RX8 Handling VS. MSP Handling

[DistantTea]

we all know those speeds are dangerous. if he wants to put himself in danger, that's his call. it's pretty useless giving him a verbal spanking, as i'm sure it wont change the way he'd drive. wouldnt affect the way i drive any.

I know its like telling smokers that they are guaranteed to have health problems. GUARANTEED yet they still smoke. What got me to slow down was when I started autocrossing. I had an Audi S4 and could hit 140mph anytime I wanted... and the car was just made for those speeds and I'd take corners like a true hero. Then I started autocrossing and I realized how thin a line the handling limit of a car really is once its reached. A spin out in the S4 on my 3rd autocross at 35 freaking MPH made me think. Then I got my mazdaspeed... a car that is very unforgiving when it comes to driver mistakes. I haven't had the car over 85mph on public roads, but I'll gladly do 125 on the back straight at MidOhio sports car course.

And I don't smoke.

The line is too thin and the risks are too great. I'd rather not be James Dean, get some glare from the sun and wrap my car around an immovable object. At least he died in a Porsche... I'd hate to go out in a farking Mazda.

 

[nickbachman]

i'm not trying to tell ya'll what to do, i'm just saying that maybe it's not worth getting all riled up over, because you're prolly not going to get through to him. like you said, distanttea, it's like telling a smoker not to smoke. they've heard it so much it has no effect. we can still hope he takes it a little easier on the public roads though, even without giving him a verbal lashing.

 

[evo..eater:)]

Speed Control

With all that has been said, maybe going around that corner so fast was not the smartest thing to do...........but it is so gol darn fun. I probably won't take that corner so fast the next time. But I don't know about after that. I know about the serious hazards with driving so fast but, you know that you can go out on the road and be hit by a drunk driver doing the speed limit. There are hazards all around you all the time. I am just having fun.

 

[Kooldino]

Yes, an MSP outhandles an RX8.

 

[SuperSpud]

onthe "topgear" test course, (the one where the british guy compares cars), the RX8 pulled a same lap time as an M3.

 

[SoniCraze]

werd..this is a good thread for me as iam thinkin about selling my speed for a 8.

 

[yashooa]

It really depends on how you want to look at it. Better handling on a sweeper? The RX8 is most likely the better car. Throttle steering on a sweeper in a RWD is the reason most race cars are RWD. A FWD car cannot throttle correct without letting up on power, making it slower. On a road course a well driven RX8 will usually beat a well driven MSP... to a point.

The MSPs real handling abilities come into favor during transitions. On an autocross course RX8s just can't keep up stock to stock. Once both cars go on r compounds the RX8 pulls ahead out of grace of grip of the larger RX8 tires.

In this case of street racing it was simply a matter of the RX8 driver not putting himself in danger. Yes that _car_ could have beaten you around that corner. I doubt the driver could or wanted to introduce dangerous and wilful oversteer to do it. Take the two to a parking lot and you'll feel like a motherfarking superhero against an RX8. The cars are just designed for different kinds of racing.

Now on the point of you running an MSP in a racing situation on open streets at 115MPH makes your actions both criminal and neglegent. Not only is that speed well out of the handling ranges of the stock suspension but you've long passed the speeds at which the car can protect you and others in an accident. At a hundred and fifteen miles per hour what could have been a minor accident on that road at 55 is now a guaranteed death in this car. Its not made for those speeds on regular roads. It will be a matter of when, not if, you have an accident with that kind of behavior.

Sweet lord! I don't street race either but man this was a very reactionary statement. There is no guarantee of life or death in any given accident. I have seen some wrecks where the person should have died and came out alive and an accident where a freak blow to the head killed a young girl when they hit an embankment at 40MPH. The only indicator of an injury was a slight bulge on her forehead she was 14 yrs old.<O</O

I had a friend back in the 80's who never had an accident and that fool literally drove WOT almost everywhere on the highway. He scared me and that was when I was 16-17 yr old dumbass! He did get a shitload of tickets though.<O</O

I believe these cars a pretty safe considering the damage done to those on the forum and so far every one has come out ok. I thank God for that more than Hiroshima but none-the-less the MSP can take a punch. I mean Dr. Procto went of a cliff! <O</O

Again I don't support street racing but brief instances of speed on a sparsely populated freeway usually end up with a single car accident in which the only one to be hurt would be the driver or no accident just sweaty plams and a big grin.<O</O

 

[yashooa]

I know its like telling smokers that they are guaranteed to have health problems. GUARANTEED yet they still smoke.

Or you can be George Burns and drink, smoke, and do others things until you die of old age. <O</O

My Grandmother out lived all the men in her family and she drank way too much and smoked like a freight train. Again there are no guarantees in life.<O</O

I saw a study on Centenarians (those who live to a 100) and they think now it has more to do with genetics and LOT less to do with food or smoking etc. Many of the participants in the study had smoked for 30 yrs, ate like crap and had not really performed a large amount of preventive activity.<O</O

So go figure

<O</O

 

[Maz2001MP]

I hit a guard rail at 45 miles an hour (speed limit was 40), lost control in the rain.. took the metal post out of the ground and bent the rail... my lx had 2 broken axles, my right hand side of the car smashed up, front bumper and headlight smashed.. walked away without a scratch.. no structural damage to the chassis or anything like that.. im not saying our cars are invincible, but i think it has good structural integrity...not for nothing my car held up quite well....

