Hello All!

I'm posting because I'm really excited to be purchasing an RX8 around September of this year.

I'm coming from a 2005 VW GTI that has coilovers, stg III turbo kit, intercooler.....it's supposed to be making about 250whp or more but never dyno'd it.

The rx8 I'm buying has coilovers, chip, exhaust, intake, pulley, wheels.

So after reading as much as I can on a new forum it seems like the rx8 rotary engine has low torque and MAYBE 200hp with the mods listed above.

THE QUESTION; Is this new car going to feel slow to me? If it's going to feel weak then I would like to know now so I can plan a turbo/supercharger kit

thanks for any input!

 

You can expect a completely different driving experience coming from a GTI. The RX8 will definitely feel a lot slower in a straight line but I'm sure you'll find it pleasantly surprising as soon as you throw it into a few corners.

The RX8 is a proper rear-wheel drive sports car. It's going to feel a lot more poised in the corners, more nimble than the GTI. You won't have to deal with torque steer or massive amounts of understeer. The RX8 will be much more willing to go in the direction you point it in.

You can expect to be more careful when dealing with a rotary car. You gotta be on top of maintainance as well as properly warm the car up and cool the car down. You'll also have to make sure you don't flood the engine. But that's another story.

You'll have to rev the car up for some power, but it'll feel right at home in the upper range of the powerband. In a sense, the slower RX8 might be a more fun car for you. The exhaust note from a rotary is intoxicating, but thats my opinion.

It might take you some time to get used to. They're both different cars, I would say each car has their own strong points but you will love the RX8. =]

 

It will feel like a longer-wheelbase version of your old car, gaining RWD but losing FI.

So yeah, totally different experience.
rx-8 is like a polished entry-level track car, GTI is like a gutsy little rally box.

After the 8, you should go for mid-engine AWD vehicle -
then do a writeup explaining which you like best and why.

Rotaries are cool, especially the sound.
It's fun revving it up to 5k and punching it.
I think you should get the pettit kit cause it will make your car sound like a kazoo.

 

you will feel the grip in a corner is much better than your FWD GTI as you feed power to the rear wheels the car just corners.

slow depending on how you drive, if you just gonna race straight line then yea, the rx8 will be slower if not turbo/super charged.
cornering speed is a lot faster since in autocross classes RX8 is much faster than GTI.

to be honest, its harder to drive a slow car fast rather than drive a fast car slow. you need to worry about to be a faster driver not to drive a fast car.

 

Expect a torque-lesser feel from an engine that begs you for good shifting skills to keep it in the powerband. Solid and very forgiving chassis that allows you to be more in tune with the car handling wise. Most important of all, kiss your mpg goodbye lol.

 

Will it feel slow? Probably not, regardless of the HP, the FWD car will have trouble putting power to the ground. In a straight line, your current GTI might be quicker, but I don't know that it will be significantly quicker. The RX-8 isn't about drag racing, but it isn't a slug either. Throw in some corners and game over. The GTI is about as good as there is in its segment. I don't know that any FWD is better, but it's still FWD with the associated drawbacks.

 

I posted a blog article a while back that explains some of the basics. Check it out!

http://flashwing.blackhaloracing.com...isn%E2%80%99t/

 

what a vw owner thats not obbsessed with VW's? Shocking...

like others have said the 8 isnt a straight line power car. You need to know how to drive well to make it fast.

 

rx8 makes 232hp stock with 6 speed MT

 

I've always wanted a white GTI hatch.

 

He probably meant WHP. Yes, with bolt on mods the Rx8 can make around 200 WHP. It has 232 Crank HP.

 

Yea totally diff car. Friggin GTI are fast little sob's. I got killed by one pretty bad once in my old Camaro.

 

yeah i have a friend that has one, he thinks its the shizznitt... Hes got about 210whp. Wants to do a stage 3 turbo upgrade and as they call "chip it"

 

me, too. or a red one. until i visited a local vw dealer recently and got the sticker shock; none of the gti's they had was less than $26k. i ran away

i also test drove a gti when the new ones (golf 5) first came out. it felt incredibly refined for what it's supposed to be. as others said, the 8 will definitely be a different driving experience than the gti. few cars handle as well as the rx-8, especially given its price. forget the fact that it has 4 doors and 4 seats; this is a classic sports car chassis at its finest. don't, however, expect cheap and easy horsepower monster from the renesis. if you want to mod for power, do your research on the forum first

 

i figured, but just incase lol

 

Do a lot of research on this topic. Boosting these vehicles is very pricey and they're tempermental, it won't be a quicky project.

