Hi... I just got my 350z from a private deal .. for a price that I find really reasonable... it was so "reasonable" that I got it before I sold my RX8... so now.. I have two cars in my driveway ..woohoo

RX8 and 350z.... yay.... now I can drive the one that matches my outfit for that day...

so before you guys think I am crazy... i am actually planning to sell one of the two cars.. yes even the Z... even I only had it for a little over a month... I will sell whichever one that gives me more "profit" or perhaps.. less loss..



okay.. lets go over the two cars...



RX8...
I must say, power is that much lower than the Z. Yes, its lower, but not by A LOT...


there is a road where I alwasy drive through when i go to Boston.. its an on ramp to a freeway enterance.. about 500 meters long so I can really try out the acceleration of both cars. I do this just about everyday...

this is where I find something INTERESTING...

both cars reach almost the exact same speed when I pass the 400 meter mark.. but pass it at about 84 mph or so.. (its a little uphill and I start from a 15mph roll)

WHAT? both cars hvae teh same acceleration?!?!?!!? WTF?? I was so surpriused to find that both cars have almost the same acceleration...

okay, yes, the weather is cold in boston, so I can;t go full out on first gear wtihout spinning the rear wheels.. but still..

but Z has much more powr in the low ranges.. so much easier to drive aroudn town



Handling
The RX8 actually wins in this round. I really dun want to admit this, as I always wanted the Z... so I actually WANT the Z to win.. in all areas. The Z is just too heavy. Yes it bites like a mother when you turn in, and when you acclerate out of the corners.. its just super super fast ... the tail slides a little and what not.. but its just not very graceful... it doesn;t give you the confidence the RX8 gives me. The RX8 has a softer suspension and this.. actualyl gives you more feel in actually what the car is doing. The Z just doesn;pt hvae the connection that the RX8 gives me


Braking
THe Z wins .. I guess becasue I have the Brembos.. the Z stops and my head always hits the horn. So everytime I stop for a light, my head hits the steering wheel.. sweet...

The RX8 is good too, but just can't match the Brembos



MPG
perhaps no one cares about this, but I DO.. my RX8 SUCKS... 80 miles for half a tank.. *woohoo* go rotary engine... well maybe cause I also keep the revs at 9500rpm all day long... just kidding
but in winter times, the MPG si really bad for the RX8, in summer time.. itrs about 240 a tank .. so its okay

Z, it sabout 240 a tank durning winter.. so its all good



ENGINE
hmm.. hard to say

the RX8 can rev up to 9500 rpm.. find me another car that can do that... except S2000

for those 9500 rpm.. the car just sing... the sound is beautiful and engine is running on butter.. its so smooth .. smooth.. like the butt of a baby's cheek

power kicks in after 6500, but of course, torque is not really up there. Not much torque to really launch the car like the Z out of corners

The Z, the poewr is good almost anywhere. AFter 2,000 rpm .. you are just about okay.. after 4,000 rpm.. you are riding a rocket.. and when you reach 6600.. you hit that freaking rev limiter... and that drives me crazy ... 6600... 6600... what kinda race engine revs to only 6600.. defeintely goign to send it to TS for the 7100 rpm

someone PLEASE reply.. so.. I wrote this 3:30 inteh MORNING.. just reply and make me feel better

some comments would be NICE
=D

 

i like the review, though your english could be a bit better

It was my quest to get a 350z that got me looking at the rx-8, so you could say, without the 350z, there would be no rx8 in my driveway.

I don't think you can go wrong with either car.... but with mazda dishing out deep discounts to the 2004 rx-8s, and people being able to buy the 2005 at dealer invoice, I think the 350z might fetch a better price when you sell.

 

I see

english is not my first language, hehe..

 

Is the RX8 sales not doing well? why are the prices so low?

 

styling = 8
handling = 8
performance = 350
potential for performance mods = 350
realiability after performance mods = 350

 

The rx8 has a ton of space in the engine bay - it's not going to suffer from too much in too little space like the 3rd gen rx7. I think you're going to see a lot of renesis engines lasting a very long time.

