Nissan 370z vs. Mazda RX8
 

O.K. Who here has driven an RX8 AND a 370z? I am curious how the 370z handles in comparision to the RX8. I personally LOVE the way my 8 handles; the 350z cannot come close to it; but the 370z maybe able to.

Anyone? Thoughts?

My buddy just got an Rx8 a few weeks ago and I happened to go on a twisty hill climb with him last weekend. Car was very flat and handled nicely, power wise it was not the greatest but was quicker than I thought. Today I just got back from driving the 370z (for the 2nd time) and the car just sticks in the corners. I'll admit I haven't done any extreme twisty driving but from the few freeway on-ramps and turns I did take it was every bit as good as the 8 plus more. Plus the power of the car feels unreal. Definitely worth driving the new Z if you are considering purchasing one. The road feel in the car is on par with Porsche.

rx8 is a nifty looker and the back door actually seems practical, but very underpowered.

Bigdog, the RX8 was quicker than I thought it would be also given the HP. Good to hear that the 370z was equal to, if not greater than the 8 in handling abilies.

On par with Porsche = cloud 9

nissan > mazda.. mazda tries too hard to be nissan and honda combined. you can't do performance and economy all at the same time without some sort of sacrifices. that being said, the new Z will demolish the rx.. both in terms of power and handling. i'll let the 0.99 skidpad speak for itself

The only thing that i don't like about the rx8 is the terrible gas mileage

By the way, the rx8 began production in 03. Hey mazda, how about a frackin update?

eats oil, next.

funny thing is, my 8 does not eat that much oil! I have not fully exhausted 2 'bottles' of oil and I have about 10k miles on it.

and I got tired of waiting for them to update the RX cars. can't wait until 2012 for the new rotary...

This would be a very interesting match. RX8 is lighter and handles a little better than the 350Z but 370Z has much more power and is a bit lighter than the 350Z. When comparing power, 370Z will be the unmatched winner but handling wise, I really can't say anything yet. The new 370Z DOES have better suspension than the 350Z and it's 4" shorter. I guess we just have to wait and see? :excited:

I read somewhere that the 370Z engine sits a bit lower then the previous Z for a better center of gravity...... that helps quite a bit in the handling.

I read one review of the Nismo Z that stated it handled like an RX8. If the 370z handling is on par with the Nismo Z, then it should come close to the RX8.

I will try and test drive a 370 soon and give my thoughts... But my RX8 has the Mazdaspeed suspension...

With the trends of things, the '80s is coming back in style. With the likes of diesels and F/I cars for a compromise of power and economy instead of big brute force.

I don't think an RX8 can compete with the 370z because it's an older car that was geared to battle the 350z and S2000.

We will see!! Road and Track (or was that MT???) liked the feel of the RX8 better than the GTR in their best handling car in America test...

^I really like the RX8, and it handles pretty well. I also like the interior finish a lot. It's not the fastest car out there, but it's such a fun car. A lot of people were just disappointed and dissing the car because they had high expectations of it because of the legendary RX7. It's a head turner too. Up to date, I don't think I've seen more than 5 nicely done RX8's on the streets.