... and what exactly is a race car? This car is definately built to take onto a race track.... in fact that is where we would recomend people take this car - people who want to drive this car to and within its limits...

My son said to me last week - "Dad why would they make a car that can go over the speed limit?" I think the responsible answer is a car that is also able to be driven on a race track - that's what my reply was.

Well, what the heck, time to jump in....

Original question was: Is this car a Sports Car.

Well there is pretty simple answer to that question and this answer is " Absolutley "

2 seats, 2 doors, pretty to look at, spirited, rear wheel drive, low to the ground.

The question really should be..... " is this the best handling Sports Car you have ever driven".

This answer is " NO, but it sure is engaging "

As in any SPORTS CAR, each has it's own characteristics, you've just got to learn what each car is capable of doing and keep it within those paramiters.

Simple. I love the Z. I loved my MG. I loved my Lancia. I loved my Jag E-type ( the brakes SUCKED ) there all sports cars, they are all different.

So go out and enjoy it !!!

I did not spell check my work...thank you. :)

The only thing really wrong with the above statement is that the ideal of a "true" sports car has very much changed through the years. Especially when you consider how many sports cars have gone the way of steel bodies (well, aluminum got real expensive in 2007-08 here in the states), gaining lots of weight, having more than two seats, weight-to-power ratios, etc.
Then you have to consider what truly separates a good sports car from a "supercar." In more ways than one, those names have not become what the cars are, but just general terms to separate different target markets.

For example, the Z is for the sports car market; an affordable, fast, stylish, long standing race heritage that can make it on the street without a single hitch and probably take to a track stock (for a little) or mod it for the track. Then you've got the GT-R, which went from a high end tuner as the R34 to a complete purpose change, as a higher end sports car that could arguably compete with low end super cars and the race/track bred cars, specifically like the 911 GT3. Then you've got the Spec V (no idea why they flipped it from VSpec, lol).

Now, my opinion varies greatly from other people, and there is not a single doubt in my mind that people on this forum could argue the specific meaning of "sports car" for years on end.

I'm by no means an expert, but I'll give it a try. The wheelbase of the 370z is relatively shorth and for it's size, it's not a particularly light car. So to keep body roll in check, the suspention has to be rather stiff. Stiff suspention combined with short wheelbase make for a jumpy ride over un even pavement. I only had my car for a week but already experienced the backside stepping out on a bumpy
highway onramp. I had a friend who owned several lotuses ( or Loti as he would say) and I had the pleasure of trying them all: old Esprit Turbos, Excel, Elise S1, Elise S2. All these cars felt more comfortable and less "jumpy" then the 370Z. I am convinced this is due to the fact that all these cars are significantly lighter then the Z. And therefore could "get away with" a relatively softer suspention set-up.

When a sports car skids or drifts a bit because of rough road surface, thats not always a bad thing. most of the time, its predictable enough that you can continue to keep the RPMs where its at and it will drive through the surface, and not lose control, and straighten itself out.

this was the case on my motorcycle, if i gave too much gas coming out of a turn and skidding a little, i would just keep the gas going at the same rate and it would just bounce me until it straighten itself out. letting go of the gas or giving brake would have resulted in a crash, just as doing that on the 370z would as well.

In addition to the stiffer suspension and shorter wheel base, the 370Z uses tires that meet the OEM requirements, but have less than ideal traction. But I may be biased spending most of my time on track driving on Hoosiers!

Not sure which model you're referring to, but 370Zs sold in the US don't have run-flats. Hence the donut spare in the back.

I stand corrected!

Wow, on a bike, losing traction on either wheel would result in a low-side at best.

^^ not always, going overboard will crash you yes, but there is a fine line of being able to control the traction out of a turn.

Yep ! either you made it through the turn or your a tree ornament. :yum:

oh wow lol i had no idea that other people have experienced this. the other day i was on a freeway and i hit a bump and the car jerked to the left so hard i had back pain for about a week. the car also lets the back end out when you take a turn a little to fast in a parking lot. i think if the car was a little bit lighter like in the 2900lb area we would have a more enjoyable ride. am i wrong?

Yes you are. Just buy better shocks..

In my old Z I had removed about 150lbs of dead weight.... bumps were a lot more obvious with the weight removed.... but even still... it handled bumps in the twisties leaps and bounds better than the 370...

People who think the 370 is "stiff" don't know what stiff really is.

One more thing to look at is tire pressure. When I picked up my car from the dealer I specifically asked whether the tire pressure was adjusted, knowing it would be high for transport from the factory. Sales guy says yes, adjusted to spec. Just to be sure, I checked it today, guess what, 45 psi instead of the 35 it should be! Will find out tomorrow what difference it makes.