Flyingscot

Eric, perhaps I should be taking lessons from you. A straight line dash is actually a good idea, assuming we can find a nice quiet piece of tarmac. BTW, if you beat me, then it's definitely my car No really, I think I'm pretty crap at the 1/4 mile stuff.

Intrepid

There are two questions here (that have been discussed many times already, but here is a summary):

Is the Z Fast? The Z accelerates to 60 in 5.4 seconds; a member of this board clocked 5.3 seconds at a track. So, yes the Z is fast.

Does the Z FEEL fast? This is subjective. To some it may not FEEL fast. But, of course, we know the Z is fast (see above). So, why doesn't it FEEL that way? Well, it has to do with the acceleration curve. The Z has consistent steady acceleration. Other cars may have a burst of acceleration and than a fall off. Also, the throttle of the Z is linear (50% throttle give you 50% power) while most cars have a non linear throttle (25% throttle gives you 50% power).

So, if you want the Z to FEEL faster, push the accelerator harder and know you can out accelerate most cars on the road, including the Mustang GT, Audi TT, and the Porsche BOXSTER S.

Oh, and one more point. The Z is not a drag racer. If you want a drag racer, get the Mustang Cobra. The Z provides strong acceleration, superb handling and exquisite looks all for a great price.

bhobson333

WTF???? 1st & 2nd start to kick at 4500???? Losing momentum in 3rd gear? Is there something wrong with your car?????? The power band starts around 2700 & 3rd is about the best pulling gear you have, IMHO.

OK, a little background - my last car was a 1998 Accord EX V6; I bought it new and drove it almost exclusively for the last 5 years, almost always aggressively, in traffic. I have been driving my Track 350Z for about 3 weeks now. I think I am qualified to speak on this subject.

The V6 Accord, if properly pushed, will take most cars from a standstill with no trouble. It has excellent Michelin sports tires and is amazingly quick off the line; when the VTEC kicks in at 4200 RPM it stuns most who try to play with you. I have had a lot of fun with the few Taurus SHOs that tried to challenge me because they fade hard just when the VTEC kicks in. I will admit, though, that I first became dissatisfied with my Accord and began the journey that ended up with my owning a 350Z when an M3 ate my lunch in traffic, then smiled in the side-view mirror and waved bye-bye out the window.

My typical MO in traffic (if I'm "on the post" at the stoplight) is to jump quick off the line then push hard (half-throttle) up to 14 MPH over speed limit, then look in my rear-view and see the chumps riding along about 7 car-lengths behind (in a 55 zone). Except for the situation with the M3 above, I can't remember ever being seriously challenged by anything that shouldn't obviously take me (like a 'vette).

The 350Z is DEFINITELY a faster car. My take-off scenario as described above has changed a little with the Z. If I'm in a good spot and a playful mood I'll rev to 5500 or more in each gear at 3/4 throttle or more. When I hit 14 MPH over speed limit (for example, in a 55 zone) the cars behind are more like 10 car lengths behind.

I think the main problem is people being unwilling to use the entire throttle pedal travel and people being unwilling to wind the cars out. If you floor a V6 Accord it typically freaks out and downshifts two gears, instantly winding out to redline. Not productive at all. You get used to giving it 3/4 throttle and "playing" the AT. With the 6MT 350Z, you must get used to flooring it when you want full throttle. When you want performance, use the full rev range.

On the other hand, we may be seeing the first evidence of what a lot of people have been suspecting: keeping revs below 4000 RPM for 1200 miles results in a slower car. Rev it soon and often or you'll be stomped by Accords forever! (JK, I think)

(BTW: I tried taking a clover-leaf entrance ramp onto I-540 at high speed the other day. OMG - the Accord couldn't touch what the Z did! :-D )

I still have my V6 Accord, the wife's driving it now. If anyone wants to put them side-by-side, that could probably be arranged.

Boomer

I've just finished the breakin too. I have about 1500 miles onthe car and I didn't baby it during breakin, except up to 600 miles. If any car in this day needs more time at 4000rpm, it is a slug. After the 600 miles I began to really take it over 5000 on a regular basis and varied my speed a lot. I waited until it was over 1000 to take it to the hp peak or the torque peak, depending on traffic, of course. After 1150 miles, I redlined it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd which is damn fast. There is nothing slow about this engine and it is really fast on a roll, when you floor it and go over 5500rpm.

I don't do 1/4 mile stuff either and usually don't engage in the Stoplight Gran Prix, but I could with this car and come out on top in most encounters. The more I drive it, the faster it "feels" and it should because I am driving normally and the engine is continuing to loosen up, like it should. I've had it up to 110mph in sparse traffic with a lot of revs to spare. My only regret is I haven't been able to get to the twistees yet. I look forward to hearing about exit speeds and how you do them to maximize your speed. Are you trying for a slingshot effect or something else? If I'm still on topic, that is.

Boomer babble

NissaNZ

OMG everyone please calm down, I am not hearing this. You guys are making me sick to my stomach. Stop comparing the Z to a honda accord, please stop. Since when can you even compare a honda accord to any sports car, let alone the Z. I had a '00 Maxima as a rental for one week and I was dusting V6 accords like they were civics so don't even compare the Z to an accord. Thank you.

importriders

I think you answered your own question here. Just broke car in and haven't even redlined third. Give the car a chance, it is definitley a different style of driving. I felt the same way when I first drove the Z. But it only took 200 hundred miles to figure out just how fast this car is. Also, turn off the VDC. Just to prove that it is fast. I took my cousin who has an S2000 for a drive. Only took the car to 5000rpm(only has 200 miles on it). He said the Z definitely pulls harder than his S2K does. Also, my brother, who has ridden passenger in both cars says there is no doubt which car is faster.

