370z: Driving Impressions

GingaBreadMan

Hey guys. I've decided to give my opinion of the 370z after every 1k miles. I purchased a 370z 6spd Sport with 22 miles on the odometer. I currently have 2k miles and the car is very impressive.
The 370 is quick and nimble making transitions very easy. I am constantly amazed by the handling which continues to breed confidence to take off ramps a little faster. The brakes are phenomenal making triple digit excursions a breeze without worrying granny will limp into your lane. I have noticed the Z doesn't give you a good sense of speed. If it wasn't for the engine screaming like a nagging wife you wouldn't realize you are going as fast as you are. I have learned to appreciate this because it means the vehicle is remaining composed during aggressive driving. I assume the feeling that the 370 is "slow" is due to the fact I'm coming from a CL500 Benz. With 339lb-ft of torque on hand in the Mercedes, I very rarely had to use WOT. I find myself using WOT quite often in the Z. IMO more power is needed for the Z to reach it true potential. I'm looking forward to tuning the Z to see what it is truly capable of.
Guess I'll get back to you a in a couple of months. The Z is not my everyday driver so it will take awhile before 1k miles will be driven.

SManZ

If you havent rear ended a Towncar by then...
Honestly...triple digits and blowing by traffic? No tuning required to see that the 370 is capable of being trashed like any other recklessly driven vehicle.

alan93rsa

No, you just don't have good sense period

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ZzzZz

We're all car enthusiasts here. Stop raggin on him and making nonsensical grandpa Buick comments!

wolf41779

[QUOTE=GingaBreadMan;169929] I have noticed the Z doesn't give you a good sense of speed. QUOTE]

I agree, I was on the high way the other day and the speed limit dropped to 55, I thought I slowed down a bit but I was still going 75. Here in AZ our highways have a speed limit of 75 so I wasnt going over the speed limit by that much, I try to keep it to -10 mph over and I still get passed all the time. I figured out that by knowing which gear im in helps me judge the velocity at which im traveling. And there is certainly some growl to let you know that the engine is above 4500 rpm, that what I enjoy about the Z. Its engine is quite at low rpms, but once you hit it...WHAAAAAAAAAp

gorillanismo

I think that Nissan Z have the most beautiful sound of the past years...

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shabarivas

the 350 sounded much better than the 370 - but i think some bolt ons will fix that

serge

What a nasty comment...

I assume that you never drove your 350Z "recklessly" at 100mph, which falls under the triple digits category you're referring.

Let's not be hypocrite here, ok?

Red370

I heart Deutschland

nicknick

As far as i know the 370z is quicker than a cl500. Why would you have use WOT more in the z? you are implying the cl500 is faster/quicker which it is not, in fact it is a boat and I imagine that it would need WOT more of the time. BTW I don't understand who purchases a car to drive it WOT most of the times.

VCuomo

Here in the USA there are no public roads where you can legally drive at 100+mph (unlike the Autobahn). Tracks and private roads/property are another matter...

Where I live there are many instances of reckless drivers driving at these speeds on public roads (street racing) and killing innocent people in the process - that's why many of us frown at this behavior. Coming from that perspective, IMO SManZ did not make a "nasty" comment.

m4a1mustang

It's because the 5 liter V8 in his Benz has a lot more torque.

My girlfriend has a CLK500 which is slower than my Z (though it does run ~13.8ish), but just driving around it feels a lot faster. That's what 340 lb-ft of torque at 2,700 RPM will do. Those V8 cars have a lot of grunt and instant response down low.

With the Z you need to wind it out a little bit more to get the power out of it.

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JoeD

Nah yo...you aint kno bout da mad skillz. Homeboy hits dem races on da streets drippin in traffic:

370z vs 911 ZO6 S4!!!

SManZ

Eh...maybe some of you are right in that my comment came off harsh but I won't take back the meaning of the post.

Serge - US highways and drivers are very unlike what you'd find in Germany. Given the social immaturity of most Americans, an environment like the Autobahn would never work here.

Have I ever driven recklessly? Yes. Have I done stupid things? Yes, plenty of them over the years. I was just lucky enough to not get wrecked, arrested, or ticketed in the process. And yes, from time to time I still drive recklessly in the eyes of the law.

We all should have some self indication of common sense though. 100+mph on an empty road with plenty of sight distance and 100+mph blowing by traffic are both legally reckless. Some would say the former is dumb and dangerous and thats fine - I and probably most other people on this forum would disagree. The problem is that not everyone agrees that the latter is just plain stupid.

So Ginga, what I really meant was...please be careful. 5th gear all the way bro, if it works for you.

tooohip

Do you have to?

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