My 370Z review after 2 years of ownership

RCGsupra

Well, I want to start out by saying that I am am extremely lucky to have been able to own a Z. I bought my touring/sport 6MT in April of 2009. I just sold it and thought I would write an unbiased review on the car.


First off, a little history about my experience. I consider myself a "car guy" and I am infatuated with cars that were made with one purpose: to provide a great driving experience. I've been privileged to have owned a single turbo mkiv supra and a bugeye WRX. In addition I've had track experience in the Supra as well as a Lotus Elise. I know this isn't much, but with this combined with other cars I have driven I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of how a car should "behave."

Now on to the Z. My first impression of the Z was "wow", this car offers quite a bit for the money. The things that attracted me to it initially was the sport package which included huge brakes, and LSD, and some massive grip for a stock car. That accompanied with some decent power and I was impressed.

So what was I looking for in the Z? Well, coming from the Supra, which was basically a track car that I DD'd, I wanted a fun car that wouldn't be as extreme as the supra for a DD. So I went and drove a 370Z and I was impressed. As an overall first impression the car felt "solid." It didn't feel super fast, but it was smooth. The interior was great and this was important because at the time i was looking for a comfortable sports car.

Ok, so I bought the Z and lets fast forward to today. I used the car for what I bought it for (a DD) and unfortunately never got to track it or for that matter auto-x it. For a DD it was a great car, but it isn't without it's flaws.

Here's my take on each aspect of the car.

Clutch: The stock clutch feels totally numb. It is very hard to be smooth, grabs really high, and it basically has no feel. This can be improved by adjusting the clutch pedal to grab closer to the floor.

Throttle response/flywheel: Terrible! This is one of my biggest gripes with the car. It takes soooooo long for this engine to rev. You almost have to stab the throttle at 100% just to get a "blip." Once you get it to rev, it sits there for a few seconds and then slowly falls. ugh. It's just not responsive.

Transmission/Shifter: Pretty good! I had a few issues early on where it would take a while to get it into 6th, but that eventually went away. The throws for the most part were short and crisp. The synchrorev was cool, but not always perfect. I felt that it was always a few hundred RPM off and it would be jerky on downshifts. I found that downshifting at higher speeds where the RPM is higher and releasing the clutch fast on downshifts would yield the best results. Either way it's a great concept as it allows you to focus more on braking than your heal and toe technique. And this is especially true given how hard this thing is to heal and toe with it's slow throttle response/touchy clutch.

Suspension/Chasis: Very good. This is one aspect of the car that I really grew to appreciate. For a stock car, this thing handles great! The steering is a bit heavy, but the initial turn is great and it just stays planted. It has tons of grip and has minimal body roll. However, when you it a large bump with the suspension loaded it will unsettle the car quite a bit. I'm sure this is probably easily correctable with some minor suspension upgrades. One downside is that the car is pretty heavy for its size. I would have liked to have seen it closer to 3k lbs.

Brakes: Awesome. Man do these things bite. I have no complaints in this department. I have only heard of icing issue, but never experienced it. This is common in other cars so I wouldn't be too worried about it. I never did get to experience them on the track, but I assume with some good pads and fluid they would perform well.

Engine: Meh. It pulls great and is very smooth above about 3K RPM. Anything below that is just a mess. There is no low end torque and it usually stumbles/bogs quite a bit in the lower RPM range. This is especially true on a hot and humid summer day. It honestly feels more like a turbo car without all of the fun. The oil temp is also somewhat of an issue. For normal driving it isn't a factor, but for anything "spirited" it is. For example I was in Asheville, NC on a nice 70 degree fall day and decided to go drive some mountain roads. Within 5 minutes the oil temps were around 270. I guess it's good Nissan at least put an oil temp gauge in the car so we can at least be aware.

Interior: Probably one of the best aspects of the car. Nissan did a great job with this. If you are looking for something that is comfortable with a lot of features this car is great. The textures are great and everything looks nice. The seats are comfortable and supportive. One downside is that the visibility is terrible. There are a ton of blind spots. It's not as bad once you get use to it, but you are always aware of the fact that you can't see ****.

Exterior: I thought it looked pretty good. I was never fond of the 350, but this car to me looks much better. It's still not a "pretty" car, but it is aggressive and has a presence in person.


So overall the 370Z is a solid, well balanced sports car. It feels a little "disconnected", but it's great for someone looking for a fun car that is still comfortable enough to drive on a daily basis. Those looking for more of a rewarding driving experience may want to consider something else. It has some flaws, but it is very impressive in stock form and I think it has a lot of potential. I think this going to be a great value once they come down in price a bit.

So that's my review. I tried to stay as unbiased as I could. Hopefully this will help those interested in the car. Feel free to throw some hate my way if you disagree.

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-Rick
09 370Z 6MT Sport/Touring. FI Exhaust

Koji_Online

Good review, & is consistent with past user testimonials on this forum; I have not owned a 370 yet, but I did get a thorough test drive; I agree with the clutch & throttle response, especially compared to my integra; I am currently swapped with an 11lbs flywheel & have a stage 2 clutch that grabs close to the floor, but still comfortable for DD; & also agree that the synchro rev match feature on the sport package works pretty well and let's you concentrate more on braking, which can only make you faster on a road course.

Thanks for letting us know of your experiences with the car!