Flyingscot

Now that's a comforting piece of feedback. We've heard a lot of people say how surprisingly fast the car is (I believe Motorweek was the first when they were testing at VIR) and so there must be something to this. Perhaps, rather than dynoing the car, I should be getting my middle ear recalibrated.

I'll tell you another thing guys, when Eric1h, bhobson333 and Mcclaskz (and maybe others) join me at VIR in Feb, I might have to drive their cars around VIR until the tires fall off. You know, just an experiment to see if it's my car or the fact that I drive like a Granny. Although, I BET people know Grannies who could probably take me too.

BTW, "MERRY CHRISTMAS CHARLIE BROWN!!!"

bhobson333

You just read my post about my V6 Accord so I'll assume you're trying to **** me off. The Accord is a respectable car; maybe not quite as fast as top Maximas, but very close, and compare the sticker prices! Your rental Max wasn't really dusting V6 Accords like they were Civics; you forget it takes two drivers to make a race.

You sound like one of that breed of Honda haters I run into occasionally. I don't understand it, and I don't want to turn this thread into a Honda vs. Nissan pissing contest, but....no, I'll stop there.

Eric1h

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!


And Flyinscot, ME, let YOU drive MY car? hmmmmmmmmm? I dunno, you mustve done something to your car to make it slow, not sure i want you driving mine! hehehehe

NissaNZ

You sound like one of those all knowing honda fan boys who think their cars are the **** cause they have the letters VTEC stamped on there, hah. Get real buddy, any day any time a Maxima will embarras an accord and send it home crying. FYI those guys I dusted were really racing since their little VTEC engines sounded like they were gonna explode when I left them behind by 5+ car lengths. You honda guys have to realize that with the exception of the s2000 your cars are nothing but riced out grocery getters, which translates to slow-as-****.

Cheers!

bhobson333

YAWN! Sorry, I'm not going to rise to the bait, since that's obviously what you want. You might want to spend a minute or two browsing the forum rules. It seems they frown on being rude and deliberately picking fights.

Now, we'd appreciate it if you would stop trying to highjack this thread and let us get back to what was (until you showed up) an interesting conversation.

NissaNZ

I'm not trying to highjack the thread, I'm not trying to pick a fight, I'm merely telling it like it is (the facts). I'm just saying it's ridiculous to compare the acceleration of the Z with an accord, that's all. If you don't like it you might wanna go to some honda forum where all the kid racers can rave about their accords and how great they are.

bhobson333

Well, Flyingscot, I MIGHT let you drive my car, but definitely not until the wheels fall off! And you will certainly have to let me drive your car in return. Maybe I'll wake it up a little!

Eric1h

meanwhile...................back at the farm..................

Lets get back to talking about me spanking you guys in the 1/4 mile hehehe

Tony Alonso

I've read this thread and other similar ones on this topic with great interest. Did anyone notice in December's (I think) Car and Driver that had the comparison of the Beetle, Mini, and Vibe? They had some interesting graphs documenting the acceleration G force over the RPM range, which was the closest thing I have seen to quantifying "seat-of-the-pants" feel for acceleration. I think it would very enlightening to see a graph like this for the 350Z.

Is anyone aware of such measurements for the Z in the popular press?

Thanks!

bhobson333

You might just do that. You were doing pretty good on Hwy 64, even taking it easy on the revs as you were. And the 0-60 you were talking about sounds pretty good!

I've been taking it easy on my tranny, letting it loosen up a little. It's still a little crotchety going into the gears, though it's loosening up as it gets more miles. I'm hoping the syncros will smooth out to the point where I'm comfortable speed-shifting by the time we hit VIR. I have heard that after a few thousand miles it smooths out signifigantly and I don't want to push the syncros until they're ready.

I'm a little sensitive about syncros. I had a "friend" abuse the syncros on one of my first cars. It was a little too old and the syncros in too bad a shape for the speed-shifting he put it through when he borrowed it one day; it never shifted the same again.

LiquidZee

awwww come on, thats mean, Honda's are cool cars, the Integra Type R is a Honda and does pretty well for its own, but yes, Accords are ugly designed pieces of **** (fxxk you accord drivers, replacing the prelude with such a shitty looking POS car!!!!(I'm not bitter)). But yes, Maxima's are faster/better cars. But would not call Honda's slow cars The NSX is also a honda

LiquidZee

Well, I must say under full throttle this car does not feel fast,
but when looking at the speedo, and the car is going 120mph, you must think to your self, WOW, this is engineering, when a car drives so well that 120 only feels like 60, you know that something right has been done on Nissans part. (And you know that you'd better slow you *** down, because driving a sexy flashy car as the 350Z, is going to distract cops from their donut run.)

The driver never feels the speed, but the passengers sure do ...

Intrepid

This topic has been discussed over and over and over already.
The most recent thread is here:
https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....threadid=14693

It's best to search for a topic of interest first, before starting a new thread.

alex100

ruin the guys fun!