Other Car Test Drive Opinions

ImportConvert

I test drove a 370Z and Z06.

The ride in the Z06 and 370Z felt similar to me, but a lot less roll on the Z06.

The interior of the Z fit me more like a cocoon than the Z06, but the gauges in the 370Z were not nearly as nice, while the seats were a tiny bit better.

The clutch in the 370Z was more on/off and in the Z06, more progressive. Both were very light (too light, imo).

In the 370Z, you are always shifting, in the Z06, it has looooong gears. 3 shifts gets you to 160.

The 370Z feels a bit more "rigid" than the Z06, possibly owing to it's monocoque design and shorter wheelbase.

The shift feel of the Z06 is a bit more "positive" while the Z's is "slicker". A 370Z owner might call the Z06 transmission "notchy" and the Z06 owner a 370Z transmission "vague". Although, I think both of those are overstatements.

The 370Z power delivery was more linear. The Z06 was a lot more frantic the higher the rpm went. I was very surprised given engine size. The Z06 seems to LOVE to rev, while the 370Z is happy anywhere in the rpm-band.

----Odd enough, the 370Z is the only car I test-drove before making my purchase of the Z06----

A lot of dealerships will NOT let you drive things that cost over $45K when you are a young guy and won't allow them to pull credit first.

shadoquad

Interesting. The 370Z's variable valve timing gives it very little low-end torque. I usually have to get it around 4k before it's ready to really play. That surprises me about the Vette. I guess I imagined that, with its torque, it would be powerful even in low revs. I never got out to drive a Z06. I imagine it's still very, very fast.
I know. It's a shame, too. There are tips on how to get a test drive out there on the internet, but this happens all too often. Salesmen want to profile you and determine if you can or can't afford the car before driving it, or if you're there to joyride the vehicle.

ImportConvert

The 'vette is very powerful in the low rpms, but it builds like crazy past 4K. The 370Z I test-drove seemed to increase in a more linear than exponential manner.

Looking at a dyno-chart does not corroborate what you are saying about the VVT/low rpms. It seems to make near maximum tq available very soon.



Now compare it to a stock Z06:

http://www.dragtimes.com/images_dyno...vette-Dyno.jpg

So yeah, the 'vette is still a powerhouse in the low rpm, but it really shines up top. I was just saying that power delivery is more linear in the 370Z than in the 'vette. The 'vette to me feels like a BIG! 4-cylinder, while the 370Z felt more like a high-revving diesel. Total exaggeration there, but you know what I mean. The Z06 still hits hard. In first gear if I just stab the throttle those 325's out back will just spin. Have to roll into it if you want to stay planted. Even then on less than perfect pavement it will get squirrely at high rpm. Part of the kick in the *** is when that exhaust flies open at around 3200. It's an instant 25-30# wtq and 15-20whp basically. This is MUCH more apparent on the '11 and up Z06's with the ZR1 exhaust.

As to the test-drive, I never pushed hard for one. The cars I wanted to drive were a CTS-V, GT500, and BMW M3. The BMW M3 I probably could have gotten a drive in, same with the CTS-V. The GT500, no-way. Reason being the supercharger is actually "activated" with mileage. OR at least, the maximum boost-setting. I forget the parameters, but it's a certain number of miles in a single key-on/engine-on environment, or a maximum number of cranking cycles. At first, I called BS, but I asked on the forum and it appears this really is the truth. The car must meet certain parameters for max boost to be attained.

I would not buy an "activated" GT500. No way, no how.

So I understand them NOT wanting people driving the GT500's unless they are almost positive they will take THAT one home. I respect that.

I would like to drive a Viper (08-10) sometime soon though as I am planning on a possible trade next year, but I also want to see what the new C7 has to bring to the table when data is finally released (All this stuff you see in magazines is just BS. Wait for it from BG).

Armonster

I agree. I never understood why people say the 370z has no low-end torque. Anything above 3k is basically 90+% peak torque, which is pretty amazing for a V6. Unless by "low-end" people mean 1.5-2k rpm, in which case they need a diesel truck not a sports car.

shadoquad

I dunno, it just doesn't seem very powerful until about 4500 rpm.

Plus, a Mazdaspeed3 gets more torque than a stock Z.

Armonster

I thought we were talking about torque here. Did you even look at the dyno chart above? Maybe you're confusing torque with something else.

In any event, a discussion where one person cites numbers and facts while the other person disregards those in favor of vague and subjective generalities is obviously going nowhere, so let's get back on topic here.

(ninja edited me lol)

shadoquad

Whoa, man. I'm just talking about the feel of the car. If you want me to admit I was wrong about torque, ok, fine

I was saying that what IC said about the Corvette was surprising.

If you're telling me that your Z hard launches at 3k, then fantastic for you, speed racer.