With Infiniti upping horsepower on the G35 Sedan and Coupe to 280HP and 298(!)HP on the 6spd Coupes; Mazda is gonna have to come harder. They are also fixing alot of the G35/350Z flaws; hopefully Mazda finds a way to pull some more power out of the renesis for at least 2006. Mazdaspeed RX8 Turbo where are you when we need you :o

 

There's a lot more to the automotive experience than just spec-sheet horsepower.

 

mazda has said repeatedly it has no intentions on entering the horsepower wars... in the horsepower wars your king of the hill for a few months, build a car with a great overall package and then you have something special that will last

 

You know what the RX8 willdo? It will put its hand in their faces and say -- Im too sexy for my car - too sexy for my car - too sexy by far. And Im toosexy for my hat - too sexy for my hat whatd you think about that? Im a model you know what I mean ---- read my signature.

Im glad my car is slower b/c that gives people more time to gawk at it andforget about the uglier Nissan and Infiniti vehicles thatdrive away too quickly cowering in their ugliness.

 

Amen!!!

 

Mazda can play that game all they want - but it comes down to marketing. The US buyers respond to HP and 0-60 times. It doesn't matter that they can't actually drive the car as fast as it can be driven. It only matters that the car CAN be driven like that. Don't believe it? Look at another catagory - SUVs. Why are hundreds of thousands of 4-wheel-drives sold in this country... when 3-6% will ever actually take them off-road? Because the buyer knows if he ever wanted to... he could... and he'll feel better about himself for owning that capability. It's primal, irrational, etc... but it moves iron... especially if you offer 0.0% financing

 

Who cares about Nissan here? Go try their forum. So what? Covette just upped the ante too. What will Nissan do about that? So what?

 

800Degrees,
Sorry, but I must disagree with what you said about SUV's. People are playing the "mine is bigger than yours" game, in an effort to be the one to walk away from an accident (only partially effective - they're not all walking away from all the one-car accidents - can't maneuver their butts out of a wet paper bag, or those accidents with vehicles as big or bigger than they are). That's all.

As for the hp thing, wouldn't you rather get an 8 and use all that money you saved to install a supercharger? If you need all that hp, that will do it, and then some. Then you will have a car with more hp, much better looks, a rotary engine and a much better forum. :D

 

There is much more to a car than HP.

You can take 300 hp and shove it up your ***, because that is where you're going to have to store your golf clubs and groceries in a 350Z. Make room, cause your going to need to fit two friends in there too.

Note: I like 350Z's, and may even buy one. But trying to get a one-sized-fits-all car is madness, and so is trying to claim a number on paper makes one car better than another. If that's the case, your 300hp is pathetic and your car is worthless, as there are 2000hp cars out there.

 

I should quote you and put that in my signature...thanks for a good laugh J
-the other silver 8 J

 

The point isn't how many hp your car has. The point is enjoying driving it. Funny thing about the RX-8 (MT) is that you have to learn to drive again. 350Z has more power, that's for sure. But you probably just don't get that mad grin while downshifting at 220 km/h in it. :D

 

I see this touched a nerve here. Of course I know there is more to cars than 0-60 times and HP numbers--if I didn't I wouldn't have gotten an RX8; but like the previous poster said, the US market on a whole responds to those spec sheets--which is why RX8 owners are always confronted about this horsepower bullsh*!. My personal opinion is that the 350Z and G35 can have a 1,000HP and I still wouldn't get one over an RX8.

 

LOL Mad props!

 

Don't have much respect for the US market, do you?

 

Well said!

Don't know about in the States, but here in Australia, for the price of my 8 ($65K), I could have had any of the following:

350Z Track (w/Brembos) - $68K
WRX STi - $61K
Evo VIII - $61K
Monaro (your GTO) - $65K
HSV Clubsport ( http://www.hsv.com.au/cars/vy2/default.htm) - $65k

But to quote JeRKy 8 Owner : Im too sexy for my car - too sexy for my car - too sexy by far.

