On the highway today I see a 350Z up ahead. He's going a little faster than traffic, but only around 75; so after following him through some mild traffic for a mile or so, I decide to pass him. We're coming up to some cars, and as I start pulling into the outer lanes he does too. So I floor it to hit the far left lane and get past, and this asswipe floors it too, and cuts me off with about 2 ft of clearance.

I find that kind of thing mildly annoying , so I shift down to 3 (auto) and wait behind him running about 4k . We're again waiting for another car, then the lane opens up. He floors it and I'm on it right behind him. From 70 to about 110 I'm guessing he gained...maybe half a car? I mean, doesn't he have several hundred pounds on us (plus some horses and aero)?

We came up on more traffic, but this time he got blocked and I cruised by (with a hand signal demonstrating my appreciation for being cut off). Gotta feel for the guy though; must be upsetting to have the four-door sedan stay right on your new two-door butt rocket...

it's got the same engine... it sorta makes sense

and good for you for showing him his car is not "all that"

They are not as fast as you would think . Last time I went to the track , a few modded ones were there with exhaust and intakes and they were betwen 14.4-14.8 all day. Most 3.5 Maxes can be at about that. Im sure the more aggressive ECU will allow it to pull on you on the freeway.

Good work putting that driver in his place.

As for the 350Z itself, remember that a good sports car doesn't mean that it has to be the fasting thing out there. The Z is a great balance of quickness, handling, and fun at a pretty good value...all the things that make a great sports car.

Peace.

i knew someone was about to say, "but i love the Z its sooo pretty." and yes i hope he had a sleepless night of four doors up his ****

I like when I go to Nissan, and you hear the sales***s tell people, yeah, its the same motor," but this car has 40 or so more horses... its a beast..."... Or they talk about the 2k4 compared to the 2k3...." Nissan added a lot more juice this year"... If people only knew what the dyno numbers are. Same applies to 3.5 Altima...

Great way to show the Nissan flagship sportscar the soul of a real 4DSC!

Not just imagine what the 6 speed would do, 3rd gear is a long @$$ gear in the auto. Do you think he was auto?

Yeah I thought they were a lot faster till one tried to pull on me ,but still a nice sportscar and they handle waaaaayyyyy better than the max.

I find this interesting. I drove a freind's Auto touring Z and thought my car was just as fast, or just about as fast. He has driven my car and felt the same way. The problem is, he won't give me a quick race to see. I am sure that with true dual exhaust and an intake, the Z will really shine. As for stock Z vs. stock Max, I truely think it's a driver's race.

my max is plenty fast for me but i still would love a Z for a track/weekend car- handle better and respond better to mods

i lined up against a 350z over the weekend at Midnight Madness. Honestly I was the one mad ! The past few weeks we have been trying to get the enthusiast model and it ended up not working out. after racing both the 300zx tt and the 350 z. the Twin Turbos are just tough. Im stilla bit puzzled by the 350z I could have sworn I saw the run a 13.5, but there were a few out at the track that night so there is no telling.

not exactly sure what to expect from the new zcar (test drove i but didnt get down on it like a crazed lunatic) we lined up and i gave it everything my old 4th Gen max had ! you can check out the races if you 5th gen guys are interested here. All I can say is the 94 300zx TT is what puts the Z in Zcar ! SMoKin !

the link:

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=257295

my wife outran one from a 10mph kick until 100mph in our 2003 maxima se with an automatic.

Agree, I killed one two weekends ago with my "Weekend Driver." (see below).

wow, you wife actually raced someone? I never knew women were into racing, especially married ones.

IMHO, if I had an extra $12 grand (to spend on a car), I'd rather get a 1996 300ZXTT (in good condition) than a 350Z.

Not to start a flame war, but come on guys. Saying the Z isnt as quick as the max, i just dont know what to make out of that. The numbers dont lie. Our cars have 227 to 255 hp, and a few extra lbs than a Z. A stock Z weighs in at 3200lbs, and has 287hp and 260-somethin torque at like 4K.

