Another reason why the Z won... the tires. They changed the stock tires and also wheel size/width. The pre-06 Z's had ****ty tires, which helped it understeer. The tires on it now are awesome. The '06 Tracks come with 18x9/19x10 wheels with 245/40's and 265/35's compared to the dinky tires on the previous years.

Put some wider stock tires on an Evo, and it would handle better than it already does too.

Oh, by the way, the Track model is NOT the heaviest. The GT is the heaviest, followed by the Touring, then the Track. Get your facts straight.

Some of you guys need to get over it. The Z won... period.

when the modding begins, you don't look for a Z....
you are waiting for the GT-R....

^ True... unless you're planning to build the engine and turbo it, NA bolt-ons don't yeild much power. But the VQ35HR in the '07 Z is the same engine that's gonna be twin-turbo'd for the new GT-R. There's big differences between the HR and the DE currently being used. The HR seems like it's gonna be able to hold more boost on stock internals than the DE is. Some of the major Z tuners are saying somewhere in the neighborhood of 500whp safely.

Just to clarify, the Z used in the testing was an '06 Track, not an '07.

Coming from an old Z guy I feel compelled to post and say that the driver must have not known how to drive the EVO IX. I call BS on that one the 350Z is just out classed in every dept with exception to looks which is in the eye of the beholder, I prefere the EVO IX in this as well.

Nice try by VIR but my money is on the EVO IX if done by another Magazine. Have you driven a Z lately, it isn't that impressive and they are heavy with excessive body roll.

-Nate

I think Nissan paid C&d so kinda deal. Just look at the stats. the only sain way it could be is if the Evo driver really sucked and missed a gear or something. Just dont see how it could happen under all other conditions the Evo is so much more car and with the AWD system of the Evo. I just can fathem it. Maybe the 6spd is what slow it downed, I know in my Evo shootout DVD's the GSR and RS swamped the MR in those tests

that is the main reason the z won. then factor in drivers and there u have it.

i believe there's the real world proof.

3000ways made a really good point in another thread. everybody's surprised about this one because it's the only (or one of the few) comparison where the Z beats the Evo around a track (kind of like the one issue where the 06 STi beats the Evo IX) - this isn't the norm, and this is why ppl are talkin about it.

another thing is stock for stock, there isn't much difference among these 30k performance cars (s2k, z33, sti, evo) - how they perform is driver dependent, and based on *most* magazine comparisons the Evo usually takes the top spot. however keep in mind that given how close these cars perform stock, DRIVER is the most important factor deciding each car's place on the foodchain...and the drivers at car and drivers are only human.

despite how close these cars perform stock, once modifying them it becomes clear which ones are better as tuning platforms.

Isn't Nissan bringing out a stock supercharged version of the 350z? Not that I think it was this one, I'm sure the 350z could outdrive the Evo. Its all Driver, all those tests are, driver and tires... The Evo beats the STi most times I've read ONLY because of the tires, if you put the same tires on both, they're both pretty much equal... Problem with driver, is that there aren't as many drivers who are equally good in an awd sedan as they are in a rwd coupe. So you get two drivers who are supposedly equally good.

In short, the test, and all other tests are moot. The point is, 99.99999% of the time, its all driver. What they NEED to do is test multiple times with multiple drivers and do the average. If 10 drivers all drove both cars TWO times each (alternating each time), then the results would be more reasonable... after putting comparable performing tires on (not necessarily the same, the Z can keep the 245s and 265s, just give the Z some tires like the Advans, or give the Evo some like the ones on the Z)

I agree, but the bottom line is if both cars started at point A and finished at point B the Mustang wins. I just think it's funny that's all.

The Elise owned both, so it doesn't matter. The stock C6 destroyed both too.

Catch the article of the new Z06 smackin' up on the new 997 Turbo and the Ferrari 430? Oh, yeah, the Vette outshined BOTH of them, yet found a way into "3rd place" because of its low budget interior.

I thought they were testing PERFORMANCE CARS, not luxo-rides. The Vette won like all the performance-oriented events.

Magazines will never give the Vette its due simply because it's a domestic machine. Think C&D is going to let a $68,000 Vette beat a $200,000 Ferrari? C'mon now.....we know who's making the big donations to C&D.

The Vette has now slaughtered the Viper, the Ferrari 430, Porsche 997 Turbo, Performs right on par, if not slightly better than the Ford GT, etc.

I'm not a Vette fan, but the Z06 is a serious force to be reckoned with. It's only going to become moreso after Chevy unleashes the 600+ hp version they currently have in the works. It will more than likely be called the "Z07" or the "Stingray."

You drive a LANCER???????

I'm wondering if i'm the only one that read the article.

They comment about the evo's brakes fading. If you have brake fade, you aren't gonna drive anywhere near 10/10.

Thats the problem i have. They take street cars out, and run them.

They need to take the same cars out, give them identical pads (something mid-track friendly), and the same tires. Then you can test a car for car.

Anything less is a joke. If youve ever tracked an evo, and not mag raced, you'd know how easy it is to fade the brakes. Put some real pads on that sucker and then go track it.

Only thing is, the Z has the same Brembos on it.

The testing parameters: They had 4 drivers drive each car between 3 and 5 laps during two different sessions. They took the best time for each car. That's pretty equal from car to car.

the same brembro's. You mean the calipers?

You think a caliper has anything to do with pad fade?

Show me where the evo and the 350 use the SAME COMPOUND stock, and i'll agree that we've eliminated one variable.

The evo is neutral to drive, but theres nothing that kills your confidence like a SOFT PEDAL.

just read the article about 10 min ago, and yea they complained about the brake fade. i guess that explains the outcome of the test.

u can't really request better brakes on the Evo, since the test is about factory spec'd cars. this is the first article that complained about the Evo's brakes fading though IIRC. but yea most track peeps do mention how quickly the stock brakes fade on the Evo

Well, the STi/STI has the same braking system on it as the Evo, and I drive pretty hard, but I don't experience a large amount of brake fade. But, for the record, I'm not tracking the car on a track either.....I'm sure things are different on the track.

Regardless, an Evo will whip a 350Z into submission with no problems. If I was behind the wheel of an Evo, I wouldn't do so much as blink at the thought of a 350Z.