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PSN ID: Koji_Online

spearfish25

Sorry you sold the car. I'd have to disagree with some of your points. The clutch is actually quite nice. Compare it by driving a Mini Cooper. They're supposedly sporty go-karts yet they have the clutch of a Honda CRV. I'd take my Z clutch any day.

Throttle response is crap at idle but it shapes up nicely once you're driving. I find the car to have excellent throttle response at speed.

To each his own. So what did you replace the Z with?

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2013 Cadillac V-Wagon, RIP Z

SPOHN

Great review. Dead on. I just about agree to all of it. Good thing for modding you can change alot of this. That's if you go that route. At least it's no where as heavy as a Supra? It's hard to get around alot of this due to safty standers.

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RCGsupra

Believe it or not it's not much lighter than the Supra. I think my Supra was about 3500 lbs with a partial cage installed. The Z isn't too far off from that. I know it's around 3300-3400 or so fully loaded. The Supra was also a much bigger car than the Z.

I actually picked up an 07 F-150. Now that I have a more practical DD i can focus on a dedicated "toy." I'm thinking about picking up an 05 Lotus Elise and supercharging it or just build a track day car.

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-Rick
09 370Z 6MT Sport/Touring. FI Exhaust

kenchan

Yah I too agree that the chassis and sus is good out of the box especially for street.

mjd77

How did the paint hold up on yours?

bleufiend

Nice to get someones honest review. I agree with the fact that the throttle response is somewhat muted, the car to me however has decent torque down low, try driving a 2002 E46M3 like I owned, that car makes 333bhp and had no torque down low what so ever.

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Z34 owner formerly Z33. OZOC FTW.

RCGsupra

Great! I got one stone chip on my left rear fender flare. I also had a GM clearbra on the bumper, 1/3 hood, room line, A pillars, and mirrors so I think that helped quite a bit.

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-Rick
09 370Z 6MT Sport/Touring. FI Exhaust

Plasmaball

what clutch and flywheel would you replace it with?

Endgame

weight 3250 - Base + Sport

FricFrac

I think the clutch is great on mine. I'll probably upgrade when it needs replacing but it hooks up perfect every time. I hear what you are saying about the syncro rev matching but I think the intent is for agressive driving and I find it works flawlessly when used properly. If you drive it like and old man then the syncro rev does get a little lurchy. Don't be afraid - just let the clutch out quickly and it matches perfectly. If you let off the throttle and wait for a while to let the clutch out that's when you'll notice it being off a bit. I challenge you to get it to not match perfectly when you pop the clutch out right away.... pretty good for an "non-reponsive engine that doesn't rev..."

The great oil/heat debate has been gone over 1 billion times so it doesn't really need to be gotten into again here. I AutoX mine all day without any heating issues but on the track it could definately use a cooler. I wish there was a dealer option for the cooler but it's definately not a show stopper in any way. Simple fix and happy that the safety is built in to protect from over heating.

I guess when you say the engine isn't responsive I guess it really depends on what you compare it to. I really is amazingly linear in its response so it definately depends on what your preference is. A linear "curve" makes it a well rounded DD. It's actually less like a turbo engine with it's linear "curve". The 350Z engine was more like a turbo engine in its response than the 370Z....

I too wish the car was lighter. It could be smaller as well - it's a giant compared to my 240Z. Unfortunately (or fortunately I suppose) safety restratints keep bumping the requirements and weights of vehicles up and up in spite of weight reducing materials, etc. It's probably one of the major problems with designing a modern car... Be thankfull it's not the 4400lbs that the Dodge Challenger weighs in at...

Visibility is crappy - again I agree on that point. If you are an attentive driver and well aware of your surroundings its virtualy a non issue.

Good review - it's nice to hear what people's experiences are with the car.

There are no perfect cars - just better balanced comprimises....

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'09 370Z - '93 300ZX Vert - '83 280ZX - '83 280ZXT -'81 280ZXT stroker - '72 240Z - Stillen CBE, HFC, G3, Grounding Kit, Sways // Swift Spring // H&R 15mm // 5% Tint // Clear Bra //

ImportConvert

I strongly disagree with you on the clutch. Having driven mustangs, F-bodies, ford ranger's, F250's, and plenty of other manual equipped vehicles, the 370Z had the worst clutch feel of them all. The only one worse to drive was the Ranger, becuase it had NO! torque. The clutch offered more feedback, though. It is more "on/off"the clutch in my friend's 800whp civic.

sonic370

I agree with others good fair review. I have AT so can't comment on the MT.

If i missed it in your post sorry. but in it's price range the 370 is top 3 or 4
when it comes to the more bang for your buck factor.

and it won't take a back seat in the looks class compared to the new mustang or camaro either,imho.

PapoZalsa

I respect the unbiased opinion of every owner.

I had over 40 cars in my life time from BMWs to RX-7s. The 370Z is the best car for the buck so far for me, is not a perfect car but it is an excellent car.

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2009 370Z MB Base w/Sport Package 6MT
Modshack's Custom Air Intakes /3M Clear Bra/ Illuminated Kick Plates / F. I CBE w/12" resonators / EVO-R Front Lip / Rear Hatch Wing / Tein S-Tech Springs /Ilegal Tint in the Rep. of VA/4x20mm Z1 Spacers/ Vinyl Roof/Liquid Carbon Designs