Automobile Magazine recently published a 5.6 0-60 time for the 6MT Sedan with a 70-0 stopping distance of 151ft. Probably dropped the clutch at 4K rpms, but it's a published number.

Car and Driver recently published a review of the G35 sedan, with a a 0-60 time of 5.9 second, a 1/4 mile time of 14.2 seconds (0.1 second slower than their published time for the 350Z track model), a skidpad of 0.87g, and 70-0 stop of 153ft (11 feet better than the 350Z track).

Which further lends credence to my point that even among the best drivers on a given day the variation might be a few 10ths of a second or a few feet, so certainly for a road vehicle there is more to life than published numbers, isn't there? Factoring in styling and engine reliability I'd say the 350Z is really hard to beat.

My point is not to shift the conversation to the G35 sedan. My point is to show that there is a hell of a lot more to a sports car than published numbers. Styling counts for a whole lot, IMO.

--Steve

 

 

What does it matter if your car has a .87g or .88g or a 0-60 of 5.8 or 5.9 if you dont track it? The difference is much too small to notice anyways. A driver that is more skilled will make up for that small of a difference.

 

I work at sierra autocars which is across the street from performance nissan. From my way to work which is about 15 miles, I see 1 or 2 on the road per trip. Maybe to the dealer, Maybe not. When im driving elsewhere and not to work, I usually see 3-4 easily. They are indeed everywhere. Dont kid yourself. Everything in Nissan is mass produced and with that price tag, I dont see why it shouldnt be all over the street. Everyone and their mama can afford one.

 

Nissan is only producing ~30k of them/year and you're saying "they're everywhere"!? lol Come on...

I live in Chicago and I only see about 1-2 Zs per WEEK here in the city where cars are enormously abundant. I drive all over this town just to cruise and I rarely see a Z.

I see way more C5s than Zs, but they've had many more years of production. In a few years I expect to see more Zs on the streets, for sure. Right now they're not exactly common...

(shouldn't this thread die???)

 

I seldom see a Z but I live a bit north of Milwaukee, WI.

Regarding the Neon, my Son's girlfriend had one and recently traded for a Honda. The Neon was four years old and she only got $3.5K on a trade in. The Neon had more leaks then a fishing net and is a piece of ----. Simply not even worth discussing on these boards.

If the guy that started this post has any interest in a Neon he knows little about automobiles.

 

2Fishy4U,
if you had any interest in this post, you would have seen that the tubo Neon was only used as a reference. 7 times through out the thread it is mentioned that I have no plans to look at or buy the Neon.

 

JFritz, I think you should shop around and see what you like. I have had 5 Mustangs (I kept the '66) and I loved them all. I sold a '98 Cobra Convertible and bought the Z. I bought the Z because of the styling and the overall appeal of the car to ME. It doesn't matter what anyone here says about this car or that car, decide what you like. My *** can't tell the difference between a 13.9 run and a 14.5 run, I bought the car that I like best after driving several brands. Good Luck. LL

 

JFRitz,

why even use the Neon as an example if you agree it perhaps isn't the best car manufactured.

Frankly, it is time for you to go out and buy something so we can kill this board.

 

2fishy4u,
i used it as an example because it's 20K and it has the same acceleration performance or close to the Z.

Time for me to buy? Maybe

 

I used to have a 350z and now I have an STI, other then looks the 350z can't touch the STI, it is not even close. I have grown to love the WRC look of the STI. I love that no one knows what it is. I love that if you see someone with an STI you know they bought the car for performance and not because you can "pick up chicks with it". I live in downtown atlanta and have never seen another STI on the road except at auotx. The Z would have been so much more if they only made 3k a year instead of 30k and made some race specific parts instead of trying to build a sports car using altma and pickup truck parts. The 350z is no longer a sports car, its a wannabe yuppie commuter.

 

I'll tell you what, run a Z on the track and you will find you are wrong. Do you think a BMW M3 is not a worthy car in perfomance and a 911 is not a sports car? Well, the 350Z beat them both on the track in a recent magazine article.

You are misinformed. Do your homework before you speak; it will keep you from embarrassing yourself.

 

who was that directed at?

 

I directed my last statement towards the quote above with specific emphasis on the last sentence but it applies to all of the quote.

The 350Z is the best selling sports car in America. It has good looks AND matches a BMW M3 and Porche 911 on the track as verified in recent articles in magazines.

I am not saying other cars do not perform well but to think that a 350Z does not perform well is either an uninformed statement or a biased statement.

To slam the Z for using other parts in the Nissan line up while owning a modified econo box seems hypocritical to me. The bottom line is those Altima brakes on the front of my Z stop in 60-0 shorter than other Z's that had 6 piston Brembos or other track brakes in a recent Road and Track article.

BTW, I tracked my Z this Friday for 30 minutes at a time without noticeable brake fade. Upgrade to Brembo's on the track model and there would be no brake fade.

 

Sounds like a good life strategy, set your goals as low as possible, try to blend in. With that car you bought, now all you need is a fat ugly girl friend and you will fit in perfectly with all the other average joe's

PS I'm just mooning you, I know the STI is a bad boy (what did it cost you?). Your going to have to get out of downtown Atlanta if you want to have any fun driving it. Use to live in Marietta, head north and enjoy the smooth roads