Mazda RX-8 Vs. 420 HP Audi R8 at VIR Grand East
 

If this is some rx8club member's video or a re-post (but i doubt it because i watched it when it had 15 views) i apologize.

Pretty sweet video. I'm pretty sure this is the guy that powned an M5 around VIR as well.

Enjoy.

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God that looks like so much fun.

i think thats my favorite rx8 track video thus far. i wonder what mods he has on his 8. If it was bone stock then that is extremely impressive

What camera are you using? Nice vid!

its all about the twisties with the rx-8... notice in the long straight-aways that r8 is G O N E and then the gap is regained in the turns.

ivory8: to me it sounds stock (no BOV, sounds stock exhaust/cat), but i've learned in the past many-a-time sounds can be VERY deceiving.. perhaps experienced rx8 driver and inexperienced r8 driver is also playing a role. :dunno:

regardless, still impressive. $115k versus $35k

Very nice video, thanks for sharing. I hope I get to play with an R8 when i'm up at VIR in august :)

That rx8 is basically stock. Its a beast! Power is sooo over-rated compared to the unique balance the 8 has. The honda I got beats my 8 in terms of straight line performance by a good bit..but thats about it. And honestly I can reconfirm my opinion that balance > raw power. What good is power without confidence inspiring handling?
I'm talking to you SRT-4 owners! FWD SUCKS ASS I HATE IT AND HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT. Bring on the good suspensions and fuck these rocket FWD cars.

I must own a turbo charged rx8 in the near future! I love our car. :Peace:

i can't see the video. but if it's the same VR 8 that chased down the E60 M5, then it is Wanklebolt. stock except a high flow cat?? he bought mine. and some tires....that man can drive!

^ I need wanklebolt to teach me how...

The R8 has got to be the best super out there, right now. :)

What? He got his ass handed to him by an R8 and an M3. It's obvious the R8 wasn't going full out during the first part. He became a tiny dot on the horizon, and then backed off again. He was going 8/10ths, MAYBE. The RX8 was clipping the aprons on the corners, too... you going to do that in your $100K plus Audi? I wouldn't.

The M3 caught him, blew by him (I know the RX8 driver let him pass), and then hit that chicane and kept going. Had the video kept going, we all know the M3 would become a dot too. The M3 is a better example of power to handling. The R8 is underpowered for its chassis.

Well duh but the rx8 has such a tiny power to weight ratio compared to those cars! It still impressed me ;)

Superb driving!
Kudos!

But
R8 > RX-8 in handling.

I guess I think what youre saying here is contradictory. :D: You are saying you want more power, but you don't care about power. What? Power is overrated, but you want a turbo? Those cars are faster because of power, but balance > power?

What are you saying?:scratchhe

That the stock rx8 with its nominal power is still a beast for what it is!!

videos are not the best judge. I use to destroy people in Evos/Stis in the canyons.. with the 99HP miata (before turbo)uphill no less....because they had no driving experiance/talent or skill lol. put a reasonablly decent driver in there place and its not so easy :P

With a good driver in the Audi the rx8 would never come close to an R8, especilly on a track that goes beyond 3rd gear. IMHO at least :)

granted it is nice to see him playing with him :)

Well, I just don't think anybody should use the term "beast" for a stock RX8.

"Finely tuned surgical instrument"? Sure.

"Beast"? I don't think so.

Momentum style driving is challenging, no doubt about it, but I like the option to "point and shoot" and the stock RX8 isn't really capable of that because of lack of power.

nice vids thanks for sharing

i think Yaxmangto likes confrontation.



just a thought

LOL could be right...

I remember the M5 video and the response it got from the newbs and fanbois. Even the OP references it with "I'm pretty sure this is the guy that powned an M5 around VIR as well.".

I'm just waiting to see the "w00t my RX8 is fasterz than teh R8 and teh M5" comment.

the guy in the R8 obviously wasn't stepping into it...i have seen those things run...with the right driver they can eat just about anything.

nice job by the RX8...good clean line. :)

w00t my RX8 is fasterz than teh R8 and teh M5

I am gonna remove the X from my car, then I can have straight line speed...

1) I love VIR.
2) This video is a good example of what a better line and deeper braking can do for you. The R8 was off line and braking WAY too early in every corner.

I think the 8 did pretty well for what it can do. But to be fair, the 8 is no match for an R8 or an M3 at VIR. There are some good straits for power cars to stretch there legs. You saw in the vid how once the R8 hit a strait ... "bye, bye".

I do find it kind of ironic though because the R8 and the RX-8 share some similar criticisms. The R8 has been criticized about not being as fast/powerful as other cars in it's class. Awesome handling, great balance, all comments similarly made about the RX-8. Funny thing is, Audi heard and came out with the R10 (an R8 with a Lambo engine) to end the criticism. Sadly, Mazda didn't listen and released an RX-8 with a new body kit.

Mazda needs to quit messing around and make the 20B pass emissions at 300 to 325 hp. There is enough R&D out there to pull this off.

