nonamecc79 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hi guys and girls, I'm new to the Z but not to sports cars and just wanted some advice with the 350z. I've listed my RX8 for sale and am looking for something with a bit more oomph. I've looked at other cars but keep ending up back at the Z. My original plan with my RX8 was to go forced induction but it seems nearly impossible because of the ECU. The only current option for it is the Adaptronic ECU but even that is still going through testing. I was about to shell out almost 9k and send her into EssexRotary but then considered alternatives, My plan with the Z would be to bolt on the vortech kit that tarmacsportz is selling and set it up for DD use. My questions are: Is there anyone on here that has moved from an RX8 to a Z?? What are your impressions?? How does the Z compare to a 3000GT??? I've owned a 94" TT and it was relatively quick but heavy and felt slow from a roll in 3rd gear. What should I look out for when viewing?? As far as I'm aware the VQ35DE blocks are pretty solid. Do Z's suffer from rust??? Any sort of advice would be nice. BTW heres a link to the RX8 if anyone is interested: http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/mazda-rx8-evolve-231-2006-fmsh-modified-75k-240bhp-swap/1123264584 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Welcome aboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyndzzz Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hi and along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Welcome along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masa Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) I had an RX8 before my Zed and it was definitely the right choice for me; more power, more grunt, cheaper to run and in my opinion a better looking car! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited July 1, 2015 by Masa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetSet Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Is there anyone on here that has moved from an RX8 to a Z?? What are your impressions?? How does the Z compare to a 3000GT??? I've owned a 94" TT and it was relatively quick but heavy and felt slow from a roll in 3rd gear. What should I look out for when viewing?? As far as I'm aware the VQ35DE blocks are pretty solid. Do Z's suffer from rust??? Any sort of advice would be nice. Cheers Welcome along. Quite a few have come over from the RX8, I'm sure someone who has will be along soon. Rust isn't a major issue on Zed's, mine's almost 10 years old and rust free (so far) Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MITZ@CougarStore Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Welcome to the forum... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veeg33 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hello and welcome b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev T Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hello and welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonamecc79 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Thanks for the welcome guys!! I dont know why I didnt think of the Z earlier!!! I've been through 3 rx8's but not a single Z. To be honest, my opinion of the Z was very low because I thought it was a bit of a "show offs" car but when I looked into it, it made complete sense. Yeah it's definitely going to be cheaper to run than the 8. I'm going to try and avoid the rev up version and just stick with a normal de block. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z370Z Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R35LEE Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 along Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilscorp Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 LS swap the rx8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonamecc79 Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 Naah I need some boooosssttt!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Miester Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 welcome along Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TT350 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Much more rare to see a Z than an RX8. RX8s are really common. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel Lynx Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Welcome to the forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponsonby Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thanks for the welcome guys!! I dont know why I didnt think of the Z earlier!!! I've been through 3 rx8's but not a single Z. To be honest, my opinion of the Z was very low because I thought it was a bit of a "show offs" car but when I looked into it, it made complete sense. Yeah it's definitely going to be cheaper to run than the 8. I'm going to try and avoid the rev up version and just stick with a normal de block. Had a couple of RX8's before the 350Z and have no regrets changing to the Z. Really enjoyed the RX8 and was great for chucking around but really love the power (torque) delivery of the 350Z and the V6 sound track. I considered a 350Z when buying my first RX8 but did not like the interior but would have been comparing a 350Z that was a couple of years old with the more modern look of a brand new RX8 - and thought the RX8 interior and useful back seats was fabulous plus the 'novelty' of a rotary engine. I kind of forgot about the 350Z (sinner) until I went to look at an HR version with Rays alloys and better quality interior and then had to have one. Both great cars but I enjoy the 350Z more. Take one for a good test drive and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ponsonby Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thanks for the welcome guys!! I dont know why I didnt think of the Z earlier!!! I've been through 3 rx8's but not a single Z. To be honest, my opinion of the Z was very low because I thought it was a bit of a "show offs" car but when I looked into it, it made complete sense. Yeah it's definitely going to be cheaper to run than the 8. I'm going to try and avoid the rev up version and just stick with a normal de block. Had a couple of RX8's before the 350Z and have no regrets changing to the Z. Really enjoyed the RX8 and was great for chucking around but really love the power (torque) delivery of the 350Z and the V6 sound track. I considered a 350Z when buying my first RX8 but did not like the interior but would have been comparing a 350Z that was a couple of years old with the more modern look of a brand new RX8 - and thought the RX8 interior and useful back seats was fabulous plus the 'novelty' of a rotary engine. I kind of forgot about the 350Z (sinner) until I went to look at an HR version with Rays alloys and better quality interior and then had to have one. Both great cars but I enjoy the 350Z more. Take one for a good test drive and see what you think. Just had a look at your RX8. Still love the interior and looks of the car. So much car for so little money. Shame their starting reputation and engine longevity killed the market for them. I have had 2, neither ever failed to start, but the RX8 forum made me paranoid I must admit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Better looking car Masa ... your avin a giraffe. 