New mem

vo2max99 · 02-03-2012, 06:14 AM

Hi new guy here just thought I'd see if I could learn stuff about the Z. I Will be in the market later this year and not sure what to get but have ideas.
Co-worker has a 370z and tells me he likes it but says he's getting tired of it and thinking about trading it in for a Mustang so I don't know. I've read the Z has issues with overheating, a noisy engine at ^ rpm and a few other negatives but I've yet to drive one so I'll see.

I wasn't too thrilled with reading a recent Car & Driver comparison which basically stated the car was basically sub-par as far as being fun to drive and all it had for it was that it's pretty quick when it's not in the pitts after each lap from over-heating. I suppose I could get an oil cooler for ~$1000.00 or whatever a good one cost but that review from Car & Driver wasn't too encouraging

.

They had the Mustang, MX-5 and EVO X WAY ahead of it when it comes to handling / fun to drive although the Z posted the 2nd best time behind the Mustang. Guess I'm hoping it doesn't turn out to be just another quick but not much fun or rewarding car to drive as Car & Driver put it. I'm test drive tomorrow so I'll see what I think soon enough.

I'm also considering a new MX-5, Boss 302, EVO X, CPO S2K.

My main thing is fun to drive I'm not too concerned with #'s as I don't race my daily drivers for a living or anything like that. I just want a good well balanced fun to drive car. Hopefully the Z turns out better than the review I read lol

Anyways hope everyone has a great day!

ZMan8 · 02-03-2012, 10:05 AM

Welcome to the forum.

Just to give you some FYI's. A nice oil cooler for the Z is actually much cheaper ($350 for small one to $550 for race one). See stillen or Z1 motorsports website. You only actually need an oil cooler if you track so city driving you will be ok especially since the 2012 Z's come with an oilcooler.

The car does get noisy at high RPM. I personally don't mind it. Take into consideration how often you really will be >6000 rpm (probably not a lot).

I'm all about how much a fun a car is as well. To me, the Z is a lot of fun. I think this is a personal thing, however, that you will have to see for yourself and see how you like it. I wouldn't trust a magazine to make my opinion for me, go out and test the all the cars you're considering and see for yourself. GL with your search.

As a side note also consider what exactly your looking for. Best handling, best power, most comfortable (subjective), best refinement (subjective), best looks (subjective) etc. I'll tell you right now. Non of your choice are best in all of those categories so it's more about what you want out of a car.

Hope this helps.

nmjaxx9 · 02-03-2012, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZMan8

Welcome to the forum.

Just to give you some FYI's. A nice oil cooler for the Z is actually much cheaper ($350 for small one to $550 for race one). See stillen or Z1 motorsports website. You only actually need an oil cooler if you track so city driving you will be ok especially since the 2012 Z's come with an oilcooler.

The car does get noisy at high RPM. I personally don't mind it. Take into consideration how often you really will be >6000 rpm (probably not a lot).

I'm all about how much a fun a car is as well. To me, the Z is a lot of fun. I think this is a personal thing, however, that you will have to see for yourself and see how you like it. I wouldn't trust a magazine to make my opinion for me, go out and test the all the cars you're considering and see for yourself. GL with your search.

As a side note also consider what exactly your looking for. Best handling, best power, most comfortable (subjective), best refinement (subjective), best looks (subjective) etc. I'll tell you right now. Non of your choice are best in all of those categories so it's more about what you want out of a car.

Hope this helps.

I think you really have to test drive a Z first in order to feel the fun factor that comes along with it, after I test drove a 370 I bought it immediately, and never looked back,

DCNISMO · 02-03-2012, 02:03 PM

Good luck on getting a test drive in a Boss. No place here in DC would do it unless the contract was already written, then you were allowed to go around the block, then the final signature then get to drive it. Granted that was a while ago, so maybe you can get a deal on them now and get test drives...I got the Nismo used instead of a new Boss, saved over 12K and I'm quite happy.

vo2max99 · 02-05-2012, 09:44 AM

Well I went and test drove the 370z last night..

I drove it for roughly 15 maybe 20 minutes and ran it pretty hard. I'll start with what I thought were positive: Exterior styling looks pretty sharp and a little more compact than I thought. Inside, the shifter / clutch operation is good. It's got plenty of power so that's obviously not an issue.

Handling wise it's got a lot of grip and and easy to drift and pretty much goes where you point it. The ride was in my opinion pretty nice not overly jarring for a sports car. Then again I drove it on smooth roads so I have no reference for how it handles bumps / imperfections.

