P71.
Did I do this right?
P71.
Did I do this right?
Daily driver only car or do you have a van or something? If only get get a G35/37.
I had a 350z but having no back seat ended it for me.
I would avoid RX8 for anything other than 2nd car for track days or autocross.
I am also not in love with the Mini's I've driven. I really WANT to like them, but they just don't excite me...
I've only driven one RX8 and it handled really nicely. No experience with a Z.
I have driven a V6 (300hp) Mustang and it is quite enjoyable. A neighbor has one with an exhaust on it and I lust over it every time he drives up the road. It sounds awesome, has decent street car horsepower and gets 30+ mpg on the highway!! If I wasn't "working on building my family" I'd really want to replace my E36 with one.
Drive 'em all, you didn't say Camry or Accord, so any should be plenty fun :)
When I sold the RX-8 and Protege5 and bought the used JCW I chose it over a MS3 mostly because of the driving experience. Used MS3s were significantly cheaper. The other significant benefit of the JCW was better fuel economy. It was a tight fit, but I could fit everything I needed in the MINI.
After I had all of the problems with the JCW and was looking for a replacement I looked at MS3s again, R32, WRX and STI. I didn't like any of them as much as the JCW (when it was working correctly). I liked the handling better on the MINI and in real world driving on the street the JCW felt just as fast in a straight line as any of them. If you look at 5-60 mph times in magazines instead of 0-60 mph times it somewhat backs this up. I ended up replacing the JCW with an old Miata and a V70R.
The only somewhat comparable car that I have driven to the JCW that I thought was a better hatchback was a Focus ST, but that would be out of the OP's price range. I haven't driven a Fiesta ST.
Richard Nixon wrote: P71. Did I do this right?
No. Miata. 
Richard Nixon wrote: P71. Did I do this right?
No.
Ian F wrote: In reply to Bobzilla: You just invalidated your own argument. "Through our shop". Working at a shop will show you the worst of every car. And my views are not "my experience". I don't own a MINI. My ex-g/f does. I've just been around them since 2003. I've torn them apart and put them back together again so many times I've lost count. I know dozens and dozens of owners. Some have had problems with their cars. Some haven't. But their love for the car and community around it trumps the issues most of the time. Many of them are on their 3rd or 4th MINI. Are they perfect cars? Hell no. My '03 Jetta has been more trouble-free than her '03 MCS, despite having 3X the miles. But you'll likely pry the keys for that car from her cold, dead fingers. 40 years from now, she'll be 80+ years old and driving that car on nice days. Probably with 8 million coats of Zaino by then. The MINI really is a British car to the core and seems to instill that same passion, despite the BMW link. For many, the car transcends logic and turns into an obsession. That obsession developed almost instantly the moment they hit the roads. That's what keeps people buying them. What makes people keep them running.
So you buy the mini for "the experience", not the fact that it's the better car. Got it. I'm not fanatical enough for that.
Rx8 Premium gasoline is not a requirement but according to the owners manual "Your Mazda will perform best...". Therefore I use premium on autocross days only otherwise it gets regular.
Large rear seats accommodate a set of autocross tires!
Bobzilla wrote: In reply to RX Reven': And what's the oil cost?
Oil consumption is progressive as a function of RPM’s. So, it’ll burn a quart every 2,000 miles in daily driver mode but it’ll burn ¼ of a quart doing an autocross. I change the oil every 3,000 miles and that results in there being one quart more than required which, even with an autocross thrown in, gets you half way to your next oil change.
Bottom line, at most, you'll use one extra quart per 3,000 miles beyond what’s required for oil changes.
Aren’t we splitting hairs here…even at 15,000 miles per year, you’re looking at a maximum of five extra quarts which comes to $30; less if you bother to chase the sales.
There’s a litany of good reasons to not like RX-8’s (Grasshopper on crack styling for example) but oil consumption isn’t one of them.
I put 286,000 miles on my FC RX-7 and combined with the 205,000 miles I’ve put on my RX-8, I’ve effectively been to the moon and back under rotary power.
Honestly, I stand nothing to gain, I just don’t want people to miss out on the huge satisfaction I’ve received from my rotary powered cars due to a bunch of myths and anecdotal dribble.
These are not appliances, if you’re too stupid to follow a few simple, simple procedures to keep from flooding the engine, exhausting the oil, etc., go get a Honda. If you struggle to understand how anyone could walk away from a fantastic sports car over 30 bucks in oil, an RX-8 may be for you.
In reply to RX Reven':
It was a joke son. Lighten up francine! I want an RX8 with an LS swap. Truly do. What bothers me most about the rotaries is the cold weather procedures. I mean, if I want cold weather issues, I'll buy a carb'd Honda bike. Wait... I already own one. damn.... I'm screwed.
Bobzilla wrote: In reply to RX Reven': It was a joke son. Lighten up francine! I want an RX8 with an LS swap. Truly do. What bothers me most about the rotaries is the cold weather procedures. I mean, if I want cold weather issues, I'll buy a carb'd Honda bike. Wait... I already own one. damn.... I'm screwed.
Hi Bobzilla,
I’m sorry, I wasn’t lashing out at you personally, I think you’re a great guy.
I just went off on one of my generic, broad rants targeted at no one in particular.
BTW, I’d like to pick up a Suzuki 250 dual sport which is carb’d as well. Flightservice suggested I get it in pink (chick bike jab). Somehow, the GRM collective appreciates small and light in the case of cars (Miata) but the concept doesn’t extrapolate to bikes…“curious captain”.
In reply to RX Reven':
It's because we need more power ([/Tim the Toolman Taylor voice]. I'm seriously considering a FI bike this summer.
It makes me giggle that Bobzilla has been calling people son lately.
I grew up on big V8's with lots of torque so the RX 8 was too drastic of a change from my norm when I was shopping them. I do like them but the Z fits my expectations better.
I would look at an RX8 and look at a V6 swap. You would get better gas mileage than a LS1 swap since it's a daily driver. I also would suggest an E46 coupe and a C4 Corvette.
In reply to nicksta43:
It's working with all these kids. I think the oldest is 24.
Mazdaspeed 3 gets my vote here..
Thanks for all the input. After test driving the RX8 I really do like it and made up my mind to buy one. Of course life tends to throw curve balls and I was laid off this morning, so now my budget has been slashed to $4k, and I have to get rid of my Subaru ASAP.
Back to the drawing board, thanks again for all the help.
Sorry to hear that.
In reply to Mr_Clutch42:
I dunno about you but I would hate to have a project as a daily. I like just getting to work and enjoying the car that it is. Having swapped stuff adds complexity to my commute and my commute earns me money to fund my actual projects.
If were comparing apples to apples here it would be these 3 choices as stock cars or VERY LIGHTLY Modified
.02 cents.
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