Fanman

Great so you know one CEO that drives a WRX. Image is a lot. If you are not in corporate america, you don't know what you are talking about. Try driving up in a riced out STI and you will get pigeon-holed as 'young" & never to be taken seriously by your superiors (& hence probably older). If image is nothing, then that is why most execs drive BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Ferrari when they can just be driving an EVO...yeah right. This is thinking from a 18 year old boy racer's point of view. The RX8 is passable as an "adult" sports car. The STI, EVO, SRT4's are not.

spork

if those shallow losers are your meal ticket, i bet people do care.

either u're being dense or you just have an overly optimistic view of the world. people DO care what car you drive. your friends and family won't and the people worth your trust shouldn't care either. but there's no denying that appearances give people benefits.

take an average looking guy making X dollars a year driving an old ford taurus vs the same guy driving a spanking new ferrari. who do you think gets more attention from the ladies when going out at night? sure girls that date you only because of the car you drive aren't worth striking up relationships with but the fact remains that you'll "attract" more girls and turn more heads in your ferrari. shallow? yes, but if you're denying its effect, i think you think too highly of people in general.

business wise, take a ceo that drives his multi million dollar client to a nice restaurant in his hyundai accent vs one that drives his client to a nice restaurant in his BMW 7 series. do you think the client might instinctively feel different about the ceo? image is important for first impressions.

yep, this thread has been hijacked a bit. well, the original poster already bought an rx-8 anyways.

raji

i agree with spork.

Case in point: Donal Trump isn't married cause he's hot.

khtm

I thought he was married because of his incredible hair...?

raji

my bad, i forgot about that physics-defying hair

dwill9578

I'm intrenched in "corporate America" and all upper management have E46's and many larger comfy "sporty" luxo cars, LS430,S-class but usally at my office the M3 reigns. And no I would not want to roll up in a STI, instead of getting complimented on my 8, they wouldn't fart in the general direction of a STI let alone compliment one. One guy's got and EVO, he gets teased all the time and no not by me. now maybe they'll think i got good taste and give me more MONEY!!!!!!!!!jk

Ike

Sounds like a horrible way to live your life. Letting a bunch of lemmings dictate your purchases and life decisions. Most people I come across in corporate America hate their jobs as well, I'll continue loving my job and buying whatever car I want and loving that as well.

spork

ah but you see if u're high up enough that it matters, you're probably making enuf to have a nice luxury sedan to drive to work AND your fun cars (STis, RX-8s, Evos, S2ks, whatever roadsters, etc).

i'm willing to put up with that crap if it makes me the money to enjoy my life otherwise.

dwill9578

I don't know where to start so i won't, I choose what I drive and how I live. I also have a funny feeling you would not know the first thing about corporate america. I can tell you one thing; again 4000 post for a car you don't even own says it all. every post i've seen from you is an arugment. I will not respond to you again. You are the reason why I stay away from these things............less than 100 posts later.

dwill9578

either way he went with the right car, I apologize to all others for a wasted post, at least it's not 4000 wasted posts

BlueEyes

you need to settle down. Put him on block and stfu. Nobody cares about your hard on for him.

dwill9578

now now, lets not tell people to stfu.....you late for class??????

Ike

Oh god, whatever will I do! Please respond to more posts of mine

Cattywampus

Here come the banning stick

eaurougeflatout

I own an STi and an RX-8. My wife uses the 8 as her daily driver and I drive the STi. They are both fantastic cars. The each have their strengths and weaknesses and choosing between them will come down to taste more than anything.

1) The RX-8 has fantastic interior: very refined, functional, comfortable. The STi's interior is functional and well made, but nowhere near as beautifully styled or refined as the 8.

2) The power: The 8 is adequetely powered, but requires extremely high revs to get at that power. The engine is typical rotary creamy smooth and has a cool exhaust note. The STi is beast even stock. Acceleration is incredible off the line, and even more importantly, out of 2nd gear corners where you want that solid corner-exit punch. If you need/want that kick in the back, you won't quite get it with the 8. The STi will give it to you and then some.

3) Handling: Both cars handle extremely well, but the STi handles better at the limits. Beyond that, it depends on what you want. The STi is AWD, so it does has some understeer when pushed. In order to get the most out of the STi, you have to drive it differently than the 8--trailing the brakes later into the corner to get the chasis to pivot on the front. Yes this means you carry less speed at the apex than the 8, but the engine punch gets you a great drive off the corner that the 8 can't match. The native chasis balance is better with the 8, being essentially 50/50 and that is apparent with its neutral handling. Its damping is notably softer than the STi, giving the car a "heavier" feel when pushed, but by no means does this mean the car is sloppy. The stearing feel is telepathic, the brakes are light and easy to modulate, and the shift action is smooth if a bit long.

I have heard that pre-2005 model STi's suffered from less-than-crisp turn-in, but the 2005 feels sharp and mostly free from understeer unless pushed hard (perhaps the addition of a yaw sensor and slightly wider rims has helped in this regard). The STi seems to enjoy switchbacks better than the 8, although both track well and both have loads of grip. Someone mentioned that the STi can feel "floaty." I have never felt that. In the last few days while my wife was away on business I drove both cars repeatedly over indentical sections of road. The STi is clearly race-car stiff and responsive, but it does read the road. The 8 does well through fast sweepers, and is dead-neutral, but over rough road at high speed, it can float somewhat (it does track predictably, however).

