Corvette Grand Sport and Nismo 370 similarity?

MightyBobo

Z51-equipped Vette is more car than 99% of this board could handle on a track.

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zman1910

In case anyone was curious I was really just going after the rim similarity. Kinda sucks to buy the Nismo "exclusive" version of the 370 when other cars are practically wearing the same wheel design. I can understand a little similarity but those are almost dead on....

JoeD

Sardis

Didn't you get the memo? American cars don't handle...

Forget the lap ring record of the CTS V for a production four door, or the top two times belonging to the Vette and Viper...

I don't even like domestic's, but I am growing weary of the BIAS. These are performance cars, and when they demonstrate that, it's time to show respect..

Period

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DropTopGal

Hey, I currently drive an 08 Z51 Convertible Vette with NPP (436hp / 416tq), thus I can add some personal insight for those who may be interested.

A few quick observations about the Vette:
1. Looks GREAT
2. Amazing power with smooth delivery
3. NPP exhaust is music to one's ears
4. Comfortable seats
5. Decent gas milage
6. Very good audio with the 3LT premium package
7. Thus far, not one issue / starts up every time with a noticable "brrrummm"
8. No racer wanna be types... they know the Vette is one of the top sharks on the road
9. So very cool heads up display on the windshield in front of the driver

1. Not bad, but cheap interior for a $65k car.
2. Handles like a boat, wide turn radius, but it holds the line
3. Rather pricy to maintain (ie. tires, brakes, even oil changes are double the norm)
4. Overall fit and finish is sub par for a $65k car
5. GM nickle and dime savings in silly things.... very thin-plastic glove box, crappy electronic disply (circa 1990 green),
6. 6AT transmission is good, but no where near as refined as those found in Lexus & BMW. Some gear search in the Vette, but it never fails to quickly jump to lower gears when you push it.
7. On the convertible, way to much cowl shake. The S2000, M3, and SC430 have significantly less or no cowl shake.

People seem to always notice the Vette, it is a sharp looking car. Actually, sometimes it is a bit too noticable when you just want to blend.

My hubby keeps telling me to get another Vette, but I really appreciate the Asian manufacturing / build quality in fit and finish, as is with my 08 Lexus IS350. The Z will be more fun to drive than the Vette, better handling, 6MT w/ synch, smaller package and enough power to still have fun. I'm also looking forward to the Z's updated instrument display.

Oh, and buying from "Government Motors" leaves me most displeased.

IHas370Z?

I just noticed today how similar the A5's rims were to the sport package rims...I think even closer than the Grand Sport:

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Old Chuck

My comment about the the handling feel of the vette was just that, an opinion. My opinion is that the C6 does not feel as connected to the road as the 370Z. That does not mean that it will not handle as well or go around a track faster but just the way it feels to me. Kinda like the way a Porsche feels connected to the road compared to many other cars. Again, I know the vette will handle but to me it is harder to tell when it is on the edge then some other cars. As DropTopGal states, it is a great performance car for the money and the sound of the V8 with the NPP exhaust is intoxicating especially for an old guy like me. Again, I take nothing away from the vette as it is a fine and very fast sports car.

Pharmacist

Does anyone know why the Nismo is so slow? I mean, the nismo has all these upgrades to the suspension, wheels, tires, aerodynamic package, etc.... over the sport package 370z. The Nismo is supposed to be the top of the line Z, the track monster of the Z line up, the super Z if you will. Yet, performance tests show it to be only as fast as, or in some cases even slower than the sport package Z.

And I was flabbergasted when Motor Trend's Driver Car of the Year test recently got a slower lap time in laguna seca with the Nismo than the 135i. The sport package Z is dead even with the 135i in linear acceleration and braking and destroys the bmw on a tight handling track where the bmw's soft suspension and skinny wheels understeer like the titanic.

Yet somehow, the supposedly "improved" Nismo Z was actually defeated by the 135i? The nismo really is turning out to be quite an embarassment.

Lug

In one test it only pulled a .91 on the skidpad, far less than the .97's to .99's the regular sports package gets. It has wider tires, so my guess would be some really bad rubber on the road or they left those shipping spacers in when they tested it.

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SiXK

The vette certainly has good performance but as far as looks go...eh.. its old and tired IMO. How many years have vettes looked like this? and then the vettes and vipers seem to have merged into almost identical looking cars. Bleh. Old, tired and 500,000 of them at every light.

Don't mean to rag on your car, just my .02, as I used to love old vettes (1971 is my favorite) but its time to refresh the current model.

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Lug

The current model came out in 2005. That;s less than 5 years ago.

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SiXK

yeah and what a remake it was. different headlights and a different third brake light? maybe more, I don't know, I am not a fan of corvettes. I know they look pretty much just like they did 4-5-6-7-8-9-10 years ago with a few minor changes. Just my opinion but its old and tired and with 46 billion of them on the road I don't really look at them that hard to be honest. Of course I never really liked the giant rear end of the (I guess) c5 and c6 vettes.

But to know more of what I am talking about, I did go and look up c5 corvette (started 1997) and c6 corvette on wikipedia and they look like the same car with different headlights to me.

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Magnetic Black 2009 370Z / Pearl Yellow 1991 300ZXTT

Lug

I guess we must be looking at different vettes.

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zman1910

^ I don't see how you don't find them similar. I mean it is an evolution of the C5.

SiXK

Nope, we are looking at the same vettes. Its just one of those things where we are going to disagree. I think my point is pretty obvious from the pictures you posted. Find some pictures of c5s and c6s from the same angles and it will be even more obvious IMO. no big deal, its not a test question.

Have a great day.

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Magnetic Black 2009 370Z / Pearl Yellow 1991 300ZXTT