Questions from rx8 owner

[Fred020]

Howdy,

 

First post, nice to be here. I need to change my 7 year old RX-8. Nothing suggests itself except the 370z. A couple of questions:

 

- They say the car is harsh to drive, especially if you cane it. How true is that ?

 

- They also say there is so much tyre noise, your ears get sore on the motorway. Again, what is the truth here ?

 

If you were going on holiday for example, is the 370z so hardcore that you or your girlfriend chooses to take another vehicle if possible ?

 

Cheers,

Jim.

[choptop]

Howdy,

 

First post, nice to be here. I need to change my 7 year old RX-8. Nothing suggests itself except the 370z. A couple of questions:

 

- They say the car is harsh to drive, especially if you cane it. How true is that ?

 

- They also say there is so much tyre noise, your ears get sore on the motorway. Again, what is the truth here ?

 

If you were going on holiday for example, is the 370z so hardcore that you or your girlfriend chooses to take another vehicle if possible ?

 

Cheers,

Jim.

Coming from an RX-8 you will love a Zed and the better MPG

[tony420z]

370z

[Ian]

[martinmac]

Hi and welcome to the forum. There are a few ex RX8 owners on here.

[Keyser]

Hello and welcome

[DoogyRev]

Welcome

[Keyser]

Hello and Welcome

[philb1965]

The engine note is quite harsh at revs but not that bad. It sounds much better when you get rid of the standard exhaust.

 

The tyre noise isn't that bad. It's not whisper quiet but not intrusive.

 

The 370 is a great car, looks brilliant, handles well and goes like stink.

It is a pefect tourer if you can fit enough luggage in.

 

Go for it, you won't regret it.

[The G Man]

Fred, I came from owning an 8 for over 4 years, the power blows the 8 away, the torque blows it away, the fit and trim blows it away, the gadgets blow it away, the styling blows it away, the Bose blows rthe 8 Bose away, the MPG will nearly double, when you check the oil, 99/100 you will not need to top it up, you will have no flooding worries, no coilpack worries, no hot/cold start worries, no compression worries, it can be moved off the drive and shut down perfectly safely, no starter motor issues, handling is in the same class if not a tad better.

 

There is a bit more road noise, not as smooth sounding (as someone pointed out get rid of the standard exhaust, should fix that), not as practical as an 8 and that's it.

 

The 370 is 3 classes above the RX8, and that's from someone that absolutely loved his 8.

 

Any more Q's fire away

[Fred020]

Thanks for all the welcomes guys. The loudness and perceived harshness of the mighty Z - is it enough for you to want to take another car on holiday or a long motorway journey (say if you had a Ford Focus as a run around). Would your passenger want to take another car ?

 

Not test driven the Z yet but coming from an 8 I would expect a bunch more power and (inevitably) some loss of balance in the corners. And I would expect a few more MPG, but I am not daft enough to expect double RX8 mileage, ie. 45 mpg, as someone suggested above. Sports car drivers are such optimists .

 

One major attraction is the automatic rev blipper. Bring it on! Any comments on that ?

 

Does the stereo have an audio in, so I can connect an MP3 player (not iPod) ?

 

One other point - boy, is the Z a tricky car to get hold of! Most Nissan dealers don't stock it, know anything about it, or even want to talk about it .

[martinmac]

If you are near any of the upcoming events pop over and say Hi

 

You can ask the guys that actually know the cars.

[Ricey]

Travelling long distances is spot on in a 350 Fred so a 370 should be even better as the interior is a nicer place to be. We did about 1700 miles in a week round Europe and it was amazingly comfortable.

 

You won't get double on the MPG but you will feel a lot more rewarded for the low MPG in the Zed than you will in the 8 - bear in mind that even if you nurse the 8 you'll be struggling for more than 24-25 mpg. Get the Zed on a motorway and you can average low to mid 30's.

 

Lexx (ex 8 owner) said to me when I was getting the Zed that if I found the 8 twitchy then the Zed would be much worse for me - personally I find it about a million times better (maybe I'm not trying hard enough!).

 

I hated the 8 and its torqueless revvy biatch of an engine but each to their own........you will be riding a wave of torque in a zed and it feels A-mazing in my book.

[Southernspeed]

Welcome! I've not driven an RX8 but have passengered in one and much much prefer my 350 so I reckon you'll love the 370!

