quack_p

I'm serious! I would have loved a moonroof (although I wanted cloth seats -- I think the leather would be uncomfortable during the summer). I sat in a GT and the roof was so low, I could not sit up. I'd say 6'3" is the max height for Sport package. If I were any taller, I could not sit in this car comfortably.

Zaku-8

if i had the chance I would have gotten the sport package instead of even the touring package that I got.

I chose touring over GT because I still find the leather to be sub-par compared to leather in other cars. Plus I was able to see what leather looked like in a preproduction car that had been driven across the country (basically what the car would look like "not new"). very unimpressive. New it looks great, dealer tried to sell me one when he made a mistake on my order. But overall I didnt find leather to be a necessary item, so i think that was the key.

The stock cloth seats on the other hand are incredible, especially compared to the rest of the market. Pictures dont do it justice. I think it grips better than the leather, but not sure. Definitely helps the sides work in terms of grip. Parts of it feel more like suede than cloth. It's two-toned gray/black, and its a very light for a stock seat. Cloth seats don't come with powered servomotors that I would use less than .001% of the time.

GT does have heated seats... I don't know how fast they heat up but if you live in a cold winter, RX8 interiors tend to take their time warming up. heated seats would definitely have been a convenience, but I've learned that I usually spend that time waiting by telling myself "yes! another drive!" over and over again. Usually tunes out the cold

about the moonroof... its nice, but I seem to have drawn an unlucky straw in that it only works about a third to half the time. Otherwise its totally unresponsive. If you were to get a moonroof, MAKE SURE you test it out as much as you can before you buy. Drawbacks of a working roof are added weight at the top of the car where it doesnt' need it, and semi-considerable headroom lost. There are pictures linked from the forum (search for moonroof cg) that show the interior of an RX8 stripped out. Sort of gives a sense of how much space is lost, but easiest way is to compare at the dealer

Also, my homelink doesn't seem to work. I dunno if that's the system or the garage door opener, but I find the whole rearview mirror to be pretty poorly constructed. Mine creaks if you press on it, and some people report rattles with theirs.

Bose system sucks, its not worth the money. search for threads on the forum. One gripe in particular is that it's difficult to upgrade speakers, although some people have modified tweeters to produce much better sound.

Xenon's are definitely helpful which is why I like the sport package over base.

I've driven (or gotten into the car and decided not to drive) in heavy snows and a few blizzards and have never noticed a need for heated mirrors.

On a side note, never try to drive on icy roads with the stock RE040 tires. you might as wait until summer and crash into a car or tree... no ice grip at all. The car slips so much on icy roads, its funny for the first 10 seconds not so much after.

Save your money, buy snow tires or wheels of preference, or a lightweight flywheel, and sway bars. Go with Sport package unless you want rarely used conveniences.

If I were to buy the car now knowing what I know, a much harder choice would be the NAV. I have it, but am not sure that it is worth $2k compared to aftermarket offerings. The auto open and close is a nice touch, and the stock integration really makes the dash look cool, but is that worth the 1-1.3k premium over an aftermarket system? I dont know anymore. Especially since Mazda makes it a semi-impossible hassle to upgrade the NAV OS, and map upgrades are 300+ bucks each time.

Keep in mind aftermarket or navigation systems or onboard computers w/ nav capability offer other capabilities too, like DVD playback (which I still think is ridiculous), TV playback (somewhat more useful but just as much a detriment to safety), and mp3's. Most importantly of all, aftermarket can allow for easier onboard telemetry. Personally I find the last thing the coolest feature ever, and given the ECU mods available now or in the near future, I kind of wish I had an onboard computer w/NAV because it requires a lot less modification for onboard telemetry than having the stock navigation. But I like the integrated look and motion of the stock NAV. See, its a tough call

I'm not sure if these help you or not, but in sum I know of no person who is disappointed with a Sport package.

quack_p

Yeah, Mazdaspeed flywheel sounds pretty sweet. That would be top of my list of things to get with the money saved between Sport and GT. $2K for Nav? No thanks, I grew up when people still used MAPS to find where they were going. Remember maps?

mysql101

Maps are fine, but they don't tell you where you are currently located. I prefer knowing at an instant where I am and if I've gone too far in my travels. I also move frequently. The longest I've stayed in any one spot in the last 10 years was 2 years.

What works for you doesn't work for someone else. No need to put down something just because you don't currently find it useful.

I'm also really bad at direction. Any route I think I should take, is usually the wrong way.

thew

love m nav.. and the Strar trek to : i get on it

Zaku-8

to be honest, its more worth it than you think. Maps are nice and inexpensive, but if you travel out of your home city at all with the car, a nav system is an incredible convenience. This is in terms of time saved that is otherwise spent reading a map, getting lost and hoping you don't have to read the map, and reading/getting lost at night, which i find makes these problems twice as bad. Plus less arguments with friends/family in the car about directions.

