No argument here. For cars (and bikes) I've tracked I always upgraded the brake fluid/rotors/pads before even going out. As for an oil cooler, I've only installed on one car because I added FI. I do think the Z is a little weak in this area, but it's easy to remedy...just not warranty friendly it seems.

I'm not too informed about the specifics of the LSD on the Z. I suppose it's nice to have but I don't intend on tracking this car ever.

If someone would have put a BMW emblem on the car they would have loved it.

The brakes thing is such a sore sport for me because C&D (and other mags) test cars with stock brake pads/fluid, which is absolutely pointless, and encourages companies to put aggressive pads on their cars which drive most owners nuts.

For the LSD, viscous diffs are slower to react, and less effective at locking under acceleration. Your S2000 has a torsen diff--I imagine you've felt the difference between the two.

The VLSD in the Z is also pretty prone to overheating (most viscous diffs are), and it basically functions as an open diff at that point.

What the...

At the very least, they could hire consistent writers.

From a few of their online articles on the 370Z:

"Although we would never call an automatic and one of our favorite sports cars a match made in heaven ..."

"The new Z is a great little car: powerful, riotously fun to drive, affordable, and flat-out gorgeous."

"Do we love the 370Z? It might now be instructive for the reader to review the text and take a census of superlatives."

"With cars like the Z within reach, do adolescents still aspire to Mustangs?"

"Other automakers should take note of this success."

Now it's not a very good car? I'm confused.

see my previous posts on car and driver.:icon17:

lol! :bowrofl: zing!

My gripe is that they rate the Z so low in the fun to drive when it, in reality, should be at the top of that list. Like another poster mentioned, they some of their editors obviously LOVE it; and I have never heard of the Z not being fun to drive. They are biased. The oil temp issue is well known, but I have not had any of the problems as noted on this forum at times.

The point is this: The Z is still well above par in the fun to drive, cool car for its catagory. With a few 'small' tweaks (oil cooler and brake pads if you must....) it is almost perfect in its class.

Bear in mind I do LOVE the Stang, and am considering an Evo (4 doors...), but the Z is still superior in my book. That said, everyone's book is different...

I didn't buy the 370Z because of the HP, I bought it because I like the car and the Heritage/History of the Z.
Yes is not a perfect car but is the best bang for the buck concerning Sport Cars. Some of those issue can be corrected easy.

The only part that makes me mad is that Nissan knew about those issues and did nothing to correct them pushing it to the customer.

However, if you do not track the Z you should not have any braking or oil cooling problems.

C&D and MotorTrend Magazines are always bias and will pick up any muscle car over the Z, even the damn Genesis Coupe. :shakes head: So what ever they write about the 370Z I wipe my butt with it...

Item in bold above should be funnest just in case folks mistook your message ;)

Agree

Agree 100% again.

Although to be fair, purchasing my Z was a close toss up between the 5.0. Funny that I am considering it again because my kids and the ability to bring them in the back seat.... we'll see.

But yes, as previously mentioned, would have been nice to be able to get an oil cooler as a dealer installed option, along with track pads.

Somehow I don't see how the brake pad and oil overheating problems in the 370Z, which generally only present themselves in track situations, compare to the Getrag MT82 transmission problems many Mustang GTs are having. While I think Ford's done a good job with the new 5.0, I think they really shot themselves in the foot with that Chinese POS tranny they opted for. Speaking of cutting costs.
Overall, I think the Z still wins.

From Edmunds:

"In Edmunds brake testing, a coupe with the Sport package's upgraded brakes stopped from 60 mph in a super-short 101 feet -- about the same as the outlandish Nissan GT-R supercar. A roadster with the Sport package took only 5 more feet to stop."

Seems ok to them!

As far as all the Mustang input here. When they get rid of the solid rear axle, I will consider it more of a sports car. More cheap cut corner engineering. Displacement no longer matters. When US manufacturers get out of the retro mode I will consider them again. The cars are just way too big/out of proportion. The mustang is more a GT touring coupe than 'sportscar'. Too big.

Abuse any car on a track with out prepping it first it will have problems, maybe not the same problems but problems none the less. Why are people so shocked by this?

One would think a car magazine would know without being reminded by the maker of the car in question lol! :)

I agree and I will add I did buy my Z knowing the overheating issues. I don't track. I don't knock any other cars because everyone has a preference and if they love their car good for them. I think the Z is a great car and that is all I care about.

No one in their right mind should be driving a car aggressively on track with stock pads, that's just insanity. They should be slapped for suggesting that it is possible at anything over a 50% pace.

It is clear that the lack of braking performance ate into there overall review, I know that I loose full confidence in a car on track if the brakes aren't 100%.

at least they ran into these problems and didn't even get as far as fuel starvation, they really would have loved that! Brakes and Oil cooler were easy fixes.

