A lot of opinions from people who've never had an HR. Seems legit.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble the 350Z ended in 09, yes, the same year that the 370Z was released. The thing about the 2009 350Z is that it was a convertible only.

 

i did not know that, learned something today

 

 

You also have to remmeber the brakes are quite a bit bigger and updated as well...thats another thing that i imediately noticed as well....

 

This. ZR was never an option for me but good to know.

 

I test drove multiple DE's and one HR

I bought the HR

When I was in my few months of research before purchase I learned all the differences but never really figured the HR to be that much better. A big reason I wanted one over the DE was because of dipstick location. I wanted a motor designed for my car.

Once I test drove the HR the decision was over.

 

Technically 09 was the last year but 08 was the last year in terms of all available models, so I would say 08 since ZR is not popular compared to coupe version

 

I owned a DE for quite some time (2003) and it came with every f--king problem known to these forums that the early models were notorious for (ie, failing gear synchro's, window motors, hatch, oil consumption, etc). I now own a 2007 HR and here's my review:

The DE's torque is tough to ignore, but the HR motor is just more refined. The DE would run out of breath past 4k+ rpms and I would get pulled by a lot of V8's at that point (I had an AEM CAI). The HR motor though, with less torque, keeps a slightly stronger foothold throughout those ranges, but nothing extraordinary noticeable like some others have described on here.

While the DE is a fun little motor, I don't know why you wouldn't purchase the 07+ for the following reasons:

-Stronger internals (rods) in the HR that can handle up to 500HP stock if you decide to FI. Even if you don't, it still has more HP than the DE.
-The models that came with the DE had problems that were not really covered by warranty. For example, the older manual transmissions (03-05) had grinding gears that nissan never took responsibility for. This can easily be a $3k-$5k fix.
-The HR had an issue with the slave cylinder, but it was recalled and will be fixed for free at any Nissan dealership.
-The exterior on the HR models have the LED tails, updated beautiful headlights, the bulging hood that looks great and (I think) a nicer looking interior.

 

^ I agree on everything you said except the torque difference. I noticed no difference down low, but like I said earlier the 6,700 redline fuel cut was awful. As soon as you started feeling power the fuel cut hit. I remember on a few occasions when just messing around and having fun, I wasn't paying attention to the RPMs but was just listening to the motor and running it up high. I started feeling some power and boom, fuel cut shut down the pull hard. It's also the delivery of power that so much better with the HR. Such an awesome power curve and it delivers all the way to 7500 RPMs.

Also, all of your exterior and interior asthetics of the car are on point as well. The HR just has a more "expensive", high end look to it, with the head and tail lights. The modified interior.

The one downside to the HR is the interior materials, which have been coated with a rubberized paint from the factory. That awful stuff chips and scratched with the slightest touches. Never understand what Nissan was thinking with that.

 

i replaced my interior arm rests with OEM ones from concept z, they didnt have that rubbery feel to them like the original ones. my cubby door is scratched up so i wil be replacing that soon

 

Good info. plus the HR has higher compression, beefier crank components and like you mentioned rods; I've seen them compared side by side. Not trying to knock any DE at all, but on Z club cruises with a bunch of DE Z/G's we'd sometimes get into some side by side freeway pulls ( no way that is not going to happen) and going against some of my friends DE Z's or G's that were nicely modded, say 60-120 I'd pull on them 3rd - 4th, or an 80 to ?; the pulls were not close; I was modded with Stillen gen. 3 intakes, MD exhaust, fd gears by the way; never really did a stock for stock open road pull with any DE. I'd be interested to see some bone stock both cars going at it.

 

I did a pull against a bolt-on DE. If I remember correctly some mods he had were intake, exhaust, plentum, hi-flow cats. Not sure if he had a tune. I was bone stock and we pulled a few times, maybe 50 - 90/100ish. I pulled about 2 - 3 car lengths ahead of him.

 

Depends on what your goal is and how much money you have really. It's always better to get a newer car because of paint, how much the engine has been abused, etc. It's especially true for the 350z since it has a better motor. If you don't have that much you need to decide what matters more: having the car or modding the car. If you want an older one and want to mod it with some leftover cash then go for it. If you want a newer one you won't have as much for mods, obviously. If you do mod it though, it will cost more to mod an 07-08 but it's worth it (especially for FI). Nismo0310 can definitely agree, he's makes 500whp at 9.5psi with a twin turbo on stock block. Same kit on a de would make 425.

 

I want to add to this. When I first got my car everybody wanted to race me, well everybody still does but now I only do it on the track.

So many people swore my car was modded claiming they have beaten Zs before and can't understand why I smoked them.

Outside of the Z world, people don't realize that the Zs had different motors, and because of this I feel that the HR is basically a stock sleeper which I love.

 

That sounds accurate.

 

Yes this is true. Countless SRT-4s, Speed3s, STIs, Mustang GTs have done the same thing to me.

I concur with the street racing. Life lessons have changed my driving habits. Only time I put my foot in it on the streets is usually an on-ramp, but I will not go over 10 mph of the speed limit. I refuse to give the government any more of my moneys. lol

 

hr, stock sleeper. lol

 

I've got an 03 DE. Went ahead and fixed the tranny issue so I'm running the CD009, and have upgraded the headlights and tail lights to the newer version. There's certainly no arguing about an HR pulling away from a DE on the interstate...but honestly, who cares? Any newer model domestic V8 is probably going to whip the crap out of you unless you've got some pretty serious mods. If your motivating factors are the updated looks of the exterior/interior, then by all means go for it.

Yes the HR will make more power in nearly every circumstance, but I believe the general consensus is that it definitely costs more for HR parts. Even something as simple as test pipes. Z1 DE test pipes: $149. Z1 HR test pipes: $269. Not to say there aren't deals out there to be had, because there are. When it really comes down to it, I didn't buy my Z to be an interstate raced car. No doubt, like I said before, that I'll get pulled by an HR in a straight line; but this is a driver's car. Put an experienced driver in a DE and they'll wipe the floor with any average driver in an HR on a road course track. Not saying I could, but I'd be willing to bet I could surprise some HR owners on a track. Taking it back to my original statement, that it's less expensive to mod my DE. Lower car payment = more money for mods.

Cliff notes:
Drag racing: Who cares?
HR costs more $$$$ to mod
Like to turn wrenches a lot? DE
Want an out-of-the-box performer? HR

 

HR costs more to mod but you failed to mention that a bolt-on DE would not keep up with a stock HR. So in essence, it will cost more for a DE to get the same power as the HR.

As people keep saying, it is about what the person can afford, point blank. We all agree the 350Z is a fantastic car, not matter what year.

My only issue with the DE is that alot of ricer kids are buying them now since they cost the same or less than a civic, then they come on this damn forum and ruin it.

The HR hasn't hit that price yet, so for now, I consider it to be the last model we have left to ourselves.