2014 2SS Camaro vs Nissan 370z

Cydia

per request of Jsolo

I was always told to buy a 350 or 370z but I was so stuck on buying Camaro's, i've finally seen the error in my ways.



Hey guys my name is Paul, i'm brand new to these forums aka knockoutpie, I recently decided to purchase a house as I'm 23 years old it's about time to buy one.. However my issue was was that because of my car payments it was difficult to get pre approved for anything over 210k, so i weighed my options and it was to pay off my car or find something cheaper that I could pay off instantly, low and behold I bought a 2013 370Z Sport with 40k miles for 20k cash pristine condition, just needs new rotors clean title 1 owner.

Now when I was deciding the car buying process I mainly looked at paint, yes paint. I was quite the detailer over in the Camaro forums for a few years, i've owned two camaros and paint is a HUGE deal for me.. I've owned a black Camaro and a metallic gray one, now if you can keep a black car pristine and swirl free, you can keep any car pristine and swirl free, trust me..


This is after i'm done buffing (6 month ritual)
https://youtu.be/sElq0VIDYWI

I decided I wanted a vehicle with a metallic paint job, my option of good looking sport cars were a Cadillac Cts, Nissan 370z, Mustang, or Camaro.. anything else not really interested in.

I'll tell you right now, I bought 2 Camaros, one a v6 and one a v8, both RS packages brand new, and they do not hold value for ****, terrible resale!

So now it was between CTS and 370z, 370z lighter, sportier looking and for the younger crowd so I decided to get one of those, Cadillacs are for old people :} Sorry i'm not there yet.

THE COMPARISIONS

Right up front I knew I wanted a pearl white 370z as Camaro's are very limited on a metallic paint..

Camaro does boast a whopping 426hp, however they don't boast about their nearly 4400lb vehicle.... where as HP to weight ratio... you can see the difference between 3400lbs with 320hp and 4400lb with 426hp

370z is around 3400lbs and 320hp and instantly I could tell it was much quicker than my 2SS RS Camaro, and this 370z doesn't even have any modifications. If you add a throttle body controller the Camaro does have some nice pickup but it's not as impressive as a 370z even a sock 370z in my opinion.

Rear seats: My camaro had rear seats, both of them did, I never once put anything in the rear seat let alone a person, it just made sense that I really didn't need a rear seat on the car? So of course 370z doesn't have rear seating, helps on a lot of weight reduction..

Luxury: I know neither are luxury cars... However, Even the cloth on a 370z 40k miles felt more luxurious than all interior leather on a 2014 2SS RS Camaro, no idea how, but it just felt nicer... Camaro's don't have much luxury to it, I mean you can pay more for the 2SS package and get vehicle guages (which come standard on the 370z) or pay 200 bucks for illuminated door sills (which my Z came with) BUT the Camaro does have the heads up display which you cannot beat, gorgeous feature to have the speed displayed directly on the windshield and you can focus on the road with never looking down, also displayed speed, temp outside, G force, audio songs, and direction..

Braking: my Camaro literally stopped on a dime going 0-80, only did it twice but very impressive stopping for such a heavy behemoth (4400lbs)
Can't really compare my 370z, as it needs new rotors

Repair costs: Luckily I never had to repair anything in the camaro as they were always covered under warranty, however parts cost way more for the camaro than the 370z, I can tell you that right now. 370z repair costs seem so much cheaper than camaro, just judging off stand alone parts like carpeting pieces or door panels..

Paint: Paint on Camaros are extremely soft, and swirl extremely easily, seems this issue was corrected with 2013+ 370'z, if you ever see a Camaro, you'll see they're just riddled with swirl marks from car washes, 370z's might be also, however with the metallic paint jobs Nissan does, it's extremely difficult to notice (hence why I love metallic paint)

I'm not sure what else you guys want?

TLDR? Camaro is a fast heavy turd that stops on a dime but you pay a lot of money for it and there's like no luxury

370Z is light and just as fast if not faster than my Camaro and a lot of the Camaro *luxury* options are really just standards on the 370Z, plus it was about half the price...

Also to put into consideration...

my 2014 2SS RS camaro cost me 36k after taxes and my brothers 2004 350z that cost him 5k could keep up with the car on acceleration up to 110mph where my camaro would eventually overpower him at that point.

I don't know guys? 370z just seems like a lot more power for a lot less money than a Camaro does, plus it holds it's resale value a lot better...

Without modifications the Camaro doesn't really have the getup and go that the Z has.

Dirk McGurck

You have a lighter Z than me.

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2009 370Z Touring with Sport

Raidernation

How did you shave off 1200lbs from your Z?

kenchan

u buffed dat thing so much the screen is white..

