interesting

 

That's why I got a Sport. I'm bummed it's an auto, but I got a decent deal and the paddles aren't bad. They shift as fast as a factory M/T would. Anyway, I figured the GT has too many heavy and rather unnecessary options like auto leveling lights, sunroof and an in-dash disc changer. The R3, on the other hand, seems nicely tuned for the occasional spirited drive, as well as the daily commute, but I would swap a lot of what makes it an R3, like the shocks, springs, strut brace and other bits, which makes paying for them rather dumb for a student like myself.

So now I look forward to doing a few tasteful, track oriented mods and saving some cash, whilst keeping a car that's still comfortable and reliable enough for a daily drive.

 

My '09 Velocity Red Sport came with the same wing. I thought the previous owner had installed it, as I bought the car at 12K mi's, but my local dealer ran my VIN# and the only factory options I had were wheel locks, floor mats and the raised rear spoiler, which we all know as the R3 spoiler.

Yours is probably factory installed, though it does look like it sits a bit more forward than mine, and I know mine was factory installed.

As far as the DSC discussion goes; I drove a '91 Trans-Am for 3 years prior to my '09 RX8, and with twice the torque of the 8, the T/A gave me all the experience I need to drive with no traction control. The 8 can hardly break it's $1,000 tires loose from a stand, so there isn't much to worry about really. So why pay for it if I'm going to keep it off? Turns are more fun with no computer in the way.

 

Mine sits forward because it has both the raised rear spoiler, and the lip spoiler...which I'm guessing completely confirms that it was an option chosen afterward by the first owner...but it actually looks pretty good to me. Only other thing I'd probably do instead is get the 04-08 type spoiler with the Metal risers.

 

The MazdaSpeed one?

 

Automatic series II did not come with a spoiler from the factory. It is an add-on/option. All manual transmissions came with the lip spoiler unless you got the R3.

Also R3 have leather center armrest (front and back) and red stitching throughout the vehicle (door panels, center armrests, steering wheel, shift ****, etc.)

 

hey Ash...are you a 50somethingyearold?....
me too!, and my wife keeps telling me I'm too old for this car!

 

I'm 35 and people keep telling me why I bought a kids car... :/

Yet, these same people blast me for not getting the 135i I had intended to buy instead. That's just as much a kids car as the RX8, and less practical on top of it.

 

Because it's so bloody hard to hit the DSC OFF button when you want to get rowdy, right? It doesn't even require any extra equipment cars don't already have these days -- ABS pump, e-throttle, wheel speed sensors, steering angle sensor, accelerometers (for triggering airbags, among other things), and some spare ECU computing power. The complaints that DSC cuts the ***** off a sports car and saddles it with extra hardware is nonsense. There is no good reason why even the Viper can't have DSC for those times when you just want to run to the 7-11 in style, but might need to dodge a deer or someone pulling out of a driveway. Nobody has ever been in such a hurry to race the guy in the next lane that they couldn't hit the DSC OFF button first.

 

The S2's gross weight is 3800lbs. How much do you think those "heavy accessories" actually weigh? That sunroof is made of glass, not depleted uranium.

That's not to say you shouldn't have gotten the base model if you didn't want all the goodies, but rationalizing the purchase as having anything to do with weight is silly. If weight really matters to you, it's the auto gearbox you should be scowling at, not the CD changer.

As far as the way the Auto drives -- there were none on the lot when I test drove one, but if the transmission behaves at all like the one in my dad's Miata, it's the best damn auto I've ever seen. So from a performance respect all you're really missing out on is a few HP at the top end, and the ability to burn rubber at stoplights. A reasonable tradeoff to free up one of your hands, again assuming weight isn't really a core concern.

 

go back to arguing about the seats. you guys are very entertaining. seriously though, ive heard about the shocks being different but are the springs? also are the sway bars different diameter and if so what are they measured at. please respond with a smart comment about search function and a link.