Xystas

I had bought an Infiniti G35 coupe last year, loaded, brand new. It had a lot of power, and low-end torque. I know it's not a Z, but similar.

I ended up trading it in a month ago for my 8. I test drove the 8 and fell in love... IMO, the 8 handles bettter than the G35, and is a lot more fun to drive...

And I get a hell of a lot more looks!!!!

WinningBlue

Downshifting? I rarely put it into 6th, so its not an issue! And you gotta keep this car over 4500 rpm...then passing power comes real fast.

Rough Idle? Mine idles nice and smooth. Not sure what this is all about....

MadDog

Yeah. My idle looks a lot better than Randy's plot! Makes me think perhaps there is something wrong with your car. Mine came with L calibration and is steady as a rock at idle. Maybe because its only got 1k on it so far? I'm also getting 20mpg. on the first few tanks.

pr1vateer

Hey guys I could sit here all night telling you why you should have bought a Z....But I'll just get flamed or worse threatened with banishment, I would not be able to look you guys in the eyes when I pass you and Im only in second......oops sorry.

But if its any consolation I do like your forum.

MadDog

I donno pr1vateer. I look at the z forum and I get a totally different vibe than here. Its way more negative. Lots of angry owners it seems. I mean, they have a specfic page just for yelling at Nissan! The 8 owners just seem to me to be in love with their cars. Plus, I can think of any real reliability problems that I have seen on this page. The z owners seem to be having their transmissions replaced, paint probelms, interior falling apart, strange noises, tire feathering....The tone of the two forums was a major reason I went with the 8. I wanted a car that I would LOVE! Not one that I would tolerate just to have a better 0-60 time...

my 2 cents...

sferrett

You could, but I wonder what useful purpose it would serve? And why would you even want to? Typically that's why there are resultant flames and such.

Useful/constructive posts generally don't illict flameage, where waste-of-time trolling type ones produce the flame responses that you'd expect.

So yeah, I could sit here all night and do a lot of things, but I don't because I know it's just not constructive or useful and therefore it's not something I want to do.

Simon.

GiN

My useless long-winded story on this...

The 350Z was already on the road before I even found out the RX-Evolv was the basis for an actual production car, the RX-8. I was actually gearing up to buy a 350Z in the months prior to the release of the RX-8. Anyhow, when my commuter (Integra) got jacked during Thanksgiving, I started seriously considering both cars and finally went shopping on the eve of New Year's Eve.

Knowing I would probably get a smokin deal on a 350 through my affiliations with the president of a Nissan dealership, I test drove a silver track model with all the fixins. My initial reaction was that the car did not accelerate well. I was expecting the car to sink me into my seat as I mashed on the gas, as my previous turbocharged RX-7s did. Nevertheless, the power was adequate and smooth, although had a bit of an abrupt dropoff. The handling was great but the ride was stiff yet tolerable, keeping in mind it was the track model. Sure there were lots of good things about the car, but some things about it totally turned me off to the car.

First, the headlight switch was made in such a way that when you turn on the left or right blinker, it's too easy to roll the switch and end up turning the headlights on and off unintentially. I still see 350z's doing this whenever they hit their turn signals at the intersection. Second, the giant cross brace in the rear of the car makes the small hatch ever-so-less useful. Third, the cabin was too cramped for my liking, and there's no chance of having the option to lie down in your seat (which I happen to like doing) due to the wall behind the seats. Fourth, rear-view visibility was quite poor - only the middle third of the small mirror was used to show what's behind the car. Even if I got used to these little annoyances, I simply felt it wasn't enough "car" to stay with for a long period of time.

Then on the morning of New Year's Eve I went down to the local Mazda dealership and started checking out the RX-8s. I felt the interior was quite luxurious, and didn't have the quirks I abhorred in the 350z. Standing acceleration was only fair, and power was adequate throughout the whole range of the tach; even felt like it still had more to spare past redline, which crept up with little warning.

