370z acceleration - Just as fast as the big 3 pony cars?

Allentown

2015 Nissan 370Z NISMO Automatic First Drive – Review – Car and Driver

According to Car and Drive, the 7AT version of the Nismo gets to 60 in 4.6 seconds and does the standing 1/4 in 13.1.

I have always heard the Z is slower than the new generation of pony cars. I actually just bought my sport tech auto for the wife to drive and as a stop gap until the new corvetts start hitting the used market in a few years or possibly until the mustang GT 350 starts hitting the used market say around 2019ish.

At any rate...whats going on with these numbers and why are they so out of alignment with other reviews? Accodring to this, the Z (when equipped with an automatic) equals a new mustang!

Are all the reviews that traditionally have the Z at 5.0 and 13.4 using manuals and does shifting add THAT MUCH time to the performance?

I have owned 7 mustangs including an 11 5.0 as well as an 11 GT 500 with SVT package. I can tell you that from a dead stop, both cars seem on equal footing in that both cars are limited by what ever traction the rear tires can get. Above about 40 to 45mph though, different story. My butt dyno says the at speed accelaration of a 5.0 mustang would walk away (by how much i don't know)

I will also say this. Even though i don't own one of the 2015 mustangs I have driven a few and i can say for certainty that IT DOES NOT DRIVE BETTER than a Z (the way reviewers just fawn over it you would think it does). My impression is that without the track pack, it actually drives worse. I can induce body roll easier on a 15 then i could on a 14, but the 15 certainly was more comfortable/smoother and of course, better in the mid corners.

Also, generally speaking the added wt of a nismo has cancelled out the added 18hp when compared to a sport, giving them very similiar accelaration (even if the sport doesnt have the track stamina of a nismo). I assume the same would be true for the 7at versions???

I just read in a different thread though that the nismo 7at has a lower gear differential than a sport.....on a mustang that was a VERY EASY fix (about $300). ...worth every penny if its the same cost on a z and gets you to 4.6 and 13.1 i would say???

Sorry for the newb questions. I have used the search feature and browsed some threads here this is my first Z so just consider me a moron here for all intensive purposes.

EndyKwon

Congrats on your new car!

Honestly, the numbers are relative. Every car that has been reviewed has been tested in the right conditions, altitude, and etc. Carlos Lago talks about this quite in depth, its something you should watch on this link right here.

In my experience, I'd be lucky to hit a sub-5 zero to sixty pull. The longer you own your car, you eventually go past the point where you ask, "why does the number matter?" Honestly, go have fun with your car man. Don't worry if that Mustang has more HP, the only technical specification you should worry is about 'Smiles per Miles'.

kenchan

nismos are heavier than the base. that 18hp at the crank is not going to do you much.

but im pretty sure 4.6sec is a respectable number even today...although minivans are faster than me 115% of the time.

ssmoked

Under some miracle during a cool day in Florida, I pulled a 12.91 with my stock auto base Z on the drag strip. That translated to a faster 0-60 as tested. Traction is the key from a stop with any car, since my times varied .3 second during that night.

During a roll on the highway, the 5.0 Mustang will definitely walk the Z.... personal experience

Also after 3rd gear (80mph) the Z is geared gutless

cooltoy

Those minivans can't be stock.

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dotcomee

I'll take your word on that one.

Allentown

And mine although I had GT500 more recently so my butt dyno is a bit unfairly calibrated.

Although I will say on any given day (and almost the entire winter) a car like the Z would beat me in my GT500 as it overpowered the chassis so much it was mostly good at spinning . You have to have grade A patience and be a 5 star driver to wrangle that thing.

Mostly I would flaunt it on the freeway where I've embarrsed ererything from porche to M5 to vetts to Jags with it.

From a dead stop, I've been known to lose to Honda civics with giant wings and fart cans because it was so hard to get it to hook up.

I literally just went from one extreme type of car, to a COMPLETELY different type of performance emphasis.

The z does things on curves that absolutely would have you facing the wrong way in the Shelby.

Not saying one is better either. I spend a lot of the time on the freeway goin in a straight line so it's not like the GT500 has strengths I couldn't utilize.

I came to the conclusion a while back that 450ish hp was about the upper limit of usable power in a dd sports car and in a Ford....even that's pushing it. The chassis improvements, tires, cooling, braking, shifting and computer nanies to effectively use the power above 450hp just require a level of engineering that is beyond the reach of affordability to produce....the cars that do it well are effectively low priced super cars...and they all have serious drawbacks.

The c7 corvette is the one car I think gets in done while approaching some semblance of affordability. ..and when I find one very lightly used at a cut rate price in a few years.....it's mine. (A GM product *face Palm...I'm a risk taker I guess)

Davey

The Z is definitely slower... It's not far off, though.

Duc_Z09

The Z is slower but it's also more fun. Enjoy your sports coupe for what it was made for.

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2009 370z #206 (all mods are Home Depot)
2009 Ducati 848 (full Ohlins, Termignoni, etc)
2003 Grand Cherokee (long arms, big tires, 4.56, lockers)

7speed

Agree.

Those time were estimates not actual tested, so who knows what the true times are of the auto 15 Nismo.

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09 370z 6spd traded 1/12/15 for 15 Challenger RT 6spd

onzedge

The Z also does not require a mullet.

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kenchan

the z denies entry to taffyapples... or traps them in. lol

b15

Back in 2009 the Z was outrunning the majority of the domestic v8s of the time. Unfortunately Nissan has left the engine untouched over 6 years, while the domestics stepped up their v8 game. Given the Nissan's lack of performance improvements on the Z, it is still quick, especially given it's an NA v6.

Davey

Hell yeah.

You know one time I was watching some coupe racing series and I remember looking up the cars and the spec was somewhere around 300 hp. You don't need massive amounts of power for a sports coupe, but you need some.

On the other hand I've also driven plenty of high power V8 automatics that went really fast in a straight line but that gets pretty damn boring after punching the throttle a few times.

b15

Agree. Take the Cayman for example, not ground breaking hp, but are praised for their driving experience.