82: HDTV in your car at 62 mph

Posted by Brian Cooley

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Pirelli's Cyber Tyre talks to the car, HDTV proven to work on the highway, Viper no longer a Dodge? And we go for a ride in the Mazda RX-8 R3.
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Show notes

• Pirelli Cyber Tyre

• 4G to power HDTV on the road

• California backs pay-by-the-mile auto insurance

• New Sony head unit with USB and ZAPPIN technology

• FCC to force a marriage of HD Radio and Satellite Radio?

Brian Cooley is an editor at large who keeps his fingers on the pulse of consumers' attitudes toward tech. His specialty is CNET Car Tech videos, but, frankly, most people have seen him on the TVs at Costco (or in one of his '60s Fords or Fiats).

Topics:: Podcasts

Tags:: mazda rx-8,; dodge viper,; hd radio,; sony CDX-GT630UI

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Recent posts from Car Tech Podcast: 99: The Car Tech guys have a beer with you; 98: Chevy Volt on track or off the rails?; 97: We drive the 2009 Acura TL; 96: Driving the new Nissan 370Z; 95: The real Porsche Panamera unveiled!; 94: LA Auto Show, highlights and doom!; 93: Fighting back against yellow traffic lights; 92: GM in hell, but BMW isn't exactly in heaven

Add a Comment (Log in or register) 4 comments


by notabot September 3, 2008 12:44 AM PDT: The rotary engine injects oil into the housings to keep the unique seals lubricated so yes it burns oil and is essential for a rotary engine to function . Although I agree with the fact that the rotary should get better mileage, you cannot compare it directly to a 1.3L piston engine because rotaries work differently. As well, rotaries enjoy being at high rpms the mantra "redline a day keeps the carbon away" bringing the rotary engine to high revs actually helps prolong it?s life, and "beating it to an inch of it's life" isn't the proper phrase, as it really doesn't do the engine harm taking it to those higher rpms. As well the engine redlines at 9000 rpm (not the 8500 rpm mentioned), when reviewing a car I believe knowing the specifications of the car is a requirement.

The RX8 doesn't have lots of low end power compared to competitors in the same class, but it's not as bad as you make it seem, one of the qualities of the rotary engine is that it has a very linear and very smooth power band. This smoothness only makes it *feel* like it makes less power than it really does. If we were to do a quick comparison on just the engines (MX-5's piston engine to the RX8's rotary engine) we find Mazda claims a maximum torque of 140 lb-ft @ 5000rpm for the Miata MX-5's piston engine and a maximum torque of 159 lb-ft @ 5500 rpm. So by comparison we can see at a similar rpm range the RX8's rotary engine produces more torque than the Miata MX-5's piston engine.

The RX8 in fact makes a great autocross car, if you look on the scca's website and check out their autocross national results from last year (found here: http://www.scca.org/event.aspx?hub=3&event=12143 )The rx-8 is one of the best cars to drive in B-stock class, in the top 20 there are 17 RX8s, in the top 10, 1st through 9th place go to RX8s 10th goes to a Nissan 350Z which has a large 3.5L piston engine that produces much more low end power than the RX8.; Reply to this comment


by notabot September 5, 2008 6:56 PM PDT: my apologies the correct link is here:
http://www.scca.org/documents/resultfiles/5632_Final%20Results%2011.14.pdf; Reply to this comment


by edfooliu September 9, 2008 10:13 AM PDT: second notabot... for all its lack of low-end torque, the rx-8 is astoundingly fast for autocross. Astounding because on the street, it sure feels like an eternity to catch the powerband, but on the track, it somehow always stays in the meat of it. Also helps that the handling means you don't often need to dig deep into those power reserves to maintain speed...; Reply to this comment


by lcdblowouts September 30, 2008 7:11 PM PDT: HDTV in Cars? Where?

www.lcdblowouts.com; Reply to this comment

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Every Friday, car nut and tech aficionado Brian Cooley runs down the latest news in the ever-evolving integration between cars and technology. Meanwhile, Wayne Cunningham and Antuan Goodwin drive the newest car in the CNET barn, going over its cabin tech with a fine-toothed comb, checking out off-the-line acceleration, and trying not to crash.

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The hosts of Car Tech podcast: Brian Cooley has a fleet of late '60s cars so he's well aware that great motoring exists happily in the absence of silicon--car technology only impresses him when it's great. See profile; Wayne Cunningham On the cutting edge of tech coverage, Wayne began his journalism career writing about the Web in 1995. Although he has covered many areas of technology, he considers the Car Tech beat the best yet. See profile; Antuan Goodwin gained most of his automotive knowledge the old fashioned way, by turning wrenches in a driveway. From drivetrain tech and performance to car audio installs and cabin tech, if it's on wheels, Antuan is knowledgeable.