I'm sitting at my dealer right now and just had an interesting conversation with a nice gentleman who saw motortrend test out the rx8 and Z350 back to back at Willowsprings and while the 350 was strong off the line and that it had about 0.2 secs advantage per lap over the rx8, after about 4 hours by lunch time, the rx8 was making laps TWO seconds faster per lap than the z350 cause the front tires on the heavy 350 were just destroyed and they had to refit new tires. The 8 almost lasted the whole day on the original tires.
Just an interesting point I heard, sorry if it's a rehash of what's been discussed.

 

Mazda's designs seem to be easy on tires - light weight, good weight distribution & good suspension geometry will do that. I recall a test between a 2000 Miata sport and an MR-S, and the same observations were made. Even though the MR-S posted better "magazine" test numbers (slalom, braking, acceleration, etc) the Miata lapped a road track as fast and was far easier on it's tires. Mazda has a knack for making cars that are more than the sum of their parts.

 

"Mazda has a knack for making cars that are more than the sum of their parts."

Word.

 

Doesn't surprise me at all. Weight/weight distribution are both much better than the Z. Spells good things for tire wear.

 

Did you mean the MR2?

And one thing I know is that we would do well to remember another important equation: Beter MPG=Bigger HP=Longevity on the track between fill ups...

 

the RX8 is about 7mpg on the track
this data is consistent with another member on this forum

 

There is definately a down side to a heavy 3.5L DOHC V6 front mounted engine. Owners have complained about early tire wear from normal use as well.

 

The MR-S is the new model of the MR-2.

 

are you sure? i think its the other way around. The mr-2 spider is the car that toyota is currently selling, not the mr - s

 

It's the MR2 Spyder in the states....all the JDM geeks call it the MR-S, as it's named in Japan...

 

The 350Z is known to have front suspension geometry/alignment problems that eat tires. Nissan has even given a special warranty for the front tires for the first year model cars.