FAIL AGAIN!

 

Oops - having been keeping up with the whole thread

 

Don't be a hater It was a modded out g37 and last night my times were better then most of modded 350z's on the track.... They are great cars but it doesn't seem to have a following or drivers dedicated to performance like the Evo and STI's do... I have seen fast as hell one's on the track and THEY LOOK GREAT COMING OUT OF TURNS. I would drive one.... Relax Dude

 

I'm curious, which do you guys think will be the better road course drivetrain? the z's rwd or the s-awc?

I always thought of the s-awc as something that lets you kinda get away with more in corners- being easier to corner fast, and requiring less skill to do it.. kind of like an error correcter.
But, it doesn't let you surpass that threshold speed of physical turning possibility -it lets you get a lot closer to that threshold, and more easily.
While it's awesome for laptimes, it must dull the skill level required to drive it.

Even in non evos without yaw control and all that it simply requires less skill to drive it, because the drivetrain is so good.

I wonder how this would compare to the rwd set up in the Z, and if people would find the x faster because it is easier to drive, or prefer a more traditional set up rwd?

 

I'm simply not a good enough driver to get more out of the Z than the Evo. Plus, it'd be fun to have the extra 2 doors and seats to pick up the girlfriends friends and scare them . I really like the new Z though... If the new engine holds well and can be twin turbo'd without terrible cost (yeah, yeah - the twin setup would be expensive regardless.), it might be enough to interest me more.

 

For it's size it's a porker for a 2WD as it outweighs the STI. Also both reviews comment on how rough the 3.7 is near redline. Sounds like the QV is being bored and stretched near it's limits. The interior looks as cheap or even cheaper than the EVO's as well. I've nevber warmed to the looks of the 350Z and it doesn't look like that will change with the 370Z but that's opinional.

Seeing how the EVO X and 370Z have near identical stock performance numbers it will take fewer money and mods to make the EVO faster as you can't increase boost with an N/A.

 

I personally think the EVO is a better overall performer with much greater potential as a platform for race preparation, but I have to strongly disagree with you on the interior comment. The interior in the X is a POS compared to the Z. The seat fabric is held in by staples near the harness holes and they come loose and expose themselves over time, and the dash, center console, and door panels imparticular are about the cheapest grade of hard plastic that I have every seen in my entire life.

The guage clutster, steering wheel, and supportive front seats (if you forget about the super cheap fabric and harness hole covers) are about the only redeeming items in the interior. I didn't buy the car for the interior, I bought it for the performance so I am ok with the fact that it's interior is cheap but saying that the new Z's interior is as cheap or cheaper is just insane. The 350 Z has a nicer interior than any EVO, and the 370 has a much nicer interior than the 350 did. Even with cloth seats, the interior plastics and trim panels are of MUCH higher quality than the EVO's.

Considering that both cars are in the same price range, it is undeniable that sacrifices had to be made in some areas of each car to keep costs down. In the EVO, this was the interior. In the Z, this was in the hardware. While impressive in stock form, the Z's potential has always been capped at a pretty low level unless you want to spend huge amounts of money to fully build and turbo that engine. Anyone who has any delusions about this is fooling themselves. For mid 30k, you can't get the EVO's hardware with an interior like the Z's. End of story.

 

The new Z will out perform the X... lighter than the X and more HP than the X.
Why are we are comparing a sport car to a 4dr sedan.

 

It depends on what you mean by "better". If you are really evaluating a car for track usage it would depend on classing. If you just want to do lapping days...then it should be about which one is more fun to drive. I find the 370's transmission to be pretty annoying and the steering even less so, but that is balanced by one of the sweeter exhaust sounds on the race track...something the EVO will never be able to approach.

If I wanted to build a monster track car, and since you are considering a two seater...get a Porsche Boxster/Cayman. Not enough power? Swap in the 997 engine. Still not enough power? Throw a turbo on it. ~400 WHP on a 2700lb car (with a much better moment of inertia than you will ever get in either the X or the 370)... still not enough power? Learn how to drive and/or sign up for an F1 team since you are such a badaxe. The cost of the car shouldn't be such a concern if you want to be #1, since you will be going through body parts, car parts, and especially tires like no one else's business. If that's not the case...go get a spec miata...the best track machine bar none as it is relatively cheap to purchase and cheap to maintain with LOADS and LOADS of spec miata competition to be had.