So thats about a 60hp difference, and 32hp difference respectively, as well as a weight difference of around 200lbs.

Dont expect a Z to completely embarass a max. But also dont expect a max to "keep up", or say you kept up because you lost at not such a horrible rate.

I dunno, just ****es me off that everyone loves to shoot at the 350Z (also because I plan on buying one very soon). Its the target for the Evo forums, its a target for the STI forums, its a target for the boxter forums - and I gotta say Im pretty disappointed that its now a target for this forum.

the Mitsu's /STI's/Neon SRT's can be fast out of the box but the quality
of design and engineering is what the 350Z is all about- all those boy racers in those cheaply made POS's wish they were pimpin' a true
"sportscar" like the 350Z- a true enthusiast /collector car with a great
untammed worldclass engine- Add boost/some mods to the Z and those punks are out of the mix and you are looking @ 12's easily on street tires
Those 4bangers are just about peaked of what they can do without changing internals- I personally know of two WRX owners that had to replace their motors on cars less than a year old-

And the Boxter S is the only true competitor to the Z (but $$$ is way north of the Z and its already boosted)

Numbers don't lie? Alright number one, numbers don't mean **** if its not getting to the wheels. I'm sorry if ragging on your to-be-new car hurts your feelings, but personal experiences definetly don't lie. I've had a similar experience with a 350Z against my stock 2k1 Max, and while he did beat me, it was by an almost laughable distance. The 350Z is being labeled as a target because that's exactly what it is. Of course all sports/street racing forums are going to target the newest edition sports car of any given company, because they want to see what its made of--what it can do. If Honda made a brand new totally redone Civic, I can guarantee you any forum (of this type) you go to will be "targeting" it.

Alright unless you like to be **** about technical stuff, that can be conceived as a desperate defensive statement. I'm not saying 350Zs aren't fast, hell--they're faster than Maximas, but they're not all that. I'm sure with a little modification those things could do some serious damage, but that's off the subject. Oh and 200 pounds making any significant difference? I don't want to go there. (Actually to me, a two-door sports car only 200 pounds lighter than the Max? I must be missing something.) I don't want to debate this much because I have little idea what is running under the hood of the 350z. 350Zs are fine--I like the car myself--just don't go driving around in it like it's a ferarri is what they're saying, and I'd have to agree.

I like the 350Z myself. As I mentioned previously, it's not always fair or right to say that the latest Z isn't a good car just because it's not the fastest stright-line. It's a great all-around sports car for the price, and that's what Nissan wanted to make.

I highly doubt anyone at Nissan set out to make the 350Z a STi- or EVO-killer. Those are different kinds of cars. And Boxsters? Aren't those just for people who can't afford a real 911? And I believe in comparing cars of the same class, so a Maxima vs 350Z thing makes little sense to me.

If you're gonna get a 350Z soon, don't let the haters get to you. If I could, I'd get either the 350Z Roadster or the G35 Coupe in an instant.

Peace.

Second that! And it doesnt look like a cheap POS next to those bubblegum ricers

I like the 350Z, but thats total BS. The EVO and STi are far better performance cars than the Z. They were never made to be luxury cars, therefore their interiors arent up to luxury car standard.

A $12kLancer with a turbo/AWD does not compensate
+$30k like a 350Z does- The quality and overall
package is a big difference- The Z has more potential since naturally aspired its a torque beast

The Z has no where near the potential that the EVO or STi have. Both are a far better performing car overall. Do the research

Don't know what to tell you pal, I just reported what happened. And what happened was a sports car with all of the advantages you mentioned crawled away from a sedan. So you can postulate all you'd like about the Z now being a "target", but you'd expect (or at least I expected) more of a difference in performance, even merely straight line performance.

I'm not implying that the Z isn't a true sports car, or even that it's not a great car. It's just surprising.