Negatives? To be honest I'm not a big fan of the interior styling/ gauges. The seats could use more lateral support. The engine does start sounding strained in the upper RPMS. The steering response is good but feedback wise it could be better in my opinion. Outward visibility is kinda ehh but not too terrible.

Overall I liked it despite what I felt are short comings. When you consider the price and total package it's not a bad deal but I can't say it's going to be my next car. I still got to test drive the new 13' GT/302, EVO X and perhaps BRZ/ FR-S. If in the end I'm not satisfied I'll probably just end up getting a MX-5 or CPO S2K because I've driven them and know they are a lot of fun despite not putting down really impressive #'s.

I just want to give all the cars on my short list a fair shake before I make a decision. Anyways the Z seemed pretty cool but it didn't exactly blow me away or anything. I'll probably drive it again right after I drive the Boss 302 to get a better prospective

nmjaxx9 · 02-05-2012, 12:32 PM

Good luck with your future car then! Guess the 370z isnt for everyone!

LakeShow · 02-05-2012, 05:19 PM

The Z is an amazing car. It wont meet everyones taste but to not like it or downplay on reviews etc. means you truely never really experienced the car. Every car has problems. Shall it be quiet at high RPM's? Been in lots of exotic cars and any time revs get high car will be loud.

6MT · 02-05-2012, 06:36 PM

Hi

vo2max99 · 02-06-2012, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LakeShow

The Z is an amazing car. It wont meet everyones taste but to not like it or downplay on reviews etc. means you truely never really experienced the car. Every car has problems. Shall it be quiet at high RPM's? Been in lots of exotic cars and any time revs get high car will be loud.

No, I'm not saying it should be "quiet" at high RPMS but it shouldn't sound like its going to blow up either. What may be "amazing" to one doesn't always mean "amazing" to all.

As far as reviews well I read and most times they get it right depending on the source but I still give the car a try despite the reviews.

In the end it depends on what you personally want. Personally I'm not too concerned with test track numbers. If the Z happened to run the 1/4 in 15.0 but I thought it was amazing to drive I would easily take it over a car that ran the 1/4 in 12.0 but wasn't much fun to drive.

I read some review (I think Road& Track or Car and Driver) that stated that the Z's brakes don't dissipate heat well due to design flaw. Something about how the engineers being too obsessed with looks over function and hence the brakes don't receive enough cooling.

I would have never known this just taking it for a quick spin so that's another good reason to follow up on reviews from credible sources. So it looks like at least an oil cooler and some sort of brake cooling mechanism would be required to run the car hard.

Considering how hot it gets here in Florida that's something that concerns me. Anyways still gotta try some others like the Boss 302, EVO X, etc.

02-03-2012, 06:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
vo2max99 Base Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 120 Drives: 08MS3-BM-6MT Rep Power: 13	New mem Hi new guy here just thought I'd see if I could learn stuff about the Z. I Will be in the market later this year and not sure what to get but have ideas. Co-worker has a 370z and tells me he likes it but says he's getting tired of it and thinking about trading it in for a Mustang so I don't know. I've read the Z has issues with overheating, a noisy engine at ^ rpm and a few other negatives but I've yet to drive one so I'll see. I wasn't too thrilled with reading a recent Car & Driver comparison which basically stated the car was basically sub-par as far as being fun to drive and all it had for it was that it's pretty quick when it's not in the pitts after each lap from over-heating. I suppose I could get an oil cooler for ~$1000.00 or whatever a good one cost but that review from Car & Driver wasn't too encouraging . They had the Mustang, MX-5 and EVO X WAY ahead of it when it comes to handling / fun to drive although the Z posted the 2nd best time behind the Mustang. Guess I'm hoping it doesn't turn out to be just another quick but not much fun or rewarding car to drive as Car & Driver put it. I'm test drive tomorrow so I'll see what I think soon enough. I'm also considering a new MX-5, Boss 302, EVO X, CPO S2K. My main thing is fun to drive I'm not too concerned with #'s as I don't race my daily drivers for a living or anything like that. I just want a good well balanced fun to drive car. Hopefully the Z turns out better than the review I read lol Anyways hope everyone has a great day!

