I have been thinging about the new R3. Especially now that my yellow car is gone and I am rotorless. Plus, the price of gas is tanking again..hahah. Anyone driven one yet? Opinions? Worth it?

I hope the yellow car was sold in one piece?

the 09 R3 looks pretty good, especially in red. I looked at one in Tampa last week. The dealer had 2 08 40th anniversary editions too.

It seems that all the RX8 special models use the same shtick/ foamed suspension pieces/recaros/cosmetics/ bilsteins or a combi of those. is anything else really any different?

they are taking off $3500 on 08's and i suspect with the numbers of cars moving, that they will deal even more.

the dealership i was at said that they had been selling 150+ units/ month and they were down to the 60's for the last couple months.... guess that means deals or layoffs.

I know here, dealership lots are crammed full of cars that are not selling. I think if you are in the market for a car, wait until the end of December. My guess is there will be some crazy deals for 08's near years end.

i checked a couple of them out last Friday. i love the interior treatment (seats, steering wheel, etc.), but no moonroof. the salesman said they're not available with moonroof because of weight, and though i understand it, i think it sucks.

I'm hoping to make the 2009 RX-8 R3 my recreational vehicle about half-way through 2009, although I need to make sure that I can fit comfortably in those Recaros (I'm 6'3" and 208 lbs.). I like the tweaks made to the R3 over the normal 2009 RX-8s, but I would still be up for a 2009 RX-8 regardless of whether it's an R3 or not.

I'd wait for the 16x engine. The R3 just doesn't do it for me.



It saddens me that Mazda is still doing the exaggerated HP Claims and Performance specs for the Rx8. Hopefully the 16x will return the performance to the RX8.

The problem with that is that the 16x isn't due until the 2012 model year, last I heard. I can't wait that long for this car. It needs to be purchased in the next year or so, so that I can time my car purchases as needed. I'm not aware of any issues with exaggerated HP claims on the RX-8, however. The dynos I've seen seem to, if anything, indicate a slightly higher output than what Mazda claims for the RX-8, after the initial complaint that 250 (or whatever they initially claimed) was optimistic. My gut feeling is that the car likely makes closer to 250 hp at the crank, but that Mazda had to lower the claim to make sure that variations in power outputs don't get anyone pissed off. The OEM power dyno at Racing Beat's website, assuming a 15% drivetrain loss, indicates closer to 250 hp, if I remember correctly.



I do think that Mazda is a bit optimistic in the 0-60 mph time, claiming 5.9s, but then again, that car has never been about straight line acceleration. If you want that, buy a Mustang GT and throw a dealer-installed Ford Racing supercharger on it for 400+ hp. I'm interested in the RX-8 because it looks wicked cool, inside and out, because rotary engines are fun, and because it's one of the best steering and handling cars money can buy.

Here's the Racing Beat dyno:



http://www.racingbeat.com/photos/11307.G.jpg



Stock power appears to be about 215 whp. Assuming a 15% drivetrain loss (which is conservative for a RWD car), that works out to 253 hp at the crank. In reality, the drivetrain loss is probably closer to 17%, which works out to 259 crank hp.

[attachment=45227:DSCI0014_1.jpg]Rather interesting choice of statement. I have an RX8 and I absolutely love it, however the power transfer from crank base HP of 248 is actually more transferred to the wheels to be 197 without mods. I bought the car becuaeavesse like you said it's wicked cool looking. My model is the 2004 GT. The 0-60 leaves much to be desired, however between 7-9000rpms is where the rx8 really shines, you can ghost the throttle between 3-4 gear and pull all day. This actually was my first rotary vehicle. I just bought an 86 gxl shell recently and I'm trying to get it going.