RX8, any good at drifting??
Discussion
Hiya
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Cheers
Nia
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Cheers
Nia
I found the Rx-8 to be pretty dissapointing too. Actually the engine wasnt too bad (am use to a 9K redline on my integra) , but the whole car just seemed a bit too boring. I think the best thing about the Rx-8 is its handling on the limit which you cant really test till you get it on a track. Still i think if Mazda was to release a higher powered version ill give it another go!!
Edited by gangzoom on Sunday 8th April 12:30
Having owned a RX8 now for 8 months I have to say I'm very pleased with it. The performance is comparable to my old S2000. No its not the fastest car on the planet, but it handles a dream, and it's a true 4 seater. Most people buy them for sporting practicality. My son's are both 6 feet tall and they can both sit in the back quite comfortably. If you want and out and out sports car there are many far more suitable, far to big, heavy and underpowered for a drift car. But for a 4 seater sports with 231 bhp and superb handling, its second to non.
I leave the tyre shredding to my RX7.
Bob...rotarian through and through.....!
I leave the tyre shredding to my RX7.
Bob...rotarian through and through.....!
My girlfriend was in the market for one of these at Christmas time. We had an extended (6 hr test drive) which I was also insured for :-)
I drove for about 2 hours. Having come from a MK1 MX5 it did feel a bit big. But once I got used to it, it was tremendously flexible and communicative. Weather was sh1t, roads were greasy yet I still had the confidence to hang the tail out a fair bit - something that the traction control system seems to encourage.
It seems very practical and a good compromise if you need four seats. I wouldn't buy one as a track day car or a drifter but definitely a fun handling motor (and the more powerful engine sounds great too once on song).
I drove for about 2 hours. Having come from a MK1 MX5 it did feel a bit big. But once I got used to it, it was tremendously flexible and communicative. Weather was sh1t, roads were greasy yet I still had the confidence to hang the tail out a fair bit - something that the traction control system seems to encourage.
It seems very practical and a good compromise if you need four seats. I wouldn't buy one as a track day car or a drifter but definitely a fun handling motor (and the more powerful engine sounds great too once on song).
wickedchick said:
Hiya
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Cheers
Nia
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Cheers
Nia
One thing that does give the impression that the 8 is slow/underpowered is the very flat power delivery. I was a bit suprised, even in the low power, just how fast you get going with absolutely no drama. I suspect that unless you're really pressing on the whole experience couls leave you a little underwhelmed.
It's not got the low down grunt that some seem to use to unstick the back end and, unless you add a turbo, you're unlikely to find it well suited to drifting. I suspect the steering isn't fast enough either.
Heard some rumours that Mazda are launching a new version of the 8 at goodwood this year (bringing the LM winning 787b over from the US)... might be just another marketing ploy like the PZ but maybe it'll have a power-hike...
Had an RX8 for a wet track day a while ago now, was there with my boss in his TVR Tuscan R. Was glued to his tail all the way! He knew the organisers well and for a laugh had me Black flagged, Git! lol. Anyways the car seemed to handle/ drift well especially with the TC off! Coming from a big power Cossie it did feel flat but as stated before thats mainly due to the flat power delivery. There are many Turbo kits available for the car if you wish to go down that route to up the power for drifting and as I understand it the engines are far more reliable than the previous units in the RX7. Hope this has been of some help.
GTIJIM said:
There are many Turbo kits available for the car if you wish to go down that route
I dont think they are, all the US ones dont seem to work very well on UK cars as yet, no ones produced a reliable turbo kit for UK cars that I can see?
Certainly a reliable car, and I loved my 3 years with one, sure its not got bags of power but its smooth & very balanced.
wickedchick said:
Hiya
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Have test driven an RX8 and I was HUGELY disappointed in it. You'd have to be in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!! Has anyone spent any length of time driving one of these?? I can't believe the car is as bad as it felt in a 10 min test drive! People are raving about them but I thought it was poo and I'm trying to convince myself that I must have been wrong!!!
Anyone got any views????
Firstly, was it a high-power you drove? The low-power is simply not geared for the sport-minded.
