This might need to be in the Lounge.. But I wanted to know what you guys thought about people who own RX8 vs. FD's?

To me both cars are different breeds and people who drive them are very different . IS it just me or am I correct about this?? Is it because RX8 are still under warrantee?? Our local RX8 guys don't get involved as 7 owners. Maybe because 8 owners "more" mature than the 7 owners??

Do most of you with FD's "hang out" with RX8s?? Just wondering??

 

All i see is rich women driving rx8s.

 

After driving a RX8 I for one will never be a owner. They are a great handling car but just are not the mosters the FD's were. I really dont hang out with anyone who owns a RX8 or an RX7. My car is allways acomanied by a 99 trans am or saleen mustang, But they usally are be hind me becouse they like the flame that comes out of my exhaust.

 

purchased a brand new one for my girlfriend bright blue with crome wheels 18s.

they are gutless and i never feel good nor the same driving it like i do my sevens or other sports cars. all my guy friends love to see her out and about blonde and is a cutie however I think mazda fed up when they made that car. yes they are selling but what about dignity. I can not wait to see how they mess up the new 06 or 07 rx7. yes to the rich women cars thing. it is more bang for the buck than most the merc. or bmws but still GUTLESS.


joe

 

Different cars. You really can't compare the two ........... and shouldn't try .

 

Yep. Rx8 is more user friendly and the perfect companion to the Rx7. Soft core and hard core.


Duh Herb Newer cars are always more attractive.

yep. Most of the people here grew up idolizing the Rx7(myself included). To them it's just a new cool looking car that puts a smile on their face when they drive it. Not everyone is going to understand the 8's history like we do. They don't care about anything else. Plus would have to take into account the age difference. A very high percentage of the 7 owners now are kids. Most 8 owners are older adults who can afford to go out and buy a brand new 28k-32k sports car and still pay for full coverage insurance.

 

Question would you rather have Mazda build another car that doesn't make any money like the last Rx7 did (which gives Ford more power to bail them out again) or build a more mainstream car that will sell and make a profit? You guys that chime in always talking about how gutless the Rx8 is never take into account the real issues at hand. Power isn't everything. Also install that new interceptor X ecu and new Greddy turbo charger and stop whining about the lack of power.

Also if you think my post as kind of crude, consider this. A base Rx8 cost 25k. That Greddy turbo kit and intercepter X ecu would add 5k to the price. Thats still 2k less that the Fd when it came out in 92 (which is 14yrs ago). The Rx8 would have more ***** than the Rx7 for the money and be a better overal car.

 

i think a good amount of RX8 owners bought their car for various reasons other then because its a rotary and for performance. most of the RX8 owners i meet arent really into their cars like we are with our FDs. ive heard everything from "i have a 6cyl RX8" to "i bought it because it was cute." every so often i will get a thumbs up from a 8 owner but raaare.

I would bet for the most part people buy FDs to tune them in some fashion, making it into more that type of a community.

 

I think that alot of rx-8 owners are older and are looking for a somewhat reliable daily driven vehicle, and most are satisfied with the power and performance output.

The FD is a rare sports car, and definetly one of a kind. I think many owners appreciate this car, and are willing to learn how it properly functions and operates. That is why the majority of FD owners are enthusiasts, and are willing to spend the money to modify the the FD3S to their own taste and performance liking.

 

i got a thumbs up from an rx8 owner like a week ago. guy was real cool then he asked me to boost by him which i did. prolly made his night

 

In the 2 years that I have seen RX-8s on the road, I have never EVER gotten a thumbs up from any of them, but I run into all sorts of cool fellow FC and FD drivers that almost never fail to smile or throw a thumbs up.

I would say that 95% of the 8s I see on the road are driven by non-enthusiasts and have no idea what the difference is between a rotor and a piston. The other 5% are rotary enthusiasts I would suspect but I never see them around. Come to think of it, I have yet to see a modded RX-8 in my locale.

