Initial 370Z v. 350Z impressions (after 5 days of 370Z ownership)

semtex · 01-14-2009, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chubbs

Interesting thoughts, Semtex. I'm in England and currently own an '06 Z (having previously owned an '03), so your comparison is very relevant for me, as the new Z arrives in the UK in a few months time. Thanks for the 'real world' photos - they really bring the car to life.

I have just one question at the moment...

Which car made you more proud/happy when you got it - your new 350z or your new 370z? (assuming you can revive your dim & distant 350z feelings!)

My reason for asking is that my feelings for my current (2yr old) 350z are still so positive that I wonder if it's necessary to spend a sh**load more money on a 370z just yet.

Great question, but I'm probably not the best person to ask. You see, I didn't trade in my 350Z -- I totaled it in a pretty serious accident back on Nov. 4. I was hit at 70mph, fractured my left hand in 2 places, and had to be taken to the hospital strapped down to a backboard and neck brace. It was a pretty unpleasant experience. Luckily, my neck and spine were fine. Other than the hand, I had heavy bruising on my chest and side from the seatbelt. The hand was in a lot of pain though. The knuckle that connects my middle finger to my hand -- a chunk of it actually disconnected right off. I couldn't even dress myself without severe pain. As if that weren't bad enough, I had to undergo surgery on my left ankle a month later due to a torn achilles tendon (unrelated to the car accident). The pain in my ankle post-surgery was also quite severe. Point being, for a while there I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to walk without a limp and a cane again, or grasp a steering wheel, let alone drive a proper sports car with a manual-transmission. And even if I could, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that I could afford another Z. Indeed, when my wife and I went to the showroom, it was to just have a look. I didn't go in assuming that I'd be able to buy another Z. If anything, I went in assuming that it was out of reach and that my days of owning a Z were over.

When things worked out and I left the dealership with a new 370, the emotion I felt wasn't pride. It was relief, a sense of closure, and most of all it was a sense of humble gratitude for all my blessings in life. Gratitude that my left ankle had recovered sufficiently that I could operate a clutch again. Gratitude that I could grasp a steering wheel without excruciating agony again. Gratitude that my 350's safety mechanisms worked during that horrendous crash. The airbags deployed, the safety belt locked, and to be sure, the car absorbed the majority of the impact energy. That's why it was totaled -- the entire frame twisted. The emotions didn't really hit me full force until the next morning, and it nearly overwhelmed me to the point of tears. My feeling was a strange mix of happiness and sorrow. Happiness that I had a gorgeous new 370, but sorrow at what happened to bring me to this point. For me, the 370 isn't a normal car purchase -- it represents the closing chapter of a difficult story. The story begins with a horrendous crash, the chapters in between consist of a lot of painful physical therapy and days doubting that I'd ever be free of pain again, and the final chapter is the 370. It's a happy ending, no doubt. But overall, this is not a happy story in my life.

So this is why I'm probably not the best person to ask. The circumstances aren't 'normal'. There's a certain sense of somberness about this acquisition for me, as I'm just getting my life back to normal. And let's face it, 'somber' is not an emotion normally associated with purchasing a brand new sports car! See below for some pics of my 350.

frost · 01-14-2009, 08:16 PM

Good review. I didn't realize the sunglasses holder was gone, but I'm not too saddened because my oakleys never fit in the 350's holder. The pic of the glove box makes it look like a joke, I didn't realize how small it was.

LiquidZ · 01-14-2009, 08:38 PM

Blue!!!!!

WUKILLABEEZ78 · 01-14-2009, 09:39 PM

Great review. Sorry about your accident but glad to hear you're recovering pretty well. I like the answer you gave to the guy who asked why you carry a gun. I'm a former cop and even though I left the profession I'd never think about not having a gun with me in my car (and sometimes on me depending on where I am). Like you said, I don't want trouble but sometimes trouble can try to seek you out and if so I'm prepared to defend myself. No offense to the guy who asked why you carry but to me I can't understand how someone would ask that. As a former cop obviously I have more knowledge than the average citizen about what is really happening in the world but anybody can turn on their local news and see why more responsible citizens should exercise their right to carry a concealed weapon (do it the right way and get a concealed carry permit if your state allows it, a few don't). Nothing wrong with being the type of person who doesn't want to carry a weapon, hopefully if you see someone approaching your car and know he intends to do you harm (by his actions, words, demeanor, etc...) he'll just take your property and not shoot you or a loved one for no reason. From your pics it looks like none of my current handguns will fit in the center console area unless it's depth allows me to put it in there somehow with the muzzle pointing down...

