I can fit two small children in my trunk.:p :D

To be honest, I'm thinking of buying a RX8 when they have been out for a year or two. I dont like to jump into a brand new car, I like to wait until the bugs have been worked out. But it will be my daily driver if I get one. I'll keep the S2000 as a weekend toy and track toy.

But like you said, it's all about making that daily drive something to look forward to. It makes going to work so much easier.:D

 

Hey if I didn't have any kids I would love an S2000. Saw one at the Grocery store last week and it was sweet! I have owned two Preludes in the past and I love Honda's. The best sporty car for me now though is the RX-8.

They wouldn't like the trunk.

 

Do you just care about lap times? If so, then nothing short of a pure race car can be fun on a track. Any street car, including the S2000, is not fun on a track, if you only care about lap times.

Is a Miata fun to drive on the track? YES! Is it fast? Well, not faster than an S2000, but much faster than many other cars and slower than a bunch of others. However, it's also going to be more fun than many of those that are faster...

Sorry, but you've defined a pretty narrow criteria which suits the car you happen to own. Your opinion is obviously biased.

Regards,
Gordon

 

Actually, a turbo Miata will give the S2000 a run for it's money. They are pretty damn fast and they handle like race cars.

But yes, I agree that my opinion is biased.

 

Performance - functioning usually with regard to effectiveness.
(webster)

some RX 8 "effective" advantages

regular gas preferred - savings!! Effective?? YEA!
seats 4 -
50/50 weight balance - any better?
cheaper-


OKAY!

The RX8 does PERFORM well. The S2000 (the winner in the S2000/350Z shootout) is a great car but it is more of a MIATA than an RX8.

How can you compare a tiny car with a larger vehicle. Just look at the 2 cars from the interior and then consider the track specs. Is it worth it to have an all out drag and have the S2000 maybe a car length ahead? (0.4 sec dif on 1/4 mile/1.7 sec on 0-100mph) over that of space and functionality. Maybe for some. THe MPG observed by road and track was also 18.5 mpg S2000 and 19 mpg on the RX. IN the new world of cars I think flexibility is a key factor. An S2000 is a great toy car like a miata for people who have other cars. Even in the S2000 Nissan 350 faceoff they recognize that fact and that if they were considering one of them that it would be a weekend car.

I guess the more I read on here about the 350Z and the S2000 and the G35C (useless backseat car) that after spending hours considering them, am surprised that people praise them as overall performance winners over the RX - no way! IN all out speed ONLY! The RX 8 is a great car with actual compromises kept to a minimum - IMO.

 

The guys on s2ki.com get better MPG in the real-world than that. I think it was like 24-25 MPG, with a few even reaching 35 MPG once or twice. The median MPG in the poll on this board for RX8s was around 18 and the highest one-time mileage was around 26 (I think??).

 

What MPG are you guys getting now? Is the whole low MPG controversy solved yet? I get about 375 miles from the 16 gallon tank in my Z. I have no idea how big the tank in the 8 is...anyone know? Regular gas is a bit cheaper, but if you don't get good gas mileage on it, then its really not that much of an advantage.

 

The lowest I've ever gotten was just above 19mpg. And I hit vtec rpm's all the time. I got 30mpg once when I was keeping the revs low.

 

So, you're getting about 23 MPG- 24 MPG with the Z. That's about the same as what I get on my RX8. In mixed driving I get about 20 MPG. All city, I get about 18 MPG. I have yet to run anything but Premium, though.

 

Call me crazy, but a 17% - 31% difference is significant to me?

 

I don't follow????????

 

3.5/20 = 17.5%

5.5/18 = 30.6%

This is based on the numbers you provided on your previous post (RX8 MPG 18-20 and 350 Z 23-24 MPG).

Now, I don't think the cost difference would break the bank of most people over the life of the cars. However, for me, its more of a principal thing.

Anyhow, here are some estimated costs:

RX8 = 100,000 Miles/18 MPG = 5,556 Gallons Used

5,556 Gallons Used * $1.75/Gallon (estimate) = $9,722

350z = 100,000 Miles/23.5 MPG = 4,255 Gallons Used

4,255 Gallons Used * 1.75/Gallon = $7,447

Total Difference = $2,325


I'm not sure if the Z and RX8 use different grades of gasoline, so if they do, then this should be revised. Of course, if the price of gas increases over the next few years, this could be a lot worse.

 

I think your assumption that there is a huge MPG difference between the Z and the RX8....I don't think that difference exists if everyone were honest.

 

If I remember correctly, those Z figures were close to the median on MPG poll I saw on the my350z.com. The last I checked, 18 MPG was the median on the poll on this forum. If Im wrong, let's change the calculations.

 

If it comes down to money, I live in texas so gas for me is cheaper than most places :D