02-03-2012, 10:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
ZMan8 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 5,844 Drives: 10 370z 40th M6 Rep Power: 658	Welcome to the forum. Just to give you some FYI's. A nice oil cooler for the Z is actually much cheaper ($350 for small one to $550 for race one). See stillen or Z1 motorsports website. You only actually need an oil cooler if you track so city driving you will be ok especially since the 2012 Z's come with an oilcooler. The car does get noisy at high RPM. I personally don't mind it. Take into consideration how often you really will be >6000 rpm (probably not a lot). I'm all about how much a fun a car is as well. To me, the Z is a lot of fun. I think this is a personal thing, however, that you will have to see for yourself and see how you like it. I wouldn't trust a magazine to make my opinion for me, go out and test the all the cars you're considering and see for yourself. GL with your search. As a side note also consider what exactly your looking for. Best handling, best power, most comfortable (subjective), best refinement (subjective), best looks (subjective) etc. I'll tell you right now. Non of your choice are best in all of those categories so it's more about what you want out of a car. Hope this helps. __________________ 2010 370Z 40 Anniv., 6 MT \| Fast Intentions \| Swift Springs \| SPC \| Z1Motorsports \| JWM \| Redline Oils \| 35% Window Tint 2015 Mazda6 \| 370ZChicago: Chicago Area Cars & Coffee

02-05-2012, 05:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
LakeShow A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: L.I., NY Posts: 5,307 Drives: Everything Rep Power: 25	The Z is an amazing car. It wont meet everyones taste but to not like it or downplay on reviews etc. means you truely never really experienced the car. Every car has problems. Shall it be quiet at high RPM's? Been in lots of exotic cars and any time revs get high car will be loud. __________________ \|2013 Audi S4\|Ibis White/Black\|S-Tronic P+\| \|2013 370z\|PearlWhite/Persimmon\|Touring/Sport/Nav\|F.I. CBE 18" CF\| \|Sold\|2011 370z\|Gun Metallic\|Touring/Sport/Nav\| Last edited by LakeShow; 02-05-2012 at 05:21 PM.

02-05-2012, 06:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
6MT A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2009 Location: ITU Zone 2 Posts: 22,459 Drives: Reliant Robin Rep Power: 1790	Hi __________________ Andrew 2009 370Z Sport/Touring 6MT sold 2013 Honda Civic Si coupe D/D

02-03-2012, 02:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
DCNISMO Track Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: washington dc Posts: 995 Drives: Nismo Z Rep Power: 178	Good luck on getting a test drive in a Boss. No place here in DC would do it unless the contract was already written, then you were allowed to go around the block, then the final signature then get to drive it. Granted that was a while ago, so maybe you can get a deal on them now and get test drives...I got the Nismo used instead of a new Boss, saved over 12K and I'm quite happy.

02-05-2012, 09:44 AM	#5 (permalink)
vo2max99 Base Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Florida Posts: 120 Drives: 08MS3-BM-6MT Rep Power: 13	Well I went and test drove the 370z last night.. I drove it for roughly 15 maybe 20 minutes and ran it pretty hard. I'll start with what I thought were positive: Exterior styling looks pretty sharp and a little more compact than I thought. Inside, the shifter / clutch operation is good. It's got plenty of power so that's obviously not an issue. Handling wise it's got a lot of grip and and easy to drift and pretty much goes where you point it. The ride was in my opinion pretty nice not overly jarring for a sports car. Then again I drove it on smooth roads so I have no reference for how it handles bumps / imperfections. Negatives? To be honest I'm not a big fan of the interior styling/ gauges. The seats could use more lateral support. The engine does start sounding strained in the upper RPMS. The steering response is good but feedback wise it could be better in my opinion. Outward visibility is kinda ehh but not too terrible. Overall I liked it despite what I felt are short comings. When you consider the price and total package it's not a bad deal but I can't say it's going to be my next car. I still got to test drive the new 13' GT/302, EVO X and perhaps BRZ/ FR-S. If in the end I'm not satisfied I'll probably just end up getting a MX-5 or CPO S2K because I've driven them and know they are a lot of fun despite not putting down really impressive #'s. I just want to give all the cars on my short list a fair shake before I make a decision. Anyways the Z seemed pretty cool but it didn't exactly blow me away or anything. I'll probably drive it again right after I drive the Boss 302 to get a better prospective

02-05-2012, 12:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
nmjaxx9 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Middletown, Ct Posts: 5,853 Drives: 2011 Nissan 370z Rep Power: 25	Good luck with your future car then! Guess the 370z isnt for everyone!