RX8 or 350Z.. I have both
 

Hi... I just got my 350z from a private deal .. for a price that I find really reasonable... it was so "reasonable" that I got it before I sold my RX8... so now.. I have two cars in my driveway ..woohoo

RX8 and 350z.... yay.... now I can drive the one that matches my outfit for that day...

so before you guys think I am crazy... i am actually planning to sell one of the two cars.. yes even the Z... even I only had it for a little over a month... I will sell whichever one that gives me more "profit" or perhaps.. less loss..



okay.. lets go over the two cars...



RX8...
I must say, power is definitely level with teh Z. However, I do find one thing very interesting...

there is a road where I alwasy drive through when i go to Boston.. its an on ramp to a freeway enterance.. about 500 meters long so I can really try out the acceleration of both cars. I do this just about everyday...

this is where I find something INTERESTING...

both cars reach almost the exact same speed when I pass the 400 meter mark.. but pass it at about 84 mph or so.. (its a little uphill and I start from a 15mph roll)

WHAT? both cars hvae teh same acceleration?!?!?!!? WTF?? I was so surpriused to find that both cars have almost the same acceleration...

okay, yes, the weather is cold in boston, so I can;t go full out on first gear wtihout spinning the rear wheels.. but still..

but Z has much more powr in the low ranges.. so much easier to drive aroudn town



Handling
The RX8 actually wins in this round. I really dun want to admit this, as I always wanted the Z... so I actually WANT the Z to win.. in all areas. The Z is just too heavy. Yes it bites like a mother when you turn in, and when you acclerate out of the corners.. its just super super fast ... the tail slides a little and what not.. but its just not very graceful... it doesn;t give you the confidence the RX8 gives me. The RX8 has a softer suspension and this.. actualyl gives you more feel in actually what the car is doing. The Z just doesn;pt hvae the connection that the RX8 gives me


Braking
THe Z wins .. I guess becasue I have the Brembos.. the Z stops and my head always hits the horn. So everytime I stop for a light, my head hits the steering wheel.. sweet...

The RX8 is good too, but just can't match the Brembos



MPG
perhaps no one cares about this, but I DO.. my RX8 SUCKS... 80 miles for half a tank.. *woohoo* go rotary engine... well maybe cause I also keep the revs at 9500rpm all day long... just kidding
but in winter times, the MPG si really bad for the RX8, in summer time.. itrs about 240 a tank .. so its okay

Z, it sabout 240 a tank durning winter.. so its all good



ENGINE
hmm.. hard to say

the RX8 can rev up to 9500 rpm.. find me another car that can do that... except S2000

for those 9500 rpm.. the car just sing... the sound is beautiful and engine is running on butter.. its so smooth .. smooth.. like the butt of a baby's cheek

power kicks in after 6500, but of course, torque is not really up there. Not much torque to really launch the car like the Z out of corners

The Z, the poewr is good almost anywhere. AFter 2,000 rpm .. you are just about okay.. after 4,000 rpm.. you are riding a rocket.. and when you reach 6600.. you hit that freaking rev limiter... and that drives me crazy ... 6600... 6600... what kinda race engine revs to only 6600.. defeintely goign to send it to TS for the 7100 rpm

someone PLEASE reply.. so.. I wrote this 3:30 inteh MORNING.. just reply and make me feel better

some comments would be NICE
=D

tried to post pictures
but they are too big
any suggestions?

I'm not trying to burst your bubble but...


What were your RPM's when you went onto the ramps?

I highly doubt that the RX8 accellerates that impressively compared to the Z. www.automotive.com lists the RX8 at 197HP @ 7200 RPM with 164ft/lbs torque @ 5000 RPM, and the Z at 287hp @ 6200 RPM with 274ft/lbs torque @ 4800 RPM. Now thats a rather large discrepancy there. Thats almost 100 more HP and almost twice the Torque at slightly lower RPMS. Now the fact taht the RX8 has about 2.5k more RPMS to play with gives it a lot of help... but it has quite abit of a number gap to overcome.

And having swapped cars with my friend who has an RX8, we both agree which one is faster. (And my friend lives in Chapman hills so we are constantly going up hills...)


