Lane03

OMG VTEC

Would love to see a healthy RX-8 dyno 145whp.

Talk about throwing out a shitty "fact" to skew the uninformed.

Rudy-S2k

They're both slow bone stock, so if that's even a factor... scrub it. I don't see how anyone with a 14 second car can get into a pissing match over speed.

They both handle extremely well... so scrub that.

S2k wins mpg and fun factor.

RX8 wins space and practicality.

I drove a lifted Jeep before the S2k so forgive me if I say, the suspension on it is extremely smooth in my eyes, lol.

CrZy_Vick

I have had an rx8 as my first car and now own an s2000 as my 3rd...Both great cars but my rx8 had bad shifting problems. It grinded the gears in 2nd 3rd and reverse. The s2k is just in 2nd. 0-60 based off of online stats, the rx8 wins by .1. The european version of the rx8 has less hp then the US version, as my buddy George from greece has said (he owns it, and yes i understand greek as i am greek =p) Performance wise...both about the same. On looks... in my opinion is S2000 but the Rx8 is very good looking as well. S2000 is a bit more rare from what i see on the road and way better on gas, especially in city where as Greece is small. BOTH GREAT CARS, S2000 FTW for overall stats.(and just from my experience, please add your opinion as my rx8 was previously owned and raced, so more likely to be messed with)

CrZy_Vick

putting that into cosideration, the S2000 will have cheaper maintanence. My first spark plug change (nothing really fancy some NGKs) on the rx8 was 29.99 per spark plug. And just cause its a rotory, you will have to do some digging to learn about it for adding mods) If you have no family such as children...I say go for the S2000. "tha nikisis kathe agona" =]

mattdtuck

In my experience, my gf has a 6spd RX8 and it is a fun car to drive and handles well, but lacks the full power "feel" of the my S. I just over all love my S2000 more. Also I have seen where some of you guys MPG are alot lower than mine. At my mostly stock form I got from 26-30mpg full tank getting around 300 miles to a tank, babied also, but on hwy of course was more. Now with greddy kit I get around town around 24, as I daily drive my car at the moment.

mkaresh

As others have said, the RX-8 is great fun on a curvy road. Very agile, yet also very neutral and forgiving. I personally find the power more than sufficient once over 20 MPH.

Ride quality is excellent for a car that handles so well. A surprisingly comfortable car for long drives. Fuel economy is abut 15 MPG if you run it hard on a curvy road, about 17 in typical suburban driving, and perhaps 21 in straight highway.

For me, and at one point I considered buying one or the other, insurance would have been FAR cheaper for the Mazda than the S2000. My insurance company at the time wanted crazy money to insure an S2000.

Build quality is not the best--the interior bits jostle about a bit over rough pavement. I conduct a reliability survey at TrueDelta.com. Engine replacements aren't common, but they do happen. You can see how many have been reported here:

Mazda RX-8 repair histories

The most common problems: condensation in the tail lights, ignition coils, and "flooding" the engine by shutting it off (or stalling) within seconds of starting it.

Ned M

I traded my 04 RX-8 GT in for an S2K CR last June. Both were/are daily drivers. I almost got an '09 RX-8 R3 but opted for the S2K CR for something different and better reliabilty.

The RX-8 is very well balanced and with minor suspension and alignment changes becomes outstanding. I love the rotary engine sound and smoothness, and the fact that 0-60 mph comes without a 2nd to 3rd shift.

The RX-8 had the second best feeling MTX I've ever owned. The S2K is the first best.

The RX-8 is slightly bigger, more comfortable and more practical. That said, the S2000 is just plain more fun!

Last, driving about 13,000 miles per year mostly commuting to and from work in-town, the S2K is saving me over 200 gallons of gas per year vs. the RX-8.

s2k124

I used to own both cars referred here. I just sold my RX8 about two weeks ago and still currently have my s2k.

RX8 is almost equal to the s2k in power and weight distribution. Some may not know this but the RX8 has something simalar to the s2k's vtec. At about 5.5k rpm, you can feel a bit of a boost. But if you were to put a stock RX8 up against a stock s2k, the s2k would still win in a 0-60 time race. The reason why is because the s2k comes stock with one of the best shifters out there and is a short throw. The RX8 comes with a long throw that you have to actually work at to get it shifted and takes up more time doing so. So to play it out, the RX8 will actually take the lead for a split second but the s2k aways comes back and takes the lead when vtec kicks in.

The other main difference is fuel consumption. I get about 22-24mpg in the s2k and I kid you not, 9-12mpg in the RX8. And I was not the only one getting that type of fuel consumption. The best I heard from other Mazda forum members is about 16-17mpg and I would assume they were trying to keep off the gas pedal to achieve that goal, which is not fun.

Another thing is the insurance for both cars is way different. Due to a lack of price retention, the RX8 cost me $42 more a month to insure versus the s2k.

And last but not least...reliability was bad. I should mention though, only the engine was bad. The rest of the cars fit and finish was actually higher grade than the s2k. There were times when the engine would just cut off...not good. Power steering failed...and anytime you needed something fixed...$$$. The Apex blades that rotate along with the rotars tend to crack also leading to power loss because the combustion would leak to the next chamber. This results in having to swap engines and the old engine can no longer be used unless the Apex blades were replaced, which is $$$. Plus, Mazda can't figure out how to keep condensation out of the oil tank so everytime its cold and you check your dip stick for oil, which is required to be topped off every two gas fill ups, it has a white milky substance caused by the water and oil mixing...Mazda upped the warranty for the engine to 8 yrs or 100k miles due to the Apex problem. Free engine replacement if your engine fails. That is why you see many RX8 with re-built engines.

So to sum up a long history of both cars, I sold the RX8 and kept the s2k because the s2k gave me less headaches, actually no headaches so far and is simply more fun to drive.

ookielookie

RX8's are great cars from 06+ Those are when they fixed the major engine problems, and a lot of the realibility issues. I've driven both many many times. My dad has an 06 RX8 and I've got an S. The RX8's engine is super smooth and sounds like a quiet jet engine. They are more comfortable than the S, they have a back seat, and they have a nicer stock stereo than the S.

The S is more fun to drive though. My dad AND I agree on that. He desires the comforts and luxuries more than I do, so the RX8 is the better car for him. I enjoy the pure driving enjoyment of the S, and am willing to sacrifice comfort and noise for it.

Drive them both and take a pic. But STAY AWAY from 04-05 RX8's or you'll be burnin through motors.