no, just that he is pointless.

 

basically, both car felt weak

 

tmak: interesting post...

Actually I found the flat-ride stuff in the Z was very noticeable - if the Z does handle better then it's only through interference from gadgets. The 8 feels more natural, and is forgiving even with DSC off.

What do you mean by feeling weak?

 

I think the Z guys dislike the Rx8 cause it keeps winning all the comparisons. Everytime the two go up against each other (or the G35) the 8 wins. The 8 also wins basically all the time overseas, and is praised by a wide variety of reviewers.

Jeremy Clarkson utterly loves the 8, and completely and totally bashed the Z to hell and beyond. He placed the 8 as a winner in his 03/04 coupee roundup, without even considering its secondary benefits such as "actual cargo room, 4 doors, and rear seats". A coupee with all the benefits of a sedan. (If you don't know who Jeremy is, lookup "Topgear")

I guess its the whole "my ***** is bigger" fights. The Z's got 287 bhp. They look at the 8's 238 bhp, stating "mine's bigger". Then they stand there and wonder why all the 8 owners get the ladies.

I mean take a look at the scoreboard.
http://www.topgear.com/content/misc/TV/lap_times/

The Z and 8 get the same time around the track...but the 8 costs less, has 4 seats, more then 2x the cargo space, much higher build quality, etc etc.

 

Maybe this will help. I Sold my 2002 WRX last week and got my self a Titanium 6sp GT RX8 with everything except NAVI. I'm so happy with it that I can beleive it my self...the WRX had full 4 doors and some work done to it that I will say it is faster than my stock RX8 but the refinement of the 8 and the quality of the ride is incredible also the 8 has a better feel and responce to the steering. I drove a 350Z and my final conclusion was "Cheap pplastic interior, harsh ride feeling every single vibration of the engine and road, impraticall" .

I highly recomend you to test drive both cars specially on a high way and you will know wich one is the best one for you.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

2% increase in hp for exhaust at rear wheels
2% increase in hp for intake at rear wheels
4% increas in hp fo mide pipe
20% increase or more for ECU chip at rear wheel
2% or more usable power from a new flywheel at the rear wheel
FI who knows yet

Does this answer your question?

 

I doubt that very much. Maybe 10% more torque mid-range. I'm sure Mazda can't have been THAT conservative.

Got any proof?

 

I have a Z. My friend has an 8. I have driven the eight quite a bit.


Both are really fantastic cars, both do what they are supposed to do very well. But they can not be compared to each other at all. The Z is a sports car that is very quick. The 8 is a family car that is sorta fast, but it does not need to be. Mazda is not going for the same market that Nissan is going for. The Z is built to race. And the 8 is built to get to work and the kids to soccer practice. I love both cars though. If I had a family I would have bought the 8 instead of the Z.

Drive both and then decide. Do not let other people try and convince you otherwise. If you can test drive a F360. That is really fast.

 

umm...no..

 

That just hurt my feelings... :D ...a picture will be more descriptive in this case...

 

At least 350Black isn't bashing the 8, he's just a little misguided. Guys i drove the Z and G35 when shopping and they're both really nice cars. My next door neighbour has a black 350 and we both smile a lot admiring each others ride. I like the 8 better (duh, i bought one) but i don't understand the need to bash the Z. It's fun and fast. I prefer the 8 for a number of reasons but that's why there's different kinds of cars, for different needs. Drive both - buy the one you like.

 

I totally disagree with the "family car" thing. The Porshe 911 has a back seat too, does that make it a "family car"?

 

Well as the father of a 2 year old i can attest that the back seat and suicide doors were a big factor in my purchasing decision. Doesn't make it a family car but i do agree mazda is looking to expand the demographic for this car with these features.

Car seat mod :

 

Haha your kid has a sweet ride then

 

Heh yeah - best quote so far: "Daddy, make it zoom zoom!"

Runner up at a stop light: "OUR TURN! OUR TURN! OUR TURN!"

