Its not secret that to get the RX-8 to accelerate at its best you really gotta rev high and clutch dump to get the 5.8-6.0 0-60mph, or so it would seem from the magazine reviews. It also appears that more normal street starts result in times closer to 7.5 sec for a 0-60. Is there any middle ground here? I’m not planning on drag racing, but I would like to find a way to get good acceleration off the line without melting my tires and destroying my transmission, as I’m not a fan of clutch dumps. Could you find a way to launch the car so as you maybe could hit 0-60 in like 6.5-6.7 without doing damage? I’m trying to figure out how this car will do in everyday driving.

 

Remind me again which car on the road will do around 6 seconds without a clutch dump.... not many.

I think given the low torque of the engine it's not going to be a big hazard if you rev it up a bit and dump it, and if you do it at 4-5k RPMs then you've got the time you are looking for.

Keep in mind that a rotary will rev up far more quickly than a piston engine.

 

You could try a different rolling start technique: once moving you press the clutch, rev it up, and let go! :D

This could give you "happy medium" times between the 5.9s 0-60mph and the 7.5s 5-60mph

 

Huh? 0-60 in 7.5 seconds? When was this information released? 7.5 seconds is NOT a good time for a 250 HP car.

 

It's a rolling start from 5-60. The G35C will run in the range of around 6.2-6.5 seconds for that, the RX-8 at 7.5.

 

um, is that supposed to make it OK? I thought this car was supposed to be fast! Not that speed is the ONLY thing about this car, but it sure is one of the factors. And if it takes 7.5 seconds to get to 60 from rolling, I may have to rethink my order.

 

Then rethink it.

You should have read the boards as the discussion has already progressed past this fact. Please use the search if you have any other questions because they likely have been answered.

 

Just about every car accelerates more slowly from 5-60 than 0-60. If you dump the clutch at 8k or whatever, you'll get around the 5.8 number. If you slip the clutch at closer to 3k, you'll get something slower than 5.8 but faster than 7.5 seconds.

If the 7.5 second number bothers you, make sure you compare it to other cars' 5-60 numbers, and not their 0-60 numbers. You don't want to be comparing apples to oranges.

Here are some numbers I found with a very quick google search. Since I took them from the internet I can't guarantee that they're 100% accurate, but they seem reasonable to me:

CAR and DRIVER: October 1999 issue
Car 0-60 5-60
S2000 5.8 6.8
Boxster 6.5 7.3
SLK 8.2 8.6
M Roadster 5.5 6.5

Other source:
Miata 7.6 8.3


Hope that helps a bit. Remember, you don't drive a stat sheet.

 

So its looks like the RX-8 is about on par with its competition, which is good. My M6 does a 0-60 in about 6.7 and a 5-60 in about 7.5 according to C&D.

I don't mind revving the engine to get some power, its fun, its just figuring out that point where you can have the most fun with out damaging your car. I usually launch my 6 @ about 1500-2000 rpm for normal driving.

 

Not saying these stats are wrong for the S2000, but there was a C&D a couple of months ago with a bunch of coupe's 350Z Audi TT, Mustang and the S2000 where they have the S2000 a 5-60mph of 7.6, but I think it did have a hardtop on, not sure how much of a difference that would be.

 

The srt-4, 350z and wrx are all sub 5 second 0-60 cars

 

uh the car is not a speed demon....
and yes the 7.5 seconds from 5-60 is legit.


The car ,like almost every review i read, lacks TORQUE. TORQUE is what give you good launch times without needing to do a 5000 rpm clutch dump.

Don't hold out for a turbo either..... keeping with emissions standards will be very hard to do being that the exhaust runs very cool and the cat back can't do it's thing... which is why the original rx-7 went away.

 

This from the press event:
Q: Can torque be greatly improved on the RX-8 RENESIS by turbocharging/supercharging and is MazdaSpeed working on such an enhancement?

A: 1st, I'd like for everyone to drive the car before asking about torque!! It will push you back in the seat . But as for future projects, Mazda was tight lipped as normal.

Wait until you try a production model. From what I have read, ALL the car mag reviews were preproduction.


Just wait until the test drive....... :D

 

"Sub" 5 would mean 4.9 or less. I don't think so!