370Z Sport Package vs Mazdaspeed 3 GT vs S2000 vs Cayman S vs Mazda Rx-8

Educ8r

So true, best reply so far!

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mook

Actually, speaking of performance and numbers, I just found something.
Check this Japanese racing video out:
YouTube - Z34 vs 911 vs Cayman vs S2000 vs 135i

S2000s vs 135i vs Cayman s vs 370z vs 911

370Z blows the doors of all the cars on a track except the new more powerful cayman S. S2000 horsepower is pretty outmatched by everything here and it is driven by the worst least agressive driver.

Also most would say it's because of Tsuchiya that Cayman comes in front.

Whichever car is driven by Tsuchiya is the one that usually wins.

Also, the best lap times stack up like this:
1. 911
2. 370z
3. CaymanS
4. S2000
5. 135i

I want to see him in an S2000 in this match up -it is clearly the fastest through turns. He is famous for pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Dude outdrove the fastest Lambos, Turbo Porsche and a Ferrari in an NSX until the last lap.

Anyone speaks Japanese?

Greg

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stag3

i currently own a ms3 gt and am waiting for my 370z to come in, i'm on the wait list, i did not order one to be made. when it arrives, i may not like it at all. i love the way it looks.
i hope i do like driving it, that and the evo X are the only 2 cars i can see trading in my ms3 for.

i do notice a lot of kids with ms3's now which is a bad thing. the main thing about the ms3 is it's affordable ~25k, decently quick, handles well and insurance is CHEAP.
most insurance companies list the ms3 as a regular mazda 3 still, i pay 675 a year full coverage on it. it is a blast to drive, but i do wish mazda put the ms6 awd system in it.
the main reason i want the Z is for rwd. i used to have an mr2 turbo and that is the car i miss the most out of all the cars iv'e owned.

i have also driven the s2k and hands down that was the most fun car i've driven, handling wise, since it's like a big go kart. i thought about buying one, even considered a cR, but after driving the ms3 for a year and a half now, the s2k felt so slow, almost civic like. i know its a hair quicker than a ms3 but w/o the torque, my brain can't compute lol.

i'm reading a lot of reviews that say the Z is the perfect car @ ~30k
i'm hoping the "its heavy and you know it" feeling doesn't come. but if it does
i'll just keep my ms3.

ok done rambling, my thoughts were all over the place

mook

Only brand new 09' Caymans come with a limited-slip?!!! #@$%#$%^!!!

I am gonna need that.... and I sure as hell not spending this kind of cash on a new Porsche. Nor will I have any cash left over after buying a used older one to tinker with it.
Oh well, back to the drawing board for me or maybe just hang on to MS3.
this sucks!

mook

Seems like we are more or less in the same boat and have similar experience and taste in cars - I could have written all of that above myself. Please post a review once you get your hands on a Z.
After I found out that drifting in an older Cayman is going to suck compared to what I am used to with S2000, I am actually considering giving Z another look. Of course, could look for an S2000, but I really want a hard top this time. When the moderate weather comes, I just ride my motorbike or the scooter and don't even look at my car.

Either that or wait another 2 years behind the wheel of MS3 (not such a horrible fate after all =) until I can afford an 09 Cayman S with LSD

Oh, by the way I heard that Evo IX is actually more fun to drive than the X - never tried it myself, it's a bit on the heavy side for me.

stag3

i could care less about drifting, i just miss having rwd.
i cant afford a cayman rofl, ~30k is about max that i could
spend on a car, i'm not balling by any means.

ive driven the evo IX and X, the IX - boost comes on like crazy like being shot out of a cannon, X - more linear but you still get a good kick when boost comes on, i completely prefer the X over the IX. what held me back from the X was gas mileage, people are getting 200-220 a tankful? wtf, my work commute is short but screw that mileage.

once i drive the Z i will post my thoughts. and as for the person who said the Z isn't "mature" when i say mature i mean classy i guess, the 370z is a step above an evo, sti, ms3, all those cars look like they would have a teenager behind the wheel, but the Z is just more grown up looking, hell the rear reminds me of a porsche

bullitt5897

Mook I came from an '07 s2000 and I will tell you this. I am FAR MORE HAPPIER with my 370z than the s2000... I went through the entire modding cycle with the s2000 and had 257rwhp on my S. I had fully tricked out KW's and I tracked the car along with Daily Driving. I am still a member of my local s2k club and I take my Z to the meets and track events. I will tell you this... "The Z by FAR hands the s2000 its a$$ both on the track( tight road courses like lil tally) and on the street." You may call the extra weight gimmicky but I at least have a NAV system and full Car computer built in. The car is more comfortable for longer drives 14hrs+ and can handle the mountain roads like a champ. The Sport brakes are insanely better. while, on the track I watched as I passed fellow s2k owners going into the turn broke later and kept higher speeds through out the turn in my STOCK 370z. In my s2k I was able to pull off 1:11's @ lil tally (talladega grand prix) fully modded. With the Z I pulled 1:12's on my warm up laps and was consistently in the 1:10's in the rain!!!! so tell us why all these smaller cars are that much better... because you perceive that they are faster.... hmmmmm just doesnt cut it for me.

