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Comments
yet another prestigeous award won by the little car company that could :-)
Not that its displacement can be compared in any conventional way to other engines of that size.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
rotary engines are unique in that they can be think of as a 4-stroke engine that performs like a 2-stroke motorcycle engine.
http://www.ukintpress.com/engineoftheyear/ieoty.html
RX-8 should be the perfect mix of mellow driver for in town or in traffic, with the legs to stretch when it is time to.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
the 'high-power' RX-8 has 159ft/lb torque at 5800rpm. The 166ft/lb is for the 210hp 'standard-power' version.
Car and Driver weight the RX-8 at 2940lb.
for comparison, My protege is about 2800lb. (w/ the automatic), and has about 120ft/lb of torque. I get around town fine (albeit a bit sluggish) with 3 adult passengers driving around the town
Here's the link--
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article- _id=4346&page_number=5
"With the help of an 8000-rpm clutch drop and the engine buzzing like a flock of angry hornets, the RX-8 scooted to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 96 mph. But that performance falls off considerably without a tire-frying launch. In our street-start test from 5 to 60 mph, the RX-8 needed 7.5 seconds" [source: Car and Driver]
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
The RX-8 is intended to provide sportscar-like HANDLING coupled with good power in a car capable of carrying 4 adults in 'reasonable' comfort. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE THE RX-7. Was the MX-6 supposed to be the successor to the MX-5? Why does everyone INSIST on comparing it to the RX-7?
If you are primarily interested in torque in a 4 person sportscoupe, you may be better served by the G35. But don't look for a turbo version of the RX-8 (or future RX vehicles); blame more and more stringent emmissions regulations. The turbo rotary may very well be permanently dead.
I do think the turbo will not happen if the RX8 doesn't sell well.
Anybody used to a Celica GTS or RSXS or integra or any number of other small displacement sporty cars will be right at home in the RX8. Those cars all sold and sell well. Problem is, they are all cheaper than the RX8. I just hope the space and comfort make up for the price difference (haven't been in one yet, so I don't know).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
yes and yes.
"Problem is, they are all cheaper than the RX8."
and they are all FRONT WHEEL DRIVE.
the pricing of the RX-8 is VERY competitive, and add the uniqueness and exclusivity of the rotary engine, it's pretty much a bargain.
Unlike the RX-8, the Celica and RSX are economy cars at their cores. Honda and Toyota have strut suspensions and I4 motors lying around everywhere. If you want a rotary, there's only one game in town.
The price is competitive? With what? A BMW? A G35? You mean those luxury brand cars? The ones that many people use more as an accessory than for driving fun? I just don't see the common shopper thinking "hmmm... lexus, mercedes, audi, infinity, and... mazda!" The only real direct competition is the 350Z.
You are missing my point on this one. I don't have faith in the buying public. I DO worry about the fate of the RX8. I REALLY want it to do well. I'm not so sure it will.
BigH - thanks for the answers to my emissions questions. By any chance, do you have readouts from yours? I'm curious what the car is/was putting out.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
I can see someone buying the 210HP version because they wanted a RSX-S but had to have an autobox, but other than that, I don't see much more cross-shopping (the 210HP Eclipse w/AT is already available, but is a much sloppier handler than the Acura or the RX-8).
As difficult for you to believe as it may be, I am one of those people who will, when the time comes, take a hard look and compare the G35, IS300 and 325i to the 250HP RX-8. If the RX-8 gives me the comfort and performance it promises without all the near-lux frou-frou, than I'll buy it. I already know that I won't be considering the 350Z for the simple reason that it has even less utility than the RX-8.
If the RX-8 can deliver 90% of what it promises, it'll do just fine in the marketplace. It's not intended to be a volume seller. Finding a niche is everything today, and Mazda has just created a new one.
let's just say I'm spewing ungodly amounts of NOx and CO into the atmosphere right now, and will most likely need a new cat on mine in order to pass emissions test :-(
*waves goodbye to my money* *sniff*
i'm just a rotary enthusiast, not an expert... yet... ;-)
I can name just a handful of people I know who can tell me how much horsepower their car has or even how many cylinders it has. Sadly, most have no clue other than the brand and model (and sometimes not even the trim level).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
So, if any of you ever wonder who would buy this car, ask those of us who had no problem putting down $25k+ for Preludes. Yeah, there aren't many of us, hence the car's death, but the RX-8 is the first vehicle since the Prelude's demise that fills its shoes. Yay!
I don't know if I consider myself joe shopper but I will be buying a sports car in the next couple of years(it will not see winter) and right now I'm considering 4 cars. The RX-8, 350Z(used), G35 coupe(used) and Miata if the 2005 redesign looks more aggressive. Miata is one car they should consider putting a turbo on. I just wish they didn't make it look so cute because that is one fun car to drive but I can't get over the "chick car" stigma. But then again from what I hear the RX-8 is just as fun so it's a good compromise.Back seats are nice to have but hey it's a sports car, they're supposed to be impractical. As long as I can fit the golf clubs somewhere I'll be happy.
Supposedly most of that problem has been taken care of in the renesis engine, by moving the exhaust ports. So a turbo is perfectly possible in the future. I agree though, that it will probably not materialize unless they bring back the RX-7 - RX8 is supposed to be more of a sport sedan/coupe and as such the power expectations are lower.
It will definitely face stiff competition from the 350Z and G35 coupe, also 325i coupe (and sedan? - higher priced than RX8), but its sales target numbers are lower than any of those models, so I have high hopes it will make it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
and also reduces stress on the apex seals greatly.
hurray for side exhaust ports!
Is there any old RX-7 owners who have difficulties getting repairs done? Any sports car I buy I plan to have for a long time so I don't want end up with a car long term nobody knows how to repair(or costs an arm and a leg) if the Renesis only has a 4 or 5 year run.
The old ones had a few quirks, my gen-2 was easily flooded if you started it up and shut it down too soon for instance, but for the most part they can be worked on by "Joe Mechanic".
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
people used to recommend ONLY conventional oil, as the older synthetics formulas don't burn cleanly, and left deposits in the rotor housings. Many 3rd gen RX-7 owners have been using modern synthetics like Mobil 1 and have excellent results.
What would I use when I get the RX-8? I'll use conventional oil until some other brave soul tries synthetic and reports back significant performance improvement :-)
Also, Mazda is the only Japanese company to ever win Lemans, and they did it with a rotary engine don't forget.
I don't have a owners manual with me, so don't hold those numbers as the ultimate truth, but these should be close though.
and I believe they don't have a recommendation toward synthetic (e.g. both conventional & synthetic is ok)
someone has videotaped the RX-8s being offloaded from the docks at Port of Tacoma today, and the video is available for download!
They are here! They are here!!!
here's one mirror of the video:
http://www.laferle.com/rx8/offload.wmv
another one:
http://home.austin.rr.com/violet/eccles/RX-8/rx8offload.wmv
and one more:
ftp://rx8:mazda@ftp.fsck.co.uk/rx8offload.wmv
enjoy!!!!
Excellent clip Hank!
Dinu
http://rotarynews.com/view.php?id=194
I'm liking this car better everyday :-)