I know this is off topic, but I just had to post a reply about the safety of this vehicle and comments regarding puting children in the back seat plus minivans.

First, I had a minivan and I did choose it because it was faster, looked better, and was bigger than anything else on the market. I bought the Honda Odyssey. People don't just buy minivans to carry alot of crap, we buy nice minivans to carry alot of crap in style.

Second, I believe the RX-8 is safe enough to carry my kids in, so it's one of the reasons I'm buying it versus the 350z. You ever see the BMW commercial where the driver avoids the accident due to the handling of the vehicle. Accidents aren't just caused by cars, they're caused by the drivers too. Not only does the RX-8 have all the safety features standard like airbags galore, ABS, DSC/Traction control, etc, it has the handling of a sports car. Hopefully I'll be able to avoid the accident instead of hoping all the safety features will keep me from getting injured.

Third, no matter what car you're driving, if you get side-swiped death or serious injury will happen to the person sitting on that side. It's not always about the type of vehicle driven, it's also about the experience of the driver.

The RX-8 is my daily driver. The wife has the Passat for the kids and her. Either car is fine for both.

Keep your eyes open and drive safely everyone. There's precious cargo in them back seats.

 

Ok then What was this thread started for anyway?? I forgot

 

It had to do with torque and everyone's concern about the lack of it down low. But a Mazda engineer said that people would find their own solutions to it by adding a turbo or supercharger.

This coming from an engineer implies that adding a turbo or supercharger is not a big deal.

 

Man i hope adding a supercharger is no big deal. I will wait before I do a mod like that. I plan on doing minor stuff, Intake exhaust, reduce wieght $hit like that.

 

True, I'm sorry.

Are people reading or just typing? I've said the RX-8 v.s. the 350Z (oh sorry I think I forgot the 'Z' part) as far as traveling with people...*8* wins. But I also said that people are being selfish because they: have families and aren't willing to sacrifice without a sports car...so they choose a sports car with 2 psuedo-back seats.

That is the point. When you get in a situation that you can't get yourself out of (all you stud drivers) being in an *8* is going to be worse than any sedan, SUV etc... ANY. Period. The end. Stop telling me that you are buying this car because it has a back seat and OTHER SPORTS CARS don't. We know. I agree. The comparison is with other cars NOT in it's class. Whew!

 

Yeah, this thread isn't even about that comparison, it's about torque. Getting called selfish got me distracted. Sorry.

Going to email for off topic stuff....

 

Whew that was some tangent.. but yes that's what makes these forums great. Being able to hear other minds..

And FWIW, the topic was about what Katabuchi-san, RX-8 Program Manager, said about the 8's torque.

 

Hey I tried to get it back on topic. I gues it did.nt work:p

 

Give us a break. You expect us to believe that line. As if we are going to get an expertise point of view about the RX-8 from a gaming magazine. About the only feedback we'll get is that "The RX-8, as displayed in the new PS2 or X-box Need for Speed title, is a accurate scaled representation of the life-size model".

No wonder they are out of business. Thye need to stick to reviews of the new gaming hardware and software and leave the automotive reviews to the automotive mags.

To stick to the topic. Considering the size and weight of the car, I'm sure I'll be happy with the amount of torque it will have. I don't plan on racing from stop light to stop light & be cpncerned how fast I'll get there.

 

Yes, let's get this back on topic. I'm very interested in increasing the low end torque in my RX-8.

I'm thinking I'll go with a supercharger versus a turbo due to the intricate intake system on the Renesis.
My concern is the RPM's. Since the Renesis can spin up to 10k will there be a supercharger that can handle it and last.

I'm not to smart on superchargers, just the basics. My Passat is a turbo, so I understand those much better.

Can someone enlighten me and provide some input.

Thanks.

 

Not when you consider that the RX-8 is the greatest feat of human ingenuity history has ever known.

 

That's not what threeputtwash meant. He was pointing out that those magazines gave bad reviews to GAMES and went out of business because the advertisers wouldn't stomach it. There was no implication of the RX-8 being involved.

Now will a moderator please lock this thread before I go mad with boredom about yet more torque related hypothesising. Wait until you've driven the car before jumping on the torque wagon folks, it's been discussed to death, resurrected, buried alive, torched, zombified and it now stalks the forum at night looking for victims. Let's KILL IT!!!

 

What utter, total, complete rubbish. Period. The end. You're fixated on bigger=safer. You're completely ignoring the engineering and structural standards and regulations that go along with designing a vehicle. You're also completely ignoring the engineering advances in chassis design over the past few years. Do you have ANY engineering experience or education to back up this BS? (No need to answer - the answer is obviously 'no').

I guess all those Europeans who reject monster trucks, SUVs, etc. and put their families in tiny hatchbacks and tiny sedans that weigh under 2000 lbs are being selfish too?

You do know that US light truck regulations did not require side impact door beams until sometime in the mid-90s? You know that Chrysler minivans made before that requirement did not have side impact beams in the doors? You know that pickup trucks didn't either? You know that pickup trucks didn't have to meet the same rollover requirements that sedans did?

I'll say it - the RX-8 will be safer in a collision than 80% of sedans made before 1995. The RX-8 will be far safer than any minivan, SUV, or pickup truck made before 1990. Those are technical, engineering facts, unrelated to assumptions that bigger must equal safer, because, well, it's bigger, see?

Regards,
Gordon

 

Then I apologize to threeputtwash for that statement. That's makes more sense. That may be the case for some of those gaming magazines.

But, I disagree that advertising has a direct impact on how the car is rated. I see plenty of car reviews on the RX-8 that point out the negatives or weak points of the car, along with the positives.

The amount of torque being a negative is not an issue to many of these magazine reviewers. Almost all say the torque is adequate to the size and weight to toss this car around the road or track. Plenty enough for my everyday driving.

No need to kill the thread. This forum is both informative and open enough for someone to express their ideas and opinions, no matter how wrong they are.

 

Apologies if this has been mentioned before (I'm new).... but, hadn't someone posted some pictures a while ago showing an RX8 crash test?

It looked pretty solid to me.... if I remember correctly the cabin portion showed no buckling at all after a 55mph crash (front and back).

I've seen some crash tests with much bigger sedans that didn't fair anywhere near as well.

 

rossy,

This is probably the picture you are looking for.

Goldenhue22 is shoveling crap. He does not know what the H he is talking about. The RX-8 received excellent ratings in US, Japanese crash test ratings.

As quoted by Edmunds, http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadt...1/article.html ,

"According to Mazda, the RX-8 has already received excellent safety scores in U.S., European and Japanese crash testing, including an upcoming test standard, due in approximately 2005, for rear-impact protection. Items like seat-mounted side airbags, head curtain airbags and crushable pedals contribute to passenger protection, as do "built-in" B-pillars within the reverse-opening rear doors. Much like traditional B-pillars, these beams dissipate side-impact crash energy and contribute to body rigidity".

Sounds safe enough for me.

We have some humvees coming back to Qatar from Iraq. Maybe they can reroute one to Goldenhue22. Maybe he'll feel safe enough in one of those.

 

Thanks RX-8 Zoomster, these are the pictures that settled the safety issue for me a long long time ago.

Back to torque talk.....