i get the joy of driving my 8 up and down a very windy road anytime i please. this road gets a ton of attention from every crotch rocket in town. i seam to be the only regular car on that rad that doesnt yeild to the bikes just because they can do it faster. Now this may seem rude but at the same time a bike can go around me whenever it wants. this is a sick road for twisties and let me tell you their are few cars that can take this road any faster than 45 but in my 8 god 60 feels great and most of all i rarely leave 2nd gear on the entire road. to give you some perspective on how well this car does on the road......This raod takes most people 40 minuts to get to the top it takes me less than 20. an insane bike can do this road under 10 if they have their **** together and the road has been cleared of sand.

Good god i love this car, i have driven faster cars and still the 8 gives me more satisfaction.

 

BTW my little sister owns a 2002 BMW 318ci this car is quick but not quick enough for the 8.

 

The "8" performs fine for me. I don't get left at lights by anyone, but haven't run into any heavy iron yet. A friend of mine who just got an S2000 was beaten by another friend in his RX-8 sport two weeks ago in an SCCA autocross. Both are experienced autoxers.
Last nightI was being harrassed by a kid in his 2nd gen. BMW M3. Finally, when we hit a passing zone going about 65 mph (he wanted to be in front), I dropped to 3rd and when I went to 4th, he had a nice view of my tail lights!
The car needs a competant driver to get the best out of it. I don't necessarily qualify, but it runs as fast as I want it to and other cars have yet to present a problem.

 

I love it when you get to a turn that you used to really have to slow down for. "Turn up here, you better slow down!"... [go thru turn]... "Where?" :D

Once you get over the fact that you only dominate 80% of the cars at a stoplight (98% if judged for looks only) & 99% once you're rolling, you'll be a happy camper.

 

When I test drove my first sports car (a 2nd gen Turbo II) at age 21, I came back to the dealer and said it didn't have much pep when passing. He responded with "Did you drop it into 3rd? Take it out again...". I did, and learned the joy of downshifting into high revs on a rotary. I came back and said "Where do I sign?" :D

I wonder how many people that complain about performance are not driving it 'appropriately'...

 

So true. There is a four-way stop on an interstate access road on the way to my son's school that has a sharp curve with a Yield sign for those people going right. I wonder how many people sitting at the cross-traffic sign wet themselves when they see me coming up on that curve at 40+ ("He's not slowing down... he's not slowing down... oh, shhhhh.....wow!).

It's the favorite part of my morning drive

 

Love how predictable the steering is. Very comfortable and confidence inspiring.

 

My 8 is more than i ever expected it to be. The 5.9 second 0-60 accerleration number is hardly representitve of the car. I've heard all the talk about no midrange power, but i feel my car pulls amazingly through the whole rev range, unlike the s2000 which kicks in at around 7 grand. I hope I'm not the only one that feels this way about the car.

 

The fact is that the RX-8 has faster acceleration than over 90%of the cars on the road, so be it.

BTW, 90% is an estimate, but I know many people would agree

 

This is just an indication that you don't yet know how to drive stick well. Keep practicing and this problem will go away.