Razz1

The R3 still is slower in the 1/4 and takes longer to stop.

Whopee!

PotatoSoup

Neat vids.

But I wonder if the 09 Touring would out-accelerate and out-brake the R3 due to the difference in wheel/tire combos?

The R3's wheels are supposedly lighter than the 18s found on the other models, but if those 19-inch tires are heavier than the 18-inch tires, then there may be no difference or perhaps a slight overall advantage to the Touring with its 18s.

ASH8

How can an R3 take longer to stop?, when there has been no change in the braking system over series 1.

The R3 is actually faster than series one over a short course (because of the different final drive)

ASH8

what one or two hundreths of a second?

PotatoSoup

Well in the December 08 issue of Car and Driver, they claim that the R3 weighs exactly the same as the Grand Touring model they tested in '07.

Few tenths don't matter to me in terms of acceleration, I'm just interested in overall weight.

And I'd be willing to bet that the current Sport and Touring models don't weigh any more than the R3 does.

ASH8

The Touring is around 50 pounds heavier than the R3

PotatoSoup

Do you have specs for each trim level?

The anecdotal evidence does not seem to support that statement.

ASH8

Mate, go check the Kerb weight figures on the Mazda Australia or if USA site shows it.

The R3 Has lighter seats RECARO's (against electric in luxury)
The R3 Has less Speakers - 3, has a lighter sound system.

The R3 Has no Sunroof (in Australia)

The R3 does have an extra spoiler, side skirts.

Basically it is the sunroof and electric seat that adds the extra weight over the R3.

http://www.mazda.com.au/Models/Curre...fications.aspx

CLICK ON DIMENSIONS TAB

PotatoSoup

Hm, differences in trim across the countries.

In the US:

The R3 has more speakers than the Touring.
The Touring has manual, cloth seats which probably don't weigh any more than the R3's Recaros.
The R3 has a foam-filled front crossmember, which the Touring does not have.
The R3 has the body kit, as you mentioned.

So in the US, I don't think the Touring weighs any more than the R3. It sounds like the Luxury model in Australia is what we in the US get as the "Grand Touring", which almost certainly weighs more than the R3 and the Touring.

The Mazda US site does not break down weights per trim like the Aussie site.
According the Mazda Aus site, the base RX-8 weighs less than the R3. And I think your base is pretty much the same as our "Touring".

So I therefore conclude that the US "Touring" trim weighs less than the R3.

CarAndDriver

Thanks for the vids.