Secondly, here we have a classic case of someone who likes torquey cars being disappointed by a power-and-revs based car.
You would indeed have to be "in 2nd & 3rd all the time with the revs screaming to get any poke out of it!!!!" That's kind of the point. You should look at a 350 which is similar in terms of chassis and brakes, but heavier and with a lot more grunt - sounds like it could be your thing.
Or of course you could try an RX7 FD...
Not convinced? Try searching on YouTube for RX8 and drift, donut, sideways, etc...
Sadly the only videos of me are a) crap quality and b) driving for lap times, or drifting it Fangio-style, not Tsuchiya-style.
Finally, did you make it go beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep?
How could I have forgotten about -this- piece of video... Mr Clarkson and his unfeasibly large right foot.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRiPSlx8PxA
Try 3mins 25 onwards for all your sideways requirements, wet and dry, and that's on the snatchy RE040s it used to come on, I assume - even better on Avons.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRiPSlx8PxA
Try 3mins 25 onwards for all your sideways requirements, wet and dry, and that's on the snatchy RE040s it used to come on, I assume - even better on Avons.
One of the oft-quoted stats on the OC forum is that the torque at the wheels is between that of a Boxster and a Boxster S.
Because it'll rev to 9.5k before the limiter, the final drive ratio can be sufficiently shorter to give a significant multiplier on the relatively low crank torque. Just needs a different driving style. I've only had mine a couple of weeks, but it never fails to bring a smile to my face when I thrash the
off it, beeping every gear change (license has been known to get a little nervous when hitting the beep in fourth*).
And, as it's my daily driver, it'll happily take four adults down to London or wherever in comfort.
Because it'll rev to 9.5k before the limiter, the final drive ratio can be sufficiently shorter to give a significant multiplier on the relatively low crank torque. Just needs a different driving style. I've only had mine a couple of weeks, but it never fails to bring a smile to my face when I thrash the
off it, beeping every gear change (license has been known to get a little nervous when hitting the beep in fourth*). And, as it's my daily driver, it'll happily take four adults down to London or wherever in comfort.
* on a private road of course, St Johns ambulance on standby, no cute fluffy animals were harmed by this irresponsible, anti-social behaviour
MikeT658 said:
Do they have an LSD?
Yes every UK car comes with an LSD as standard. Its not as 'big' as the FD/RX7's one but does the job, but only if you have all the gadgets switched off.
Rear suspension is a 5 link affair, and because its so balanced its set up relativly soft for on road work yet still corner/grip fine, so its turning moment is low but takes a while to load from one side to the other.
The PZ has stiffer suspension & is more geared towards track work, the chassy is actualy quite solid due to the center tunnel design (ala lotus Esprit I beleive).
Once the stability is off the LSD is pretty aggressive under braking; this also contributes to making the car feel understeer-led (which it is, really, but that makes controlled slides much easier... the nose tells you just exactly when the tail is going to go.)
Chassis is great, but there's a lot of suspension travel which is what makes it feel slightly odd.
The stability control is darn clever and will slack the diff off if it thinks that's where the problem lies, allowing the car to turn rather than slide. So you need traction control AND DSC off to really play, which requires an 8 second press of the button. I.ve seen lots of test drive posts which missed this subtlety but it really does change the car.
On a wet Anglesey I could provoke half a turn of lock or so with TCS off but DSC still on, but the rear calipers took a hell of a hammering in the process...
With everything off there is oodles of throttle steer thank you, but good old Scandy Flick is the most consistent way to provoke.
Chassis is great, but there's a lot of suspension travel which is what makes it feel slightly odd.
The stability control is darn clever and will slack the diff off if it thinks that's where the problem lies, allowing the car to turn rather than slide. So you need traction control AND DSC off to really play, which requires an 8 second press of the button. I.ve seen lots of test drive posts which missed this subtlety but it really does change the car.
On a wet Anglesey I could provoke half a turn of lock or so with TCS off but DSC still on, but the rear calipers took a hell of a hammering in the process...
With everything off there is oodles of throttle steer thank you, but good old Scandy Flick is the most consistent way to provoke.
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