JZ

I was talking to my Acura dealer and he was mentioning that the RX8s across the way were not moving at all and that they were giving cheap leases on them.

Well, being in the market for a fun, RWD stick-shift car as a toy, I figured I'd give the RX8 a look. If I could get a cheap 2 year lease on it, what the heck.

Well, long story short, the RX8 is a piece of junk IMO. I love what it looks like and the interior is nice and comfortable, but it is buzzy, it vibrates and the motor has very little power. You find that you are constantly shifting-and the shifter is not that nice that you don't mind this. And, it doesn't even handle all that well.


So, we went next door and took out a 6MT 350Z. Again, long story short, the Z had a lot of low end torque but really ran out of revs in the upper band. It felt very strong down low, but just ran out of gas up high. Also, it just wasn't anywhere near as refined as the CL in feel, especially the engine and transmission.

Well, I now realize again how great the CL is. I just wish I had the stick.

As for the fun car, I'm going back to loking for a 93-95 300ZXTT. That was the car I originally wanted to get anyways and there are a lot of Zs in real good condition for sale. Gotta love the T-tops and 410hp for about an extra 1500$.

Beltfed

What are you talking about, the 6spd gearbox in the RX-8 is awesome.......by most accounts mind you.

Also, if you consider .88g on the skidpad bad then I guess it doesn't handle well.

allmotor_2000

410hp for $1500? Boost Controller??

TypeSAddict

:ibzguysrapeyou:

pimpscls

really i thought the rx8 was nice in handling and shifting

Chaptorial

350z = God's chariot.

Zapata

:thumbsdn: please..........................

darrinb

i felt good that i had a cl-s after driving a G coupe

zeroday

you guys need some hater-ade.

JZ

On the 300Z all you need is a 90$ intake, a 500-1000$ exhaust a 300$ ECU upgrade and a 350$ boost controller and you can make 412hp. Add a crank pulley and upgraded intercoolers for 1200$ and you're into the 450hp range safely.


As for the RX8 shifter, it required a lot of effort and wasn't terribly smooth, and, for a car that requires a lot of shifting, I think it would have gotten old. The clutch feel in the RX8 was nice, though. The stick and clutch feel was nowhere near the caliber of the CL, TL or RSX or S2000.

The Z just felt cheap for 30000. Good seats, but poor interior, lousy exhaust note and unrefined powerplant. I didn't know they stopped making the track edition.

Zapata

bull................this is a CL board somebody drove other cars and gave them a fair evaluation. If you and the other non-acura owners don't like it take it elsewhere. This is not a general automotive forum.....we own Acuras.....deal with it.

F23A4

I'd also get a decent mileage, good/great condition 93-95 300ZXTT over a 350Z any day. Some guy around the corner from my house has a 94 300ZX in mint condition and completely stock...still a looker IMO. And mod-for-mod, it'll waste the 350Z courtesy of twin turbos.

As far as the RX8 being junk, I'm not certain I'd go that far but let's just say that they are far from the pinnacle of quality. And with 13mpg in a $2/gallon economy, there could be a few of them rusting on dealer lots before long.

Peace.

SiGGy

The CL has a nice interior and a more powerful N/A engine than the RX8. But thats about it if you ask me.

The other two cars win in every other way hands down.

Turboara

300TT's are great, look great, are fast, ride & handle nice, look classic, I almost got one 2x, a friend of mine used to have one before he found a 93 supraTT. Just remember 300TT maintenance can get hairy, so is finding a nice clean one that hasn't been beat to death

Nicky Pass

I think the 350Z would be an awesome toy car....but as an everyday car, I think....I know I'd get sick of it eventually....its too small.

zeroday

i was joking zapata. did you happen to see the smilee next to my comment? of course everyone is entitled to their opinions. stop being such a huge weener umkay?

tmk70

Zapata has been awfully edgy lately....maybe it's his coffee.

n00dleboy

correction: 0.89g for the rx-8.
350z Track Model : 0.89g
2004 S2000: 0.90g.


For the original poster..

it doesn't handle all that well? It will outhandle our CL-S to hell and back.

