RobDickinson

What makes you think you cant drop the clutch some and get the revs up in 1st @ 5mph for a quick rolling start anyhow? Its ot like , once the clutch is engaged your stuck that way until you need 2nd.

Lschiavo

Here it is guys, enjoy... I AM HAPPY!

IZoomZoomI

is that on the g-tech? if it was on a strip good run , on a g-tech :p

Lschiavo

it was on a gtech

Ike

oi...

reddragonmd

I never understood people who take their STREET daily driver car to the strip, and do rediculous things to it, just in an effort to squeeze every last ounce of time out of it, even if it isnt realistic to what you would EVER do on the street.

For example... People who put slicks on their stock cars, people who remove the headlights to try and get better air current to the air box, removing the rear seats and spare tire(only for the night of the run), making a special trip to buy 98 sunocco race gas for your night at the track. etc etc. What good does any of that serve, when you will NEVER be able to recreate whatever times you pull on the street? Say you put your rx8 on a diet, and gave it slicks, and pulled a 14.1. Who cares? On the street your still as fast as an rsx, who runs high 14s, low 15s. Isnt the whole point to see how fast you can get you car under real world conditions?

This wasnt directed at anyone, and Pulsr you may have been being sarcastic, but i see people doing things like that all the time at the drag strip, and it urks me beyond no end. People go through all these little "tricks" to squeeze out every last gasping second at the drag, then the next day their cars turn back into the daily driving pumpkins they are, and the owners brag about how "my car runs a 14.1 HA"

And my opinion on the whole "sports car" thing is this. A true "sports car" should be an overall contender. It should handle like a dream, and be faster than all of the common cars on the road nowadays (i.e. rsx, neon, civics etc). But it should also have a certain level of class in the interior and build. It should not be a gutted rally car (ahem wrx). To me that is why there is "sports coupe" and "sports car". Sports coupe is a fun little coupe that has some performence, and is "cool". A sports car should be a step above the rest. When i hear the word "sports car" the cars that pop into my mind are corvettes, cobras, supras, m3's, rx7's etc. Not wrx's, or rx8's. I personally consider the wrx a rally car. But for what it is, it is a damn fun car. The interior is nasty as butt, but the handling and power, not to mention UPGRADES for the car are intense. And the redesigned new ones look ok. All of the cars above that i listed for sports car (with *maybe* the exception of the cobra), all fit the bill for sports car to me. They all handle extremely well, and are insanely fast in the straights. The interiors are decent to. I never liked the rx7 interior but nm that.

My point in all that was, to ME, i do not see my rx8 as a true sports car. Or if i do, i see it lacking in certain areas. I have not, and probably never will take my 8 to the drag. I could care less about 1/4 times personally. I go by how the car feels on the road and real life conditions. But for the money these cars cost, and the competition level mazda brought it out to compete in (350z, g35), 170WHP isnt cutting it. a 19K rsx puts that down, and thats a coupe, not a sports car. If there is an rx8 owner alive who doesnt wish his 8 came stock with 20-30 more HP, i havent met him in person yet. All 8 owners i meet in real life all feel the same. Maybe people join the band wagon online, and if one person says "yea straight line performence means nothing this car is absolutely perfect as is for 30K", then everyone agrees to agree. I dunno I love my car very much, and get a smile when i drive it everyday. ANd im sure i will keep it for a very long time. However in my mind, i just dont consider this a true "sports car". Just the very word makes you first think "fast". And before anyone says anything, i realize the cars i listed were ALL over 30K new, and not meant to be the same class the rx8 is. This isnt an attack on anyone, just my opinion on this whole matter.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I can attest to one inquiry in the above post; the reason I tweek every last bit of power out of my 8 is to see what the car is capable of under a given set of conditions. For example, there are several "tuners" who told me the Renesis would not take well to nitrous. So far I am using a 55 h.p. boost quite well and the engine runs great, the car is ripping the tires loose going into third gear, and there are many people out there who are surprised to find the rumors about the RX-8 are not true. I have used the 75 shot and even under detonation the car was unreal. Once I get the ignition maps under control, I am sure to go even faster. I also tend to think that the 1/4 mile testing has it's application in road racing since we are able to see where in the run the car is making the most power, as opposed to mere dyno testing. Of course, a road track would be the best place but a smart person can reasonably extrapolate information from almost any situation. All of this gives me information as to where I stand against other vehicles I may encounter during street battles.