[The G Man]

Mate, if you're getting 22.5mpg average in a RX8, you had better share your secret with the guys over on the RXOC On average I got around 17.5mpg, that was hot/cold/commuting/runs/hair on fire etc.

 

A 370 has voice activated everything, bluetooth, audio, mp3 input, iphone input, cruise control, 9gb hard drive, plays audio, DVD, connect Premium will blow you away. The trouble with the Rex was it didn't upgrade all these sort of things in it's whole production run. Apart from the R3 getting a few toys, even that doesn't come close!

 

Quite simply, you will NEVER want to drive any other car you own, on long trips, short trips, medium trips and acid trips (sometimes Rex owners talk like they're on acid , especially when they believe they have the best car ever in the world bar none and all others are rubbish ).

 

As I said, I loved my Rex, and if I could have afforded to, I would have kept it for a track toy, stripped it out and FI'd her.

 

Oh and I think you'll find 30mpg is nearly double what the average Rex owner gets in their Rex , even a 192. I was getting 170 to a tank in mine on a commuting week and it had no issues, best I did was 220 on a long run, I regurarly get 400+ in the Zed , especially on a run, at a spirited speed as well.

[Ricey]

Mate, if you're getting 22.5mpg average in a RX8, you had better share your secret with the guys over on the RXOC On average I got around 17.5mpg, that was hot/cold/commuting/runs/hair on fire etc.

 

+1 I could never quite understand the point of driving a car with 2.5 liter performance and 5 liter V8 fuel consumption.........then again me and the 8 didn't get on at all.

 

Test drive the Zed mate........you'll never look back.

[cesc]

The G Man has saved me a lot of typing.

 

I have an RX-8 still, and the Nissan , in my opinion, is a far better all rounder than the Mazda. I never got one with mine; the novelty of 14mpg and rotary 'foibles' wore thin very quickly for me. It's also suffered massive depreciation recently because of its issues (perceived or not) and is partly the reason why I can't sell it for love nor money.

 

I've driven a 370Z and I have to say it was awesome. It' still relatively rare, the interior is great, it's comfortable, fast, sounds great and is not a killer to service or fuel. It's certainly a bit more grown-up than the 350 but that's to be expected. The one I test drove (cheers Nissan for the 24hr joyride) was in pearl white with anthracite alloys, and it certainly stood out. I've never seen so many envious glances while filling up.

 

The only thing you'll miss about the Mazda is the extra rear seats, in nearly every other sense the Nissan will beat it hands down. The rotary is a flawed concept, and to me it's simply not worth the hassle of using it every day.

 

A lot of RX8 owners on the OC are very insecure and touchy if you dare criticise the car, too. One of the veterans recently chopped in his RX-8 for a Mazda3 Sport and was derided for choosing a 'bland eurobox'. I specifically remember The G Man putting some of them straight though

 

Mate, if you're getting 22.5mpg average in a RX8, you had better share your secret with the guys over on the RXOC On average I got around 17.5mpg, that was hot/cold/commuting/runs/hair on fire etc.

 

+1 I could never quite understand the point of driving a car with 2.5 liter performance and 5 liter V8 fuel consumption.........then again me and the 8 didn't get on at all.

 

My uncle has an E60 M5 and he's averaged 18mpg over 4,200 miles, and this is mostly short journeys with a weekly trip to Bristol from Gatwick. I've averaged 14mpg in 5,000 miles (mostly town driving) in my RX-8. Best I've managed was 20mpg on a 90 mile journey. So a 500bhp V10 is more economical than a 1.3 with 230 bhp! There are very few cars that have a thirst for fuel like the RX-8, which is all the more puzzling when you consider its modest performance (the 192 and 231 have similar MPG figures). Can you imagine getting a constant 15mpg from a car with 192bhp?

[Neilp]

The zed does everything better than the mazda as The G Man has already suggested.

 

If you have a soft right foot the engine note won't annoy you at all. Its not noisey on the motorway at all except a little tyre noise.

 

My 350z is pretty loud and even that on the motorway doesn't annoy me. The zeds noise is a subtle song but with a fine tune.

[bronzee]

Welcome to the forum.

 

- They say the car is harsh to drive, especially if you cane it. How true is that ?

 

- They also say there is so much tyre noise, your ears get sore on the motorway. Again, what is the truth here ?

 

If you were going on holiday for example, is the 370z so hardcore that you or your girlfriend chooses to take another vehicle if possible ?

