Let's put it this way: when any car company has a car with a 50/50 balance front/rear and an engine as smooth as the rotary, with as flat and broad a torque curve, I might consider it; but that will basically mean:
1. a four stroke V12 that is as light as the Renesis
2. a two stroke 6 cylinder that is as light as the Renesis and no dirtier at the tailpipe than the Renessis
or
3. a gas turbine that somehow has as broad and flat a torque curve as the Renesis, and has the low NOx emissions of the Renesis

In short, when He11 freezes over.

4. Tesla

Hell must be in the tropics...

:ylsuper:

I'm dyin laughing at this from blackendwings:

people like that owner probably go around telling everyone"RX-8s are crap" when they should be saying "I'm a horrible person and I should die in a fire."

great thread overall

If I spent more of my time programming and less time thinking of witty zingers like that one I would probably be done with this software update. :squint: :sad:

I love my RX8 to be sure, and I agree for the most part that it handles better than most cars. There are some high end cars though that will school it in handling though, just from being wider and lower. I've driven a Ferrari F430 around the same twisty neighborhood I live in and that car can go around bends at twice the speed without even feeling the turn, as if I were driving on a straight. Granted that the price gap is ludicrous between the cars, just saying those high end cars are not undeserving of their hype or reputation (at least sometimes).

Not this coming week, but the week after I think, wed/thur. And yeah, I will be driving a rented couch again. I am starting to see a few Mazda6s in the rental lots, I keep hoping I get one. Probably not driving down with my 8 until it warms up. Winter tires wear heavily, and the way the weather has been, it is unstable enough to keep them on. Only a 20-min change over, but still, rather not be caught 400 miles away from home in a blizzard on summers :)

Yeah, I've never driven any of the really exotic cars but I've heard the same, that many of them really do handle that much better than ordinary street cars. That doesn't really bother me in the slightest. They have certainly paid enough for that performance. I've actually found that my lust for really exotic cars has drained out after watching Top Gear enough. It's cool to watch supercars online or see them at a show, but I don't think I would ever really want to own one now. They are so finicky and gauche. It's like Jeremy Clarkson said in one episode, "You can tell if he owns one of these cars by if he is standing suspiciously close to the urinal."

The RX-8 despite the "better than 300k cars" tagline from the OP article isn't a knife edge track car or a supercar with stripped internals, stitch welded frame and roll cage. My RX-8, all the performance upgrades aside has heated leather seats, climate control, 4 seats, and a 6-disk changer. On the day of my wedding rehersal I was able to drive my in-laws and my wife-to-be to the rehersal in comfort and speed. Try doing that in a Ferrari.

Well said. That's why I would never trade my 8 for some uber exotic car. Because while a supercar is badass, you'd spend more time worrying about the mileage and condition of the car than you'd spend enjoying the drive. If I DID ever get a supercar, it wouldn't be to keep it as a trophy safe in my garage, with low mileage and zero wear and tear. I would drive it, and drive it hard. I love driving too much to not use a car of that caliber in a spirited fashion. Though I doubt I'll ever be in a position to be that free with money, to buy a supercar and beat on it.

It took me about 3 minutes of driving the RX8 to end a 2 year quest for the next touring class car. Before you get your panties in a wad, by my definition a sports car has two seats and puts the driver before the engine. :boink:

Lots of great handling touring cars out there, some like the RX8 plain out handle most sports cars. For example, as good as you would expect an MR2 to handle, its not even close to the RX8.

Sure, I could add stiffer this and that, but I'm not racing it, nor am I running it on a track. It rides stiff enough although I admit it does need one more click rebound front & rear.

I drove a 928 for 5 years. Didn't ever expect to find anything similar. The RX8 makes the 928 feel like a Camaro.

For anyone looking at one of these cars it handles extremely well and I mean extremely!

