cRazYToM_E

Hi...Im new to the forums. I been driving a VW Jetta...yes...its a girls car...and I been made fun of already...and Im planning to buy a new car around December or Janurary. I been thinking of getting a S2000 or a Rx-8. But I dont know which one is better...I want the car not only for driving but for heavy mods. And If I get the rx-8 where do you install a cd-header? Seems like you cant take out the big circle cdp...

cRazYToM_E

O yea...I forgot to ask if the RX-8 goes into the insurance company as a 4 door or a 2 door...

M-ster

This is again one of those very subject thread.

At this RX-8 forum, you would get alot of people asking you to get the 8.

If this is a S2000 forum, you'll get a thumbsup for the S2000.

At the end of the day, the only personl who decide which to get is yourself. And my guess is you'd probably already have some kind of answer in mind.

Nonetheless, I'll still give you my 2 cents. If you wanna mod your car heavily, the S2k is probably more suitable as it's in the market longer as compared to the 8. The 8 is still very new and there isn't much aftermarket available just yet.

cheers

cRazYToM_E

hrm...I like how the rx-8 looks....but I want the s2k because its convertable...I heard the rx-7 has to go through lots of maintiance=$$$ because its a rotary engine....does the rx-8 have to also? Im under 21....and I cant pay a lot of money for insurance....so....the rx-8 is still better?

Kev

First thing, if you are going to carry out "heavy mods", the current format of the dash is of no importance.

Ask yourself, do I need four seats or two? If the answer is four, your other question is answered.

Regardless, these two cars are actually very different, although the have overlapping appeal and characteristics.
The RX8 has been born into the void left by the RX7, but it's a diiferent animal and there will be a new RX7.

Does this help you? Probably not.

Try it this way, when I had a Z3 (similar form factor to the S2000), I needed another car for the space and passenger carrying ability were a shortcoming of the Z3 for me. With an RX8 the one car does it all.

Think about the practicalities and then test drive as much as you can.

cRazYToM_E

hrm...ill go test drive the s2k and the rx-8 before I buy it...I know someone who is a manager at a infinit dealer and he said he would not recommend any rotary engine. He said they have too much problems and so on...

Kev

The guy is talking out of his nose. There are far fewer moving parts in a rotary engine than a typical multicam four stroke donk.

Seals were a problem once!!!Wway back. They do use oil, by design.

It's very easy to knock what you don't know.

I love my RX8, it may not be the ideal car you. that's fine. But PLEASE, don't make a decision based on gossip or based on a lot of what the trolls on this list have to say. Drive it!!!

mikeb

once you drive them it will be clear for you

Charles Cope

Compared with all the piston engine cars I've owned, my '88 RX7 was far more reliable. There were NO rotary related issues at all.

Insurance.. its considered a four door. My insurance was $50 more per six months than our Ford Econoline van!

RX8by

As for insurance mine was 45 dollars more then my 97 Honda Accord. The 4 doors really help.

Elara

The insurance depends on your company. Mine is rated as a high-performance coupe. Says nothing about the four doors.

cRazYToM_E

I saw some videos here and there about the rx-8 and the s2k. I'll leaning a little more to the rx-8 side but I have to talk to the infiniti manager friend...he knows way more about cars then I do...BTW How much is the mazdaspeed rx-8 body kit?

P00Man

mines rated as a 4-door coupe, insurance is moot depending on where you live/record etc.

only reason that guy said that is because of the g35c, its considered by many to be in direct competition with the rx-8


if you do indeed decide on an s2k, wait for the 04 model, its getting a redesign as well as an engnie upgrade


the rx-8 is much nicer inside (and out imho, but that aint to say the stook doesnt look killer)


if you want a pure sports machine youll pro decide on the stook, otherwise youll prob get the 8, test drive them both untill youre certain
________
Coach Purses

cRazYToM_E

The only thing that interested me about the S2k is the engine start button and the clean looking interior. I wanted a silver with two tone interior, black & red. But the rx-8 also have a great interior. I dont know about the engine start button on the rx-8. Anyways I live in California and Im only 18. I have no speeding ticket, parking ticket, and such. So When I get the rx-8 I would still pay a lot huh?

Wing

Don't get a car just because it has a "start" button that is silly. If you like the interior and feel of the car that is a little more important.

Cool gadgets wear off of you pretty fast.

Dugless

It is hard to compare the 8 to anything, there simply is nothing like it on the road. I test drove the s2000, while I was impressed, the 8 was simply a lot more car (less $$$ too).

