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autoxd first time in rx8 today!!

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Old 10-15-2003, 08:05 PM
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Re: autoxd first time in rx8 today!!

Originally posted by Ophitoxaemia
this car rocks! i didnt expect it to be fast, but it handles really well, and all the funniness i felt on the street was not a problem. there is a little lift throttle oversteer, but it is manageable and not more than i like. you can set up a tail out drift really easily and modulate it with throttle.

id like to see what the car would be like with a little more rear shock rebound and compression.

a nationals-competing DS IS300 was there and i was 3 seconds faster than both the (usually decent) drivers of that car, so i doubt there is any chance we will ever get moved to DS.

my fastest run was after the car got to sit for a little while so the tires cooled down- those street tires dont like heat. the difference between hot tires and cool tires was over 1 second. so bring your sprayers.

i dont see any place where it has an advantage over the S2000 though in BS. but regionally a well driven rx8 could beat lots of S2000's.

PUR NRG and i got to ride with each other... great fun!

james
I'm glad someone else is actually running their car and seeing the light with the cornering ability of the RX8! You know I have 3 full track days in less than a month of ownership, and the car rocks!

I agree with the rear suspension, but there is also a lot of forward lean when you brake hard. A good suspension kit and good slicks are all this car nees on a road course!

And for an electric steering rack, I only found out about a day after my 3rd track event and was praising the steering each day!!!!!

A little more oversteer would be nice, not much more but a little, but from the factory, this car can PERFORM!
Old 10-17-2003, 03:44 AM
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syntrix - thanks for this thread. After all the talk on this forum about this car, and its possible HP issues, its great to see this info.

I should be getting my (UK) car next month, and handling is more important to me than outright straight line speed (which is much less fun).

That it competes, and beats such cars as you've said, relativly stock makes my day, oh that and a delivrery date from mazda :D
Old 10-17-2003, 10:01 AM
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Yeah, I love the trolls where the first thing out of their mouth is, I heard that the car is actually slow because of Mazda's mistakes.

I just tell them, YUP! And grin from ear to ear
Old 10-17-2003, 10:42 AM
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I've never been to an auto-x although I watched one, once in the rain.

How fast were you going average? Max?

Looks like the first corners were taken pretty fast 70-80km/h?

The it looks slow, then at the end again a little bit of speed.
Old 10-20-2003, 02:38 PM
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Awesome video... too bad there's no zoom though

I will probably be competing against many RX-8's this upcoming Sunday in Washington's Mazda Sportcar Club meet (Washington, DC, that is). I'll bring my camera and do my best with it's movie mode.

I think I may race my Mazda6, if my new shoes get to me in time. I'm tired of racing on the terrible all-seasons the car comes with. I just bought from eBay the 3rd-gen RX-7 wheels with Yoko tires... the wheels alone are 8lbs lighter EACH than the Mazda6 stock wheels, an inch wider, and an offset that ought to actually work without rolling the fenders. Can't wait!

One thing I will say about the RX-8, regardless of how it competes, is that it has got to be the most comfortable autocross vehicle since the Toyota MR2.

Last edited by StretchSJE; 10-20-2003 at 02:41 PM.
Old 10-20-2003, 03:33 PM
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Notice how all the Mazda6 autocrossers suddenly pop outta the wood work when the words autox enter a topic .

As for speed...alot of times autox isn't about speed. Its all about smoothness. Sometimes a car which looks like its going slow, is actually the car with the best times.

Autocrossing is all about driving.

To lay out a quote...

"Drag Racing is for Fast Cars"

"Autocrossing is for Fast Drivers"

The best example is looking at a results sheet for an autocross...not just in a single class, but how each class compares to another.

Its pretty funny when the 500 horsepower, 500 ft/lbs of torque american muscle machine (Dodge SRT-10 Viper 2003) is almost beaten by a 160 hp Mazda6i family sedan .

Old 10-20-2003, 10:21 PM
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Originally posted by crossbow
Notice how all the Mazda6 autocrossers suddenly pop outta the wood work when the words autox enter a topic .

.....

Not many here in vegas, but IMHO, mazda does some of the best suspension tuning out of the box.

I took a friends MazdaSpeed Protege out for a test spin. Power was just ok, but HANDLING STOCK was out of this world for a factory car for that price!!!!!! Amazingly balanced and well mannered through some of the hot corners I put her through!

Mazda is focusing on suspension more than a lot of manufacturers, or manu's are limited with FWD and unequal length drive shafts which equal torque steer!!!!
Old 10-21-2003, 08:51 PM
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It's a Maryland/DC/VA thing... I wanted to start autocrossing, but didn't want to go by myself. Once RevItUp came through, it was easy getting other Mazda6 owners to jump on board, and now there's 6-10 of us that go semi-regularly.

Here's some videos to enjoy:

http://www.uncontrived.com/images/ma.../autocross.wmv

http://www.uncontrived.com/images/ma.../autocross.wmv

When you hear one of us say, "Looking good!" when the run sucks, it's because the previous run really was that much worse :/

We're all rookies.
Old 11-02-2003, 10:47 AM
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Originally posted by crossbow
As for speed...alot of times autox isn't about speed. Its all about smoothness. Sometimes a car which looks like its going slow, is actually the car with the best times.

Autocrossing is all about driving.

To lay out a quote...

"Drag Racing is for Fast Cars"

"Autocrossing is for Fast Drivers"
I hear ya. Before I started messing with the rear suspension in my SA, I was doing powerslides and doriftos around corners and generally looking quite fast, but my times were somewhere between pathetic and DFL. Then I changed my brake bias, removed my rear sway bar to allow more suspension travel and I was able to pull off some better times, but my runs were fairly boring to watch.

I'm still learning, but this autoX thing is more addictive than drugs.
Old 11-02-2003, 02:46 PM
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I'm still learning, but this autoX thing is more addictive than drugs.
We trust you are not speaking from experience?
Old 11-02-2003, 03:50 PM
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I've never heard of autocross before but it looks like alot of fun. Anyone in western Canada know if this is done in our area? Or does anyone know where I might be able to find out?
Old 11-02-2003, 04:12 PM
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Don't know about canada, but here the website:

http://scca.org/

and boards are http://sccaforums.com

This was my first time running the 8 at an autox.

Various comments from riders:

"how did you make the rear end come out around that long sweeping corner?"

"Wow, this is planted to the ground!"

etc. etc. etc.

I also got a few comments about low torque and the buybacks. Those just made me laugh!!
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