RX-8 Stats:

Engine Stock except for JIC Titanium Cat-back

Full suspension upgrade including JIC FLT-A2 10 kg/mm front and 7 kg/mm rear coil-overs, Racing Beat anti-roll bars, all rear suspension links (JIC) and front and rear JIC strut tower bars

Stopteck 14-in Big Brake Kit Front
Stock Brakes Rear with Stopteck pads

Volk Racing TE37 18x8.5 front and 18x9.5 rear

Yokohama Advan A048 225/40 and 265/35

They didn't test acceleration because it's mostly stock, they only tested handling.

The Bad:
Too much understeer caused by the staggered wheel/tire setup

The Good:

1.01 lateral grip! (200-ft skidpad)

77 mph record braking slalom (700-ft slalom) (previous record was 75.5 mph)

60-0 braking in 103-ft



Now the MSP Miata:

They tested it completely stock:

Dyno: 152 whp @ 5800 rpm (claimed 178 @ 6000 fly)
143 wtq @ 3700 rpm (claimed 152 @ 5800)

Compared to a 2002 Miata LS 112 whp and 105 wtq

A very surprisingly N/A looking power and torque curve horsepower at 2000 is the same as regular Miata but builds linearly at a much faster rate until about 6000 then tapers off a little bit (redline at 6500)
Torque is flat from peak at 3700 to about 5500 then goes down

Acceleration results:
0-60 in 6.9 sec
quarter mile in 15.1 @ 90.1 mph (in 5th gear, too short gearing)

lateral grip 0.96g
Slalom 70.9 mph
60-0 braking in 114 ft

Final Veredict: The fastest and best handling factory Miata ever


Well this is the end of today's news report, now go check out the mag for complete info, graphs and pretty pics!

 

I think you missed out something, there's a turbo in the car.

 

77mph slalom, that's amazing...

 

...myself and was really impressed with the JIC mods. At the end of the article, the JIC boys went to a "normal" tire/wheel set-up instead of the staggered set-up that was used in the test. They told the magazine that this pretty much eliminated the understeer problem. I wonder though how much of a problem it really was when you post lateral grip and slalom numbers like that! :D

Arvin

 

Max lateral grip and oversteer/understeer are not really related.

Max grip means how much grip both axles have until one or the other starts to lose traction.

Understeer means the front tires lose grip before the rears. That is not good. Ideally you want a balanced car where both front and rear tires lose grip at the same time. That allows you to do fun things like throttle steer.
________
XXX.TUBE

 

That's why it says "surprisingly N/A looking". We all know it is turbocharged.

 

NRG, I think you mean understeer. Oversteer is when the back of the car loses traction and tries to pass the front of the car during a turn (in an extreme case). I do agree about both losing grip at the same time making for a well-balanced car, although most car companies build in a touch of understeer for safety. Either way, I like the fact that the 8 is so tossable and responsive.

 

this will be the first issue of sport compact car I buy in a long time

 

Brain fart. Thanks for the catch.
________
Wellbutrin settlements

 

Yep!

They go on to say there's no turbocharger feel, no sudden in-boost power. It feels like a bigger displacement naturally aspirated car and this was what Mazda wanted.

They said Mazda tested different setups up to about 250 fly hp but that this much power overpowered the chassis capabilities.

They also tested superchargers but it ended up with too much torque and felt like a 65% scale Mustang and they didn't like it, they wanted to keep the true Miata feeling.

By the way, the weight distribution with the turbo system changed to 52/48 but it doesn't affect the handling dynamics of the car.

Mazda designed the microscopic intercooler to provide 75% cooling efficiency while keeping the weight down. We'll soon start seeing people cranking the boost to 10 psi and putting a bigger FMIC in there... It's going t get interesting!

Me likey!! :D

 

After owning a Miata for 5 years, I was very interested in driving the MS Miata at the Rev-it-up in Chicago. I think I was either expecting too much, or maybe it was driving the RX-8 for several months since selling my Miata, but I wasn't that impressed with it. I thought there was too much turbo lag while it spooled up, and it never pinned me back in my seat when it kicked in... like I've felt aftermarket super and turbo charged Miata's do. It's still great to see Mazda doing this from the factory though... especially to an icon of their lineup.

BTW- thanks for the heads up about the SCC issue- I'll be sure to grab it.

-Sean

 

nice thread....should be in the media forum though!

 

Suposedly this was Mazda's intention, keep the N/A feeling with no sudden turbo boost acceleration just a linear feel.

 

Sounds like JIC is waiting for a reputable FI solution before touching the engine bay. Good idea.