cleoent

I came from a 540, 320+ pounds of torque, i do miss the neck snapping fun, but that's it. The rx8 is so superbly balanced and so much more fun to drive.

Freeway mileage is going to be a lot worse then your vette, make sure you're cool with that.

longfury

I miss the power on every corner exit. Its almost depressing. I came from a 247lbs\ft of torque(@ 3500 RPM) and 233 hp at the wheels WRX 2.0L. Yes it was modified. I had less than $1500 in engine mods. If I had to do it over again I would buy a WRX. The handling is great on the RX8 but the fun stops when you goto exit the corner IMO. My opinions might be different if I took the car to the road courses or auto-x. But as my daily driver and my sometime mountian pass car, It does not fit my needs.

camaro194

Where did you gain this valuable piece of information?

griffe

That's when you down shift and get outa Dodge. Look, the 8, the vette, the GTI, A3, 350Z or whatever....these cars are different. They try to accomplish the same thing which is to get you from point A to B, but it's how they do it. I think I've mentioned before....before I got my 8, I drove 350Z's, G35 Coupes, Audi S4's, 3 series bmw's, but I settled on the 8 because of it's uniqueness and it's overall balance. The Z car was a torque monster, but it was unrefined and bulky. The G35 Coupe, although it had the same engine as the Z felt sluggish (with 6sp). The Audi was too expensive, I can go on and on and I won't bore you with this thread. But the reason that we have all bought our 8's is because there is something about it that we liked and still like. Yeah some of us wish that there was more torque, but we're keeping the car anyway despite that, right? The lack of torque is made up by it's easy ability to rev. Yeah gas mileage could be better, but that's a trade off also with it's ability to straighten out a corner or how you can shift the manual tranny with your fingertips.

Mazda builds the RX series of cars that give the driver a well balanced driver oriented experience. Except for the FD, Mazda Wankle engines for their production cars have never been torque kings, and I doubt if they ever will be. That's not what they are all about. They learned from the FD, and thank goodness. Sometimes when driving down the highway, I will turn the radio off and listen to that rotary whine....it's so nice, but ya'll know what I mean. I've only had mine for 3 months, and the highest compliment that I've gotten so far was when a young man about 20 something saw me in the parking lot of a casino and he approached me and said, "Man those RX8' s are nice cars, I wish I would have gotten one instead of this Nissan." He was driving a Brickyard 350Z.

Love your 8 because the person who owns one is letting the world know that sometimes it's good to think outside of the box.

Japan8

I've got car shopping approaching late this year, so I've been doing my thinking too.

The RX-8 is pretty sexy and I love the interior. I've loved the RX-7 since 1st gen. The sound of the RX-8 with a cat-back is exotic awesome. Uniqueness isn't a factor though.... it only matters to me in that no one else in my family or friends have one. Other than that... what do I care? Problems... gas mileage is abysmal and gas prices aren't getting any cheaper. This becomes more of a problem with the lack of low end torque... reving to 9k uses up more gas. Modability is low. Like with motorcycles... will it's power be enough to keep you happy in the long term? If you live in somplace like Florida... there are no twisties. So none of that "you can take them in the corners" or "the balance in the twisties..." makes any difference... there isn't anywhere to enjoy that. Oh and I couldn't get a sunroof because mazda was too stupid in designing the car so that it has a lack of headroom. Even JDM magazines complained about it... Japanese people complained about the lack of headroom!

The GTI...I've always liked them actually and would kill for a MkV R32. The interior of the MkV is nice and the seats are great... even better in the R32. It's not sexy like the RX-8, but I like it's lines none the less. The lower reliability of German cars is a little worrisome and I don't really care for FWD at all. But hey... if you work a good deal you could get a 6spd with package 2 (sunroof and leather) for $24,000. An RX-8 with just the sports package will be hard to get at the price if it's a 2006 (at this time of year anyway) and you still have no sunroof and leather. There's plenty of money left in the difference between a GT package RX-8 and a Package 2 GTI for mods. The GTI has great modability as we all know and the MkV is supposed to be a better handler than recent models (keep in mind that the USDM model has different springs for a higher ride height than the European model... so new springs will help a lot). The GTI also gets better gas mileage than the RX-8.

Ultimately it all comes down to which car feels right for you. Test drive them well and go with what you like.

RX26b

That's funny, because the only noise I hear outta my 8 is the exhaust Seriously, no piston car is this whisper-quiet and smooth.

It's just a damn shame about the fuel economy, especially in this day. Sorry, just had to throw that in with the last pump visit being $42, and destined very soon for half a c-note.