You could always pop into the RX8 forums and have a look. There are a few people that are in the mistaken impression that the 8 is a sports car and not a 4 door sedan. I find it equivalent but not quite to the same degree if I were to look at a four door G35 and think of it as a Skyline GTR.

 

I'd pick FD over rx8

 

They funked it up when they made a sports car w/ 4 doors. I like my 7. Although i have seen a couple that have been de-virginized, and look pretty good.

 

I own both. The rx8 serves as my nimble daily driver, and whenever I get the craving for some power, I just hop into the FD.

They are very much different cars, and it is quite unfair to compare them with drag race performance. I like the FD because it is the closest thing you can get to a super car and focuses on that. The rx8 has cup holders and can seat 4 people. Neither of them is slow.

In terms of handling, the rx8 can keep up with a rx7. To the average driver who doesn't enter 90 deg bends at 45mph, the difference is negligible.

 

I like rx-8's and would like to have one if my daily wasn't paid off and didn't get 30mpg. I see them as sort of a practical rx-7. Probably a good bit more reliable, more everyday user friendly(cup holders), no 9004949 vaccum lines to leak, or turbos to go bad, avg. to decent power(in the 6speed, auto is a pig) and you can also haul stuff in them compared to a 7. You can't tell me my FD is a very practical car, fun as hell to drive and track, but practical it is not.

In my opinion they are geared more toward most americans/people who want comfort as well as alittle fun, which most people can't/won't drive them to their limits anyway, but its got to be more fun to drive than an SUV.

 

I love the RX-8s, they need more power but I like the looks and the handling. There are a good many RX-8 owners that hang out with the Raleigh RX7club drive-ins and with the local Mazda Sports Car Club, not a majority by any means though.

 

I hang out with an rx8 owner daily. My wife She's starts autocrossing it soon.

 

I think they are two totally different cars aimed at two different demographics. In the long run(10-20 years down the road), the FD will come out on top I think. To me, it's like the 60's muscle cars opposed to the 70's. For instance, the 67-69 Camaro were much faster than the 70s Camaro's(when emissions hit because of gas prices) that had far less horsepower. I think it is basically the same thing with the RX-7/RX-8. The RX-7 base price in 93 was $31,650 and went up to close to $40,000 by 1995. The FD was a ***** to the wall sports car that could hang with Corvette's, N/A Porsche's, and all the other Japanese "Super Cars". The RX-8's base price is like $26,xxx. Invoice is $24,xxx. The FD was a much more expensive car. The RX-8 was designed to be reliable, affordable, and quick. Any Tom, Dick, or Harry coming out of college that scores an entry level job can afford one. Def. more reliable than the FD, but I wouldn't trade my power that my little turbochargers bring to the table for the reliability. I think in time they will push the bar with the RX-8, but like Herblenny said, most owners don't wish to void the warranty. Just my $0.02

 

Wife just got one a few months ago. I don't think of it as a sports car (automatic for her pleasure ) but it is a nice ride, handles great, fit and finish are of a higher quality than the FD. Like many have said, 2 different cars with 2 different categories of buyers. Also take into consideration WHO was buying the FD back in 93-95. Comparing the owners of most FD's now is like apples and oranges in terms of age, wealth, personal taste, to those who actually bought it back when it first came out.

Tim

 

I have both; I like both for different reasons. I owned my FD long before I bought my 8. For some reason I just felt the need to have it when they came out in '04. In any event, they are two different cars, anyone who tries to compare them is clueless. The 8 handles really good, better than a stock FD and is a blast to drive because you can just rail on it and don't have to worry about much. It's essentially like driving a go-cart with traction control

The 6 speed version has more than enough power to make it fun, I'm convinced that most people who say the rx-8 is slow don't have a clue as to how to drive it. Everyone I've met that's bitched about it was shifting at 6-7k rpm's which is way too early. Again if you come from a 350-400hp FD then of course it's going to feel slow.

