Enjoy....hope this link works for you.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.wray/topgear.wmv

 

I'll take my Z all day!!!

 

That bloke spent a lot of time raving about the RX-8. I had the pleasure of running with several RX-8s at VIR Full course last September. They distinguished themselves all weekend mainly by how frequently and consistently they were passed.

Granted, it could be the fact that they were very new and people weren't used to them and willing to really wring them out, but I don't think so. At least one of them was well broken-in and driven by an experienced driver.

My experience is that an RX-8 doesn't come close to a 350Z on a road course. And neither does an M3.

 

What is interesting about the RX-8 also is it comes with Bridgestone Potenza RE040 tires, according to all the car mag specs they publish. Great on a dry road course and squirrely on a wet highway. Do I hear an echo? Another nail in the coffin of the OE 040s, still crap in new performance cars unless its on a dry track of some kind. They seem to be similar to qualifying tires on race cars when they could still use them. Verdict: One Trick Pony.

The video was actually quite good and very entertaining. The RX-8 looks like fun, but its not a Z. Another interesting point made in the video, not complimentary to the Z. "It beats you up driving it." Must be a pre Euro-Suspension beater they tested, like our 03s. HMMMMM? Tacky comment? Yes. True? Yes. Hoisted on your own petard, Nissan. You resemble that remark.

Boomer's opinion--So what what else is new. Listening to customers is foreign territory, Eh?

 

Interesting you should mention that. That is one point of the video that caught my attention as being false! I have always considered the 350Z to be extremely easy to drive fast, which is a characteristic he attributed to the RX-8. As a matter of fact, this is one of the big points of the 350Z reviewers I have read; for its performance level, it is extremely easy to drive fast.

 

It depends on where you are driving maybe, the roads in the U.K. are often portrayed as nothing more than country lanes, some only half paved, full of ruts and potholes. I encounter many roads like that where I live because of the enormous truck traffic(18 wheelers) in and around the Metro area. I suppose I could find some roads that weren't, but they are usually heavily patroled by law enforcement. Those with local jurisdiction and those under federal jurisdiction, ie. the R.A.I.D. units established and supported by federal funds.

Road rage was a tremendous problem here several years back and the R.A.I.D. Grants were easy to come by. Federal funds don't always last for long and local and state jurisdictions must decide to pick up the expenses after the federal money runs out. I received a ticket for speeding several months ago by one of these operatives. My first ticket in 24 years and I got it from an unmarked car equipped with the R.A.I.D. equipment. I believe the funds for their continued support would be coming from their own funds from their enforcement of the speeding laws and supplemented by local funds. They produce much of their own revenue in this way. Driving fast on public roads isn't condoned much here and especially not in the Metro.

Still, it is easy to drive the Z fast on a track, but not so easy on public roads and none too safe either with all the road damage we get and the endless construction employed to repair those same roads. The fine for speeding in construction zones is doubled to help protect the work crews. So, between law enforcement, construction, bad roads and worse drivers, its not very easy for me to really find out. Sometimes I feel like I have chosen a vehicle with far too much performance than I can safely use, but blasting past a line of cars traveling at 80mph and just touching 100 in 3-4 seconds(it feels like it, true or not), makes that feeling go away.

 

i saw that and also the one with the Z review. he totally shot down the z and did not even test it because he didnt like the sound of the Z reving. But look at this video.
http://www.s2kca.com/photopost/data/510/16BM_Video.wmv

 

after this I cant trust what that dude says

 

Good video. Makes me wish I understood Japanese! I laughed when the Skyline pulled away from the RX-8 but I laughed out loud when the Civic did it!

 

I would guess that you haven't seen a well-driven M3. I instruct with the BMWCCA and there are some very fast M3s in the club with some great drivers. Some of the E36 and E46 Ms will spank any 350Z that I have ever seen. Try going against Jeff Segal in his C-Mod E36 or James Sofronas in his C-Mod E46 to see what I mean. Those guys put 12-13 seconds on me at the Glen! Believe me, I'm within 3-4 seconds of what a (mostly) stock Z can do with any driver.

Jason

 

M3's are not slouches boys... don't get the wrong idea.

My favorite is when the S2000 lays the smack down on all of them... guess what my daily driver is

It has an H on the hood

 

Man, that guy in the WRX needs to learn how to drive!!!

 

yeah, stock WRX handling is not so good... ask John how mine does

 

but yours has cheeky gold wheels

The driver being SO much more important than the car....that much I think most of us can ackowledge. Our E30 ITS car (non M3) runs within 1 second of many Speed Cup cars at Lime Rock...surely the E36 and E46 has it al over an E30 in terms of sheer power, as well as stability, but its the driver that makes all the difference in the world. if I can run 1:03's at LR in the E30, wonder how I would do behind a prepped E46

 

1:03 at LRP isn't bad for a non-M car. Although the Turner cars are doing around a minute flat around that track. Do you ever bring the ITS car to any BMWCCA club races or HPDEs?

Jason