performance vs handling

I know that it is a too vague question. But please respond. I really want

to know and need experienced and skilled drivers' opinions

If I have to choose the performance or the handling, what do I have to

go with? I mean, what do I have to choose if I am thinking of a car with

the brilliant handling and a car with the outstanding engine performance.

For example, rx-8 has the wonderful handling, and 350z has the awsome

accelaration but rx-8 handles better than 350z. Of course, 350z is

faster than rx-8. Without any modification, if they race in street, which

car would win after all? what if they are modded? I am not an expert

about cars and street racing stuffs so I need experts' advices. Of

course, everyone wants both. But if I have to pick one of them, what

do I have to pick?

p.s. how about rx-8 and wrx and 350z?

Thank you.

IMO out of those 3 i woudl go with the 350Z.

The RX8's stock motor is shit, (350z's is as well when boosted), and the WRX, well FWD biased AWD sucks nackers :P

But it sounds to me like you shoudl invest $50,000 in a civic and go to the racewars.

Keep the racing off the street kid.

since when is handling NOT performance?

i would get the wrx, the awd split s 50/50 and variable in the sti, shitloads of aftermarket, just the only thing that sucks is changing spark plugs. and the fact that it only come in blue :rofl:

WRX's and STis coe in more than just blue.

The AWD is not 50/50 split unless you have a different center diff.

If you get one get the STi, the J25 is much beter than the J20 used i the WRX's.

Basically you can't out accelerate a "z". But you can beat it. There is no other car that I have driven that handles like a rx. Don't race in straight-a-way, if you have turns the "z", and most other cars (ie: mustang) will have to slow down or lose control.

Also, the "z" suspension is way too tight. Feels like driving a tank. Take him over a bump and watch him turn blue.

it will all depend on what you want to do witht he car

if you want to drag then the Z is the right choice, if you want to lets say Autocross then the Rx-8 would probably be better for you

I would take the wrx probably though, becasue the impression i get from your question you would probably enjoy it more


I don't think that the WRX is a fwd based awd, its 50/50 in the wrx i think

in the STi its more power to the rear but you can slightly adjust with the DCCD, oh ya and the new WRX have the 2.5 liter engines, subaru like phased out the 2.0

go get a 2006 Imprezza WRX TR, its like 23k

The RX8's stock Engine is shit???? You have a serious problem man. Obviously you don't know "shit" about this car.

Don't believe me. Watch it for yourself.

Watch the final result of the dyno when Engine Managment is done correctly.

Right Click and Save (http://www.presmoe.com/rx8dynovideo.wmv)

I cant think of what that car would do on a track! And you thought the stock engine was some shit.............. :screwy:

I know I may have a civic, but I have never been impressed with the RX8 in any aspect. Especially straight line.

I rember when my friend's '91 camaro(stock 5.7) was having problems with the coil pack getting wet and the car's power was fluxuating, we got picked on by a stock RX8. From about 20 mph we stayed a fender ahead up until 110, where we let off and he kept going.

I mean, if you can't beat a '91 camaro who's horespower at the time was almost being decided every few seconds by a coin toss from the heavens, you know you're car isn't much of a performance car.

The thing handles pretty great, but I read that many prefer the likes of an '05 mustang, due to better feedback, and none of it's numbers are impressive, in the first place.

The Camero never had a 5.7L in 91! Sorry but most people forget that some of the time you may be going up against an Auto RX8(Which are pretty slow in the Straight. The Manual is a totally different beast(Hitting 0-60mph in 5.9-6.1 sec). Thats is most def not slow in my eyes. Believe me! Or maybe you all were dealing with someone how couldn't drive worth a can of beans.

Want me to show you (through video) what happens to a 2002 Z28 when faced with an Stock RX8 6 Speed on a track? Lets just say that the Z28 had its tail between its legs!

Here it is. I thought the RX8 was slow? They(Other Cars) do get a little pull on the straights because of all the HP but add corners and braking and its called game over! :lol2: Crazy people who are in denial make me laugh.

RX8 vs Camero SS & Audi S4 (http://media.putfile.com/Making-some-passes-in-my-RX8)

why are you giving an example of an rx8 on a track when he was discussing its straight line performance

dude, we dont need you to defend the car

everyone knows a rx8 would lose to a camaro in straight line (if its a v8). the track, once again is dependant on driver skill. anyone can shift up while the car is travelling straight.

what if the driver in the s4 was good and driver in the rx8 sucked? different story.