350's don't require an engine rebuild every 50/60 000 miles either. Hello and welcome along buddy to the club. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 My questions are: Is there anyone on here that has moved from an RX8 to a Z?? What are your impressions?? How does the Z compare to a 3000GT??? I've owned a 94" TT and it was relatively quick but heavy and felt slow from a roll in 3rd gear. What should I look out for when viewing?? As far as I'm aware the VQ35DE blocks are pretty solid. Do Z's suffer from rust??? I'll see if I can answer these for you I owned a 350 ragtop, have driven more than a handful of coupes in various states of tune including FI on road and track, and have had access to an RX8 for both road and (mainly) track use, so I've an idea of where you're coming from and where you're going to. My wife's cousin used to run a highly modified 3000GT/GTO too! The RX8 is a much lighter car than the Zed, and it feels it too. Transitions between bends are handled better in the 8 than the 350, due to the lower CoG mostly I suspect. In terms of outright punch though the 350 has the 8 licked completely, even if you've kept the revs on the Rex up high the Zed feels massively quicker. In reality it's not really that much quicker at road speeds at all, and certainly the rotary unit is better balanced and more run to rev out than the early DE cars with the 6.5K rev limit. Later ones went to 7k for the DE revup and 7.5k on the HR, both of which make a noticeable difference. The brakes are about on a par, and the interiors both have their strong and weak points (the 350 is easier to convert to a decent stereo, but the RX8 looks nicer stock with the piano black). For longer drives I'd say the 350Z is the more comfortable place to be, but the seating position of the RX8 for me felt better as I could get myself lower down. Given that the RX8 has electric steering and the 350 hydraulic, I'd say that there's really not much to split between them in terms of feel, as it's easy to get the nose pointing where you want. Holding a slide is easier on the Zed, but only because the Rex doesn't have much grunt to get the back end to play! An FI Zed is a real hoot, and whilst it's not quite the supercar slayer you'd think it might be, it's still a serious bit of kit. I found that whilst that extra power is lovely on track, on the road I actually prefer an NA car as you can wring out the performance more of the time: As an RX8 owner, I suspect you know exactly what I mean by that. 350Z to GTO is pretty much night and day. The GTO is quite an old car now, and with all the frailties of the engine + drivetrain + electrical gubbins I never felt comfortable pushing it. The GTO always felt slow on a roll due to waiting for the turbos to spool up, even in sequential form they weren't particularly responsive. The 4WD blunted the experience too, and whilst it's a decent enough car it's not one I'd ever want to own myself. Sorry! Plenty of detail on buying on here so have a hunt around, but in terms of rust you're safe with a 350Z of any type. The W brace underneath rots but that's easy replaced, you might get a bit of corrosion under bonnet on older cars but it's actually very rare. Hope some of that helps, apologies for the rambling as I do get quite into these things 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonamecc79 Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thanks for the welcome guys!! I dont know why I didnt think of the Z earlier!!! I've been through 3 rx8's but not a single Z. To be honest, my opinion of the Z was very low because I thought it was a bit of a "show offs" car but when I looked into it, it made complete sense. Yeah it's definitely going to be cheaper to run than the 8. I'm going to try and avoid the rev up version and just stick with a normal de block. Had a couple of RX8's before the 350Z and have no regrets changing to the Z. Really enjoyed the RX8 and was great for chucking around but really love the power (torque) delivery of the 350Z and the V6 sound track. I considered a 350Z when buying my first RX8 but did not like the interior but would have been comparing a 350Z that was a couple of years old with the more modern look of a brand new RX8 - and thought the RX8 interior and useful back seats was fabulous plus the 'novelty' of a rotary engine. I kind of forgot about the 350Z (sinner) until I went to look at an HR version with Rays alloys and better quality interior and then had to have one. Both great cars but I enjoy the 350Z more. Take one for a good test drive and see what you think. Just had a look at your RX8. Still love the interior and looks of the car. So much car for so little money. Shame their starting reputation and engine longevity killed the market for them. I have had 2, neither ever failed to start, but the RX8 forum made me paranoid I must admit. Yeah thats the thing that got me with the 8 when I started comparing it to the Z, the interior!! The 8's overall package has a lot more going for it. I can comfortably fit 4 adults in it along with any luggage. It really is the engine that lets it down the most and sadly there aren't as many options available to fix that. Even a rebuild with bridge ports only adds 10-20hp but it still feels just as gutless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonamecc79 Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thanks Ekona, that's some great info you got there. That makes 2 people that have rambled on to me since I've joined the forum. Garth sent me a long PM with details on his car. I may end up taking it off him!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leet8845 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 (edited) They're both great cars and both have unique attributes which make them a joy to drive. I had 2 192 RX8s before I brought my Z. The Z has more power and it's a bit better on fuel so it's a no a brainier Or at least I thought. To be honest, the Z didn't feel that much faster although it is, it's power is more linear so it can be deceiving. Not one of my passengers ever said it 'felt' faster than my RX8 (it was). It's a 2nd car so the fuel wasn't an issue. After about a year I found myself getting bored. I sold my Z and was going to get a 370 but then after I test drove one it didn't feel much faster than my 350 @ 289bhp. I think you need to go FI to get that 'oh sh1t' feeling when you put your foot down (can't afford that to do that to a 370). Then I test drove an R3 RX8, although it doesn't feel as fast, it handles like it's on rails and revs to 9.5k like it loves every second of it. The gearbox is so tight and precise. I just got more joy driving it than any of my other cars inc the Z and 2 192s RX8s. It's something you need to experience before you say, 'oh they drink fuel, oil or they need rebuilding every 40000 miles' (not true). I ended up going back to the RX8 and getting the R3 model this time. If I had the money, I'd have both cars. Not my car (below) but the same apart from LHD. Edited July 2, 2015 by leet8845 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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