Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Discuss your favourite cars, racing or non-racing

Mazda Rx-7 or Nissan 350Z

350Z
27
32%
RX-7
57
68%
 
Total votes: 84

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Grez~Supra_RZ-S
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Grez~Supra_RZ-S »

Koenigsegg_Rox wrote:If you could find an RX7 in absolutely untouched perfect condition I would believe the RX7 would actually be more expensive than the 370Z. Not the other way around.
RE:Amemyia recently sold their Time Attack JP car (700+bhp) for £26k. That was a full-on race car. A concourse RX7 would struggle to fetch £5k.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Kaerar »

Gimme the RX-7 any day over that poor TT Roadster ripoff 350z. It also has a pretty rough engine in it besides the ridiculous rear bar in the boot.

Rotary's are mad engines too, not your normal piston engine and if you treat it as such it will be unreliable and costly. Hence the reputation because of muppets who don't know how to look after the rotary. Also for very little cost you can get the engine running a reliable 350-400Bhp with only an increase in fuel usage as the negative. Seeing as most of the Bhp is reached at the peak of the engines revs (between 4-8000) you can run it relatively economically too if you don't bring the Turbo's into use all the time acting like those previous muppets.

For me though I prefer the shape of the FC RX-7 to the FD unless the FD has the Fujita Engineering Wide bodykit on it (not the one that alters the headlights...). The interior is the same tat as any 90's car had where only Audi were making real progress. So it doesn't bother me much. Hence why I have a 1987 FC in my shed ;)
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Dr Houbenheimer »

I'd have to go for the RX7 for perfomance but the 350Z would be my overall fav
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Koenigsegg_Rox »

Kaerar wrote:Gimme the RX-7 any day over that poor TT Roadster ripoff 350z. It also has a pretty rough engine in it besides the ridiculous rear bar in the boot.

Rotary's are mad engines too, not your normal piston engine and if you treat it as such it will be unreliable and costly. Hence the reputation because of muppets who don't know how to look after the rotary. Also for very little cost you can get the engine running a reliable 350-400Bhp with only an increase in fuel usage as the negative. Seeing as most of the Bhp is reached at the peak of the engines revs (between 4-8000) you can run it relatively economically too if you don't bring the Turbo's into use all the time acting like those previous muppets.

For me though I prefer the shape of the FC RX-7 to the FD unless the FD has the Fujita Engineering Wide bodykit on it (not the one that alters the headlights...). The interior is the same tat as any 90's car had where only Audi were making real progress. So it doesn't bother me much. Hence why I have a 1987 FC in my shed ;)
First off, nice topic bump. Second off, the 350Z, while it does have a roadster variant, is primarily a coupe. It also runs four rings around a TT of a similar year, and the VQ-Series V6 engines are one of the most highly acclaimed series of engines ever. Certainly not a "rough engine". The 350Z is also an extremely popular tuner car, and to the everyday driver in the long run it's a much more affordable option to the RX7 because of the reasons you stated.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Kaerar »

It may be a highly acclaimed engine, but it doesn't stop it being rough. The 350Z only runs rings around the TT because of a power increase, the TT's handling is far superior. Not only that but the 350Z looks like the bumbum end of a donkey!

As for affordable option compared to the RX-7 well I guess it is cheaper, well not. Cheapest 350Z on Carsales.com.au is $26k whereas an RX-7 can be picked up for $20k. Lets see $6K saving plus for that money you can have 2 extra engines in the shed incase you are inconsiderate to them. So 350Z fails on the cheaper front too. However if you look at resale value vs age the 350Z loses again. Mainly because a '94 RX-7 is $20k and an 03' 350Z is $26k. So the RX holds its value better. Then there is exclusivity which again the FD RX-7 wins because it isn't a cookie cutter copy shape of another car (well the FC was a better 944 but that's by the by!) and seeing as we are comparing FD to 350Z you kinda have to look at the bigger picture. Oh and the VQ-Series V6 may be a pretty solid engine (if rough...) but it is not even in the same league as a rotary. The stock RX-7 motor is comparable to the stock 350Z motor for power. Delivery is smoother in the RX-7 than the 350Z and that's in a car that stopped production before the 350Z was released. Then looking at modifications you can stick a race prepped (actually more reliable than the stock motors!) 500Bhp motor in an RX-7 for around the $7k mark. If you go 3 Rotor you are looking at $10-12k. So by the time you use the 6K from your saving on the 350Z you have a car that can decimate nearly any 350Z and still looks stunning.