Again, as per www.automotive.com, it lists the RX8's Curb weight at 3053.4lbs, with the Z weighing in at 3240.8. Thats about 190lbs heaver, which is not that much of a difference. As to handling? RX8 has a wishbone suspension in the front, where Z has Multi-Link...

From driving my friends RX8, I don't remember how the supsension was set up, but I assure you, in my '03 Touring (which is the heaviest of the coupes) with Tein Flex, I experience 0 body roll when I am driving normally, and only slightly when I am cornering hard on freeway offramps. ^_^"

With the RX8, I don't know how well it grips the road. I've never tried the crazy stuff I do in my car with my friends, because, well, its not my car =P

Your experiences may be different however, but I just had to point out the number discrepancies...

At this point I think you should keep both cars for just a little while longer. You definitely want to make a committed decision for yourself. From what you have written it seems that you are in favor of the RX-8. But who knows you might fall in love with the Z after a few more drives to work. At this point I can say that the Z33 has kept all of its promises. As history shows the Z has always been a contender and always will be praised by its fans. The RX-8 on the other hand cannot claim much, being that it is the first of its kind (2+2 seating and under partial Ford ownership.) But that doesn't mean it doesn't have the potential to be a legend. The question to sell one or the other is up to your opinion, do not be persuaded by unknown bistanders. You own the cars. Do what you want with them.

I have the exact same kind of thing going right now. I have a 350Z and Lancer Evolution. I want to keep the 350 instead of the evo but I cant seem to sell the damn thing for the life of me. The more I drive the Evo the more I like having all wheel drive and a turbo.
Personally I think you should keep the 350z because of mere power alone. You can always upgrade the suspension for better handling. Personally I think the Z sounds awesome when it gets higher in the RPM's, but im drunk and its past my bedtime. If your posting on a Z site you prolly wanna keep the Z anyway, so follow my advice and sell the RX8 and upgrade the suspension in your Z so that you will rule all who oppose you.
Feel better now that some one has responded?

Re: RX8 or 350Z.. I have both
 

Interesting...

I've driven both cars and found the RX8 to be much slower on my "test loop." The 8 is more tossable, but I think its handling limits are about the same as the Z. When it comes to motor, I give the nod to the Z. Its power, sound, and fuel economy simply trump the RX8...and the Z doesn't have oil leakage problems.

The issue that complicates things for you is wanting to save as much money as possible. The Rx8 has no resale value whatsoever. New dealers are offering huge discounts compared to the selling price of the Z. One good thing about the Rx8 is that you see far less of them on the road than Zs. They're also much more practical than the Z.

NzZ

I like the Rx-8 and strongly considered it over the Z for quite some time (over a year).

For me the Z was more attractive in several categories.

- Power.. Love the low end torque. It is good for my small city commute since you have power in every gear at every RPM. I would prefer not to downshift to get the torque.

- Sound. I think the exhaust sounds awesome on the Z. I enjoy it's muscle car tone. I've only had it up to 4k since I'm still breaking it in.

- Size. The Z feels larger to me and gives me more interior room. Yeah the Rx-8 has rear seats but I really don't need them. I'm 6'4" and the Rx-8 was a little cramped for me. The Z fits me like a glove.

- Looks. I just like how the Z looks a lot more than the Rx-8. I'm not a big fan of the Rx-8 appearance package. If I had gotten one I would have done the bodykit (Mazdaspeed probably) which gets expensive. I like the looks of the Z with the appearance package and will be happy with it for quite some time.

- Handling. I agree the Rx-8 is a more nimble car. But I'm 41 now and traffic weaving is not something I do very much now. I'm in FL and there's not a lot of good driving roads. I plan on getting the Nismo-S suspension so that should improve the cornering.

- Sunroof. I want one pretty badly but the stock one in the Rx-8 cut down my headroom to practically nothing. I have plenty in the Z. Aftermarket one soon for the Z, I think they look pretty good as well.

- Style. For me I like the muscle car stance of the Z and find the Rx-8 doesn't look nearly as tough. Again the exhaust tone, low end torque and looks all apply here.

- Mileage. Small issue for me with the Rx-8 mileage but it still was a deterant.

Overall I'm very happy with my choice. I've had 3 Rx-7s before a 81 GS, 85 GSL-SE and a 93 R1 and put well over 100k miles on rotarys. I loved the 93, it was such a beast and I'm glad I owned it. Wouldn't do it again though due to size issues. I will probably consider the Rx-7 very strongly if they produce one again.

