playdoh43

i think they've got something good going with the rotary. mazda have been improving the technology for decades, the problem is that its just not advancing at the same rate as piston engines. theres just so much more money thrown at R&D of piston engines. but if they could get a breakthrough, i think theres a lot of future potential in the rotary.

Tirminyl

It seems like someones personal opinion should be the only thing that should matter.

Rootski

iTrader: (1)

I know!


Jet turbine 8!

Feras

iTrader: (1)

for all the haters on the 350Z have you actually driven it, i thought it was quite excellent, tight powerful and ya it wasnt as full of finesse, but it isnt a piece of crap either. It is definitely a sports car through and through.

therm8

For the rotary to survive Mazda is going to have to go back to its roots. 2 seat lightweight niche cars. Unfortunately those are not high volume/high profit vehicles no matter how many Miatas they've sold. The engine has been around for a long time, yet only has a cult following (for the most part). A 3000lb car is the upper limit for the Renesis. It'd be more ideally suited for a 22-2400lb car. And I believe that's the route Mazda must take, or the engine will take another hiatus.

sosonic

Totally agree. Mazda is retarded for not coming out with a Mazdaspeed RX-8 with turbo or supercharger. If Mazda don't do it soon, they will lose much respect and face. The Nissan 350z is comp. Mazda is letting Nissan walk all over it, back and forwards in the HP department. Outside HP, the RX-8 has it over the 350z, but HP counts too. 350zs will be running around at 5 seconds and maybe hitting 4 seconds in 0-60. Like damn, is Mazda waiting for the 350z to go twice as fast as them in a straight line.

The only thing saving the RX-8's butt is the pro tuners coming out with their RX-8 turbo and supercharger kits. If Mazda had any sense left, if they are not going to come out with the Mazdaspeed RX-8 soon, than they should endorse one of the 3rd party turbo or supercharger kits that are out or coming out and call it a day.

map

I'm not trying to bash Mazda here, but this has been eating at me. We are over a decade removed from the last reliable mass produced rotary vehicle. I do not think the Renesis's problems are solely tuning. I think the side ports keep too much crap recirculating in the engine. Now there is a thread about some intake valves getting gummed up and stuck as another potential long term issue. I am kind of talking out of my *** here, but i think we can at least say that the Renesis has issues.

Now look at Mazda's turbo 4s. More cooling issues, more poor tuning. The new V6 seems pretty nice, but it's a Ford engine, so i'm not sure I'd want that going into a performance car.

My point is that Mazda engineering seems very poor right now. They have had a lot of great ideas, and have done good work on the Renesis and DISI engines, but didn't finish the job by ironing out all the issues. The DISI is entering its 3rd different vehicle right now, and it's still not right. There really is no excuse for that in my mind. Where can Mazda go engine-wise if they can't seem to get anything right? They are a very frustrating company because they do certain things well that very few other automakers do, but then let the package down by messing up areas that every other company seems fine in. It's hard to sit here and watch as Nissan's engineers continually tweak and improve the Z and thier other models while Mazda doesn't even update weak visors and console lids.

RENESIS_NEENJA

Thank you... I don't think any of them have. It is a wonderful machine, it feels a bit heavy in the twisties, but great nonetheless. It all depends on what you need out of a car.

ruru

glad to see someone else uses that great quote - while nerdy as **** - it really is a good ******* quote - possibly one of the best of the new tril......


ru

Renesis_8

yah, axial flow 8!
________
Iolite Portable Butane Vaporizer

DailyDriver2k5

Wonder if that 315HP motor will be standard in all versions of the Z, if so, for 27k, that is going to be a real Bargin!

playdoh43

the 07 G35 sedan picked up around 1/2 second in 0-60 and 1/4 mile with the new redesigned engine. the best 350Z times are around 13.6-13.7 range... with the new engine making 9 extra hp than the new G35 sedan and being 200lb lighter, i think it should be doing low 13s... around 335/M3/Evo range.

camaro194

Agreed

camaro194

Quick question, have you driven one?

I have one and have driven an 8 quite extensively (parents have one), and the 8 doesnt make the Z feel like an SUV in comparison.

CarAndDriver

I agree, the rotary has potential. The question is how much money is Mazda and struggling Ford going to throw toward rotary development to up the HP and solve fuel and economy issues.

