I for one do not own an RX-8 but I would just like to know if your RX-8 is really twitchy on a wet road. Because I live in asia with a tropical climate, it rains half the time and the roads are sometimes wet. Would the stock tires be very twitchy or they handle well?
Thanks

 

If you regularly do what saw in that show (i.e. Power side at full throttle on a wetted down flat air force base runway) Yes I'm sure it will be just like the video shows!:D Actually, that looked rather fun, not twitchy, but I digress...

If you instead are not some 16 yr old kid on a carjack joyride, and instead enjoy some normal drive-to-work 8/10th type driving, you'll find it "balanced on the edge" rather than "twitchy"!

And if you are still worried, that why there is stability control for those that can't or won't trust their own skill in the rain or even change the tires for more 'safe' ones for rain.

Happy zooming when-if you decide to get one!:D

 

Hmm.. yeah you kinda make lots of sense.
The way Jeremy drives its no wonder its twitchy.. wheelspin wheelspin..
Well if it's "balanced on the edge" on a normal drive-to-work then I don't think I'm gonna have a problem with it.
Thanks a lot!!!

 

hi zyran,
Welcome to the board. Has Malaysia Mazda brought in the RX-8 already?
Back to your question. I believe the twitchyness of the tyres JC referring to was under extreme driving condition, otherwise, with a normal daily driving habits, those tyres will be pretty much live up to its task.

 

Well.. the official dealers of Mazda says that they'll be officially bringing in the RX-8 in June.. There are grey importers however, but they don't offer technical support.

 

My rx8 came with Dunlop sp sport 8090 tires. So far I have found them to have very good grip both wet and dry.

 

Don't forget, tire choice has more to do with that than anything.

The fact that the RX8 comes with as close to 50/50 weight distribution as you get in a street car, with the same width tires front and rear, and with some traction control, means that the car should at least do better than average on rain, ice, and snow (again, that greatly depends on tire selection).

Over the past fifteen years, the Miata has shown itself to be a good rain, snow, and ice car (with the appropriate tires) due to it's balance and light weight.

Also remember that a stiffer suspension (springs, shocks, anti-sway bars, lower profile tires, etc.) will actually hurt wet handling abilities.

---jps

 

I would have to agree with Jeremy, I do not own a RX8 but I spent some considerable time test driving one, good enough to get a good impression of the character of the car.
Keep in mind that I'm not an F1 pilot but I'm not a stranger to performance driving. I've had a ton of different cars (NSX, BMW's, Z06, Viper, 350Z, etc...) and am rather adept at racing karts as well, so I can have a fairly unbiased and educated viewpoint.
My impressions of the RX8 was that in the rain it's tendency to loose traction happens without warning or at least with the time I had in it I could not recognize the signs. I remember a particular corner in 2nd gear that was slightly wet and I actually intended to have some drifting fun and proded the throttle a bit when the rear just kicked out, almost brought me all the way around, gave me a bit of a scare. Actually was pissed off and cursed a bit, car didn't speak to me at all and I thought it was a piece of crap (maybe pissed off at scaring myself).
To be honest maybe a bit more seat time in the car and experience might of helped. Getting to know the power delivery, chassis dynamics, tire grip and so on would help but this is relative and my advise to an average driver in the wet would be keep the traction on or you might be kissing curb. I still would like to see the car on the track and this weekend I might trade in the 04 WRX for one.
Of note is that the RX8 had a waiting list in Canada but since the issue of hp loss many american owners are giving the car back and maybe some sales loss as well, so mazda has allocated more cars to Canada. The dealer I was at had 8 sitting on the lot and anyone intersted in one is in luck as the dealers are positioned to move the abbundant inventory they have.

Cheers,

 

I had a similar reaction to the '8 when I first drove it. It's signals seemed muted to me. Unlike you, I've been driving the same car for the last 9 years (Miata) including 3 years of autcross, but I had the same reaction.

With some time behind the wheel the cues to the chassis dynamcis become more understandable. I find the RX-8 very easy to control, and I feel that it gives me at least as much information as my '94 Miata. I'm still learning it (900 miles on the odometer at this point) but at this point it seems pretty "chatty" to me.

George

 

I see... thanks a lot for the help guys.

 

Now, I'm not arguing with you guys or anything, but I assume that both of you had the traction control on, correct? I assume that the traction control would be affecting the chassis communication, which would definitely not be good.

---jps

 

I just got back from a 60 minute drive on one of my favourite local roads, in a steady rainstorm, complete with the occasional rain-soaked ruts. It was very wet, and I even engaged the ABS at one point after hydroplaning through a puddle. I did have the electronics on for most of the drive, but all I can say is that this car is very communicative in the wet, at least by my standards. I could always tell when the rear end started to loose traction, and I could anticipate when the TCS was about to kick in.

In fact, I recall a comment made by a passenger one day - we were driving (in the dry) on a back road, and I was keeping my cool, given that the car was brand-new at that point. Even then, he commented that he could feel exactly what the rear tires were doing, and he didn't even have the steering wheel in his hands!

I really don't understand the Clarkson comment. Perhaps it was alignment (I'm **** about alignment and just had mine done to factory specs), perhaps it was the tires (what tires do they put on the UK cars?) or perhaps it was those funky English roads. Or maybe it's just me - I've been driving a CSP-tuned Miata on the street as my daily driver here in Oregon for 3 years, and perhaps my "twitch" sensitivity has been enhanced as a result. But the RX-8 really impressed me today on this drive - it was very predictable and catchable. Kudos to Mazda for making an incredible car!

George

[edit] Another thing to check would be tire pressure. My car came off the lot with pressures at 35-37 psi. The owners manual reccomends 32, which is what I have mine set at currently. While I do believe 34 or more would yield better performanc in the dry, I think the lower pressures help in the wet, in that it makes it easier to detect slip angles, particularly in the rear.

 

I went for my first wet drive in my new 8. lots of water on the road and was a bit nervous because of that top gear comment. I haven't experianced any twitchiness.
while I was driving at running in speeds under (5k rpm in 4th) I felt confident with lots of sheets of water 1"-2" deep crossing the road. I was leaving people behind as they were being more cautious than me due to the bad weather.