Stock for stock it handles MUCH better than the FD. However, now that the FD has had a complete suspension redo thanks to suggestions from Howard Coleman it is a handling beast. For all their deficiencies I must say Mazda has great suspension engineers.

Rx-8 Owns B****s!!!!!

Top 5 best-handling cars...
 

Here's what editor Eric Gustafson wrote in the March '08 Sports Car International:

"The Gustafson Five"

"Mazda hasn't updated its RX-8 model since its debut five years ago, so until a few weeks back, it had been roughly that long since I'd driven one. While its distinctively smooth and ultra-high revving rotary engine left a lasting impression, I'd forgotten what a great-handling car it is. The RX-8 has all the classic traits: It is exceedingly well-balanced, with virtually no understeer; the steering is responsive, quick and feelsome; it's light on its feet, instilling this Mazda with an eagerness that makes me want to keep driving and wish the road never unwinds. The RX-8 is, by my estimation, one of the best-handling sports cars currently available."

He then goes on to talk about his top five best-handling cars (in no particular order):
-Mazda RX-8
-Porsche Cayman
-Nissan Nismo 350Z
-Lotus Elise
-Audi R8

doesn't it make you feel all fuzzy and warm

I just don't understand the obsession with mpg that everyone seems to have. Gas is below 2 bucks a gallon in most places, I know I can get 92 for under 2 bucks in Ohio.
I really believe that most people want to have the nice car, and have it not need anything more than putting gas in the tank.
S2000

Fun write-up though. No mention of the engine core warranty that I saw. hmm...

Nice.

Last week there was this guy up town swearing up and down his stang could hang better than my rx8 on the twisty backroads we have. In the end I told him he was just stupid and to get a life...

Why not take him to the track and show him otherwise?

That would be a waste of a 3 1/2 hr drive...

There are some real insecure ignorant members in that forum. Stupidity begets stupidity.

Not a waste if you're having fun doing it! Make a day out of it. Get some buddies and just everybody hit the track.

Yeah true, I would like to run my friends 350z...

I say do it, take a camera and mount it in teh car, and post it all up on youtube...

That's my plan come spring!!

This sounds so fan boyish, but I really do believe a used 8 is one of the best all time values in sports cars ever.

Unless we have massive deflation for years to come...as in a depression or something.

oh wow u guys are funny lol

plus dont people with 350zs often get into accidents tring to swerve and turn on twisty roads, got a friend who swore he will never change his rx8 after an accident in a 350z

But finding parts for 350Z is so easy. Anything from Altima to a Sienna can be a donor for the Z. Win!

At least our door handles are shared with the Mustang...we'll never run out of those!

I test drove Lotus Elise, Porsche, Farrari, and my 8 handled better, espeacially cornering. My friend sold his Porsche and Prchased a 2006 RX 8. He just wishes it had more tourque. The Lotus was okay but did not like climbinng out of it. Itsa pain.

^^ WTF...

Fail.

^^
^^
Fail...

Unless it was oldschool ones. Lotus Elise handles much better than the rx-8. Only the rx-8 does it in style...

Please tell me you are being sarcastic. :uhh::squint:

Not the one I drove. I am sure Lotus Exige is much better than the Elise. The best thing to do is test drive one, but make sure it's already been through the break in period, that way you can have some real fun.

Nah. Just what I had experienced and what my friend told me about his Porsche. he favored the RX8.

Been there done that. I would like to check out the Audi R 8.

http://www.gtaexotics.ca/dev/exotic-cars.html

Had this car for six weeks. Glad to have made the purchase! MPG-@$2.00 a gallon most happy to pay this. Raced hare-scrambles for 5yrs with the Memphis motorcycle club. This car is fun to Drive. Getting too old to heal from racing so this car makes up for the thrill of pushing a machine to the max. Warm up and rock and roll!!! 2004 GT 6spd.

I got the opportunity to check out the Nissan GT-R. One word. "SICK!!!" This car was awesome! I could not believe the power this thing had. I must say I am very impressed with this ride. 0-60 in 3.3 seconds. I still have goose bumps heh heh.

