i just test drove a 350z today at a dealership....
and it blew my head away.....
its sooo tight
i was gonna put some money down for a supercharger but i'm gonna save it and buy a 350z...


what do u guys think of the 350z?

 

well i havent driven one, but i've heard nothing but good. many say its overrated, but the ones who have driven it love it. I hear it handles like a dream, while power is a bit lacking. If I had a few thousand more when I was car shopping, I definatly would have bought the Z. Loved it from day 1. And as far as the slightly underpowered issue goes, well there are numerous parts for it already, including cams and a Supercharger! there's all the power you'd need

 

I think the way to keep this thread from moving to Off Topic is to word is as.......

"Should I supercharge my car or buy a 350Z?"

You are 18? Since your signature says you are on a budget, I am guessing you haven't checked out insurance rates yet because they will be astronomical with the Z.

 

oh yeah....that kills....fa sho

 

Damn man so you're not going to buy a SC and you're going to save that money for a 350.

OK man that's a big leap in the saving department...good luck with you're purchase.

 

asu174 is correct..

 

Damn, if you're 18 and they let you drive it, I sure better go try to test drive one.

 

well i have 3000 dollars.. and have 2000 saved up for a SC... so thats 5000 plus my maxima trade in...
and i'm 19 turning 20 soon...
and my is goin under my dads name...
but pretty sure i'm gonna have a new 350z in the next few months... the latest in april

 

 

Well I have $2 and $.50 so that's $2.50 and $1 more would be $3.50 right? And I am 7 going to be 8, eventually 9 and one day even 10 and LA LA LA LA LA LA LA

 

 

Manny - I emailed you...

 

For the price of a Z, why dont you consider a evo?

 

Is your Maxima paid off already? It doesn't matter if you are 19 or 20. 25 is the age where insurance companies drop rates. Even if the car is in your dad's name, YOU still have to be insured on the vehicle.

 

driven it twice and I'm not impressed.

First, the seats are so low and the beltline is so high it feels you're peering out of a gun turret, second the suspension is sooooo stiff and non-compliant every corner of the car is always jinking up and down...horrible ride dynamics...way, WAY too oversprung and under-damped.

If I were looking for a two-seater -or a 2+2- I would take the G35 coupe in a heartbeat....much, MUCH more civilized car.

 

Actually the insurance rates are the same for my old 02 Maxima as they are for my 350Z. $95/month

 

Yes the seats are kind of low, it depends on how tall you are though. I'm about 6 feet tall. And do feel rather low, but it is not uncomfortable. The suspension is stiff too, but for some people this is a good thing. As for the "jinking up and down" I have no idea what this is, as I have never experienced it. The G35c is more of a luxury sports car, if there is such a thing. And as such I'd be worried that the suspension would be too soft and give a floaty feeling. I'm very happy with my Z so far and have only had one problem, the infamous grease streaks on the windows but a TSB has been released to correct this. Also there are some bad blind spots in the car, a riced out Honda Civic could easliy hide in there So be careful

 

somewhat vertically challenged at a tad over 5'7", to you the seats/belt line would be much better than for moi.

The interesting thing is that my friend who bought it is three inches SHORTER than I am so...go figure!

The 'jinking' is just a lousy way of saying the because of the stiff suspension and lots of roll stiffness each corner of the car is always moving up and down...following road imperfections either front to back or left-to-right..sort of like a no-suspension go-cart would do...

Yes, the G35 is bigger & 'softer'...in my experience, if a car is too soft it can be made a bit 'tighter' or more sharp-edged, but the inverse is always more difficult, hence my preference for the G

Hey, if I were 15 years younger, I might also be singing a different tune...!

 

My friend drove one this weekend and HATED it. Overrated, cheap interior etc. I laughed at him because he started comparing his car to it and how his was better/nicer/faster .... He drives a $60,000 ZR1 vette with over 480 HP leather and $h!t. How can you compare a care like that with 15,000 in upgrades? no clue but for some reason he tried too. he did say he nmy look into a fully loaded g35 coupe if they could ever get them to build 400HP.... Sometimes this guy makes me wonder ?!?!??!

 

I've heard and read on several Z lists that these suckers eat front tires. Nissan knows about it and has not been able to figure out a long term fix as of yet. My neighbor bought his Z, had it for 90 days, became worried about the tire issues, traded it in on an S2000. All is now good!

