Racer Z

New issue of R&T has a "Best All-Around Sports Car Champ" section....Featured the 35th Anniv. Z versus: Vette, S2000, Elise, Boxster S, 911 Carrera S, BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK, and Viper SRT-10.

Seems like our beloved Z only faired mediocre in terms of acceleration, handling, braking, and track speeds...

From now on...I'm only buying Car & Driver..dammit...LOL

7744

I, for one, am satisfied that the Z was compared to cars like the Lotus Elise and Porsche 911.

FairladyZ

Please tell me that the 350Z was not last in acceleration.

rclab1

that magazine article said that the Torque on the Z was Poor, and in terms of accleration, it was very close to dead Last!

I thought the Z had "Gobs" of torque?????????????????

even though the Z was compared to all of those sports cars, the Z came in CLOSE to Dead Last?????

and most importantly, all those compard was only a two seater sports car (except GT Porsche 911).....

I think the Z was put into that category b/c the Z is a car in America thats a 2 seater......

I hope I'm wrong....I love the Z

Lonerider

Its hard for me to believe any magazine these days. It seems like performance numbers for cars are inconsistent across all magazines.

As for the torque comment, I guess the drop from 274-260 for the newer models is noticiable?

ANXIOUZ

iTrader: (13)

How can they say the Z has poor torque when an S2K was in the test group?

This is the first article I've read that didn't gush over how great a deal the Z is compared to the other much more expensive cars. ::shrugs::

Smoked

Well looking at the prices for those cars, the Z comes in close to being on the bottom as far as pricing goes. So the old addage, you get what you paid for comes into play. With some modifications, you can make the Z as fast as a Viper, it just depends on preference, warranty, etc.

ppw350Zunit

iTrader: (14)

i rather have 287 hp/274 tq than 300hp/260tq

Racer Z

If you read this R&T issue, you'll notice that they said the 35th Anniv. Ed 350Z, even with 300 HP feels like it has less low end torque than the Base Model Z.....Why would Nissan design it like that??

doc91671

I've driven both, and I can't tell any diffrence.

zmespeed

motor trend is my favorite 5.3 0-60 that sound about right to me.

FairladyZ

Thats why I am not a magazine racer.

dansouliere

Keep in mind the Z was probably the heaviest car they tested. The S2000 has less torque but its also 2850lb compared to the 3300lb Z. That is a huge difference on the track.

The Z needs to go on a diet! lol

maserom

iTrader: (2)

Steve Millen from Stillen was one of the Test Drivers in this article. I would think he could push the z to the limits. Still very avg results. Great article. At least we beat the Z4!

FairladyZ

Steve Millen doesnt drive the 350Z to its fullest. I think he has something against it? Maybe no one buying his products.

JDMFairlady21

iTrader: (9)

i for one think that it definitely was a wierd outcome as far as test results but at the end of day my Z puts a smile on my face as soon as park it in my garage =)

7744

Typically, modifications used to make the car "breath" better (ie revised cams, electronic exhaust valve timing control) the car will gain horsepower, but lose torque. The reason that they would do this on the higher-end Z models is because people love to quote horsepower numbers when comparing models. Especially non-enthusiasts, who know very little about anything automotive.

I'm sure that there are going to be people out there who know nothing about cars, but are bragging that their 35thAE Z has more horsepower than a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII, and therefore is quicker.

doc91671

The 35th produces more torque at 6400 rpm than the standard engine does at 6200 rpms.

7744

Do you mean horsepower?

doc91671

No, I mean torque.