350z/Evo are you happy with it?
Originally Posted by PANGES
+1. I quickly realized after getting this car that WOMEN DONT LIKE EVOS! lol. You park in a parking lot and you get more guys coming up, trying to talk to you than women... What a shame. 
i found that girls like sitting in the evo... cuz they get all these guys lookin' in..... then they realize that they're lookin' at the car and not them... they get a lil sore about it.
Originally Posted by trinydex
i was suggesting that when you said evo owners feel like nothing can touch them on teh road... that you might have thought your g could.... just being facecious
I traded my 2003 350Z Track model in for my IX about a month ago. I haven't looked back. I love my Evo, but I loved my Z too. It was tons of fun to drive, and got looks (a lot more looks than you'd think even though there are a bazillion on the road). I don't get many looks in the Evo; a few nods and thumbs up from other Evos and Subies, but the fact is (at least in Alabama) not many people know what they're looking at when they see an Evolution. It's kinda nice actually...people not knowing.
I actually test drove an VIII before buying my 350Z and absolutely hated it. It didn't feel very quick, and the interior IMHO was horrid. Those blue/black seats were just nasty. The IX is a little better, but still doesn't hold a coolness candle to a 350Z.
HOWEVER, after buying the 350Z and remembering how difficult it is to effectively modify a NA car (I've owned a '91 300ZX NA, a '91 300ZX TT also) I knew that unless I sunk $5000+ into a turbo kit, the car was just going to run high 13s.
And I just couldn't have that.
I actually test drove an VIII before buying my 350Z and absolutely hated it. It didn't feel very quick, and the interior IMHO was horrid. Those blue/black seats were just nasty. The IX is a little better, but still doesn't hold a coolness candle to a 350Z.
HOWEVER, after buying the 350Z and remembering how difficult it is to effectively modify a NA car (I've owned a '91 300ZX NA, a '91 300ZX TT also) I knew that unless I sunk $5000+ into a turbo kit, the car was just going to run high 13s.
And I just couldn't have that.
Originally Posted by trinydex
i found that girls like sitting in the evo... cuz they get all these guys lookin' in..... then they realize that they're lookin' at the car and not them... they get a lil sore about it.
Originally Posted by Falcon350z
Let me preface with saying that I have experience with both cars. When I signed up for this site, I owned a lightly modded 2003 350z enthusiast... unfortunately, in June it got rear-ended and totalled, so I went out and bought a 2004 Evolution VIII. I honestly can't say I'm overly impressed with the Evolution. It is an awesome car, no doubt, but it certainly isn't the SUPER AWESOME BETTER THAN A 350Z that some of you guys are making it out to be.
Exterior
The 350z looks better than the Evolution, hands down. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but the Evolution is a Lancer with a big spoiler and a body kit. There is no shame in this, but lets call it for what it is... The Z just looks more distinguished than the Evo.
Interior
This is pretty much a tie. The "wobbly" interior of the Z is pretty much the inability of the user to identify how to properly open and close the compartment - its sort of counter-intuitive. The leather in the Evo is awesome, and I love being able to have a sunroof again. The Evo boasts twice as much room, and actual, functional backseats, and the sound in the Evolution is better as well. The 350z, however, has that real "racecar" cockpit feel that appeals to many people. The central gauge cluster is very cool as well, and everything inside feels close, and at-hand. Again, both have their pros and cons, so I guess its a tie here.
Speed & Acceleration
While the Evolution is definitely fast, I would love to see a stock evolution try to hang with a 350z from 60-120. No kidding the Evolution will win in the 1/4 mile... its AWD... and that extra 1.5 seconds can be pretty pricey in the form of a $1500 clutch job. I honestly have to say that the turbo lag isn't bad, but the power below 3000 rpms is absolutely abysmal, and the power at the peak is less than the power at the Zs peak. However, the "kick" of the turbo is awesome. Blasting through the close-ratio gears of the Evolution is really, really fun, and despite the numbers, the Evo feels faster from 20-60mph, but after that I feel like it really lacks compared to the 3.5 v6 of the Z.
I'm sure this is a point of debate, but the cars are pretty equal with the Evolution being stronger at lower speeds and gears, and the Z being stronger at higher speeds and gears.
Handling
I had 275 rear and 255 front tires on the Z, and the Evo with balding 235s still handles better. I can't believe how awesome the Evolution handles, but this is just no contest here. The Z was a terrific handler, but the Evo is just in a league of its own.
Modification
The Evo, obviously, responds much better to mods. I think, though, the VQ35 is getting a bad rap... I know of several guys who are running 400whp on stock motors with a s/c or turbo. You can get a nice Vortech kit for $5000, and with a tune and some bolt-ons you're in great shape. The Evolution can probably get more for $5000, but anything over 400whp isn't really reliable on any car, is it? I mean, no doubt, the Evo is great. The boschur package for $1500 bucks is claiming 300whp, where a quality exhaust for the Z alone could run $1100. I'll give this category to the Evolution.
Reliability
I have to bring it up, because the Z is a beast who loves abuse. There are some TSBs on little things, and occassional gear grinding... but its a n/a v6, so you don't have the heat concerns... and its RWD so you don't have the drivetrain worries... its a great subject to just abuse over and over and it doesn't hiccup. The car is very sound and mechanically bulletproof at stock levels of power. The rods have a bad wrap of being weak, but they only have given out under some serious boost at high hp levels. The Evo has a bit of a reputation of breaking. At least, from what I've read.