Charles

Atacdad

To offer a counter point of view...at least they do these things at a drag strip. I'm not much in the way of forgiving street racing...no matter what "prep" you might or might not want to do. I'd never make it to a jury for a street racing related incident..because I'd be the defendant's worse nightmare.
I am judgemental...
Hang 'em all and let their God's sort them out.

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

Have you had any 1/4 mile timeslips with you running NOS?

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Not yet, just the G-Tech. To run nitrous requires some safety hardware that I need to get. Trans blanket and shaft loops.

Charles

StewC625

Oy ... little boys with their toys ...

Astor

If you want to get really technical, the Mustang & Camaro were never considered Muscle Cars, they were considered Pony Cars, and technically the Muscle car era ended about '72-'73, true Muscle cars were the Hemi 'Cuda, Charger, GTO, Roadrunner, Fairlane, etc.

reddragonmd

Owned :D

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

I had a '68 Plymouth GTX when I was 14 years old and a '70 Nova w/a 350 when I was 17. As it stands my RX w/a 55 shot of nitrous runs slightly quicker than either of them. In addition I get a nicer interior, better handling, and some would argue better exterior styling. That was my intention when I bought the RX-8; go quicker than my previous musclecars as a first step in upgrades. I am now driving the quickest daily-driven car I have ever owned. Thanks Mazda!

Charles

reddragonmd

You should probably thank the nitrous shot, not mazda. Considering in stock form the rx8 is far from one of the fastest cars on the road.

TheColonel

I think it's funny how everyone is consumed with 1/4 mile times. I mean, I'm 20 and I have an '02 Z28 that's up to about 400hp. I love acceleration, and I love roasting people at stoplights. I've done the 1/4 mile (12.9 with only a new airbox lid, haven't run it since) and I did love it. I guess I'm one of those stupid young guys who tries to race you knowing he'll win.

Yet, I'm buying an RX-8. I used to normally drive an Integra. I was going to buy an RSX-S but then I saw the RX-8 and, as many of you, fell in love with it. As much as I love the feeling of being thrown back in your seat, I can't help but love this car. It just fits. It drives just like my Integra, only better. It has more power, better handling, looks great, and like I said, it just fits. I know it's not that fast for the money, but I'm buying it as my everyday driver. I guess it's just still an improvement in performance in my mind over the Integra. Either way, I love the car.

Charles R. Hill

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for your testimony. Most of us who own the RX-8 are well-balanced as far as expectations are concerned. The cool thing is that there are already a handful of good aftermarket upgrades available that deliver performance gains, with more sure to come. Of course, there are trade-offs whenever there are aftermarket upgrades but, again, those of us who do such mods are aware of this fact. It seems to me the only people who complain about the aftermarket are those who don't fully understand how all of this stuff works.

Charles

Shamblerock

Charles Hill: You da man, you da man!

You know what its all about. I admire guys like you who aren't scared to mod his new car and gather information and always seek to improve. I'd be too nervous to try anything like NOS so I don't violate my warranty. But boy oh boy would I ever like to watch and share in the experience of helping someone else fool around with aftermarket parts. However, overclocking PC's is what I like to do because there is less risk and I won't kill myself trying a new mod.

By the way talikng about 0-60 and quarter mile times, I was beaten silly by my freinds 2002 35th anniversary Camaro SS. It was like I was standing still. In about , what seemed to 5-6 seconds , he must have opened us 6-7 car lenghs from about 20mph to 70 mph. I was in 1st revving about 5500, great shift into 2nd @ 8500 and agin into 3rd @ 9000 then had to lay off.

Do you think you could take on a SS using NOS?

Ike

No way without major driver error a RX-8 with a 50 shot is beating a LS1 SS.

TheColonel

I have an 02' Camaro Z28 that's up to about 400hp and 400lbft of tq, comepletely N/A, no turbo/super, no NOS. 0-60 is definately under 5, though I can't get more accurate than around 4.8 with a stopwatch. I'll let you know how it does at the track on October 9th. SLP, a big aftermarket company, is holding an event at Englishtown NJ and they're having an F-body Vs. Mustang shootout. I haven't run my car with all the parts on it so I can't wait to see what it can do. It did 12.9@104mph with only a new airbox lid last year... and when it did, it beat an SS running NOS... :D