Has anyone watched this months issue of Best Motoring? They tested the MAZDASPEED RX-8 up against the s2000, the rsx type-R, the new Volkswagon R32, and some new Alfa Romeo car.. Well considering past tests done by the guys at Best Motoring against other cars, this test begs to differ. They raced it at TSUKUBA and the RX-8 came in first. It had a time attack lap time of 1"09 and the S2000 came in second followed by the R32 then the TYPE-R and then the Alfa Romeo. Besides all that I think that the R32 was hyped up quite a bit...couldn't even get close to the S2000 let alone catching up to the RX-8...

 

What month is that? is it the August? Or september? Because the August Best motoring mostly covers Ferraris. Cheers

Or Btw how about you rip it for us :D

 

What was done to the RX-8? Nitrous?? hehehe

It cares to share.. any BM Vid is great, those guys are awesome.

 

Its actually the September issue. I usually buy them from a Japanese video store in Carson Ca. The RX-8 had whatever was available from MAZDASPEED. There are many people on this forum that claim the MAZDASPEED muffler has no HP gains only db gains. From the looks of it it might have made a certain amount of power. I believe the motor was stock...besides the muffler but there was major detail to be seen in the suspension dept. The MAZDASPEED strut bar, rear lower tie braces, i'm not sure what kind of damping system he was using. The 8 was also using Yokohama Advan Neova AD07'S.But other than that, the 8 was able to beat the S2000 by 2-3 seconds. But even by running 1"09 TIME ATTACK at TSUKUBA thats pretty quick considering the motor was stock and was running full interior.

 

Hi thanks for the reply.
But Do they have any online shop? I wish to buy the DVD as well thanks.

 

RX-8 A-Spec Parts List:

Aero Parts:
Font Nose
Side Skirt Kit
Rear Under Spoiler
Rear Wing
B Pillar Garnish

Functional Parts:
Shock Absorber
Sports Spring Set
Front Stabilizer
Rear Stabilizer
Front Brake Pads Set
Rear Brake Pads set
Front Sway Bar
Rear Sway Bar
Performance Baset?
Sports Muffler
Light Weight Flywheel
Light Weight Wheels MS-01S
Center Cap for wheels

Interior:
Misc. not-so-important stuff

Tires: (cost not included in total price)
Advan Neova AD07
*Perhapd the most important mod here

Here is the real interesting part: Total cost for the Mazdaspeed KIT (by it self) is 1541601 yen which equates to $12,300+ USD. The Advan Neova tires are not cheap either. Add that to the base price of the Type-S RX-8 you have a Performance Machine costing $45k.....

 

My copy is currently in the post - been waiting to see it since I read about it on the Best Motoring site a few weeks back.

Have you seen the last Hot Version DVD too? They had the Fujita Engineering RX-8 up against tuned Honda Accord, 350Z, Altezza, and it came first in that test too.


You can get all the DVDs from www.toyeast.com if you can't find them locally.


-andy-

 

But wait! how can the RX-8 be first place if it cant beat any of those cars in a 1/4 mile or 0-60? It must be Mazda conspiring to sell more shitty RX-8's!

[/SARCASM OFF] Sorry, couldnt help myself. I've been brainwashed.

I've seen those DVD's on ebay a bunch. I take it from peoples comments they are worth buying then? Only 10 bucks if I remember right.

 

Hi!

If you want Best Motoring / Hot Version Videos, get them on excelent quality VCD's and much cheaper at:


http://www.tuningpt.com/bestmotoring...stmotoring.htm


Over 100 videos, and also Drift Tengoku / Option stuff...

About the RX-8... I really don't understand all the people talking down on it. It's a great car, it goes really fast for the type of car it is... remember that the RX-8 is NOT a new RX-7. The new RX-7 is coming soon...

Anyway, the RX-8 is very very very good at driving enjoyment, something that many other faster cars don't have...

Best regards, and enjoy your driving!

 

I have the March 2003 edition of Best Motoring on vcd. Got to see an ex-japanese race car driver take the 8 through the Laguna Seca. (1:50.70) For those of you who haven't seen something similar to this, it shows the footwork, tach/speedometer, and gear-shifting of the driver simultaneously so you can see exactly how he drives. Man, watching someone like this drive is an inspiration and makes you realize the amount of practice and skill it requires to drive 'well'. :D Anyway, his lap time was 1:50.70. Maybe someone can say whether or not this is a good time.