 

I think they sold the number they were aiming for, if not more... to be honest, even if you paid fulll MSRP on an rx8, the car is still one heck of a bargain.

 

I thought the Z wasnt mod friendly....i saw an article that had a Z with intake headers and exhaust (i think) and it was still the same 0-60 and .1 second faster quarter mile

 

Lucky bastard......... Zed and an 8!!!!

I'm so jealous.

 

twin turbo kit mate

 

you know guys, I think poeple on this forum is ten times better then the ones on the Z forum. People on this forum tends to be more constructive, understanding, tolerant... etc

those guys in the Z forum are alwasy fighting over each other... bashing each other and claim that the Z is the best car in the world.... *roll eyes* ... gosh.. get a grip man

anyhow, the Z has a lot of aftermarket parts. moreover, most of them DOES make an improvement. Lots of people get 10hp easy out of an exhaust.. I have the B&B exhaust but it didn't really feel the difference.... got the CZ.. that mod definitely worked.. I didn;t notice the difference after I put it on, but when I took it out, the car was definitely slower.

The Z has like 3 turbo chargers and couple more SC out for almost 2 years or maybe even 3... the RX8 turbo chargers are still in testing (or maybe arleady out, havent; been keepin up)... that was kinda discouraging.. come on Greddy...

Mod's wise, I think the Z is currently winning.. maybe the RX8 will catch up..

out of the two cars, I actually like the 8 more
its just a better package..

other then power and brakes (I have brembos on the Z), the 8 is superior in almost every aspect

 

RX-8 sales are doing very well actually.

So well in fact they are able to sell at a discount...

Volume sales equals discounts you know...

Worldwide, I believe the RX-8 sales are 10-15% over projections and the Hiroshima plant is turning out engines in numbers not seen since the mid 80s.

 

x28,
keep both.... problem solved :D

 

ill buy the z for $25!

while the z was on my list, i never got to drive it b/c i fell in love w/the 8. ive always though about stopping by the nissan dealership and trying one out, but never have found the time. though the evo and sti were on my list as well, i always knew it would come down to the 8, z or g35. the 8 perfectly exemplifies what i was looking for in a car, though the lack of power is a bit frustrating at times. i am happy that i see 2-3 zs and 5-6 g35s a day, whereas i might see 1 8 a week

 

I see no mention of the gearbox in your review. Which is what lead me away from the Infiniti and into the Mazda.. Any car I drive other than the 8 feels like a dump truck..

 

Great write up on both cars ... thanks for taking the time to post it. I sat in a 350Z at the dealer a couple of days ago and it seemed to say 'DRIVE ME' ... I've never driven the Z itself but I did drive a few variations of the 3.5 engine (G35 & Maxima) that comes in the Z and it is a definite torque monster. I am very surprised that it doesn't wipe out the 8 from the 400 meter dash you took.

Did you drop the clutch at high rpm's on the Mazda when you launched ?


Also can you tell us a little more about how the clutch and transmission compare to each other.

Good luck trying to decide which one to keep ... it's going to be a VERY hard decision to make !!

 

:scratches head: :p

 

Ok.. who uses 'meters' in Bahstin? I mean really... :D

Nice writeup. Which onramp are you talking about for those of us who know the area?

I took mine out yesterday and on an on-ramp near my house on 195 near Fall River, a 2000ish Audi S4 started carving into the turn right when it started. Since this is the one that I take daily, I know it very well. (It's a decreasing radius)

Let's dance. He starts acellerating through it and I follow, both even and I take my line for it and right at the apex of the turn I start catching up to him, I was on the gas a little earlier than he was so I was able to keep up once his apexed (remember kids... friends don't let friends early apex) and boost kicked in. It was nice to be in the high revs... he never really detached me.

AS we entered the highway, we both slowed down... it was just something on the turn, no need to see who can go to 100+ faster than the other.

