ELLSSUU

Besides all the downsides to Mazdas, poor workmanship, poor re-sale, poor performance the car is downright ugly, IMHO. Don't pass up a G35 for a Mazda. Have you thought of the 4 door G?

Blueman33

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/...rbuyback_x.htm

This is the article. Mazda shaved 12 hp due to emmissions.

USA Today also says INFINITI misquoted 0-60 speed for Q45.

Mazda shaved hp for emmsission, and i suspect in a non emmission state you can get it back. 0-60 was accurate or low. I read test drives like Road/Track at 5.8 or 5.9, while mazda qotes 6.

anyway the article is interesting.

RF951

The G is nice. Check out Freshalloy.com for info.

Matt H

Check www.mazdausa.com The auto is now rated at 197Hp and 164Lb/Ft Manual is 238 and 159. As much as I love my RXs the new ones are butt ugly.
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ewainwright

I agree with the M3 or a used M5 or wait and see what the new GTO is going to be like. Designed down under it might be a good second car - just a thought. Its a GM = get the extended very extended warranty ed

Blueman33

ELLSSUU writes. .... "poor performance the car is downright ugly, IMHO. Don't pass up a G35 for a Mazda"

Road & Track tested the G35 against the RX 8. The G35 with 3.5 liters had more torque and hp than the 1.3 liter Rx8. big surprise.

The Rx8 however, beat the G35 in 0-60 times by .2 seconds. according to Road/Track. They gave it pretty rave reviews.

I have yet to read a medium or poor review of the RX8, only good ones or great ones.

Ugly is an opinion. I won't rag you, because 'each to his own'. Some folks don't like 951's, some don't like vettes, etc.

I think the G35 coupe is great looking, but has no useable rear seat. The 4 door sedan just doesn't do it for me at all, fine looking but no pizazz....it's like an altima with a big engine to me. The coupe is like a 350z with out those obnoxios door handles.

I think the g35 sedan is ok looking, but the rx 8 is way more sporty. I'm not going for a sporty sedan look. i'm looking for a sports car that can handle four adults.

aka 951

Personally, I wouldn't touch that thing with a ten foot pole! There are a plethora of proven cars with proven powerplants at that price point, and to choose the RX-8 over the STI, EVO, etc. is just plain crazy in my book. I think it'll have the staying power of the most recent Ford Taurass. You gotta watch it when the big 3 (or 2 now) get involved with any foreign company.

Redshift

My experience is that high HP/low torque engines are horrible at hauling people. Just see what happens when you load two or three of your friends in that new RX8. You'll probably end up jettisoning them to regain some power.

emwporsche

I love to hear that the cobras have less power than claimed
mmm mmm mmm ... it tastes sooo sweet.

that's really low torque on the rx - 8
they are really ugly in red
but I saw one in silver and it looked INFINTELY better

streckfu's

The problem with the Cobras only applied to the 1999 models. That's also why none were produced for 2000 (except the Cobra R, I believe). The 03 Cobras are supposed to be under-rated 390hp as many 'stock' cars are making ~370 to the wheels.

Matt H

The 1999's had a problem with the intake manifold castings. Owners were not real pleased with the dyno results and Ford took care of it. Ironically, since Ford bought Mazda they have had this problem on the Cobra, the Miata, and now the RX-8. Anyone see a pattern developing? Oh yeah did I mention they dont make it in White yet?
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TurboTim

We have an RX-8 at our shop that we are building a turbo system for.We dynoed the car in stock trim and it laid down 175 horsepower and 125 ft/lbs of torque at the wheels.The car handles well but is lacking power.Especially low-end torque.....there is none.The only time the car feels ok is at 8000-9000 rpms.


Getting power without forced induction is going to take some time to figure out for all the Rotary gurus since the typical "race", bridge","street" etc.... ports can no longer be adapted to the new 13B.The new 13B has three exhaust ports and they are not on the rotor housings they are on the sandwich plates.I am sure this has many a Mazda tuner, piturbed to say the least.

Matt H

Tim - it will be interesting to see how long your car lasts. My feeling is that it wont be very long. The "in" thing right now, is converting them to the 20B or the 13B-REW. There are already a few of each. Are you creating a custom exhaust all the way back?

If anyone can do it I have faith in your ability, I dont have faith in the platform. Do you have any pics you can put up?
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TurboTim

Matt,


I will post some pics later.

v944god

I'd rather take an EVO over all of them, buts that me.

Stick with the G35, alot more luxurious car than the ugly RX-8.