To all lucky bastards that have gotten their cars

I had a chance to drive a 350z today. The car was impressive as far I am concerned. It felt much stiffer that my current car.

My question,

if you have driven both cars? how did the ride quality compare. handling and feel compare?

thanks,

 

I've driven both. Evo wins hands down. If you ever drive next to a Z you can see how bouncy that ride is. It's stiff for sure but doesn't hold like it feels. The handling on it is good but not great. As for comfort they are both comfortable with the Z having less lateral support than the Recaros in the Evo. Acceleration is no contest. Evo feels and pulls much stronger and faster. Handling when pushed the Evo will eat it up. The Z is a nice car overall. If you want a hardcore performer get the Evo. If you want a little more creature comfort and styling the 350Z is a nice catch.

 

Thanks for the replay!

I am set to the Evo. At least I have a general idea of how the Evo is going to fell like. If accelerates even harder then the z, I don't think I'll need to change anything of the car to gain more power.

Thanks,

 

Wait now, the Z is not that much slower than the Evo. The Evo will feel much quicker though, thanks to a little thing called a torque curve. The Z has a very flat and linear torque curve, meaning the power it delivers is across the board, no bursts at higher or lower RPMs. The Evo, just like all tubro cars, has a torque curve that has a visible change when the boost comes on. And when the boost comes on, there is a significant change in power, which is what puts your *** in the seat. The Evo is quicker, at any rate.

 

I test drove a 350Z track model last week. It was very impressive. It made me start thinking about getting a Z lol. It was an amazing deal too! used......1400 miles on it and $33K. The guy was willing to wheel and deal too. The Z feels really really fast up until around 4K RPMs then it gets really flat in acceleration. It feels as fast as my eclipse. However, it's a really nice car overall. The one I drove had a nice suspension feel and it was very instataneous when you gave it gas (it was a nice feeling because I've driven a turbo car for 5 years now). The sitting position and gear shifter was amazing. REALLY short throws and somewhat notchy - exactly what I like. The EVO has much more potential (like most other stock turbo cars) because the engine is built better. Simple fuel mods and a boost controller will leave a smile on your face for a while. The Z has a better image and overall effect when showing off to your friends - no matter what their age.

Greddy has a twin turbo kit for the Z but pricing isnt out yet. Lot of people at the 350Z forum I go to are already planning on getting it.

 

How does the clutch feel? compared to the EVO?

Thanks,

 

Sadly the one I drove was an automatic. I know, I know, I pleaded my friend to get the stick but he didn't want to learn how drive a stick and didn't want to deal with traffic. He's pretty much been laughed at by everyone at work just because it's an automatic. But from the one's I've sat in the clutch feels very similar to the Evo as far as pressure is concerned.

 

I was looking closely at a 350Z a while back. I didn't thrash on it during my test drives, but I did get to push it some. It seemed to flatten out quite a bit over 4k RPMs and I remember red line being pretty low. It was a nice car, but it didn't really grab me. I can't remember anything specific about the clutch, except perhaps the travel was longer than I liked.

I haven't driven an Evo yet, though, so no info there. I am, however, addicted to the top half of the tach when I'm having fun. Most of what I've really enjoyed could hit 7k+ RPMs before redline; my old 930 was an exception.

 

I actually went to the dealership to purchase a Track edition of the 350z. After the testdrive, however, I was disappointed. The car lacked the nimble, tossability of the Cooper S (one of the most agile cars I've ever driven) and failed to make up for it with the torque grunt I'd expect for such a pricey vehicle (compared to the Cobra as an example). I was really looking forward to owning another Z. They have a lot of nostalgia, not to mention the beautiful exterior styling.

As for the Evo, it has the same handling characteristics of the Mini, but with the oomph (courtesy of the turbo) that really puts a grin on my face. I don't know what others would choose, but I know what I did

-Josh

 

I had a deposit on a 350Z as well touring edition. As you can see my money went elsewhere and I'm all the happier for it.