Miata vs 370Z

Pearl zed

50/50 weight distribution front to rear

bvl

There are dozens of these threads but I'll bite as I drink my java.

On the street, if you are well aware of driving dynamics, weight is the enemy.

What makes the miata fun is how tossable it is *without* getting into trouble nearly as quickly as you do in a higher HP car.

Bake a turn in a miata and you can very easily correct it with steering and throttle modulation. You can get the tail out gently: its not going to bite you hard as many cars do once you start losing things. That is the tossable feeling many folks reference.

The Z's tuning of stability control is the weakest feature of the car. Its on/off: you can't coax a bit of tail out of it, nor is there a looser sport mode. That is the one thing I would change about the Z. It handles well for its platform, but its a bit nose heavy. It performs as well as much more expensive cars but does so with kind of a meh feeling (good steering, not fantastic, good suspension, not fantastic: its a darn good package, just not fantastic IMHO)

For us, the Z (roadster) is a GT car: very heavy. I mean...look at the size of the Z's arse. Its huge Red line 2 shifts and you are going really fast.

Red line 2 shifts in a lower powered car, and you spend more *time* hearing the sweet sound of the engine before you are illegal.

This is the difference between driving a quick vs a fast car. The Z is a fast car, no doubt. A light miata is a quick car. Our Cayman 2.7 is a very quick car where as the S is a fast car and I experience similar gratification driving the lower powered p car around the back roads: you can hammer on it without going too illegal.

With miatas, you either get it or you don't. And that's fine if you don't get it, just don't dismiss it because some men have performance issues and insist on dis'ing them instead of having a good ole time.

You can get plenty of strange driving a miata

- b

Chan Chee Hoe

Mazda will release a new RX series in 2018,this will be the same class as our Z...

mishuko

saw a new one on the road... they look like a mini jaguar in the rear.

they're decent cars but way over priced in Canada. under 40k for top trim... brz is running a tad above 30 top trim. 32k for the FRs 2.0.

if they had a better pricing point I think they would be a lot more popular alternative to the twins.

as to a 370 rival? uhhh they are sort of different cars. if anything it'll be a cheaper more affordable, not break my wallet z4.

edk370

This new Miata is a really good looking car. They should offer a turbo version, or a V6 NA version as a huge upgrade. Someone already shoehorned an LS3 into one. Bet it's stupid fast.

edk370

I hope, but don't count on it. I think the FD3S is the best looking Japanese sports car ever. Just gotta find one without issues.

Z370Z011

For 30k, I'd much rather buy a z, then buy the 1st gen Miata and track it. My gf has a 1st gen Miata and they're a lot of fun. It's slow but it feels like a legal go-kart lol.


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Duc_Z09

God, what a terrible looking car.

Attached Images

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	LightningMcQueen.jpg (25.1 KB, 23 views)

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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)

Dirk McGurck

RWD
Manual
Front Mid engine
50/50 weight
roadster
2.0L I4

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2009 370Z Touring with Sport

ayrton88

I drive my girlfriend's previous generation Miata all the time and to be honest, I prefer it to my Z. I just don't like soft tops, especially in Chicago. As time goes by the Z seems too big and heavy. I would drive a go kart if the law allowed it. What I love about the Miata is handles so well, in fact it feels much like a friend's older Lotus.

ramoszx12r

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Tony Ramos

Z1NONLY

There are a couple different things people could be talking about when they use the term "Balanced" to describe a car.

The F/R weight distribution is one.

Another is the mixture of all the "ingredients" that people want in their cars. Power/handling/looks/efficiency/cost of ownership etc.

At the track, "balanced" is usually used to describe a car's behavior at the limit. -Usually oversteer vs understeer specifically.

The static weight distribution mentioned above is a major factor in how a car behaves at the limit, but suspension setup, wheel/tire selection, and even something as simple as an alignment can get cars with less-than-perfect static weight distributions to be well balanced. Likewise, a 50/50 weight distribution can be (usually unintentionally) made to handle like crap.

The Nismo 370 has excellent balance at the limit. When you turn off the nannies, it does everything you tell it to do when you tell it to....even the stupid stuff.

I have not driven the latest Miata at the limit yet, but I can't recall driving any stock Miata with bad balance. They are great cars.

kntrider

I did that over 10 years ago and my S2000 is still in my garage, it's such a special car! I'm never going to sell it and it's my garage queen while my Z is my DD.

That being said, the wife really wants a second "fun" car in addition to her SUV as well and wants the previous gen mx5 automatic because she refuses to learn manual. I've been seeing them for around 10K with not that many miles on them.

But considering we have our first child on the way, it doesn't make any sense to have 3 2-seater sports car and only 1 family car.

That being said, the previous gen miatas were a blast to drive and hear this gen miata is even better.

The handling makes up for the lack of power and it's a lot of fun driving that thing on the streets near it's limits while not worrying about getting a ticket or arrested. In the Z, can drive at 5/10 and you're near getting arrested!

Inspector71

I am laughing so hard. I used to own a Nissan Pathfinder (2006), and then, when about to buy another one, they "chicked it up" (rounded it out and put in all kinds of "comfort" frills I wouldn't want) and it looked more like a mini-van than an SUV. I posted my lament on a Nissan forum and got blasted off of it for calling it a chic vehicle. The story ended well. I have a Z now.

nis350

I still have the first gen Miata. It's manual gearbox and clutch is much better than the Z. Not a fast car, but a lot of fun to drive.