Recently, I received tons of hate from my once s2000 brethren from making the switch but after they drove the car every single one of them said if they had the money they would make the switch. I miss aspects of my s2000 not in its stock form but what I had made it. However, I look forward to what I am going to be able to do with the 370z. My goal 600 usable rwhp to start.

If you like your Mazdaspeed 3 go for it! for the money thats a fun lil ride! I however put it in the same class as the miata "Best fun under 90mph and $25k"

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ArtVandaleigh

Oh boy here comes the mazdaspeed 3 crowd. I've owned an 04 S2K and they are fantastic cars, just unfortunately lack overall grunt (30-40 hp more and i'd be content). A good friend owned a mazdaspeed 3 for about 2 years and liked it, but the fit and finish was very cheap. The motor was nice I must say, but the tranny was junk and once you start modding or upping the boost, the FWD is worthless. He went to a 09 STI and was glad he made the change, even for a Subaru it was a substantial step up in quality.

stag3

i liked the sti, but even with 0% and 8k off msrp, i didnt think that was worth the $ for me to upgrade from an ms3. it felt really soft. the evo on the other hand, altho the interior is a step down from an ms3, felt like it wanted to go.

but i agree the sti interior is really nice.

the thing with the s2k is it's a convertible, that would be the only reason i would want one. even at 28k for a new cR, i couldn't pull the trigger and that was 8k off msrp. the Z however, i got quoted close to 3k off msrp and im close to pulling that trigger if i like the driving feel.

like i said before i have no issues keeping my ms3, for what it is, it's a great daily that can haul stuff around quickly.

quick question tho, i know you can fit golf clubs in a 370z, but will 2 sets of golf clubs fit in there?

nicknick

Mazda make great cars, I know cause I have a folding hardtop MX5, but I am saving up to buy a 370z to join the MX5.
Mook, the 370Z has been praised by journalists the world over. I think you are biased and have another agenda. There seem to be growing number of people who are joining this forum to can the Z, is it because they bought more expensive cars that they now have realized are not as good as the Z and join to vent?

mook

Sounds like you are having a lot of fun with your Z! Congrats on actually using the car for what it was made for.
Track work in tricked out cars is a whole different beast though, isn't it? As I said in my mini-review, this is a street stock comparison. I am 100% certain that if I was in an environment which allowed balls to the wall redline fun with all the collateral entertainment, Nismo 370Z would be in my driveway tomorrow and I would love every second of it. Maybe I'll get into the that later.
On the street though, for me the fun factor and how fast it "feels" is much more important than whether a Z06 hands me my rear bumper on the platter and then makes me eat it. Smaller, lighter cars with LESS rubber can move about more freely on the streets and on the highway, in general can do creative driving bits at lower speeds and make you work the car and participate in the process rather than point and squirt stuff that a car like Z06 is restricted to on the streets. Maybe 370Z is the middle ground, I am not sure.

A good example is in some cities where things are tighter and law is on the
case, many choose light agile 600cc crotch rockets instead of the faster and heavier 1000cc machines, myself included. Highway aside, it's no fun to roll around in two gears all day long babying the throttle like it's going to bite you.
600, you can work and feel like a MotoGP hero without going to jail, well... ok... maybe a few tickets. Oh and the actual average speed - is too close to worry about. The highway, well that's another matter. Nothing like the narrowing street at 180mph on two wheels, not that I have ever done it =).

That's why Miatas are so much fun when boosted on the street.

For instance, the latest tiny tricked out Lotus is a monster track machine but it is routinely passed by Cayman S in British reviews because it is just more fun on the street, believe it or not (I have to, cause noone is going to let me test drive the Lotus)

batman_4

, in my case i don't own or have owned an s2k, but 3 of my close friends do. the S is farrrr from the 370, with all of my friends agreeing. i used to enjoy driving their s2ks when i had my 350 but now that i have the 370 the s2k's do nothing for me in any department.

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mook

Sorry, about offering a speculation here, but here it goes anyways:

One of the things I love most about street entertainment is low speed drift (do not attempt at home, driver on closed circuit, void where prohibited, etc)

According to IL (and there is no way I can test this at the dealership =)unmodded 370 does not have a predictable oversteer, spins the inner tire more than the outer (weak LSD - this sucks for drift as it will arrest it suddenly, which is no fun at all, and that is why I am bummed out about no LSD on Caymans) and is much more difficult to drift than the 350.

Still the Nismo drifting videos are really good stuff, but so are the Genesis.

mook

Got a deal I could not turn down on a 2007 Cayman S with 2 years factory warranty left on it.... for way under the MSRP of a touring sport 370Z. Damn the LSDs...

I'll just ride this little rocket until the 09 is more affordable.
Going to pick it up today