One thing i noticed was that the driver consistently takes the 8 to 9300-9500rpm before he shifts and the car pulls very strongly until the gear change. On another note, when he heel&toes it's pretty obvious the revs go beyond 9500rpm (gotta love the rotary!). Anyway, with all the ruckus with the North American dynoed 8's the Japanese version of the car sure seems to deliver the high-end punch expected from a car like this. From a qualitative perspective anyway.

 

No offense intended, but if the race you saw was part of the "Battle" part of the video, we can't conclude with confidence (especially if it's 1-2 seconds) which car is indeed faster at the track since BM does the racing with different drivers in each car. Nevertheless, it is entertaining :D

Btw, is there a thread on the forum discussing the s2000 vs rx8? I'm supposed to be getting my 8 very soon, but with all this hp controversy I'm considering a used s2k once again. Don't bash me plz :P I haven't test driven the 8 yet though, that'll be the deciding factor.

 

hmmmm not quite, because all drivers are professionals. Of course they are different, but surely a time difference of 1 second, or even 2 seconds, can't be because of the drivers... they are all pros, so they should make very similar times, within decimals of each other, with the same car on the same track...

But sure, it would be optimal if the driver was allways the same... and then another problem could be found... driver mood changes every minute... and there are not many perfect laps from the same driver on the same day... etc etc...

Not much of an argument


What's the point? Yes, the S2000 is faster. So what? The cars are so completely different that sometimes it seems so strange that they would even be compared so many times...

Enjoy your driving!

 

Good point, can't really compare the cars since there's nothing out there that's like the 8! *IF*, however, it wasn't for the 4 seats, the s2k would probably be the closest-matched car to the 8 in terms of handling, power/weight, and the fact that they're screamers (what all performance cars should be) I just found Hercules' thread regarding his 1st-hand comparison of the s2k and the 8. It was really helpful and hopefully I'll end up with the same opinion :D

 

Could somebody rip that race vid. so we can all watch it? :D

 

If someone could reply with a link to a freeware vcd editor I'd be happy to rip a clip of the driver 'in cockpit' taking the 8 through the laguna seca solo. A *must* see for any rx-8 lover

 

Admittedly they are better priced, but ToyEast do sell the DVDs as well as the VCDs which are better quality. Depends how fussed you are tho! :D


-andy-

 

1/4???? this is a circuit track...not for drag racing...when circuit racing especially at tsukuba 1/4 mile times don't mean ****...its mainly about skill, tires, and suspension set up...i've see 86 160hp corollas beat the pants off GTR'S with 300hp...

 

2 seconds not a big difference? okay take this por example..when drag racing is it better to run in the 10's or the 12's?? if you did your research and knew anything about TSUKUBA running a 1"09 is still pretty quick considering nothing major is done to the engine but only making mods to the suspension..

 

I have the Battle from the Hot Version DVD (vol 63?) of the Fujita Engineering RX-8 against tuned 350Z, Accord and Altezza...

If someone else can host it I'll post up where they can download it from me. I'd offer my link to everyone, but I can't afford to take the bandwidth hit.


-andy-

 

bump

 

1:50.70 is an incredibly good time for Laguna Seca, especially considering it was on the shitty stock RE040s... keep that in mind next time some troll tries to talk **** about the RX-8. :D

 

I wouldn't say nothing major.....


RX-8 A-Spec Parts List:

Aero Parts:
Font Nose
Side Skirt Kit
Rear Under Spoiler
Rear Wing
B Pillar Garnish

Functional Parts:
Shock Absorber
Sports Spring Set
Front Stabilizer
Rear Stabilizer
Front Brake Pads Set
Rear Brake Pads set
Front Sway Bar
Rear Sway Bar
Performance Baset?
Sports Muffler
Light Weight Flywheel
Light Weight Wheels MS-01S
Center Cap for wheels

Interior:
Misc. not-so-important stuff

Tires: (cost not included in total price)
Advan Neova AD07
*Perhapd the most important mod here

Here is the real interesting part: Total cost for the Mazdaspeed KIT (by it self) is 1541601 yen which equates to $12,300+ USD. The Advan Neova tires are not cheap either. Add that to the base price of the Type-S RX-8 you have a Performance Machine costing $45k.


1"09 is mighty good time on Tsukuba indeed, that reminds me of a certain coupe that got those times back in May. :D However, If you consider the $40-45k price tag that does 1"09 on race tires....... then well~

 

Wonder what competitors do just to get a ballpark comparison?

p.s. Like your sig, another good reason to *invest* (moreso depreciate) my money into a car rather than a house

 

bwah.... anyone out there kind enuff to rip it for us to see? :P

 

Which one? I have the solo run through Laguna Seca and some with the same driver doing 'casual' runs through somewhere. Need a vcd editor though