SRT yes....EVO or STi say what?!?!?

They could EASILY have bought a 350z if they own an EVO or STi.

Different strokes for different folks I agree, but come on that's pushing it.

Ok have your Dad sit inside new Lancer w/ POS interior and ask him what he thinks that you just spent + $35K

But you are right different strokes for different folk!

I know those cars are incredibly fast and nimble - I almost bought a usedAudi 2.7T manual because I wanted AWD- It was not the right deal 4 me @ the time so I got a brand new Max

You can put AWD/turbo on an Huindai Accent and get a better performing car than those mentioned- THATS MY POINT

Both the Neon/Lancer are cheap cars that were not drawn up to be
sports cars(GT cars) My friends have blown their 4banger boxer engines in their WRX's w/ just intakes/exhaust (besides the fact that there are
all kinds of rattles/noises already)
I mean what do you expect when stock these cars are near the top of their boost potential-

A 350Z is a true sports car- build that way RWD, marketed that way,
performs that way- and one hell of a looker
Theres so much more potential for the Z than those cars
" There's no replacement for displacement!!"

And what?

Point is they could have bought a Z and had mod money left over vs. a STi or EVO.

A friend has a 350z and another has a WRX non-Sti and I'd take the STi anyday over a 350z.

My dad would both think they are crap inside because he is accustomed to german luxury cars.

Well bud I have both and this is totally believable auto to auto the 350 is slightly quicker. One thing your weights are totally off a 350 auto weighs 3415 pounds and the manual weighs 3363, the auto 02/03 Max weighs 3257 and the manual 3220. So the is a weight advantage to the Max from 106 to 195 pounds. From 0-35 or 40 it is totaly possible for the Max to edge out the 350 auto a tad and then the z will edge out the auto Max but not by much how do I know my wife and I have done it several times, This thread is totally believable but those 00/01 autos donot try it from a stop the 350 auto will get ya.

That's a given NOBODY thinks otherwise.

You better do a tad bit more research before you say something as ignorant as this...

Your weights are off on the 350Z...

Track model is 3225 lbs
Touring model is 3247 lbs
Performance Model is 3217 lbs
Enthusiast model is 3197 lbs
Base model is 3188 lbs

02-03 Maxima Weights

GXE Model is 3233 lbs
SE Auto is 3274 lbs
SE Manual is 3239 lbs
GLE (auto) is 3289 lbs

The Maxima is heavier (but not by much in some cases) across the board...except for the touring model Z vs. the GXE model

My father drives a E430 benz and tell me my Max is a piece of shyt- I can only imagine what he'd say If I tolg him I spent $35K for a mitsu
thats identical in appearance as a $12K Lancer OZ

Where can u get a new OZ lancer for 12k and where can u get a Lancer with Recaros, Momo steering wheel, etc?????

Keep posting...You are making yourself look stupider each time.

I'm not up on my MB models, but if the interior is all that your father cares about, why not go E320?

Interior is NOT what I care about or I wouldn't have bought a Nissan PERIOD.

WTF research I gotta do? I know they are faster out of the box by less than half a second and I know they handle better-

So is the STI a POS next to the Mitsu because the 300hpSubaru is more powerfull yet slower two 2-3 tenths slower?

$30-35K gets me a 350Z with all the beauties or an S2000- TRUE SPORTS CARS (CLASSICS) in every sense of the word
both which can be - Something that if you park it next to any of those
POS has individuality and presense-

The real research that needs to be done are the follow up tests in a year or two that come out on all the blown gaskest/hoses on these
overblown 4 bangers

Reading this actually made me dumber....

I rather end this thread whoring- I think those cars
are fast/great but for the money a 350Z is a trophy- it wins in every department -

If speed is what all this is about- then the STi/Evo
are in trouble because POS front wheel drive Neon's
are eating their **** a@ a local track near you (w/very little aftermarket support) Check the SRT forums