Kay, I'm days away from purchasing a car.. most likely THIS car...

Matter of fact I've got a deposit with a guy in NYC for a Daytona Blue Performance model I've been searching for, for weeks.. at MSRP ! I'm happy... but there's one BUT:

I've been to a dealership this morning a test drove a Black Track model with 4000 miles on it... I must say.... I wasn't as BLOWN AWAY as I thought I would be.

Maybe it's all the buildup, and the hype... but for some reason the Z just didn't throw me back against the driver's seat with all it's torque and might when I stepped halfway on the throttle (I didn't wanna abuse the guy's car too much).

So is it me ? Did I simply NOT push it enough ? My current car is a measly 4 cylinder Altima, and it seems the performance of the Z was what I expected from a 6-cylinder... but not a monster sports-car 6 cylinder...

Am I alone on this ? Did I not do something correctly ? I tried test-driving a 1999 M3 this afternoon to compare, but the battery on it was dead from sitting in the dealer's lot too long, heh. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow for a sanity check.

Any help would be appreciated... I have to make a decision on my reserved Z in a few days. How do you guys feel about the Z's torque and performance, WITHOUT BIAS ?

-slay

 

It is a big step up from teh other cars I have driven, but people have postulated before that the reason for it not feeling fast is the smooth, fairly linear torque curve. With a turbo or even a VTEC engine, you will have a large spike in the torque at some point, and a large increase in acceleration, which makes it "feel" faster, even though average acceleration might be the same.

 

what gear were you in, and what RPM. the car is quick and powerful, but the real speed comes in 1st and second as well as upper RPMs of third(>4000) also its drive by wire, meaning 50% of the pedal down gets you 50% of the power... not like most cars where 50% is 100%. so to really experience it you have to floor it, literally.

 

I don't know, you get pushed back in the seat in an LS1 with a pretty flat torque curve and no fancy schmancy VTEC stuff

You are right, though, some cars are deceptively quick. I wasn't overly impressed with the G35C I drove with my butt dyno, but I know it was still pretty quick.

 

Ahh, that makes sense. I have over a year of stick driving experience, so I knew to test its power I should push it to over 4k RPM in 1st and 2nd, which I think I did... at least to over 3500 RPM. But I didn't push the pedal all the way down... maybe 50% or less - this might have made a big difference here... maybe I'll test drive another one just for comparison =D

-slay

 

I agree completely. I've driven my Stealth TT (300 HP) for the last 10 years, and when the turbos kick in (after the lag) you are literally pushed back into the seat. BUT, the 0-60 is the same (and maybe a little slower) than in my Z. You are getting there faster in the Z, it just doesn't feel that way since the acceleration is so smooth.

 

What is "drive by wire" all about anyway ? I'm gonna see if I can find out some more info on it... and linear acceleration I assume means that it accelerates smoothly...

Is it really true that if you only push the pedal down 50% you will be only applying 50% of the engine's power ??

-slay

 

Here's what you do. Bring a friend with you and sit in the passenger seat while he drives if the dealership will let you.

So I know it doesn't feel as fast as it is. I have friends that have cars that feel much faster but are in the rear when driving against my car.

This isn't the fastest car on the road, but you need to take it in some twisties. You won't care.

 

The throttle is set for 1:1 action (did I say that right?). This throttle is not directly connected via cable or hydraulics or other. It is electronic and the ECU reads the position of the throtle (Drive By Wire).

Some cars open 50% by the time the pedal is pushed 1/4 way and 80-90% when pressed half way. This makes the car feel more responsive. You touch the throtle and the car lunges. You mash the pedal and it only lunges a little more if any.

The Z is linear from the time you touch the pedal 'till it hits the floor.

 

so far ive beaten

audi s4
audi a6
BMW 735
BMW 330
mustang GT
newest gen. firebird
honda s2000
mazda rx-7 (first gen, modded)


the only true competition Im waiting for:
boxster s
911 and cobra with bad drivers
m3
mcoupe

 

That's what "they" say. And it feels about right.

The Z doesn't feel that "smooth" to me though. I mean the acceleration is smooth, but the engine really seems to be banging around in there like crazy. There's a strong "p-thump p-thump p-thump" sound. It's not bad at all, though, and even feels kind of cool.

It's very comfortable to drive, and I'm just staring to hit 5 and 6k RPMs as I'm a little over 1000 miles. You feel like you're in command of the road for sure, and it isn't lacking power. But I've never felt like I was being "pushed back."

Yesterday I was returning from a computer show, and a C5 'vette and I came to a break in traffic, and he just took off. I tried to follow as fast as I could without going over 5000 or 5500 RPM. He was pulling away. He had no passenger though, and I'm 240 with my 300 lb. brother in the car. Still, it wasn't too bad at all. He may have had 2 more cylinders, but when he hit traffic I was able to stay right behind him without any problem , and I'm sure I would have passed him if not for my off ramp!