Also you said you were worried about reliablity with the rotary, however you would like to do heavy engine mods!! It seems to me reliablilty wouldn't matter.

SpYnalChRd81

People talk smack about rotary because of old rumors... and also cuz they are in competition with it.

The reality is, the RX-7 came off the market because of sub-standard emissions.

The rotary was still the best engine despite a few drawbacks here and there.

But it was the few drawbacks that got it a negative reputation.

HOWEVER

The NEWLY designed rotary engine for the Rx-8 is what brought the rotary BACK into the market. It won best engine of the year in Japan. I forget specifics, but you can just check any car magazine, brochure or catalog.

And because of this, if the Rx-8 sells well, which it probably will (some project 20,000 units sold, others 30,000)...... the legendary Rx-7.. will make a RETURN!

An engine has been re-tuned so well that an old car is being brought back into the market. How sweet is that?

Get the Rx-8.

Convertibles are such a hassle to park everytime i want to open and close the top. Not to mention those morons who stick a knife in the cover and cut out 3 feet of irreplacable fabric. >=( Get a moonroof for the Rx-8.

MSRP for the Rx-8 is like 27k while the S2000 is over 30k.... and the S2000 really doesn't have anything glowingly superior to the Rx-8.

Of course, I can suggest to you what you should get according to my feeble knowledge of cars, but it's up to you to make the final decision.

Test drive them both and weigh your priorities!

cRazYToM_E

I know its just a rumor. My friend owns a 93 RX-7 TwinTurbo...I wanted one. Not only cause of the looks but what its capable of doing. I want the RX-8 not for the looks but for what the rotary can do. Since Im very young right now I am planning on buying the car when I turn 19 which is in May. Also I have a friend who got her cd header stolen from her Mustang Convertable because someone somehow cut the thingy open. I'll test drive both cars sometime this year I hope and get whichever one I like more. Im leaning a lot more to the RX-8 side. The only thing I really care about is performance. price, and the insurance rate.

RX8-TX

1. I heard that S2Ks are not very responsive to MODS. Meaning that (I read on Street Racer, or one of those mags) you won't gain gobs of HP / TQ modding the car. Now, Im not saying that Hondas performance is not enough stock. Just saying that its hard to extract an extra HP from an already ULTRA tunned engine. I know there used to be some S2K owners roaming around, and Im sure they can provide you with a better insight.

2. The RX8 has very few proven mods (air intakes, etc..) and nothing major that has had enough time in the market. So, you might be looking at the wrong cars if you are looking for performance mods. At least, I wouldn't mod it until several other people had lived with mods for awhile. My concern is reliability in this case. Guess I don't want to be a Guinea Pig.

3. Do you want a convertible? Y/N & Ever had a cloth top? Y/N
4. Do the back seats matter to you? Y/N
5. How much money do you have to spend? An RX8 starts cheaper than an base S2K model (because the S2K has everything stock, therefore pricepoint is inherently higher)

Hope you I was able to confuse you even further! j/k
Cheers!

cRazYToM_E

Hrm...I wanted the s2000...the rx-8 has everything the s2k is missing. Rx-8 has more looks, 4 seats and so on...and Im looking around $30,000 right now....how much is a rx-8 which the best options 6-speed?

RX8-TX

Im lazy to go to kbb.com or mazda.com but if I don't recall wrong, every possible accesory plus the NAV runs for $36,000.00

mikeb

36,000 is about right
maybe cheapier if you look around

Dugless

I probably shouldn't post this but I got my 8 with everything except leather and NAV for 30,500!! (a hair over 33 out the door). That included the performance package (Bigger brakes, 6 spd w/ short throw) ground kit and spoiler (apperance package), moonroof, Bose audio, spare tire kit, HID headlights, etc... it's pretty much loaded.

The S2000 I looked at was 34, 500, and with the 8 you get a lot more car.

Don't get me wrong, the S2K was a blast to drive (I actually got pulled over during my test drive and escorted back to the dealership, but that's a different story!!)

mikeb

thats a interesting story --procede

asparapani

1st: Do you want a 4 seater? RX-8. 2 seater? S2000

2nd:Do you want the car for mods? Honda

3rd: Do company's label Rx-8 as 2 seater? no. mine rated under 4.


To tell you honestly both cars are very well engineered, designed, and assembled. You can't go wrong with either choice. And the maintenance for the rotary engine is your standard 5k oil change of 5/20 regular oil. Don't listen to any other claims of " You can use synthetic oil because it's better " crap.

If Mazda says regular oil, then I think they know what they are talking about. They built the car no?