Happy New Years folks!
Just wanted to introduce myself, I am the proud new owner of an '05 Titanium Silver '8 w/ Sport Pkg. Picked up the car on Friday I'm in Northern Cal.

I've been lurking here for several months now, had several cars in the wish pool but finally settled on the rX8 and sure hope I made the right choice! I'm coming from a moderately modded A4 (B5 chassis), which I will definitely miss in many ways, but I also know there's more fun to come w/ the '8. My last RWD car was a 911 SC; suffice it to say that the RX8 is a *bit* better balanced car than that one ;-)

I'm sure there's lots of Autocrossers/HPDEers on this board too, so hopefully I can benefit from all the knowledge you have w/ respect to setup/tires/brakes, etc.

allow me to ask my first questions:
-what is the offset of the stock 18" wheels?
-what is the widest tire that comfortably fits on the stockers and also clears the fender internals?
-*counting aftermarket wheels/offsets*, what other larger tire widths are possible?

Thanks and happy motoring,
Gulaman

 

Gulaman, welcome to the CULT!...umm....I mean...club.

Don't worry, you will not for one day regret buying this car. Just make sure that if you want her to take good care of you, you need to take good care of her first.
This forum is a fountain of knowledge but make sure you read your owners manual for some pretty useful tips;check oil regularly, do NOT under any circumstances shut off your car unless it is warmed up, etc.

I wish I had the answers to your questions but I'm sure someone will come along and assist.

Oh, and where's the pics of your new car?? We wanna see the newest addition.

 

Stock wheels are +50 offset 8" rims
245's or 255's seem to be the most common...I think a few have tried 265's on stock tires...but they caused problems...morso with the tire on a too narrow rim

I'm running 275-35-18's on 9.5" rims ( 45 offset ) and they fit......

Have a lot of questions...do a few searches on the forum...they will answer your guestions....and save you a lot of flames

 

welcome welcome! here's to many happy miles in your new 8!

 

congrats man, I'm holding out for 07 model year hoping for some updates to the current RX8. If ya got a chance could ya list your other choices you had considered and why you chose the RX8 over them?

A thought I had, since there is a lot of concern about warmup, has anyone considered installing a turbo timer and on short trips or just pulling the car out of the garage so you can work in the garage, just letting the turbo timer run for 10min to warm the car up and then shut it down? You don't need a turbo to use a turbo timer, its all about function. I personally haven't had flooding issues with my FC from not warming it up entirely.... ooh the gas bill I'd have if I did..... always in n out of garage when powdercoating.

 

Congrats and welcome!

 

Congrats and welcome. You have impeccable taste in color.

 

Uh, welcome, check the oil regularly, let her fully warm up, beware the curse!

 

[QUOTE=raspyrx7]congrats man, I'm holding out for 07 model year hoping for some updates to the current RX8. If ya got a chance could ya list your other choices you had considered and why you chose the RX8 over them?

QUOTE]

Thanky thanky. these were my other choices and rationale for non-selection:

S52 M Coupe (no complaints about this car, but very few low-mileage ones available)
Mk V GTI (not yet in the stores; US-spec gets 4x4 ride height)
'06 Civic SI (no discounts; most are asking over MSRP)
slightly used Miata +turbo+ roll bar (tempting but not as versatile as the 8)

 

Today was the first chance I got to take decent pics, since the weather has been dreadful the last few days:

 

Lookin good

 

is that an AT?

looks good

 

So that's what the sun looks like? (I'm stuck in Michigan - no sun in 15 days)

Nice car, dude.

 

Welcome GULAMAN.
Lots of info on autox and HPDE in the RX8-Competition and Wheels/Tires/Brakes/Suspension forums. I 2nd the recommendation to do a search there for answers to your questions, some of the topics have been discussed at length. You may also find some local-to-you motorsports participants by posting an intro of yourself in the Competition, or the Regional-West RX8 forums. Enjoy.
Edit: sorry, see that you've already found your way there.

 

Welcome to the club Gulaman.

Want clear corners? Check out the vendor forums, i think they're still on sale from one of the vendors.

Good luck with your 8!

 

Welcome to the club...it is quite an addiction..And yes beware of the curse every jackass on the road will cut you off, ride your *** and do anything to crash your 8..last night on the way home from work I had my blinker on and changed lanes, I was already in the lane and turning off my blinker when a jackass in a beat up toyota van tried to come into the same lane.... no blinker and I AM ALREADY HERE!!! hellooo!!! and he was yelling at me! ,,,, sir I am sorry you drive that POS but leave me alone!!

 

hmmm...Is that what the 'curse' everyone's mentioned is all about?? What's with the animosity from other drivers towards the rX8???

 

no no, the "curse" is the "curse of the silvers", where the silver cars tend to get in an accident. you will notice that if anyone posts a thread about them getting into an accident AND it's a silver car, someone will say "you've been hit by the curse". of course it's BS, really, because silver is simply the most popular color, so it makes sense that there's more silver accidents than others.

i haven't encountered any animonisy from other drivers, at least it's not any different than my last car (econobox mazda protege).