Boy did Nissan screw up by not offering AWD on its Z’s. I was watching the Speed Channel about a week ago and there was this show on that had a car modification segment. They were in the process of modifying an Audi. They talked about Audi’s history of winning races until some racing body banned the AWD design of their cars. This happened something like 20 years ago.

That got me to thinking, my 350z would handle better with daily driving and in bad weather/road conditions if it had all wheel drive. I have read several articles comparing the Z to the Mazda RX (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=101039) and the Mustang (http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...icleId=104196). To my amazement, most of the time the Z will lose out to both cars due to “not up to snuff” handling around corners. I think that the roadster also falls short when compared to the Z4 and the Audi TT.

Most of the time (if not all of the time) the Z gets props for pure power but gets slammed for poor handling compared to the other cars. If Z’s had AWD they would blow both cars out of the water. Maybe they should have held off on production for another 6 to 12 months to incorporate an AWD option to compensate for what writers have identified as its poor handling.

 

Perhaps but americans are in love with rear-wheel drive sports cars. I imagine a number of people would freak if they made the corvette AWD.

 

I for one wouldn't want AWD. Cost more. Greater driver train loss. Extra weight.

 

In addition, under HARD acceleration, the front wheels are almost worthless... (think weight shift)

I'm not saying I wouldn't prefer AWD because it is nice in certain circumstances, but RWD does have its advantages and there is a reason that most race cars have RWD.

 

That's wierd, the last road test I saw on the speed channel as well as the local autoX, definately shows the mustang lacking in cornering. The 350Z always came ahead of the mustang at the local autoX. They weren't even close. You can just tell how heavy the mustang was and how it more or less swerved in and out of corners while the 350Z looked like it was riding on rails.

 

AWD? What are we? Off road enthusiast?

 

yeah, plus AWD drive cars usually handle worse than RWD cars......they understeer and kill tires quicker on the track.....in addition to the added weight as already mentioned. AWD gives more grip when accelerating but doesn't do much for handling.

 

Yeah but does the Vette have the handling “deficiencies” often cited in the Z? (Please see the above links so you know I am not making this up out of spite or something.) I don’t know cause I don’t look for articles on Vettes. Vettes are like an “out of my league” cars so I don’t even bother reading about them.

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Yeah it would add extra weight but that is why I said that they should offer AWD as an option. Sure it would cost a grand or two but I think that I would take the AWD. I was glad to read the post about the 450 having AWD and I thought to myself, “ ‘bout dang time.” (If the 450 ever happens).

But again, I use my car as a weekend commuter around town. Plus, I am worried about using the car during the winter for the first time. I don’t plan on packing it up because I like it way too much. Think about it, AWD would solve the winter driving problems y’all talk about. We don’t all live in Cali or Florida.

 

Oh wait, there were a lot more posts posted while I was typing that second response.

 

The Z is fine as a RWD car, it always was a RWD sports car

 

remember that the Z was designed around a specific market segment.
awd would be better in poor road conditions but Nissan's not marketing
the Z as the ultimate "daily driver". 2 seats. rwd. cramped interior. and
the list goes on... no real trunk space, etc. awd would only make sense
if it was viewed by Nissan as a performane enhancement targeting the
segment they are going after. i for one prefer rwd over awd.

also awd is not neccessarily safer. no safety measure can overcome
user error (bad driver) under any road conditions. just my 2 cents.

 

ive never heard this before, are you sure thats correct? i am under the impression that in terms of both handling and traction awd>rwd>fwd

 

I had an Evolution with awd and I don't really see any difference except for connecting on the launch.

 

drift > rally

i like the fact that i can break the back end loss when i want. i like barking second. its all in what you perfer. i could of bought an STI or EVO but i didnt because the Z fit me more.

 

I wouldn't say AWD>RWD or RWD>AWD for handling..just depends on what you want the car for. There's a reason why Porsche's, Vette's, Ferrari's etc are RWD (at least some of them).. heck, look at the supercar Carrera GT, it's RWD. But then again there are cars like the Lambo Gallardo(?) which are AWD as well.

 

Stop readin so many articles and drive.

 

If Nissan brings out a 400hp V8 Z with more aluminum and gives me these options, I would pick either 2 or 4, simply because a lighter car is an overall better car -- more nimble, better braking, better acceleration, and better gas mileage for the HP. Realistically, however, I think those weight figures will be about 5% more.

1 - $40,000.
-V8, 400hp
-AWD
-3,400 lbs curb.
-----------------
2 - $37,000.
-V8, 400hp
-RWD
-3,200 lbs curb.
-------------------
3 - $35,000.
-3.8L V6, 330hp
-AWD
-3,300 lbs curb.
-----------------
4 - $32,000.
-3.8L V6, 330hp
-RWD
-3,100 lbs curb.

 

350Z drivers want

All wheel drive
More horsepower
Better audio system
High quality interior
And Ray wheels.

Sounds like an excellent idea but whatever its going to cost, I cant afford it.

 

question. in terms of AWD vs RWD does one suffer from more understeer?
i always assumed AWD would tend to understeer more than a RWD. have
never driven an AWD sports car so can't compare personally. just curious.

 

Well then the question is: “Did AWD cause you as much trouble as people are saying it causes?” I think that folks are just against a new idea more than anything else.

As for the “pure sports car” argument, well that is why I don’t like the roadster. Its not in line with a car simply built for speed. So AWD would not be a new (non-sports car purist) precedent. The roadster tells us this is about profit at Nissan not pure sports car driving.

Race car? I’ve always thought of the Z as a sports car. A sports car has the proper balance between technology (which separates it from muscle cars), comfort (which separates it from race cars), and price (which separates it from exotics).

As for the “break from RWD” tradition comment - design improvements have always been implemented in Z’s.

About the “front wheels useless in hard acceleration” comment – hey if the wheels do no harm (other than a little more weight) I’d say that the extra handling benefits are worth it. No reason why AWD should not be an option in my mind.

About the wear and tear on the car comment – are you sure that is true? Sure it would harm the front wheels more but I would think that AWD is not THAT bad because so many cars have it.

Somebody said something about driver error. Come on man, not everybody goes to a driving class. I will tell you what - this is my first sports car and it took me about two weeks to get used to its power. Nissan is in the business of making money and that includes making this car appealing to as many people as possible. Before this car, I would even look in the direction of a Japanese import. Hail I wanted German precision (ie BWM or Benz) but I could not afford it coming out of school. The Z was the next rational decision. So there will be people like me who are just coming into Nissans (and Japanese cars all together) that Nissan must consider.

As for the drifting comment – yes I understand why you would be against AWD. In fact, I think your argument is the most compelling against mine but then again, I don’t drift – too dog gone scared to try *laugh*