Directly from the video fyi,

"My car is an otherwise stock 2005 RX-8 with Koni shocks, BFG R1 tires, Hawk HP+ front pads, and B&B muffler. Camera is a Creative Labs Vado HD."

this looks like wankelbolt

cant compare a rx8 to a R8 lol.. r8's are sooo sexy panties just fly off! haha sure our 8's are nice but come on! even ironman drives one XD

I knew it! Somebody would say it ! It's almost exactly what I said they would say!! Wait...
You fanboi!!! :D:

QFT!!!

roflsauce

so sad....

Im starting to really want to do some road racing. It really looks like fun and if I lower my boost so im in about 500whp, Im sure I can outrun a couple of nice cars out there. I would take my fc first to practice, hahaha, dont want to mess the 8.

Another example of its not the car, its the driver. No the rx8 is not faster than the r8.

Nice video, the R8 totally destroyed the 8 even with less good lines, as it also should.

Good driving from the 8 but there is still room for improvments in some of the lines in this video.

I think we all know the M5 and the R8 are faster than an RX8. If i was driving an M5 with an RX8 on my ass like that i'd feel like a damn fool i.e. - powned

Lets keep the obtuse GTO comments to a minimum

I didn't see any to begin with :dunno:

Yax is a good contributor here, i can honestly say you will not see a biase statement out of him.

lol i think that applies to 90% of the people here.

"I don't care about power, it's all about p0wning in the twisties."

And then in another thread -

"the 16X in the new gen. better come with 300+ hp or it's teh fail".


Good observation.

We know drama more than TNT

Let the Video Speak For Itself.
 

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:evil_laug

Yes, OK, it's a joke. I did thank the guy later for the priceless point-by. :ylsuper:

^Haha good stuff man! How long ago were you at VIR? Let me know next time you are up there.

w00t my RX8 is fasterz than teh R8 and teh M5! I don't care about power, it's all about p0wning in the twisties. The 16X in the next gen Rex better come with 300+ HP or it's teh fail!

Did I miss any? :mdrmed:

Oh, and my RX-8 is a BEAST! At least in that it takes corners like a monkey swinging though the trees. :yelrotflm

Thanks for all the comments, guys! I love VIR, and had a blast burning around that track all weekend. It was the MazdaDriverS.com event in June. (We're going back in August, hint-hint...)

I was playing in the advanced group. The guy in the R8 was a student which may be why his lines weren't great. I have no excuse for my missed lines, except maybe that I got a bad alignment (-2.5 camber in the back!) and was adjusting it during the weekend without any gauges to try and fix it. Still managed 115 up the Climbing Esses!

As for the power/handling debate, it's simple: I want both. But if I have to choose (and my piggy bank says I do), then I want handling. Think Colin Chapman. You will be a far better driver if you learn how to drive in a car than has no power but can handle. You'll learn how to preserve momentum and hit the line perfectly. That M3 pissed me off because they hesitated, so I had to slow to let them pass and it killed all of my momentum.

And for the record, the RX-8, properly driven, will show it's :bootyshak to a 500 HP M5 on a track with any twisties. It's just plain physics. And I have the video to prove it. :)

"To be caught by a less powerful car is the ultimate shame" - Keisuke Takahashi

I live to shame more-powerful cars.

Get some balls and leave your brain at home.


That goes along way.........

Nice vid, good driver and lines, the 8 killed in the turns but in the straight got killed though lol

nice thanks for the share!

Now THAT'S the truth, wankelbot.

Nice driving.

Hey, I like your videos. I like the placement of the camera, and the quality of the video and sound is very good. :icon_tup:

But, you're right... its just plain physics. A 4035 lb curbweight vehicle, even though it has 500 hp, is going to lose on a track with any twisties. I mean, it's a taxi cab... a boat. It's ridiculous to think it even has a chance against cars like the 8 on anything but the drag strip.


You do have the video to prove it, and I don't. :D:






Well except for this one. I was actually just searching youtube for YOUR M5 vs RX8 video. But this doesn't count. It obviously has some major flaws. The track doesn't have enough of teh twisties. And if somebody else were properly driving the RX8 beast, it would have crushed that M5, you know, the one that happened to beat the M3 E46... and the S2000............ and the 350Z............. and.... I guess that's it. :rofl:

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The R8 is a beast, that guy just did not know what he was doing. The R8 can definitely handle better than the RX8 too. Nice video though, great driving.

Best Motoring, isn't it? Love that show! Can't understand a word they say...

See, that's the A-Spec. All that plastic slows it down. If it was a stripper like mine; no problem. :lol:

But hey, I think it's flattering that they even put our little affordable 1.3 liter four-door sports car car on track with cars costing $3000 to $60,000 more.

I won't mind losing to somebody who spent $90,000 on their M5, when it happens. :bootyshak

So how's that Holden do on the road course? :)

^Wankelbolt teach me how to drive... hahaha

Damn right. Its amazing what the RX8 can do... no doubt about it. You're out there getting the most out of it, and I totally respect that. I honestly do know how special it is, and I can imagine how satisfying it is for you to run against all those cars. :evil_laug
I've given up on trying to find something that handles as well as the RX8 and has four seats in its price range. My goal is to put together a cheap Spec Miata and go have some fun here at a local road course, much as you have with the 8... but that's another story.

And what the hell is a "Holden"? I drive a Pontiac GTO.