Hw\ello fellow RX nu-errr emthusiasts:

I just returned after a couple of days in Las Vegas and on Saturday on the way back through the mountains encountered winds with gusts up to 75 MPH.

Was anyone driving an RX-8 either to Las Vegas or from Las Vegas through those winds and how stable was it? It seemed to bother a lot of SUVs and larger automobiles quite a bit,including what may have caused an SUV to leave the road and end up on its top.

Thanks

Rotaries forever

David Drake

 

oops (Sp) Hello

byeee

 

Huh???

Oh.....

One thing I have learned is that if you always drive in triple digits there is no such thing as a crosswind, only a headwind! :D :D :D

Seriously though.... I wasn't lucky enough to be driving in it but I would suspect the car would have behaved fine since it has so little frontal and side area for the wind to catch.

Chris....

 

I find that the car gets pushed around alot in heavy crosswinds. Here in Charleston, SC, I drive across alot of bridges. When the winds are gusting 40+, I get pushed around quite a bit.

 

I have the opposite feeling about the car. With the aerodynamics of it, I think it handles crosswinds amazingly well.

This past fall, I had to drive to Detroit for a day trip (12 hours in the -8 in one day. That was a good day!). On the way back, there were 25 mph sustained winds from the south with gusts to nearly 50 mph (massive warm front sliding through - temp went from 55 in Detroit to 80 in Chicago). that were basically 90-degree cross winds. I thought the car handled the buffeting quite well.

 

The only time I have felt a little uneasy about the crosswind handling in the 8 was traveling about 125 mph and had a 40+ mph swirling crosswind. ( I was alone on a mile long bridge that had opposing traffic on another span. So dont flame me.)
It wasnt scary, but I found that the steering is so twitchy, the mass of your arms is enough to induce a periodic oscillation. If you dont dampen it by tightening your muscles, it can get out of control in about 1-2 seconds.
In this instance, it turned a Zoom-Zoom experience into a "Why dont we just slow down now" experience.

It also felt like the rear end was lifting. I have the stock spoiler which is more for show than anything. Do you think this is why Mazda put in the speed limitation?

 

The lift was likely caused by wind edging under the car.

All that stock spoiler does on the trunk is cost you drag co-efficient. I'm sure it does nothing at all for downforce.

 

My '8 hates crosswinds ... probably because it's Sunlight Silver though :p

At highway speeds, say around 80 mph, the '8 gets pushed around a lot. At triple digits, where it's normally very composed and well behaved, it becomes twitchy and nervous.

 

I haven't driven up in triple digits, but in the upper double digits the 8 feels likes its pushing hard to stay stable.

my solution, keep it in my garage. Keep it safe. :D

 

I've driven a few cars in heavy crosswinds (Camaro, various trucks, and most recently my Miata). None of them do well in wind. The only time I got a break was when driving by a guardrail in the miata, because it's low enough that the entire body (excepting the windows) is beneath the top of the rail (Admittedly, though, it was probably the best of the bunch). But, even the sleek 93-97 Camaro/Firebirds get blown around pretty badly... I guess it's just because all that wind tunnel engineering goes into making the car aerodynamic from front-to-back, not laterally.

 

I agree... But, I too blame it on silver

 

I almost never felt any crosswinds in my 944, but the RX8 does get effected by them. I think it's due to the height of the vehicle. It doesn't look that tall, but the car isn't nearly as low as many sports cars.

 

The best car I've ever had in crosswinds was my old 93 Dodge Stealth TT, but that was heavy as a tank....... Real fast though!

 

There is no free lunch... The crosswind behavior is to a good deal a result of the 50:50 weight distribution. Crosswind stability increases the more the center of weight is forward of the area center of the exposed side surface. With the even weight distribution and the "center-oriented" sports car siluette, these two centers are very close to each other.

Btw., a problem which plagues most mid-engine, and even more, rear-engine cars.

 

what does that have to do with free lunch?

 

I don't see why the wind cares about your car being mid engine or rear engine. The weight distro of the 944 is similar to the rx-8, but it's got a much lower profile causing the air to blow around it instead of into it.

 

The 944 has its main (side) surface further back than the RX-8.

If hit by a crosswind, a car is pushed sideways AND turns around its center of gravity. For crosswind stability, it is important that the majority of the side surface is in some distance behind the center of gravity. The wethervane effect of this surface will turn the car enough to create a steering effect compensating the side push. The car feels stabel in crosswind, even though it makes small movements. If you have too much rear surface, like a stationwaggon, then there might be an over-correction effect and the car feels instable. If you have a car like the RX-8 with an balanced weight and surface distribution, then this car might feel nervous in crosswind, since it has very little vetervane effect. But the even distribution creates the best cornering behavior. It's allways a compromise. If you have a rear-engine car, then most of the surface is before the center of gravity. These cars are somehow instable in crosswind by nature. For that reason DSC was originally created for rear-engine sports cars. (which you can swing around a corner like noting else, however... again, a trade-off...)

 

Living just 10 minutes from the worlds largest wind-made hollow, I've driven my 8 in a few crosswinds... up to and including 90+mph. The 8 is considerably more stable than most cars, but especially the average SUV. I used to own a Ford Exploder, and I absolutely dreaded having to risk driving on days when there would be a high wind warning in effect.

 

It is an oxymoron to call an SUV stable, IMHO