Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - Loved my first 370Z test drive... Want one but what's important

wheelspeed · 02-25-2020, 06:02 PM

Hi folks!,

Test-drove some cars last Saturday. I only put about 7k miles/yr on a car while living in the 'burbs and having my 4.5 mi drive to/from work every day.

Drove two '20 Miata's... soft top and RF... Felt fun but too small mostly because at 5-11", my eyes were only about 2" below the upper windshield frame. I had to crink my neck to see when the light turned green. Too small and didn't love the lack of space behind the seats. Do you really want to stop and get out to go to the trunk for a bag of chips because a bag of chips won't fit behind the seats on a Miata?

Tried a BRZ... liked the interior space but yeah, as I've read, that mid-range is pretty uninspiring.

350Z and 370Z has been one of my favorite body styles for years, and test drove an '09 and it just seemed to "fit". The size seemed right, ergonomics seemed good, and I could see beneath the windshield frame! And power felt GREAT coming from my current Mazda 3.

So, when looking for 370Z's, what's important? I did search quite a bit, so know some things. But many things are buried in 100s of subforum pages.

Wife loves the C7 corvette, and gave me the okay to buy a new one, but I just don't think I'm a corvette dude. More of a Euro guy... 911, Cayman, old M3, M2, Z3 M Coupe,... and the 370z always seemed more like a euro car for a person who didn't have euro money or want the repair costs later. And I've owned four 80's BMWs that were awesome for motor-train reliability, but I just don't trust them (edit- trust modern BMWs) anymore. The bean-counters got to them (modern BMWs).

I'm thinking of a 2-4 year old 370Z. With all of that background, here are my questions:

CSC - I guess this is Clutch Slave Cylinder. I don't mind that some of these go bad sometimes... happened to a previous car... I replaced and it was fine. But if there is some specific thing that let's me know it would need to be replaced soon after a test drive, please let my know.

Suspension - Some old threads said the 370Z is choppy and might bounce or skip over sharp bumps in a turn. But I wonder if those old threads have a writer that doesn't understand that good cars could come with cheap shocks to save some money. If a 370z seems a little active over mid-turn bumps and has 60,000 mi on stock stuff, couldn't I just try some better shocks?

Sport vs base- Sport comes with the VLSD and cool looking brake rotors. I absolutely am not going to have a sportscar without an LSD. My old bimmers had a 60% clutch-lock up LSD and I liked how they behaved. I assumed I'd filter my 370z search to Sport to get the VLSD. But... is it good? Or, if I find a great 1-owner 370z base, is it worth it to scoop up that car and then just get an aftermarket LSD and have it installed?

As far as the brakes on a "Sport", I imagine Stop Tech or whoever makes some good brake upgrades if needed on a Base model. I might do a couple trackdays, but I've done a couple with my Mazda 3 and didn't hurt the brakes so I'm not worried... I'm not professional, so I don't abuse brakes on a trackday. Trackdays to me are just for fun and getting a little loose on the exits of turns.

While looking at cars that are 2-5 years old, do you have any suggestions for things to listen to or things to watch out for during a test drive... other than the usual things of vibrating wheels, pulling while braking, clouds of blue smoke, etc.?

And... blue or that dark red is best.

02-25-2020, 06:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
wheelspeed Base Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 36 Drives: Motorcycles Rep Power: 5	Loved my first 370Z test drive... Want one but what's important Hi folks!, Test-drove some cars last Saturday. I only put about 7k miles/yr on a car while living in the 'burbs and having my 4.5 mi drive to/from work every day. Drove two '20 Miata's... soft top and RF... Felt fun but too small mostly because at 5-11", my eyes were only about 2" below the upper windshield frame. I had to crink my neck to see when the light turned green. Too small and didn't love the lack of space behind the seats. Do you really want to stop and get out to go to the trunk for a bag of chips because a bag of chips won't fit behind the seats on a Miata? Tried a BRZ... liked the interior space but yeah, as I've read, that mid-range is pretty uninspiring. 350Z and 370Z has been one of my favorite body styles for years, and test drove an '09 and it just seemed to "fit". The size seemed right, ergonomics seemed good, and I could see beneath the windshield frame! And power felt GREAT coming from my current Mazda 3. So, when looking for 370Z's, what's important? I did search quite a bit, so know some things. But many things are buried in 100s of subforum pages. Wife loves the C7 corvette, and gave me the okay to buy a new one, but I just don't think I'm a corvette dude. More of a Euro guy... 911, Cayman, old M3, M2, Z3 M Coupe,... and the 370z always seemed more like a euro car for a person who didn't have euro money or want the repair costs later. And I've owned four 80's BMWs that were awesome for motor-train reliability, but I just don't trust them (edit- trust modern BMWs) anymore. The bean-counters got to them (modern BMWs). I'm thinking of a 2-4 year old 370Z. With all of that background, here are my questions: CSC - I guess this is Clutch Slave Cylinder. I don't mind that some of these go bad sometimes... happened to a previous car... I replaced and it was fine. But if there is some specific thing that let's me know it would need to be replaced soon after a test drive, please let my know. Suspension - Some old threads said the 370Z is choppy and might bounce or skip over sharp bumps in a turn. But I wonder if those old threads have a writer that doesn't understand that good cars could come with cheap shocks to save some money. If a 370z seems a little active over mid-turn bumps and has 60,000 mi on stock stuff, couldn't I just try some better shocks? Sport vs base- Sport comes with the VLSD and cool looking brake rotors. I absolutely am not going to have a sportscar without an LSD. My old bimmers had a 60% clutch-lock up LSD and I liked how they behaved. I assumed I'd filter my 370z search to Sport to get the VLSD. But... is it good? Or, if I find a great 1-owner 370z base, is it worth it to scoop up that car and then just get an aftermarket LSD and have it installed? As far as the brakes on a "Sport", I imagine Stop Tech or whoever makes some good brake upgrades if needed on a Base model. I might do a couple trackdays, but I've done a couple with my Mazda 3 and didn't hurt the brakes so I'm not worried... I'm not professional, so I don't abuse brakes on a trackday. Trackdays to me are just for fun and getting a little loose on the exits of turns. While looking at cars that are 2-5 years old, do you have any suggestions for things to listen to or things to watch out for during a test drive... other than the usual things of vibrating wheels, pulling while braking, clouds of blue smoke, etc.? And... blue or that dark red is best. Last edited by wheelspeed; 02-25-2020 at 06:05 PM.