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Pretty sure FD3S is most SE3P owners wet dream. I was on that train a long time ago. Even with my oem parts discount, I'm not missing it in any way. Let alone dealing with FD fanboys.
Sonic, I bet the REW screams in there!!! Install looks clean and mean
Pretty sure FD3S is most SE3P owners wet dream. I was on that train a long time ago. Even with my oem parts discount, I'm not missing it in any way. Let alone dealing with FD fanboys.
Sonic, I bet the REW screams in there!!! Install looks clean and mean
I mean, I would probably want an FD as a collection toy, but it has the interior comfort of potato from what I have heard. The 8 has enough comfort to be daily driven, at least.
With a REW RX-8 you get the best of two worlds: you now have more power, better practicality, and a better chassis. It's a fun car that's daily-driveable.
Much honor and respect to the designers and engineers who were responsible for bringing rotary to life.
Only 3 paths; natural, unnatural and anti-natural. Trying to make something that which it is not is a perverse course of action. Seems to have become the popular 'my Mazda is now a race car yay' option and taken without any consideration(s) when many should be made.
Much honor and respect to the designers and engineers who were responsible for bringing rotary to life.
Only 3 paths; natural, unnatural and anti-natural. Trying to make something that which it is not is a perverse course of action. Seems to have become the popular 'my Mazda is now a race car yay' option and taken without any consideration(s) when many should be made.
I personally wouldn't have the heart to do it in an RX, but some of the piston swaps actually work out fine since piston engine tech has been improving continuously. And not all those cars are race cars, some of these cars are daily driveable, probably more so than an NA rotary due to the improved low-end torque. Some people just like the chassis.
Part of the issue, now that I think of it, is that Mazda intended the rotary to be a bit of a displacement tax cheater in the beginning, kinda like the turbocharged small engines nowadays. Otherwise, making it higher displacement could solve some issues it wouldn't otherwise have. IIRC GM's Wankel prototype has the engine displacement in the 3-litre range.
NotAPreppie had this idea before: if Mazda digs out the RX-8 blueprint, modernize it and put the 2.5T in it, it actually could be something.
I think people underestimate the power and reliability potential now due to technology advancements. You can make some serious power reliably with a 13B REW if it’s done right. 20B and 26B just amp it up even more. The Renesis is never going to get there unfortunately. Then if emissions are involved, ain’t nobody got time for that ...
Recent chat I had with a few friends about the current state of car culture, prices, collectibility, etc. Just a small snippet, I think what was said is not only funny but true. Every little tuber (like donut) just needs to go away and never come back. Seemingly more and more of them by the day. Their words are like cancer in the brain. Ha.
I guess Nissan is making moves for the Z, but there is nothing announced for the GT-R, which has lived through almost 2 generations of Corvette and 911.
Zupr4 probably didn't cost Toyota that much given the shared platform and development with BMW, but at the same time, it's too German to be JDM.
Mazda doesn't really have an engine to use for a sports car that can compete with pony cars and German sports cars as of now. Maybe when that rumoured I6 comes out, but as of now, the 2.5T isn't tuned to be performance oriented.
If all you mean is horsepower and performance numbers, then yeah, Mazda has a ways to go.
If you mean a car that actually handles well and makes the act of driving fun, Mazda is right at the front of the pack with the MX-5, which has just as few competitors as it always has.
The numbers race has made cars stupid. They're all billion-horsepower barges with steamroller tires, riddled with kludges to make them safe. Meaningless performance envelopes, terrible driver feedback, usually less fun at attainable speeds than their slower predecessors. Mazda is doing the opposite with the MX-5, holding the line for light weight and excellent chassis dynamics. Rightly so, and more necessary than ever. I hope they keep doing it.
If all you mean is horsepower and performance numbers, then yeah, Mazda has a ways to go.
If you mean a car that actually handles well and makes the act of driving fun, Mazda is right at the front of the pack with the MX-5, which has just as few competitors as it always has.
The numbers race has made cars stupid. They're all billion-horsepower barges with steamroller tires, riddled with kludges to make them safe. Meaningless performance envelopes, terrible driver feedback, usually less fun at attainable speeds than their slower predecessors. Mazda is doing the opposite with the MX-5, holding the line for light weight and excellent chassis dynamics. Rightly so, and more necessary than ever. I hope they keep doing it.
If the only thing that counts is the lightweight department, yeah, there aren't many others that will compete with the MX-5. It's its own thing.