 

Yes the "tire feathering" is an issue, Nissan just replaces the tires but this sometimes happens again. I haven't had this problem yet, but I've only put on 6k miles on it. S2000's are nice cars, close to the performance in the Z, and if I remember correctly a little better performance. The interior could be a little more "bling-bling" but I just wanted a basic sports car, something small and sexy looking And I loved the VQ in my '02 Maxima, by the way anyone want to buy a used Injen intake? So I figured I stay with the VQ, it was either that our the S2000, wait for the RX8, or pay higher insurance premiums and go with the EVO or STi, but damn those cars are ugly!!

 

I'm 5'8" and the seating position is fine in my Z. Yes, the beltline is high, but its not like your in a cave. Its just feels like your "in" the car versus sitting "on" the car. I actually find it kinda weird getting in our 2k2 Max and having the window sill so far down.

Ditto on the jinxing up and down. I've never experienced this either. The suspension is stiff, but its a sports car. From what I've read, the suspension in the Z is more forgiving than many of its competitors (S2000, Z4).

I've had my Z since February and I've had no issues at all. Like all cars, there are nigglies. The rear view mirror is next to useless unless the car is only 8 or 10 car lengths behind you because of the rear window (the rear brace actually has no impact on visibility, contrary to popular belief). Have to use the door mirrors alot.

In the winter, the windshield fluid spills over the pillar and freezes on the driver's side window, blocking the view of the driver's side mirror. Need to set defrost to full.

I don't like the two contrasting textures of the centre console/doors and the two smooth pieces in front of the driver/passenger. It should be one texture.

Traction control is too aggressive, and cuts the gas on the 1-2 and 2-3 shift chirp. I turn the TCS off alot in the summer, but the car is powerful enough that giving it too much gas in a corner makes you look like a 18 year old kid in his 5.0

But, you know what, I absolutely love this car. Its a blast to drive (handling and acceleration) and the amount of attention this car gets is unbelievable. If you want to meet lots of strangers on a daily basis, get this car.

 

on the choppy suspension.

However, the owners get used to it and don't notice it anymore. I've been in my friends 350Z a few times and it's VERY very choppy compared to the Max, however drifting and powersliding around corners makes up me forget that FAST!

I haven't drove a G35C, but if it's softer, I'd say that is PEEEEEERFECT.

 

better visibility/ergonomics as well. It too would be purrr-fect for me but I acknowledge, might be too soft for many true sports car afficionados...

Now, if it's TOO soft, I gotta many solutions: 18" wheels, H&Rs, Konis....Brembos....you want edges?? We can make MANY edges....!

 

Xxxxxactly...a set of TEIN EBDC or whatever would fix that and still allow the edge.

Now I just need to rustle up $30K-$35K.

 

on my car -which will have it's second birthday in just four weeks and is but 13 months from being paid off, it's a -to be civil- moist dream!

 

3yr. loan, eh?

$9K more to go and 2.5yrs, but hopefully the AWD will have arrived in the G35 by then(ala new skyline).

The suspension design on the 350Z, I'm assuming the G35 is the same, was CLEARLY designed with AWD plans in the future.

 

hate car loans....hate them, hate them....

Ur comments on suspension design...mnnnn...very, VERY perceptive. My curiousity was piqued when I saw those huge front uprights and hubs but I did not make the connection to 'four wheel drive'....kudos on that one!

 

Actually, a RALLY car driver, x-Honda R&D test monkey, now 350Z owner pointed that out to me.

People aren't comparing the new AWD Skyline to the G35C for nothing.

 

why not just wait a year or so when Nissan releases the TWIN TURBO 350Z!!!

 

Doubt it. More likely a 4.5 V8 from the M45/FX45/Q45.

 

Doubt it... look at the 300ZX... they'll follow along those lines, rather than slap a V8 into it... the twin turbo will drive the aftermarket more.

 

How about one of these

 

Plenty of speculations put the V8 in there simply because it's cheaper.

http://www.jbskyline.net/V35/GTR/

 

Ice... great stuff. Interesting!

 

Reminds me of that TV-series show flop called "Viper".

 

Whoa, where did you find this?!?! I would like to read about this car. Damn nice!

 

Crap!! It DOES!!!

 

had a middle-age crisis car but this one....this one might just do it.

I'll bet on a version of the 4.5 liter V8...easily capable of ~400 hp naturally aspirated and certainly, from a weight distribution standpoint the car will handle it...

Ay, mi madre...

 

Check out FreshAlloy.com - There's 4-5 pages of scanned magazine stuff on it with a bit more information