 

I have had many sports cars, still have supra tt. The acc. is just OK, but the whole package is what is worth it. It turns more heads than any other car. If you go w/ the Z you won't be disappointed

 

there was a HILARIOUS article about drive by wire in SCC I believe this month or last. one of those editor articles in the front. he bashed it pretty bad saying it was unnescessary, changing something that wasnt broken.

true I guess. he hit on a few german makers about the lack of response since it seemed you asked the little german engineers to go and they take a little while to vote on it and decide to let you do as you ask.

however they specificialy talked about nissan and how they seemed to have gotten the drive by wire right, you push the gas and get instant response, with 1:1 ratio(tho mind you, you can still bog down in low RPMs) the difference is really in like 2nd gear at about 4000RPM, you will feel every inch of difference you push the peddle.

their only complaint about the Z system, and all others, is that you cant brake and gas at the same time, if you have the brake pressed, and hit the gas, you will only get 20% of the power at most. which they said is bad for racing; Im not that familiar with racing to know the situation their talking about. but thats all I have to say.

hope this was helpful, and I reccomend finding a SCC and reading the article, I busted out laughing.

 

Thanks ares, that was helpful.. =]

I'm hoping I won't be regretting the Z's performance several years from now, that's all.

 

You have no worries and you will be envied. Now hurry up and go pick up that blue beauty. She is waiting for you impatiently. Brake her in not too hard, not too easy either.

 

I was a little concerned about the car's power until I took it out to an autoX. Coming out of a low speed corner in 2nd, I couldn't put the power all the way down without hanging the tail out on the stock 17" wheels and tires. The car is definitely not underpowered, but as said by others, there's no big rush of juice like in a turbo or VTEC powered car. My ITR felt/sounded quicker at times, even though I know it wasn't nearly as fast. That said, I wouldn't mind another 50-100hp.

 

The reason that it is bad for racing is for when you heel-toe shift. This is basically blipping the throttle while you are pressinf the brakes so that the revs come up and match the gear you are going into. If the throttle only goes to 20% it might make it hard to do this. Are there any posters here who have a Z and know what I am talking about because this is something that once you start doing you can do in alot of places. So it would stink if a sports car's wiring would not let you do this.

 

hahaha

those are all low 13 second cars accept the boxster S.

:P keep dreaming. Maybe beat a bad driver. But you wont be beating the car.

 

Actualy it's not so much a problem on the heel toe, although an inconvinience of having to hold longer on the blip, but more of a problem with left foot braking. When you left foot brake you often begin to apply the brake while lifting off the throttle. This makes weight transfer much more smooth and linear. The car doesn't lurch down into braking, less of a nose dive, which in the long run translates to much more stability, better braking and shorter distances, espeicaly when you need to brake in a slight curve or into a long sweeper. Same on entry/apex when it's time to trasition from brake to gas it's much better to apply a nice smooth trasition to maintain the cars stability at the highest point of cornering G's. Having the throttle cut or allow max 20% throttle doesn't alow you to do this at all and inadvertantly promotes stab and steer.

I don't see why they need this system in place at all. All cars have allowed you to apply brake and throttle at the same time, and besides worn brakes and tires, I don't see how you could get into more trouble then you've ever been able to. Maybe somebody sued Nissan because he stepped on both pedals and crashed his car, or maybe we've reverted to the stone age. Either way I hear it's simple fuse to remove that kills this stellar, performance improving feature. That's the only way they could do the cover of SCC a few months back. Can't even do a bloody brake stand!

 

Actually since this is a V6 powerplant I would suspect the torque level isn't as massive as the LT1/LS1 platforms...However this is something anyone F-body owner who has driven both cars will tell you... the LT1 FEELS faster... You really get stuck into the seat..hard.. on gearshifts your head hits the seats if your not fully braced. However when I test drove LS1 cars I wouldn't feel it as strong..in fact I initially was very dissapointed and didn't think the LS1 car was anything special (Was test driving both cars that day, the LT1 3 times for about 40mins total and the LS1 2 times for about 15mins) It wasn't until I looked at the speedo that I could actually tell the difference in speed. The LS1 seemed to clip 80mph a little quicker than the LT1 did... just without all the feeling of power the LT1 was pushing off...
So I got the LT1 LOL Wasn't a price issue considering my Z new was 28K I could have easily had either...I only paid 16K for it and at the time an LS1 wasn't all that much more in price.

Just my .02 on it...

I would love to give a new Z a run.. however not tryin to be cocky but with my estimates (Based on other races, my mods, etc) ... I don't think it would be close...but hey I don't know that for a fact until it happens