...then I wheeled dealed and threatened my way into the car, for just shy of 900 over stated invoice, with complimentary semi-annual maintenence over my entire term of ownership...

Overall, I think I made a great decision in choosing this car over the 350Z.

VikingDJ

Give it time, and people will ultimately complain more about the rx8. People on this board have a tendancy to want to complain about this car, but naturally hesisate because of all the bad feedback that will insue. Down the road problems will occur with this car, and naturally we will complain. That can be said for any car though. I too looked at the 350z, but I simply did not like as much overall. I do admit though that when a mazdaspeed comes out, and if I love this car as much by then as I do now, I will not hesitate to trade this in for one. . No matter how much I try and ignore it, I simply want it to have more power, so if a better one comes out, I will not be able to stop myself from buying one. I think the 350z is a great machine, so you really cannot go wrong with either car. It just depends on what you want and need.

Meowloud

Heh, we think we have problems... like someone else here told me, go do a search on Google for '350Z Tire Problems'. WHOA, and we think WE have problems! Their DESIGN is screwed and continues to feather tires, giving 1/3 of their actual tire life! -Can't put a Canzoomer Stage 1 on that problem! :D

randyrx8

Perhaps I have a bad one, but the real problem is Mazda refuses to fix anything.

My last driop off for service

"Customer states cranking time of 3-5 minutes to start the car in the morning"

Mazda's anaswer: "This is normal and should be expected with a rotary engine"

Which is the only answer I have gotten for any complaint.



I would like to drop it off for service:

"Customer states the car stalls if driven at highway speed"

Knowing I would get the standard answer:

"This is normal and should be expected with a rotary engine"

I would be less negative on the car if I had not heard this over and over again.

Spin9k

I think your dealer is jacking you up randyrx8! Go try any other dealer. The faster the better. I wouldn't even walk out the door, no less drive away with that kind of response to problems I brought to any dealership. I'd start yelling.

The dealer should be taken up with MNAO.

3-5 minutes cranking to start LOL!

Not to mention your crazy idle!!

randyrx8

I will move to another dealer next time, unfortunatly I got the same answers from the Mazda District manager, anthough i suspect he was protecting the "honor" of the dealers service manager.

I generally don't go in Yelling, maybe I should, I just move my buisness elsewhere. But With the short term focous these days it probably doesnt matter to the dealer, but I am surprised at the district level response. With the millions they spend on advertiseing to get a customer, to save $50, they risk loosing one for life.

I know I have not had these kind of problems with My wife's Nissan's, but after I thought about it, I realized, in the 5 years we owned them, they never saw the dealer, drove them off the lot, and never touched the warrenty, maybe I would be treated just as bad by Nissan service center, I just haven't been yet.

RodsterinFL

HA! I have posted a gazillion opinions on these two cars - yes I went back and forth. The Z is a great car. Other than being faster though (somewhat) it offered little else. I still hold to that. I, like some got two chances to reconsider with the buyback the RX8 had but I stuck with the 8. Overall - Overall I think it is the better car - overall.

picosrx8

Sorry to hear that some of you arent happy with your 8s. I love mine to death. I get in and am taken away to another world. A place where traffic doesnt **** me off anymore. I dont realy care about maintenace costs or fuel consumption. I get the same economy from my SUV and worse from my stang. When the make a 200+ hp hybrid, sign me up!

I didnt feel like I was having fun in the Z at all. I didnt like the way you had to muscle it around compared to the 8. I felt the 350 interior looked cheap. Leather in that car was disgusting. Plus, with all those letter Zs it almost put me to sleep at the wheel! Seriously though, the 8 has a small trunk, but you have four seats. Where is the room in the Z? If I wanted no room Id get an MR2. Ooops...another comparison. Sorry.

Hey Zoom44...Let us newbies have our fun beating dead horses (or 350Zs which ever you prefer LOL)

Japan8

Got the answer to get that fixed... try another dealer. And if that one doesn't address your problems even if you loudly complain... you go find yet another dealer. And you give all the ones who don't address your problems bad ratings and complain to MNAO DIRECTLY. A basic level of service goes without saying...

