Stock for stock at an autoX, especially on at tight course with street tires, the Elise is superior. I'm still a rookie, but have already learned to groan whenever one shows up.

 

To think thats what i was trying to say is a bit naive! Fact is, i went round a 13 mile track faster than an elise did and the owner of the said elise said i went around many corners at a speed that would have resulted in him ending up in the wall in his elise.

 

The Lotus is 800 lbs. lighter than the RX-7. That's a big disadvantage for the RX-7 to overcome when you're talking about throwing the car around on a handling course.

In a discussion such as this it's going to be hard to come up with apples to apples comparison figures. Here are some to chew on however. They come from Road & Track magazine's tests of a '94 RX-7 and 2006 Lotus Exige.

The RX-7 pulled .95 g in lateral acceleration, the Lotus .96.

Most experts consider the slalom a more realistic test of real world handling and there the gap was more dramatic. Road & Track runs a 700 ft. slalom with 100 ft. spacing.

The RX-7 ran the course at 66.4 mph, the Lotus did it in 71.2 mph.


IMO both cars are great handlers, and you can argue all sorts of specifics such as the temperature on test day, the type of tires used, etc, but to think that no other cars compare to or beat the handling of the FD is just silly.

 

The Supra did it because it had very soft tires that would only last about 15,000 miles, a street R compound. That is what one magazine said. The FD had normal high performance tires.

 

cant believe this wasnt said sooner! we're talking about an MR car vs FR car, you have to drive them accordingly!

 

I do not think this was mentioned yet...but i think the S2000 can come really close...but to truly compete with an FD it needs a little bit more power. But the handling level of the S2000 is up there.

or the new Z4 "M Coupe"

 

Turbo'd Rx-8.

 

I can swear a saw a video of a stock rx8 beating a stock rx7 on a road coarse. Dont remember the details though.

 

Rx8 has the potential to do it with the revised chassis and suspension, just the underpowered motor and the extra weight kills it. The Rx8 is a totally different concept from the Rx7.

I forgot to mention the Miata...NA or NB miatas can haul ***, handling wise...but again needs a little bit more power to be "totally balanced" like the FD.

I have a 2001 NB as a DD, and a 91 FC as a money pit, the NB def feels more tossable and fun to drive, even though my FC maybe "faster".

 

yeah i agree with the s2000 handling about as good as the fd. i got to drive my friends new (1200 miles) s2000 on willow springs. they handle very well.

i saw in a japanese magazine they compared several cars to the fd. the s2000 had almost the same cornering speed and cornering g's, though a little lower than the fd's.

 

+1

As mentioned before, the S2000 is comparable, if not better. The RX-8 also also has great handling and a stiffer chassis than the FD, even with the suicide doors. It's hard to say with a lot of the cars, as its very much dependent driving style and a subjective opinion, but there are plenty of cars that can match the FD's handling capabilities.

 

mini cooper s? That thing looks like it can handle like a champ.

 

There are some good things about the RX-8. It has a stiff chassis and I hear it has a lower center of gravity than the FD. But I still think the FD has the edge. As you mention, the RX-8 weighs more, and it also has a longer wheelbase. If I remember correctly it's an additional 10 or 11 inches. That's a considerable amount and it makes the car less agile.

Looking at the Road & Track test figures from 2004, the RX-8 hit .88 g in lateral acceleration versus .95 for the FD when it was new.

In the 700 ft. slalom the RX-8 went through it at 65.4 mph whereas the FD had a speed of 66.4 mph.

This is as close as I could get for an apples to apples comparison. I seem to remember another test showing the RX-8 hitting .91 g on the skidpad. And the FD figures come from 1994, so it might improve its showing a bit on more modern tires.

 

mini coopers...
im gonna get the one with the flag design on the roof

 

 

I'd say the S2000 would be fairly close

 

Watch american touge if interested in this stuff. You will be disappointed in the praised s2000. The fastest lap times come from rx7, mr2, skyline, and nsx.

 

I don't think anyone doubts that the Elise/Exige is a great handling car and rules most autoX events (what about roadracing events?). However, those #s you are comparing are 2006 to 1994 (12yrs) and testing procedures and tires have changed a lot.
The FD does what it was built to do and it still does it very well. The fact that it is being argued that one or two cars MAY out-handle it is a testement to its greatness in it self.
Cars will continue to evolve, and technology will make them faster and better handling. The FD will not always be on top, but I appreciate that it will always be a classic and will lose its title gracefully.

 

 

I have heard that the only cars on the road parallel to the RX7 is the Porsche 911 and the Acura NSX

 

It also makes me happy to know thru customizations we can push the limit of our 7's. RE Amemiya is the perfect example, a fully streetable (a/c, cd player, etc) track prepped RX7 ran a 59 second lap time on Tskuba. I belive thats 3 seconds faster than the Mclaren F1's best track time and 2 faster than the Mine's Skyline. This is an example of how volatile our cars can really be. There is a handfull of ridiculous track prepped 7's that run times that very few cars can touch. Just another thing to be thankful for ; )

 

 

that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

 

+1

 

what do you expect from a car that weighs twice as much as an elephant?