swipe112

iTrader: (1)

I will disagree with this. The M3 in stock form will not outhandle the EVO. I see this proven time and time again at the auto-x track. In fact, many BMW loyalists actually prefer the E36 handling to the current gen M3, which they describe as a heavy pig....much like our car when compared to say, a S2000.

Also, as a side note, I used to own a WRX which was lightly modded (chip, catless exhaust). I have yet to confirm it, but the Z feels awfully weak compared to the WRX. 1st & 2nd seemed to go by just a quickly in the rex (despite the Z having a 6 speed). Even on the top end, I believe my 5th gear pulled better than the 5th gear on the Z....which begs the question, what the hell is this 6th gear even doing for me?

spf4000

The E46 M3 is no slouch, but it is heavy. It's got really great stability around high speed corners, but it seems to struggle around low/mid speed corners. I can easily keep up with them on the track in my Z. Evos are another story. In the hands of a competent driver, those things are FAST. They have tons of grip. I have a lot of respect for those cars.

Soccerprep205

I agree with the 1st & 2nd gear being somewhat slow.... i dont pull that hard on my friends 05' type S.... but when im on the freeway and we do a 60 roll... wow hes wayyyyyyyy back fast... or getting on an onramp he will always be tryin to mess around and pull the outside lane on me... but once i go WOT its just a review mirrow to look at...

can any1 explain the pop charger to me?... im sure i could research it a little bit but i want to know exactly how it works... i switched to a 350Z from a stage 2 12.9 second SRT4

illZ

It's just an air filter. Replaces the stock box with an open element and heat shield. Small increase in power, as with any "air intake/filter" for any n/a car.

350Z-YOU

Hypnoz: Sounds like you just want a car that feels fast. Go get you a go-kart.

Hypnoz

Sure i'll go buy a go-kart. Great idea. Idiot.

I want a car that IS fast and FEELS at least as fast as it is. The Z certainly doesn't feel like 240w with a 3200lb car.

marine in a Z

im really surprised at how many people dont think the Z feels fast. I came from a 98gst modded that was faster than the Z but i still think the Z feels fast. GO WOT. in order to go fast you have to actually step on the gas in this car....i like that. the clipse was at like full throttle it seemed like just by touching the damn thing. IDK. I just dont see how so many of you dont think this car feels fast...wierd. What the hell did you drive before this thing?

Hypnoz

My neon feels faster. I know they are about the same stock-stock with a slightly edge to the SRT top-end. It's weird, the SRT boost very low in the RPMs compared to an EVO or STi, so turbo lag isn't much of a problem (not nearly as much as tapering boost at above 5k rpms). The Z has good torque everywhere in its powerband, which the SRT doesn't really if under 2.5k rpms....but still it's decent given the motor is a large 4 cyl. I'm not used to how the Z revs so high at a certain MPH. I never have to take my SRT over 3k rpm's for normal driving, but the Z seems to need to go to 3.5k for normal driving (the motor feels very rev happy). Must be gearing.

Fiction520

I just want to say a few things. There are a lot of butthurt Z owners in this thread. Our cars aren't gods gift to man. I love mine, but don't get so sad when someone says they were unimpressed with it.

Hypnoz, like me, you came from a FWD turbo car. I had a 2g eclipse with 16g then a 57trim agp kit. This may have already been touched in the thread and I mostly skimmed through it so forgive me if I missed this but the way a turbo car pulls compared to a rwd n/a car is totally different. So far I saw you compared the Z to numerous turbo cars, and then a poorly balanced fwd n/a v6 car. When I test drove the Z, trust me I was very unimpressed. But you have to remember n/a cars have linear power curves. They feel nothing a turbo car. My dsm with a 16g felt 30 times faster than my Z but it really wasn't that fast. They're actually on par as far as straight line racing goes. There are so many other things to enjoy about the Z rather than just it's throwback. It's not an amazingly fast car but I don't really consider it underpowered.

Plus it seems like you are just looking for a little too much from a $30k car. If you want the power buy the EVO STi or a used C5. I say give the Z another chance, toss it around some corners, go through the gears. You might appreciate what it has to offer.

As far as the interior being cheap, I agree to an extent. I install stereos for a living and see the quality of pretty much all car manufacturers interiors on a daily basis. One thing that raised an eyebrow to me was your comment about the GTO's interior. GM has horrible interior quality. The GTO is no exception. Sure it's a little less bland but by no means better quality.

Fletch69z

iTrader: (50)

I have a friend with a GTO and I don't particularly care for the green backlighting of the gauges. It just doesn't seem to make sense with the rest of the interior. Hypnoz, you should really drive the car for a good amount of time. Take it on a test drive to some curvy backroads where you can use the gears better. This car isn't the fastest for drag racing and it doesn't handle better than EVERYTHING else, but everything combined makes for a really well balanced sports car that's fun to drive and averages about 25 MPG. It meets all my needs and also gets me a lot of looks. I also think this is a car you can buy and in 10 years people will see it and go "Wow, what is that?"

xtatic5

"The Z is only about .8 sec slower that the EVO in the 1/4 mile"

.8 seconds is quite a bit, and that's a fast Z and average evo...

LIdrew

+1 to the 10 year part. The Z will look good forever! It is a timeless design much like the Zs of previous years. Whenever I think my Z is not fast or I get used to it, all I have to do is redline a few gears a few times and I feel better. It's no supercar but it gets the job done and looks sweet doing it. And then theres always the FI route in which the Z will never be accused of being slow. I'm thinking in a year or 2 maybe the FI prices will come down a bit and I'll take the plunge.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

Then buy the Evo

I dont know about the rest of you, but I dont race down every road and see how fast I can get there. If a 4 door econobox that looks like every other car on the road is what you want....then buy it.

Fiction520

Have you driven an EVO? There's much more to it that just straight line performance. And I know what you think it looks like is just your personal opinion but I don't see how you could compare one to any other econo-box out there.

cwerdna

GM interiors were horrible until Bob Lutz came on board and started making changes. Recently designed models are a lot better than cheaply made and poorly assembled Tupperware-like interiors of the past. The GTO also happens to be an exception to the horrible interiors since the car comes from their Australian Holden division.

Have you actually sat inside one? It's actually a fairly decent interior and FAR better than the pre-Lutz interiors (some of which are still shipping).

Hypnoz

Thanks for the insight, it is appreciated.

However, regarding your GTO interior comment- it IS an exception. It is not built in America and not designed by GM (Holden from Australia). The quality of materials is much better compared to the Z, and the design is very nice.

Swiffer

iTrader: (8)

Thats not my point. My point was that you were all comparing the 1/4 mile times for these cars. That isnt the only base for comparison when determining which car is the better car. My referance to the Evo was that is looks like your everyday car. To me, it just looks kinda "blah". IMO, the two nicest cars < 30k that have the best OVERALL package are the 350z and the rx-8. I think they provide the best value for the dollar...we'll leave that discussion for another day.