I pass him on the highway about a mile up and he gives me a nod... it was nice to see it wasn't some kid... it was an older gentleman.

--kC

 

Man, you've got a fun driveway!

I know I routinely put the knock on the Z but it's mainly because Z owners are such idiots. There's a Z living in my subdivision, the owner is some 23 year old punk who is all attitude. I see him frequently, and stopped to say hey. His Z is beautiful - a black car - very sharp. And the ******* had the gall to say to me "so when are you going to sell your -8 and buy a real car?" At first I thought he was kidding, but he was serious.

Good write up though - pretty fair assessment of both cars, although when I test drove the Z prior to buying my -8, I didn't agree on the brakes. I thought the brakes on the Z I drove, while stopping the car very quickly, were grabby and hard to modulate. It had the Brembos ... perhaps they needed bedding in. The car had about 1200 miles on it (demo).

Stew

 

I've driven the Z a few times now, and I think the shift feel is very similar, perhaps the Z is a tad bit more notchy.

But like x28 said, I always find it odd that the Z doesn't feel much faster. With 287 hp and the big torque advantage, I thought it would. But every time I drive the Z, I feel the difference is not much, not enough to really tell by the seat of your pants. Compared to when I've test driven the e46 M3 and WRX STi, with those cars the difference in speed is obvious. (except in the low end, there one can feel the Z's grunt advantage)

Both are great cars and I really like the Z. The RX-8 just fits my likes and needs a little better.

 

hey StewC, regarding your post...
Is the black Z you have seen across the street from deerfeild bakery? if it is thats the guy who lied about having the ferrari.

 

One thing I have to add that I haven't seen anyone else comment on is the point about Rx8's MPG. It's not exactly fair comparing the cruise range per tank because while the Rx8 has extremely poor cruise range, it has a small gas tank for the mileage, which is approximately 15 gallon. On the otherhand, if I remembered correctly, the Z should have roughly a 20 gallon tank which would make quite a significant difference in the cruise range.

As for the acceleration part, at take offs, I'd think the Z would feel faster on the butt dyno than the 8, at least that's how it felt to me due to more raw force however once speed picks up, it's about the same. But again, it just feels faster doesn't 'mean it is

 

My english sucks at 330 in the morning too :D

hmm... why don't you sell both when the RX7 comes out?

 

I have a coworker who adores the Z. That's like his dream car. His brother in law has one and he's driven it around and he really loves it. Unfortuantely he can't afford to buy one (gotta save up for his kids). A different coworker has an WRX STi. He drove it to work one day and three of us went out to see it. He let the Z lover take it for a spin. But since we were in downtown LA, he wasn't able to push it. Never the less, just even accelerating (not hard) out of the parking lot with four people in the car, we all felt it in our stomachs. I haven't felt that level of feeling in my 8 ever.

Most of us hate the way the STi looks but afterwards the Z lover admitted that he never felt that stomach feeling with the Z either (and he pushed the Z). In fact he said he didn't think he could get the Z anymore now that he felt the STi's umph. The STi is just in another class when you're talking about acceleration. Too bad the EVO and the WRX just had to be so damn ugly (IMO).

I haven't tried driving a Z yet. I've only tried an automatic G35 coupe and it didn't seem that much better than my 8 in acceleration.

 

Hey, Nice write up. Nice to see a very honest opinion of both cars. I do like both cars. Obviously I am partial to the 8, because thats what I own. One thing I feel the 8 wins on, hands down that was not mentioned is limited ownership. The 8 turns heads, aside from the fact the car is strikingly awesome looking it is also is somewhat limited supply. I see 25 Z's in a 20 mile commute for every 1 RX8 in Dallas. It's nice to own a car that people cannot stop looking at. Now, with all that said the Z does have an awesome exhaust note when drivin. Oh yeah...the Z has cheap interior!! Ouch, that center console flap needs to be modified!!

You have a problem that most people wish they had!!!! Life is a bitch...Enjoy. :D

- Irish