I have to agree with drftkid on that. I would choose a camaro or vett with the LS1 for straigh line performance. I rather have an EVO for road coarse. ROAD AND TRACK did a comparision on the EVO vs. STI and the STI won on acceleration but lose on the Pike's peak rally corse due to handling.

why are you giving an example of an rx8 on a track when he was discussing its straight line performance

dude, we dont need you to defend the car

everyone knows a rx8 would lose to a camaro in straight line (if its a v8). the track, once again is dependant on driver skill. anyone can shift up while the car is travelling straight.

what if the driver in the s4 was good and driver in the rx8 sucked? different story.


I wouldent bother with this guy, hes one of those people who thinks his car is king shit and will defend anything bad you say about it. If you give your personal opinion and its ot his it is wrong.

But you are right, straight line and a track are very different beasts. The RX8 handles like a hot knife through butter (with a few tweeks to make it perfect). But straight line is..well..dissapointing.

You guys are the ones that are full of it. I didn't know 5.9 to 60mph was disappointing. I think you guys are stuck on "your" cars. It's been proven over and over and over again what the RX8 can do. I'm not trying to prove my point just because I own the car but because it can actually kick ass if driven right.

You really have no clue. The reason why the dude in the S4 was passed was because the freakin car weighs 800 more lbs than the RX8. Just like the Camero, its made for straight line. And straight line is just plain boring! So you all can talk as much BS as you want. I have plenty of videos that shows the RX8 kicking ass on the track. But from what you guys say its all because of the driver. I guess all RX8 drivers are good................. :rolleyes:

Ignorance is Bliss.

I know my car is not the fastest in the straight line and never said it was. But its not slow! I know that for a fact. Add a track and you can call it game over for most of the other cars! You think I'm going to let you sit here and talk shit about a car that you don't even own?

As for you FDTT, I could prove you wrong and you still wouldn't believe me. Like I said before, you Obviously have something against the RX8. So just keep an "hard on" for your RX7.

Your really starting to piss me the fuck off kid. Yes, my personal opinion that 5.9seconds with perfect conditions and perfect running car is dissapointing to me. Im usto much higher perfomance from rotaries than that. So IMO yes, it is dissapointing. If you have a problem with that i dont really give a shit.
I dont have a problem with the car, as i have said MANY times alredy, its a great car but i expect more from it than it is willing to give.
As for the hard on comment, your right i do like my RX7's more because i have much more experance with them. They make amazing sports car on and off the track. Are blisteringly fast in straight lines and in the corners. IMO one of the best sports cars in the world. That would be a reason why there are tunning companies that are strictly RX7's. The RX8 engine is very limited because the rotors are designed to be very light weight, so you can build RPM's faster, and stay in the powerband. But this leads to other problems when you want more power from the car. This is why i say the rx8 engine is junk. Because what i do for living is make more out of the car than the factory did. Make it better and faster. With the RX8 that is hard to do because the engine is the limiting factor.
If you dont agree well i dont really care, your experance with these cars seems to be lived mor throuhg other peoples experance than your own despite owning the car. I can post up videos of 5.0 mustangs beating Porsches on the race track (both with VERY experance drivers), or i can post almost anything up here and say it is better than that. But it comes down to real life experances, not perfect on a track controled condition numbers.

As for proving me wrong, well you have yet to do any of that. So if you can prove my personal opinions to be wrong give it a shot pal, see how far that takes you.

Your really starting to piss me the fuck off kid. Yes, my personal opinion that 5.9seconds with perfect conditions and perfect running car is dissapointing to me. Im usto much higher perfomance from rotaries than that. So IMO yes, it is dissapointing. If you have a problem with that i dont really give a shit.
I dont have a problem with the car, as i have said MANY times alredy, its a great car but i expect more from it than it is willing to give.
As for the hard on comment, your right i do like my RX7's more because i have much more experance with them. They make amazing sports car on and off the track. Are blisteringly fast in straight lines and in the corners. IMO one of the best sports cars in the world. That would be a reason why there are tunning companies that are strictly RX7's. The RX8 engine is very limited because the rotors are designed to be very light weight, so you can build RPM's faster, and stay in the powerband. But this leads to other problems when you want more power from the car. This is why i say the rx8 engine is junk. Because what i do for living is make more out of the car than the factory did. Make it better and faster. With the RX8 that is hard to do because the engine is the limiting factor.
If you dont agree well i dont really care, your experance with these cars seems to be lived mor throuhg other peoples experance than your own despite owning the car. I can post up videos of 5.0 mustangs beating Porsches on the race track (both with VERY experance drivers), or i can post almost anything up here and say it is better than that. But it comes down to real life experances, not perfect on a track controled condition numbers.