Yes that RX8 you're purchasing probably has 10whp more than a stock RX8 so you will feel a significant loss in power, then when you factor in the anemic torque, this car will feel slow.

If you're looking for straight line performance MORE-SO than curves and driving experience, I would have to recommend personally either a 370/350Z or a G35/37 if you want the rear seats.

They handle comparable to the 8 (not as balanced or predictable IMO however), but have globs of power and torque and are a little more mod friendly.

The RX8 is like a chick off The Hills, its hot, and you love banging it around the curves, yet it's picky on what you buy for it and can be a bitch at times.

Hope this helped a little, good luck with your choice.

 

great advice everyone, thank you.

Everyone pretty much confirmed what I've been reading on these forums and elsewhere.

The GTI is a nice car that can get easy power. My personal problems with it are probably just the usual modders regret; The car vibrates too much after putting stiffer engine mounts in, The exhaust drone is getting really old, The power delivery of the turbo is NOT smooth (I think I need a custom tune or something because it's ridiculous). FWD just plain sucks and I don't even have an LSD in it.

My wife has a Solstice GXP. I was blown away with the handling of that car. The visibility is pretty bad but it feels amazing at high speeds and in corners. I would probably really like that car if it was mine, but since it's hers I tend to look the other way ....!!

 

If you are blown away with the pontiac, the rx-8 will send you off to the next planet. THere was an old C&D article that a stock rx-8 already betters the top dog Solstice Coupe.

Regarding the experience over your fwd hatch, it's no comparison. The rx-8's driving dynamics is so far superior to that of any VAG products it's not funny. The nearest comparison to the sublime handling is the Audi R8. Do a search on America's Best Handling car.

I would avoid any used rx-8 that is modified especially with suspension. From stock, the car is very capable. It is too easy to mess it up and most do. The rotary engine spools up much faster than a piston block. Despite the low TQ on paper, the spin up is fast and smooth. Well nuff said, you ought to drive it.

 

 

Yes the 8 will feel slow, but at least your 8 has coilovers. I just bought a 2010 and I've already ordered coilovers myself cause the stock handling completely falls apart when you turn up the wick. The car is great in the sweepers--but so is a Prelude--and good in the tight low speed stuff but falls on its face everywhere else. The roll oversteer , esp. in the rain can be dangerous and I have no TCS to save my hide. I need a nice roll-free linear slide.

 

Love this post, guy hit the nail onn the head here!

Especially with the intoxicating note the rotary makes, it sounds beautiful and like nothing else.

 

that was a great read. im gonna go sleep in my car.

 

Is this going to be your only car or a fun car you don't have to depend on?

 

I had a 2002 GTi 337 Edition for 2 years. Both the 'Dub and the 8 are fun to drive, so I'm not surprised you're into both. At the end of the day, the 8 is more of a driver's car, thanks to RWD and its incredible handling. Turns are more fun in an RX-8. And it's also a lot of fun revving the engine up to 8,500 rpm.

 

My best friend had a '00 GTi with about the same mods as above. It was a lot of fun to drive. It had TONS of torque as compared to my RX8. It also had about 15mpg lead on my in city driving. We raced "heads up" several times. It was typically a drivers race. If he didn't get his launch just right, he'd spin, and have a hard time playing catchup. If we had ANY sort of curves to tackle (like a freeway on ramp), I'd whip him every time. I can dive this car further into the corner, brake later, and get back on the gas sooner than he could. I would be 2-3 cars ahead of him on a regular basis in those cicumstances.

Since you're a VW guy......I have a suggestion......He recently dropped his GTi in favor of an Audi A4. With the Quatro AWD system, a tune and exhaust he'll walk right away from me in a straight line. Not sure what "stage" his car is setup at, but it's fast. I can still hang with him easily in the twisty backroads around here though. If we both know the road, I'll walk away from him. If he doesn't know the road it gets worse quick. If I don't know the road then it's a bit more of a drivers race again as I can lean on my car a bit more than he can lean on his to make up time in the corners.

We're still waiting on a good Sunday Autocross to really settle the "whos a better driver" debate :D :D