I brought up a question a while back asking about the pros of a rotary, as I'm not all that familiar w/ it. A recent post brought up good question -- does the pros of the rotary outweight the cons, and vice versa. I thought may a poll would show where ppl really stand (or perhaps identify the rotorhead purists from the rest?)

If you had the options of buying one or the other, which one would you choose?

1) The currently known RX-8, producing 180hp at the wheels, w/ its known characteristics (-MPG, -oil burn, +smooth revving, +50/50 perfection, +9k rpm).. or,

2) Say they came out w/ a hybrid, the "HX-8", where an Honda S2000 engine has been dropped in. 200hp at the wheels, and honda engine characteristics (reliable, +high revving, near 50/50, +8k rpm)

Which would you choose?

 

why

 

If you've driven an RX anything - not just a test drive, you wouldn't ask such a silly question on an RX-8 forum!

 

I had never driven a rotary before this one, but after having the car for a month it is amazing how smooth the engine really is, there is NO vibration at ANY RPM.

Crazy!

 

And this was asked not too long ago. Post is still floating around where someone asked if it mattered to people that the car had a rotary.

 

This is a complete waste of time. This forum is going to the *****

 

And posts like this add exactly what? if you guys would just ignore this stuff, it'd drop off the list really fast, and just add to the amount of threads started.

 

350zFan, one of the advantages of the rotary is its size and weight - half that of your renault engine in the 350Z. What this means is the engine is behind the front wheels. 50/50 weight distribution, and avery light nose - making handling and directional stability excellent. I can comment on this a little more knowledgably now, having had a good long test drive of one of the first UK cars (see my post in the Europe forum).

The RX8 chassis was developed with the rotary in mind from day one. It is a unique chassis specifically designed for it - so chucking in a piston engine would be pointless - and nigh on impossible, without a major redesign.

 

Don't take my nickname into acct -- i dont drive a 350z.
My post was intended to compare the renesis against the s2000 engine.

Does anyone have weight#'s comparing the Honda engine against the rx?

The point of the poll was to get a general idea of rx owners and whether the "smoothness" of their engine is valuable enough to sacrifice what can be found in a well developed piston engine as found in the s2000.
Again, sacrificing smoothness (and perhaps weight -- anyone w/ #'s?) for
- reliability (oil burning? etc)
- MPG
- and lets no forget what true enthusiasts are after, POWER.

Yes, there is another thread somewhat on the same topic, again, my point was a poll would give a good idea without sifting thru 10 pages of the thread.

 

seems to me this is a question that can be answered:

if you could, would you buy an RX 8 or an Honda S2000.

well, luckily, I DID have that choice....

maybe we can rephrase the question as

"since you had the choice of an RX-8 and a Honda S2000, did you buy (or will you) buy the RX-8"

seems kind of a silly question to me....

 

the issue here though is all suppositional. The S2000 has a great engine but it is in a small light car - miata-like and it exists in no other form. The RX 8 is uniquely balanced. For instance read the article that compares the RX 8 vs. 350Z reviewed (see thread) that article describes quite well the advantages to the "design" of the rx 8. It isn't just smoothness. The rotary engine weighs about 200 lbs and the size is an advantage that allows for the design of the car. The handling is as good as you can get in its price range.

Its like this - small cars are great to zip around town in. You can weave in and out of traffic and have fun while driving. Bigger or HEAVIER cars and suvs are like cruisers that cannot maneuver well in town. Problem! most small cars have little power or the sporting variety only offers 2 seats and tiny accomodations. The RX is quick handling in town and has space AND rides great too. THere are other things but...