I think I might PM jsd to get him to have a look at this thread, he was on the academy day with us (different day to Henry IIRC).

However they are different machines with different purposes, both the S and the 8 are very good at what they do well.

 

Owning an 8 myself and having driven S2000's on many occasions I would say that the S2000 has it on the straights. As for the twisties I would have to give it to the 8 as I believe that it's easier to drive fast round corners than an S2000. (For an average driver like me)

I love both cars and have considered an S2000 for that open top experience but needing four seats it would have to be a third car!

They are both superb cars and have their pro's and con's.

Cheers
Simon

 

Kelk,

Thanks for the large prod..

As Rx8scot (oops.. sk2scot) stated, the RX-8 is a good car, and it's very forgiving..
It's not got particularly brilliant tyres at this time of year though.. The stock Bridgestone RE040's don't function well in the cold, and just don't retain heat which makes some of the drivers a little weary at this time of year.. S03s have been tried by some of our drivers, and are much better..

Even with all the electronics, most of them rely on having a little bit of friction with the ground to actually allow the car be corrected to an attitude the car is comfortable with.. (even if that is heading towards a telegraph pole, thanks DSC, TSC, EBD, ABS, etc!)

As for the car, it's bigger and heavier (1.3+tonnes) and down on power to the S.. High power is supposed to be 180-185bhp at the rear wheels.. AS for the power band, it's quite tight, and right at the top end of the rev range (6500-7500 for the Lower Power cars, and 6500-9000 for the HP cars). The car has multiple inlet ports which provide extra air after 4500, and that's when our power starts showing.. but the car is quite driveable at lower revs, and the lack of torque low down isn't too much of a problem, provided you select the right gear.

It's got a limited slip diff, and that's quite good fun.. It allows the backend to step out and then the car is quite controllable, until it finally gives way entirely.. (if the electronics are turned off). With the electronics on there is a lot of leeway between when the backend steps out and the electronics step in to pick up the pieces..
This gap doesn't appear to be so large on the S2k, which means more (better?) driving awareness and input is necessary to avoid that telegraph pole..

The suspension on the car is really good, and this gives it a big benefit through the twisty sections of any road or track, but in straight line bursts, we'll almost invariably lose to you folks..

Our car is for a different market.. most 8 drivers now are coming from a different background to the MX-5 folks who traded up early, and are FWD drivers. Here the tuning handling of the car is very good, and it doesn't scare them too much as the car tends to behave more like a FWD car at certain speeds and attitudes than a RWD car.. (Witness large slabs of power understeer during the Motorsport Events day at Upper Heyford last October.. This also caused the Stig to take a very peculiar line thought the Hammerhead on the Top Gear timed test run, where we ended up with the same time as a BMW M3 and the 350Z!)

The big benefit of the car is that it has four proper seats.. and a large boot. I can get me, wife and two kids in the car with enough kit for a long weekend (including all the necessities for the 2.5 year old!) and still have a car the is great for going round the roads in the Lake District when I get there.. that's something you folks can't do!

As for the differences between the high power and low power externally, you can only tell by the headlight washers and xenon lights (HP only), inside you've got a six-speed box and alu pedals.. There are also some imported RX-8s with auto transmission, but these have smaller wheels (not our 18") and smaller brakes too..
Stop and ask us what we have.. we'll be happy to show you the washing machine^W^W engine too

The RX-7 is a much more raw beast, in terms of both power and handling.. and again is not in the same market segment. Challenge these at your own risk, as some are kitted out with a really odd bunch of plumbing on the twin turbos that produces silly amounts of power (And treat the older generations of RX-7 with respect too, they can still shift even twenty or so years on.. )

As for drivers, we've had that conversation before.. and we'll give you some fun, when we're all comfortable with it.

EDIT: Added Spot the difference...

 

I was at that day too Henry. The guy in the RX8 was my best mate. Let's just say he is known for stretching the truth a bit, and he's ultra competitive, particularly with me.

I told him what time I had done in the S and he then he went off to do the autotest. When he came back he had conveniently beaten my time by 0.5 sec.

My other friend who was there in a CTR and was in the same group as the RX8 says he didn't look very fast, and spun it on 2 occasions.

Maybe he did beat us all, but it might be a slight exaggeration.

Si

 

I can well believe this. I took one for a test drive last weekend. It felt nowhere near as fast as an S and was a massive dissapointment. The car magazines wax lyrical about the sound of the engine, again this was nothing like the sound of an S.
The car felt flat across the rev range and although the cornering was good the car didn't excite at all. An over-hyped massive dissapointment.