Pushing_Tin · 01-15-2009, 03:07 AM

Great review, glad you recovered from you accident as well. And OT, but I also have my concealed carry, I have a S&W 9mm.

TerribleONE · 01-15-2009, 03:11 AM

very nice review..

tvfreakazoid · 01-15-2009, 06:16 AM

How many miles are you going to drive it before it breaks in?

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

I've had my 370Z for 5 days now, and thought I'd share some observations from the perspective of someone whose previous ride was a 350Z. A few things to state up front. My 350Z was an '06 Enthusiast, M/T. So that's my baseline in terms of any comparisons I make. My impressions, and comparison remarks, might be different if my baseline were an '08 HR 350Z, for instance, or an '03 model for that matter. Another thing to bear in mind is that my 370 is a Touring model, M/T, w/ sport pkg. So I'm comparing an '06 Enthusiast to an '09 Touring, vs. an '06 Grand Touring to an '09 Touring, which is slightly 'apples to oranges'. Finally, my performance-related observations at this stage are a little 'green'. That's because I'm still well within the break-in period and have yet to drive my 370 hard (I'm still under 100 miles on the odometer!).

Having dispensed with all the caveats, let me begin with my performance-related impressions:

- The acceleration of the 370 feels every bit as quick as the 350, if not quicker. I've been keeping the revs below 5k for now and it still feels quick. I'm sure once I'm done with break-in and nail it up to 7500rpm, this thing is going to plant a grin on my face that stretches from one ear to the other!

- It corners better than the 350. I can already tell you that. With the 350, I always felt a sort of odd hesitation when accelerating out of a corner from a stop (like when you stop at light before turning right). That feeling is gone with the 370. It also feels more agile than the 350 and turns more crisply.

- The 370 feels more stable at high speed. The rear of the 350 always felt a little 'floaty' to me at 70mph+, especially if the road got curvy. That feeling is gone with the 370.

- Braking. This one's tough. The brakes are definitely better than what came on my 350 (4 pistons vs 2 up front, 2 pistons vs 1 in the rear). BUT, I upgraded the brakes on my 350 to a set of StopTechs, front and rear, and the brakes on my 370 definitely have less bite than the StopTechs. Although...I probably just need to toss the rubber brake lines and install braided steel ones, and maybe change the pads. Anyway, definitely take my impressions on the brakes with a grain of salt, because I never drove a 350 with the Brembos, and thus have no idea how the feel of the new ones compares.

- Synchro Rev-match. I have mixed feelings on this new feature. Don't get me wrong -- it's cool, it works well, in fact it seems to work better the more quickly one downshifts. But I like blipping my own throttle. I loved to heel and toe into corners in my 350. This automatic rev-matching technology will just make it easier for people who really have no business driving a car with a manual transmission to do just that -- drive a stick and drive it reasonably well. And even with this elitist-sounding remark I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I don't like anything that makes a car more accessible to poseurs and hacks. But on the other hand, I do realize that if not enough people buy the MT model, eventually Nissan might stop offering the Z with a stick, and that would be tragic. The stuff of nightmares!

So maybe it's not such a bad thing to make MT more accessible to people. I've come to think of Synchro Rev-match as a bridge between traditional MT, and paddle-shift manuals. Because what's the nice thing about paddle-shift manuals? Automatic rev-matching. But there's no clutch pedal. Well with this technology, you kinda get the best of both worlds. You get a clutch pedal, and you get the automatic rev-matching. And you can always turn the thing off if you want to go back to blipping your own throttle. This actually leads to my next observation, which sorta straddles the line between being a performance item and an interior item.

- The new gas pedal is floor-mounted instead of firewall-mounted. Not a huge deal, but it does feel different. Seems to me that you have to press down a little deeper before the engine will respond. This ties back to the whole heel and toe thing, because when I turn off Synchro Rev-match to do my own heel and toe, I find it a little harder than it was in the 350, as I have to depress the gas pedal much more with the edge of my foot to get high enough revs, relative to the 350. Well, at least the gas and brake pedals are still close enough together to heel/toe.

