R&T Mazdaspeed RX-8 vs. Nismo 350Z S-Tune
 

Not sure is this one has been posted yet.

Good article



R&T link

So it's a draw... unless you consider that the RX-8 COSTS 6 GRAND LESS THAN THE NISMO!!!!

Wake up and smell the coffee, Sam!

good article.
Is the Z really mid engine?

Why does he keep referring to the RENESIS as a 13B as it's not really a 13B.

13B MSP
 

The Renesis is a 13B. It is stamped on the rotor housing itself. "Renesis" is just a nifty marketing word.


The RX8 engine was not designed completely new from the ground up. They took the tried and true 13B design and made many changes, making it a reworked 13B.

The actual name for our engines is 13B MSP

(multi side port)

z is not mid engine. it's not TRUE front-midship like RX-8. whereas the 8's engine is COMPLETELY behind the front axle, on the z, the motor's center of gravity is right over the front axle, so even though a good portion of the engine is behind the axle, that still does not make it a real front-midship layout. thus its poor front:rear balance. nissan markets it as front-midship and says the front-biased layout is good 'cuz when you're accelerating the weight shifts to 50:50 but that's all crock

Did I read that right, Mazdaspeed is working on a supercharged version of the RX-8 :D :D :D

So Mazda is working on a electric-assisted turbo while Mazdaspeed is working on a supercharger....I need to lie down

call it a draw, how conveneient!

carbon fiber flywheel? Does that sound right to anyone....

that thing would be ripped to shreads....? yeah?

flywheel carbon fiber
 

IMHO, i think they meant carbon fiber driveshaft, the mazdaspeed flywheel is aluminum.....but that would be kinda cool....


power, a tie? haha, nissmo has 100 bwhp more then the 8 and its a tie! make a decision R&T!

i am not bashing, however in design they reference the Mazda spoiler, skirts, wing and the Nissmo, they reference the "flashy nissmo decals". I got a laugh at that one! :) then they say again it was a tie! That's what the 8 is lacking....decals! hehe.

p.s. - i love my 8!

I don't think Road & Track intended on either of these cars winning this "shootout." Their purpose was probably to showcase each one. After reading the article, I realized that I have learned nothing new. I still find it quite unnerving to compare any Z33 with the RX-8; they're just two different cars built for two different buyers.

uHhhH yeaaa supercharger.... drooool

Great article....the only real thing that makes the S-Tune a better machine is it has more low-end torque. Thats it....so for that your paying $6,000 more than the Mazdaspeed RX-8 with matching performance or better in every other category? It makes no sense to me to buy the S-Tune...especially when their is lots more room in the RX-8. Oh...and Mazda is working on a SUPERCHARGED version!!! my dream has come true! I am off to e-mail Mazda right now.

there is a article about the long nosed nismo Z in this months R&T. there is a pic of it fromt he side and IMHO that is the design they should have used for the Z in the first place. it is a much better looking car.

Care to post a pic?

hmm. this was hard to find as the r&t article isn't on their site just yet. but here is one i found

but that isn't it exactly. according to the article nissan wanted to race the Z car in some very important Japanese racing series. all of the cars have to be a production car. however nismo told nissan that the aerodynamics of the current Z weren't up to handling the speed they reach during those races. so then they re-worked the skin into a shape that would. the problem was that now it wasn't considered to be close enough to the production Z to be allowed to race. so they built 6 more and sold them- just enough to allow them to race. if i can i will scan and post the pic. otherwise you'll just have to go get the mag and see for yourself.

This article appeared in April in a new mag R&T produced dedicated to younger drivers who weren't interested in pickups, SUVs and Bentleys. Sam Mitani runs it. Car & Driver has a magazine like this, too, and they were both released the same month. They want to go after the "Import Tuner" crew. As I collect first editions of car magazines (most of which have gone defunt) this one made it into my library.

right the article that started this thread is in their new mag. the article i am talking about is in the regular mag in the same issue as the new comparo between the G35c and the 8.

LOL i dont see nissan marketing that says 50:50 weight dist.

I DO see mazea advertising with "near 50:50" alot though.

And you have to be joking right?


rx8 weight dist:
52/48

350z weight dist
53/47

[sarcasm]OMG WHAT A FRONT HEAVY PIG!!!! NISSAN SHOULD STOP PRODUCING THE Z RIGHT NOW@@@!!!@ [/sarcasm]

Lawrense got a point here. Some people thought that the 50:50 weight distribution is one thing the '8 has over the 'Z, but the 'Z is actually very close. I don't think there's much different in the polar moment either. Look at the 'Z's side view. Then look at the front and rear overhangs. There's not much room to contribute to a higher polar momentum or uneven weight distribution.

Nissan should really consider rolling out the S body kit into production, I can't believe how familiar that Z looks a-la-Porsche. I love it.

Nobody commented on the 1/4 mile times that were estimated, so I will. I am glad they didn't make a power comparison, because according to those numbers, the rx8 is soundly beaten. That's kind of sad that the current mazdaspeed version is estimated to run 15.0. That makes the hp numbers wrong, so rather then call the rx8 slow, I'll pretend I didn't see that part of the comparison. :)

I'm saving now to get the rx8 with a built in supercharger!! or go the other route and get a lotus elise... hmm... choices choices...

Nissan campaigns the Z33 in the JGTC. You can check it out at

www.jgtc.net

The cars are original production chassis, but they are homogolated for race use. The Z33's in the GT500 class run a smaller displacement VQ30DETT, which I believe is a far better engine than the torquey VQ35DE. The twin-turbo setup, from what I hear, is beneficial on high-altitude tracks. In the lower GT300 class, there is I believe at least one Z33, which runs off of the VQ35DE.

Also, C-West, among others, campaign Z33's in the Super Taikyu Series, in which the cars are closer to production than that of the JGTC. It almost mirrors the Speed GT Series here in the United States. The JGTC is similar to the ALMS. If I can find the link to the Super Taikyu, I will post it :).

Where can I buy a MazdaSpeed RX8 for 32,000$? I thought Mazda had no immediate intention to bring the Speed to the US?