Thinking of getting something cheaper..

Skorch

To be honest, I've never been in a C5. However I did test drive the C6 after my first 370Z was totaled, and I wasn't impressed. I felt like I was stuck in a cockpit and the interior quality made me miss my Z. I'm not sure how the C5 compares to the C6 quality-wise, but I can't really see myself driving one. The Evo and the Mustang GT are definitely not on my radar either. Evos are terrible on gas and I did hear the insurance on them is expensive. Mustangs are everywhere and I would never want to drive one simply because it's so ubiquitous.

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'12 370Z + Sport | Stillen Gen3 Intakes | Stillen UD Pulley | Motordyne M370 | FI Exhaust | FI HFCs | 4.08 Gears | Uprev tuned

jcosta79

Mine was a 2008 C6. I've also driven many C5's. The C6 is a HUGE improvement over the C5 in terms of interior quality (and pretty much everything else). To be honest, my 370 is not that much better as far as interior quality except for the seats. The seats in a Corvette are horrible.

What IS a lot better in the 370Z is the suspension. I had to install coilovers in my C6 because the Z51 suspension was a joke. The 370 inspires A LOT more confidence.

__________________
2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

ImportConvert

Former C6 Z06 owner here, and I liked my friend's C5Z's interior better. GM really didn't fix the crappy Lear seats, the junk door panels, etc. but the leather quality did go down. *sigh*

Also, I hate my 370Z's suspension compared to my Z06 or the Grand Sport C6's I drove. The crappy weight distribution and the complete and utter lack of rebound control make the 370Z plow in the corners and bounce all over the place if you hit a bump. Corvette did a MUCH! better job planting the ride and handling the curves IMO/IME. Further, enter a corner in the 370Z and accelerate for balance and you might "go over the edge"---you can't stop accelerating after a certain point of you lose the back end when the weight shifts forward---hope you gauged things right. With the Corvette, you can back off without near the drama. "Plan as you go" in the corvette. Not so much the 370Z. IMO/IME.

Now, back to OP...


...What about a G35S? They are nice cars, peppy, cheaper, etc.?

Man, I really just don't know what to recommend. The Lexus IS is nice, but then, you are paying a premium to work on things, and those Japanese cars suck in my opinion. Why? They just fall apart once they get old. Not the engine itself or anything, but all your rubber bushings, things like that. Everyone I know who ever had an older Lexus/Infiniti/Nissan has run into that. The "little stuff" just seems to be pure junk. It falls apart. I ran into that on my G20, my friend Cara ran into that on her Lexus RX300 and Lexus car (I forgot what model, around 2001), and my friend has run into it on his Frontier. Sure, the motor keeps turning and the trans likely won't take a dump, but to keep the car 100% functional will totally kill you nickel-dime wise.

Great design and implementation and fit/finish and all that, but it's "weird" how some of it "goes together" and unnecessary in many cases, and the material the small-parts are made from is like bargain-basement from the 1995-2003 era it seems. Cracks, breaks, falls apart. My 1988 mustang GT held up better than my 2002 G20 and it sat in some old guy's lawn for years, lol. Interior had no cracks, body bushings were great, etc. If that had been a Lexus? Anything not made of metal or glass would have been worthless. Even their metal and glass seem inferior to American counterparts. My 370Z is literally the crappiest windshield I have owned---other than my G20. Japanese stuff just isn't as durable. My G20 windshield cracked with the heater turned on when it was cold out. Twice. My 370Z? It has tons of peck-marks, and broke with less than 500 miles on the car. My Z06 sat way lower and never had any issues. One TINY! peck when I sold it, and it sounded like a 9mm hit my windshield when I got that, probably would have fubar'ed my 370Z. I have no idea why this is, but it has been my perception from owning American and Japanese automobiles. YMMV

American cars, it seems to be stuff like window motors, water pumps, that sort of thing, but the other stuff does good, if you can put up with a somewhat crappy interior.

So take your pick, I guess, but the older American car is probably going to be a better choice for insurance, as well as "restoring/keeping" at 100% function.

jcosta79

Interior taste is subjective so there is no point in arguing that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As for the suspension, I know in my '08 C6 with the Z51 suspension, above 110 MPH the thing was absolutely floaty. I thought I was driving a Cadillac. Did not feel planted AT ALL. Once I installed coilovers it all went away. It was stable all the way to 190. (Yes, I hit 190 in it)

As for comparing it to the 370, I have only driven my Nismo, and I can tell you it inspires much more confidence in me than my Vette.

