fredw1

I'm debating between these packages, and was wondering if people regretted getting or not getting the GT versus the Touring package given the $1000 difference. I have read complaints about the leather and the heating (not hot enough). The fabric seats in the Touring seem pretty good.

RX8MAN04

i have the yellow g/t and love it. leather is soft and the think the gt gets more watts out the the radio.

Lufa

No regrets at all.

TyrellCorpNexus8

The leather is fine and keeps its form and coating better than, for example, the faux "supple" leather of the G35 that appears to be high quality but really isn't and wrinkles quickly until the coating cracks. Wrinkling is fine, just as in leather sofas. But the surface coating should never come apart simply because of wrinkling. So I disagree with the contention that the leather is poor quality.

I agree that the cloth seems to be high quality and they will probably keep you relatively warmer than leather with poor heating. I'm in Los Angeles so I almost never use the seat heaters but when I tested them a couple times, I could barely feel the heat. The only thing I don't like about the cloth seat are the colors. The black part seems more like dark grey. And I don't like the grey down the middle. I feel they should have made the entire seat dark black.

DMBfan

If I'm not mistaken both the touring and g/t have the 300 watt bose audio. I have the touring package and it sure wasnt worth it for me to put up the extra bucks for some leather.

rx8cited

No regrets on getting the GT. It's been getting colder and I do feel my seat heater - it's warm enough for me. No problems with the leather either.

Nordic RX-8

Touring with the cloth - no regrets, but I do miss the Multi CD changer (my previous car had a 4 CD changer with a cassette player)

Maximus

I like the 8-way power adjustment and especially the lumbar support with GT seats. However, the heated seat is hardly noticeable.

r8ped8

I can't remember if you get the xenon headlights with touring package? Those alone are worth a grand to me! My heated seats don't blow the doors off but nice little xtra that I've never had in any sport car before. I oil my seats every payday--the chapparal (sp?) leather is deep and rich.
No regrets here...................
Gary

DreRX8

I went with Touring package and added aftermarket leather. The only thing that was a must have for me was leather and H.I.D.s--and the GT leather is nice but not quite as supple as aftermarket leather. If you must have sunroof then go with GT--the heated seats and Bose don't impress me. I have heated seats in my Millenia S and they are ok--but I'm in Houston so I never get a lot of use out of them.

czr

iTrader: (3)

I really don't like leather but for some reason I like the leather in the 8. The seat warmers are pretty useless.

chambo

No regrets getting the Touring and the Cloth interior. HID and the sunroof were the necessities. May decide as others have done and get aftermarket leather put in down the road but for now the cloth is wonderful. Plus leather will send you slippin and slidin at considerable velocity through the twisties and we all know how the 8 loves the twisties. :p

rx8cited

In Clearwater ........ yeah, I bet they are useless! I see the avg low temp in Clearwater in the coldest month - January is only 50. You need seat coolers!

Mine are pretty useless in the summer up here :D.

czr

iTrader: (3)

Ahh, you paid attention to my location. I was trying to heat my back with it the other day to no avail. I moved down here from NJ. I know a good seat heater when I feel one.

rx8cited

I see. Would'nt it have been cheaper to just buy a new car with good seat heaters and stay in NJ ?

What's your opinion of the A/C now that you're in Clearwater?

galleychief

Leather is nice and the seats are comfortable. I think in the long run they will hold up longer than the cloth and are much easier to keep clean. The seat heater is weak and always makes me need to stop and have a b.m.
I think it's worth the money for the extras.

brothervoodoo

I don't know if others have noticed a difference but if you crank the temp dial all the way to the right the seat warmers seem to work better. I still wouldn't even call them "seat heaters" because they only do an adequate job, they are warm but not close to being hot.

Snowdog

I think the GT package is worth it. I LOVE the leather seats, but remember you also get the heated mirrors with the heated seats as well. I personally, hate scraping my mirrors on frosty mornings. I think the seat heaters provide a nice level of warmth. They don't burn your rump which it seems our Trooper's heaters can do.

Does anyone with the leather seats notice a funky smell from them. Not new car smell, but a motor oil like smell?
My car is a new 04 with only 130 miles on it when I got it. (Althought it had been on the lot a while.)

Hespra

....I don't know if others have noticed a difference but if you crank the temp dial all the way to the right the seat warmers seem to work better. I still wouldn't even call them "seat heaters" because they only do an adequate job, they are warm but not close to being hot....

Voodoo:
I assume you mean the cabin control dial since I haven't seen any adjustable controls specifically aimed at the seats. Right??

The "heat" comparable to bun warmer in some conventional ovens. Not enough to toast the bun, just warm enough to soften the butter.

Mazda's intent appears to be a quick warming of leather to body temperature. This warmth isn't meant to penetrate your lower back, just alleviate the cold leather chill. Given temperature needs of the original bearer, leather wasn't designed to conduct or withstand excessive heat.

TyrellCorpNexus8

Yeah, tell that to someone in Canada. LOL.

