Explain these numbers: Carrera S vs 370Z
 

So according to Road and Track, theses are the performance stats for the Carrera S, Cayman S, and 370Z. I have trouble figuring out why the Z is so much slower than the other two, particularly the Carrera S. Aside from the benefit of a rear weight bias for the Carrera giving a quicker 0-60 (better rear traction), the 1/4mi times baffle me. Is the 70lbs and 20hp/25tq that significant? All theories welcome...!

Carrera S
355hp
295tq
wt 3295lbs
0-60 4.1s
0-100 10.3s
60-0 111ft
1/4 12.6@111.9

Cayman S
320hp
273tq
wt 3100lbs
0-60 4.6s
0-100 10.6s
60-0 117ft
1/4 12.9@108.8

370Z
332hp
270tq
wt 3360lbs
0-60 5.2s
0-100 12.8s
60-0 115ft
1/4 13.7@103.9

Those numbers are probably with porsches PDK dual clutch tranny. Aside from that Porsche's engines are a lot more efficient in terms of making power and the whole car was developed from the ground up as a sports car.

The Z was developed around a general platform that many Nissan's incorporate. Quality and consistency is probably much better with Porsche...but you figure your paying for it also.

As far as I'm concerned Nissan's NA engine has always been overrated. If the Nismo is 350 it'll probably be on par with any other 300 hp engine.

In other words there are many factors that contribute here....could go all the way down to the tires. I'm sure porsche's engines don't overheat either and go into limp mode after a couple of hot laps on the track.

In the end it's a classic case of you get what you pay for.

Power band? Weight difference? I mean, there are more than just numbers involved with "performance" figures.

theres tons of factors....wind resistance, downforce, weight distribution, suspension, power chart, tires,....nissan says 370z is 332hp....even though its really putting down 2xx, maybe the porsche says 355 and its really putting down 355?

I certainly am impressed by the performance of the Carrera S and the Cayman S (and thanks for posting the stats!). But I could buy 2 fully loaded Z's for the price of a Carrera, and a fully loaded Z and an Altima for the price of the Cayman S. That's alot of $$ for a second or so 0-60.

Agreed. I just was curious about the numbers game. I really question if those types of stats are massaged by either the manufacturers (for the hp/tq) or the magazines. It's like automobile politics.

I'm sure I could tear out 200lbs worth of stuff from my car and then add the HFCs and CBE to make it 350-360 crank hp. The carrera and cayman will still probably smoke me.

Check the numbers at the Dyno. I'd be willing to bet the Carrera S is better than 20HP above the Z at the tires

Carrera S even leaves the e92 m3 in the dust. I've driven both and they are in different leagues. The new carrera s I believe has 380hp and with the pdk, it's domination. The way it drives cannot really be explained in words. I've never felt such a direct connection with the road and you can literally feel all the machinery working together to produce that experience, but not in a harsh, punishing way. There is a reason why porsches are regarded so highly. In the beginning, i felt they were just overrated overpriced sporty cars, but you really don't know until you drive one. As far as the acceleration goes, i think their engines are much much more efficient, underrated as shown via dyno charts, the car weighs less, rear engine, etc. There is a best motoring video floating around where the nismo 370z ran against cayman, cayman s, carrera, carrera s, etc. and obviously the nismo came in last and for a good reason.

I'm sorry if you think the Cayman is "just a second quicker" than a 370Z, the interior quality and finish of the Cayman is centuries ahead of that in a Z. The smell of their leather was enough to get my pants wet lol

They also get a PDK gearbox an engine that can be driven all day on the track without going into limp mode. The only advantage the Z has is its price.

So I found a dyno for a 997 Carrera S 3.8i

Listed as 385hp, 420Nm tq
Dyno: 366hp, 408Nm tq

It's embarrassing that Nissan claims the Z makes 332hp and then only puts down 270-280.

Three different cars, but more than likely-"three different drivers"! That can make a difference in the results! Not to mention gear ratio, aero dynamics, different tires!

Don't forget the Cayman/Carrera are mid/rear engines, these usually experience less drivetrain losses than a front engine RWD

That's another factor to take into consideration. And, did they all have the same type of gasoline and amount!

The performance numbers for the 370z are pretty low compared to every other test stuff.

Yeah, but it is like saying that a Z has a interior centuries ahead of a Cobalt. Of course it does, but... duh! I'm not arguing that it isn't nice, but you've gotta be shelling out that money for something -- and imo, I'm still in the stage of my life where interior quality isn't the most important thing on my list.

Mid/rear engine cars tend to launch really well also. Great 60ft times.

Thats why you see STI's pulling 0-60 in 4.6 seconds and as fast as 12.9 stock, they have major drivetrain loss due to AWD, IRC they make only about 240whp, but make up for it in wicked off the line traction.

There not comparing apples to apples.

How about comparing the 370 with any other 2 seat sports car
with a v6 that cost under 40 grand.

People compare different classes of cars all the time for the entertainment value.

Though despite the price differences, the 370 vs. the Cayman is a fair comparison because Nissan itself has said that the Cayman was the performance target during development.

+1 that is exactly what i was thinking. No where near the same drivetrain loss.