One thing I am sure that you will agree with me on is that the Vette absolutely SUCKS in the rain. I have driven C6 Z06's in the rain and I was mortified at how it wandered all over the place above 60 MPH. It was really bad. Conversely, I hit over 100 MPH in the rain this Saturday in my Nismo and it was fine. Very stable.

__________________
2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

ImportConvert

My 370Z is crap in the rain. I spun out on the freeway with 9/32 left on the tires while doing the same speed as surrounding traffic. Sorry, the 370Z is not half the car the corvette is in the suspension department. Anything over about 55 and it hydroplanes. I have a 2012 Sport model. I did not know a modern car could BE this pathetic when it comes to handling rain on the OEM tires unless you count the ACR Viper or something on DOT's.

Nothing about the 370Z is superior to the corvette in the suspension department except for: It has less propensity to wheel-hop, and steering feel, as well as parking-lot turn radius/maneuverability. Those are the only improvements I have noted as compared to my Z06. Base C6 without Z51 felt very planted to me, and I beat on Grand Sports doing over 120mph down the back stretch of Spring Mountain and they (Z51 suspension, basically) felt great as well.

Performance-wise, it feels very bad in corners, comparatively. 55/45 (what it REALLY is, yes, I weighed it on DOT scales that do biasing) is crap for performance driving. That is weight distribution though, not suspension. The bad part is when you hit an irregularity and the pogo-stick at each corner upsets the whole car.

I still like my 370Z better than my C6Z06 as a car I drive on the street, but the suspension is horrible, the weight distribution reminds me of my 1980's 5.0, and the OEM tires...I don't drive in the rain above 50-55mph anymore. Period. I slowly worked up to that 55mph limit during light rain on open roads, that is where the OEM tires with good tread begin to lose contact with the road and steering input becomes iffy if you hit any water what-so-ever. I'm not talking puddles, I'm just talking rain coming down and running down the crown of the road in any significant quantity (if you can see it, it's too much to hit at over 55!!!). As it is, If I ever see the sheen of water on the road too late to drop under about 55, I just point the car straight and try to be calm so that when I get control back, I am still pointed the right direction. I leave 10 minutes early for work when it's raining.


I never drove my Z06 in the rain, it was a toy. I cannot comment on that. I did drive my WS.6 in the rain, though, and it was rock solid. Even my old highschool car, a crown-vic, on bald tires was more solid. My G20 was more solid. I have literally never owned or been in a car that was crappier to drive in the rain than my 370Z Sport w/OEM tires. Ever. Crown Vic with no tread up front, WS.6 with no tread up front (when you're broke in school, tires are the last thing on your list). None of them would lose it like this 370 on Potenzas.

Like I tell people, this is my luxury car with a little pep. I don't consider it a performance automobile, just luxury "with a bit of edge". Hell, I already warped the rotors in it at 10K miles and had to have them turned. All street driving and my front tires still have over 1/2 the tread left on them.

I'm sorry, but no. I cannot tell you my 370Z Sport is anything near what my Z06 or any other corvette I have driven (Grand Sport, ZR1) in the suspension department.

Planned fixes: Tires that aren't crap. Don't drive the 370Z like it's a 'vette and you won't end up in the ditch. It can't handle sweeping corners. It's meant for short, tight corners. Long corners are bad in this car. You have to accelerate to balance the 370Z, and you can easily run out of lateral traction, or you will have a low exit velocity...or you can hit it JUUUSSTTT right...but you have to do EVERYTHING perfectly.

I'm sorry, I hate the way this car handles compared to a true sports car. I still love the interior, looks, and the acceleration and brakes are plenty good for the street as long as they don't warp on me again. But the handling is very disappointing in every way unless you are on a very "tight" series of corners. I think that's how all Japanese cars are, though, or most of them. That's just how those people do things. American cars are great in high-speed sweepers and on the open road, Japanese cars are meant for those tight little technical type tracks/corners.

Since I am moving to NW Arkansas, I hope to be in the 370Z's element, though, with the tighter corners, and with the smoother roads there, plus better tires, a lot of my complaints will dissappear.