I agree that brute force isn't all that matters, but you need some for something that can represent the brand. That's just how it works, but Mazda probably doesn't have the money now to do it. And having that won't interfere with the MX-5 - Supra doesn't interfere with the 86. Different types of sports cars, as you have stated. And even then, the MX-5 engine swap/FI aftermarket is thriving - lightweight only gets you so far, and it's not like excellent chassis dynamics is exclusive to sub-3000 lb cars nowadays.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 08-21-2020 at 04:16 PM.
I feel like Mazda is one brand that does a good job of representing itself in just about every vehicle it sells. They claim to be all about "jinba ittai", and within the limits of the segments they play in, they do a damn good job of it. And the MX-5 is the distillation of everything that sets them apart from the other econobrands.
To the extent that the MX-5 fails as a standard bearer, it's because not everyone gets it. So in that respect, you're right that Mazda might benefit from a car with more brute force. But it's insanely difficult to engineer something like that as a cohesive production car, much less one that'll make money. The effort makes an engine swap or FI mod look like bolting on a fart can. That's why Toyota and Subaru teamerd up for the 86 twins, why Toyota and BMW teamed up for the Supra and Z4, etc. -- and so far, the only cars in that list that even approach the MX-5 for driver engagement and dynamics are the lightweight ones. And in the end, even if Mazda succeeded, it's hard to see how they could produce something that really carried their values forward instead of being just another me-too machine -- unless they made it... lighter.
I feel like Mazda is one brand that does a good job of representing itself in just about every vehicle it sells. They claim to be all about "jinba ittai", and within the limits of the segments they play in, they do a damn good job of it. And the MX-5 is the distillation of everything that sets them apart from the other econobrands.
To the extent that the MX-5 fails as a standard bearer, it's because not everyone gets it. So in that respect, you're right that Mazda might benefit from a car with more brute force. But it's insanely difficult to engineer something like that as a cohesive production car, much less one that'll make money. The effort makes an engine swap or FI mod look like bolting on a fart can. That's why Toyota and Subaru teamerd up for the 86 twins, why Toyota and BMW teamed up for the Supra and Z4, etc. -- and so far, the only cars in that list that even approach the MX-5 for driver engagement and dynamics are the lightweight ones. And in the end, even if Mazda succeeded, it's hard to see how they could produce something that really carried their values forward instead of being just another me-too machine -- unless they made it... lighter.
There is always the Lotus Elise... And it's got a supercharged inline-4.
I can understand the idea because it's sort of the same debate as manual vs. auto. Autos do the numbers better but people who like driving a manual will swear by a manual because of the feel. A nimble car that doesn't have much power is like that: you aren't gonna outrun everything on the track since you don't have that brute force, but some people swear by lightweight and simplicity.
Personally I like a balance of handling and power. From time to time, it's just good to have the option to feel that push, and I totally can understand a supercharged MX-5. I don't think it's a bad idea at all, some people are fine with that minuscule sacrifice in balance for some extra power.
For what it does the MX-5 certainly does it well, but for something that they can use to represent the brand with, that I6 RWD Mazda 6 could be something that can compete with the likes of Kia Stinger and get into the sports Sedan market, assuming Mazda is actually going with that idea.
Last edited by UnknownJinX; 08-21-2020 at 09:54 PM.
There is always the Lotus Elise... And it's got a supercharged inline-4.
Not any more, there isn't. Not in North America, anyway. Only Lotus sold here is the Evora.
Also, the fact that you have to go to a brand like Lotus to find a comparison to the MX-5 kind of proves my point.
Originally Posted by UnknownJinX
I can understand the idea because it's sort of the same debate as manual vs. auto. Autos do the numbers better but people who like driving a manual will swear by a manual because of the feel. A nimble car that doesn't have much power is like that: you aren't gonna outrun everything on the track since you don't have that brute force, but some people swear by lightweight and simplicity.
I sort of agree, except:
1. Low weight has a ton of objective advantages as well as being subjectively preferable to some;
2. MX-5s routinely do outrun lots of cars on the track; and
3. The brute-force side is driven by "IDK I just like it" as well. Almost no one wants a fast car because they'll actually go fast. Most want it because they want to feel like they could. Every once in a blue moon, they'll hit the gas just enough to crap their pants, and then they'll back off. The rest of the time, they're going no faster than they could in an MX-5/GT-86/BRZ/RX-8 (and getting less sensory reward for it).
08-04-2020, 02:20 PM
