koolaid80

you can't compare one strut-suspensioned car (especially as heavy as the 911), to one of the best handling dual-wishbone suspensioned cars, the RX7. The supra is no light-weight either, weighing in at 3700 lbs or so. the EVO weighs only slightly more than the RX-8, and has a better power to weight ratio, same goes for the STi. The RX8 WILL have it's hands full trying to compete with both of these cars.

Dawg

Don't confuse the WRX with the STi - the STi does not understeer much, and thanks to the controllable differential, you can send up to 65% of power to the rear wheels for better cornering. Or leave the computer to control things and it will switch power to the rear when powering out of corners to eliminated understeer and even give you a little oversteer. It will be an amazing machine. With the upgraded steering wheel and seats, it's not that far off from the RX-8, which is not exactly the highest quality interior itself.
Two different approaches to the same thing - both great performance cars on the track.

bigb_9_99

i believe the rx-8 is going to be same performace of a 350 z. the sti will beat the evo and the evo will be ahead of 8 and 350 but what about the new GTO 5.7 v8 340 hp 360 lb-ft in a 6 speed and rear wheel drive stuffed in to a grand am body with 18s and 2+2 seating and look at the interior sweet. and only weighing 3616 lbs only 600 lbs more than the rx-8 . its going to get interesting i love it. jsut like back when my dad was growing up a battle of cars. its going to be soo hard to choose. they are all soo good. jsut thought i would bring the up. let me know what u guys think. http://ultimategto.com/2004cars1.htm some good pic of the GTO

Spining Ncnratr

The GTO will have 360 HP and around 380/400 Ft Lbs of torque
when it shows I think late Summer early Fall.

Hercules

And if the GTO is anything like other American cars it will suck around a track.

I'd rather take a 100 horsepower less, 600 lb less car that will fly rings around a mass torquemonster like the GTO. I have to admit though, the styling is neat

eccles

Ah, but it's not. It's based on the Holden Monaro developed Down Under. Of course, there's no guarantee that the design droids at Pontiac won't futz with it.

bigb_9_99

i dont know where u got that from but everwhere i read its going to have 340hp and 360 lb-ft unless they put the ls-6 405 hp in which i doubt they will cause it will take away from the vette u should do some research be for u type and click the link

http://ultimategto.com/2004cars1.htm

and the handling should be pretty good not like a rx though iam getting a sti

Zio

I believe that the STi and the EVO will both blow the RX-8 out of the water. On a track, the RX-8 would probably get blown away on straights and catch up around corners, but then get blown away again as the EVO or STi launches itself out of the turn. I believe that the RX-8 looks the best because of it's awesome style, but I dont really care all that much about looks of a car. I care about whats under the hood. Most people aren't going to be taking these cars on a track and because of this the EVO and STi have advantages over the RX-8, being they have AWD and the RX-8 has RWD. The AWD is safer, not to mention the EVO and STi both have one extra seat in the back since they are 4 doors. IMO though, the RX-8 will be the best handling car out of all of the cars and probably the most luxurious. But with performance in a straight line, the STi and EVO will beat it.

Hercules

Yes but for a lot of us straight line performance is only part of the package we're buying into.

I got the RX-8 because it has *good* accelleration off the line (not great), should have *very good* handling, excellent aesthetics, build quality, and of course a very gorgeous styling in a package that has the right price, features, amenities and practicality.

Sure the STi/Evo will be fast cars but they don't have the package that I'm looking for. I'll admit it, I am making tradeoffs... I could get the G35 Coupe for that power, but then I'd lose on the styling and presumably the handling. I could get the Evo/STi but then I'd lose out on the fun factor of RWD. I could get the 350Z but then I lose practicality. I could get the 330 but then I lose out on price.

The RX-8 for me, is the ideal car at the ideal time for me to buy. I think a lot of people here share my views.

MattFast

If the Mazda6 MPS make it into production:

Mazda6 MPS vs Lancer Evo VIII vs Subaru WRX STi

Much better and realistic

MarkW

Well I have a WRX STi TypeUK (261bhp) and I am seriously considering swapping it for the RX8.

I dont expect the RX8 to match the performance 0-60 etc, but as many people have said, there are many other reasons for buying the RX8.

My other choice is to get the prodrive kit for my STi to go to 300bhp (which is the same as the new US version).

I still cant decide which way to go as really I want both!

Hercules

Buy both and have your cake and eat it too

Spining Ncnratr

Its not NA but Austrailian So I think the Handeling should be a little better than avg. I'm not defending it just posting facts. I want the OSV Holden over 400 HP and about .89 to .92 on 200 ft
Skid pad. But chances of GM Importing it nill to none.