Hellbreed

I thought it was my imagination but now that Voodoo said it I guess the fan dial must affect the heat of the seat. My seat can get warm initially but once the engine warms up a bit and I turn the dial to one to get some heat from the vents my heated seat does get warmer. I can actually say it gets very warm. Now I say seat because my wife complains that the passenger seat does not seem to get that warm at all, I've never sat there so I can't compare. The real test will be when it starts to get really cold as it is still fairly moderate here in Toronto for this time of year. Now whether it was worth the money to go to the GT, I'd say yes considering this is what you get on the GT here in Canada that you don't in the GS but it's a $2400 upgrade:

GS Trim Plus:

• Headlights - Xenon
• Heated front seats
• Anti-theft alarm system
• Automatic headlamp leveling
• Leather trimmed upholstery
• Auto-dimming rearview mirror with Homelink
• Synthetic leather door panel trim - front and rear
• 8-way adjustable power driver's seat with lumbar support
• Dynamic Stability Control w/TCS (6M)

Zaku-8

i have touring but one year after buying i wish i had gotten sport package instead... moonroof isn't working, would be essentially useless if it did work, only gets used maybe 5 times a year. also is more than an inch of headroom is lost, at least. when i measure glass to headliner its more like 2 inches, maybe over. But thats inside to outside... real difference probably would be that minus width of insulation/headliner

Bose from what i hear is only marginally better than stock, and has some weird design issues. like the tweeters facing each other. Id say save money by getting sport over touring, and get aftermarket sound.

also the rearview mirror is flimsy... basically i think the value difference between touring and sport is not worth the price difference. This is if you decide to get touring. Final suggestion is get sport, then aftermarket mod teh way you want things to be... i think you might even come out ahead in cost savings.

Hespra

"I thought it was my imagination but now that Voodoo said it I guess the fan dial must affect the heat of the seat. My seat can get warm initially but once the engine warms up a bit and I turn the dial to one to get some heat from the vents my heated seat does get warmer. I can actually say it gets very warm. Now I say seat because my wife complains that the passenger seat does not seem to get that warm at all, I've never sat there so I can't compare." Hellbent


I realize that seat warmers are not what original post about. However seems silly to start a new thread just for this comment/observation.

Took my 8 out for an hour's spin at 11 pm just to test the Voodoo/Hellbent theory (right...).

Happy to report the seat does, in fact, warm appreciably more with cabin control on high. While at it, noticed the faster one travels the warmer the seat. Thought maybe muscles tense and that would account for greater warmth at high pressure contact points --particularly at shoulders. Discarded that theory because thighs also appreciably warmer. Also noted as shoulders warmed, feet got colder. Probably less blood circulation to feet due to general pressure on thighs (sitting). Haven't found the settings to send more warm air south to feet.

Regarding the passenger side, I can't say as I haven't ridden there much. Without any comment whatsoever regarding body shape/size of Mrs. Hellbent, it's highly likely that because women *naturally* have greater fat to muscle ratio than a man (child bearing functions) Mrs. H may not feel subtle changes in temperature. Fat functions as an insullator (sp?) to many things: change in temperature and shock/impact as examples. Only way to find out, Mr. H, if she can tell the difference in seat warmth is to encourage her to test this hypothesis from the driver's side. Will be waiting to hear....

rx8cited

This came up last winter ........ however, I'm puzzled:

I wonder if Mazda "forgot" to show the connection between the climate control temp dial and the seat heater circuit in the RX-8 Shop Manual? And did they "forget" to mention this in the Owner's Manual too?

The seat heater circuit only shows the seat warmers (heating elements), seat warmer switches, and seat warmer relay that connects to power and is energized by the ignition switch. No control from or connection to the temp dial that I see?

My theory is that warmer cabin air warms up the seats and makes us feel warmer.

Hespra

Originally Posted by brothervoodoo
I don't know if others have noticed a difference but if you crank the temp dial all the way to the right the seat warmers seem to work better.

My theory is that warmer cabin air warms up the seats and makes us feel warmer. RX8cited

Could also be a really simple explanation: time to come to temp.

Perhaps it just takes the warmers 30 minutes to heat the seats to what Mazda considers optimum temperature. In my hour drive last night, with cabin control cranked as hot as **** allowed, it took about four minutes before I noticed any change in temperature. At 20 minutes temperature comfortable. At 30 minutes heat began to penetrate through clothes and body fat where muscles in my shoulders and thighs felt quite warm. Frankly, at that point, seat hot enough---wouldn't want it any hotter.

The animal originally covered in this substance heated from within as well as without---but only to a certain point. Leather is a poor conductor. I don't know how much heat leather can tolerate and not be damaged/stretched/scorched/whatever. But, it would seem logical that one doesn't want high heat if same diminishes value of upholstery.

That doesn't solve the dilemma regarding whether or not there is a connection to cabin control setting. At some point I will try the warmers with cabin temp set at moderate level and repeat this experiment.