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RX-8 is the new FC with a better stock suspension.
Cheap, and plenty of them around, they make great engine swap cars(rotary or piston).
I enjoy tremendously.
I have been mulling over buying an RX8. I love handling and that might be a car I finally get to track. they are cheap, have great suspension and chassis design, they house large wheels/tires, come with good brakes.
check, check, and check.
The FD is my dream car, I have always loved it since the first time I drove it. I like to use it as a street car and canyon road carver, I cannot bring myself to take it to the track and just unload on it lap after lap with all the time I have spent wrenching on it. It's too nice to me to beat it. Hence.....the rx8. More reliable, less power, less problems when tracked I would think...and cheap.
Way to bump a thread almost exactly 10 years ( plus 8 ) to the day from the last post ! That being said with the price of the Series I RX-8's ( 04 - 08 ) being where they are, it would not be a bad idea to pick up one. Personally, I would go for the Series II which includes the updated light designs and also the R3 variant. Not sure why RX-8's get so much hate as it was never meant to be a replacement for the FD.
RX-8 is the new FC with a better stock suspension.
Cheap, and plenty of them around, they make great engine swap cars(rotary or piston).
I enjoy tremendously.
.
^ This
My choice a year ago was between getting another FC or an RX8. I ended up with an FC, but for a daily driver I am thinking about retiring my FC and picking up one of the cheap 8's that I see for sale around here.
Way to bump a thread almost exactly 10 years ( plus 8 ) to the day from the last post ! That being said with the price of the Series I RX-8's ( 04 - 08 ) being where they are, it would not be a bad idea to pick up one. Personally, I would go for the Series II which includes the updated light designs and also the R3 variant. Not sure why RX-8's get so much hate as it was never meant to be a replacement for the FD.
3 things different for the series 2 besides cosmetics
1.
a. series 1 has 2 oil squirters 1 at each corner of the apex seal and the oil vent goes back into the intake tube which starts to fill when the side seals go-from experience
b. series 2 has 3 oil squirters 1 at each corner plus 1 additional at the center of the apex seal now and the oil vent goes to the lower intake manifold now
2. series 2 rear suspension has re-designed geometry which tames the twitchiness on wet roads - similar to what the S2000 changes went through
3. series 2 transmission is better
so series 2 is really a lot better for track- get an R3 leave it stock or buy the base no sunroof cloth interior and start with that and that's if ever I buy another RX8 - ill probably go with the base then build it up.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; 02-01-16 at 04:14 PM.
3 things different for the series 2 besides cosmetics
1.
a. series 1 has 2 oil squirters 1 at each corner of the apex seal and the oil vent goes back into the intake tube which starts to fill when the side seals go-from experience
b. series 2 has 3 oil squirters 1 at each corner plus 1 additional at the center of the apex seal now and the oil vent goes to the lower intake manifold now
2. series 2 rear suspension has re-designed geometry which tames the twitchiness on wet roads - similar to what the S2000 changes went through
3. series 2 transmission is better
so series 2 is really a lot better for track- get an R3 leave it stock or buy the base no sunroof cloth interior and start with that and that's if ever I buy another RX8 - ill probably go with the base then build it up.
agree with most of what you said except that the Series 2 transmission is better. It isn't. The Series 1 transmission is significantly stronger. The Series 2 differential gearing is better at 4.77 vs 4.44 but is largely negated by the larger R3 wheels and heavier weight. Still, the R3 is a better overall package.
less problems when tracked I would think...and cheap.
the Rx8's do ok on the track. in 2006 i took one to Mazda fest, and its about the same lap times as my friends ITS FC, and the Rx8 was completely showroom stock. i think overall they are more reliable than the FD, but the stuff that breaks is different. engine parts are about the same $$, but every other part of the car is cheaper, and used parts are almost free.
actually for like $5k the Rx8 is a hell of a car. its quiet and smooth, and the chassis balance is remarkable. somehow it rides nicely, has sharp handling, AND it has no vices, you can do stupid stuff behind the wheel and it doesn't bite you. it basically makes the stock FD feel like a truck.
it is sort of like the analogy of an old muscle car vs a new one,( lol hope I don't catch to much flack)
when you take that big block 69 Camaro out, you feel the wild, untamable power. everyone you drive past sees it too.
You drive a 09' Camaro, yeah its pretty quick, turns better, stops better, more comfortable/modern, but it just doesn't make you feel alive like the old one, its a bit too tame. you just drive by people and its a normal car....
I still have both, and I would never consider selling the FD, but the rx8 seems more expendable to me.
I will say this, the rx8 has becomes a lot more interesting after boosting it. I don't see it ever replacing the FD though.
Never owned an FD... I have owned a FC with a TII swap.
I love my rx-8. The chassis is superb. The brakes are amazing. I have daily'd the car since purchase. well, there was a short 4-5 month period where I drove one of the other cars for fear of losing a motor :/
I tracked it once a month for a year. I've since boosted it. I daily it at 11psi. I've put it on 20+psi (accidentally) and ran the **** out of it for a night. I guess that doesn't make it very accidental....
