Improved Low end?
 

My lease on my R32 (vw) is almost up and I am shopping around for a car. My friend has an 05 350z that I have driven many times and while its a nice car its so boring to drive around town (which is most of my driving) cause it has no balls down low. Unlike my vr6 motor which pulls like crazy off idle. So my question is does the 3.7l have balls down low? I know max torque is around 5200rpm's and from the dyno sheets I have seen on the 370s it seems to have a nice flat torque curve like the vr6 motors are notorious for having. But in actual city driving do these cars rip from stop light to stop light? Unlike the 350s?

Hmm...I think the problem with your question is that it's subjective. What may feel like a a strong pull off the line to one person may not feel that way to another. I can tell you that it has gobs of low-end torque compared to an S2000, which I once owned. I can also tell you that a number of guys in R32s tried to take me in my S2000 and were never successful, so infer from that what you will. I think there's only one way you can definitively get an answer -- go take a 370Z on a test drive.

Question: Your info says you drive an 08 R32. How can your lease already be up?

I agree that I am asking an opinionated question but any car enthusiast who has driven a lot of different cars should be able to answer my question. Have you ever driven a 350z with the REV-UP motor?

Yep. I had an '06 350Z with MT before the 370. Why? FWIW, the 370 feels plenty quick off the line to me. The 08 R32 has what, 236 ft-lbs stock, right? The 370 has 270 ft-lbs. I don't know what the weight differential is though. In any case, here's my most recent dyno. Now, my car isn't stock, but it should at least show you how flat the curve is, starting at what rpm.

Also, how can your lease be up already on an '08 model?

http://www.the370z.com/members/semte...ced-052009.jpg

I only did a 24 month lease on my car.

On paper it looks like its got some down low.....hows the 3.7 pull off the line compared to your 350? The R is heavy like 3800lbs what the weight on the 370?

According to the Nissan site, the Touring w/ MT (which is what I have) weighs 3278.
2009 Nissan 370Z Coupe Specs - Nissan USA

It pulls stronger than my 350.

The first Gen R32 is closer to 3400 lbs. Not a lot different than the Z...

To me the 370Z feels a little sluggish from idle, but once the revs get up a little it starts pulling. My 05 G35 had a little more low end but less high end. My 02 Maxima had more low end than both but less overall.

It's still easy to get off the line right fast if you need to, just bring the revs up a little.

hahah its just the feeling of the turbos man... my friends VW TDI feels like it pulls harder than my Z too LOL... but it just feels like that - the car goes nowhere... no my Evo X... that thing pulled like a beast on roids and went FAR lol

VW Golf R32 (AWD)('04) TTD 3350
VW Golf R32 (AWD)('08) TTE* 3600

The 350z is nearly 400lbs lighter than your R32 and has more torque - I'm not sure how the 350 didn't feel as torquey to you. IMO the 370 powerband is more focused on the top end and midrange so the 350's feel a little more ballsy off the line.

But both are a decent bit quicker than the R32, especially if you like turning ;)

He has an R32 - 3.2l V6 @ 250hp - no turbos.

2008 VW R32 has 250 HP, 236 TQ at 3547 curb weight.

My friend has 2008 R32 and its so slow and boring compared to my 370z.

R32 feels like a civic compared to my car. Not to mention how ugly that is, it reminds me of a rabbit, for girls car.

Up top the 350 feels nice and strong.....its off idle where its a dog. I am a good 2 car lengths ahead of 350z from the dig. The vr6 has near instant torque and with awd I can launch hard out of the hole.

My car far out handles the 350 as well but thats not what I am concerned with both cars handle better than is ever needed on the street.

Thats not the answer I was hoping for....If im not mistaking the 05 G35's had the non REV-UP motor which is supposed to have more low end than the REV-UP motors. I really wanted a G35 a few years ago but every time I drove them I was disappointed with how much of a dog they were. My friends 05 Z is an anniverary eddition so it has the REV-UP and his car feels better than any non REV-UP G coupe I have driven....I am assuming that Z's are a few hundred pounds lighter than G coupes

05 G35 with the 6MT had the Rev-up motor, the auto's did not.

The Z is about 250 pounds lighter than the old G35 coupe (not sure about G37).

I've owned R32 with stock sport package A7 paddle shifter 370z, all in rolling and 0-whatever in 2.5~3 car length. That R32 was my frined's car, and both car was 100% stock. On a twisty road? Our sports packaged 370z has 0.97G on Skidpad, it's even better record than porsche. Check out what your's got and realize the huge gab btw 370z and R32 :-P

You are comparing apples to oranges. Your car has AWD while the Z is RWD. A decently powered AWD car will always launch harder and stronger than an equally powered RWD car or even a RWD car with slightly more power. Back when I had my 06 WRX I could launch harder and jump 1.5 car lenghts on my girlfriends 06 Corvette. Does that mean the Corvette has no balls compared to a WRX? Hell no. She would rip past me after 60mph. What you are felling comparing your R32 to the 350z is the advantage of AWD. Do the same launch from a 1.5-2k rpm run and your car won't pull as fast as the Z.

Your best bet is to go test drive the 370z but if you are going to be comparing your AWD car to RWD you should be keeping in mind the AWD advantage when launching. Having driven the 370z it has more than enough power down low to be fun. Just need them to fix the oil temp issue so I can buy mine

I am aware of the awd advantage over rwd but the 350z won't even break loose without dropin the clutch. Anyway I found a couple dealers around with 370's in stock so hopefully I will get some seat time soon and be able to make my own decision. Thanks for everyone that gave some info. I will post up my thoughts after I drive one.

I'd hate to buy your car. Why do you have the need to "launch"? Are you a pilot? Or do you just go through cars with no mechanical sympathy? Or is there something wrong with you? You know there is more to performance cars thabn just launching, how old are you, 16?

