*cough*500lbs*cough*200lbs for the WRX*sneeze*

The Impreza has become a pig when they came along with the GD(2002+ for you RX8 peeps that don't know).

I know Nick. I think the RX8 would fit him well. He just needs to see if the power drop from the STI would be livable. The RX8 is faster than she feels but still no match even for a WRX in a straight line, but handling is another story.

 

Math isn't your strongsuit huh? The Evo weighs between 3200 and 3300 lbs depending on trim and the STI weighs a little more. They'd have to be over 3500 lbs. to be 500 lbs. heavier.

 

I have an 04 RX-8 and an 06 STi. The handling is kinda like this: The 8 is finesse, the STi is more 'aim and punch it". I love them both. The STi, however, is much more practical for day-to-day living. It's not that you can't use the RX-8 the same way, I think it's just easier with the Impreza.

Seems like putting a bike inside the back of the 8 would be tight and really annoying. I never tried it though.

Good luck with your decision. I'm sure you won't regret the 8 - even if it's less practical. It's a really fun car to drive.

 

I am double checking but I am sure that the ready to drive weights of the STI and EVO are the same and were closer to 3400-3500lbs.

I was wrong. I admit that. 3192 for the WRX,3351 for the STI,3275 for the Evo, and 3075 for the RX8.

So thats 125 for the WRX,275 for the STi,200 for the Evo. I do remember that the cars were weighed by Car and Driver and the cars were a little over 3400. But I guess their scales could be off.

I know my WRX feels alot heavier than the weight suggest.

Edit: Can you tell I am fed up with my Subaru. I will bring up inaccurate numbers to justify an argument to get rid of it. I loved my first one but this second one I am not so enthusiastic about this one. I just don't look forward to modding a car to have the handling I had with the RX8 but with a firmer ride.

Edit 2: Sorry to bring my personal feelings to this Nick. Drive one and see what you think. Gonna try to be impartial from now on.

 

A car feeling heavy or not is based more on perception and suspension that it is actual weight. My Maxima weighed less than my WRX or Evo and if I told someone the Maxima was the lightest after giving them rides in all 3 they'd say I was crazy.

 

Car and Driver weighed their preproduction (Sport) RX-8 at 2940 pounds, their long termer (Grand Touring with nav and spoiler) at 3067 pounds. Road & Track weighed their Grand Touring at 3000 pounds. The long term Car and Driver car was probably weighed with the revised 16 pounds heavier battery. I have a feeling Road & Track's version was also a preproduction model. If you want a sub-3000 pound RX-8, get a base or possibly a Sport.

 

It's pretty easy to lose 100lbs.

Start with dry battery and Revi intake, the go to single RB exhaust.

Loose 20lbs and your almost there!

 

I weighed mine at the local 1/4 mile track. Total was 3208lbs with me in it. The details;

Half a tank of gas
I weigh 168 lbs plus I had a small cooler, helmet, and 2 quarts of oil inside.
Sport package with spare tire kit, apperarance package, and rear wing

 

Sales brochure listed the car at 3024lbs

 

I read once that RX base model weighted about 2980 lbs. It sounds like you maybe in that neighborhood with out the extras.

 

Uhhh... given that he wrote:it's pretty clear why the MS6 isn't going to be a good choice for him.

Has the 2006 RX8 gained weight? The base 2004/2005 RX8 6MT weighs 2880-2890 (varies slightly between sources), the sports model weighs 2933, the loaded MT weighs 3029, and the loaded AT weighs 3052.

Even if the 2006 RX8 is heavier than before, it's worth noting (considering nhluhr's stated priorities) that it'll have have roughly 550 fewer pounds on the front wheels compared to his STI.

Having written all that, if you don't need the back seats go with the MX5 or a used S2k (if you can fit in the S2k, that is).

 

I'd say it depends on your size. I've sat in a MX-5 and a S2000. No way I'd buy either one... I just barely fit in them. I'm 6' 200 or so lbs. I had no problem with the RX-8 except for the sunroof when in the passenger's seat.

 

1.) Considering he's trying to save money he doesn't have a whole lot of other choices. I just just throwing it out there, not saying it was the best choice. Hell, I don't even like the MS6...

2.) Yes the RX-8 has gained weight. You're also not using curb weight other than the 3029 number. I don't see why the weight distribution really matters... The STI will still have no problem taking out an RX-8 on a road course and by most accounts is the better handler.

