Originally posted by kikkoman
does anyone on this forum actually own/driven one of these two cars?
I've driven them both. You can't go wrong with either one; they're both great cars.
The Z is heavier and more powerful. It has a substantial feel to it and you notice that in the steering and other primary controls. It has a lot of low end grunt, but runs out of steam in the high rev range. It is a LOT like a Mustang in that regard; power delivery is a swell of early torque and then... not much later on, so you may as well upshift. This is fine in day to day driving, but a let down when you are really working the car hard. It sounds coarse and rough past 6k.
I strongly dislike the Z's interior. It has a tight and snug feel, just like the RX-8, but the materials look cheap and ill-fitting. The top center console storage bin on cars without navigation flip and flop like a cheap child's toy. The view out from the driver's seat "should be familiar to people manning a machine gun pillbox" to quote a popular magazine. The G35's interior is very good, so I'd baffled at why the Z's interior is so crappy.
I drove a Touring Z, not the Brembo equiped Track, so I'm not sure about the brakes. The base brakes are okay, but nothing special.
The Z has very, very good handling. Body control is very good and there is a very BMW-like sense of stability at the limit; the car will not let you get into trouble. There is also a very BMW-like sense of understeer too. Turn-in is a little wooly, but not bad. It is good fun.
The RX-8 is a rapier to the Z's broadsword. It feels very bit ~300 lbs. lighter than the Nissan. The controls are lighter and the 8 responds much more quickly to your inputs. The car has a very low polar moment of inertia; it is practically a mid-engined feel and you can tell everytime you turn the wheel.
In the Z you get any kind of handling you want as long as its understeer. The 8 has a much more flexible, fluid suspension setup. You can change cornering attitude easily in the 8. The car will push a little at turn in, but is VERY neutral and the tail will wag upon request. In fact, abrupt transitions (like a slalom) will hang the rear end out and is a little disconcerting if you're not ready. Body control is a not as good as the Z's.
The brakes are very good in the 8, but like the Z, nothing exceptional.
The RX-8 interior, IMO, is much nicer than the Z's. It has a classy, modern, well appointed feel to it --like an Audi's. It too is a small car, but it manages to feel snug instead of cramped because there are so many nice touches everywhere. Headroom is a problem on the sunroof-equiped cars, though. I'm 5'11" and my head brushed against the headliner --didn't have that problem in the Z.
Power delivery is the exact opposite of the Z. There is very little thrust below 6k but once you build up the revs, there is a linear, turbine like pull to the redline. It is just like the S2000, but more so because you don't get the angry sport bike snarl the St00k has ; just that unique rotary whirl. People who like their torque early and dramatic will be disappointed in this car. People who like "peaky" motors and understand the power of gearing will not be disappointed.
..which brings us to the horsepower issue. Here's the Cliff's Notes version: Mazda tells everyone the RX-8 makes 238hp. The acutal number is probably a little lower --220ish most likely. Why the production 8 losses almost 30 hp to the early prototypes is something Mazda is not telling us. But aftermarket tuners have realized the stock car is very detuned and runs very rich in the high rpm range, probably --they're guessing-- to met new emissions requirements for catalytic converter life. An aftermarket tuner in Canada has made a piggy-back ECU upgrade to "restore" the RX-8's "missing" 30hp--all of it past 6k RPM. The dyno shows +~23 rwhp with the new program.
Stock to stock, the Z is a high 13 second car. ~13.9 @100mph is a number I see a lot. The RX-8 is a mid 14 second car. ~14.6 @ 96 mph is what I see for the 8. The ECU upgrade should put the 8 much closer to the Z in terms of acceleration, since the 8 is at least 300 lbs. lighter.
I don't pay much attention to fuel economy, since they are sports cars, not econo-boxes. But I suspect the Z gets somewhat better than the 8.
Both cars have a lot going for them. In my opinion, I like the RX-8 a little more. Some of that is styling, part of it is the interior, the extra seats in the back, but mostly its in the handling.
M