This in addition to business lookup (not quite yellow pages or yahoo, but its there), and exact positioning of destination and current location. So while it may not be worth 2k, I think its definitely worth it at 1k, especially over the life of long-term car ownership.

quack_p

Oops, sometimes this written word thing makes people sound madder or nastier than they are. I wasn't trying to put anyone down, sorry if it sounded that way! I'm just set in my ways. I resisted getting cable TV until just this year because I was morally opposed to the idea of PAYING money for something that was totally free when I grew up. I remember when the only choice was rabbit ears.

Outlaws eXtreme

I only got the GT because I didn't want to wonder "What would I miss out" if later on I decide on getting something... less hassle, and besides, it wasn't that much more than the Touring.

I didn't get the Nav because I already had a Magellan 700 I use from my previous car, and it only cost 1k. When I go on my business trips across the US, I bring it along with me. It's cheaper this way since I don't need to get the "luxury" car just to get the Nav. If you travel a lot, get the Nav. If you use it for business, get the Nav. If you drive on a lot of roadtrips, get the Nav. If you got extra dough, get the Aftermarket Nav. :P I can't see myself spending 2k for the factory Nav,... Unless you plan to convert it so that you can watch TV and play video games.

It's all a matter of preference.

With the anaology above, ONCE you try the better technology, you may never want to go back. I still have friends wondering why I pay for high speed modem, when they are perfectly happy with their Free Juno... Or people telling me why I pay extra for my HDTV Tivo, when basic TV is just fine. Well.. once you try it, it's absolutely amazing. Besides, it's only money, you can always make more money, can't always make more time for what you want to do.

RedRenisis

I have the GT package on my Velocity Red and I love all of it. When I was looking at the 8's there were a few things i had to have, first was the HID's (Xenon) they belong on a 30k+ car IMO, also a must was the red & black seats along with the sunroof, I couldve done without the heated seats since I live in Florida, but I tell you what, I just drove from Tampa to Atlanta and back a couple of weeks ago and after the 6th or so hour, the heated seats are theraputic, they dont get hot just warm, I think its better for the blood flow, also it is nice to pull up to my house at night and and just hit the homelink instead of going thru the glovebox to find the opener, and yes the Autodimming mirror works great, oh yeah I got all this for 2K, got to love bargains.

Astor

yes

RedRenisis

thats what I meant

spork

i personally got it for the leather seats. i knew i wanted the leather seats. other than that i wanted (but could do without and save myself the 4k) the homelink, bose, and xenon lights. the rest are nice, but i really could care less about. but since i do have them (lumbar support, 6 way seat, moon roof, auto dimming mirror, heated mirror, heated seats, DSC) i enjoy them. the homelink annoys me though in that i can't get it to register the gate so i still need to bring the remote with me.

in all honesty though if i could get just the leather seats and xenon lights I would've gotten that package and saved myself a lot of money. but as it is, i have to say i'm very satisfied with the GT package.

and since some people are talking about the nav here i'll throw in my 2 cents worth. i got the nav and that's one of the things i knew i definitely wanted. i don't actually use it much, in fact i barely ever really use it (i'll turn it on a lot and "use" it alot, but i already know where i'm going so i'm just doing it for fun). but i got it because that way you never have to worry about being lost or being unable to find a freeway on ramp (has happened to me a decent amount of times). a friend of mine also used it to find an ATM near by.

but the thing i noticed about this nav system vs the one honda uses is that the software is kinda quirky. it says my parents live on a "street" when they've always lived on an "avenue". also i tried to use it once and it couldn't find the address in question. i like the layout of the honda one better too. but this one works just fine and it recalculates by itself which is nice.

Ninja

As usual with one of these threads it really matters what is important to YOU! You know what's in the GT pkg, are these things you will value in part or in whole?

Personally, I got the GT pkg, and I love it. I'm an everyday driver, and I wanted something I'd be comfortable in AND be able to drive agressively. But everyday comfort was on a par with agressively drivable. The 8 with GT was the perfect balance for me.

Based on my quick read of the posts on this thread it seems like most people that got the GT would do it over again. One possible exception: Emsdad, had a chance to do it over again but did it differently. It's really about YOUR priorities - though I hope that the perspective you've gotten from these replies has helped.

h0lycrappy

fo sho thx ya'll :D :D :D

DreRX8

"I keep hearing people say aftermarket leather is better, but do you know who makes the OEM leather? It's made by Pasubio. It's Itailian leather."

That does not mean anything to me--what feels better under my a$$ does :D That's like saying the sound system is excellent because its made by BOSE or a car is excellent because its made by Rolls Royce. I've driven more than my share of GT RX8s with leather-- katzkin and Classic Soft Trim is more supple. Besides--the side bolsters on the factory RX8 GTs is not leather, which means it "should" last longer, aftermarket leather is 100% leather on the seats and seatbacks. Vinyl is used on the door panels like factory GTs. And as far as the plastic backing goes--some people like it some don't and some could care less--the plastic looks cool but scratches easily. The rotor in the headrest does not 'move' around in aftermarket applications either--perhaps when the car has 100K miles on it it may move when forced around. At the end of the day--if you only are going for the GT package for leather, I'd advise against it. Get a lower package and then fit aftermarket leather--you'll be satisfied and save a nice amount of money. Now, if you get a hell of a deal on a GT then go for it.