As for proving me wrong, well you have yet to do any of that. So if you can prove my personal opinions to be wrong give it a shot pal, see how far that takes you.

Just like I showed you the video of the RX8 being tuned correctly. Getting around 300 HP and Torque to the wheels. I just proved you wrong! And you still cant except that! Like I said before ignorance is Bliss. Keep your hard on for your RX7's(which I actually like) and live your life through the narrow tunnel.

And then you talk about engine problems. From what I know the last generation RX7's had a lot of problems with the Engine due to the Turbo.

I'm just baffled how you can talk about the RX8, when you had to mod the hell out of the RX7 to get good performance. Why don't you mod the hell out of the RX8 and then come back to me and talk your shit! Until then don't compare your modded RX7 against a Stock RX8! It not a fair comparison!

And if I wanted straight line performance I would have never bought a Rotary powered car! I wanted a car that had good acceleration, great handling, great braking, sexy styling and comfort.

I have modded RX8's and you have to fight them for the power. With an RX7 i can put in a FCD and turn the boost up. Costs me about $100 for a crap load more power VERY easily.

So no i dont need to mod the hell out of a 7 to make power, its quite the opposit really.
Considering i cant see the video it really means nothing. 300hp just from tunning eh, LMFAO, dude the cars are making around 170 to the wheels, mazda must have doen a shit job on the tunnung then if you can squeeze another 120whp out of the car by tunning it.

I have modded RX8's and you have to fight them for the power. With an RX7 i can put in a FCD and turn the boost up. Costs me about $100 for a crap load more power VERY easily.

So no i dont need to mod the hell out of a 7 to make power, its quite the opposit really.
Considering i cant see the video it really means nothing. 300hp just from tunning eh, LMFAO, dude the cars are making around 170 to the wheels, mazda must have doen a shit job on the tunnung then if you can squeeze another 120whp out of the car by tunning it.

Now you have RX8's. I thought you sold all of them. :screwy:

Give me some specs if you would on both the RX7 and the RX8. Both which host the 13B Rotary Engine. What numbers are you getting from the two?

Also from what I was told, the differences between the two are:

Different rotors, lighter with larger oil passages inside. Lighter counterweights to match.
Lighter flywheel.
Different stationary gears. Although interchangeable, the RX-8 gears are stronger.
Obviously different rotor housings and irons.
Coolant seals moved from the irons to the rotor housings.
Shorter apex seals. They are a stronger material though.
Addition of cutoff seal on the rotor sides.
Wedge shaped side seals as opposed to older, thinner flat style.
Steel corner seal insert instead of old rubber ones.
Dual oil injectors per rotor housing. Old style was 1 per housing and either 1 or none on the manifold.

when i say i have modded RX8's, it means that i have modded them, not own them. I have owned 2 RX8's before. There fun but not to my liking. So i sold them to a good friend who is into racing so he can build them up. One was an ICBC write off, so it will be a track only car once finished.

Stock for stock the RX8 engine is right there with the FD, and above the TII.
Modded the 13BT and 13B-RE have much more potential as they are designed for boost and hard conditions.

From a tech point of view the ren is more advanced. Like you have said above, but under sever condions it is not great. Try boosting the ren and watch it blow seals left right and center.
They CAN be done, and done well, but they are more difficult. This is why im not a fan, that and i dont enjoy the design of car really ( i hate 4 doors, no matter the form they come in).
But it is a capable car, just not what i like.

when i say i have modded RX8's, it means that i have modded them, not own them. I have owned 2 RX8's before. There fun but not to my liking. So i sold them to a good friend who is into racing so he can build them up. One was an ICBC write off, so it will be a track only car once finished.

Stock for stock the RX8 engine is right there with the FD, and above the TII.
Modded the 13BT and 13B-RE have much more potential as they are designed for boost and hard conditions.

From a tech point of view the ren is more advanced. Like you have said above, but under sever condions it is not great. Try boosting the ren and watch it blow seals left right and center.
They CAN be done, and done well, but they are more difficult. This is why im not a fan, that and i dont enjoy the design of car really ( i hate 4 doors, no matter the form they come in).
But it is a capable car, just not what i like.

Ok that sounds better. So in that case, as many say, "to each their own".

Indeed, if i wanted an out f the box corner carver for day yo day duties the 8 woudl suite the purpose well and provice ample flexability for most situations. But, i dont care for passangers in my 7, thats why i have more than one car ( with a rotary its almost a must now :P )

According to Subaru...The MT WRX has 50/50 AWD and the AT has 35/65

Whatever that is, I would still pick a WRX simply because I want a performance and handling car, but on top of that, I need a car that I can live with easily in the snowbelt states.