Which car do you think is the Z’s biggest competitor? I would say the S2000.

 

me too, maybe STI, EVO, or mustang SVT. but for 2 seat sports car competitors, its the S2000, its all there is... but performance wise, the other 3 are right there.

 

s2000

both amazing na machines. both made by japanese comapnies. but most important both are incredibly different when it comes to design, feel, engine type etc.... and thats what makes competition.

both got 13.9 1/4 mile by motortrend mag

 

I think the S2000 is little bit slower in the straight line, but what about the new RX8?

 

STI and EVO from a roll, I can see it, but the mustang SVT which one are you talking about. What about the new Mach 1 mustangs?

 

Good post question; I've been trying to figure out where Nissan was positioning our fav wheels.

I think the answer is between the 2000 & the Vette. The Z wheelbase (104") and weight is about identical to the Vette. And the Zzz is only 2"s narrower. HP wise, the Vette is about 60 HP in front. But, I think, the Zzzz handles better than Vettes (Any comments?)

On the other hand the Zzz is clearly larger and with more ponies than the European or Asian sporty jobs. Most of the latter have 94-96" wheelbases, weight 2900 +/- lbs and have 225-250 HP engines.

I come up with the conclusion the Zzzz is about 2/3rds sports car and 1/3 American "muscle" car.

 

rat i agree with the weight between the Z and the Vette.. I haven't driven the vette so i wouldnt know about handling, but as much as i love my Z, we all have to wake up and smell the coffee. This isn't the best car and the Vette will probly take the Z any time. And as for the competitors i think the STi EVO and S2000 are about right

 

they thing Im trying to think about is general track, not autocrossing where handling is 90% of it, and power is a handicap almost. nor am I talking about drag strip where torque and traction is king.

but around a road track, all combined, I think the 3 would end up very close the the Z. vette would be ahead, I think it could handle atleast on par, but be faster in straights, depends what model we're talking about tho.

 

No doubt, the Vette would hand the Zzzzz its lunch in a drag race.

My question is what wins in a 100 mile road race with 50% straights & 50% twisty-turneees? The Zzzz, the Vette, or something else? (Among cars costing less than 60 Gs and running stock.)

 

all I gotta say is, don't estimate the S2000, there is one in my team, and is slightly moded, spoon full racing exhaust, no cat, AEM computer, Tein RS suspension, C's short throw shifter, man, that thing is fast...not exaggerating....but I still like my Z.

 

Z06 can very much outhandle the Z, and the 405hp(or more?) would also beat in the straights, but then again, it can out perform most exotics too, all for 50grand, if I had 50grand Id own a Z06, but I had 30grand, so I own a Z.

 

noo way you can compare a z06 to a z.
the z06 has been known to pull over a 1G in the skippad while the best i've seen for the Z on stock suspension and stock tires has been .88G, though i heard the nismo suspensiona and performacne tires can eaily get you to over a G. The z06 runs a 12.48 1/4mile according to MOTORTREND while the best time i've seen for the Z in a mag has been 13.81/4mile. Thats over a second. Not only that but the z06 has more torque so it can get going after slowing down through the twisites much faster then the Z.
i love my z but **** like others say...the z06 beats most exotic cars...comparing it to a 26k Z is not fair.

the z will destorya rx8 by the way.. that car is slow, best time i've seen for it is 14.8 plus that car launches very high which leaves a lot of room for error.

i said the s2000 because they have similar 1/4 times, similar skipad speeds, similar salom speeds, but use completely different methods of getting there.

s2000 is more japanese while the z use more american methods

 

Marketing competition would include the G35 coupe -- and at the local autoX, the single Coupe that shows up beats all but one of the Zs consistently (but most of the Z drivers are in novice).

The STi and EVO both are below 5.0 0-60 and are suspended like fence posts, according to the reviews. Without driving them, my guess would be the Z would spend lots of time looking at their very ugly wings.

 

I look at the regular WRX, a guy with a lightly modified wrx is 14.1 at 94mph. I got 14.1 at 99mph, thats the difference, their acceleration is based on traction, remove the traction(as in coming out of a corner, or going down a straight away) and the Z is right there with them, within 13hp from them, but with less drivetrain loss by having only 2wd. they are all very very close if you were to compare 5-60 times, which is much more important in track racing.

not saying the Z is faster at all, just saying that they are much more competitive over all if you consider power from an overall viewpoint.

 

definetly the sti and evo8, also im sad to say the neon str4. however, the z has way more potential that these cars. add twin turbos with the same amount of boost as in these cars and you cant forget about competition from these ugly economy car based four bangers.

 

idk about a svt cobra

edit: mach1 isnt svt

 

am I thinking of the wrong car, or am I misreading the posts, theres the 390hp supercharged mustang, thats not an SVT? and isnt it priced in the low 30's?

 

From limited experience on the track, I would say E36 M3. They are very good stock track performers that are close to the Z.

 

I hate to rock your world but a WRX can run in the mid 13s with just a MBC (that's a manual boost controller for all you NA guys). And, it's about a $50 mod.

This is my boyfriends time...
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=359851


Ok, I admit it...I love to rock your world.


That's it. I'm selling my Z.

 

Personally, I don't care about a straight line. Most idiots can drop the hammer and hold on. I'm talking about road tracks. The WRX was a great car there too. I walked a stock WRX in the straights, but with the stock understeer of my car and probable inexperience on my part, he hung with me in the tight twisties. AWD is a definite plus. The E36 M3s were great here and of course the Z06s were king.