Japan8

I just noticed your comment about the district manager. When I mean direct... I mean DIRECT... as in Irvine, CA. Use any and all means (via email, web and people on this forum) to bring your complaints to people who care... and from what I've been reading... Mazda cares.

randyrx8

I my life experiences yhou generally have to work up the chain of command, I started at service consultant, went to service manager, then to salesman, the to Dealership owner, then to District service manager. Irvine would be next, followed by goverment arbitration.

Along my path everybody used the excuse I am really sorry, but Mazda wont pay to fix it, it is considered normal.

I will be interested in Irvine response if i ever get a survey on the service work.

Japan8

You've done what I would have, but in the meanwhile I would have found another dealer.

I personally tend to not like the chain of command. Everyone wants to cover their own *** and helping the guy below you sometimes does just that.

rwolfcastle80

I seriously considered the 350z before going with the 8, the things that pushed me toward the 8 was the backseat so I could be prepared for life's unexpected surprises, the uniqueness of the engine, and the overall interior styling. Sometimes I do regret passing on the z because of the lack of torque, but the interior and some of the problems the z has put the 8 over the top for me. .

cwerdna

I tihnk you're taking things out of context or just ignoring some of the threads. There are people on the Z forums (specifically my350z.com) which love their Z. Yes, there are a lots of people complaining about feathering (Nissan just issued a TSB on April 12th that should appease 03 owners... whether or not it's a the "real" fix is unclear). Yes, there are some people who've had their transmissions replaced.

But, I've counted 10 unique people on here who've had their RX-8 engines replaced! There are people who've complained about flooding... and some people on here had been yelling about that too. What about all the check engine light threads? How about the poor gas mileage threads? What about the horsepower fiasco?

sferrett

Read your own initial comment for a reply to that one.

Any board can be made to look bad if you take all the posts out of context, as you do with your second paragraph.

So don't tell folks not to take the 350z forums out of context and then do that to this board in your very next breath.

cwerdna

I'm acknowledging that there are Z lovers, problems and posts to that effect.

I'm just saying that I don't think MadDog's impressions of the two forums are particularly valid and gave examples as to why. To claim that there aren't really any reliability probs is just BS in my book.

sferrett

I'm not claiming anything other than that the two boards are basically the same - both contain positive and negative posts as well as posts from trolls just looking for a reaction from the other forum members, and either can be taken out of context.

Indeed there are some rx8 owners experiencing problems (just like there are Z owners experiencing problems too) just as there are plenty of happy owners on both forums.

I'm not sure anyone is arguing with you that there are both satisfied and not-satisfied members on each board...

rx8miami

My best friend owns a 03' z. They do not compare, he beats me off the line every time but I always catch up and lets not even talk about the twisties. The 8 is more bang for your buck and exceeds the standards set by the z a few years back. As for the engines being replaced? C'mon man you think no z engines have been replaced fo whatever reason? The 8 rules and you have to look real real hard. So hard you won't even find it; for a car that beats it out for the price, value, looks, and comfort.

cwerdna

I disagree w/your point that "they do not compare". Heck, some people like to compare the 8 to the RSX-S.

Regarding engines on the Z, I've only seen one guy on my350z.com who was stock or lightly modded who needed a new engine. I can give you ten RX-8 guys on here who needed new engines. Think about the # of 350Z sold vs. RX-8s and how long they've been out, then you'll understand my point of view.

The old 300ZX was too expensive and heavy for the level of performance you got esp. the twin turbo.

Looks are pretty subjective and I like the Z's styling a lot better. I feel the 8's suicide doors ruin it for me. As for comfort, I wouldn't say either has an advantage other than the 8 having a smoother ride. Value: they're both pretty decent values, but I place greater importance on power (the 8 is slower than my non-sports car Maxima). As for price, there isn't that big a difference. If styling weren't important, I'd say the WRX STi, Evo, or Dodge SRT-4 (but it's FWD) are the best values.