2017 370z

Darwins Child

Thanks! Likely it will be the same month this year, which will be just fine.

mishuko

I guess it's worth mentioning Canada's trims are base, touring, touring sport, nismo.

totally understand your situation though. the saving grace with SRM on the sport model is that it rev match for you and wife when she drives which will be a lot easier to play with.

Darwins Child

Yes, I realize that the base does not have rev match. I drove manuals for many years, as did my wife. None of those vehicles had rev match. We and the vehicles survived quite well without it, but I must admit that I find it intriguing. The good thing is that it is a feature that will never ever malfunction on the base.

Does anyone see a big downside to not having LSD for more or less normal street driving?

FWIW, I thought that this was a good, frank review of the Canadian base:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7ed0oXONZw

mishuko

Ahh good on you! I turn my off once in awhile to practice incase it does malfunction or something.

not really in terms of the LSD... probably won't see a difference if you're not going spirited/track.

oh another thing to mention on touring are the power seats / heated seats if that's a game changer or not.

I'm a bit mixed for the review. hits some points misses others. 0-60 time is arguable and should really be mid 5's if he turned of VDC and launched properly. he said the steering is light but personally I feel it's a bit heavier than what I'm used to (Toyota's). rubbery shifting I found more 'notchy'? clutch play is funny as well. it catches close to the top of the pedal stroke.

there is also a lot of cabin noise in the car. it's very noticeable (regardless of trim) and gets worst as the tires wear down. a decent set of rubber should help calm it a bit.

one thing you're doing is your research... good on you buddy and hope you make the right purchase for your needs! oh if you do get it... welcome and have lots and lots of fun with it!

Darwins Child

Thanks and thanks for the review of the video. AFAIK, the base does not have VDC.

We presently own a '10 Mit. Outlander, so we are experiencing road noise like you wouldn't believe. Our previous vehicle was a '92 Accord and it also had tremendous road noise. So we'll feel right at home with road noise.

We don't need or want heated/cooled seats in what will be our summer-only vehicle.

Although I have not yet driven a 370, I have sat in the red base that we're considering buying. There are a few reasons why I actually prefer the manual cloth seats (but I hope that the seat fabric is improved over Nissan's traditional, questionable-quality seat-fabrics).

First, I have slightly better legroom with the manual seat.

Second, because my wife and I are vastly different sizes, a vehicle's seat position for each of us is precisely the opposite in every direction. So the seat mechanism will be used a great deal, to its limits. After some initial practice, each of us will be able to adjust the seat position in a fraction of the time necessary for the power seat. Not only that, but, just like the non-existent rev-match, the non-existent power seat components will never ever need maintenance.

Third, my torso is generally more comfortable in the shape of the base's seat. I believe that the manual seat's side-bolsters are not as confining as the leather power seat's, but I might be wrong on that.

Additionally, I believe that as the seat cushioning "breaks in" over time, it will become even more comfortable.

Lastly, if the 7's seats' covers are removable like the 5's, should Nissan's delicate cloth fabric wear unacceptably, I can install aftermarket leather myself in a few hours for a few hundred.

We'll be taking a test ride in a few days and will report back our impressions of everything.

While I'm at it, is it "hands free" to unlock the vehicle's doors, or do you have to hit the "unlock" button on the FOB?

Thanks.

mishuko

I am pretty sure all the trims of the cars have the VDC button (on the left hand side about the size of the start button) but I could be wrong. he did spin his tires at the start so he may have had it off. the sport does have better tires so that's probably another reason why he didn't get a good a time.

I haven't driven in any of the vehicles you mentioned so I can't compare. There are some DIY mods to reduce road noise. I did line my trunk in hushmat and I can actually hear the engine throttle a lot better. The worst I found was driving in the rain where it sounded like it was raining inside the car. going over dirty road caused a lot of 'pinging' but i found it was drastically reduced after. YMMV and I'm not saying it's silent like a lexus. it's still loud... just I am able to enjoy my exhaust and engine noise better

there is actually a button on the door handle I use to unlock. it will only unlock your side. so it's not like a hands free entry altogether.

oh one more thing you should also be aware of... do some research on CSC. lots of threads in the general/tech area about it.

LMBmikeZ

as far as the CSC goes..........seriously Nissan

but all cars have their flaws/recalls etc


Steering lock????


just waiting for mine to go then I will do the fix available through Zspeed

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LMBmikeZ

you can fit a lot but it's not intended to be cargo friendly. Can fit a set of golf clubs nicely. Other then that don't think they planned much further then that lol.


Funny you say that. It sounds like the exact same type of people I am referring to lol. For them having a Beamer is all about the status symbol though they could car less how beautiful of a machine it is. They just want that Gucci or Prada??? To say hey look at me. Not saying bmw are my fovorite or anything, hell some are total POS and I would never buy but some are gorgeous!

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Darwins Child

My wife and I took that red base for a test drive. I was wowed by the overall performance. Acceleration is neck-snapping fantastic and so is handling. I don't need any more than what this 370Z already has.

I can shift fast, but not as fast as the auto. I'm a little rusty getting smooth acceleration when shifting, but by the end of the ride I was quite smooth. If I were alone, I wouldn't even think about it.

My wife an I were both very comfortable in the base's manual cloth seats. When I place my feet under/behind the pedals, my long legs are almost flat. We could drive across the country and be very comfortable.

