at high rpm's.

hotpot

And what's even more surprising, the time was achieved on a UK specs RX-8 which only develops 228 bhp.

TRZ750

NortonRX8 I like your comment. Most motorcycles that are fast (not Harleys) have little low end and you need to shift them. Also any real race car. Like try a F1 car at real low speeds. The RX8 has plenty of power to get most in trouble. It is not a brute drag racer, but a high bread.

cas2themoe

So basically you guys are saying, that the 8 was that fast on that particular track because of all the turns? Does anyone have a map of this track so I can take a look? Oh in reference to the other cars, I guess their just good for tracks that have a lot of straight? Seriously most of those cars I would consider sports car and I'm pretty sure their handling was a factor in their design. Plus some of these cars have huge HP and Torque difference. Most are sports cars and shouldn't slow down that much on a turn. We're talking about 911 Turbo's, Audi S4's, and STi's. Which I think all have AWD and should do fairly well. Plus AWD I think would help them in the corners on a track like that.

czr

iTrader: (3)

Cas take a look, it shows the track in video at the end:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.wray/topgear.wmv

Ellar

I'm surprised a TT weighs 3472lbs.

cas2themoe

Yeah so was I when I looked at it. I got all the specs from MSN http://autos.msn.com/default.aspx?src=autolink

Ike

Have you ever been to England??? It rains all the time, some of those times where it wasn't raining the track was wet. Then you factor in different temperatures and driver mistakes and it's not the best comparison. They even state on Topgear that a wet track adds about 4 seconds to a lap. Also, as far as I know the first lap without a spin or a major mistake is used, they don't make several laps and take the best one. There is also a new Stig as of last year so the more recent times are with different drivers. It is a fun comparison, and a comparison I've made before as well, but there are just so many factors involved. There is also a new Stig as of last year so the more recent times are with different drivers.

All that being said it is an impressive time, but I don't think in a head to head competition given equal drivers that the RX-8 is matching an M3 around a track. Though I have no doubt that the RX-8 can match cars with more HP around a track, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it's slow around a track.

You also talk about how much AWD would help but that track is setup to punish understeer moreso than many tracks and most AWD cars are going to have a certain degree of understeer. I haven't seen the 911 Turbo video but I have a sneaking suspicion that was done in the wet and I know for a fact that the NSX time was done in the wet. An MR car in the wet on that track would be quite the handful. So if you listen to the Stig you can knock 4 seconds off at least one of those times.

Ninja

If you read the comparison reviews, you'll see that while many of these cars are faster in the straits, the 8 takes the turns faster than many...

In my case, it's plenty fast and I really appreciate the handling: for now it WAY outclasses my abilities!

cas2themoe

IKE even if I don’t like your feedback some of the times, you always seem to leave something for me to think about. In which I respect you and your knowledge of cars! But you have to understand where I coming from as well, I'm thinking common sense wise here. To answer your question no I have never been to England but I do know if I'm posting power laps times, I'm taking every cars time in the same weather condition. It's only fair! Plus about the laps, if I remember correctly, they have or had ONE driver which makes the lap times. Well, at least skill wise it makes the times fair. The guy practices with each car a bit before he actually goes for the power lap. Oh yes I think it was in the Carrera GT video which he stated that. And of course that would only be fair for him to practice in each car before he went at it.

Oh yeah and I just watched the RX8 video again and I saw a little rain on the track at one point and they only have the 228HP version RX8 over there.

Oh I can't wait to come back in read some more later.................. :D

P.S. By the way IKE the response in this thread was one that I liked.

murix

Having lived in the UK (just moved back a year ago) I can tell you there is no time to wait for a good day to test. When they decide to test a car they test it as is. Weather never stops them. In fact, in general, they always do both a wet and dry test in mags to compare. Wet weather performance is very important.

As for hp, that is irrelevant. This is a track that favours light rwd cars. The M3 weighs 3400 lbs. The weight on every other car is much heavier than the RX8 as well. What they give up in weight they make up for in hp.

This is just a magazine review and subjective at that. Not scientific and only meant for entertainment. It does tell you the RX8 is competitive, but it does not tell you on any given day who would win.

cas2themoe

Well murix, I guess you could say that about any car and any specs at any track then.

Ike

It's a different driver now than it was last year, still called the Stig but a different guy. The driver may practice a bit but they've never really stated that, though in the Carrera GT video they allude to he was practicing but moreso he was spinning out. Take a look at the C6 video or a number of others and you can see obvious mistakes on laps that they take the time from, they don't keep running til they have a totally clean lap, they seem to take the one where there were no huge mistakes such as a spin. Even if he does practice for a while it seems pretty clear to me that they don't actually try to get the most out of each car by making several laps and taking the best or the average. Also, the euro RX-8 may be rated lower than the US version but aren't they dynoing virtually the same as the US version.

If you want probably a more fair comparison of track times and an damn interesting article, check this out.

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/show...o&pagenumber=1

cas2themoe

Wouldnt call that fair, due to the different drivers. I'm all about one driver testing all these cars. More people actually talk good about the handling, just found this after looking at the site for 5 mins.http://roadandtrack.com/article.asp?...ber=3&preview=

and another http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=7581

Ellar

Is it me, or is Ike freakishly up on the testing practices at Top Gear for a guy from Milwaukee? lol

cas2themoe

Can anyone show me a map of that track and any video's from Top Gear where they did the Hot Lap on a wet track?

Ike

I can't find any of the old videos available on the net, I have them on my old comp though...
For proof that I'm not just making stuff up take a look at the Exige video where it's on a fairly wet track, then notice the (w) next to other cars times. As for a map I'm not sure where you can find one.




http://www.sleepy-fish.com/sleepy/To...ge_Stig_hi.wmv

cas2themoe

I don't know if you all know about this site but I found this............ http://www.sleepy-fish.com/other_veh.htm alot of great video clips on there!