 

WTF?!?!? The 8 is a family car? You, sir, must be high. The 8 and the Z are directly comparable. Ask anyone who bought a RX8 if they considered the 350Z, and the majority will tell you that they did. They probably considered the WRX and the EVO (wicked once the turbo engages) too, and even the G35. I almost bought a Crossfire. But, there was something that was more appealing to them and me about the 8. I didn't feel I was giving up anything by choosing the 8, and I gained a back seat and the novelty of the rotary engine and the suicide doors in the process. I have a major beef with people who think they know a lot about a certain topic, when the truth is that they are ignorant. I've been finding that the majority who say the 8 is underpowered seem to be unable to grasp the fact that the redline is at 9000RPMs, and the torque peak is @ 5500RPMs. If you want to get performance out of your 8, keep the needle at 5000 and above. There's pleanty of punch, the steering is far superior to any of the aforementioned cars, and it handles at least as well as they do. A sportscar is so much more than just numbers, and the "feel" of the 8 is just "better" (to me) than any of the others I considered. I love sports cars with a passion, and each has its own unique quality that makes it, well, unique. It's a combination of so many things, and in the end, the car you choose should speak to you in a way that the others don't.

 

funny thing is I think about the z all the time, then I thank God I have the 8 :D

 

With the 8, those attributes aren't mutually exclusive. It does BOTH - a fact which confounds the heck out of most people.

 

That mod looks familiar

 

Bingo- soccer practice on Friday, autocross on Saturday, tear up the twisties on Sunday... best of both worlds.

 

That's one bad-*** looking car seat.

Back when my kids were of the car-seat age, I bought my twin boys (now 9 years old) a pair of Recaro child seats. Man those things were all that! And a bloody fortune I might add - about $160 each! But they were far superior! And they worked better, attached better, etc. My wife thought I was nuts at first until all her friend's car seats from Graco and whatnot had clogged up with spit up and cheerio crumbs and our Recaro's seat belts worked like new still!

Regarding "is the RX-8 a family car?" Well, this will just add fuel to the fire of the under-endowed Zed driver that started this thread, but for me? Yup, sure is! The majority of the miles that get put on "the beast" (as my 12 year old son has named my -8) are from driving him and his twin brothers to school, soccer practice, Hebrew school, baseball games, etc. But, the major difference between the -8 and my wife's Honda Odyssey is that when I pull up to pick them up or drop them off, all their friends fall all over themselves to come check out the car. That and the driver's enjoyment of it!

So, for me, it is a family car - adapting a Mazda ad, there's a something missing for me in a 350Z, a Z4, a SLK230, an S2000, or any of the other cars I looked at: Room for all three of my sons.

 

GR8Boy - man your car seat so owns mine...i gotta get me a leather one. Maybe a custom one leather heh - black and tan...

 

I got that one at Target- Eddie Bauer leather... it was around $160 I think. My wife damn near killed me when i told her what I paid for it, but my 5yo insisted she got a "racing seat" the day I picked up the car. That would be sweet putting tan inserts on it... if I could find some matching chaparral I would.

 

Well, kinda. But I can go from work, to having a hell of a time on the Tail of the Dragon at the same speed you can in your Z (sorry, we're even in the twisties!!), to dropping my kids(if I had any) at soccer practice, all IN THE SAME CAR. Try doing THAT in a Z. That is why I bought this car. When we go out with friends, I can drive us all. When I have kids, I can just toss them in the backseat, AND buy groceries, and still have room (in a sports car, no less). And when I want to beat the hell out of the road, I can do that too. The Z may be a teenie tiny bit faster, but in the end, the 8's almost as fast, handles just as well, has a more luxurious ride, and can carry a heck of a lot more than the Z. Which suits me just fine.



And that IS a really cool car seat- Target, you say?

 

All I needed was a test drive in the RX-8 to convince me it was the right car for ME! I had driven several others including the WRX and TSX and I decided on the 8. Anyone who can't decide AFTER driving the RX-8 I say, get the other car and keep on guessing what you missed out on.