Hi Power - Lo Power ?
 

Hi All
I write from Cape Town South Africa and have the following questions
1) what is the difference between the hi power and std power models ? can i buy the cheaper std power model and upgrade the ecu to hi power specs or are there physically different features ?
2) the rx8 looks great in std pose, and even better with the mazdaspeed kit. Why though is it only rated at 237 kmh at the coast and a 0-100kmh time of 7s ? I'll easily get smoked by bmw e36 m3's or even bmw e46 330's. Are there any plans to release an upgraded one ? Perhaps top speed limited to 250kmh and 0-100kmh of 6-6.5s ?
3) what are resale values like your side ? here the hi power retails for R341k ($58k) and i've seen an 03 available with 6900km on the clock for R250k ($42k)

Point 2 and 3 above are holding me back from buying one at this stage.

(Please note that I am a rotary fan and am currently putting a series 5 13b turbo into a first gen)

1) high power = 6speed MANUAL low power = 4speed ATUO
2) u cannot compare M3s to RX8s... they're totally different sports car... yes ofcourse u will get smoked by an M3 ON THE STRIGHT ways but u'll in turn smoke the M3s in twisties...
3) dono...

To elaborate on the high power vs low power cars, it is more than jsut tuning. The engines are entirely different. The low power cars have a 4 port Renesis engine. It is called this because it has 2 intake ports per chamber. There are 2 rotors. 2X2=4. It's rev limit is also lower. The high power Renesis is a 6 port engine. It adds 2 more intake ports to help increase upper rpm breathing and power. It's redline is higher.

I'm not sure how they sell them there but in the U.S. the high power cars are the standard transmissions and the low powered cars are the autos.

If you are being held back by acceleration and top speed numbers then you may or may not ever own one. There is no definite proof that a factory forced induction model will be produced yet. We suspect on will be but when we see it, how much power it makes, what improvement the performance numbers will be, and how much it will cost still remain a mystery. Most of the owners could really care less about which cars are faster. It's no insult to lose to an M3. It's also no price comparison. Who cares?

i think it's only in the US (and by association, Canada :P) that the 5 speed low power car isn't sold (and can only be had with an automatic).

i think that the super cheapo model (the strong 5 speed, with the 4 port motor) would be the very best RX-8 candidate for turbocharging, but is certainly not an especially fast car on its own. not slow in any sense, but definitely not a scorcher.

Australia doesn't get the low power manual either.