rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

any1 driven one?

wot a great car.

I have had one to test drive since wednesday night.

http://rb5oc.ipbhost.com/index.php?s...t=0&#entry6903 for pics of it.

if it had more room in the back then i'd have bought one.



just wondered if any1 else has and what they thought of the RX-8

Olly

I've got one, and love it to bits.

Those that knock 'em are those that can't drive 'em. They don't do all the nannying for you, or make you look like a hero. To press on, you have to re-adjust your driving style, use the 'box, always be in the right gear, and keep that little rotary at its (9000rpm) sweet spot. Fail to do it and Polo TDi's will crawl all over you. But keep it on the boil, and the car will sing. The handling helps: turn the DSC off, and you can throw it around like a Mk2 Escort, it's so forgiving.

Add the usual comments like superb handling and steering, looks, detailing, fit and finish, practicality and value, and its a winner.

Only drawback is fuel: it doesn't matter how you drive it. Around 20mpg is the average for me.

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

pmsl the mpg's


i did 35 quids worth of UL (about 0.79p a litre) to 150 miles.


i must admit the looks, ride, handling, gadgets, comfort, fun factor all bit me and i was really sad to have to give it back!!!

1st thing i did when i got in it and started it up was push the DSC button to OFF

how much fun, especially nast night as it was slightly wet roads.

i founud that over 5000 rpm kept the engine like it was 'on boost'

i would love to hear one with a nice de cat s/steel exhaust.

Chris L

Mine arrives on March 1st - assuming I can sell the Scoob! 230 HP in Titanium Grey with leather. Haven't driven such a fun car in ages. Mate at work has one and he was quite happily oversteering it around Slough's roundabouts - even with the DSC on The nice thing is that the DSC allows you to play without cutting in too early. MPG didn't bother me that much as I don't get anything better in the Scoob!

Has anyone done the Prodrive day? Looking forward to that. As regards exhausts (I did say I would keep it standard...), Racing Beat do a lovely cat back system for about £450.

fastfrank

i've test drove one of these for about 30 mins. great looking, comfortable... but power seemed less inspiring than the scoob.

I think i was expecting the massive surge of power when i booted it but it was linear like a motorbike.

Chris L

It's a different kind of car. Having driven Scoobs for 5 years, I wanted something bit, well - different I wasn't interested in ultimate power, I wanted something that was fun. You've got to push a Scoob quite hard sometimes - the RX-8 allows you to have a play a lower speeds, so it is a real laugh to drive. I wouldn't try and compare it to a Scoob - very different beasts.

fastfrank

fairs dos mate. I understood they were two difference beasts but I was looking expecting a sudden push of power seeing as it had 240+ bhp. I started to drive it expecting the same. I'm sure if I had more than 30mins and some decent roads I would gather a better understanding of what the car is good at.

richs2891

My sister has one (I persuaded her to buy one) and have to admit its a great car, definately needs the DSC turned off and its good fun car.
Bit shocked when I first drove it, as its very smooth and can't really feels the power, fuel consumption is terrible probably worse than a Scoob and they drink oil when they are new (< 20K miles).
Chris the prodrive day is brilliant - if they still do the full day version, 1/2 day on the handling circuit inc braking from 70 to zero with hands off the steering wheel, ( I did it at 100 mph and car rakes in a true straight line) a play on the wet skid pan and then 1/2 day driving on the roads

Richard

rb5 286

iTrader: (2)

the RX-8 is 190 or 230PS which is around 215bhp, for the latter model & not 240 bhp like stated above.

it does have a very linear power 'curve' but with 6 gears and LOTS of torque very low down the rev range you can have the power when and where u want.

u'll never feel that sudden kick up the **** with a NA engine like u do with a turbo'd engine but what you have to remember is this is ONLY a 1.3ltr engine at the end of the day and MY GOD its amazing.

and as said above if you are not looking for ultimate power but power when u want it this is ideal.

I'm looking forward to driving the RS fiesta which is NA 2300cc.

hades

Minor point, 230PS is about 227bhp, not 215 (or 240 for that matter). To call a rotary a 1.3 ltr is also a little bit of a liberty, Yes, that is it's "equivalent capcity", but capacity on a rotary is not really the same as capcity on a reciprocating engine.

That isn't any attempt to slur the RX-8. Haven't driven one yet, fully intend to at some stage.

scooby_si

do you work for the DVLA i'm still argueing with them about that on me RX7.
We have a turbo'd 8 in the UK now too which should be fun!!!!
Si

Chris L

scooby_si - please send me the details of the turbo'd 8! - There are a lot of people in the owner's club who'd be interested (that or mechanical supercharger )

Chris L

It was the rotary engine that attracted me to the car. It is an engineering marvel - only 3 moving parts, when even the simplest 4 cylinder engine has about 40! The oil consumption is often quoted as an issue. I have to say that reading reports on the owner's club site, no one has experienced overly serious oil consumption (yes, they do use a bit when they are running in).

