Good choice my friend! Nothing like having a paid off FD!! I love it!

Well, does handling count in daily driving? I'd say it does. The RX-8 is the more practical car, but I'd say the FD beats it in daily driving handling too. For one thing it's a couple of hundred pounds lighter and easier to toss around and change direction. I'd also say it's easier to dart through traffic, for the reasons I just mentioned, and also because you don't have that rear 3/4 view blockage caused by the suicide doors / roof section.

In the FD it's like you're piloting a jet fighter. It's highly maneuverable and placeable right where you want it. The RX-8 is also a great handler. It's just that the FD has the edge.

And it's not like I can't be critical of the 3rd Gen RX-7. The steering feel is too numb. The RX-8 and most 3 series BMW's are better. The assist on the FD is overboosted. In later model Japanese FD's a valve was inserted that reduced the power assist on the steering. I wish my car had that.

Unless you have some reason you really need to, keep it and enjoy it.

Couple of hundred pounds lighter? The RX8 is = to a touring model RX7 in weight.


The suicide door "blockage" as you call it doesn't actually block anything at all. I thought it did, too, on the test drive..but after owning it for months now, I realize it doesn't block any sight whatsoever..

That said. If I had an FD and my RX8, I would probably sell the RX8. :-D


Oh and, to the guy who was comparing handling to lateral G's..uh..wtf? G's don't have anything to do with how a car performs in the turns. It's a matter of tires, and the tires the RX8 comes on stock are the biggest POS's ever. Unsafe to drive on in ANY condition..

Yeah, couple of hundred. My '95 PEP model weighs in at 2,825 lbs. R models weigh 2,800. And base models weigh as low as 2,789.

The weight I see listed for an '06 RX-8 is 3,045 lbs. The weight for previous years varied but were about 20 lbs. lighter. So, yeah a couple of hundred pounds. And if you don't think it makes a difference ask a racer what he'll do to shave just a few pounds.

So at first you thought there was a vision blockage, and now you don't. That just tells me you've gotten used to the car.

The term handling comprises a lot of things. It's a lot more than just tires, as you state. But there are objective numbers that can be put to some aspects of handling, and the g forces a car can generate in turns is one good measure of it.
In those tests, stock to stock, an FD beats and an RX-8 every time.

And I'll throw in one other thing. Wheelbase. All things being equal, the car with the shorter wheelbase will be more nimble and easier to change its direction. The RX-8 has a wheelbase that is 11 inches longer than the FD. That's a big difference. It shows in the handling, and it's another reason the FD has the edge.

just bought my first fd a month or so ago.....and im already looking for number 2....
i drove the rx8 ...they didnt do anything for me.....nothing my prelude couldnt handle .....but the fd's are awesome....im going to try to buy and save as many as i can........ :)

Source for RX-8 weight:


http://www.edmunds.com/new/2006/mazd...612/specs.html