Good luck with whichever choice you make. I think they're both great cars.

Z-Stalker

I too tall for the Mazda. Couldn't even test drive it.

Same for the Crossfire.

There's no way a RX8 had the same accel. as a 350z......NO WAY! Sorry unless you port and polished that sucker, you either don't know how to drive or have no clue what your talking about.

Please just read a few threads over at www.rx8forum.com to backup what I just said.

All test results that I have read with regards to acceleration have the Z easily ahead of the RX-8 in 0-60,1/4 mile,top end etc.There is no comparison.

I've driven both cars, and I can say this with confidence --

The VQ is significantly more powerful throughout the powerband. The extra 2400 RPM in the RENESIS powerband helps, but not enough. The low-end torque of the VQ trumps the high-rpm screaming of the RENESIS. And this comes from a guy that LOVES the S2000. The F20C was more fun to drive than the RENESIS and sounded much better to boot.

As far as suspension goes, the RX-8 wins hands down. The Z's suspension design is fine, but the shocks and springs are mismatched, and the rebound valving is terrible. The ultimate level of grip is fairly equal between the cars, but the Z has a much harsher ride and is less communicative. Replacement of the shocks and springs can fix this, but there is no excuse for Nissan not valving the shocks better from the factory.

In the end, I bought a Z, because I will modify the engine to have the wider powerband I want, and I intended to replace the shocks/springs regardless. I didn't need a back seat, so the choice was clear.

I also have to mention to Janus that the ~200 lb difference between the RX-8 and Z is HUGE. The Z is a pig of a sports car and that fact really presents itself in the handling. It's lighter than the 300ZX-TT and the Supra, but nowhere near the FD RX-7 or S2000. The weight is the one big thing I really hate about the Z.

Just my 2 cents.

He must have left the Z in 6th gear when he did his 15mph roll.

I kinda smell some BS in this whole post...


I actually see more RX-8's wear I live than Z's...I think they're pretty cool looking cars, but I wouldn't compare the two.

He stated for the test that he can't punch it in first in the Z due to the cold weather.

IMO this accounts for the speed being perceived as close between the 2 cars.

Z-Stalker

Those RX8 specs are for the 4 speed automatic transmission.
The 6speed manual has 238hp @ 8500 rpm and 159ft/lbs @ 5500 rpm.
Just thought I'd clear that up.

Re: RX8 or 350Z.. I have both
 

Making it short I driven both. I'm Z owner, but I drove and RX8 fro 2 weeks. My friend is a Z owner as well we went at it on the higway. I was ashamed of driving the rx8. I even raced a S2000 I got taken down too.

The Rx8 is an amazing car it handles, smooth and nice. Is very nice interior and it has some good looks on it.

Gas milage sucks do, I'm not sure if it was the one that I drove, but I spent more gas money on that car than my TT Z in a month.

Hope this helps a bit,

-Josh

x28, when we have the Boston mini-meet on Sunday - it's about 300 feet from this onramp of yours. Bring your RX-8 (if you dare) and we'll go to the ramp. I'll hit it in front of you and you see if you you can keep up.... I doubt you will. And we'll go from a dig at a stoplight too... and you can check that embarassment out.

And with the stock RE040s (which the RX8 has too)... you won't look traction as drastically in the RX8 due to the lack of torque but you'll just spin your tires 24/7 with the Z. I have Dunlop Winter Sport M3s and seeing how Sunday will be 50 degrees, I will have crazy traction.

Prepare to decide to "keep the 350z and ditch the RX8".

PS. You need to seriously consider winter tires or you will end up with no cars after this winter (ie: crash and burn).

i've never heard of Meter markers in the states, i know mile markers.


anyways i don't understand how you can compare both cars.

first off mazda is in the ditch right now, not selling cars, having bad publicity.


sang

mazda's publicity does not affect my choice, they give me good service for the past year. thanks tho!

I will dirve my 8, so we can compare and you guys can help me out a little! =D

Re: Re: RX8 or 350Z.. I have both
 

yes I totally agree with you, the MPG on the RX8 is absoulte crap... today it was 80 miles to half a tank... which is like 10 mpg.. wohoooo