Spining Ncnratr

Well the C6 is getting the 375 HP Next gen engine so all possable
But with the 03 Cobra out there in the same price range GM can not afford to make the GTO a looker only. It has to have a chance to compete at least on a favorable footing. Not only that but Pontiac is already toying with the intake and exhaust so gaining 20 HP could be possable as nothing is cast in stone yet for the GTO.

zoom44

see that's the wrong way around. i can have cake and eat it but i can't eat it and still have it to eat again, so it should be:
you can eat your cake and have it too. :p

Dawg

The Monaro has been kicking butt on the circuit in Europe, so it likely will handle more like a Z06 than a Camaro. I think it will be a kind of poor man's Z06, depending on the price. If it's much more than $30k it won't sell. Who would buy it over a 2 year old Z06?

scientist

do you realise the american spec STI no longer lives up to the STI's roots?....
anyways...you'd be suprised as the weight distribution of the evo...very close to 50:50, the sti tends to understeer...the evo tends to oversteer...the first gen RX8 would not compare to more than 10 years rally experience....give mazda time...stop assuming the evo is slower than the STI...i've gotten rides on both JDM evos and STI's...the evo is a better performer hands down...in the best motoring...the evo RS even outperforms an M3, a skyline and an RX7 by giving better lap times...but when coming to pass the skyling..the skyline bumped into the evo. in japan they'd put the 350Z, the S2000, the RX8, the BMW M3 and the porshe boxter in the same category...u know what happened?...the 350Z was faster with the S2000 following closely behind...the skyline was the Camera car...ended up lapping all the cars

runny_yolk

First off, I am an Evo owner, so take whatever I say with a large grain of salt. That being said, I drove these three cars for quite a bit before making my decision. What it really comes down to is this... are you looking for:
a) an uncompromising race-track ready car that will provide utility around town?
b) a visually pleasing performance-oriented car that provides the best mix of comfort/performance/looks?
c) a racy-looking car with a beast of an engine that will snap your head back every time you mash the throttle?
These correspond to:
a) Evo
b) RX8
c) STi

With an Evo, you get a great suspension that's track ready, the best stock seats I've ever seen in any car, and a fairly powerful engine to match. What you lose is in-town civility. The ride can be harsh and the interior is spartan. I became naseous after my first ride in an Evo. With an RX8 you get a much more practical interior with better materials, prettier gauges, and more comfortable seats. The ride won't be as harsh as the Evo yet the RX8 is undeniably sporty. People might flail me for saying it, but I liken the RX8 to a modern RWD version of the Honda Prelude. It's got just enough performance to be fun at the track, yet no so overwhelming that you must at all times drive with two hands on the wheel. Finally the STi... if you're looking to impress your friends and show off your stoplight racing skills, the STi is it. The engine is super-powerful and it's got tons of potential. To say that the STi is just a drag racer would be selling it short but I think that it has neither the handling agility of the Evo at the track, nor the clean lines/interior of the RX8.

Each car has it's strengths, you just need to decide what's really important to you.

bubble

Are you guys serious? The RX8 won't touch the EVO or STI on any track. Modify all your little heart desires. Mod for mod the EVO/STI will torture the RX8. Enjoy the superior design and creature comforts in the 8 but don't compare its performance to the $30,000 rally cars.

ZGlide

what bubble says is so true...comfort, luxury, and class sets the 8 apart from those high powered rally cars. Last night I was on the highway, I met with a WRX (not an STi), we both took off at about 95mph, and he was pulling on me!

Ike

My god this is an old thread...

VikingDJ

Wow. Talk about trying to bring back a thread from the dead. This baby is over 2 years old.

crossbow

They just did the same comparison with the MPS 6. The MPS 6 came in last with the lowest score for engine punch and power.

http://www.3dluvr.com/crossbow/incoming/jdm/

Enjoy translating. It is kinda of a bogus review though...cause they give both the MPS 6 and the Sti the same score for cabin interior quality =/.

Ike

Wooo!

yiksing

Simply said the RX-8 shouldn't be compared with the EVO or STI, both these power monster were created for performance as the first priority and other things were lower in the priority list. However both cars does it in total different ways although they are turbo-charged and AWD. The STI has a better balanced chassis than the EVO with the low C.O.G engine and the symmetrical AWD, its handling is achieved with the careful suspension setup from rally feedback to satisfy as many drivers as possible thus it might explain why the car understeers in comparison with the EVO, Best Motoring shows that yawing begins after a while into corner entry to help the car turn. The EVO on the other hand uses electronics to help it turns and Mitsu engineers done a good job in tuning it, the EVO actually exihibits oversteer when induced by the driver when going fast which is exactly what you want to have in a race. If you are to put the same driver in both cars around the track, the one in the EVO would have the advantage because its AWD electronics is more precise in helping the car turn without burning off tires too fast. The latest EVO vs STI in BMI shows that the EVO has better acceleration because there's always a power dip in the STI when launched. In the endurance race in Tsukuba, the EVO wins it, it made a whole lap faster than the RX-8 and a few seconds faster than the STI because it never overheated (the offset position of the license plate helped) for the whole race. Overall I'd say the EVO is a better performance car (due to the advantages mentioned above) if compared with the STI. After the race both the turbo cars' tires were chewed up badly, missing tires chunks n stuff, however the ones on the RX-8 were still ok. Therefore if the race were to go on, there's a chance for the 8 to win but that calls for team strategy. Overall the EVO in my opinion is the best among the three, looks are subjective and calling EVO and STI econobox is plain silly.