Operator

you know what they say - imitation is the greatest form of flattery

I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of or seen the new Nissan 350Z but I just had the urge to post a topic about it because it is just such a cool car! We have a lot of magazines here at work and I was reading the latest Autoweek which had a little feature on the new Z. I took the liberty of scanning it all in (why not?)

It really is a neat car, around 30 grand(~20 less than a new vette or boxster) and probably almost as much fun.. definitely a worthy 944 replacement I'de say.. (you know, for all those one-car daily-driver 944 owners like me).. it even has those cool 944NA front fender valence flares! anyway.. enjoy the article and feel free to post your flaming comments (at least this thing is better than Ribs Tiburon post!)



<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-0.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-0.jpg</a>
<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-1.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-1.jpg</a>
<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-2.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-2.jpg</a>
<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-3.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-3.jpg</a>
<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-4.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-4.jpg</a>
<a href="http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-5.jpg" target="_blank">http://boards.rennlist.com/upload/autoweek-z-5.jpg</a>

full size scans compressed to 180K

PorscheG96

Does anyone know how much torque this thing makes? Too many cars are using this 3.5 liter V6 engine now [Infinity G35, Nissan Altima, and now the Z]. Using 225 tires up front and 235 tires in the rear is stupid because there's no advantage to having ONE extra centimeter of rubber in the rear and now you can't rotate the tires either. Hahah, I've got bigger brakes on my 10 year old 968, too.

eclou

A little thread on an M3 forum about this car:

<a href="http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38284" target="_blank">http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38284</a>

Eugene

PS: this thread is very biased towards the M3

aka 951

Junk

BTW price is $35k to make it right.

Base Boxsters are about $43k IIRC.

Not even a choice in my mind.

Get an S2000 is you need bang for the buck, not an overweight Datsun with a fixed roof.

Doug944s2

Erick,

The base price of the 350Z is $26,269, and the top-of-the-line "Track" model is $34,079, which includes Brembo brakes, forged 18-in. wheels, xenon lights, limited-slip diff, and a 225/245 front/rear tire package.

It's got a ton more torque (peak is 274 lb.-ft. at 4800 rpm, versus the S2000's 153 lb.-ft. (!) at 7500 rpm (!!!!!!)). S2000s are great on the track where you can keep 'em on boil, but they're rather Accord-like below the VTEC transition. It's been said "you have to drive it like you hate it" to extract the performance.

I love Porsches too, but you have to acknowledge that Nissan has built a pretty formidable sports car here, for an excellent price.

Personally, if I were in the market for one to drive on the street, I'd get what's called the "Enthusiast" model that's one step above the base. At $28,249, it's got the LSD and xenon light the base model lacks, but the same suspension and 287-bhp V-6. I'd swap out its 17-in. wheels and tires with footwear of my own choice, though.

John..

An "obvious" copy of the Audi TT

Mike S

I was pretty excited about that car when i first heard about it. After seeing the car and driver review this month, i'm thoroughly unimpressed. I was led to beleive it would be under 30k with the brembo's and 18" wheels....now at 36K I would rather have a subaru WRX or the S2000. Car and driver pointed out that you can buy a base model vette for a few grand more. I hate vettes, so that won't work, but its a hell of a lot cheaper than a boxter or a TT.

Robby

I remember when the first couple were photographed a few years ago- I thought it was increedible looking, but knew, as do all cars, that it would change a little byt he time it came to actual production. It still looks nice, but I have to reserve judgement till later- the enthusiast or track models have to be the way to go w/the just under 13" rotors up front, 18" rims w/225'2 & 245's, etc... At least the side air bags are optional- now if we could just get these BS regulation's dropped so the rest of the air bags are an option instead of just forcing us to buy them Also, one thing I want to nit pick- these new stereo's- I don't understand why they're all getting away from standard DIN sizes- that bugs me- Audi's are coming w/slightly wider ones, as are other's- why?

Oh yeah- thanks for the scans

Kierf - ¿§?

I love it. I think Nissan has a real winner. There is nothing in the price range that can touch it. Bade model to the track model, it is a real bargain.

aka 951

almost as cool as your old prelude Kierf

Chris Martin

Just read, Autoweek I think, that Toyota might bring the Surpa over in 2004 to compete with the Z. Now, we're talking! Nice to see the sports cars making a come back.

oi-punx

I agree with Doug. Nissan has built a nice car for a decent price. The Z has heritage, and it's nice to see a company acknowledge that with an updated car. I also love my Porsche, but what have they given us in the way of an affordable, contemporary car that pays homage to the 924/944/968 series? It's also nice to see more sports cars. It gets really old having to deal with the plethora of gas guzzling SUV's, insipid Mustangs and annoying Mini-Vans that clog the streets. That said I think the Z is a welcome sight as is the new Mazda RX-8.

2+2

Its interesting to read your opinions since I had a 92 Z and sold it to get my Turbo S. The new Zs are nice but I prefer the sleek wedgy shape of the previous generation. Also, performance does not compare to what can be done with at prior gen. Z TT. You can get 400 HP out of the turbo Zs with intake, exhaust and chip....total less than $1700. They do 0-60 in 4.9 and 1/4 in 13. YOu KNOW the new Z owners are going to ask...so can I turbocharge this thing to get more power??
I had an NA Z 2+2, wanted more power of a force induction car so I got the Turbo S since 2+2 is mandatory (hence my name) and TT Z in 2+2 is not avail in US. If I could get a 2 seater, I would get a prestine Z TT.....Newer models look like too many other cars on the road....

UDPride

Im not sure I like this new Z. Looks like a hodge podge of about 6 different cars. A little S2000, a little TT, a little this a little that like every feature was stolen somewhere. Dont those headlights look like a Celicas or is it me.

Anyway I loved the prev. generation ZX Twin Turbos. I hope they bring back the Supra as well. Its always been a car than ran like a Swiss watch and took abuse and apparently the last generation had a boatload of untapped potential.

Cant go wrong with a WRX. Very cheap.

Crackhead944S

A coworker of mine has one coming in Oct. I told him to get a nice 951 and pocket difference. He'd still have enough $$$$ for a new motor, suspension, POS winter car.......