Originally Posted by khtm

I knew what ya meant, GotZoom Just givin' ya a hard time :D

Originally Posted by rx8wannahave

That just does not sound right...lol, just messing with you GotZoom...khtm started it...lol, have a great day!!!

Originally Posted by jaguargod

So what will the Greddy exhaust do exactly? I would really like my 8 to sound a little tougher, but I don't want it to sound like a ricer.

Originally Posted by Aratinga

I have both cars... an '04 GTO and an '04 RX-8... but both are manual trannies. However, I can give you a first-hand comparison of both cars, and even from the female point of view since your wife will be driving it.

RX-8: Lightweight, high-revving corner-carver with a distinctive eyecatching appearance. The major pluses to this car are:

• the price (I'm sure you can pick up an new '05 RX8 for thousands less than a new '05 GTO, although there are some dealers who still have leftover '04s of both makes and will make excellent deals on both in automatic trim);
• looks (if you like them);
• the freestyle doors for back-seat access;
• the handling (razor-sharp)
• the braking (awesome!) and
• the Renesis rotary engine (if you're a fan of the rotary, which is why many of us bought the car).

Minuses are

• lousy gas mileage (No better than the V8! Both take premium gas.)
• weak air conditioning (even after the "fix" Mazda came up with)
• lack of torque (you'll notice this even more in the automatic)
• a feeling of being somewhat underpowered when compared to other sports coupes (especially for the automatic), and
• the Renesis rotary engine (if you're not willing to give a rotary the special attention it needs in terms of checking your oil frequently and letting it warm up before shutting it down to prevent flooding).

GTO: Your basic modern musclecar -- a midsize coupe with a massively powerful motor. A Holden Monaro in Pontiac drag, the GTO's exterior styling harks back to the late '90s coupes like the Volvo C70, which makes it perfectly anonymous on the road. NO one notices this car for how it looks. What made me fall in love with this car was, first, the exhaust note. Sweet LS1 music! Then -- the massive gobs of torque and horsepower lurking under your right foot, available with the merest blip of the throttle. We've had more fun luridly powersliding this car around corners than should be legal.

The interior of the GTO is also first-rate -- beautiful high quality leather and seats that are amazingly comfortable. The biggest annoyance about the GTO is rear seat access (or should I say, LACK thereof). The extra doors on the RX8 have really spoiled me, and having to clamber into the back seats of the GTO gets old really quick. For some reason, Holden makes the front seats power-only, and they move forward and back reallllly slowwwwly... so getting in the back seat in a pouring rainstorm would not be a quick process. Once you're back there the rear-seat legroom seems about the same for both cars... which means that if the front-seat passengers are long-legged types with the seats way back, your rear passengers will be cramped.

Another weak spot is the braking, but only in the '04 (Pontiac put a much nicer, bigger brake kit on the '05, along with the nonfunctional hood scoops that were missing in the '04). But hey... it's a muscle car! GO is the operative word here, not STOP.

The LS1/LS2 motor is truly the heart of this car. It's perfectly mannerly for around town driving, but when you get on the thing it's a head rush. I laugh out loud when I drive this car. Thank God for the traction control! Of course, the real fun starts when you turn TC off.

So... I'm guessing that you wife ain't exactly a car fanatic, and just wants a nice comfy car for her shopping trips. I'd vote for the GTO for her. And since you're forced to do the automatic thing, you'll sacrifice a lot more in the RX8 by going auto than you will with the GTO. In fact, the only drawback to the auto in the GTO is you'll have to pay a gas guzzler tax on it (the stick escapes this by having a skip-shift mechanism).

Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by Joel Ramsey

The only thing I don't like about the GTO stick is its long throws(compared to the 8) Is there anything aftermarket available to shorten the throws? Other than that I think the GTO is a fantastic package for the money. It will most likely be my next car.

Originally Posted by Joel Ramsey

Lucky you getting to own both cars at the same time! :D Thanks for the info. If you get a chance, post some pics of your rides.