Unfortunately, I don't think that they are going to invest a lot of money into an engine that will be used in only one car. Ford's new 3.5L V6 is going to find itself used in many Ford and Ford-owned brands just like Nissan's ubiquitous 3.5L V6. Develop a few solid piston engines and then tweak them to fit each car seems to be the way things are going.

To add to the rotary's tenuous existence is this engine recall that does nothing to bolster the bean counter's view of the rotary. And as we know, the bean counters are currently out in force in GM and Ford.

RX26b

No, all opinions expressed by me are actually the driving impressions of my pet monkey, Mearle. Getting a test drive in the limited edition 350Z is much tougher than gaining one in the Carrera GT. You ask stupidly obvious questions .
Did I say once that it felt like an SUV? I said it's less of a sportscar than the 8. The same car that someone else referred to as 4 door, body-rolling, 4 seater. If Nissan were truthful in their advertising their new slogan should be Shift_Mundane.

RX26b

It's a pure sportscar like the kid in the backwards hat's Accord with 18 inch rims, slammed 3 inches is a sports sedan.

dillsrotary

you can't be serious...

CarAndDriver

Lots of 350Z haters on this forum. I think its a great car for the price. Nissan had to share engines and platforms to cut costs and to sell it at the base price point they wanted.

The Mazda 3 share a platform with the Volvo S40 and Ford Focus. Nobody knocks the 3 cuz of it.

RX26b

You're confusing those who truly dislike the car with those who argue it should be unique to truly be called a sportscar. I think it's a pretty good car for the everyday Joe who knows next to nothing about cars. A die-hard performer it is not.

And all three of those cars are basically one and the same: mid-priced, compact sedans. The Volvo, being a luxury brand, runs a few grand more; but at least one of the companies doesn't try to take the econo platform and try to make a flagship luxury sedan out of it (priced at $40K+).

playdoh43

hehe some people are just insecure like that and feel the need to bash other cars to justify their own purchase for them selves. really easy to tell whose comfortable with their decision and whose not. theres a few on every forum, so its nothing special

CarAndDriver

The Nissan Z is not an econo platform, it is on Nissan's FM platform. Other Nissan's on it include the Nissan Skyline/Infiniti G35 V35-series, Nissan Fuga/Infiniti M Y50-series, Nissan Stagea M35-series, and Infiniti FX SUV. I don't see Versa or Sentra on the list. The 8 is really not a diehard performer in the engine performance category so I think it gets lumped into your everyday Joe category by your standards.

Well you can certainly get a very loaded S40 T5 around $40K if you load up on all the options. The base S40 is around $24K and the 350Z is around $27.5K. Not a lot of difference. The new flagship Volvo S80 uses Ford's EUCD platform, which it shares with the Ford Galaxy, Land Rover Freelander, Ford S-Max MPV. Future vehicles on the platform will include the Ford Mondeo, Escape, and various Volvos.

RX26b

This whole "discussion" is getting old and bothersome. Where did I call the Z platform "econo"? Thanks for pointing out which cars (and trucks) its chassis is shared with; I'm well aware of it.

Where the Z shares every powertrain component with both Nissan cars/trucks, the 8 shares nothing with any other Mazda. 9000 rpms is everyday? Ok. How much would you like to bet that at least 95% of the general public couldn't even name what specifically rotates at that speed in an engine?

To prove the Z is not an everyday-Joe car name one category where the 350Z is revolutionary.
Great. So what's your point, given the 350Z and S40 have nothing to do with each other's platforms, the price of milk, or this thread?

CarAndDriver

^ There is no point in arguing with someone who can't see beyond their own gilded steering wheel. The Z isn't perfect, the 8 isn't perfect, but there are good and bad things about both vehicles.

Hate away--you seem to excel at it.

toxin440

ladies ladies ladies... dont get your panties in a ruffle. Buy whatever freaking car you like the best.

Remember - the Z is japan's version of a mustang. Like everyone else here I considered the Z when I was buying but i need more then just 2 seats and at least a LITTLE trunk room. I'm not going to bash the Z because you CAN have fun in those cars. I'm a very proud 8 owner but I dont go around bashing others cars.

If I wanted a car that could burn anyone up at a redlight I would have bought a GTO or a Mustang GT, but meh those cars are common and not fun "everyday" - again not bashing just giving MY opinion.

I am waiting patiently for MazsportScotts turbo - that is going to solve 90% of all the 8's problems right there