Duc_Z09

You're going to be disappointed in Nissan's paint quality. I'm going to be respraying a large part of mine as the clear isn't holding up that well, even though I'm probably as meticulous as you and my car lives 98% of its life in a garage. Look at it sideways and it'll chip. Also there's tons of orange peel, as I'm sure you've noticed by now. This is common on all new vehicles though; apparently wet-sanding is a lost art and most people don't even notice.

The 370 weighs around 3200lbs, not 2200. It's a lightweight compared to that porker of a Camaro you're used to, but it's no Lotus either.

Power-wise I was satisfied when I first bought it. I did test a 5.0 and a 2011 SS after all... Now I want more. But everyone always wants more eventually, even the guy with the GT-R.

The interior isn't super great IMO but I've got a nismo (basically a base/sport with a cool body kit and wider wheels) so I can't comment on the touring package. It still blows away the plastic in my old '95 Mustang though.

Enjoy the new ride.

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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)

Cydia

Edited the weight of the Z! I've got a very meticulous detailing process.

Wash car, soap, foam gum, pressure washer etc, iron x (remove iron contaminants), clay bar the vehicle. Buff with finishing polish, take a way less agressive pad and buff with water/very little polish for a perfect shine, polymer sealant, glaze, caranuba paste wax. Holds its perfect shine for about 6-8 months.


And really the main reason, I wanted a house and a car I could pay in cash ��

cv129

Seems like your perceived weight difference is generating a placebo effect on you. 370z checks between around 3200-3400lbs. A 2SS RS vert is around 4200, Coupe is around 3900lbs+. SS and Z actually have very close HP to weight ratio, but the SS chew us up in torque to weight ratio.


Brand new purchase (Camaro) compared against used car purchase (370z), apple and orange.

Congrats

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Cydia

I was asked to do this... If I wasn't then I never would have compared...

SINISTER

Great summary, thanks for the insight!

I took the liberty of summarizing your analysis above.

Let me add this: Camaro is ugly as hell and the Z is super sexy!

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280z/300zx

I've owned both a 370z sport/touring and 370z NISMO as well as a 2010 Camaro SS manual and 2014 Camaro SS 1LE. I can tell you first hand that the Z/NISMO Z vs. a regular SS is a drivers race with the edge going to the Camaro. Against the 1LE the Z is at a disadvantage, but still a close race.

Yes the Camaro is a tank but our Z isn't exactly light weight. My NISMO approached 3400lbs while the Camaro SS was at 3800lbs. Regardless, the Camaro does a great job suspension wise handling all that weight, especially in 1LE form. At Auto-x the standard SS was usually not far behind time wise compared to my Z, while the 1LE could pull nearly identical times to the Z.

While I loved my Z the simple fact that chevys traction control system allowed you to still have fun with the car while the Z's VDC system sucked all the fun out of it was enough to say I preferred the Camaro 1LE. And now with the newer 1LE being faster, handling better, and lighter it's no contest at all. The Z is a great car but it lacks in a lot of ways that I consider "fun" for the street. On the track it was pure joy.

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77 280z, 82 280zx, 84 300zx, 2021 C8 Z51

09 370z sport/touring -RIP// 10 370z NISMO - sold

BobbyLight

Glad you like the Z! Just a heads up, if you are really concerned about the paint then I suggest getting a clear bra for the front bumper. If you don't it WILL chip.

Nixin

The clear bra is a must have. It was my first aftermarket addition to the Z.

axmea?

Thanks for the comparo. I put a halt on my Car and Driver subscription because of too many damn Camaro on its covers. I see at least 10 a day here in SoCal and sick of it.

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UNKNOWN_370

For being an owner, there are a lot of details that are incorrect on both cars. Starting with camaro weight. A camaro 5 2SS is about 3,900lbs, not 4,400. A ZL1 is the heaviest @ 4,100lbs.

A Z is between 3,289lbs and 3,400lbs even depending on the trim. Not 2,200 or 3,200 like someone stated, if you're gonna guesstimate? Round off to the nearest hundred, 3,300lbs and a 3,350lb average for the Z. 4,000lb average for the camaro.

If you don't have the 1LE camaro 5. You bought the wrong one. That one handles. The Z, I get confused whether you're talking 350z or 370z?

Also, are you talking about buying a current new camaro or Z? It's kinda information overkill and I'm not sure what you're saying....?

That said.... These are night and day cars. Picking one should be easy cuz the differences are so DEFINED.

You either want a camaro, brute force muscle with impressive handling for a car with a **** ton of torque, but everything electronic. Or you want a Z with an analog feel, great mechanical bits. and good progressive torque.

If I got this right? You own both now in the older cars so you may want to ask which you have the most fun with? Then upgrade that one.

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