Moving on from 350Z to a 370Z

bleunetizen

Hi guys

Just want to hear some feed back those of you who did the same move..

I have had my 350Z for over 8 years, in the first place I HATED the Z so much because I was very used to lighter rwd cars which had more power than the 350Z. 1450kg of weight, rev limit of 6600rpm, very understeery and weak suspension setup, viscous LSD and etc, there were just too many things I hated about. Driving this car on race tracks or mountain road was a joke and I hated every single bit of it because it felt so dull, not responsive and etc. I originally imported the car from Japan for a quick sale and cash but somehow the mod bug bit me and made me to turn the car into something that I appreciate more..

As time went by I slowly started to mod the car up with a lot of trial and error and finally came to a point where I was happy and could not really do much more to improve it other than rebuilding the short block to gain more capacity and compression, which I just did could not justify the benefit of doing so when the HR models were already out for ages and now the 370Z. When I did the cams and valve springs to bring the engine to 7200rpm, the car felt so much better but after a while nissan launched an HR engine with 7500rpm limit, which pissed me off..

I recently sold the 350Z to a very close friend of mine who was looking for a trackable street car, and the new owner is very happy with his purchase and I still get to drive it at the track occasionally which is also a good thing, he is looking for some excuses to spend some money on the car but having a hard time finding those

I sold the car because I was not driving it enough after owning too many cars, the Z was rarely driven and only time it gets driven was when I was attending track days. As work got busier and me getting older I just did not have enough time to drive it, done less than 2000km over the last couple years. Anyway, so I sold it and after taking my other cars to the track for some giggle, I realised how much I miss the old Z. I was telling myself that I need to find a new street/track toy, because my 500hp+ bmw is just too heavy and expensive to punish it too frequently.

I researched here and there and I decided to go ahead with 370Z, you can call me stupid but I have never test driven an 370Z yet but still bought one off auction in japan and it is on its way to NZ right now It is even heavier than the old 350Z although it is not by much. Looks like it is lighter than the HR models at least.

Those of you who track your 370Z and preferably the ones who moved on from 350Z or have experience of modding 350Z, could you help me giving me some information.. On the spec sheet the 370Z beats in almost every single aspect but how about in real life?

1. I am assuming the 370Z should feel much more nimble despite the fact that it is still a heavy car, compared to a stock 350Z for its much shorter wheel base and wider track, less caster etc. How is the suspension in the stock form? I know I will be getting a set of coilovers and probably sway bars once the car gets here but just wanted to get some feedback on its handling in general.

2. Flywheel weight of the 350Z was very heavy, and I assume the 370Z probably will share the similar weight if not heavier. Has anyone experience with any particular light weight fly wheel?

3. Final drive and LSD, I just cant live with viscous type LSD for it being so unpredictable to the touch of accel. back then when I was doing up my old 350Z up, Cusco RS was considered as the best and almost indestructible LSD, which actually lasted almost 8 years of my abuse and still going strong. I did some research here and it appears that OS Giken LSD's are now much more popular for its smooth engagement? Is final drive swap a popular mod among 370z owners? I was running 3.9:1 ratio for the 350Z which was about 10% shorter than stock. And from memory 370Z's stock final drive was around 3.7:1, and I think I remember seeing 4.1 or 4.2:1 kit out there, has anyone had a good experience with those kits?

4. Power mods - it looks like the 370Z gets close to 400bhp (or should I call it 20%+ gain) with basic bolt on's? this is really impressive, is this very reachable or is it just for some lucky engines out there?

5. Bolt on half cage, I cant seem to find any half cage for the 370Z on the internet, which is very useful for running harness and supposedly save my head when I end up upside down I do not intend to go with full cage because it is hard to get it certified here in NZ due to head room clearance etc. Is there any half cage from a reputable brand for the 370Z out there?

6. What the hell, this is becoming an essay. I think I better stop here now.


Sorry about the messy write up, I guess I am overly excited with the new purchase..

Long story short, I guess my bottom line is, how does 370z perform against 350z both modded and stock

One think I learned from reading up the forum is oil temp issue, which was bad enough on the 350Z as well, seems even worse on the 370Z and needs even bigger cooler.

thanks in advance for any input..

edub370

1. slightly more nimble. less tendancy to understeer, thats for sure. handles very well for the GT style suspension on the car that isn't too harsh on DD'ing. with that being said, u will still want coils for tracking

2. yep! this flywheel is a heavy sob. a bunch of people have gone lightweight, and they will have to chime in here.

3. can't comment much on LSD swapping. don't think its real common. same with final drive swapping, although i know there are members on here with both done.

4. you can expect 325whp+ with full bolt ons pretty reasonably. i made 326whp without headers (just test pipes). If you go with some nice long tube headers, intake, exhaust, and tune, you should expect somewhere around 325-335whp. (which is about 370-375 crank hp). some members are hovering north of 335, but its not totally common.

5. not sure on this one at all

Just make sure before u track, to get an oil cooler, as u stated. also, a set of track pads and higher temp fluid are a MUST for long track days on this car. other than that, its good to go.

You will love the refinement of this car compared to the 350z. there is really no comparison on interior quality.

P.s. if you go boosted, u can run 500+whp alllll day on these stock motors.

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Joepro

Love the 370 compared to 350 never looked back. The 370 is more refined and of higher quality as a, whole...in terms if performance the hr 350 compares well when na. If I were building a track car between the two I would pick the 350 it is more basic and easy to rip apart. As for a street car, 370 all the way.

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kenchan

someone summarize original post in 2 words please...

Joepro

Correct choice.

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Swift|Koni|SPC| FI CBE|Z1|Stillen|Sbend|Zspeed|R/T Tuned|523 whp|458 tq|10.5 psi|SOLD
Joepro's Journal|Joepro's Boosted Performance Build |Pittsburgh-Western-Pa-Ohio-Wv-Group

Bking

370Z track?

SmokeEater27

Congrats on the 370 purchase..Never owned a 350 so cant speak on it personally. I came over from a bmw E46 coupe and the two together are complete night & day IMO. Not to mention the price difference in parts. I have to say youre a lucky man to get to enjoy the car scene in NZ as well as having D1NZ out there. Hope the new Z treats you well man.

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Chuck33079

Read more.

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kenchan

kenchan

thanks!


/thread.

Chuck33079

Really, a new member comes in here with a well thought out post, with proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, formatted to be readable and we give him crap about the wall of text?

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2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

falconfixer

350Z regret

kenchan

too long! is also a grammatical issue with posts.

posts are not suppose to be a life time novel or autobiography.

i agree. that platform was best in G35C.

edub370

op, ignore kenchan lololol

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Firebase99

You had a fully bolted DE? Tuned? Like others have said, around town you wont notice the "speed" difference too much. Though the 7500 redline is a hoot compared to the 6600. It is much more nimble, and grippy than my old 350. Its faster too, especially when the tach is past 5. Slightly faster than a stock HR due lower weight and flatter performance envelop. I track mine at a Florida raceway, I have a 2013 so the oil cooler is stock, all I do is put on tires and brake fluid, pads in. Havent had any issues. Yet.