Where did you get that info? just curious

Thats you and everyone has thier own things they want.. But when you have big $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ you can pay 100K and it would be felt less than what we felt paying for the Z. If you had 100K to spend on a car only would you have still bought the 370Z? I wouldnt have. The % of your income that you spent on your Z is probably the same % some spend on the Porsche etc. Its all about how much you have to spend.

Here we go again, I cant beat the other car so mine is still better cuz its cheaper and is almost as fast. Well there are other things than spped with cars like Porsche and Audi and BMW. All around quality and even status quo.

Got that right! ;)

So the Nissan spec sheet lists the Z at 332hp. The stock dynos on this forum are all in the 270-280whp range. If you look at the Porsche numbers I listed, there is only a 20hp disparity for the Carrera S. Driveline losses are different for the rear vs front engine, as someone astutely noted. But 270 from 332 is a huge difference.

Seems like Corvettes run 10 - 15% so the 370Z at 19% doesn't seem terrible, but obviously could have been better even in FWD.

Another reason NSX was pretty fast at 270HP.

Weight difference, suspension, handling, etc....

What you are missing is that Porsche is very conservative with their HP ratings.

true, I think most Euro cars are. My Audi was on the conservative side we found out.

C/D TEST RESULTS
Zero to 60 mph: 4.6 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 11.3 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 21.1 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 5.1 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.1 sec @ 108 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 156 mph

7 speed automatic

2009 Nissan 370Z Automatic - Short Take Road Test - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver

I think we will be hard pressed to get that 0 60 time on an avg road and an avg driver. Really need a great 60 ft to get that.

The Porsche's obviously have more available traction given the same tires, which helps them launch quicker. A 1 second faster 0-60 will probably also yield a 1 second+ faster 0-100 and quarter mile, which is exactly what it shows. The most important things in figuring how quick a car is is going to be the dyno chart, the tires, and the weight. Maximum HP/TQ doesn't mean a whole lot at all, but the area underneath that TQ curve.

And how many Porsche drivers can hit the numbers posted for them? These mag times are all from professional drivers. I doubt many Porsche drivers can hit the numbers posted for them......

Except for the ones driving the GT3's! Most of the other Porsche owners I know baby their cars, just like many Vette owners.

Although one of my client's father's was tearing up the street in his Cayman S.... It was pretty cool.

Could be a number of factors but for a minimal investment (compared to the cost of a Porsche), you can even up the playing field.

And my car still gets more stares than those two.

Exactly, one big plus for this car. I am all for bang for the buck but there is a lot of potential in these cars with just a few small changes like a set of sway bars, intake, and CBE. Stock for stock is something I don't even think about, I don't leave anything stock anyway!

I'm not Porsche hating. They are awesome cars. I can't afford one, but I'm not sure I would buy one even if I could. I can't see myself spending $80k+ on any car!

But the Porsche isn't just "any car" haha

True, if you're looking for a wallet-friendly car, the Porsche's aren't the route to go, you know how much labor it takes to replace the sparks on those mid-engines?? lol

And if the Porsche driver did the same upgrades he would still beat the Z. And again the Z is not the best bang for the buck if we are talking speed. A base vette is probably the best bang for the buck for speed stock. What you might need to say say is its the best bang for your buck level. The Z is a nice car but I dont have grand illusions that its the mother of all cars, like vette owners think theirs is. And as far as getting looks, is there always a Porsche next to you when someone is looking and that is how you know you get 2X the looks? Go to downtown Miami and see who will get the girl with their car, the Z or the Porsche. Now Nissan did good with the changes they made for the 370Z as its the best looking one so far IMO and best performing.

If you were a Millionaire several times over I bet you would spend that much on a car, agains its about what your money level can afford.

The top price for a Z is 47k on the convert. A boxster starts where the Z ends and the cayman is just a few thousand more. Its not a perfect match but an honest comparison,
The flipside is. In spite of the fact. You can get a base Z for thousands less giving u. 2/3 the experience of a porsche. Its still a great car and in the right hands a Z can do the quarter in 13.1 seconds. That's nothin to sneeze at. You can go a lot faster, if you spend the same money and buy a camaro SS or mustang GT, but you lose handling.
The Z has no real comp under 40k anyway. The solstice coupe never happened, plus they were 4 bangers and every other so-called competitor is either a GT or roadster. At the end of the day. Porsche is a semi handbuilt sports car that revoltionizes the sports car arena in some form or fashion every decade. The Z is just trying to mimmick porsche performance at low cost. In my opinion, No Matter What is Said Here In This Thread! Even with all the Z shortfalls, The Z does a pretty good job at showing the lower income crowd how more expensive cars put in work. If you can afford a cayman S and its $200/15,000mi, oil changes. I don't even see why you'd even consider or compare a Z.

I changed my mind. If I had the $$, I'd get an Audi R8 (and I'd keep my Z). If I had even more $$$, I'd get a Lexus LFA (and would give my Z to one of the kids).

A guy can dream, can't he?!?

I would rather have a car that everyone thinks is slower, and is awed when they find that its not. I also find that its better to have a few different cars than one that I can afford.