'nuff said!

 

I really couldnt care what Nissan OR mazda is doing with HP.. I already own the 8.. it's not like i'm going to go out and trade in my car because a faster one comes along.. i would be trading in cars every 2 years.. I did this to buy the 8 and took a big hit..

I'd rather the 8 NOT be faster, OR cheaper .. makes me feel better :D

 

I don't quite understand all the huffing and puffing about hp. I mean, I could slap a bigass turbo and noss on my dads minivan and make it run 12's in a quarter... so what?

 

This is the wrong forum to be talking about horsepower. RX8 owners can't help but get defensive, because the rx8 is clearly underpowered, and although we didn't buy car for that reason, we still wish it had it. The rx8 would be the ultimate car if it could compete with big boys in performance. I admit, there was hesitation on my part when I purchased the rx8, because I knew I was choosing looks over performance. I cured my disappointment buy adding an STI to family, but the rx8 is my favorite machine by far, regardless of it's performance. Drerx8 is right though. In this country, the specs tell it all, and in a general public, that's a key factor in buying a car. If the rx8 came out of the box for 2004 with lets say 260hp, and could match or beat the likes of 350z, and g35, they wouldn't still be sitting in lots in September selling for way below invoice. It may not bother us that the rx8 is underpowered, but mazda may not have a choice. They can boast all they want about not competing in the HP war, but ultimately they are going to have to improve the power of the rx8 to a respectable number where it's not majorly far off from what Nissan, and other car companies are doing. IMO, for this car to succeed, it's simply going to have to improve in performance. As beautiful as car is, looks can die just as fast as HP if it falls too far behind. Mazda will never have to make rx8 as fast or faster then other cars, but they need to stay a respectable distance away for people to buy. If they fall too far off the tree, and suddenly a lineup of 20-25kk sports cars and luxury sedans that are equally as fast comes along, it's going to kill the rx8. It will be a slow process, but mazda will slowly add power to this vehicle, because they will have no choice.

 

The FD's got approximately a 50% power gain from turbos... 50% on the renensis would put it over 350HP.

I'd bet in a few years there will be a 350-450HP RX-(?) selling for 40-50 G's.

 

What would make me interested in a Nissan/Infiniti: Major weight loss, major transmission upgrade. The 8 is the least powered of any of the cars I've owned, but it is also the most fun. I have trouble pinpointing things that I should upgrade. Where as in the wrx I was always trying to upgrade the shifting so it wouldn't suck so bad. If there has to be an increase in power, I hope that it comes in the form of retuning the ecu and possible increase in redline.

 

Oh yeah!
Once you pop you can't stop!

11K or 12K RPM with a HKS exhaust and CAI = 130dB

Can't wait!

 

In Canada there even more to compare then just power figures $7K differance

RX8 GT/MT $40K
350Z Track (w/Brembos) - $47K
WRX STi - $47K
Evo VIII - NA

 

https://www.rx8club.com/general-automotive-49/2005-g35-350z-hp-increase-what-means-rx8-rx7-putting-all-together-30843/

 

It will be interesting to see how the magazine comparos turn out next year with the increased horsepower for the Nissans and the virtually unchanged RX8. The 0-60 and 1/4 mile would be expected to improve, but will the track times change?

It would seem to me that the Nissans are moving into the musclecar category vacated by the departure of the Camaro and Firebird. Could be a marketing mis-step for Nissan. There's a reason that GM left the market.

 

Don't see it happening. Mazda has always catered to REAL drivers who care about the whole package, and not the short dik types who only want HP and drool over nissans. The 8's managed this long with 'only' 238 hp, and I'd bet you a Pepsi that they'll still do fine, even though nissan claims to have upped the HP on their cars.

The 8 can stay competitive, even with the lowest HP rating, by remaining the best-balanced and most entertaining in its class. That's worked for BMW for years with the 3 series, which still sells well because [most of] their buyers care about other factors besides how much HP they make.