Yesterday I went with a friend of mine to have a beer. He wanted to see my RB exhaust and hear the sound (He wants to buy the a convertible sport car, the new Pontiac Solstice). I gave him a ride and open the engine (close to redline a couple of times). He was very impress with the acceleration & sound and when we took a curve at high speed he freaked out. He though that we would never make this curve at this speed (he was a bit afraid) but I can assure you that I could have accelerated more without any problem. I usually don't drive fast and it was the first time that I took a curve (U shape) at that speed. I was even impressed myself!

I cleaned my car today and the inside of the exhaust was all black (I guess it needed that to get the carbs out!).

I just wanted to share this with you guys, it was such a trill to take this curve and see how well this car handles it. I like it even more today!

 

yup, this car handles nicely.

 

Even without high-end mods, it's a great car and a whole lot of fun. I've never had a car I've enjoy driving more.

 

Yeah, I agree. I love taking the offramps as fast as I can, and I think I need to train myself to handle it. It's so lovely.

 

Just don't ever test drive a Porsche and it'll stay that way.

 

After you got out of the turn you should have said to your friend, "Why were you so freaked out? What part of pwns in da twisties didn't you understand?"

 

put on your twistie tie !

 

 

I'm not sure which Porsche you were talking about but have you read this?

http://www.rx8web.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4532

 

What the crap? RX8web.com? Is that like a bizarro-forum or something? I even see some of the same people over there that are here. You two-timing hussies!

 

I've test-driven the Boxster. Or were you talking about the Porsches that cost an absurd amount more than the 8 rather than just a ridiculous amount?

 

I can run circles around those boxters

 

yup, you got to train yourself on not to be afraid. i was freaked out taking my first few high speed turns. Starting to get used to it now. haha

 

boxster? I heart that theCayman is a real killer.

 

I've driven the Boxster, the Boxster S and the Cayman. In my OPINION:

1) The RX-8 is very comparable both in "feel of power" and handling to the base Boxster - considering the base Boxster is a solid $25,000 more costly than the RX-8, that's nice. I have two friends who have Boxsters and have swapped cars for spirited drives with both of them, and both have said that the RX-8 feels more stable and predictable than their cars, and about comparable in terms of power and acceleration. Now, before all you dorks who are numbers-obsessed flame me with the "but the Boxster has ...", I'm talking FEEL here. I neither know or care about the Boxster's horsepower and torque numbers. Now, that said, the Boxster does decidely have a more torque-y engine, but the RX-8's ability to pull strongly to its insanely-high 9000 RPM redline is what these guys enjoyed.

2) Both the Boxster S and the Cayman run rings around the regular Boxster and the RX-8, at more than twice the price, I'd sure hope so.

To Humagin: My favorite part of the car is the handling - it is so much fun to go ripping through corners with this car. Glad you're having fun - go tear it up a bit on your own - that's when it's most fun. Extra people = extra weight to haul around a corner. That 150-200 lbs of weight your buddy adds to the car will detract from the handling.

Best handling setup: 42 PSI front tires, 38 PSI rear, half-tank of gas and just me in the car!

 

Hang on, there.

A MR set up handles very differently than a FR set up. The turning momentum is different, and the characteristics on and off throttle mid-corner and mid-braking through turns is different. Neither is really 'better' but they are different, and getting used to them is important in figuring out the 'feel'. That being said, I'd be happily surprised if an 8 could keep up with a Boxster around a twisty track.

FR is probably easier to drive just upon jumping into the car, and the 8 is an example of great FR handling that is fast and forgiving.

 

Hey, whatever it is, I like the handling of this car better, AND I'm faster on the autocross track with it, even after 6 runs.