Autoweek reference to RX-8 in 370Z test
 

last paragraph of the 370Z review:

"As a big Japanese car fan, I would still take the Mazda RX-8 over this. Yes, even with the oil-consuming rotary engine and low torque. That car's chassis is one of the best on the market in my opinion and remains one of the purist performance cars out there."

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20101014/CARREVIEWS/101019940

Articles like this are a big plus for us new owners who sometimes question "did i make a good choice" when we see a Z go by.

my thoughts exactly, I drove my friends z and loved the power and I thought the same thing but then I drove the dragon for the first time and remembered why I wanted an rx8 in the first place. I'm still pleased with my rx8 :yesnod:

I honestly never thought I could love a car and be as connected as I do with my rx8. I can relate to this because whenever I see other cars like the Z which I know has more grunt power, all I have to do is go for a spirited drive in my 8 and all is good in the world :) I've never been much of a "fanboy" or any sort, but the 8 touches my soul LOL

Oil Consumption + 265 F Oil Temp Limp Mode Capability.

370Z = A sport car that is not meant to be driven hard, Nissan advised owners not to downshift too much so car doesn't go into limp mode.

no way they say that ... dont downshift too much on a manual sprots car? wtf?

Proof?

The car will go into limp mode if driven very hard for extended periods, such as at the track, because it has no oil cooler. But it's pretty hard to imagine that happening on the street; I've never even come close to getting mine up to those kind of temps. And I have no idea where this downshift thing is coming from.

Yup, lots of problems with the 370 regarding cooling. The reason they say not to downshift hard is because of the increased rev's. But the thing is that these were mainly issues seen by people tracking the car, not regular driving.

I agree wholeheartedly. I still walk up to it after work and say to myself, "I love my car!"

Definitely. I took one of my work buddies for a spirited drive in my 8. He's a big fan of big block V8s and by the end of the drive he was saying stuff like, "This car is amazing!" Constant smiling from him the whole way was all I needed to know that this car is my fav.

Yea BABY... that's what I like to hear. Oil Consumption? Oh please. After years of 8-ownership I would say MPG is the only downer not Oil Consumption.

It's fun to watch the newbies to RX's try to drive it like a normal car for a while, shifting at 3500 rpm with a 'yeah, so what' look on their face, then tell them, 'shift when it beeps'. The instant the secondary runners open at 5500, :SHOCKED:, boredom is replaced with a big sh*t-eating grin that doesn't go away for the rest of the drive.

Nothing sexier than hearing that intake really start sucking in @ 5k

370Z Oil temp issues:


http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...nt-update.html

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...mp-issues.html

http://www.370z.com/Forums/tabid/88/...c/Default.aspx

Oil Consumption Downshift Causes

http://www.350z-tech.com/forums/123-...000-miles.html

many times I wanted to get a Z but many time my 8 amazed me. overall package I think 8 is better.

Yep but if you talk to Nissan their take is that it is not an "issue" and that under normal driving conditions oil temps are "ok". They suggest that if you track the car you purchase the nismo oil cooler lol. Lucky for us, we just need to worry about extra oil consumption at the track lolz.

Thanks for posting those links to the Z forums. Reading those threads really brings things back into perspective. It seems like people here have put the 370Z on some pedestal as being the perfect low cost sports car and theres no reason to buy a new RX8 over a new 370Z. Reading those threads you can see Z owners have problems and complaints with their cars just like we do here.

I took my stock RX-8 to Phoenix International Raceway a couple weekends ago and had no problems with overheating in 100+ degree temperatures.

I was looking at both the RX8 and 370Z last fall. I do anywhere from 6-10 HPDEs a year so track reliability & performance were very important to me.

When doing some research, these were the issues I came across (if I remember correctly).
- limp home mode due to oil temp issues
- fuel starvation in some sweeping corners
- differential issues (again, due to heat)

It seems that Nissan made a great car, but it wasn't really designed to hold up under road race conditions (at least in stock form).

That's the same story with MANY different cars.

This past Spring my friend bought a used M5 (not from the current generation but the one before) and he left me take it for an extensive test drive. I have to admit it drove great. Tons of power and grip and so on. Overall a great performer................. until I sat on the RX8 again and it reminded me what an awesome machine it is. It handled way better than the B'mer and it just "felt" better. The lightness of the 8 was very evident. Like having wings under your arms. The B'mer was way more luxurious than the RX8, but everything else, specially the chassis, was superior.

That's crazy, but anyway, good job Mazda.

Apparently track reliability & performance are not the criteria for many buyers.
September 2010 US sales were 687 370Zs versus 100 RX8s inspite of the Zs higher price.

Given the fact that the Rotary engine has its own niche and market plus bad rep 100 sales is not that bad at all versus a newer car.

The Z is a good cheap sports like the RX8 but at the end of the day it came down to the feel for me. I wanted something that handled like a deer, light on it's feet, elegant, and could stop on a dime (this is 05 bare in mind). The Z to me is a Hyena (faster than a deer; I looked it up) and just lacking in the grace dept. Nissan has made improvements over the past 5 years but no matter what they do, they are never going to replicate the feel of the RX8.

Gentlemen.. you will always be able to find someone to argue the other way. I traded my RX8 for the 370Z. And yes, the Z will NEVER be able to match the feel and handling of the 8, but I am very, very pleased with my trade. I just got out of the Z today with a HUGE grin on my face.

The Z is the perfect blend between handling and brute power. It does not excel in either category (when compared to a Vette or the new 5.0), but it brings the best of both worlds. I am not looking back at all.

That said, when/if Mazda drops a true RX7, I will be test driving it with the purpose of coming back to the rotary side...