My buddy has been pressuring me to go to the track with him for quite some time. He is a track junkie. He has always had mustangs and corvettes but just got a '04 350Z auto about a month ago. There was no way I was going to race his old corvette or mustangs but a 350z why not.

So we went to a local drag strip last night. The only thing done to his Z is the exhaust. My car has intake, highflow cat, GReddy SE catback, Racing Beat race flash, and AF short shifter. (goto vBGarage for full list). Anyways I flat out destroyed his auto Z. I pulled away from him in first and continued to pull away all the way through my third gear. Honestly I embarassed him and his Z.

A guy was there with a G35 coupe and saw me and my buddy race and wanted to take a run at me. He had a black G35 coupe 6 speed with exhaust and intake. It sounded really nice. Anyways he gave a better run than the 350Z. He got me out the hole. But by the time I topped out 1st gear at almost 10K rpm I was pulling away. I wound up beating him by like half a car length. My best time was a 13.7 not too shabby for a slow 8. Anyways that will probably be the first and last time I goto the drag strip. I have been modding my car for the track for like a year now. Just need some sways and some coilovers and I'm set. I thought everyone would enjoy this story though. So is the 8 really all that slow?

 

good stuff!
You may (or may not) want to check your clutch after that

 

Yeah I know.....thats why it was my first and last time at the drag strip.

 

Nice !!!!! The 8 has potential cause its alot lighter than the z and g. Good stuff

 

i have never felt that the 8 was "slow" it kinda pisses me off when people bash the 8. i only drive mine 6months or less and just brought it out a week or so ago and i love it. as far as straight line stuff i feel that it is pretty good for next to no tq. btw nice story terch

 

^ yup considering its a 1.3 with no torque.... The amount of power it puts out is pretty fast to me.

 

Yeah guys, I also only drive my 8 like 6 months out of the year. Maybe once or twice a week during that 6 month time frame. I also get irritated by people bashing the 8 for being slow. Really its not. My wife has a 4 cyl Solstice. That is slow! The 8 is plenty fast given the right modifications and tune.

 

13.7?? Does the Racing Beat flash really make that much of a difference?

 

People compare it to a muscle car and it just isn't. Sure it's slower off the line because of lack of torque but once you're past that and keep it up in rpm's it's great drag racing isn't racing to me. It's a pissing contest about who has the bigger motor. Race a track or do Autocross and the 8 will keep up if not beat cars more powerful and expensive. On the straights we lose ( a little) but we make up for it in handling and cornering speed.

 

I guess it does; the car really pulls nicely from 6k to 9.8k. The proof is in the pudding!

 

Too true! I am planning on having the 8 ready for the track by late June early July.

 

i think back in 2004 and 2005 the car was pretty fast when comparing it to old 350z and g35s. but now in 2011. you have the new 370z, g37, sti , camaro SS, mustang 5.0L who are using new engines and upgraded parts from older models. and mazda has keep the same rotary engine for a long time. its over due for a new rotary with more power. i america we have open roads where straight line speed is fun. even a muscle car ( mustang 5.0L) is hitting 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and also keeping up with a m3 at the track, that why i don't call mustangs muscle cars anymore. its a sports car now


the bottom line is that comparing the rx8 to newer models, it simply can not keep up.

 

^ You made a good point. I wouldn't expect the rx8 to fair well in a straight line race with a new Vette or Camaro. But as we all know the 8 wasn't produced for straight line speed. I thought my experience was interesting because the 8 is so often compared to the 350z or G35. My experience goes to show how very close the rx8 is performance wise to that of the Z or G. With very little in the means of performance mods I was able to beat both of these cars in a straight line. On a track they wouldn't stand a chance against an 8.

 

On what track does a mustang keep up with an M3? Sports car with it's live axle? Noooo. Granted it looks great this year but a sports car it isn't. And the M3 will kick it's *** on any track with a RIGHT turn in it. I bet if both are run on the nurburgring nordschleife (14 miles a lap) it'll beat the mustang by atleast a minute.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOwSPccbzl4

lets get real here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxEhnugwzCc

where have you been bro

 

13.7? What mods do you have again? Any chance you can post up the timeslip so I can see your 60ft times, etc.?

 

Yeah no offense but you don't have a clue as to what you are talking about.

 

FYI, a highly modded, even if it's a 'factory' or special kit modification (including Boss, Supersnake, etc ...), is not "a mustang". Trying to pass one of those off as justification for your claim isn't really working. It's like passing a Grand-Am GT class 20b RX-8 off as an RX-8 in a comparison against a street driven Lotus.

It is in the same class in Grand Am, but there are rules to level the playing field between them, and neither is really stock any more.

 

That dude in the video is LOVING those rumblestrips.

 

I agree Im tired of all the rx8 bashing saying its slow..thats a pretty good run for a car with a 1.3 liter engine

 

I don't understand what you are saying. The Boss is just a package just like the GT, V6, Cobra, etc. It's a Ford dealer model Mustang. The last time I checked Mazda never produced a 20B RX8 for the public and you sure as hell can't buy one at a dealer. The Boss is just a model above the GT premium.

 

In fact, Ford even offers a Laguna Seca package for the 302...

 

What is Fast to one is slow to another. Line up at the drag strip against a new SS Camaro or Mustang GT (or V6 actually) and you will think your 8 is slow. Line up against a Mazda 2 and you will think your 8 is fast.

 

As for mods I have the following:

custom K&N typhoon v2 w/ modified Revi duct
rx7store highflow cat
GReddy SE catback exhaust
Racing beat v2 race flash
Axial Flow short shifter

I also have the Sohn omp adapter and premix although that should not impact performance.

I am 90% sure I left the timeslip on the kitchen counter when I got home last night. I will see if I can bring it to work tomorrow and scan it in. Worst case I'll list the stats from the slip.

 

Doesn't really change my point, though perhaps my point wasn't clearly made.

Just pointing out that saying "a mustang" is pretty subjective given the wide range of available "mustangs". The difference between the lowest end RX-8 vs highest end RX-8 is so miniscule that you can safely say "an RX-8".

Given the context, everyone will pick "the mustang" of their choice for comparisons.

I'd rather compare against the automatic V6 all day long, but it hardly proves anything, just like it hardly proves anything to compare against the top line, quite a bit more expensive, and significantly better performing mustang (of whatever type, branch, or flavor of preference)



Semantics. I get my panties in a bunch over them