:roflpuke2:

I don't understand how they lapped it so many times, and never ran into that issue.

True, but the oil temp problem has been encountered by a semi-spirited drive up a public mountain road... That is unacceptable for any modern "sports" car.

I don't know how many laps Car and Driver did on their car straight with the stock pads and fluid (it makes sense how they dont want to do any prep work on the press cars), but man it seems like a bad idea on a track with some heavy braking zones. I know my brakes feel a little softer after 4 hot laps straight at VIR. Someone had said they don't use real professionals to drive the cars?

At the end of the day, not happy about the $1000 on the oil cooler and the fuel starvation. Brake pads and fluid are almost given on any track days

I know a couple guys that drove for them, rode along with one of them at an autocross. They aren't even competitive drivers for the most part (some of the dudes were +3 seconds or so on most courses). No idea how they decide to hire some of these people.

All these reviewers care about is race track performance. They dont mention a word about how it takes the bumps or how comfortable the seats are or the sound system.
They get some car out on a track at 130 mph and complain about the brakes or the oil system not handling that...Who drives that way in real life?

And the MX5 came second! For a car that is not an all out straight line performer, it shows what a "balanced" car can achieve. I think the 370Z should drop around 100 kilos and just watch the benefits. As Colin Chapman once said, "power is good in a straight line, but less weight is good everywhere".

The Evo should have been disqualified just for sheer ugliness.

Do they use different guys for the track test though? I know Consumer Report guys are the same. They do okay, but not really fast, at least I don't know if I trust them for any hard testing.

I have the same exact timing equipment as car and driver, my car was 6mph down the straight as they were at vir. I know my tires are better, but not 6mph faster. I am not a pro or anywhere close to one either. Just take everything with a grain of salt and not worry about it.

For the lightning lap, they have a bunch of people driving the cars. A lot of variance in skill level, which is why comparing times across cars isn't necessarily meaningful.

gets a 7 on least fun to drive come on!

Best Handling Car under $40k, Car&Driver - Page 3 - evolutionm.net

:stirthepot:

:wtf2:

You sir are evil! :tiphat:

At the end of the day, I am sure they know enough to make it around a lap. Even if there is a difference, I don't believe it is that big. It's definitely a good reference, but not sure if I swear by it.

That's kinda how I look at it-- it is a rough idea. But you can look at your log data vs theirs, and judge for yourself how solid the guys are.

All I know is that properly track prepared the Z has beaten STi's and Evo's alike at just about every track I've been to, and it hasn't been due to driver. There is more power, more tire and less weight which is pretty much always going to result in lower lap times.

I don't recall the last time I see a stock EVO on the track. Everyone I have seen has more $hit done to it than Heidi Montag.

Also another thing I learned. There is always going to be someone or something faster, you will live a lot happier if you don't worry too much about it.

Perhaps, but I'm not EvilRob.

Eh, that's a bit too broad of a claim to make. That said, the one source of same-driver-same-track times does show the 370Z ahead of the Evo X FQ-300 by 0.7 seconds.

List of Top Gear test track Power Lap Times - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't know if it's a GSR or MR though.

Almost certain it is was a GSR, but I honestly can't remember. I think a MR would've had a better time.

I have to wonder about this list, though. Why cut it off at $40,000? That seems sort of strange.

I think it is a little campy rating things on "feel" though. I don't really disagree with the rankings, but virtually all of their criteria is pretty subjective.

edit: also that evom link is funny. I'm not sure why anyone is surprised that a car forum has a strong bias toward the car they all own.

And that is on a standing start which yields a 0.5 second advantage to the AWD cars.

I'm just going by what I've experienced on track so far and I'm only comparing myself to licensed or instructor level drivers. The Evo certainly responds very well to mods so if they are willing to risk the engine they can go quite a bit faster.

My next track is WGI which I have never driven before and there is supposed to be a 450whp STi there (built motor, full cage) so I fully expect to be beaten severely, but that car has been brought to the next level.

LOL. They took my asian girlfriend quote a little too seriously. And then misquoted me later when someone else talked about seat plushness and ride suppleness.

The inter-brand rivalry these comparos generate is pretty hilarious. We're just chatting and discussing amongst ourselves here and the Evo crew is getting all in a huff about it!

Evo site guys, you have a nice car too. I like mine better :).

Dont worry about the EVO guys. There mad because of what they see when they open the door and sit in.

^ Exactly.... they see they're Lancer aka K-mart brand interior and get all tied up in a knot. LOL. If I'm gonna spend all mytime driving mycar while sitting on the INSIDE, I'd rather spend it in quality space.