i test drove a bunch of rx8s.

recently, i took two cars out for a test drive - back to back.

a 2008 with 4500 miles on it. the other was a 2006 with 19k.

both cars were fully loaded GT 6 speed manuals.

the newer car felt stiffer and tighter. it clearly cornered better. the NEWER car had upgraded wheels/tires - but in the exact stock size - 225-45-18. the tires on the 08 were POtenza R050s.

the 06 still had the original equipment tires - Dunlop SP8090s. the tires on the 06 looked a bit worn, but by no means "bald" but it's obviouys they were the OEM tires... with almost 20k on them. as they are almost two years old, they may be worn and not gripping like they should.

but my senses during the test drive were that the newer car felt tighter. the steering, the body roll, turn in - all felt crisper on the newer car.

if the used one had 60k i would have NO problem figuring that 60k miles and numerous years of driving had worn the suspension down...and stuff was in need of replacement..

but is it normal for an rx8 with 19k to need new shocks, or to at least feel looser? i mean i know it's not a new car, but 19k is NOT THAT MUCH! it's relatively low miles...

maybe it was the tires. the 08 had newer tires..that may be grippier? although what I thought I was feeling was not so much tire grip as it was body roll....

anyway... subjectively the 08 felt better/tighter.

the 06 was nice, just not as nice. although the 06 was a lot cheaper and i'd have oney left over to add intake/exhaust/shocks/springs/sway bars and new tires.

hmmmm...

 

Tires are the problem.

 

i suspected tires had somethign to do with it. the 06 had tires that had 19k on them and were OEM from a 2006 car.

the 2008 had brand new tires.

i know as tires age, the rubber can harden, so even a grteat tire, with time and miles will not stick like it used to.

i am tempted to make some offer on the 06 - and then mazdaspeed the crap out of it and see how quick/tight i coudl make it. i woudl think witgh a bunch of mazdaspeed supension parts new tires, intake/exhaust it woudl be a slick little car. maybe even better than the 08

 

Yeah, tires.

Back in 2001 when I got my Expedition, it came with some tires that were OEM Goodyear tires with about 20K miles on them, it drove okay. Some body roll at the turns.

The dealer put on some General (brand) tires, and even though they were a low end economy tire, the ride improved, less roll.

But unhappy with the Generals, we worked out a deal to instead go with some top of the line Michelin LTS-M/X and the difference was like night and day.

So if I could feel the difference in some big old honking SUV simply due to tire choice, I would imagine the difference in a little 'ol sports car would be even more noticeable.

So yeah, tires.

 

I'm at 70K and its still the same as 19k when I bought it

 

Did you use a tire pressure gauge and compare pressures? Tire pressures play a big role in the "feel" of the car.

 

Gas shocks are good for about 100k max as far as I know.

Probably a good idea to replace or upgrade around 60k. (for max performance)

I'm a 32k and I'm looking to get some Koni sport shocks next season.

 

I found the stock shocks began going (not being as responsive) at about 25K miles, so YMMV. They were still "fine" and were not super-bouncy or anything, but they were definitely not as "tight" as brand new.

Renesis07, with your 70K on stock shocks, I bet money if you threw a set of fresh stock shocks on, you would totally notice a difference (or even compared to the shocks when they had 19K).

Though anyways, people have different driving styles and different feel for the car (and they pay attention to different things), and so to some, the degradation in shocks will be a lot less obvious than to others.