Test drove E92 M3, Audi S5, and 370Z. Likely trading in 350Z for 370Z.
11-19-2010, 07:11 AM
#101
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Believe me he has money. He prefers 370 over M3, has nothing to do with being able to afford it. If the new M3 was a jaw dropper, he'd already have it in his driveway by now.
Besides, M3 is dime a dozen here. 370z isn't YET but it's getting there. I'd say in a few months, 370z will be crawling everywhere.
Besides, M3 is dime a dozen here. 370z isn't YET but it's getting there. I'd say in a few months, 370z will be crawling everywhere.
Last edited by Sammzway; 11-19-2010 at 07:12 AM.
11-22-2010, 08:45 PM
#103
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Welcome to the dark side, well I guess "darker" would be more appropriate since you're coming from a 350z. When I went out looking I looked at leasing a Boxster S, Evo X, Mustang GT, Infiniti G, and the Z was last. To be honest after being unhappy with the Evo, Stang and especially the G I was going to keep driving my Camry until I fell in love. I loved the Boxster S but I wasn't in a position to buy it, the way I wanted it the car came out to 68,xxx I felt it was simply to much for an "entry level" Porsche I didn't want to pay $$$$ and always know I couldn't afford the 911. Finally on a whim and my dad's advice we went to Nissan. I laid my eyes on a red Z and I was in looooove. A test drive only drove that home. I wanted a raw sports car so I passed on the navi and touring, expensive options I didn't need if I wanted them I would have got the G.
Fast forward almost 2 years and add carbon fiber front fenders, bumpers, doors, A pillars, hood, and skirts (trunk, rear quarter, and roof remain red), Fast Intention Long Tube headers, K&N drop ins and an uprev tune, I made 327/251 at the wheels. Hell I made 296.4whp on a dynojet with nothing but the panels and test pipes. I now fear no e92 M3, in the case of the manuals its a driver's race and I'm a damn good driver so the 2 instances I've had the chance I've jumped out front and held them off through 4th gear. Haven't run a DCT yet but ehh....as always it'll come down to my driving.
Cons: 2 seats but that's what a Z is and frankly the 6MT is a bit "clunky." I wish it was smoother but it is still efficieny, easy to drive, and better than any set of paddles short of supercars and GTR's.
Overall, its awesome and with the forced induction market blossoming as we speak you'll have plenty of options to build as you want without spending as much as it would be for say an S5 or M3.
Fast forward almost 2 years and add carbon fiber front fenders, bumpers, doors, A pillars, hood, and skirts (trunk, rear quarter, and roof remain red), Fast Intention Long Tube headers, K&N drop ins and an uprev tune, I made 327/251 at the wheels. Hell I made 296.4whp on a dynojet with nothing but the panels and test pipes. I now fear no e92 M3, in the case of the manuals its a driver's race and I'm a damn good driver so the 2 instances I've had the chance I've jumped out front and held them off through 4th gear. Haven't run a DCT yet but ehh....as always it'll come down to my driving.
Cons: 2 seats but that's what a Z is and frankly the 6MT is a bit "clunky." I wish it was smoother but it is still efficieny, easy to drive, and better than any set of paddles short of supercars and GTR's.
Overall, its awesome and with the forced induction market blossoming as we speak you'll have plenty of options to build as you want without spending as much as it would be for say an S5 or M3.
11-30-2010, 07:55 PM
#105
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Thanks everyone. I just want to give a HUGE shoutout to Mike and Ray for all of their help recently and making this possible. Major props to Mike for giving me his car for a few hours to get some practice on, and coming with me to pick up my car. He was the first person to ever drive my 370Z. Even before me. Hahaha.
And big thanks to Ray for coming through at the last minute, removing my mods in record time, and not jipping me. Dude wasn't feeling 100%, but he helped me out, regardless. Also, thanks to all the guys who bought my mods. Hehehe.
I just came back from a 120 mile drive and had a blast. I went to my girlfriend's house, and then to my brother's house. I stalled it once at the very, very beginning (I got nervous when a car pulled up my f-ing ***), but I fired it right back up and took off. Didn't stall again after that. What I learned is that revs are very important and that I shouldn't be too worried about feeding into the throttle. 2K RPMs gives the car healthy momentum forward as the RPMs begin to drop, and then I can keep the clutch at the grab, feed some more throttle and let off.
Since I have the synchro rev-match, bucking on shifts is non-existent here (only if you shift too quick at a slow speed). This 120 mile drive really helped me familiarize myself with the car. Both of the neighborhoods I was at have a ton of stop signs so I got some solid practice in. Woo!
And big thanks to Ray for coming through at the last minute, removing my mods in record time, and not jipping me. Dude wasn't feeling 100%, but he helped me out, regardless. Also, thanks to all the guys who bought my mods. Hehehe.
I just came back from a 120 mile drive and had a blast. I went to my girlfriend's house, and then to my brother's house. I stalled it once at the very, very beginning (I got nervous when a car pulled up my f-ing ***), but I fired it right back up and took off. Didn't stall again after that. What I learned is that revs are very important and that I shouldn't be too worried about feeding into the throttle. 2K RPMs gives the car healthy momentum forward as the RPMs begin to drop, and then I can keep the clutch at the grab, feed some more throttle and let off.