 

[505zoom]

...I brought my car up to 115 MPH and beat the RX8 by about 6 car lengths...

...I will take it today at 35 which is the normal speed of this corner...

BS.

115mph around a posted 35mph turn? SURE

 

[evo..eater:)]

BS.

115mph around a posted 35mph turn? SURE

To bad you don't live in houston we could do it together.(jerkit)

 

[505zoom]

To bad you don't live in houston we could do it together.(jerkit)

hahaha, discreet lives in houston... and has almost the same setup as I do. I don't think you would want to try and hang with either one of us though. (spank)

 

[sgplancer]

With all that has been said, maybe going around that corner so fast was not the smartest thing to do...........but it is so gol darn fun. I probably won't take that corner so fast the next time. But I don't know about after that.

Don't lie!! I know you will still take the turn the same, I would. Eventhough street racing is illegal, and dangerous, most people don't drive the speed limit on the road anyway. The first thing that you do after you do a mod to your car is to press the go pedal through the floor board, to see if it was worth the $. Just my .02

 

[murdock_]

i talked to someone who owns an M3, and he said when he drove the MSP he was suprisingly suprised that it handles almost as well as his M3

 

[MrDiggler]

Don't know about an RX8, but I pretty much hung with a new 911 last weekend going up an area mountain road. Mostly lower speed stuff though, no long sweepers. I gave him about 5 or 6 car lengths of cushion and he never pulled more than an extra car or two over about a mile and a half. I'm sure he was as shocked as I was. He was not taking it easy either. He hung the back end out a couple of times.

And yes, it was dumb. I'm old enough to know better. The temptation was too great. It was a beautiful day, low 60's outside, and for the first time in a while there was no traffic in sight on the mountain. We both noticed the clear path and wanted to play a bit.

One thing I've already learned about my MSP- the rear can and will come around on you. I agree with the poster that said the transition between 9/10 and 10/10 is pretty slim.

 

[spacemonkey]

I would say pretty close but the RX-8 would have the advantage...just from design and platform. But im no expert...dont take my word. Just putting in my $0.02

The MAzdaspeed RX-8 on the otherhand. Let just say Mazdaspeed did a good job in the handeling and throttle response of the Japanese version of the RX-8

 

[03MSP]

Don't know about an RX8, but I pretty much hung with a new 911 last weekend going up an area mountain road. Mostly lower speed stuff though, no long sweepers. I gave him about 5 or 6 car lengths of cushion and he never pulled more than an extra car or two over about a mile and a half. I'm sure he was as shocked as I was. He was not taking it easy either. He hung the back end out a couple of times.

And yes, it was dumb. I'm old enough to know better. The temptation was too great. It was a beautiful day, low 60's outside, and for the first time in a while there was no traffic in sight on the mountain. We both noticed the clear path and wanted to play a bit.

One thing I've already learned about my MSP- the rear can and will come around on you. I agree with the poster that said the transition between 9/10 and 10/10 is pretty slim.

Definately, the back end LOVES to swing out on the MSP...but, it's better than understeer....I like it

 

[SDMSP]

The day I purchased my MSP, I went in to buy a RX8. The sales person took me to this really nice twisty road and I drove that sucker to the limits. There was a lots of body roll that I didn't like, no bottom end to speak of (you have to understand I come from driving a supercharged VW VR6), but the engine climbed the RPM range quick and there was a nice power on top end. So we get back and I was kind of disappointed in the handling of the RX8. So the sales person tells me why don't you drive this MSP, I look at her and said "I want a sport car not a four door economy sedan" she goes "just try it" so we go back to the same road. First thing I notice was how much more bottom end MSP had compared to RX8, also the steering was a lot more responsive than thr RX8, smallest input from me and the car reacted right away. There was almost no body roll compared to RX8 and in corners, MSP tracked beautifully at any speeds. I was a lot faster in MSP than RX8. So we get back and the rest is history. (wink)

So in my humble opinion, MSP is a better handler than RX8.

 

[mazdaspeedpower]

yeah, I love the oversteer this car had, alot of people are surprised by the handling, I know I sure am...even today,the suspension still surprises me. I think the MSP handles better than the RX8, but I'll find out in the spring when I get to drive my buddies RX8, and him in mypseed, u know, get to see why we are always talking so highly of ours cars to each other....they're both aweseom cars, regardless of which one handles better, r goes faster, or wutever.....go mazda

 

[SpeedMcheen]

Don't know about an RX8, but I pretty much hung with a new 911 last weekend going up an area mountain road. Mostly lower speed stuff though, no long sweepers. I gave him about 5 or 6 car lengths of cushion and he never pulled more than an extra car or two over about a mile and a half. I'm sure he was as shocked as I was. He was not taking it easy either. He hung the back end out a couple of times.

And yes, it was dumb. I'm old enough to know better. The temptation was too great. It was a beautiful day, low 60's outside, and for the first time in a while there was no traffic in sight on the mountain. We both noticed the clear path and wanted to play a bit.

One thing I've already learned about my MSP- the rear can and will come around on you. I agree with the poster that said the transition between 9/10 and 10/10 is pretty slim.

Now that's a good racing story.