Road Test: 2004 Honda S2000 Vs. Mazda RX-8 Vs. Nissan 350Z
Three For The Road: What makes a modern sports car? We wring out a trio of distinctly different approaches to making power, connecting apexes, and accommodating passengers

HERE IS THE LINK OF MOTOR TREND MAGAZINE

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0403_three/index.html

awesome article. pretty in depth... 10 pages, wow. nice find.

'cept on the last page they called the rx-8 rx-9

Data Sheet

my rx8 cost alot more than 27,200

They tested a base model, which I have. I got mine for less than 27,200. ;)

Great info on braking and steering .
michael

Excellent article. All three are winners in my book. All three products cater to different tastes in styling, ride, and overall dynamics. I concur with their overall assessment -- that's why I got the RX8 over the other two (and several other candidates I test-drove).

Interesting how they characterized the Z as a musclecar, relative to the RX8 and the S2K. When I test drove the Z, I thought the same thing. The driving dynamic of the engine and steering felt reminiscent of several V8s I had driven in the past, but not as ham-fisted. Similar feel in the G35, albeit smoother, quieter, and not as edgy.

Originally posted by chinx
'cept on the last page they called the rx-8 rx-9

No, see, the RX-9 has 250 hp, the RX-8 has 238 - lol

Originally posted by Smoker
Data Sheet

First of all, those are really good numbers for the 8.

Second of all, the Base Price of the Z is $26k NOT $34

Not for the track version, which is the z they tested.

Originally posted by rabinabo
Not for the track version, which is the z they tested.

Ah I see, my question is why did they choose the bottom trim level RX8 (the cheapest) and the top trim level Z (the most expensive)? If they had chosen the base Z, then the prices would have been equivalent.

I'm also surprised to see that the Z and 8 had the same skidpad numbers.

I'm also impressed by the Z's 1/4 mi time. Better than I would have expected.

Yeah, that was slightly confusing. Although it does make the 8 look pretty good by beating out the track z (probably the harsher ride of the track version didn't help matters). Which version do you have zthang?

Originally posted by rabinabo
Yeah, that was slightly confusing. Although it does make the 8 look pretty good by beating out the track z (probably the harsher ride of the track version didn't help matters). Which version do you have zthang?

I agree, the Track model is a total waste of money. No one in their right mind should pay almost $5k for Rays wheels and Brembo brakes. I'd rather buy a fully loaded RX8 than a track Z. Personally, I bought the Performance model at just under $30k, and the wheels and brakes are the only diff b/w my model and the track.

From the chart, it looks as though the RX8 would have great breaking compared to non Track model (non-Brembo) Z's.