Well my S2000 was stolen 3 weeks ago and next week I will be buying another car.

My S2000 was stolen in the private garage of my apartment building so that scares me a bit.

I know for a fact RX-8s don't get stolen as much as S2000s and I always loved them. And since I'm only 23 with 2 claims in less than 1 year, I better watch the kind of car I buy next...(I called around and a lot of insurance companies are refusing to insure me...)

So a few hours ago I went for a test drive of a 2005 6 speed with about 45 000kms.

It was the 1st time I drove an RX-8 in a 1-2 years.

I completely forgot how *amazing* the steering is on the RX-8! Perfect weighting, perfect steering response, perfect feedback. My S2000's steering feels very artificial compared to the 8. The S2000 turns in very very quickly (quick steering ratio) but feels numb compared to the 8. The Mazda turns in like an S2K but gives steering feel like a BMW or Porsche. 5 stars!


The tranny was smooth an easy but not a ''click-click'' as the S2000's. I think the older RX-8 I drove a while back had a more positive feel. Is the Miata tranny better feeling than the RX-8?

The brakes are top notch, not complaints here, they feel just as solid as my old S2K, which is saying a lot. In fact I think it can stop shorter than the Honda. (Not 100% sure) Brake pedal feel is excellent, almost ''Porsche like''.

Driving position rocks, this is where we can see the RX-8 is a sports car, not an econo-box that's just souped up.

I didn't get a chance to trash it around corners since I wasn't dealing with a dealership and wanted to show the seller some respect. It felt planted and I didn't notice body roll; I'll have to take you guys word on this

I don't care for fuel economy, my S2000 was a pig in that regard anyways.

My *only* gripe with the car was lack of ''punch'' while accelerating. Now the chick who was selling the car (lots of chicks drive RX-8s in Montreal, some put playboy stickers on the back FYI) told me the engine was almost brand new.(replaced under warranty because of bad cat converter) If I remember correctly on the 2004 RX-8 I drove 1-2 years ago I felt a certain ''push'' after 5000RPMS while in this car the acceleration felt more ''flat''. Is there a reason for this at a certain RPM or am I just imagining things?

Is it just me or maybe a brand new engine takes time to get stronger? Maybe it's because of the 2006 Nissan Maxima(250 pound-feet) rental my insurance company lent me that I felt the RX-8 had even less torque than I thought. But hey, who am I to complain about torque coming from a Honda:D

Anyways tomorrow I will decide if I should go ahead with another S2000 or maybe give the RX-8 a chance and experience another kind of car.

The RX-8 is also 800$ cheaper on insurance per year compared to the S2000.

Last question: I find it a bit of a tight fit with the sunroof and don't find the leather of great quality in the RX-8; how are the cloth seats over the years? Can you feel the weight difference between a manual GS model with no options and a fully loaded GT model? (The sunroof and GT pack adds a 50-60 pounds to the total curb weight right?)

Well I've been lurking on this forum for about 6 months and it's funny that I may now be an owner in a few days!

 

Bummer that your car was stolen, but its fun shopping for a new one, and it sounds like you'd be happy with our beloved 8.

The steering is fantastic in it.

I believe the MX-5 and RX-8 share the same tranny (manual), and for even better shifting the RP shorter shifter is supposed to be amazing (RP makes one for the S2000 too.).

The stock brakes are very good, and since youre used to low gas mileage the RX-8's wont come as a shock to you.

The best part of the car is the handling, if you liked the test drive just wait till you own one and can really flog it.

Regarding the lack of acceleration, I dont know, our car has had so many reflashes of the PCM it may have felt different at one time. A few mods (light flywheel) can help out some.

I believe Ive read on here the GS model (sport package in US) is arount 70llbs lighter, and greater head clearance (for helmets).

I have cloth seats and love them. 30k miles, over 2 1/2 years and they look great.

 

Sorry about the S2K. Doesn't really sound like you're too enthralled with the 8.

 

Well I was kind of expecting the acceleration anyways. No car is perfect

I looked at some Turbo RX-8s with the Greddy kit but the reliability scares me....

I'll probably just add the dealer installed Mazdaspeed CAI and exhaust for the sound and maybe the shock-springs-swaybar kit for Mazdaspeed if I decide to track it.