Now for my impressions on the interior. Overall, the interior of the 370 is definitely nicer. Not that I ever had much complaint about the 350, mind you. But there's definitely a higher quality feel with the 370. Plus, moving the rear support brace forward is a HUGE improvement over the 350 (see pic 1 below). One of the first things out of my mouth when I looked in the back was "Hey, there's enough room back here to mount two NOS bottles!"

I do have some minor quibbles, however.

- The center console of the 370Z is quite a bit smaller than the one in the 350Z, length-wise. There's barely enough room for a 3" 1911 pistol now. BARELY. And this is the shortest pistol I have! (See pic 2.) In the 350, I could put almost any of my pistols in the center console, including Commander-length 1911s (4.25"). Well, at least it's deep enough for a spare magazine and a tactical flashlight as well.

- They took away the sunglass compartment! In my 350, there was a little flip-down compartment where the dome lights are to put one's sunglasses. That's gone in the 370. (Pic 3.)

- The rear storage compartment behind the passenger seat is a joke. In the 350, the rear compartment sloped out at a 45-degree angle. You had to drop the passenger seat forward to open it, but the thing was huge. I put my emergency road flares in there, as well as jumper cables, my manual, and a first aid kit. In the 370, they chopped the rear off so that it's vertical instead of coming out at an angle. (See pic 4.) The result is that there's a little 'drawer' that pulls out at an angle that's more like a little file folder. There's now an open shelf behind the passenger seat as a result of making the rear compartment vertical. That's fine and well if you want to just put stuff on top of it. But I won't ever put anything on top of it. Call me crazy, but I don't like to have anything unsecured in my car, because in an accident, loose items become projectiles that could cause injury. Heck, forget about accidents -- just spirited driving could cause issues with anything that's just sitting loose on the shelf. Ah...but there's now a real glove box, you say? That brings me to my final quibble.

- The glove box is a nice touch, but it's also a bit of a joke. Check out pics 5, 6, and 7 below. In the first one, the glove box is closed. Looks big, doesn't it? But open it up, and it's not nearly as roomy as one might have assumed. To give a better sense of scale, in the last photo, I threw my key fob in. Keep in mind that the key fob is pretty small.

So that's pretty much it for now. The gripes that I have are indeed just minor quibbles. None of them make me regret getting the 370. None of them make me want to take a 350 over a 370. I love the updated look of the exterior, and I really really like the new blue! (See last pic.)

semtex · 01-15-2009, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WUKILLABEEZ78

From your pics it looks like none of my current handguns will fit in the center console area unless it's depth allows me to put it in there somehow with the muzzle pointing down...

I just stuck a ruler into the console - exactly 3 inches. So I'm thinking you'd be out of luck, given that the console is longer than it is deep (and you already know that it's not long enough for any of your guns). You'd probably have better luck with the glove box, but even that's a little iffy. Plus, if you're like me, you probably don't like having to reach over that far for your weapon.

semtex · 01-15-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvfreakazoid

How many miles are you going to drive it before it breaks in?

The manual says 1200 miles for break-in. No hard acceleration during break-in, and don't rev above 4000 rpm. That last one is pretty hard. I've been doing okay with not going above 5500 rpm, but 4000 is too hard.

G in ny · 01-15-2009, 08:50 AM

Congrats man I cant wait to get my MB 370z in MT. If you dont like the synchro rev match why dont you turn it off? lol I think if you press the S-mode button it disables it so you can drive without it.

The car is beautiful though im jealous I dont have mine yet =(

semtex · 01-15-2009, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G in ny

Congrats man I cant wait to get my MB 370z in MT. If you dont like the synchro rev match why dont you turn it off? lol I think if you press the S-mode button it disables it so you can drive without it.

The car is beautiful though im jealous I dont have mine yet =(

I do turn it off occasionally. But to be honest, it's growing on me. I think I'll still turn it off from time to time so that my heel/toe skills don't get too rusty though! You know what I just realized? There are now two colors in the line-up with the initials 'MB'. Monterey Blue, and Magnetic Black! When are you planning to get yours?

