I own a 2003 G35 which has reached high milage and I am looking for a low milage replacement. I am open to the idea of switching to a Z for a little more performance.

Here is my question:

In the g35/g37/q60 line up, the g35 was geared lower and has a v8 like launch with more power/pull/grunt at launch than the wimpy g37/q60 which feels limp in the 0-40 band of the launch. Does this carry over to the 350z/370z lineup also?

Yes the g37/q60 will reach higher speeds than the g35 but in the 0-40mph band the g35 owns it. It is this level of grunt I want to preserve in my replacement car. Basically I am ready to "over-pay" for a g35 or Z that is 10 years old but sat in some grandpa's garage all of it's life so it has 20,000 miles or less. I just need find out if the 350z is a better for 0-40 grunt/pull than the g35 or 370z.

Thanks so much!

 

g35 and 350z have same gearing from factory. the g37 and 370z are geared lower. so technically they would have a quicker 0-60.. of course other things factor in like weight, etc..

someone correct me if im wrong

 

I'm unsure of the gearing that Brandon mentioned above..

But depending on where you look, an 2007-2009 350Z's 0-60 is ~5.2 seconds while a 370Z ranges from 4.8-5.3 seconds.

With the prices being between the two being wildly different from what I've seen in the used market, purchasing a low-mileage, clean title HR 350Z would be my suggestion. Use the potentially thousands saved to upgrade performance right away and you can match a 370Z's 0-60 easily.

Yes, the VQ35HR in a 07-09 350Z does have more "grunt/pull" than the VQ35DE in your 03 G35. But I have no personal experience on how it compares to a 370Z.

 

+1 on buying an '07 - '08 350Z, and use the free $ for upgrades, such as a better LSD, suspension mods, etc. The only thing I really prefer in the 370Z is the interior, but every time I drive one, that's just not enough to get me out of my '08.

 

So if the G35 and 350Z are geared the same and have identical engines it would follow that the G37 and 370Z likewise are geared the same with identical engines? If this is true then I have my answer. Get the 350Z.

0-60 may be quicker with both the G37 and 370Z but that's not what I am after. Anyone who has owned a G35 and tried out the G37 will tell you that while the G37 will reach 60mph quicker on a timed track, the G35 has a much more powerful 0-40 band and the pull feels more grunty like a v8. The G37 is much quicker at the 40-60mph band which allows it to win on the 0-60 measure which isn't where the fun is with daily driving. You want the gruntiest snap in the 0-40mph range. If you look at the max torque on the G35 vs G37, max torque occurs at a lower RPM on the G35 which may be why the G35 feels more grunty any day of the week vs a G37.

 

Now I just need to set up an alert on auto-trader for a 350Z in Daytona Blue (manual of course) with less than 20,000 miles and wait 6-9 months.

There were 2 generations of the G35. I actually liked the 2003-2004 G35 first gen better because the front tires had a more aggressive camber making the car sharper in the turns. (Front tires only last 20,000 miles but I like the sharpness)

How many generations were there with the 350Z and did the first gen have a more aggressive camber ??

 

dude you realize an alignment you can set camber to whatever you want....

 

Didn't know that. I just take my G35 to Firestone and tell them to align it whenever I have my tires or control arms changed. I also like the clock style and cluster layout better on the 1st gen G35 but then again some people have said I'm a loon over specific small details.

 

All good man. but yea alignment is adjustable to an amount with stock stuff and aftermarket arms give a ton of range to set to what you want. as for clocks not sure I have a 07 nismo and a 2013 ipl coupe g37 the g37 is faster pulls harder and interior is light years above the Z. the Z is quick lighter but not a daily imo it's an out of the box race car. Definitely get g35 for daily use you'll thank me later

 

Thanks Nizmo..

This is great advise on the daily driver part. I had a 93 Acura NSX for 3 years back in 1998 and it wore me out with Seattle traffic. I LOVED the car's snap but it beat me to death with stop and go driving to work with it's very heavy feeling manual steering. And any sort of hole in the pavement felt like someone kicked me in the back. I take it the 350Z will be punishing on anything but perfect roads?

BTW: The G37's ride is like a sofa compared to the G35. I feel the road and all it's imperfections 4 times more with my G35 then whenever I try out a G37 or Q60.

 

I have an IPL with the ipl tuned suspension so I cannot say how a stock g37 ride is as mine is firm side. and nismo suspension is brutal. I hear stock 350z isn't too bad though.

 

I installed the full OEM (not the S-Tune) Nismo suspension on my '08 Base, and I don't find anything brutal about it. It's nicely firmer than stock, but I don't think overly stiff, and the damping is hugely improved. One of my favorite mods. Got a lot better with light (Rays LMGT4) wheels, too. There may be a big difference in the roads where you are, though.

 

My roads are decent and I have forged volk re30. it's stiff. very stiff to me. I ditched it and went coilovers that have adjustable dampers

 

Thanks to all the super cool people who responded so quickly!
Based on all the input I'll just look for another G35 with low miles.

There doesn't seem to be any new 2 door coupes out there under
$50,000 with the same level of handling and grunt. Heavy straight
line cars like Corvettes and Camaros do nothing for me. I prefer
a light and nimble car that handles well with lots of grunt.

 

Different strokes . . .

The roads here in FL are pretty smooth, though, with no frost damage, so it's pretty easy on a stiff car. I put a set of Bilstein's in one of my Alfa's, and I F'ing hate them - feels like there's no suspension on the car at all.

 

why not look into g37

 

nizmo, see comment #5. I've talked to 2 other G35 owners who "tried to like the G37" and they said the same thing about the feel during the 0-40 band. One of these guys ended up changing to a 2016 Camaro 2SS but as much as I'd like 455 lb-ft of torque, I don't like heavy straight-line cars.

 

I gotcha. the g37 7at is slow process to 3500 rpm where it opens up

 

Wait what? 370z's can't be slower than a stock 350z..

Maybe a HR not not a DE..

I've seen G37's and stock 370's put a decent spank on some other solid stock cars that usually would leave a 350 behind

 

Just to pass on "personal user" data....

These are all based on STOCK configuration and based on my own intepretation, not yours. You be the judge after driving all.

Acceleration

2011 370Z Nismo
2008 350Z Nismo
2003 350Z

Handling (stock/OEM)

2011 370Z Nismo
2008 350Z Nismo
2003 350Z

Comfort

2011 370Z Nismo
2008 350Z Nismo
2003 350Z

What's this all say? That YES, Nissan improved the Z car with each successive iteration.

Keep in mind the following contributing factors:

- Z34 got more power in '09 - 332hp for all VHR (350bhp Nismo)
(vs 287 (DE), 300(DE Rev Up), 306 (HR))

- Z34 final gearing lowered - 3.69:1 (versus 3.54 all Z33)

- Z34 is lighter and stiffer (through use of composites and aluminum) contributing to better acceleration (nominal) and handling (stock)

- 1st and 2nd gen Infiniti G cars usually tuned for slightly higher power than Z33 but with slightly higher curb weight and same transmission and final gearing.

So yes, I'd buy a 370Z (Sport or Nismo) before anything else were I in the market. Z'matter of fact, almost got rid of my Shiro and replaced with a newer Z34 Nismo but decided I needed to keep something "old school/collectible-sorta" for those old school car meets. (Which I've gone to in the past couple years without anyone knowing what a Shiro was.... laff.)

YMMV.