The rx-8 also has a more evenly distributed torque curve giving a more consistant flow of power through the rpm range. Unfortunately you know very little of the rx-8 and the engineering that went into the renesis. The renesis actually has smoother revs up to 9k rpms than the S2000, the difference being power isn't diminished if u floor it at 8500rpms, as opposed to our piston engines where the power curve drops nearing red line.

The rx-8 also has the quickest steering to wheel response out of the S2000 and the 350z.

also, it came 1st in motortrends latest comparo, 2004 S2000, 2004 RX-8, 350Z Track Model.

Beltfed

I've read .88 in a few publications as well, no biggie......the car handles well in either case.

F23A4

I agree. After having tried both, I can vouche for the RX8's power delivery versus the S2K. Though they seem similar on paper the power deliver is not even close.

The S2000: before VTEC=Civic, after VTEC=NSX. This thing is no faster than a Civic LX prior to VTEC crossover; of course, once VTEC kicks in it has some HARD acceleration.

The RX8 6MT pulls like my 3.5L Maxima, which I TOTALLY didnt expect. The engine runs up the powerband smooth and fast.

$.02

xenon7

so what was the 2yr lease worth in the RX?


just curious
...........

jriga

It might show better numbers,blah blah blah.

It didn't handle well enough, look good enough, or drive fast enough to interest me either... the 350Z was much faster and felt better, but felt 'cheap' to me.

There are so many new cars getting ready to come out, I couldn't stomache buying an RX8 or a 350Z and then seeing the new BMW3 that is due, IS300 that is due, etc. There just wasn't enough substance there to make it worth my while...

Not to mention, the Mazda dealer quoted me a 48month lease, with $2000 due at signing at $466/mo.

No thanks, I'm not driving a Ford for more than my Lexus payment, and almost double my CL payment.

jriga

Just to add a bit on rotary... the things are very unique in their processing of power. There is no question that the engine is 'neat'. Nice to see someone thinking outside the box. BUT, while that engine was so different when it came out in the RX7 1st model year, it hasn't been engineered and re-engineered a thousand times like alot of motors have.

Also - without any other manufacturer using the rotary motor - they are not subject to advances in engineering because of competition.

Reliability is an issue too - I can only speak for me...but I don't have time in my life to cradle that motor like it needs to be to last. It needs to be run for no less than 5 min at a time... who has that time?? Move the car out of the driveway - sit in it for 5 mintues or replace seals yearly... screw that.

J

ferizzo

Yeah but the M3 will not be in the same price range. I think the Z is a great car and would be a fun project car (although a little expensive for that).

I think the Rx-8 is a looker but can't touch the s2k overall. S2K is faster and from the stats posted above handles better. The CLS can only out hustle the RX-8 but from everyone that seems to know a little about cars the Rx-8 will outhandle the shit out of the CLS.

JZ

Yeah--I didn't mean to flame teh RX8--I was just really disappointed after driving it (since I knew I could get a great deal on it to just have some fun).

Also, of course the handling comment was subjective: clearly it will outhandle our cars. I think the thing that was weakest about its handling was the sway in the car. It wasn't as tight as I had expected.

And, as for the Renesis having a smooth torque band--well, I guess you could call not having any torque at any RPM a smooth band! Sorry, but that motor flat out sucked.

And I won't even get into the poor mileage and the fact that you are mandated in the owners manual to check the oil at every fill up since it burns so much. For me, since I wasn't going to be driving it a ton, I didn't care too much about these.

Ho hum. Back to finding a 300Z.


Oh, the other funny thing was how the 350Z salesguy pulled the paper off of a brand new car and then took me with him while he put gas in it--there was literally 1 mile on this car and he dogged this thing so bad! Redline in every gear, smoking the tires, dropping the clutch. I just looked at him and said, "I'm not buying this one!" I wouldn't buy the Z anyways, but whatever.

Water-S

How about a last generation Supra?
there's TONS of aftermarket stuff out there for them.(look at Fast and Furious )
plus if you get a TT model there's guys with 800-900 HP running around with a Supra TT.

ferizzo

not to mention that delobbo/srika's is for sale right now in chi-town!

F23A4

Ever since The Fast and the Furious, all MKIVs (TT or NA) are pretty hard to locate here in NJ.

Chaptorial

That was a joke Zapata. :captobvious: