Hello everyone,

I was recommended by some members at E46fanatics to come here for anything 350Z. I'm a MINI Cooper S owner, and I am finally considering trading my car in. I've been searching around here( yes and using the search function ) So far I still love this car... I have a few questions if anyone would like to answer please. The way I set my car up is to really enjoy the handling abilities of the MINI. I love the insane go-kart feel, but I really would love some rear wheel drive. I've done alot of suspension tuning so I got pretty used to a certain kind of drive and I don't really want to compromise that. How nimble and responsive does this car feel? Does the wheel have any kind of play before the car actually steers? Does the car feel heavy on a tight course, or very turny roads? Do the brakes feel very balanced(example: a heavy braking on a turn) does the car feel sorted or does it feel unbalanced? I know how the car feels from a test drive standpoint basicly. Although there is only so much you can do with a guy in a suit in your passanger seat restraining you from really getting to know the car. Any input would be great. Thanks!

Below is a picture of my car:

 

I don't own a Z but ive been in them plenty of times, from stock to TT. Id have to say they do handle pretty well, but there are much better handing cars out there. To be honest, I drove a TT Z that had suspension mods and it still did not seem to handle too much better than my WS6.

 

My friend has a WS6 which I driven and been in plenty of times. How can you possibly say it handles better? It feels heavier and not as connected to the road. Honestly not being biased. WS6s are amazing cars with tons of power. But the 350z handles wayyyyy better IMO.

 

Welcome!

Apples vs Oranges

Both the 350Z and the Mini handle well, but they are two very different cars.

Drive both back to back, over the same roads.

 

I don't know maybe im just used to the WS6, your probably right though.

 

The Z handles much better than my Cobra. If you can afford one get a track model(Bremos) and then drop a Grand on Tein Basics and another $250 on some adjustable sway bars (Stillen or Hotchkis) and your Z will feel much more responsive. That said it still won't handle like a Lotus Elise(closest thing I've come to a little car with go-kart handling like your Mini).

 

Yeah man well my friends WS6 seems kinda high off the ground. I bet with some suspension mods it will get considerably better. The issue he has is that his kind of understeers while taking turns hard.

 

WS6
350z
Mini

We should throw an s2k in there to really chop things up.

You will miss your "go-cart" feeling, but you will enjoy the power increase.

 

True. Plus I take turns pretty damn hard with my Tein basics and the car eats up the turn np problem. Imo the tein basics are a decent improvement over stock. Never tracked it though.

 

There is no comparison. Your Mini Pooper (j/k) may handle like a go-kart but it is seriously underpowered. My Z eats the Mini Poopers for breakfast in auto-x. I don't think I've ever seen one on a track (road course) -- not even close to the same league as the Z.

 

Welcome. My advise is to get out and drive it. I came from a 1989 240SX and a mazdaspeed protege, and I was surprised at how light the Z felt. It is a somewhat heavy car but doesn't flaunt it's weight. It also benefits from a very solid chassis, where it picks up most of its weight.

It would be hard to replicate the go-kart tightness and response of the mini, but the Z is in no way a sponge.

Get out and driveone, the used car dealers will hand anyone the keys, especially if they knwo you drive a mini, for some reason they feel they have something to prove, lol.

 

GM F-bodies are some of the sloppiest most ill-handling chassis ever. They require extensive suspension mods to be competetive in Solo II class racing. From the factory they good for straight line acceleration and that is it. I don't see how anyone could even compare the Z's handling characteristics to that car.

I'm done now.

 

Tony cmon man try not to sound biased. lol

 

MINI for the big loss.

 

A friend of mine had a supercharger installed on his M3 by Helix Minisports in Philly. They really know Mini Coopers. You should give them a ring
http://www.helix13.com/mini/products
If you dont want to lose the Mini handling... dont. They can make your Mini go really fast

Warning: The shop is in the ghetto!!

 

I don't think this guy's question was "exactly" answered but give it some time!
It was however somewhat answered!
Peace!

 

I dunno if the MINI and the MR-S is similar, but I had an MR-S before so I'll tell u how the Z compares.

Before my Z, I had a Toyota MR2-spyder.
It felt like a go-kart even when it was stock.
I used to go canyon running with friends, always ate them all alive.

When I got my Z, I took it to the same canyons to test it out.
At first, I was disappointed by the seemingly unresponsive steering.
Well then I eventually got used to the Z, and started pushing it more and more. I found out 2 things about the Z, compared to my spyder:
1) The Z doesn't lose control unexpectedly.
2) The Z is forgiving, able to struggle through a turn if taken to the limit.
You have to be more involved in a Z if u wanna turn hard.
But it's safer to do so in a Z than in a kart-like car.
In the spyder, the "hell yeah~" to "O ****" transition was really quick.
In the Z, you have more time to take back control.

OP, I hope this helped a little.

 

Congrats on owning a great car. I love the Mini Coopers; very, very nimble cars indeed.

You won't be able to get either of the two cars to handle exactly like each other as they simply aren't meant to. That said, there are a plethora of suspension upgrades available for the Z that will let you tweak it in many different ways, from stock-ish to ultra stiff.

A major difference while entering and exiting curves will of course be the staple, definition-based distinction between every AWD vs. RWD car; the platform difference cannot be escaped. I love the RWD handling around curves and how effortless it makes them; one can even enter a curve at very low speed and mash the throttle while exiting without thinking twice about torque steer; albeit the Cooper is very good at managing that.

Brake performance depends on which kind you get. I have not driven a non-Brembo Z so cannot speak to its brakes, but the Brembos handle superbly in all temps and situations.

So any way you look at it; you WILL be stepping into a very different car than your Cooper; make no bones about it. Both are awesome in their own unique ways. What it comes down to is how YOU recognize and handle that change.

Good luck!

 

The Z handles well. The ws6 handling better is a joke. I have drove the hell out of some minis and i do like the Z better. I used to have a porsche 928, and it handles quite well. The 928 came with coilovers from the factory. The 928 was easier to drive than the z at the limit.

 

Hey man, I just traded my 05 Cooper that was lightly moded (exhaust, brakes and such) in for a 07 Z and I can safely say I love it.

I miss the Min Min Exceedingly and all the community that comes with it but the allover greatness of the Z takes away most of the pain, I have only had two cars before this and they were both coopers so I was quite attuned with them :P

My brother just landed a ‘Cooper S works GP’ this Christmas, I drove that and Its more similar with the small gearbox and harsh clutch but would still take the Z

I would say it is really hard to compare because they’re so different, but yeah the Z is working out

Be sure to let us know what you decide