My Impressions of the NISMO 370Z VS Touring

JoeyD

I broke 1500 miles in my Nismo yesterday. I think I have had enough time to feel her out and give a good comparison between it and my old Touring 7AT.

First the bad news. As I mentioned before, the trucker who delivered my Nismo to the dealer lowered the ramp on to the front fascia and completely wrecked it. The dealer promised me a new one ASAP. Now Nissan USA says that the fascia is currently out of production and they have no idea when it will go back in to production. This means I am indefinitely stuck with a brand new car with a front bumper held on by zip ties and prayers. Grrr!

Now the good news. I whole heartedly disagree with just about the entirety of Edmunds comparison between the two models.

Suspension is the obvious place to start quantifying differences between the two models, because its is the most noticeable. The Touring 7AT is setup for a novice driver with a noticeable predilection for understeer. The NISMO is setup for an intermediate to experienced driver with balanced power-on handling and a bit of oversteer power-off. That being said watch out! In the 7AT I could easily feel when I was approaching the grip limit. The Nismo still gives a warning but is more subtle and requires a much faster reaction. The chassis is noticeably stiffer all around and body roll is almost dialed out. However, I think the Nismo 370 could still benefit from a stiffer front anti-roll bar. Keep in mind that I had 285 Rear and 245 front on my 7AT, the same as on the Nismo.

Drivetrain is about the same, as the componentry is only slightly different. The 6MT vs 7AT is still not a debate I can make a ruling on. The 7AT is a great transmission with powerful precise shifts and great gear selection. The 6MT is also fantastic, but it has had some problems reported by other users. It really comes down to personal preference (unless you go Nismo then the choice is made). The stock viscous LSD on the Nismo may not be the best track setup, but on the road it stands head and shoulders above the open diff of my 7AT. The only mods I could justify on my Nismo are a light-weight flywheel and clutch combo (I don't like the engagement of the stock clutch, because of its unnecessarily long stroke) and 2-piece rotors with higher performance pads. This motor wants to rev and it's heavy flywheel is a hinderance.

The Engine/exhaust has a noticeable deeper growl. Nissan claims that +18HP is derived via exhaust and engine tune. I would like to get a 6MT non-nismo on a dyno the same time as my nismo, because I think the power-band is different. It feels as though bottom end torque has suffered, but 5500-7000 is beastly and pulls much harder than it did in my last 370. The exhaust note from 5500-7000, under load, is art.

I won't comment on style changes, as they are all personal preference, except to say that I love the lines of this car and the red stitching.
My one and only gripe is the stereo. Which is garbage, but easily fixed.

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When was the last time you did 230MPH in something with 4 seats?