Test Driving a 370z
 

I was test driving a used 370z the other day, and i notice right off the bat, that it was very hard to steer/turn the steering wheel. it seems like the car doesnt have power steering. i had to use a little bit of force to just change lane.

so I am just wondering if this was normal. and i also drove 370's high maintenance sister the G37 and it felt normal.

its effortless really.. may wanna try a diff one and tell the dealer about that one

Alright thank you.

yeah test drive another one i use my z as a daily driver and the steering feels normal

I'm not sure the G37 would have a heavy steering feel due to it being the luxury version. I have driven my dad's 350Z and I felt that his car's steering felt heavier than mine. My former STi never had a heavy steering feel like other true sports cars may exhibit.

that's not normal. It's a slower feel than many cars, but not really heavy.

Dealer or private seller? Check the Carfax and the history at the service department.

That car might had been wrecked, you never know.

The 370Z I drove had a "heavy" wheel to steer, compared to my G20. Compared to other sports cars I have owned and driven, it was par for the course and I liked it.

The feel is slightly heavier than some cars, in part because of the faster steering rack ratio and the smaller steering wheel. Personally I like the weight of the steering, I think other cars are too soft and lack feedback (generally speaking the more power assist the less steering feel/feedback).

never thought about it one way or another. it feels good to me...
coming over from a c5 vette.. the vette was imo a tad better...

the vette feels like its on rails... and the z just about... sorry to get of topic.

agree agree agree!!! ugh i hate a loose wheel. i'm not going to lie, the Z is some what 'heavy' (not really but compared to others) for instance, my parents sable, my old eagle talon, brothers old '08 eclipse all felt loose and just, idk not sporty....the Z on the other hand!! very tight and responsive! i love it

Its a dealer. and i think the right word is that it is slower. its not stiffer. you just have to use more strength than normal.

edit: carfax is clean. and nothing wrong. maint is up to date

Heavy, slow, stiff. What about...

http://i905.photobucket.com/albums/a...k/tigher12.jpg




The steering is tight, but not abnormally so. It is not difficult to turn, but it is tighter than your normal luxury sedans, like the Lexus you currently drive.

Keep in mind that what you are used to driving is going to greatly affect your perception of it. I did not drive my Taurus all summer, just the Z. When I finally hopped back in the old beater, I literally felt unsafe. Brakes sucked, steering was loose, the car floated along with no responsiveness in anything I did. I seriously felt like something was wrong with it. Nothing was of course, I just forgot how insanely different the two cars really are.

I was playing Gran Turismo 5 with a Logitech G27 wheel and shifter for the past couple weeks, and pulled out the Z a couple days ago when we hit temps in the 60's after being freezing for weeks. Now not only did the steering and handling feel very odd compared to the Taurus, which is an automatic, but the shifting felt heavy as hell because of playing GT5 with with a little plastic shifter.

Go test drive a new one, I'm guessing it will feel pretty close to the used one you drove.

try driving a bmw.... they have heavy steering wheels..

my guess is that you are just used to a car with a much ligther looser steering wheel...

Try lifting weights once in awhile.

While still rolling, stall the car, just to feel how heavy it really is.
I would never say the Z has heavy steering compared to all the cars I have driven over the years.

Isn't the steering stiffer the faster you go?

Are you sure it was a 370Z and not a 350Z? The 370 is super light compared to the 350. The 370 should feel very light and normal like most cars.

Yeah, I didn't even notice a difference when I went from my RSX to the 370Z. It was probably a bit heavier, but nothing that I even noticed.

What do you mean by most cars? I have driven P71 cop cars (crown-vic's) and my G20 and even my build fox-body 5.0 and they were all WAY lighter than the 370Z's steering. Then they are not meant to handle. My '95 and '01 Trans Am's had steering very comparable to the 370Z in weight.

For "most cars", the 370Z is heavy. For a sports car, it's about right.

the Z is heavier than normal cars

our laguna and megane are light as hell. hell I personally find the Z to steer heavier than our GT-r

I love it, makes you feel like the steering wheel is really connected to the car.

Why hasn't anybody suggested that the steering feels heavier due to the width of the front tires???

My 370Z's steering is A LOT lighter than my 350Z's.

Having said that, it also depends on which 370Z you drive. The one I first test drove had 18s, which are heavier than the forged Rays and have a fatter sidewall, so its steering felt heavier, naturally.

Edit: Also tire pressure. A lot of these cars sit outside in the freezing cold and overtime PSI falls below 30s, which also makes steering heavy.

I miss my heavy steering wheel of the 350z.

The front tires on a Z aren't very wide in the scheme of things. That's not the case here.

Ive noticed many owners here have this problem where the steering is very hard to turn when stopped but eases out when you start driving. As this is the case for my car since I have purchased it but have always suspected that there was some sort of an issue.

Showed my mechanic, we noticed that there was too much movement when shaking the wheels while on a lift. And that it shouldn't be very hard to turn while stopped. Which came to a conclusion that this could be a power steering rack(rack and pinion) issue.

Just wanted to put that out there.

In a 5.5 year old thread?

You sir, stole my troll! I demand satisfaction! :p

My steering got really loose a few weeks ago all of a sudden on the road. Steering rack is on order and scheduled to be replaced next week. Under warranty, thankfully. 85K miles on the car.