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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
awesome article. pretty in depth... 10 pages, wow. nice find.
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2004 winning blue RX8 sports package
HKS Hypermax RS coilovers
Axxis Ultimate Brake pads
18.0 x 9.0 VOLKS Racing CE28N limited
Cusco Front strut bar / Greddy Rear strut bar
Some sticky-icky summer tires (gotta love california weather)
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.
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Pro Audentius -- GO BOLDLY
"I'm a civilian full-time; I'm a reservist part-time; but I'm an Airman ALL the time."
Past and future rotary enthusiast -- 2004 BB RX8 6MT Sport: 19 Feb 04 - 19 Dec 06... considering another RX-8 purchase
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.
Linear Mode