@115k miles on the original motor, I can't complain one bit. If the motor dies tomorow I will be sad but not upset in the slightest.
By far the best all around car I've owned. I can fit my short friends in the rear. My daughters Recaro seat fits nicely in the back(she thinks its a racecar) My wife hates it, so obviously it's doing something right if the wife is jealous....
^Women are too damn complicated. Why would a woman hate a sports car that has a large enough rear seat to put a child seat in? Mustang and camaros are a bitch when it comes to child seats.
I owned a Series 2 R3 RX-8 very briefly.... only good thing that was going for was the handling. It was superb and compliant.
What made me sell it was the fact the FD is simply faster due to it being turboed. And with the stock twins, no RX-8 could compete with the amount of torque an FD makes at a low-rpm.
I actually get better fuel economy in my FD, I am consistently faster than RX-8 at a road course or autocross course, although the smaller the course, the better the 8 performs due to its gearing.
The RX-8 is only a better car, because its newer.
I can build an FD to have a better suspension setup than an 8 and be easier to live with.... but it costs money.
You can't be fast in an RX-8, without being able to make power, and that only comes from a turbo system (which has been pretty much proven to not be a good idea as I have not seen a Renny make a considerable amount of power for any decent amount of miles) or an engine swap to using an REW, 20B, or swap to (insert piston engine of choice here).
Maybe if Mazda built the RX-8 to have an N/A 20B, it would likely be the best rotary car in the history of rotaries... but thats neither here nor there.
I love the FD. No other car can give me the pleasure of driving that I get from it. I love other cars because for me each car has its own personality for me and it does something different that some other car cant do. I've owned a 700hp MKIV Supra and loved that car for basically being the beast on the street. I've owned an S2000 and i love hearing it scream to its 9000rpm rev limit. I've owned an NSX and I like how I can pretend Im driving a Ferrari. I've owned an E46 M3 and love that its the pinnacle of the ultimate driving machine for a gentleman. I've owned a shitty Toyota Corolla and love that no matter how bad I neglect it(i dont do it purposely, its a beater after all).... It keeps on running, and running well.
You cant make direct comparisons between the FD and SE3P because they are totally different cars with different personalities.
I can build an FD to have a better suspension setup than an 8 and be easier to live with.... but it costs money.
The FD already has a better suspension set-up than the RX-8.
The RX-8 has better chassis dynamics- that is really hard to change.
RX-8 has a longer wheelbase and more centralized mass.
The the gas tank (140lb full in the FD) is moved about 3 feet forward and several inches lower (does not need approach angle for driveways, etc).
The engine is moved a couple inches lower and several inches back, which in turn moves the transmission down and back the same amount (so another 400lbs total of more centralized mass).
The RX-8 only weighs about 100lbs more than the FD per similar trim and has more than an extra 100lbs in extra doors, seats, crash structure and 5 more airbags- which are all right in the middle of the car.
You can feel this when you drive the two cars.
The RX-8 feels more stable from the long wheelbase, but still is able to easily change direction and you can snake it through tight spots at incredible speeds or rule the slalom over any other car.
Because the RX-8 is defaulted into dynamic stability and traction control they were able to build a little less natural understeer into the chassis compared to the FD. Turn off the stability control and the RX-8 is pretty sharp.
You cant make direct comparisons between the FD and SE3P because they are totally different cars with different personalities.
I somewhat agree with this.
The RX-8 needs the 13B-REW to make a direct comparison, the 13B-MSP is just too much of a step down.
But, I can and do compare the two chassis directly.
And even though I think the RX-8 is the superior chassis the FD is still my favorite car. FD is just so beautiful and still represents the pinnacle of rotary performance.
[I] FD is just so beautiful and still represents the pinnacle of rotary performance.
Lets hope that soon changes with the new rotary!
i think it might. i reread the Rx8 book, and it has the craziest development, its really no wonder it turned out as a mixed bag, it really is like 3 different car ideas mashed together...
i have a feeling the new Rx-cucumber (who cares what they call it), is going to go back to the Rx-01 prototype of 1995, which was 2400lbs/220hp, with what we've learned since, it could be pretty neat. the best part is that there are no ford guys to ruin it.
It's gutless.... but it makes the noises, it handles great, and looks pretty darn sharp too. It's a sports car - you arent supposed to be worried about mileage.
I think the wife will justify letting the car hang around with the safety features too...so that means when the renesis dies, I can persuade her to put a REW in it....SUPER curious to see how the car would feel with an extra 50-100 hp.
This illustrates the FD RX-7 and RX-8 engine position (though I don't know why they didn't show the transmission set back as well since it is nearly 1/2 again the engine weight in the RX-8).
This illustrates the RX-8 engine, transmission and gas tank positions.
i have a feeling the new Rx-cucumber (who cares what they call it), is going to go back to the Rx-01 prototype of 1995, which was 2400lbs/220hp, with what we've learned since, it could be pretty neat. the best part is that there are no ford guys to ruin it.
02-01-16, 10:00 AM