With mods, the sky is the limit for handling, bracing, etc... So then it comes down to the fundamental differences in the cars: how much weight is there and where is it. The where is the more important question when you start dealing with transitive handling, elevation changes, and everything that happens in the dynamic world of the race track. From driving the 370, 350, and g35...it feels like the V6 just has a lot of weight hanging out front and the car resists turn in more than the EVO.

 

Well you obviously haven't spent quality time in a 350Z. While it may look pleasing to the eye it's hard trash plastic and rattles everywhere. Everyone I know that has one says it's the worst part of the car. Early models used painted plastic instead of molding the plastic in the same color. Rub your knee on the glove box while getting into the car and get a permanent scratch across the glove box....nice. After numerous complains they changed that but the interior is every bit as hard and plasticy as the EVO's.

By the way most new cars all have the same hard plastic interiors not just Nissan and Mitsubiushi. My brother's 2007 Audi A3 quattro has horrible hard plastics compared to his old 1999 A4 which had a very quality feel.

 

The Evo X interior looks so much cheaper compare to a 350Z. Thats coming from a owner of both. I've never seen a $30k+ car that has such cheap interior. Don't kid yourself. Even the plastic panels in the Evo 8/9 looks and feels alot nicer compared to the X.

 

SynchroRev? Sounds great, and really helps people enjoy sport driving, but I love the heel-toe and feel the gratification knowing I did it, not the machine
Technology is changing fast I tell ya.
Nice car, that's for sure

 

2008 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVOLUTION GSR

Base price $34,000 (est) $35,640
Acceleration to mph
0-30
1.6 sec
0-40
2.6
0-50
3.7
0-60
5.2
0-70
6.9
0-80
9
0-90
11.4
0-100
13.9
Passing, 45-65 mph
2.8
Quarter mile
13.8 sec @ 99.3 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph
111 ft
Lateral acceleration
0.99 g (avg)
MT figure eight
25.1 sec @ 0.74 g (avg)
1.04-mi road course lap
57.6 sec
Top-gear revs @ 60 mph
2900 rpm



2009 NISSAN 370Z Base price $30,625

Acceleration to mph 0-30 1.8 sec 0-40 2.7 0-50 3.6 0-60 4.7 0-70 6.2 0-80 7.9 0-90 9.6 0-100 12 Passing, 45-65 mph 2.4 Quarter mile 13.3 sec @ 105.7 mph Braking, 60-0 mph 106 ft Lateral acceleration 0.99 g (avg) MT figure eight 24.9 sec @ 0.73 g (avg) Top-gear revs @ 60 mph 2300 rpm


Source Motor trend

 

I disagree with few points here, the Z33 exhaust sounds really nice at first, but it gets very tiring afterwards. It sounds like E46 M3 with treble turned down all the way.

Throwing a 911 engine into a Cayman/Boxster sounds like a good idea theorhetically, but with the hassle and money involved, you're better getting a GT2. If you ever been in one as a passenger or a driver, thinking things like 'I wish it was a MR' would be one of the last thing in mind.

Cayman/Boxster + 911 engine is going to weigh more than 3000lbs and you need some serious weight reduction to bring it down to 2700lbs. Companies like 9ff has full build kits but it costs like 150-200k including the car.

If a guy invests 15 billion usd cash solely on a car/racing team project, he may even build a team that will win Formula 1 for the next few years, so we need to set some sort of range, can't just say sky is the limit.

Also, if sky is the limit in terms of modification and if there is no regulation, aerodynamics plays a big part as well. I believe some sort of suction mechanism to generate artificial downforce was banned due to its effectiveness, along with having two extra front wheels. You can always come up with some crazy innovation, perhaps the car firing metal shafts into the floor to stop the car, or using rocket engines in straight lines etc.

I agree completely with spec miata, one of the best value to have fun and learn driving at the same time.

I don't like how 350z feels heavy initially, then gets twitchy at the limit.

 

Actually between the Boxster and GT3...I'd say the Boxster is more fun to drive...Not 100% sure but I think pulling the engine in helps the car turn quicker.

I'll echo your thoughts on the 350z feeling heavy and then twisty.