RCGsupra

Well, I want to start out by saying that I am am extremely lucky to have been able to own a Z. I bought my touring/sport 6MT in April of 2009. I just sold it and thought I would write an unbiased review on the car.


First off, a little history about my experience. I consider myself a "car guy" and I am infatuated with cars that were made with one purpose: to provide a great driving experience. I've been privileged to have owned a single turbo mkiv supra and a bugeye WRX. In addition I've had track experience in the Supra as well as a Lotus Elise. I know this isn't much, but with this combined with other cars I have driven I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of how a car should "behave."

Now on to the Z. My first impression of the Z was "wow", this car offers quite a bit for the money. The things that attracted me to it initially was the sport package which included huge brakes, and LSD, and some massive grip for a stock car. That accompanied with some decent power and I was impressed.

So what was I looking for in the Z? Well, coming from the Supra, which was basically a track car that I DD'd, I wanted a fun car that wouldn't be as extreme as the supra for a DD. So I went and drove a 370Z and I was impressed. As an overall first impression the car felt "solid." It didn't feel super fast, but it was smooth. The interior was great and this was important because at the time i was looking for a comfortable sports car.

Ok, so I bought the Z and lets fast forward to today. I used the car for what I bought it for (a DD) and unfortunately never got to track it or for that matter auto-x it. For a DD it was a great car, but it isn't without it's flaws.

Here's my take on each aspect of the car.

Clutch: The stock clutch feels totally numb. It is very hard to be smooth, grabs really high, and it basically has no feel. This can be improved by adjusting the clutch pedal to grab closer to the floor.

Throttle response/flywheel: Terrible! This is one of my biggest gripes with the car. It takes soooooo long for this engine to rev. You almost have to stab the throttle at 100% just to get a "blip." Once you get it to rev, it sits there for a few seconds and then slowly falls. ugh. It's just not responsive.

Transmission/Shifter: Pretty good! I had a few issues early on where it would take a while to get it into 6th, but that eventually went away. The throws for the most part were short and crisp. The synchrorev was cool, but not always perfect. I felt that it was always a few hundred RPM off and it would be jerky on downshifts. I found that downshifting at higher speeds where the RPM is higher and releasing the clutch fast on downshifts would yield the best results. Either way it's a great concept as it allows you to focus more on braking than your heal and toe technique. And this is especially true given how hard this thing is to heal and toe with it's slow throttle response/touchy clutch.

Suspension/Chasis: Very good. This is one aspect of the car that I really grew to appreciate. For a stock car, this thing handles great! The steering is a bit heavy, but the initial turn is great and it just stays planted. It has tons of grip and has minimal body roll. However, when you it a large bump with the suspension loaded it will unsettle the car quite a bit. I'm sure this is probably easily correctable with some minor suspension upgrades. One downside is that the car is pretty heavy for its size. I would have liked to have seen it closer to 3k lbs.

Brakes: Awesome. Man do these things bite. I have no complaints in this department. I have only heard of icing issue, but never experienced it. This is common in other cars so I wouldn't be too worried about it. I never did get to experience them on the track, but I assume with some good pads and fluid they would perform well.

Engine: Meh. It pulls great and is very smooth above about 3K RPM. Anything below that is just a mess. There is no low end torque and it usually stumbles/bogs quite a bit in the lower RPM range. This is especially true on a hot and humid summer day. It honestly feels more like a turbo car without all of the fun. The oil temp is also somewhat of an issue. For normal driving it isn't a factor, but for anything "spirited" it is. For example I was in Asheville, NC on a nice 70 degree fall day and decided to go drive some mountain roads. Within 5 minutes the oil temps were around 270. I guess it's good Nissan at least put an oil temp gauge in the car so we can at least be aware.

Interior: Probably one of the best aspects of the car. Nissan did a great job with this. If you are looking for something that is comfortable with a lot of features this car is great. The textures are great and everything looks nice. The seats are comfortable and supportive. One downside is that the visibility is terrible. There are a ton of blind spots. It's not as bad once you get use to it, but you are always aware of the fact that you can't see ****.

Exterior: I thought it looked pretty good. I was never fond of the 350, but this car to me looks much better. It's still not a "pretty" car, but it is aggressive and has a presence in person.


So overall the 370Z is a solid, well balanced sports car. It feels a little "disconnected", but it's great for someone looking for a fun car that is still comfortable enough to drive on a daily basis. Those looking for more of a rewarding driving experience may want to consider something else. It has some flaws, but it is very impressive in stock form and I think it has a lot of potential. I think this going to be a great value once they come down in price a bit.

So that's my review. I tried to stay as unbiased as I could. Hopefully this will help those interested in the car. Feel free to throw some hate my way if you disagree.

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-Rick
09 370Z 6MT Sport/Touring. FI Exhaust