The 8, due to its softer suspension, does roll far more than the STi. This does not necessarily harm the car's handling, but it does put some limits on it. That said, having a softer set-up works better in marginal traction conditions and makes the car more forgiving of um....shall we say...well, less-than-Schumacher-like driving ability. We put snow tires on the 8 for the winter and the car was capable in the snow (and a handfull without the snow tires). The STi on stock rubber (which are darn near half slicks) is a handfull, but with all weather tires the STi is a blast in the snow--easily the most fun car to drive in the snow I've ever driven. Also, charging around in the snow in the STi is probably as close to feeling like Petter Solberg as I will ever get.

The STi is probably more track-oriented, while the 8 is more suited to spirited road driving. My sense is that the 8's chassis, being so well balanced, would accomodate a more race-ready suspension (and the car's performance in race trim bears this out), but out-of-the-box, the STi is ready to be pushed without a tweak. Like I said, however, the STi is AWD and that does require a different touch than a RWD car.

I won't say much on styling, since that is so subjective anyway, save for this: while the STi is by no means a pretty car, being a fan of World Rally, the whole "ricer" image is kind of odd to me. When I look at my STi (WR Blue with gold rims), I see the car Solberg won the championship with in 2003. That doesn't make the STi pretty, but it is fun to watch the WRC on speed and then hop in the same car and go to work...even if Solberg and company dwarf my puny driving talents.

My two cents, sorry if I repeated anything other posters already said.

Cattywampus

Ike should like it.

khtm

Too bad Ike doesn't drive an STi

crimson-rain

The 8 is like butter; smooth, subtle, and agile. With a little bit more power, and it doesn't have to be that much more, IMO would out do an STi on a track consistantly. Yes, the STi is a beast and it can handle it's butt off, but you have "drive" the crap out of it aka fight with it. And like any fight with something more powerful than you, you are going to get beat up.

The 8 is not like this. It responds to input without question, so to speak. I guess if I had an analogy it would be:

The STi responds to input like a stubborn student(STi) with more knowledge(hp+torque). An awesome student, but you really have to push him and that gets tireing. Yes, he deffinitely turns in whats asked of him to the utmost, but it's a pain in the butt sometimes just getting him to do it.

The 8 responds to input like an attentive student(RX8) with less knowledge(hp+torque). Also an awesome student. You don't have to push him as hard. He does what he is asked and returns only what was asked of him. He gets the job done with no lip.

(DUDE, NOW THAT WAS A WEIRD ANALOGY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But those of you with kids can probably relate.)

raji

if the work is harder to get all the potential out but the result is more rewarding... then where's the problem? Aquiring good things takes hard work last time i checked.

Cattywampus

Well dduuuuuuhhhhhh Anything involving a WRX or Sti he is all over:p

RX8rider

Not to change the subject, but how is it that an STI has a 0-30 time of 1.2 sec and other, more powerful/exotic cars with more HP/Torque and weighing less (i.e, maserati mc12, ferrari f430 f1...) have slower 0-30 times?

khtm

^ Doesn't it have to do with the AWD?

Pololo_RX8

Ok guys...

I have seen enough.

Me likes the STI... Me LOVES the RX8....

Enough said... I made my choice so move on... If you want to start another thread and "beat each other out" be my guest... but don't hijack this one anymore....

Appreciate your opinions...
I have 2 kids and they will love the 8... Heck even the wife now wants to borrow the car.

Thanks...
Carlos

Diabolical RX8

There is no way I would find myself buying a Used RX8.

I know this may seem as if I am putting down our car, but I'm not. The rotary engine is more delicate and probably easier to break than the STI's Boxer 4.

Now down to business.

RX8 -
Eye catcher
Not your everyday race car (less people try to race you)
9000 RPM Redline
Smooth Engine/Throttle Response
Aftermarket Upgrades are increasing in a fast amount.
Mazda Warranty (what warranty?)
Backseats are semi-comfortable/space

STI -
Your everyday hotshot ricer dream car. (meaning ricers drool over it)
Everyone tries to race you. (dont wanna get in trouble with the law now do you?)
Ummmmm.... 6500-7k Redline?
Beefy 2.5L Turbo Engine
Aftermarket is already at its peak.
Subaru Warranty (I never see Subarus in the shop except for wrecks)
Backseat is great

Dont really know what else to put.

EDIT:

Didnt see your last post.

Glad to hear you picked the 8

Ike

The last thing we need is another thread on the STi vs. RX-8. You've made your decision and that's fine but this stopped being your thread a long time ago :p BTW grats on the 8 and enjoy.

Eaurouge, nice comparison.

khtm, I agree, I wish I could have gotten the STi but I needed a car and the STi was still not at dealers. I could have ordered one but then I was looking at MSRP+.

RXRider, most supercars are overwhelmed by the amount of power the have. Some of the others that are AWD just don't launch as well as the STi for some reason, the same goes for the Evo as well.

Crimson, IMO you have to work harder with the 8 in some areas and harder with the STi in others. Neither of them are much of a workout when it comes to driving but the STi is certainly more of a brute, but in a good/fun way IMO


Diabolical, I bet people in RX-8s get more people messing with them to race than STi drivers. Your average ricers steers clear of STis and WRXs, with the RX-8 they'll test their luck. Very very few people try to race me in my WRX, I get messed with more in my girlfriend's Altima.

The aftermarket is growing for the RX-8 but it's slowly and still pretty sparse. The STI market is still growing rapidly and people are upping the game when it comes to horsepower monthly it seems. Don't forget that the 2.5 was a bit of a mystery when it was first introduced since the rest of the world gets 2.0l, so they are still testing the limits and improving the tuning on it.