Talking from the perspective of having loan of a 370 for 24 hours and drove 200 + odd kilometres distance, I wouldn't say a stock 370 is harsh at all. I found it quite compliant. You have to remember it's a Sports Coupe/Car, so the set-up isn't going to be like your average lounge chair ride sedan.

 

If you're talking about the Bridgestone Potenza that some of the 370's are shod with. I'm not a fan of these tyres, for a number of reasons, including the noise. There are better options such as Yokohama Advan Sport V103 that are indicated in some spec sheets. Varies in different countries.

 

Overall, a great car, definitely worth a test drive. I can't see why your partner would want to potentially take another car.

[aroberts]

Last year my mrs and I travelled 4,500 miles down to Southern Italy and back in my 350z; we loved every moment of it

and there were no passenger complaints

 

I have also driven my old man's 370z on numerous occasions (the 7 speed paddle version - great, great fun) which is even more refined than the 350 - so I'd be surprised if you had any issues with tyre noise. The 370 also has all the gadgets that you could want and as someone has mentioned already it has more luggage space than 350 as there is no strut brace!

 

Go and test drive one and I think you will not be able to wipe the smile off your face

[Fred020]

Hi Guys

Thanks, a lot of people having rx8 anxiety while not answering my questions about the 370z - re MP3 aux in, auto rev match. I need your help guys! And can I add some more -

 

What wheel size is best ? 19" more gangsta but does it detract from the car's handling and comfort vs 18 inch ?

 

Anyone drive an automatic ? Not something I had considered but what is it like ?

 

Air conditioned seats ? Really ? Any good ? Tell me more.

 

The upholstery is suede, which would to be a bit fragile to spills etc. Can I get normal leather instead ?

 

The (front) visibility - I know this is not good, having sat in the 370 in a showoom. Comments ? Do you improve it through seat position etc ?

 

Please be honest. We are talking £33,000 here. And don't tell me your wife gets 3 mpg out of her "rx8", you can't sell it for scrap etc, etc. etc. That is the talk of a deperate fanboi, not a barrel-chested motoring god like you. And don't expect me to defend the '8 - but I would have another if they still made them (for 23k). No, it's the Z car I need to know about, so bring it on.

 

No

[lrh]

We are talking £33,000 here.

If you do go for one, there's plenty of barely run-in 2010 cars around for £25k. It makes a lot more sense at that price because £30k+ is mint M3 or Cayman money.

 

Not many RWD alternatives around unfortunately until the Toyota/Subaru coupes launch next year.

[helimeddaz]

Hi M8, And Welcome.

 

I came from an RX8 PZ. I may have been lucky. The RX's build quality to me shades the Nissan. The PZ also out handled the Z with the Prodrive tuned suspension, But that's about it.

 

The torque the Z gives you will amaze you compared to the RX which is pitiful and remember the PZ came with all the bits on. I never had Oil issues, although I'd heard all the scarey stories (4 Litres in 2 years between changes) Oil changes are every 3000Mls for me and still are with the Z. The RX's fuel consumption "IS" scarey though. The Z will see money appear in your pocket.

 

They can't really be compared and are a totally different animals. I enjoyed the RX, but I love my Z. In a foot race take the Z it'll leave the RX8 behind on raw grunt alone. (My 2 peneth).

[aroberts]

You could just read this to see the specs of the 370z.....

 

http://www.nissan.co.uk/etc/medialib/nissaneu/_ZZ_zz/_other_pdf/_spec_price.Par.45462.File.tmp/Nissan_370Z_SPEC_PRICE.pdf

 

As already said my old man has the 7 speed auto with the paddles and the auto rev match. I have driven it loads of times and would recommend as it's great going through the gears while keeping your hands on the wheel . If you want you can also change the gears using the stick. Box is very responsive.

 

His also has the 19inch wheels and has had no issues with handling - car is still comfortable over our crappy roads...

 

Worrying about spills.....??

 

Unless you're 4ft high you shouldn't have any probs with visability Steering wheel does move up + down but not in and out.

 

I agree with lrh - look around for a 2010 model...excellent value for money.

 

Hope that helps answer some of your Qs...

[Fred020]

Thanks LRC I am considering both new and nearly new. Old M3s and Porches don't interest me much, neither do any of the current German crop.

 

I am really interested in the auto rev matcher. Since nobody has mentioned this, I am assuming most buyers don't go for it.

 

Thanks aroberts I have that brochure already. Paddle shift ... hmm, not sure about that. And yes, I prefer normal leather to suede as you can keep it nice and clean.