[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Eric at Pelican Parts

That's awesome, thanks for the insight! I also remember hearing that wind noise was always pretty pesky with these RX8's... is it true? I'll have to drive a RX8 one of these days!

Actually wind noise is very acceptable, despite the suicide doors it seals up very nicely. With the exhaust work it definitely sounds the "angry bees" part under acceleration, but quiets down very nicely on the highway. I drove mine home from Dallas, it's a good highway car.

Originally Posted by Tobra

Rotaries are awesome, to be certain, pigs on gas, revs to forever, grin inducing machines. Weird looking motor, a big toaster with spark plugs, but that little thing makes how much power?! Don't care for the exhaust note though.


The RX 8 chassis is a whole different ball game from the FD. It is like comparing a 1st generation Miata to the new one. About the same size and weight, but the stiffness is like pasta before and after you cook it. Maybe not that bad, but noodle has been used to describe the stiffness of the original ones

It's funny, once you strip everything away the motor is about the size of a pony keg. It's why the RX cars are always so razor sharp, they mount that tiny motor low and behind the front axle centerline making for a front-mid engine configuration. It's why an LS swap on these cars just ruins the fundamental goodness. I agree that they are a love/hate proposition, you have to rev the piss out of them and the noise is unique. The Renesis is actually a higher pitched and more metallic tone than the 13B-REW, especially with the exhaust upgrades.

For the time the FD was stiff, but the R3 is an entirely different world. The RX-8 actually uses a similar architecture to the RX-7 with a powerplant frame that runs the length of the car, and is actually shared with the NC Miata. The R3 gets more reinforcement and doesn't have a sunroof, so that helps as well.