G in ny · 01-15-2009, 09:01 AM

The montery blue also. Its going to be my first manual car coming out of a auto g35 coupe.

You have any mod ideas on the list?

semtex · 01-15-2009, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G in ny

The montery blue also. Its going to be my first manual car coming out of a auto g35 coupe.

You have any mod ideas on the list?

Dual cold air intakes, like the ones Stillen has for the G37. I'm guessing that they're in the process of making adaptations so that it'll fit the Z. That's No.1 on my list. Then we'll see about the exhaust. Link to Stillen G37 intake below, if you want to take a closer look.

STILLEN : STILLEN Generation 3 Ultra Long Tube Dual Intake Kit

G in ny · 01-15-2009, 09:10 AM

oh yea and how much did u pay if u dont mind me asking?

G in ny · 01-15-2009, 09:12 AM

Yea I know someone with that intake. Pretty interesting setup stillen has. I think im going to go with the Injen CAI just because it sounded great on the 37 and 35. I really want to hear it on the 370.

Is it me or is the car really quite? I test drove it and rev'd up couple of time dosnt sound as loud. Or it could be because its a new car

01-14-2009, 09:39 PM	#19 (permalink)
WUKILLABEEZ78 Base Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: North Carolina Posts: 51 Drives: 08 Infiniti G Sedan Rep Power: 17	Great review. Sorry about your accident but glad to hear you're recovering pretty well. I like the answer you gave to the guy who asked why you carry a gun. I'm a former cop and even though I left the profession I'd never think about not having a gun with me in my car (and sometimes on me depending on where I am). Like you said, I don't want trouble but sometimes trouble can try to seek you out and if so I'm prepared to defend myself. No offense to the guy who asked why you carry but to me I can't understand how someone would ask that. As a former cop obviously I have more knowledge than the average citizen about what is really happening in the world but anybody can turn on their local news and see why more responsible citizens should exercise their right to carry a concealed weapon (do it the right way and get a concealed carry permit if your state allows it, a few don't). Nothing wrong with being the type of person who doesn't want to carry a weapon, hopefully if you see someone approaching your car and know he intends to do you harm (by his actions, words, demeanor, etc...) he'll just take your property and not shoot you or a loved one for no reason. From your pics it looks like none of my current handguns will fit in the center console area unless it's depth allows me to put it in there somehow with the muzzle pointing down... __________________ 2008 G35 Journey in Platinum Graphite with Sport/Premium/Navigation and Technology Packages with 4WAS/Splash Guards and Spoiler 2005 Nissan Xterra S in Super Black (Dog Hauler)

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01-14-2009, 08:38 PM	#18 (permalink)
LiquidZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Columbus, OH Posts: 1,940 Drives: Mag. Black 2009 370Z Rep Power: 705	Blue!!!!!

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Pushing_Tin A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 2,875 Drives: E63 AMG Rep Power: 228	Great review, glad you recovered from you accident as well. And OT, but I also have my concealed carry, I have a S&W 9mm.

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01-15-2009, 08:50 AM	#25 (permalink)
G in ny Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: new york Posts: 396 Drives: 2006 g35 coupe Rep Power: 228	Congrats man I cant wait to get my MB 370z in MT. If you dont like the synchro rev match why dont you turn it off? lol I think if you press the S-mode button it disables it so you can drive without it. The car is beautiful though im jealous I dont have mine yet =(

01-15-2009, 09:01 AM	#27 (permalink)
G in ny Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: new york Posts: 396 Drives: 2006 g35 coupe Rep Power: 228	The montery blue also. Its going to be my first manual car coming out of a auto g35 coupe. You have any mod ideas on the list?

01-15-2009, 09:10 AM	#29 (permalink)
G in ny Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: new york Posts: 396 Drives: 2006 g35 coupe Rep Power: 228	oh yea and how much did u pay if u dont mind me asking?

01-15-2009, 09:12 AM	#30 (permalink)
G in ny Enthusiast Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: new york Posts: 396 Drives: 2006 g35 coupe Rep Power: 228	Yea I know someone with that intake. Pretty interesting setup stillen has. I think im going to go with the Injen CAI just because it sounded great on the 37 and 35. I really want to hear it on the 370. Is it me or is the car really quite? I test drove it and rev'd up couple of time dosnt sound as loud. Or it could be because its a new car