That wonderful RX-8...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Victor Vance
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Victor Vance

Victor Vance

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Well since dad is shopping around for a new car to buy later this year (maybe around winter), today I recommended to him the 6 Wagon. Well anyway there was a nice, long line mixed of both manual and automatic-equipped RX-8's. I couldn't resist... I kindly asked the salesman and he unlocked and started up the RX-8. Right after he started up, it let out two puffs of bluish smoke out the back mufflers, a cute tribute to the modern and older oil-burning Wankels of days past. And the sound :drool: I've heard a Ferrari F355 rev before, but nothing can match the beautiful music put out by two 650-or-so cc rotors. And the interior... gorgeous. I mean, I've checked out an RX-8 before, but this was the first time I realised and admired this car in all its glory. Everything made sense. The Corvette-like front-and-back seat positions help keep the cg low. The lightweight, compact engine placed behind the front axle. The freestlye doors, making ingress and egress a breeze compared to the Skyline (the car's archrival - used to be the Z four-seater). The fact it's so light and balanced. Everything came together so well. The shifter (granted, I never disengaged the clutch) feel was so direct and smooth. Like, somewhere between Evo 8 and M3. And the engine. Oh, the lovely 13B. It made such a sweet mechanical sound the turbos could never top. I just kept revving it to 5 or so grand, like in that Porsche Cayenne commercial. The radio sounded good, but with this awesome sound system at the command of my right and left feet, who needs a radio? And then the sticker shock. $30k for this automotive wonder? Sign me on! I am making a vow: to own at least one of these beauties in my lifetime. It's that good :)
 
Awesome review, yes this car is a mechanical beuty, I've always considered one when I get my licence so do my parents, but everytime I see one I stop and watch the beauty. This car is great, love the design, and is quite the safe car too. It just got a 5 star rollover test.
 
Yeah the RX-8 was reviewed in USA Today I think it was a few weeks back for roll over possibilities, and it got the best score for current production cars(or maybe just the ones they listed, don't remember).
 
rx8 is nice, but it is replacing a twin turbo rx-7 whose soul purpose was driving please for the driver.....now it has a back seat.......it just doesn't seem 100% right....teh 8 is georgeous mind you, and the 50-50 weight dist. makes it an intense handler....and yet....................
 
Victor Vance
Really? I'm like 6' 3" and 205 (yeah pretty big for a 15 year old huh?) and I can fit in it. Too bad for you :guilty:
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heh, not quite. im also 15....6'4 265 :D.

i dunno.....i fit, but i remember sitting in it at a car show and a felt slightly crapped. the seat was a little narrow, and the dash and stuff was not compatable with me and my legs, lol. mind you, im not fat either.

but still...i dunno. i guess i'll have to sit in one again for updated results. lmao.
 
Hehe, It fits me perfectly, I'm 15 5'5 and 140, I feel right at home when sitting in either the RX-8's front or back seats.
 
Victor Vance
Really? I'm like 6' 3" and 205 (yeah pretty big for a 15 year old huh?) and I can fit in it. Too bad for you :guilty:
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6'5" and 220lbs ( Yeah - and i'm 16. ) and I fit in a RX-8 fine.
 
weird....has it changed at all? because i think i sat in the first one to come out.
 
It hasn't changed at all, and if you mean you sat in the blue one at Rev-It-Up '03 well that wasn't the first one in the US.
RX-8 fits me too, 5'4" 110lbs or so. :)
 
Monster7
The RX-8 wasn't built to take the RX-7's place, common misconception.
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An even more common misconception is that there will be another RX-7 sold alongside the RX-8. It WILL NOT happen.
 
TwinTurboJay
rx8 is nice, but it is replacing a twin turbo rx-7 whose soul purpose was driving please for the driver.....now it has a back seat.......it just doesn't seem 100% right....teh 8 is georgeous mind you, and the 50-50 weight dist. makes it an intense handler....and yet....................
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The RX stands for "Rotary Experimental", nothing more. The RX-8 was set out to be, and has happily become, a car oriented for sports-car like performance yet can spend a quarter of its time without sacrificing comfort to the passengers or weight. It's a success to its own name. The final FD3S '7' to date was a purpose-built sports car, nothing more. It also accomplished its goal. Just keep your fingers crossed, a turbocharged next-gen RX7 may be on the horizon ;)
 
might as well say never, because by that time everyone will have forgottin you said it will never come out 👍
 
M5Power
An even more common misconception is that there will be another RX-7 sold alongside the RX-8. It WILL NOT happen.
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Common misconception amongst who?

Here is something that is commonly known in the Rotary community: The RX-8 was designed / manufactured to have a small shelf life. Meaning, it will not be in production for much longer.

All my faith in the RX-8 was lost when I beat the HELL out of a new 6 speed by 3-4 car lengths in a basically stock Omni. (this was later backed up at the drag strip) I love the way the RX-8 looks and sounds, but its straight line performance is nothing short of poor..

... I never would have thought in a thousand years that I would be using an Omni as a measuring stick for performance... sad.
 
The omni's literally a 2,000- lb box on wheels with a torquey turbo four. The RX-8 loses the race so easily because the engine is not wound up. Once you pass around 7,000 rpm then it will get in the swing of things. Think about the powerband, it's like the S2000's old 2.0. Plus, I believe the RX-8 has wide spaced ratios, so it's never really in its powerband anyway. Meanwhile the tight-spaced Omni is always on boil, right?

By the way, which is faster, the Omni or the third-gen (1983 only, Omni-based) Charger?
 
Considering that the RX-8 was never meant for straight-line speed and the Omni was never meant for cornering, you can't compare the cars. Is it that important to you that you beat it in a race? It shouldn't be.
 
kikkoman
i don't think mazda is going to release another turbo car EVER due to strict emmission standards. so no turbo rx7's on ANY horizon.
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So you're calling the MazdaSpeed Miata and Protege(and soon-coming MazdaSpeed 6) mistakes?
 
MazKid
Considering that the RX-8 was never meant for straight-line speed and the Omni was never meant for cornering, you can't compare the cars. Is it that important to you that you beat it in a race? It shouldn't be.
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Bull**** excuse.

Comparing one cars performance to anothers is what automotive enthusiasts do.

Is it important that I beat a $30,000+ RX-8 with a $2,000 1986 Dodge Omni with 250,000 miles on the odometer? Yes it is.
 

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