Otherwise it's hard to fault the 8. (If it's on warranty lol)

Funny thing happened last night: I called a Mazda dealer about an RX-8 and the sales guy told me to ''forget the RX-8'', that if I bought one I would be always be in the service department! LOL He recommended I get the cheaper MazdaSpeed 3 or another car. Is Mazda losing some money with RX-8 warranty work or something? LOL

 

No actually I love the RX-8.

I wish I could have an S2000 and an RX-8....in a few years maybe....

 

Funny the salesman told your to forget it due to service issues.

Ive never had one issue (stalls, floods, cels, etc) with mine in 30K miles and over 2 years of use (knocks on wood). I think I just got a good one .

 

well, the salesmen would get fired for that, and you would get benifits

anyhow, no, the rx-8 doesn't have that much problems, I think the biggest amount of complaints I have ever heard about the rx-8 can be found here on this forum, apart from that its better than a piston in my experience, god dam pistons, may they all burn

anyhow, its a great car, I bought it for practicality and the insurance, I actually considered the s2k before I bought the car, but I'm a mean driver, and the damn handling on the s2k wasn't what I wanted, so now i got this car, which is great for power sliding at 100mph or drifting at 110

 

The salesman is trying to sell you a new MS3 instead of you buying a used RX8. I have one without a sunroof and have no problem with clearance. I have sat in ones with and noticed how low they were.
My car is 2 1/2 yrs old and I was having constant problems, then the engine was replaced in Aug 05. I haven't had any problem since.
And a light weight flywheel does help the car accelerate better.

 

Sounds like your a Honda guy so stick with the 2000. Good luck.

 

Not that hard to switch from honda to mazda. Both are quality cars. The rx8 is more refined than the S2000. Great road car. Nice for roadtrips and not much in sacrifice for power from the S2k. The rx feels more competent in alot of ways with added practicallity. It's a notch or two up in drivability and comfort. After test driving both I was more impressed with the rx8 as a more all round functional sportscar. It feels luxurious. I can drive it in the winter like any other car with snow tires. So I chose it.

 

ehhh, sorry to hear about your s2k. I'm always in fear of my car being stolen. The 8 is a great car. I've never driven an s2k, but I sure do love 'em. Good luck with your decision.

-Cody

 

Salut Jacques,

I've had my 2005 RX-8 GS for about a year and a half. The seats are holding up very well. I'm not sure how much difference in driving feel/performance comes from the weight advantage over a GT, but I don't like leather and wanted to avoid DSC so my choice was obvious.

Reliability is excellent. I've used it through two winters here in Ottawa and it has had very few issues. Even on the coldest days, it starts right up no problem. I'm really very impressed with this car, especially since I was worried about reliability before buying it.

S2K vs. RX-8: That's a tough one. The RX-8 is cheaper to buy, cheaper to insure and I suspect about the same cost to run. It is also more practical by far. On the other hand, the S2K is more of a pure sport machine, and is probably more fun (though I haven't had the chance to drive one.) I think either car is a good choice though. Good luck!

 

Get a Crossfire

 

I love the S2000 but for me the practicality of the RX won out.

You will not feel a punch with the RX, the power band is very liner. A steady build of power right up to red line. S2000 will give you a punch with the VTEC. To play it safe drive another RX to be assured that their is no engine issues with the one your looking at.

The car is pretty reliable, not as good as a Honda. Consumer report rated it as average last you but slightly below average this year. The biggest issue with the car is Mazda's poor service. They have a very bad rap of ignoring obvious problems and avoiding some warranty issues by blaming it on the owner.

Breaking is a little better then the S2000 but acceleration is not as good. Ride quality is much better then the S but the S will handle a little better at the track. You'll need to switch sway bars to close this gap.

I have the leather seats but was originally looking at the cloth which will probably hold up better in the long run.

I think the GT in over 100 lbs heaver then the base model. I remember once reading a review of the base car that put the weight under 3,000 lbs.

You may be use to the S2000 poor mpg but the RX will be a magnitude worst. In the city with moderately aggressive driving (50% of the time) I'm getting 12mpg. This car is the biggest gas hog I have ever owned and Mazda tells me this is completely normal.

Insurance is much cheaper and I don't thing this car is high on a auto thieves list.

The strongest point of this car is that I car drive hard with 96% of the S2000 performance then switch to daily driver and have 4 usable seats a relatively smooth ride and good truck and storage space. The car is really an amazingly versatile sports car. It is also several grand cheaper then the S.

