Intro- New guy

mrcardio

Greetings!

Just thought I’d introduce my self First off, my name is Eric / 30yrs old – winter springs (Central Florida ~15 minutes North of Orlando).

I’m currently driving a 08’ Mazdaspeed3 that I’ve had since Sept 07’ (Nearing 50k miles now). The MS3 is a great little car for what it is but front wheel drive sucks and it’s obviously not the most attractive car al though I like the “sleeper status”.

Anyways, I’ve always thought pretty highly of the Nissan 350z / 370z’s. A couple months ago I test drove a 370z for the first time and thought it was a very nice car over all with the ride quality being a lot better than expected.

The power was nice and linear but didn’t feel any quicker than my MS3 w/ Cobb Tune/ Intake/ Test pipe (MS3 actually feels more powerful). I’m fairly certain this is due to the insane high torque output at low revs pushing you back in the seat.

However, my mine concern isn’t “max power” I’m more interested in a well balanced, precise and fun to drive machine. Not that the 370z is lacking power or anything because it certainly isn’t! The weight is what? 3250lbs? That’s a damn fine power to weight ratio!

I’m also considering the following: EVO X, 11’ WRX STI, 11’Mustang GT and BMW 335i. All of these cars I’m sure will be really fun but at this point I’m leaning more towards the 370z for the following 4 reasons:

1.) I’m more confident in Nissan’s reliability. 2.) Cars with turbos can present more issues and I’m not a big fan of “turbo lag”. 3.) The 370z is the most ‘attractive car of the bunch by far. 4.) The “synchrorev match” feature is a “huge” plus.

Okay so now I have a few questions.

1. Do you find “visibility” to be a pain in the *** at times? During my test drive I didn’t really pay much attention, mostly looking straight ahead pretending to listen to the salesman talking my ear off about how cool my GF would think I’m am I’ve I drove home in a 370z (true story)

2. What kind times are people achieving in the ¼ mile? Most test reviews seem to have it anywhere from 13.3 to 13.7@ 103-107mph from what I’ve seen.

3. Certain reviews I’ve read say the engine sounds / feels very unrefined at higher RPMS. I didn’t beat on it during the test drive but did notice a certain amount of raucous as the REVS climbed. Do you generally enjoy the sound of the engine?

4. Can you give me some examples of what will fit in the back? It looked like a fairly sizeable space but it would be nice to hear some real life examples.

Okays I think that’s enough for one post! Sorry it’s so long, I tried to break it up so it will be a little more bearable.