Since I have the synchro rev-match, bucking on shifts is non-existent here (only if you shift too quick at a slow speed). This 120 mile drive really helped me familiarize myself with the car. Both of the neighborhoods I was at have a ton of stop signs so I got some solid practice in. Woo!
on picking a 370z your "first manual" car
11-30-2010, 07:58 PM
#106
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Coupe
Power
Handling
6-Speed Manual
Nice Interior
Refinement
RWD Preferred
Some Exclusivity
The Audi I quickly eliminated because 1) It's AWD, 2) Isn't nearly as agile, 3) I have an A6 4.2, which I felt ultimately was too similar, albeit with 4-doors. That and A5s and S5s are extremely common in New York.
The BMW I eliminated because I simply did not like lack of low-end torque, the interior, and how absurdly common the 3-series is as a whole, more than even the Audi.
The 370Z won because it gave me pretty much everything I wanted, including exclusivity and having a much better price tag. Is it as refined as the Audi or BMW? No. But it's damn close. The interior is simply phenomenal when fully loaded. Even my brother (who owns an M6 and R8 V10) was surprised and admitted that it's a nicer looking interior than his BMW.
I don't make rash decisions when making big purchases like this, I weigh everything and decide accordingly. And by all means, everything I weighed was my own opinion. I'm not saying that the 370Z is better than any of the cars mentioned - just that it was better for me.
12-01-2010, 06:29 PM
#108
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Thanks everyone. I just want to give a HUGE shoutout to Mike and Ray for all of their help recently and making this possible. Major props to Mike for giving me his car for a few hours to get some practice on, and coming with me to pick up my car. He was the first person to ever drive my 370Z. Even before me. Hahaha.
And big thanks to Ray for coming through at the last minute, removing my mods in record time, and not jipping me. Dude wasn't feeling 100%, but he helped me out, regardless. Also, thanks to all the guys who bought my mods. Hehehe.
I just came back from a 120 mile drive and had a blast. I went to my girlfriend's house, and then to my brother's house. I stalled it once at the very, very beginning (I got nervous when a car pulled up my f-ing ***), but I fired it right back up and took off. Didn't stall again after that. What I learned is that revs are very important and that I shouldn't be too worried about feeding into the throttle. 2K RPMs gives the car healthy momentum forward as the RPMs begin to drop, and then I can keep the clutch at the grab, feed some more throttle and let off.
Since I have the synchro rev-match, bucking on shifts is non-existent here (only if you shift too quick at a slow speed). This 120 mile drive really helped me familiarize myself with the car. Both of the neighborhoods I was at have a ton of stop signs so I got some solid practice in. Woo!
And big thanks to Ray for coming through at the last minute, removing my mods in record time, and not jipping me. Dude wasn't feeling 100%, but he helped me out, regardless. Also, thanks to all the guys who bought my mods. Hehehe.
I just came back from a 120 mile drive and had a blast. I went to my girlfriend's house, and then to my brother's house. I stalled it once at the very, very beginning (I got nervous when a car pulled up my f-ing ***), but I fired it right back up and took off. Didn't stall again after that. What I learned is that revs are very important and that I shouldn't be too worried about feeding into the throttle. 2K RPMs gives the car healthy momentum forward as the RPMs begin to drop, and then I can keep the clutch at the grab, feed some more throttle and let off.
Since I have the synchro rev-match, bucking on shifts is non-existent here (only if you shift too quick at a slow speed). This 120 mile drive really helped me familiarize myself with the car. Both of the neighborhoods I was at have a ton of stop signs so I got some solid practice in. Woo!
12-12-2010, 09:20 PM
#116
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Hey, you know this forum: can't open your mouth to state an opinion without getting ragged on from people who don't even have a leg to stand on. I drove all three cars (plus a handful of others), which is a lot more than 99% of the posters in the thread can say.
Last edited by SniperHunter; 12-12-2010 at 09:43 PM.
12-13-2010, 03:26 AM
#117
More powerful it isn't. In fact, the 370Z's power-to-weight ratio is much better than the S5's. 332HP @ 3300lbs vs 354HP @ 3850lbs. I also didn't like how cheaply the S5's doors close, it's a pet peeve of mine.
S5s actually don't make very good power on dynos. AWD hurts wheel output.
Hey, you know this forum: can't open your mouth to state an opinion without getting ragged on from people who don't even have a leg to stand on. I drove all three cars (plus a handful of others), which is a lot more than 99% of the posters in the thread can say.
S5s actually don't make very good power on dynos. AWD hurts wheel output.
Hey, you know this forum: can't open your mouth to state an opinion without getting ragged on from people who don't even have a leg to stand on. I drove all three cars (plus a handful of others), which is a lot more than 99% of the posters in the thread can say.
12-13-2010, 03:42 AM
#118
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hey arnold since me and you just got into stick cars coming from auto 350z, we should go to the strip next spring together and see how badly we can embarrass ourselves on our first time out xD
12-13-2010, 09:56 AM
#119
Sorry to burst your bubble but horsepower doesn't accelerate a car. Torque does. The 370z produces 332hp@7,000rpm 270lb-ft of torque@5200rpm while the Audi S5 has 354hp@7,000rpm 325lb-ft torque@3500rpm. The 370z is at a disadvantage power wise even though it is lighter in weight but the AWD drivetrain in the audi vs. 370z rwd makes up for that. If both these cars race, guess who the winner would be?
Last edited by Shizzmaster2k; 12-13-2010 at 09:57 AM.