To be honest, checking the oil level every couple of weeks is something we all should do - it's just that we get very blase about modern engines - they are almost 'fit and forget' nowadays - even more so with company cars, where most people don't even lift the bonnet between services.

The rotary engine on the RX-8 is tiny and therefore has a small oil sump - this is why oil consumption shows up more on the 8 than most other cars. Most modern engines have quite large oil sumps and their normal oil usage barely shows up on the dip stick. I see it as just one of those things - not a huge problem, just something to be aware of.

Put it another way - we lost 6 Alfa 156's in a year at work - all through excessive oil consumption that lead to blown engines (Alfa's are no longer on our fleet) - I haven't heard of any RX-8's blowing their engines because of this problem.

scooby_si

being done by Tim & Jeff of RX motors & RE:worx details are on this mazdarotaryclub thread
Si

Chris L

Thanks Si

dpb

so the 'lack' of torque isnt a problem.....?

hades

Si - I have no connection whatsoever with the DVLA; purely that the way the engines work is very different, and to back that, the power output and fuel consumption of the rotary is well in excess of what a 1.3 reciprocating engine would produce. In many ways that shows the benefit of the design. A turbo'd one would be very interesting.

Dpb - as a general technical answer, you have to remember that torque is multiplied through gearing; the generalism that "flywheel torque is more important to acceleration that flywheel bhp" is simply not true. In simple terms, if an engine runs to 9000rpm, your gearing will be about twice as short as in a diesel that revs to 4500, so you'll have twice the torque multiplier due to the gearing, and only need half the torque from the engine to achieve the same effect. If the engine is smooth etc enough that there's no issue with it revving higher, there's no problem with the shorter gearing. Put it another way, my modified scoob has very similar torque to Schuamcher's F1 car, but somewhat less acceleration! (and I wouldn't lose him in the twisties, either )

Chris L

I was following an RX-8 on the M25 a couple of nights ago. It was more than capable of sticking with my UK WRX. I pulled in and followed him and even up slopes - where you'd expect the extra torque of the Scoob to really tell, there wasn't much in it. A real example of what hades described.

scooby_si

pah not my fault those boinger engines are so inefficient i want my cheap tax lol
Si

MarkWRX

Totally agree. (apart from the fact its 231ps or 228.5 bhp )

There are several reasons to treat the engine as a 2.6 and not a 1.3:

1. The cyclinder capacity for my RX8 on my V5 (and most others) is 2616cc. I believe one or two owners have managed to get theirs changed to 1308cc, which is of benefit if self employed.

2. The Renesis engine also won the best 2.5-3.0 engine in last years awards, as well as the overall engine of the year.

The rotary is unique and it is possible to argue its a 1.3 or a 2.6 depending on how you look at it.

Either way I love mine

Chris L

Well I've seen mine sitting in the dealers forecourt - it was delivered on Friday - just got to wait until March 1st now....

ricardo

We've got a red RX8, and it is really very nice. It is much smoother than the Scoob, and to be honest it doesn't have anything like the acceleration from rest (as I discovered pulling out of a layby once, the distant traffic got a lot closer than it would have done if I'd been in the Scoob).

I like the interior and the styling. It doesn't have great wet grip, but the OEM Bridgestone RE040's are not the best in the wet. The DSC does a simply amazing job of keeping it all under control without seeming to nanny you.

On the Prodrive day there are a number of fun activities, in your own car. One of them is a very short tarmac-rally-style course which consists entirely of full-throttle/off throttle allowing the DSC to keep you on the road. I think in that particular scenario you'd be able to go faster with it off, but only until the crash.. this doesn't have cones, it has Armco and earth banks.

As rsarjantson said, you get to do a 100mph emergency stop with your arms folded. The brakes put the Scoob to shame !

It is much shinier than the Scoob too:

Chris L

Nice pics there ricardo. Are you registered on the owners club site? There has been a lot of discussion about tyres (just like Scoobs) and the OEM Bridgestones aren't rated (just like Scoobs ) The RE040's seem to really suffer when they're cold. SO3s / Toyos are popular replacements. I'd be tempted to try Goodyear F1s as well - best tyres I ever fitted to the Scoob.

ricardo

Yep, I'm karma mechanic over there, 'ricardo' was already taken. We need a way of keeping user names across sites... !

And yes, its a shame the F1 GSD3's aren't available in quite the right size - they are just the job on the Scoob.

Chris L

Good point Wonder why they don't do the 245? I'll keep an eye out for you on the RX8 sites