Speaking of seats, there was a Nismo in the showroom, so while waiting for the salesperson to get the base ready, I sat in the Nismo's driver's seat. In short, I found its seats very restricting and uncomfortable. So did my small wife. We prefer the basic seat.

If it's of any value to anyone, I noticed that the cruise control works in 4th, 5th and 6th gears. I wouldn't be surprised if it worked in 3rd, too. I like using cruise in the city to avoid tickets, which have become one of the greatest revenue streams for our great, safety-loving (money grubbing) city council members, so being able to set cruise at say 40 km/hr in a lower gear is a nice feature, IMO.

As long as the vehicle was just barely moving, the vehicle's engine and I found it acceptable to use 2nd gear instead of 1st to start a gentle acceleration.

I found the shift mechanism to be very good. I didn't miss any gears and had no trouble finding the correct one for any given speed.

For a base vehicle, I found the features to be quite good.
-Powerful headlights
-Decent radio/CD player
-Covered, illuminated mirror on the passenger visor, along with extendable light-blocks on both visors
-AC
-Auto-up-down power windows
-Power vehicle door lock-unlock
-Outside keyless door lock/unlock buttons
-Push-button ignition
-Blue tooth phone on steering wheel
-Radio volume controls on steering wheel
-Cruise control on steering wheel
-Power side mirrors
-Probably more that I've missed. Our old base '92 Accord had none of this stuff. Times have definitely changed for the better in 24 years. (OTOH, our base Accord was $18K.)

The one and only negative I found was that when I pressed the cruise control, I honked the horn. At first I did not know what was happening. You've really got to press lightly on those steering wheel controls.

Because my wife would be happier with an auto, today I did an online "build your vehicle" on Nissan.ca. In order to get a vehicle with an auto trans, you have to jump two steps up from the base. Below is a screen-capture of the minimum build/price sheet for a vehicle that has an auto. In short, to get a new 370Z with an auto trans, you've got to spend at least another $15K above the base price, which is ridiculous. And that's a cash purchase. If you finance, it's over $17K. Obviously, what Nissan needs to do is offer an auto-trans-and-nothing-else option for the base for say another $1500-$2000. I can't believe that the auto transmission is that much more expensive than the manual transmission and what the heck does Nissan care, as long as they're selling more vehicles?

I asked the Sales Manager when the '17s were due to arrive. He did not know. I asked him if he knew what the "incentive" would be to sell the remaining '16s. He did not know. I asked him if an auto would be optional on the '17 base. He did not know. So that was an informative conversation.

We'll see what the future holds. In the meantime, I'm watching the used-vehicle ads very closely because we're not paying 47 grand for a summer toy.

Attached Images

build sheet.jpg (27.2 KB, 28 views)

LMBmikeZ

Oic you talked to one of typical Nissan dealership salesmen and dare I say it managers....... All trained in 5th degree asshatary for not knowing the product they are selling.

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Darwins Child

Yes, I agree, but they have so many different models with so many different trim levels, that it must be hard for sales people and even the sales manager to keep up with everything.

With the internet, we customers are usually already well-educated about one particular vehicle before we step into the show room. Nowadays I'm not surprised to find out that I know more about a particular vehicle than the sales person does. Not only that, but most sales people nowadays freely admit to their ignorance. I guess they feel it's safer to go that route rather than try to BS a customer who does not need "sales pitch".

It's essentially the same with electronics and a wide variety of other products. Expecting absolutely nothing from sales people is the way to go.

That being said, the service dept. is an entirely different situation.

mishuko

the high clutch is a 'racelike' feel because you are in a 'race car'

btw the Nissan sales MANAGER should have his screws on and details of every car. his front line salesman not as much. but as a manager you should atleast be able to read the spec sheet off each car in the show room. maybe 12?

when I was buying my Z the sales manager was a dink at a Nissan dealership. I got a used one at an acura dealership. he knew more about the fkin car than the Nissan guy.

Cornchip

So I think I should jump in and mention this about the manual vs auto debate. Many people here don't like the feel of the clutch pedal on the 370Z. If you search this forum you'll see what I'm talking about, and you probably noticed it on your test drive.

As for me, I've been driving manual transmissions consistently for 20 years so I felt I was able to adjust pretty easily when I got my Z last fall, it is touchy. But for my wife, she would really struggle trying to get it to shift smooth. A couple weeks ago I installed the RJM clutch pedal mod and I must say that it makes a huge difference.

I just thought this might be something to think about if its an issue you or your wife run into. BTW, sound like your in Edmonton, feel free to PM me if you have any questions about the "enthusiast" Z model, I'm in the area.

Darwins Child

Thanks for the offer. I appreciate it.

I found the clutch to engage quite high off the floor. Another way to put it is that when you push down to disengage the clutch, from the point where the clutch disengages, the pedal can still travel some distance down to its stop point.

Why Nissan did things this way is beyond me, but the present set up doesn't bother me. It seems to me that the resting position of the pedal could start off closer to the floor with the bottom stop remaining where it is. This would eliminate some of that free travel and maybe make shifting more comfortable. That is, the extended leg could easily hold the pedal all the way down, but not have to lift as high to start engaging the clutch. To me it would then be more predictable just exactly where the clutch would begin to engage.

Zat_Zuma

If you want a "auto" base you will have to go to the states to get one. Lots to choose from and importing a car is easy. Check out Autotrader.com

Unfortunately Nissan Canada doesn't give us the same choices as our southern neighbors. I feel so discriminated against.

Don't get me started about the crappy clutches in 370Z's. I could write a book lol

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