Conclusion
So, its unfair to say the Evo is SOOO much better than the Z. While the Evo definitely has its advantages, so does the 350z. They're both great cars, and both top tuners.
... now as far as the G35 goes, I can't really comment because I've never owned one.
But I'm sure its crap.
Exterior
The 350z looks better than the Evolution, hands down. Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but the Evolution is a Lancer with a big spoiler and a body kit. There is no shame in this, but lets call it for what it is... The Z just looks more distinguished than the Evo.
Interior
This is pretty much a tie. The "wobbly" interior of the Z is pretty much the inability of the user to identify how to properly open and close the compartment - its sort of counter-intuitive. The leather in the Evo is awesome, and I love being able to have a sunroof again. The Evo boasts twice as much room, and actual, functional backseats, and the sound in the Evolution is better as well. The 350z, however, has that real "racecar" cockpit feel that appeals to many people. The central gauge cluster is very cool as well, and everything inside feels close, and at-hand. Again, both have their pros and cons, so I guess its a tie here.
Speed & Acceleration
While the Evolution is definitely fast, I would love to see a stock evolution try to hang with a 350z from 60-120. No kidding the Evolution will win in the 1/4 mile... its AWD... and that extra 1.5 seconds can be pretty pricey in the form of a $1500 clutch job. I honestly have to say that the turbo lag isn't bad, but the power below 3000 rpms is absolutely abysmal, and the power at the peak is less than the power at the Zs peak. However, the "kick" of the turbo is awesome. Blasting through the close-ratio gears of the Evolution is really, really fun, and despite the numbers, the Evo feels faster from 20-60mph, but after that I feel like it really lacks compared to the 3.5 v6 of the Z.
I'm sure this is a point of debate, but the cars are pretty equal with the Evolution being stronger at lower speeds and gears, and the Z being stronger at higher speeds and gears.
Handling
I had 275 rear and 255 front tires on the Z, and the Evo with balding 235s still handles better. I can't believe how awesome the Evolution handles, but this is just no contest here. The Z was a terrific handler, but the Evo is just in a league of its own.
Modification
The Evo, obviously, responds much better to mods. I think, though, the VQ35 is getting a bad rap... I know of several guys who are running 400whp on stock motors with a s/c or turbo. You can get a nice Vortech kit for $5000, and with a tune and some bolt-ons you're in great shape. The Evolution can probably get more for $5000, but anything over 400whp isn't really reliable on any car, is it? I mean, no doubt, the Evo is great. The boschur package for $1500 bucks is claiming 300whp, where a quality exhaust for the Z alone could run $1100. I'll give this category to the Evolution.
Reliability
I have to bring it up, because the Z is a beast who loves abuse. There are some TSBs on little things, and occassional gear grinding... but its a n/a v6, so you don't have the heat concerns... and its RWD so you don't have the drivetrain worries... its a great subject to just abuse over and over and it doesn't hiccup. The car is very sound and mechanically bulletproof at stock levels of power. The rods have a bad wrap of being weak, but they only have given out under some serious boost at high hp levels. The Evo has a bit of a reputation of breaking. At least, from what I've read.
Conclusion
So, its unfair to say the Evo is SOOO much better than the Z. While the Evo definitely has its advantages, so does the 350z. They're both great cars, and both top tuners.
... now as far as the G35 goes, I can't really comment because I've never owned one.
But I'm sure its crap.
From a roll, (maybe a difference b/w Evo VIII and IX) my Evo IX stock would pull on any stock Z (rev-up or not) steadily. I raced a 272whp 264wtq rev-up Z from a second gear roll and we stayed dead even up till we shut down at the top of 4th gear. The powerband in the Z is very linear... so linear in fact that you don't really feel the power.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Oak harbor Wa
hey hey thanks for all the <b>intelligent</b> responses. The peeps that had experience with both cars helped the best. Also the fact that a lot more evo peeps traded in their evos to get...another evo. That speaks well on itself. Yea I guess i was brought up to think that sports car were supposed to be 2 seaters w/ 2 doors and rwd my bad. The only reason i had the rice comment in there was because of the huge wing and the busy front bumper which are trademarks of the average rice burner. I dont know how the s2k got in all of this but i decided to do some research on it...it seems to do its fair share of panty dropping as well. <i>spare me the "girls should love you for you and not your car" lecture"</i> i just want me some BOOTY BOOTY BOOTY ROCK'N EVERY WHERE ROCK'N EVERYWHERE!
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Joined: May 2006
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From: Destin/Fort Walton Beach, FL
like someone said in here earlier, alot of people at times dont know what the heck you are driving when driving an evo. when traveling to NC from GA in a not so big city some people have come up and asked me "where did you get that spoiler" or "how much was that body kit" when i tell them that the car is fully stock on the outside they are surprised. I like that, that just tells you that this car is actually a rare car to have. someone who isnt into the drag, racing or the import car scene at all isnt gonna know what an evo is. but someone who saw a couple of z's driving down the road in one hour is gonna say "wow thats a nice car and it looks fast, im gonna get me one of those". so lets keep the evo a rare sacred car for the at heart speed and tuner enthusiasts and will people stop comparing the evo to the lancer. two separate cars. i get alot of those kinda dumb young kids coming up askin how i modded my lancer and why i did it. ITS NOT A LANCER!!!!!!!!!............lol ne ways just wanted to add my opinion to this topic.
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