Transam kid 01

iTrader: (1)

I drive a heavily modified 98 trans am before this (my brothers) and it is a HUUUUGE difference. I do miss it a lot. However, it is nice to have 9000 RPMs and high end power. It is a totally different car and i like it. (not to mention the interior and seats are so much better)

Wurmfist

I went from a 98 Jeep Cherokee to the RX-8...lol. The 8 is my first sports car. If I want torque and 1/4 mile times I dive my bike. If I want to challenge my skill and handling and shifting abilities, I drive my 8. Each car/bike/whatever serves a different purpose. The 8 is for fun driving. Not slamming a lot of torque to the ground and going 200mph. I suspect the person that dosen't like how it exits the corners was used to driving a more torqy car. Think of the 8 as having a motorcycle engine that needs high revs and you will bullet out of those corners.

meaj82

I agree about being one with the car. I have an 82 chevy shortbed PU w/ a heavily modified 454 redlines about 6500rpm and 4.10 in the back(100 shot of nos) . Thats my torque monster so when I bought my 8 it was different. This car is in its own class. When Im driving i feel so connected to the car yeah you got rev it up pretty high before it starts moving but being able to take sharp turns without phasing the car is what makes me smile. Of course the smoothess of that rotoray is beautiful and any anways if i get my *** kicked in it I just go pick up my truck to lift my testosterone filled ego lol

EZ99B5

Thanks for all the honest, non-flaming opinons. Took a GTI for a spin last night and leaning that way now. I'd like to spend <$27k out the door and the cars price out as follows:

RX8 base MSRP w/ destination $26,995

GTI pkg 2 (leather sport seats w/ power lumbar, sunroof, dual-zone climate control, HIDs, Sat radio) MSRP w/ destination $25,780 (throw in a chip and new springs and I'm probably looking at another $1,300)

While the RX8 definitely has the edge in on-track peformance (as the Top Gear video shows - 1:31 against the GTI 1:33) with its transmission, brakes, handling, LSD, suspension, etc. I think I'd enjoy the GTI more under normal operating condiditons. I'll put about 15,000 miles a year on the car, of which probably 600 will be on the track - so with the creature comforts, better gas mileage, etc. it really seems to make more sense. I'm also 6'5", and while I "fit" in the RX8, with a helmet on I'd have to lean the seat back a bit more than I'd like to while on the track. With the chip and the springs with the extra savings on the price of the car, I'd think the cars might be closer to even during my HPDEs.

Ironically for the earlier poster, I do live in FL with generally heavy traffic on straight roads, so I'd really need to get the RX8 out on the track where it belongs to fully get out of it what I'd want. Oh, and I'd definitely hop in an MKV R32, if only it was coming in 4-door trim instead of 2.

Thanks again for all the feedback. The RX8 is certainly a great car and if I could afford a track car it would be at the top of my list. Not 100% decided on the VW, so I'll be around for a while...

cleoent

FYI you could pick up a fully loaded brand new 05 leftover with leather and all the toys for about what you'd pay for the GTI. Unless you're hung up on getting an 06, that would be a better buy. The GTI is cool, but you'll enjoy the rx8 a lot more on a track and on top of that you wont damage your kidney's when you drive on the street, like you would with stiffer suspension in the GTI.

longfury

You are right. I had a 2004 WRX. It had been modified and tuned. I had 247lb/ft of torque at 3500RPM till 6000RPM. It pulled hard. This was from a 2Litre WRX with the stock turbo. It was a really fun car. If a large dog had not been in the middle of a highway I would still have that car. I never intended to replace that car.

The RX8 is a great car. But its quirks make it a car for a niche market. Its not a car for everyone. Its not the car for me.

EZ99B5

The main problem with the leather and toys in the RX8 is that, unless I misunderstand, the only way to get leather is in a package that also includes the sunroof. At 6'5" my head hit the roof in a car with the sunroof, and that's before putting on a helmet.

cleoent

You are right, i forgot you were so tall, the GTI makes a lot more sense. I'm 5'6 on a good day, so that's not a real problem for me!

Japan8

I'd say it all depends on what kind of a suspension setup you're going for. Springs and shocks, coilovers, H&R cup series... Stock for stock... I've never driven the GTI nor the Civic Si, but the reviews all say that the GTI has a better ride... which partly gives the Si a little advantage on the track. Besides... most people tracking the RX-8 seem to mod the suspension too... particularly seem to always comment about reducing the RX-8's bodyroll. Seems more like 6 of one, half-dozen of another to me...

I'm only 6', but the sunroof in the RX-8 is NG for me. I've test driven one with the GT package (thus sunroof), but it's close and I did hit my head when in the passenger's seat over bumps.

A leftover 2005 with sport package and adding aftermarket leather is an option though. The price will roll in close to that of the GTI, but you give up sunroof, satellite radio (no biggie for me), headlight washers and likely heated seats too.

Just to make your decision a little harder.

Wurmfist

Very true, and I can respect that line of thought. For me, if I had to drive my RX-8 as a daily driver, I probably wouldn't own one either.