3.) Uhhh... given that he wrote: it's pretty clear why the S2K isn't going to be a good choice for him.

4.) Did it take you 2 weeks to write this post?

 

1) Yeah, but he said he wanted something with "absolutely terrific handling/braking" and just ""enough" power". The MS6 doesn't match his priorities.

2) I dunno why you insist on using the loaded GT weight (we've argued about this before). In some parts of the world, different weights are listed for different trims. In the context of discussions like this, it makes sense to mention the weight range. Someone more concerned with performance can get a base or sports models and someone who wants more luxury can go with a heavier GT. On that note, I looked up the weight for the current MY; looks like the MT has gained 16 pounds and the AT has gained 22 pounds.

You still "don't see why the weight distribution really matter"? It contributes to the RX8's ability to keep up with cars with better power/weight ratios (depending on the track or situation, obviously). Having driven an STI and owned a WRX for a couple years, I agree with screamindean:Don't get me wrong, I loved the STI... it was a blast and handled very well, but it wasn't as responsive as the RX8.

3) Heh... I didn't see that he'd responded saying he doesn't fit in the S2k (obviously). A friend of mine wants an S2k, but has the same problem (though he fits in the Z4 and MX5).

4) Nope, found this thread this morning while I was searching for something else:

 

1.) No car really does fit all of his needs, cheap and exactly what he wants doesn't exist.

2.) I've heard on more than one ocassion that the 3029 is for an RX-8 with popular options, whatever that means... So show me where it says the 3029 is for a fully loaded GT. In the '07 crash tests a stripped down model still weighed a touch over 3000 lbs. In other words, 500 lbs heavier is an exageration no matter how you slice it.

3.) Oh, weight distribution matters for the RX-8, but it doesn't make one car handle better than another. Almost all of the best handling cars in the world have a bias one way or another. I've put up with this nonsense in all forms of racing, karting, RC racing, and real racing. Being able to balance the center of your car on a pinhead is neat and all, but results are a lot neater...

 

this had been mention before about the mazda 6, plenty room for the bike and the power is pretty good + with the gt package it looks great,

 

1) Sure, an exact match seldom exists, but my point was that the MS6 doesn't at all line up with his stated priorities. OK, we're repeating ourselves here so that's enough of that one.

2) Several mags weighed the sports model at 2933. Many, many owners have weighed their cars with a full tank with results that support the car weighing well under 3000 pounds (while the only WRXs, STIs, S2ks, etc owners that I know of that found their cars to weigh significantly less than the published curb weights had stripped weight off their cars). Also, for years Mazda Japan has listed the RX8 as weighing between 2888 and 3000 pounds (depending on trim).

But let's assume for the sake of argument that the USA-spec RX8 is 50 pounds heavier... that'd still make it 2938 for the base 6MT. I haven't seen any crash tests showing that the stripped down model weighs over 3000 pounds and that goes against a lot of evidence to the contrary.

My guess is that Mazda lists the loaded weight for the USA because (1) it's still less than competitor's weight, (2) it calls less attention to the 13B-MSP being slightly over-rated in the USA.

You hammered longfury pretty hard when he wrote the WRX was 200 pounds heavier and the STI 500 pounds heavier. He wasn't as far off as your condescending response to him implied.

3) That's a strawman argument. No one here is saying that a car needs to balance on a pinhead, but all other things being equal, a car with more-balanced weight distribution will out handle an other-wise identical nose-heavy car unless you're looking at specific situations that favor frontward bias (like accelerating uphill, out of a turn).

The STI handles very well as does the EVO. But they acheive that despite being nose-heavy (through chassis reinforcements, stiff suspension, grippy tires, etc). And it's not just weight distribution, but how high up the weight is and what the car's yaw-moment is. Like the 13B-MSP, the boxer also has a low COG. But it's still a taller car with a lot more glass up high compared to the RX8.

 

Does anyone really know what the definition of automobile handling is? The term "handling" is one of those terms that seems to mean something different to the next person. The more knowledgeable ones however seem to agree that handling is something in the realm of the subjective.

My 2 cents:
Handling is not really slalom speed. Handling is definitely not grip or lateral g's. Handling is not really a fast lap. A car can be slow and have fantastic handling. Handling has quite a bit to do with machine-driver communication and how a car remains predictable near, at, and particularly beyond its limits.