I hate somewhat going so bluntly against your opinions, but they are polar opposites to mine. Maybe the ADVAN tires on your NISMO are way better than the Potenza's on the Sport model, and maybe the stiffer suspension keeps it from feeling like a pregnant yak in corners with the front plowing unless you're on the throttle pretty good.

nmjaxx9

I think this is why people wonder why you made the switch,

although you already told us why in another thread, still makes you think if I was happy with a vette Id stick with it. Jus sayin might I say you knew what you were getting into when downgrading

ImportConvert

I like the 370Z more. It is a much worse performer, but lets face it, I don't track the car and it makes me smile when I "push" it a little, still.

Now, the good?

The seats kick ***! My back doesn't hurt.
The interior is nice to look at.
The steering feel is great.
The NAV is modern!
The sound system, while not some audiophile's wet-dream is plenty for me!

Until you flop out about 100 large, you're going to be making compromises, I'm sorry.

I don't want to spend $100K+, and I am totally cool with the compromises I picked with the 370Z. However, I am honest with myself about them.

Well, I say totally cool, it's getting some Pilot Sport tires of whatever is the latest and greatest (coming from the 'vette world, that would be PS2's, but I think we in the Nissan world have a "better" tire that will fit our cars from the same line?). The hydroplaning issues has to GO. Other than that, I am still very happy with the trade and do not wish my Z06 back, helluva performer that it was, not withstanding.

*I will admit that I did think the weight distribution was 47/53 with a driver and fuel. It's not. Not even close. If it were, I think I would like the handling much better. Nissan lied, I believed them, the world keeps turnin'. GM was within about 0.25% of 50/50 with gas and a driver, BTW. So I expected honesty from Nissan, there, as well.

jcosta79

I'm not a big fan of leaf spring suspensions. All I can tell you is that when I put coilovers on my car, it transformed the way it handled.

I wonder if there is a big difference in the way the Sport models handle versus the Nismo models? I know the shocks are A LOT stiffer in the Nismos, maybe that with the small aero tweaks make a difference? Not sure.

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2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel

ImportConvert

I doubt Aero matters at the speeds I am talking. I am willing to bet it's the suspension and the tires that are responsible for our differing opinions.

I really liked the leaf-spring setup. It worked very well. Well enough to set world records around the 'ring. My only complaint was that it managed torque/wheel-hop very poorly compared to coil-overs.

Shocks alone are supposed to do a lot on the corvettes. I kept mine stock so I wouldn't know. The leaf-spring really isn't a bad setup from the technical standpoint. I liked how it performed, as well. It was very progressive regarding how it loaded up. I liked that. Not "bouncy" at all. Like you noted, it felt "floaty" compared to my 370Z, but it was very much in control, much better contact with the road than my 370Z even though it felt like it floated. I loved it.

I think it felt that way because over small bumps that upset my 370Z, the leaf barely flexed, didn't load up much, and the suspension did the work without involving the body of the car so much, so it felt like it floated, but really, I was just more isolated from minor pavement irregularities. My Dad hates that about my 370Z. Says every time we take a cornering bridge the front-end jumps to the side every time we go over an expansion joint. I kindof feel what he means, but it must be worse from the passenger seat. That was actually his first comment about it on a technical level "Your Z06 didn't do that. I do NOT like it."

cossie1600

The problem is the stupid tires Nissan put on the car, the GY that came on the Corvette are better tires. Many of us have driven over 100mph at the track with non OEM tires in the rain, we didn't spin and whine about it after.

You had a $60K, that's why it handled better than the Z. The weight distribution played a very small role in it

ImportConvert

I wasn't a fan of the OEM Goodyear's, but we agree, the problem is the tire. I don't think the 370Z is "special" in some way that causes it to not be controllable in the rain, and I believe I stated as much.

The base C6 and C5 have the same handling characteristics/distribution as the rest of the line and breed. They cost much less than $60K. I could have gotten a base C6 with 2LT package for about the same as I paid for my 370Z. Cost is a poor argument for the weight distribution.

jcosta79

I nominate this for post of the year.

__________________
2012 PW NISMO #0559 - GT Spec Brace Kit - Swift Springs - ARK TP & Invidia CBE K&N Intake - UpRev Tune - 15mm Z1 Spacers & Studs - StopTech Slotted Rotors & SS Lines - ZSpeed CMAK with Stage 2 Clutch and Lightweight Flywheel