What am I missing? I am completely in love with the Z's looks, price, and specs, but am somewhat dissapointed after taking a test drive. I was about 99% sure I wanted to purchase the car, but now, am having second thoughts.

I currently drive an '01 Stratus R/T coupe with a 3.0 V6 (stock is 200hp/200ft/lb), that I have decently modded, pushing 240 hp to the crank(yes, proven on a dyno), but unfortunately I am running an auto, so I don't even want to mention WHP. That being said, I was unimpressed by the power of the Z in comparison to my R/T. I will admit, my 6sp driving skills leave something to be desired and this may be what is skewing my opinion. The salesman kept comparing the car to Ferrari's, Porsches, and the like saying: "90% of the car and 1/3 the cost".
He went on and on about how "torquey" the car was as he proceeded to get on the gas a bit only for me to reply that my dodge felt about the same

The ride in the passenger seat of the Z is very unpleasant. I have my R/T lowered with Eibachs and KYB AGX, and it is still smoother than that of the Z. Being in the driver's seat is an altogether different experience. The ride is smooth, yet firm. The feel of the car is great, tight stearing, cockpit feel; the car just feels smooth and solid. I was surprised by the amount of vibration in the stick. Much more than I have felt in any other manual I have driven. I have limited exposure to manuals, but still a ton of vibration in direct comparison to an '03 eclipse v6 for example.

I like the feel of the car, but was unimpressed by the power the car had. I have driven the altima v6 and I hesitate to say, that that car had a bit more punch that the Z

I think I need to take the car out for another spin, but is there something I am missing? Believe me, the salesman really talked the car up, but as I was riding and even behind the wheel, I couldn't help but ask myself "is this the car that everyone is raving about on the forums?" This is not meant to be critical, but to ask the question "what am I missing?"

I have more thoughts, but this is long enough and would appreciate other's thoughts

 

The linear throttle definitely produces a different feel, as you don't get the same power out of 25% throttle as you do on most cars. This car delivers its power and torque differently than most cars, but all you have to do is look at the track times people are getting, and you know the power is there.
When you test drove, where did you run the RPMs?

 

your likely not used to drive by wire. unlike old cars, the Z gives you 50% of the power at 50% of the peddle, for full power you gotta put it down, you cant just put the peddle down 30% and get 100% of the power.

lots of people really just dont think to put the peddle to the floor even if you thought you did.

none the less, however it felt, it did 0-60 in 5.5 seconds if you drove well, and a quarter in 14 flat or lower. ignoring how it "feels" it is proven fast. but between the drive by wire, stiff suspension, and very broad power band, its difficult to tell its as fast as it is till you see the needle sweep quickly past 60.

 

MY Z will spank your dodge stratus all day long.. and all night long too.

 

Since you mention your previous car is an Auto, why dont you go test drive an Auto 350Z?

The 350Z auto is pretty quick, only a couple of 10ths of a second slower than the stick in the 0-60 dash. I heard of an auto owner doing 5.75 secs on his totally stock 350Z.

I once test drove an auto G35 Sedan with the sport suspension, I was floored by the head-snapping acceleration of that vehicle. However, my current vehicle is a 1999 Subaru Legacy with a measly 142HP. Any vehicle will feel fast compared to that slug. I will fix the situation when I get my 2004 350Z Enthusiast 6MT in December

You mentioned that you are not too proficient with the stick, so give the auto a try.

At any rate, Good luck!

 

The car accelerates quite civilly until you get the RPMs up to 3500-4000. After that the acceleration turns more "exciting".

Actually one of the reasons I like the car is it can be driven, in my terms, eithor in "cruise-mode" or "junior racer mode" depending on how far/fast you push the pedal to the metal.

 

Too funny, they are right you will have to "put the pedal to the metal" to feel the full power of the Z. Do another test drive and make sure you push it this time.

 

I know that feel is very subjective, and am well of aware of 1320 times (that by the way are about 2 full seconds faster than my r/t). I think the comments on the drive by wire are probably the reason.

The dealer only commented on the drive by wire, but didn't indicate that you had to put the car at WOT to feel the power. The salesman's knowledge of the car was questionable, very spotty. Knew alot about the engine, driveshaft, etc but didn't know the size of the gas tank, or the size of the stock wheels/tires.

In all honesty, I put the car to about 75% throttle as I accelerated onto the highway. I had the rpms up to about 6K a couple times, not really beating the car, but giving it more solid acceleration, driving the car like I do my own.

The salesman also indicated that they had the wheels stolen off a track model and get this - they cost $1500 EACH to be replaced. He also said that the brembos are $5600. I told him bullsh*t the wheels are 1500 each, you can get Nismos for like 2000-2500/set, why would stock tracks be $6000/set?

What is the deal with the HIDs, almost no visability for a XENON setup? Is it the actual light output (lumens), or just the aim of the headlights?

 

 

Nothing I hate more than hearing trolls giving "expert" opinions. Z is not powerful? Read the facts, pal.

 

???? You're joking right?

 

Most likely the aim of the headlights. A few 350Z owners noticed that the beam was only a couple of feet in front of them, so they fixed it by manually adjusting the aim. I dont know the exact procedure though.

And I dont know if all 350Zs are this way. Some folks are quite happy with the Xenons the way they are, so it could be a subjective thing.

 

Really? I think the point of my post was not to say that my stratus was fast(as I this could not be further from the way I feel), but rather as a comparision point. I am happy that your Z is faster than an R/T stratus. It only has more HP, more torque, has RWD, and weighs less.

 

No joke, my 9007 conversion kit (true xenon bulbs and ballast) light up the road much better than the Z's headlights. The brights on the Z are good, but low beam Xenon's didn't have the output I expected.

 

I've never owned a car that lit up the road like the HIDS on my Z. Look buddy. If you're already complaining this much from just a test drive, then the Z is not for you.

 

Hey pal, I am by no means an expert and never claimed to be. Why is everyone getting so defensive about things? I never said the car wasn't powerful, only said, the car didn't FEEL as powerful as I had expected.

I am still basically in love with the car and probably will end up with one in my garage, but after having driven the car, I am less convinced I want to own one.

 

This might be the case, that the car is not for me, but I still want one.

 

gas tank is 20 gallons

tire size on the 18s is 225/45/28 and 245/45/18

75% throttle is wimpy, if you want it all gotta give it all.

and yes the track rims are 1500 each, a good reason not to get the track model IMO, if you curb a rim your kinda screwed. but tis the nature of the OEM part.

same goes for the brembos seeing how you can get aftermarket brembos for 3-4000 and theyd outperform the track brembos.

 

It's obvious you're not an expert

Why is everyone defensive? We're not. We're trying not to laugh at someone who says their Dodge Stratus feels as fast as a new Z.

When I test drove the Z, it felt slow too. I wrote it off as me not knowing the car. And yes, that's all it was. I've owned several Zs and the linear acceleration on this is definitely a different feel than the older models. I also had a very fast trans am amongst my Zs. That t/a was the basis of comparison for what is "fast." It kills my Z but.....I still get butterflys when I hit the throttle. That's all that counts.

What an entrance

 

Hey Ziv,

I would be careful with the word "EVERYONE", a couple of guys (Irishfan, Ares, TheRats, Tweety, etc. ) have responded quite positively to your post, but instead of responding to any of them, you choose to respond to the other "not so positive" ones.

This thread is starting to turn into another "My car is better than your car" flamefest ... *sigh*

You can prevent this from going any further by just not responding to the negative ones, and give your feedback on those that did answer your concerns.