Moving on from 350Z to a 370Z

bleunetizen

Hi guys

Just want to hear some feed back those of you who did the same move..

I have had my 350Z for over 8 years, in the first place I HATED the Z so much because I was very used to lighter rwd cars which had more power than the 350Z. 1450kg of weight, rev limit of 6600rpm, very understeery and weak suspension setup, viscous LSD and etc, there were just too many things I hated about. Driving this car on race tracks or mountain road was a joke and I hated every single bit of it because it felt so dull, not responsive and etc. I originally imported the car from Japan for a quick sale and cash but somehow the mod bug bit me and made me to turn the car into something that I appreciate more..

As time went by I slowly started to mod the car up with a lot of trial and error and finally came to a point where I was happy and could not really do much more to improve it other than rebuilding the short block to gain more capacity and compression, which I just did could not justify the benefit of doing so when the HR models were already out for ages and now the 370Z. When I did the cams and valve springs to bring the engine to 7200rpm, the car felt so much better but after a while nissan launched an HR engine with 7500rpm limit, which pissed me off..

I recently sold the 350Z to a very close friend of mine who was looking for a trackable street car, and the new owner is very happy with his purchase and I still get to drive it at the track occasionally which is also a good thing, he is looking for some excuses to spend some money on the car but having a hard time finding those

I sold the car because I was not driving it enough after owning too many cars, the Z was rarely driven and only time it gets driven was when I was attending track days. As work got busier and me getting older I just did not have enough time to drive it, done less than 2000km over the last couple years. Anyway, so I sold it and after taking my other cars to the track for some giggle, I realised how much I miss the old Z. I was telling myself that I need to find a new street/track toy, because my 500hp+ bmw is just too heavy and expensive to punish it too frequently.

I researched here and there and I decided to go ahead with 370Z, you can call me stupid but I have never test driven an 370Z yet but still bought one off auction in japan and it is on its way to NZ right now It is even heavier than the old 350Z although it is not by much. Looks like it is lighter than the HR models at least.

Those of you who track your 370Z and preferably the ones who moved on from 350Z or have experience of modding 350Z, could you help me giving me some information.. On the spec sheet the 370Z beats in almost every single aspect but how about in real life?

1. I am assuming the 370Z should feel much more nimble despite the fact that it is still a heavy car, compared to a stock 350Z for its much shorter wheel base and wider track, less caster etc. How is the suspension in the stock form? I know I will be getting a set of coilovers and probably sway bars once the car gets here but just wanted to get some feedback on its handling in general.

2. Flywheel weight of the 350Z was very heavy, and I assume the 370Z probably will share the similar weight if not heavier. Has anyone experience with any particular light weight fly wheel?

3. Final drive and LSD, I just cant live with viscous type LSD for it being so unpredictable to the touch of accel. back then when I was doing up my old 350Z up, Cusco RS was considered as the best and almost indestructible LSD, which actually lasted almost 8 years of my abuse and still going strong. I did some research here and it appears that OS Giken LSD's are now much more popular for its smooth engagement? Is final drive swap a popular mod among 370z owners? I was running 3.9:1 ratio for the 350Z which was about 10% shorter than stock. And from memory 370Z's stock final drive was around 3.7:1, and I think I remember seeing 4.1 or 4.2:1 kit out there, has anyone had a good experience with those kits?

4. Power mods - it looks like the 370Z gets close to 400bhp (or should I call it 20%+ gain) with basic bolt on's? this is really impressive, is this very reachable or is it just for some lucky engines out there?

5. Bolt on half cage, I cant seem to find any half cage for the 370Z on the internet, which is very useful for running harness and supposedly save my head when I end up upside down I do not intend to go with full cage because it is hard to get it certified here in NZ due to head room clearance etc. Is there any half cage from a reputable brand for the 370Z out there?

6. What the hell, this is becoming an essay. I think I better stop here now.


Sorry about the messy write up, I guess I am overly excited with the new purchase..

Long story short, I guess my bottom line is, how does 370z perform against 350z both modded and stock

One think I learned from reading up the forum is oil temp issue, which was bad enough on the 350Z as well, seems even worse on the 370Z and needs even bigger cooler.

thanks in advance for any input..