Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and looking around. I currently own a 2003 350z (awesome car) and have baby now. I'm looking into getting an Eight due to it having back seats and I'm sports car enthusiast. Anyway, I'm going to be trading the Z in the year or so. I am also demodifying it and getting it ready for sale, putting her back to stock.

As fio my new Eight, I'm just trying to find out what trim level and options work for me. I’m thinking maybe a GT or a R3 but price is going to be an issue. I will also be looking at getting one used so I'm in prcoess of looking over the info here on the site.

Eight~

 

Why not get a G35? You can tranfer all your mods unless the 8's rear door is a must have for your situation. Some questions need to be answered before we can point you in the right direction.

1. Is the car going to be the only car you will have around?

2. Are you planning to mod it a lot?

 

The eight will be the only car I will have. My wife has a minivan and I'm not planning modifying this car. If I do it might an intake or something small. However, on occasion I might go to an Autocross event.

 

If you dont plan on doing any modding like you said, you def want to try and grab a 09-10 mainly because A. they seem to be more reliable with the changes that were made throughout the years (debatable due to the short timeframe of availability), and B. you can probably get one that was maintained nicely with low miles.

I believe there are some R3s being sold for low 20's, you might get lucky and grab one for a solid 20k. R3 would be great because the value of the parts greatly exceeds the money saved getting a Sport/GT.

If you dont care for the rims or seats, GT would be your best option. I would only recommend Sport (what i have) if you plan on modding it since the Sport pack doesn't really come with anything (no nav, no leather, no sunroof, no fogs).

Also stick with a MT if possible

edit: just saw a mention of intake/autocross, if you really want to be comfortable autocrossing, stick with the R3, not only do they come with track spec seats, but the suspension is better as well.

 

Cool deal, $20k might be to high so I might be looking at an older GT in the mid-teens. That might land me in the 07-10 year range A must have will be leather, MT, and sunroof.

 

You can pick up an 09 for about 16K if you play the cards right and dont get scammed.

 

The S2 will be more reliable, the S1 has the Accessport for tuning.

 

+2 on the Series II, even though its been only a few years since it came out, as paimon.soror also mentioned.

Also, make sure you're going to be thoroughly happy with the personality of the 8... Especially since it drives and goes about its business differently, compared to one of its primary competitors being your Z.

And like yiksing mentioned... A used G35 coupe could also possibly be had for under $20k. Of course, the pricing could change depending on the mileage & year, but it's worth taking a look at since it may have a similar personality to your Z.

Good luck with your hunting, and hope you successfully make the switch to our side.

 

Good luck whichever way you go. You won't regret it. Just be sure to search around a bit so you're well educated before jumping in,

 

btw ur helmet might not clear if u have a sunroof

 

I have a choice, a Nissan Z or a Mazda rx8. I picked the Mazda rx8 because of the backseat, the Nissan Z does not. I have 2 kids and i love the suicide doors, it's kinda tight, but it's very accessible.

 

When was S2 introduced, was it in 09? As for my driving style I prefer a lighter rever car. I used to have Mr2 Spyder and enjoyed every second of owning that car. I move up to the Z for the power and its cool and all. However, if I'm going to get another car I figured I would go back to the lighter side of the spectrum, if that makes any sense. I also like the way the suicide door look on the 8 vs a 4 door G35. I also not a fan of the way the G35 looks. The Z is way easier on the eyes.

 

Yea series 2 are from 09 and up, there's a huge list of changes in the series 2 to make it more reliable so I wouldnt even consider an S1, especially since this is your only car. You can even some new 2011 models for pretty cheap since it's a slow moving car..the R3 has an MSRP of 34k and the dealer offered me 26k because he wanted to get rid of it so bad

 

a good used sport should set you about 18k if you look hard enough

 

What was chnaged on the S2? I figured if I did end up with a S1 first thing I would change would be the plugs, coil packs, and wires.

 

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-technical-trouble-shooting-160/series-ii-mazda-oe-parts-number-listings-complete-188306/

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-technical-trouble-shooting-160/mechanical-changes-rx-8-series-i-ii-161665/

 

Cool THXS

 

I was looking at some 2004-2006 8's with 60-80k mile son them, for around 8-11 thousand dollars. Would that be a huge risk? I could sell or trade the Z straight up and have paid off car. I can bank the rest in case something happens to the car. Worth it?