Rotary is interesting. I like the concept. It's simple enough.
My problem is trying to compare it's potential , strength and other
attributes to a comparable piston powered vehicle. Will
a l97 HP auto Rx8 have the same attributes as a 197-200Hp
piston car( Acura Rsx and Camry V6,come to mind). PLease
explain. Although, no car are equal, and I have a emotional
attraction to the Rx8 auto, I'm having a hard time comparing
it to another car of a similar price, like the Honda Accord
V6 Coupe EX. (Both are bout 27K), but the all too common
Accord had 240HP, and over 200lb torque!!. I hate to
find out that an Accord will blow my future Rx8 away. After all
it has 40 more horses! Another issue is the durability of
rotary vs pinton? The honda has 105,000miles tune up
schedule. What's the rotary schedule?
Thanks.

 

A test drive would tell you a lot. A rear-wheel drive RX-8 will handle quite differently than an Accord, but you should see how that feels to you.

I have a manual rather than an automatic, and so can't say what the torque differences would mean to you. I think that the manual is faster tnan an Accord.... and the handling is far superior.

 

You need to do a test drive. The overall character of the engine is quite different from a piston powerplant.

 

The engine character is important, and the character of the car is important. You might also want to test drive a 3-series BMW to see how you like that too.

Test drives are free, and include the engine and the car. Try a few and see what you like. For the money, I think the RX-8 is a great buy, but it depends upon what you value in a car.

 

I agree with the other posts - test drive it and see what your "butt" tells you about the acceleration, handling, etc. Horsepower and torque don't tell you everything, because the vehicle's throttle feel, response, acceleration, etc, will all be affected by transmission and differential gear ratios and a lot of other factors.

The 8 will out-handle, out-brake and generally out-perform the other vehicles you menioned. However, the others will get better mileage, and won't require as much maintanence. Truthfully though, the rotary's main additional maintanence issue is to regular check and top-up the oil. When properly maintained, a rotary engine will easily last as long as, or out-last, a conventional piston engine.

Go take a drive, you'll be glad you did...

 

I might be wrong but dosent the RX8 have the same maint schedule as the other Mazda's 100,00 tune up? My wife has an 03 Tribute and my daughter an 04 M3 and both have no scheduled maint other than 100,00 tunes up. Of course you still have oil changes and tire rotaion.

kazson
As far as being beat by a Honda , remember you cant just compare stright hp to hp, the RX8 weighs under 3000lbs, where as the other cars you mention will be likely be 3300 or so.Also remeber the RX8 is a true sports car with RWD not FWD like the Honda's or CRX or Camery. That makes a world of diference to how it handles. Besides I think it looks sort of stupid to see a car burn out with FWD.

 

with regards to engines, piston vs. rotary, one significant factor is engine vibration at higher rpms. i am sure that ppl will correct me if i am wrong, but very basically there will be less vibrations at higher rpms with the rotary. as you approach higher rpms on a piston, there is more engine vibration created by the pistons. over the duration of time, this leads to quicker "wear and tear".

 

rotors sound better stock than most cars under $100,000.

& the RX8 definitely looks better than ANY car under $100,000.

 

I don't know about the looks...but we share opinion on the sound thingy :D

 

RX8 (auto):
hp = 197
tq = 164
weight = 3053
#/hp = 3053/197 = 15.5 #/hp (less is better)

Accord (auto)
hp = 240
tq = 212
weight = 3384
#/hp = 3384/240 = 14.10 #/hp

Accord is faster. Also, the added torque will make the Accord much faster around town (driving 4k rpms and less).

Drive both and see what you think and what appeals to you. The RX8 will certainly feel more sporty and will carve the corners better than the Accord. But the Accord will be quicker and have better fuel economy (probably more room as well).

 

I didnt even consider the RX8 Auto. I dont know if Kazon is only thinking auto .A much better comaprision is

RX8 MT 6SP
HP=240
WT=3010
#/HP+3010/240 = 12.54 #/HP
Im sure Honda makes a manual tans which compared to the RX8 MT would show the 8 a definite better choice.

 

I have both an RX-8 MT and a Honda Accord EX V-6 sedan. The RX-8 is faster in all respects and handles much differently and much better. The Accord V-6 Coupe with a 6 speed is comparable to the RX-8 manual in acceleration, so the RX-8 AT may be comparable to the Accord AT.

Don't buy the RX-8 for drag racing potential, though it holds its own quite well. The joy of it is the delightful flexibility of its power and handling. I travel mostly rural back roads and the car is a blast. Under the same conditions, the Accord is not.

 

From the times in magazines and from people on the web.

04 V6 accord coupes (automatic) run 14.7-15.3 @ 95mph+
04 v6 manual accord 14.4-14.8 @ 97mph+

 

The beauty of the rotary engine is how compact and light it is. Compare the engine placement of the RX-8 to any piston car, it is amazing how low and far back the engine is. This allows the car to feel very light and turn easily. In contrast, a FWD piston car will have the engine mounted sideways high above the front axle and most of the weight in front. As a result, most of them feel to me like they don't want to turn, even if they are lighter than the RX-8. However, if all the roads where you live are straight, then you might not care about all this.

 

The Accord doesn't have very sporty handling. It won't give you the kind of on the seat of your pants driving expierience the RX-8 will.

 

The mileage and horsepower of the Honda will blow the Mazda away. The Mazda is all about handling, which is enabled by little rotary (and alot of passion by the engineers). If you are not enamoured by the handling of the Mazda, buy the Honda.