that's because you're comparing an under powered sedan to a capable sports car.

coming from an rsx (type-s i assume?), you will notice a difference in the gear box. the rsx is much smoother and easier to shift, but i have no complaints after a month of owning my z. handling and road feel are about the same or better in the z than the rsx. although, im still in the break in period, so i haven't taken the z anywhere near the limits yet.

i can't compare to the rx-8 since ive never driven one. i hate how they look, but that's just my opinion. :tiphat:

I am not a big fan of the fangs either but between the fangs and the rx8.... the fangs please...

i heard there's some RX9 or something coming out that's suppose to have a rotary + electric motor to kinda cheat itself into the sports car crowd. :rolleyes:

come on now mazadah, using a motor for torque downlow is cheating. :ugh2:

Gas is $4.35 a gallon for premium, I will pass on the RX-8 which has a real driving gas mileage of 16 or 17......

I bought a RX-8 thinking I shouldsave money, but the car got to a point where it pissed me off enough that I sold it within six months.

As a former RX-8 owner, I can honestly tell you that it was a great car with a lot of flaws. It was really fun to drive around the bends, a lot more balanced than the Z. You could throw that thing into a hairpin turn with confidence. Reving that engine was fun. The only downside of course, was the very lacking amount of torque. A minivan could smoke you off the line. The rotary has power, but not until you reach 4500 rpm's. I also had a lot of mechanical issues with the car. After 40K miles I had to replace the ignition coils, engine mounts and a few other parts I can't remember at the moment. I also had coolant issues, hard starting, flooding engine....the list goes on.
There have been quite a few RX-8 owners that have had their engines replaced due to lost of compression and out of warranty. The Mazda service dealerships near me didn't help matters. I once contacted Mazda's US corporate office to try and replace a defective SSV and they were just as rude and dismisive as the dealership. Really bad customer service. It took me like 6 visits to finally have them replace the part.
The Renesis engine also doesn't handle FI very well and very limited in terms of aftermaket performance mods. Top it off with having to add oil every 1500 miles or so and it becomes a headache after a while. The manual gearbox on the RX-8 is much smoother than Z though. If you've ever driven a manual Z, you'd know what I mean.

The 370z is very much more refined than the 350z. The 350z needed a lot of growing up. The interior really turned me off when I was cross shopping with the RX-8. The 370 interior on the other hand, fits the personality of the car nicely. There's plenty of power and the handling is top notch. The steering feels heavier than the RX-8, but you get use to it. I guess you could describe it as the best all around performer.

I have a close friend with an RX-8, and I have owned my Z for awhile now, so while this isn't a balanced comparison, I still have some decent experience in the RX. Echoing what a lot of people said, the Mazda is completely dead down low in the powerband, I mean DEAD. If you get caught short geared, it's embarrassingly slow to pull out of the hole. As far as the backseats go, they are pretty much child or emergency carpool use only, I wouldn't subject anyone of decent size to more than a few minutes back there. The tranny and gearbox on the 8 are actually very smooth, although you get to the point where you're working so much that it gets kind of tiresome, not a knock on the gearbox itself, more the entire package.

from 20-45 in 2nd gear. My Prius does it in 4.0 sec. If you leave the RX-8 in 2nd and just punch it, it takes 3.9.....

WOOT WOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Go with the Z, the RX is old and dated and is due for a huge change, plus just like Al said the RX gets really bad gas mileage and has to be reved hard to get going. I understand power is not everything, but when the RX has none to begin with your gonna wish for the Z.

im baffled by this. Why would you need to change the spark plugs? i thought they were rated for 100k miles. Doesn't the Z have a coil rail not "coils"?

As far as maintenanc ecost I am not sure, but try finding a mechanic to work on a rotary besides the dealer. Not alot of Wenkel experts out there.

My boss has an RX-8 that I drove once, but ridden a lot. His is an automatic, though, like my 370Z.

Power is lacking but it isn't terrible if you give it gas, but he is on his second engine (replaced under warranty) and has had to have it towed to the dealership a few times when it wouldn't start. Moving it a few feet in your driveway tends to make it flood and towing is the recovery. He also has to keep oil in the car to add every few weeks.

While some early 370Z had oil problems, mine is perfect, and newer ones appear to be fixed. Probably the most common problem is the hatch not popping open on the first press of the release and you have to pull it up and press the release again.

If you need four seats, the RX-8 is probably one of the best sporty compromises, but if you don't, I would get something else. He won't buy another Mazda after his experience with the RX-8.

Car and Driver rated it third in its search for best handling cars, but the 370Z wasn't tested.

From reading a lot of posts here, it seems like most people would say the 370Z automatic transmission is very advanced, and the 370Z manual transmission is at best average. If you want a better handling, nicer transmission sports car, I think you'd need to get a Cayman S.

Otherwise I think the 370Z is the best all around sports car, considering price, performance, quality, technology and even luxury.

test drive
 

Really a test drive is the only way you'll know, but

what I did was searched on the internet

I bought the Z as the best bang for the buck car that I could afford at the time

the Mazda wasn't in the mix for whatever that's worth...

You can search and find the answer

the Z handles great by the way-.99g on the skidpad translates to

lots of fun in every day driving

maintenance and changing spark plugs?

what?

good luck and keep us posted:tiphat:

get the S2000.
- convertible definitely has more style than the RX8
- most prob handle better
- engine is a screamer
- sips gas
- minimal maintenance (compared to regular engine oil topups in the RX8)

all i know about s2000's is that i was carving with one and all i heard from him was "wait till i get a supercharger" he was behind me the whole time sometimes two turns or more back and yes thats corners marginally better handling doesn't have crap on massive breaks and 100 more horspower to accelerate out of the corner.

I don't mean to hijack the OP's thread but I'm coming from an rsx and was wondering about the difference (no one ever compares the 2 for obvious reasons :icon17:) is the extra weight/size really noticeable or was it easy to adjust to? How about the outside view between the two?
You say handling was about the same but I guess I was expecting more...in the s2k forums they say that the s2k is on a whole new level, that the turns they made in the rsx at 35mph, they now make at 60-70...did you have a similar feeling with your Z or you think they're just exaggerating?