ok i had an 03 touring coupe..no nav 5at. really fast car...traded it in for an 04 zr touring with nav and 18in wheels...and the car is noticably slower off the line and def slower to 60. I work for nissan and test drove a few of the roadsters we have...and they all seem slower than the coupes. My first thought was the weight difference of the cars, but list weight of coupe is only 75 less than the roadster. Im totally bummed out...i paid 40 grand for the car and its not as much fun to drive. Could it be an ECU problem?? all our cars get filled up with regular gas after they get off the flatbed...maybe the setting got messed up and need to be reset. Please help me and respond with any similar findings...thanks

 

from what I read, it seems like you're comparing your broken in coupe with new roadsters.

I think all Zs are faster once broken in, so maybe that just hasn't happened yet

btw, which dealership do you work for? why are you doing 0-60 on new cars?

 

Unless the 03s were heavier than the 04s, the actual difference in weight between those 2 cars is about 250lbs.

 

The Roadster is a little heavier, but it is VERY unlikely that it is enough slower to feel the difference. The magazines that have tested them found them to be VERY close.

I can't remember where I read the numbers now, but when I was buying the roadster I read a lot about it and the magazones basically said they were nearly the same as the coupe except for the weight.

Oh yeah, the lowered first gear slightly on the roadster to copmensate for the weight so the 0-60 times are VERY close.

I agree with the others, your older one was broken in and the new one is probably still tight.

 

All the car mags say the roadster is faster b/c it is geared differently to make up for the weight gain by .2 secs.

 

Uh, I don't think so. Which mags would they be?

 

Roadsters are NOT faster than Coupes.

 

i work for a dealer in ny...i have spoken directly to the factory rep and thrown both vehicles on the scale...the roadster actually weighs exactly 78 lbs more, he told me 75lbs and the product guide nissan sends us tells us 75 so its fairly close. my coupe was faster from day one...i drove it home from the port in jersey, same with my roadster...and its noticably slower. i think im gonna have the ecu reset and see if it makes a big difference. i have about 1200 miles on the roadster now and it still hesitates alittle when i push it. i still look damn good in the car no matter what...but for 42 grand i expected alitte more...nissan could have added more horses to compensate for the weight difference...but that would have been logical and too easy...go figure.

 

coupe is faster! NO DOUBT

i already raced with my friend's ZR(stock).....couldn't get along with my M/T coupe(stock) ^^

 

Ok, Nissanusa says the Roadster weighs 3,462 and the coupe weighs 3,247 (both Touring 04 MT).... This info comes from www.Nissanusa.com

I am really glad to hear the employees of the dealership's are ragging out the cars before we pay a lot of hard earned dollars for them.

 

its a sports car and im not ragging them out...just trying to find out what the deal is...

 

Road Test Ratings Enthusiast cpe, man. Touring conv, man. Touring cpe, auto. Track, man.
Acceleration 8 8 8 8
Test manual-transmission Enthusiast coupe did 6.0 sec 0-60 mph. Power is ample from any speed with either transmission. Some testers find the manual a joy to operate, others call it too stiff and heavy. Automatic transmission often slurs downshifts.

Review Updated: 9/2/2004
http://auto.consumerguide.com/auto/n...x.cfm/id/37639

News The 2005 Z-cars get several upgrades. As with the early-arriving '05 midsize Altima sedans, Nissan answers critics by replacing cheap-looking interior trim with better-quality stuff, including soft-touch material on the dashboard and console. Also added are lower-dashboard knee pads, a padded console armrest, redesigned automatic shifter, and shoulder-belt "service arms" that eliminate the need to reach behind when buckling up. There's a sturdier center-dashboard lid too, with power operation on cars with optional navigation. Finally, the '05 Zs adopt Euro-market suspension calibrations said to give a smoother ride, plus a tandem brake booster to replace a single master cylinder.

Nissan has hinted at more available power and other enhancements for future Zs. The most likely, we think, are a supercharger option, possibly by 2006, and available all-wheel drive borrowed from the platform-related Infiniti G35 sedan.

 

Yea, but the top won't go down! (j/k )

 

true......

 

I've raced two roadsters.

First race

The guy in the roadster is a better driver than I am. Through two or three gears, I was barely ahead, his front at my door with some of the mods I currently have.

Second race

A couple days ago, I raced a new roadster (no plates yet). I have all my mods and we went off a red light. In first gear I had his front was at my door. In second gear, His front was behind my rear. By Third gear I had another car length and he shut down shortly thereafter.

Thing is, I don't know if he was in a 5AT or 6MT which makes a 10-15 hp difference from drive train loss. Addtionally, I probably had a good 25-30 hp advantage with my mods.

In my opinion, there isn't going to be much difference between a stock coupe v stock roadster.

 

I second that!!....the roadsters are geared differently.....i think the gearing is a 3.42 roadster to a 3.07 coupe

 

MSN Autos lists the 0-60 times of the coupe vs roadster as 5.6 vs 6.0 respectively.

Big deal, I bought my roadster with the awesome top in mind. If you want a faster sports car, then go with the coupe. Otherwise, enjoy the ride down PCH with the top down

 

I remember one article said this, and I looked at this numbers.... And the numbers on the nissan site. For some reason, he multiplied the wrong ratios (don't remember what they were, but I was able to get the same number her did - the wrong one...). The coupe and roadster have the same ratios.

 

Fastest reported 0-60 time for stock track model is 5.4 sec. Fastest reported time for stock roadster is 5.5 sec. slowest times for both models is 5.8 sec and 6.0 sec respectively. Gearing is changed in the roadster to compensate for the additional 200lbs. As speeds rise, coupe will pull ahead, due to aerodynamic issues.

If maximum performance is your only concern, you shouldn't be in the market for the roadster anyway. For me, the few tenths in acceleration is more than compensated for by the sheer thrill of open air driving. One clear benefit to the roadster, however, is that the weight distribution is a perfect 50:50 due to much of the added weight being behind the driver.

 

the roadster is alot stiffer and handles better due to the extra rigidity of the chassis