I bought it because it's a rotary and apparently because I'm a sucker for rotary cars. But also because it was about the only thing I could use as a daily driver that remained close to a sports car yet had room for my 4 year old son.

It's a Mazda, it's a rotary car, it's cool but comparing the 8 to an FD is apples to oranges. There's no real similarity aside from their lineage.

 

Thanks everyone for posting on here with your opinions.

I totally agree with you all about 8 and 7's are different breed of cars.

But things that kind of **** me off are some of the attitudes 8 owners have against 7 owners.

I think most FD owners appreciate ALL rotary cars. But to me most 8 owners only care about 8's and think its the best car ever built... which most of us FD owners know its not. I don't think Renesis engine is that good of a design in making power.. Its good for maybe noise and emission.. but thats about it.

Also most Fd owners work on our own cars and understand more about rotaries.. I think 90+% of 8 owners have no clue about rotary engine and might of bought it because it had cool doors or it was in X-men.

 

they r making a brand new rx7???wtf!

 

To me, the difference is that there are so many RX-8's, so there seem to be so many clueless RX-8 owners. The same thing happened in the Subaru crowd when the WRX was first introduced: there was a huge influx of new owners who didn't understand or care about the car's heritage.

Most of the RX-8 owners haven't owned a rotary. These types will be less knowledgeable about mechanics and heritage, even the enthusiast types. The RX-8 is a flashy car, and quite honestly not the best racecar at that price segment. The hardcore racers bought other cars such as the EVO, STi, or (it hurts to say this) Neon SRT-4 for the straight lines.

There are a few who bought the RX-8 to replace a less-than-reliable RX-7, and those are the knowledgeable ones, they're usually the same ones who are pushing the envelope in search of power.



As someone else mentioned, the RX-8 doesn't have nearly the same neck-straining power as the turbocharged RX-7, but the short gearing and modern suspension design make it pretty formidable on canyon roads and autocross courses. I've driven RX-8's both stock and with suspension mods, and they really do handle as well or better than my car with its tired stock suspension bushings. At an autocross practice, I did about 8-10 laps in my car, and 2-3 laps in a friend's RX-8. My times in his car were within 1 second of my times in my car, and the RX-8 only felt heavier under hard braking.


That said, I personally know about 10+ people who own RX-8's, and they're all very cool people, even if I might not be able to have in-depth tech discussions with most of them.

-s-

 

yeah, i think the only reason i like the rx8 is because its NEW. . . and more than likely wont have the same problems that the FD had. . . ie. interior squeaking and flaking and whatnot. at least i hope so. surely, technology has advanced enough to keep that thing from squeaking everytime the wheel is turned. this is not to say that the FD has HORRIBLE interior problems. i think its actually of very high quality for the era it was developed. mine still looks very clean, but it still squeaks at times.

i do think as far as NA power goes. the rx8 is great. i loved test driving it, and it was nowhere near gutless in any turns. . . actually, very easy going and predictable. having a wife and a kid makes me really desire a 4door sports car (if that name is possible) more than ever, but i always feel like "myself" when i drive my FD.

i NEVER get a flash, thumbs up, wave, yell, curse word, or anything out of rx8 owners here. ive come to realize that its usually just a fact that the cars were bought by people who liked the design and could simply afford one. hell, if i didnt have 3 cars to pay on and a decent bit of outstanding debt, id get one and use it as a DD. . . just cause i DO like them.

 

Yeah, I used to try and wave at all the RX8s, or flash my lights but after only getting 4 or 5 wave backs, I stopped. I did have a guy in an RX8 chase me down one day to talk rotaries, but generally I don't think most of the RX8 owners know what the hell they have under the hood.

Hell, since getting the RX8, i've only been acknowledged by TWO other rx8 owners! My wife is constantly bitching that they give her strange looks when she waves to other rx8s.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen another RX7 yet while driving the 8..i'll be sure to wave or flash the lights.