Aero8

I agree with the people on it depending on how the driver is acting, but for me it also depends on the environment.

I had a WRX riding next to me one night with 4 others in the car that he wanted to show off for. at the time there was traffic, but we still could have gone in and out of it. to me that is where i agree with street racing is stupid, as that would have just been blatently unsafe. 2 miles up the road all of the traffic was gone and the road was well lit, no one else was around as we slowed for a stop light so when it turned green we both hit it, didn't go (too far) over the speed limit and then we both slowed right away after he got a little less than a car length on me. we both turned off on a side street because we both needed to turn around I talked to him for a couple minutes, he was actually a nice guy and not just a imature ricer.

Yeah street racing can get people killed, but not everyone is totally ignorant and acts like a jacka**. Everyone shouldn't be labeled as 15 because they were having fun with their car.

rotten42

^

The problem is that no matter how careful and how good a driver you are, if something happens the consequences are severe. There are ways to have fun with your car on the street without racing. If you want to race, go to the track!!!

Red Devil

I just ignore it. I've got nothing to prove to anyone.

Rems31

Are there 15 y.o. drivers out there? I got my license at 16... :-P

saturn

If the RX-8 had 300whp would any of you that aren't keen on racing be more inclined to do so? Even just to take someone off the line up to 60-70mph and then slow down?

I'm not trying to make a point or anything. I'm just curious.

zoned

I came up on an intersection the other day and across from me was one of those old school
Cutlass'. Now i'm fully aware that my car is not a straight line racer, so i'm not even trying to mess with this guy. we go through the intersection and just as he gets beside me, he rips it. dude must have been packing 500 horses and no muffler, because i swear all I heard for the next hour was that high pitched beeeeeeep in my head. Why do old motor heads feel the need to pick on the curve inclined?

rotten42

the hp of the RX8 has nothing to do with it. Street racing isn't a smart thing to do


I get guys wanting to race me all the time...from Neons to trucks to BMW's. I let them do their thing and I continue on my drive hoping that the next merge lane I encounter is free of traffic.

9291150

Man, the judgement here!

Let me set myself up here for lectures and name calling...I've raced on the street. We are so politically correct that admitting this is akin to saying I molest little furry creatures...which I don't! But do we not realize that more crashes occur from cell-phone use than from the occasional enthusiasts who may push their cars on a country road driving home?

Now I'll admit, in my youth I was unquestionably reckless and I was lucky I didn't hurt myself and others. I never thought about the right location, company, timing, limits etc. Speed, like many other things were (and often remain) an insatiable urge. I'd race anybody, even if I knew I'd loose. I took it to the track whenever I could afford it back then, which only increased my urges on the street. My cousin was a pro bike racer, and he couldn't resist either. Was I unique in my idiocy? Don't think so.

Today I get challenged by kids, I don't indulge them but I understand and I don't look down my nose at them. I'm glad there are public campaigns against street racing, maybe it'll get some of them to think. But it's still gonna happen like it always has. The same cops enforcing this are often the same hot-rodders who lived this back in the 60's.

Maybe I am an idiot to some of you, ask me if I care. But when my cousin and I get on our bikes and ride some of our favorite country roads, I'll play every time.

firephoenix

Nobody ever said racing is bad. We all mean STREET racing. So go to the open-dirt roads and have fun! Racing is never a good idea. Just wait until someone you love gets run over by some moron in a mustang showing how big his dick is.

Racing is inherently unsafe...you can never justify it by saying you're extra careful or smart about it... Know what? cell phone road junkies suck too!

Red Devil

I never really raced with either of my RX-7s, both were more powerful than the RX-8. The only races I can ever recall were against two friend's cars, and another guy once in an M3. All of those were when I was like 17-18.

Elara

If you actually give in to idiots who rev their engines at you, yes, you're an idiot. You want to really **** them off? Smile and wave.

And no, Saturn- I've driven quite a few other cars as fast or faster than the RX-8, and I can't say I've ever had any real desire to race someone on a public street. But then, I don't feel like I have something to prove to anyone else, either.

Rhythmic

Oddly enought I don't hardly ever get people wanting to race me. I thought for sure before I got the 8 that attention from ricers and cops would be inevitable. I rarely get attention from either?? Knock on wood.

cleoent

i show them my gas receipt and they instantly feel sorry for me and leave me alone

firephoenix

haha - actually I've noticed that if I baby my 8 I get 0 more miles per gallon. This is the only car that doesn't care if you floor it or drive like grandma when it comes to gas consumption.

otherside

What about on the highway? I'm cruising along at my normal 80mph, very light traffic and I see a WRX comming up fast behind me. I then see him change lanes to the right to pass. At this point he must be going 100mph. I speed just enough to box him or her in with a slower moving car in the right lane. He or she then gets back over and tailgates me. Thats when I go the same speed as the other car. Good clean fun.

Caution: may cause road rage in certain drivers.

Aero8

I can understand that, and I agree with you on a majority of what you said, but I don't think that people who go from a stop light on an open road when there are no other instersections for a bit should be classified as having the maturity of someone goes out and races through the city because he knows he can beat the guy in the turns and weave into a smaller space between cars than he can.

As for the consequences being severe if something happens, those consequences are there whether you are racing, talking on the phone, looking for a cd to put in the radio, or when you are taking a left turn at a normal speed and hit a slick spot on the road that was just enough to put your car sideways in the lane. They are there everytme you get in a car but it doesn't stop people (as I don't know you or you habits while driving) from doing other things can can have the same effect as racing.

rotten42

In Canada they've made street racing a criminal offence....There was a rash of deaths in Vancouver over the last couple of years where people where racing in the streets and most often t-boned someone in a car not supecting two cars coming at them at top speed.

tjtull

Out on the open road, with little traffic, I'll blow them away and not have to worry about them. At a stop light, I don't bother. I know I can't win from a standing start...unless it's a truck or something

tjtull

I get much better MPG if I take it easy. I had to take it easy for about 6 months, due to getting double ticketed in one stop...******* cop!! It made a big difference for me.

tjtull

...oh, and the slower you go, the more girls that can admire your car/you

Aero8

See that I can agree with purely out of the top speed part. For the little "street racing" I may do, it don't let it pass speeds that I would normally drive at on the road I may be on. whether it is completely clear with no intersections or not.

out of curisousity, does Canada also have point where speeding is considered a criminal offense also? such and 20 over or 30 over?

DARKMAZ8

take it to the twisties

saturn

Has everyone seen that scene in Meet the Parents where Greg is racing home? At every green light he floors it and 100 ft later he has to slam on the brakes. That's how I drive. I can't let my speed get to high out of fear speeding tickets. However, the laws regarding how fast you accelerate (e.g. - reckless driving) up to the speed limit are much harder to enforce so it's a safer bet. While this is bad for the car, environment, other people's safety, and my wallet it's loads of fun.

Umbra

If someone doesn't have a competitive bone in their body then why did they buy a sportscar? Obviously in the middle of town you just look like a moron doing street racing, but on a more or less vacant road with few side entrances that you know well I don't see much of an issue with a little fun as long as it's nothing rediculous like triple the speed limit.

Someone with a well maintained modified high performance sportscar is nearly always a far far safer driver even at high speeds than the average driver on the road unless their parents have more money than brains.

Gambit

i didn't even know there were laws on acceleration.

I figured the best they'd be able to get me on was noise, and that's only in certain towns after a certain time