 

i have the cloth seats in my '04 Touring (think GT minus leather). while the sunroof/headroom issue is annoying, i am glad i opted for a model with the HIDs. the bose stereo is a wash, on the other hand.

i get 14-15 mpg in the city and 20-24 on the highway.

overall i'm happy with my choice: no flooding, no engine issues (although i have had other issues, namely with the stereo), good, crisp handling, and that proper, intangible "feel" that i look for.

 

There should definitely be a "push" at 5000 rpm and above. Check out the dyno day thread that the guys in LA did recently. Some of the cars were very erratic on the top end, and we're all guessing that it's because of the spark plug coils getting weak over time. Even if the service department replaced the engine, they might not catch bad coils until they light the CEL.

 

2006 and up have different leather. All smooth without the ridges.

 

Test drove a Mazdaspeed Miata today. Wow! It's fun and so small- agile! But it makes an S2000 and RX-8 look like a limousine...Too tight for me. The steering wheel touches my knees too much. And no AC?

After 4000RPM there's a nice push until redline. Surprising pull.

Great little car with super quick steering response and IMHO a better shifter feeling than the RX-8.

Very cute car in person, pics don't do it justice, especially in red.

But it's almost the same price as a 2003 S2K which is a better performer so....

I guess I'll have to give another RX-8 a chance.

 

get an rx-8 and come join in the quest to get that 500hp without changing the engine!!!

 

What I miss the most about my Miata was the soft-top. The Miata in particular had great sightlines with the low door sill and with it being so small it felt like nothing but a windshield and the open road. My neighbours 350 'vert by comparison barely feels like a convertable, with the door sill at your ears and the windshield header over your forehead.

The Miata was light, but that added to the feeling that you were wearing the car. The S2000 feels similar, likely less darty and flingy but more stable at speeds. I'd take 'em both anyday if I could still get away with a two seat roadster.

 

I felt like Noddy in a 350 softtop.

 

I have owned both cars and I believe that the MX-5 tranny feels better than the RX-8s, but both are amazing boxes.

 

I could of swore that I read yesterday that the mx-5 and rx-8 use the same tranny. I possibly could be wrong or the info I read was wrong. Anyway I guess its possible that both could feel different, just really curious if what I read was true or not.

 

To the OP:

Your reaction to the differences mostly comports with mine, and we own both. One caution--The S2000 gets much better gas mileage than the RX-8. Unless your S2000 had a problem, I cringe at the gas mileage you'll get with an RX-8 if you get poor gas mileage with an S2000. For comparison, our S2000 gets about 23mpg in mixed driving; our RX-8 gets 16 or 17mpg in the same kind of mixed driving.

The transmission in the S2000 is often called (in the auto mags) the best of any production car. It is tighter, with better-defined gates, than the RX-8. That takes getting used to each time I drive the RX-8, but if it's your only car, its not an issue.

Other than flooding once, we've had absolutely no issues with our RX-8, in over two years.

The Miata is a really fun car to drive, but much smaller than the S2000 (and the new one isn't that much less expensive than the S2000). The old Miatas are remarkably tossable. Shifting on my Miata has some of the same feel as our RX-8--not as precise as the S2000.

 

although it shouldn't be a REAL push at any point in the power band, 5500 IS listed as the highest TQ point. Still, while a whopping 159 lb/ft isn't gonna exactly plant you in seat, you should still feel a rather good pull if your stomping it right around so.

Almost everything else you mentioned seems to be right down the middle. It's a great car, but with it's ups, you do have to deal with all the downs...which seem to be rather hit-or-miss at that.

However, I will mention this: make SURE this is the car you want in advance...even if you have to test drive it till the cows come home. Fact of the matter, resale on these 8's is through the FLOOR, and almost reguardless of the price you pay for it, you'd likely take a BIG hit if you tried to turn around and sell it within the first few years.

Not that its really all that much of a bad thing tho, as i've grown to love my 8 the more i've drove it. But i did have one of those second guess/buyers remorse deals with the 8...like i've never went through with any other vehicle. I bought mine new at almost $7K under MSRP, and still with only 1000 miles on it, couldn't even sell it within $3K of blue book value. This car has an extremely high depriciation rate...but tends to level off around the $16-18K range from what i'm hearing.

Just think it through long and hard. And for heavens sake...take it ALL the way up to 9K in the test drive. It's peak power is at 8500, so it IS going to feel like a dog on the lower end!