P.S. only bumped the topic because it was a good one ;) and it seems that posting in any thread is almost a necro here now :(
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Koenigsegg_Rox »

I'll once again second the fact stated on previous pages that these two cars aren't really the ones to be compared. The 350Z and RX8 achieved identical lap times on Top Gear's test track. Those would make for a good comparison.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by steelsnake00 »

The problem is that these days, RX-7's are increasingly being used as second cars. One, they're old, so poeple who have the money to blow on performance cars tend to get something newer to use on a daily basis. Two, they're unreliable unless your crazily handy with spanner, particularly when you start cranking up the boost. Three, even in standard form they're rubbish for daily usage. You can't fit people in the back of them without sawing off their legs off, they're useless in terms of servicing regularity, fuel and oil consumption, and they're so bloody uncomfortable on anything other than a completely straight road that in town driving they make you want to bang your head against a brick wall. The 350Z, although by no means a fantastic car, is at least usable on a daily basis.

Mind you, why bother with either when you can pick up a mid-milage 02-reg BMW M3 for under £10 grand? I love this recession, me.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Koenigsegg_Rox »

I don't for the completely opposite reason. The same sort of M3 would probably set you back about AU$45-60,000...
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Kaerar »

Exactly KR!
The RX-7 being useless on anything but a straight road? Are you sure you've been in one? They are awesome corner takers! The stock suspension on the older ones is normally shot by now leaving it with a bumpy and uncomfortable ride, but get some replacements in there (good ones, not bone breakers unless tracking it) and they are a beautifully sublime ride again. Why buy a sports car if you are taking 3 people in it on a regular basis? All my mates know that I only have a single passenger if it's being used. Hell when I finish fixing it there won't be back seats. Just a BIG fuel tank 8)

Personally I'd only grab the new M3. The V8 sounds amazing and the ride is supreme. The older M3's had a really turbiney Straight Six which when at the top end sounded like a strangled cat. Having been in the new M3 Coupe, I have to say it's stunning, but as a performance car lacking. With a little fettling the old Series 4/5 (FC) RX-7 would make mince meat of it due to the M3's curb weight. Even with work the M3 has to deal with it's lardy side which the RX-7 doesn't have. Plus the new M3 here is $200,000.00 not your average performance car!
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by steelsnake00 »

I didn't mean the Rex was useless on anything other than a straight road. I meant it was useless on anything other than a smooth road. Think twice, type once, ect. Credit where credit's due, the later generations of the RX-7 in particular handle beautifully and drive well. Also, I'm not saying that sports cars should be estate-usable, but it's nice to have one that you can drive comfortably every day without worring about fitting people in it. Hell, even my carbon-clad E46 M3 CSL and 400+bhp Audi S2 got used on a daily basis.

Again, the comparison was standard cars. If your going to play the fettling game, then buy a late 90's E36 M3 Evo 3.2 and dump an Active Autowerke supercharger kit, or DA Automotive GT-BB turbo kit in. The DA cars make over 1000bhp for a $15,000US bolt-on kit, which isn't to be sniffed at. You can pick them up for under £5000 around here, which is, lets be fair, less than the price of a good FD RX7- well, at least one that hasn't been abused by some oaf with a shaven head, large hands, lead feet and more teeth than brain cells.

With a vocal exhaust and uprated induction, the M-sport inline sixes sound great, though I'd argue they do as standard, too. The one in the M3 CSL especially, all burbly at low RPM and raspy and agressive at high RPM. You can't tell me this doesn't sound good. In fact, the only engines that I can think of that sound better are the old air-cooled 964 Turbo 3.6 engines (here) and the old I5 20VT Audi turbo engines (here)

You have it really bad over there in Auz. Expensive European cars and cheap Japanese ones. We get both cheap ;).
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by RedCarDriver »

That M3 sounds wicked :D Seriously one of the best-sounding engines I've ever heard.

Sort of sounds like this (an F50 with a twin-turbo setup):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owNXmPAerKI

You can't deny that this sound good, though - it's a bit loud and quite harsh, though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qanq6IWir0 (RB26, on dyno, without car)

I'm gonna stop kicking this topic with Youtube links, though.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by steelsnake00 »

The only cool thing about the RB26 is the turbo whistle. The rest is just droney, Japanese and boring. The S2 is the best sounding one I think, perfect ballance between growl and scream.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by ElvenAvenger »

i'd pick the RX-7...reason being, the 350Z feels rather....usual...where the RX-7 looks more unsual compared to other cars you usually see, and also the engine....being the main reason.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Zotic+ »

Is this one of the car duels in shift, 350Z vs RX-7, or i think its RX-7 vs. BMW Z4. I would pick the RX-7 for the rotary engine.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by TheStig »

No this topic is now almost as old as the site itself. so it has nothing to do with shift, it is a VS of 2 real cars.

So not at all NFS related.
(after this topic all other X vs X topics where banned.
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by xHaZxMaTx »

This thread has been revived so many times, why isn't it locked? :lol:
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Re: Mazda RX-7 or nissan 350Z??

Post by Zotic+ »

WoW didnt notice how long ago it was, it red on my list so i checked it out
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