Wow, is it me or was this pretty much uncalled for. If someone wants to launch their cars, let them. It's their cars, their money. You can't blame someone for wanting to drive the car in the manner it was designed for.

^+1

Mechanical Sympathy? Are you of those guys who makes love to his cars don't ever shift higher than 3k rpm? How old are you? I buy cars to drive them and enjoy the feeling of acceleration. I have no desire to blast down the highway at 150mph. I have a supercharged jet ski that will do 0-50 in less than 3 seconds. So I would say I have an acceleration problem.

^ +1

Where's my supercharger kit?!

So I just got back from driving a 370....it's a very nice car and is faster than the 350 it still was disappointing on the low end. Maybe I am expecting to much from these wide angle v6's

Does that mean you're not gonna get one?

^^ the big question

I don't think so....My original plan was to get a C6 vette when my current lease was up so thats what I will pry end up getting. I been looking at everything lately though. The 370 interested me cause it is a good looking car and the interiors are real nice...nicer than the vettes ( the 4lt package on newer C6s is on par with the 370 but they are still out of my price range).... but like I said the 370 left me wanting more. There are rumors of VW bringing the R20T over here but since its not even out yet in Europe who knows when we would see it. My past 4 cars have been vw's and if that car was out I would have one already.

I don't know why you don't feel the 370Z faster....Its the 370Z to smooth for you...

2008 VOLKSWAGEN R32 2009 NISSAN 370Z

0-30 1.9 sec 0-30 1.8 sec
0-40 3 0-40 2.7
0-50 4.3 0-50 3.6
0-60 5.8 0-60 4.7
0-70 7.7 0-70 6.2
0-80 10 0-80 7.9
0-90 13 0-90 9.6
0-100 16.3 0-100 12
PASSING 45-65 MPH 3.1 Passing, 45-65 mph 2.4
QUARTER MILE 14.4 sec @ 94.5 mph Quarter mile 13.3 sec @ 105.7 mph
BRAKING 60-0 MPH 111 ft Braking, 60-0 mph 106 ft

Even though I LOVE my 370Z but I do believe it lacks the low end tq my VQ35DE had. Those of us (Digitonium, MSpeasl etc) that drove the 03 Z for a long time, we felt the difference. The new VQ is a beast above 4K rpm but below it, it doesn't have the low end power like 03 Z (just my opinion :twocents:)

I couldn't agree with you more. I can also feel the difference in weight. I think the 03 Base was lighter than my 09 which added to the torque feel.

Sounds like the better car for you. I just sold mine. 440 lbs of torque is nice but the overall lack of "Feel" brought me here. I like the 370 better. YMMV...

http://images50.fotki.com/v1513/phot...MG_1466-vi.jpg

Honestly - I think this is what it is... Nissan wants more ppl to feel the "economic-ness" of the 370 - hence vvel - so under 4k - most reasonable driving will be nice and friendly on the gas tank and if you wanna push it past - then say hello to 12mpg :) Honestly some tuning and that should all go away - cant wait for ppl to really understand the vvel systems

Quick question, are you sure the traction control wasn't still on when you tried this. Even the automatic 350z will break loose from a stand still.

As for the Vette you will love it. I drive my girlfriends all the time and it's a blast. Doesn't have the confidence inspiring handling of the 370z but it's definetly a fun and fast car.

I would highly suggest you a C6 (get Z51 package to get better handling) if Tq is an issue for you or 135i. Twin turbo 135i engine will give you almost all it's 300 ft/lbs of tq around 1700 RPM :eek::driving: ;)

Who the hell spends any time below 4,000 RPM anyways? :driving:

Ha ha! Nice. I do know my '09 Infiniti FX35 is WAY more powerful down low than my '04 FX was. I'm also noticing this on my 370. It really doesn't matter though in my opinion, since I would break the tires loose constantly if there was any more power down low. The 370 does have less power down low than my new FX, but remember, electronically controlled throttles can be calibrated by Nissan with pedal push/ power output. I still think the newest VQ35HR has more WAY down-low than the VQ37HR. Weird, but true. My FX has the tranny out of the 370 AT. It had it all first and I can compare it to the old VQ35. I know because my boss has the old G35 coupe, which was exactly the same as my old FX.

Amen brother. I had a 2006 (Z51) with intake/exhaust and tune, which made around the same power as a stock 2008. It is definitely faster, scarier and more exciting than the 370z, but a generally un-fun driving experience. the clutch is heavy. The steering is heavy. The shifting is heavy AND notchy. There is hardly any steering feedback. There is snap oversteer which gets you from full power to bogging quicker than you can respond......or spinning out if you turn traction control off. At 50k miles the targa top squeaked over every bump. The chassis was not as stiff as the Z. At low speed it sounds like....well Jeremy Clarkson said this best; "someone threw a bunch of spanners (wrenches) into the engine". Oh... I forgot.... the interior is cheapy plastic. The Corvette is so infamous for its cheap interior that I forgot to mention it.

If I can get my 370z, which is already modded in quite a few ways, down to a 12.5 second quarter mile, it will be superior to the Corvette in every aspect except "chick magnet" status.

The 370z gets the same mileage as the 435 hp Corvette at 16city/26hwy. That's actually quite inneficient when you consider the 'vette has more than 100 hp more. If Nissan used chevy's tricks with shifting and gearing, they would probably get like 19/29.

It's an asian chick magnet :happydance:

I'm currently able to run circles around the Corvette guys at the auto-cross with the 370Z almost purely because it is so much easier to drive. I lose track of how many Corvettes I see spin off course.

Yea, and the Corvette is White girl magnet?

I need to get one of those. Need to see more of Asian guy/White girl relationships... :happydance: