My RX8 is 1month and 1100 miles old now so I decided to take the car out to the tracks to see how fast these car really is. I went with my friend who is a veteran at the tracks and I let him race the car for me. The place was pretty busy so we only got in 3 runs.

1st run 2ND RUN 3RD RUN

R/T......469 642 627
60.......2.329 2.298 2.278
330.....6.420 6.331 6.427
1/8......9.744 9.571 9.765
MPH.....74.07 75.91 74.28
1000....12.606 12.377 12.617
1/4.......14.927 14.742 14.957
MPH.....98.09 96.13 98.01


2ND Run was the best. My friends 2002 mustang gt had two runs 1/4 14.27 and 14.33

 

Thanks for posting the info.

Could check to see if the numbers for your second run are correct. The RX-8 was almost quarter second faster than the other runs but had the lowest trap speed. Is there a typo somewhere?

-Mr. Wigggles

 

Could be a slightly less-tirespinning launch allowed a better initial hookup, decreasing ET AND trap speed?

(Look at supra's: generally "slow" times, but high trap speeds!)

 

I also think there may be no typo as well. A 96 mpn trap speed is in line with a 14.7s pass. With a trap speed of 98 mph, you should be running the 1/4 in the low 14s (even high 13's).

On a side note, there is a guy who wrote a review of the RX-8 on Edmunds.com who claims that he took it out to the track and ran a 14.2s 1/4 mile. Don't know the validity of his claim.

 

Nice runs, it's nice to see someone take it out and break into the 14s other than a magazine! Just get those 60' down a touch and you'll be in the mid 14s :D

There's nothing wrong with those numbers, it all depends on the car and the particular launch. An AWD car can run mid 13s with a 95-97 MPH trap, so it really just depends on how well you hook up on the launch.

Ike

 

I use to go to the track frequently but I've never known the whole story behind the numbers. I get the reaction time but what does the 60ft time tell about the car? the 1/8 time and speed? and the difference between 1/4 mile runs like same time different trap speeds or same speed but different ET's?? Somebody care to enlighten my racing knowledge?

 

RTs do nothing for the overall time, it's there to test yourself or for bracket racing.

The 60' is probably the second most important number when just trying to get better times, often shaving .1 off of your 60' will result in .2 lower at the end of the run. On an AWD car a good 60' is between 1.6 and 1.8, anything below 2.0 in a non AWD car (expecially on street tires) is pretty damn good, anything higher than 2.1 and you need some work on your launch.

1/8th mile doesn't mean a whole lot unless you are at an 1/8th mile track :p

The different traps and different times come down to the launch and how well your car pulls in higher revs and the higher MPH range. Another large factor is how well you shift, shift slowy or bog the car a bit and you're wasting precious time.

Hope that helps,
Ike

 

Vars, what RPMs were you launching at?

 

Pretty decent 60 foot times for street tires and especially if your an inexperienced drag racer. With some slicks or drag radials, intake and exhaust we should be seeing some high 13's I think. A lot of the WRX's I see at the track have trouble even breaking into the 14's, and I have seen several evos running in the low 14's. Driver skill has a lot to do with it.

 

The 2nd run didn't have the best 60' either, the 3rd did, but something between 60' and 330' (bad 1-2?) lost it almost .15...

 

Yep, if you can't launch an AWD turbo car you're going to bog bad and have very unimpressive times. Also altitude, heat, humidity are going to effect an AWD turbo car more than it will the RX-8.

Ike

 

He probably didn't grab second fast enough or wasn't as smooth.

 

i know this is off topic but...does anyone know the figures after an aftermarket muffler? anyone done it yet??

 

MR WIGGLES...EVEN THOUGH A SPEED IS LOWER..IT JUST DID NOT HAVE ENUF TIME TO GET HIGH ....I USED TO BE BOGGLED MY THE SAME DELIEMA....BUT IF U PRETEND U WERE DRIVID.......U WUD REALIZE UR FAULT

 

" MR WIGGLES...EVEN THOUGH A SPEED IS LOWER..IT JUST DID NOT HAVE ENUF TIME TO GET HIGH ....I USED TO BE BOGGLED MY THE SAME DELIEMA....BUT IF U PRETEND U WERE DRIVID.......U WUD REALIZE UR FAULT "

Umm, those words kinda look like english, but I didn't understand a darn thing.

heh. I hope it was a joke.

 

From a muffler you're going to get almost no gains, it's not until you remove cats and upgrade mid pipes, downpipes, and uppipes that you will see noticable gains.

Ike

 

An RX-8 that made 179RWHP on a dyno jet made I think 196 or so with the air box removed and exhaust unbolted. I think we will see maybe 10-15RWHP gains with intake and full exhaust, maybe more.

 

A reflashed ECU might be our biggest bet yet if that's what's keeping our RX-8's 20+ HP short of what's claimed. I know, another thread, but I can't help to think there is alot of NA horsepower just bottled up waiting for a good tuner (or even Mazda) to uncork.

 

Glad to see someone is getting close to magazine times:D !
Im beginning to dispel some of the HP mumbo-jumbonto an early production problem Hopefully my car being built now will have the issue addressed as well

 

hey guys,just to let you know ill have some track times to post sunday eve.were having are last set of street performance/import races at are local dragstrip as long as it doesnt rain ill have about 1300 miles and one oil change by then. i normally drag in mod et with my 9sec 73 camaro.if i can learn the launch with .600 or better reac time i think i can get very close to mag times(camaro is auto with trans brake).we have almost ideal cond/track,700 ft above sealevel,cool dense alaska air and heated track to keep it a consistant temp sense are days and eves vary so much in the summer (90%days,45 to 50% in the eve)

 

Good numbers! Glad to see someone actually go to the track. I was going to start a 1/4 mile thread, no G-techs, no stop watches, only scanned time slips.

I'm not an expert, but I've made over 100 passes on certified tracks.
All of the following depends upon driver skill of course.

-The 60' time is the most important factor in getting a good ET. Adjust your technique to get this number down. I haven't seen the 2 to 1 ratio (.1 off the 60' gives .2 on the ET), I've seen more of a 1 to 1 ratio.

-Trap speed is generally an indication of horsepower. Low ET runs sometimes do sometimes yield slightly lower MPH numbers. Wheelspin doesn't lower the trap speed.

-Shifting speed does matter. For me, speed shifting vs non-speed shifting gives .2 on average.

-The correlation between ET and MPH is generally a function of traction/suspension. A car set up for drag racing (suspension, slicks, etc) might be able to run a 13.2 at 100mph. Yet, I've seen turbo front wheel drive cars run 15's at the same speed.