I envy you, lol.

Deathwatch, now you are going to tell us the rx-8 will handle better and have a better accel time...

IMO, pretty boring car if you try to push it.

:lol:

I get in arguments all the time about people who drop a v8 in a 7 or 8. Why bother, go buy a v8 and leave the rotary alone. It is the wankel motor that is the soul/essence of the car.

And yes, cyberpitz... young hondaricer rotor head wannabees screwed up a ton of FD motors. The FD is a sweet sweet ride and the body design is as sexy and futuristic in it's time as the RX8. Again, I can't tell you how many arguments I've had on the 7 forum with Fast and Furious College kids about their FDs. But in hindsight, you can say the same thing about the 04 8 as the first year FD, too many motor problems. As a rule, I never buy the first year of any new model car, history has shown too many problems in first year productions

An RX8 or any rotary powered car is a car lovers car.....Anybody can be a hondaricer but how many people have enough class/sophistication and the good sense to drive a real sports car when they see one?????

longpath said it best

Let's put it this way: when any car company has a car with a 50/50 balance front/rear and an engine as smooth as the rotary, with as flat and broad a torque curve, I might consider it; but that will basically mean:
1. a four stroke V12 that is as light as the Renesis
2. a two stroke 6 cylinder that is as light as the Renesis and no dirtier at the tailpipe than the Renessis
or
3. a gas turbine that somehow has as broad and flat a torque curve as the Renesis, and has the low NOx emissions of the Renesis

In short, when He11 freezes over.
__________________
Driving the RX-8 is never about the numbers, it's about the experience and the experience of driving it is the best selling point in favour of it. If you drive it and there is a heart beating in your chest, I believe you WILL buy it. The tragedy is that too many talk themselves out of even trying it because of the numbers.

/\ True dat.

BTW. there is NO way any other engine (V6-V8) will fit into an RX-8 apart from the RENESIS or 13B.

An impossibility....without major structural and body reconfiguring, and then there is the suspension/cross-member alterations needed...it would then handle like a PIG!

Why waste your $$$'s, enjoy what is already an engineering masterpiece for the price you pay.

This I don't agree with. While I love the Rotary and Mazda and etc....it wasn't the random people that boosted the shit out of the engines that ruined it...it was a mix of things.

1.) Failing Yen
2.) Shitty design on the way the engine was cooling itself...
3.) Hondaricers.

The car was way too expensive for what it was.
The car had so many heat related problems, they didn't get fixed until after the car left our shores.
Overboosting fags.

Other than that, you're post, 100%.

AH...Please Explain, you are talking about a Rotary Engine with a "Head"?? HUH?

;)

OH HEAT Related Problems....Sorry...Got it...I am Too Slow this Old BASTARD...

Lol I didn't understand that either right until you posted Ash :)
Thanks for clearing that......:) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Well, all I can say is, I'm loving me some RX8! I loved the power and growl of my Mustang and Camaro, but this is a completely different car.

What, you guys didn't know cars can have head problems..? :lol:

The majority of people posting comments to the bottom of this article are a bunch of misinformed dipshits who have never even driven an 8. this angers me to no end.

^^^You are referring to the article in the original post, yes I was pretty upset about their comments as well.

I did love how my RX-8 drove, except the lack of power. Then I bought my corvette.. best of everything. For the price of my RX-8 + the turbocharger and all the crap I had bought, I got a corvette instead. Sure I loved the rotary engine, but come on being a fanboi is only fun if you're on the forums all the time. When you're actually out driving, I truly LOVE the sound of my supercharged American V8 pushing 550rwhp.

Meh, I'm hardly a 'fanboi' but I do enjoy my engine, including the lack of power. If I wanted a more powerful car, I'da bought it instead.

Uhh, wouldn't a failing yen make it cheaper in the USA?