foxford

I considered a 350Z at one time. Having once owned a Mitsubishi 3000GT, I decided that I would get tired of the Nissan just as quickly. Perhaps these two are apples and oranges apart, but the 3000GT was pretty uninspired. I still look at the Z's on the road and sometimes wonder, "what if..."

The Pontiac/Saturn roadsters remind me of the Miata when it came out. There were tons of them around before the third model year, and the bottom fell out of their value. (Remember the Fiero?)

cwrm4

Just make sure you keep the 350Z literally in one piece, unlike this moron in Houston last night.

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stori...gax.be3c3.html

creator8

Thats a picture. Wow. Hope he didn't hurt anyone else.

Anyway, back to the 350Z. Awesome car. On track even stock a great drive. I personally love the looks and styling and as an alternative to a P Car its a great deal--especially used right now.

I'd personally not go for a G35 over a Z if you don't need the seats. The extra weight and length takes the edge off of the motor and driving dynamics.

Z is one of the few cars that would get me out of Porsche. And its one of the few cars out there that almost has a similar history/provenance.

Mike Murphy

I love the Z, but I really get annoyed by the exhaust note. It sounds almost fake and it sounds a lot like it's sibling, the FX.

N51

Fat chance.

Noah

Cupcar

I have a daily driver '03 Z "Enthusiast" model that I have had since new. I paid $30,000 "out the door" for the car. I thought about a Track model, but they were in short supply so would have cost me around $6000 more, so I decided to make my own "improved" Track model from the Nissan and Nismo (their dealer performance line) parts bins with my saved $6000.

After I bought the car, with my saved $6000 not buying the Track model, I added the Nismo Suspension (springs,shocks, stab bars), 18" Nismo Forged (shot peened and hard anodized) alloy wheels, Brembo Brakes (I got a deal on these) and the factory Aero Package which includes under the body parts and a rear spoiler. All the parts fit and worked together perfectly. The instruction that come with the Nismo and spoiler parts are very thorough. The spoiler was pre-painted and the suspension even came out NOT needing an alignment after the switchover!!

My only complaint is interior tire noise. I did not have a single warrantee issue except a fuel tank recall letter. I enjoy the car a lot and wish Porsche had a similar performance parts program to Nismo which also has headers, cams, heads, light flywheel, clutch, limited slip differentials, etc. as well as what I did and you can order the car with this most, not all of the Nismo stuff at delivery with a warrantee.

Here is pic of the car, obviously a favorite with Ducati riders, I am not one for picking parts for looks.....BTW at a Porsche Club autocross my times are in there with the Boxster S cars

lowside67

Very good looking car!

Clear front reflector and you're done.

N51

So where is the Duc?

Noah

Cupcar

In the same place other things I lust after are kept!!!

N51

Mines in the my shop. :-)

Noah

Cupcar

Interesting story on the door handles.

I was at a reception at a local art museum where a new exhibit featuring Nissan Design was being celebrated. The prototype for the Z was on display at the reception and I talked to the designer, Jerry Hirshberg, and asked him how close the Z being shown was to finalization and he said "it is within millimeters, but management is not sure if they want the door handles".......Sadly, I was thinking the same as management; the car would look better IMHO with a painted, Porsche like design.

Lerxst

After 3 years of ownership, I'm selling my 350Z for a 2002 996. I was very happy with the car as a daily driver. I found the motor smooth with lots of low-end torque. It's very predictable for a rwd 290hp vehicle. In the winter, the car was fine in the snow with winter tires, but low, as expected for a sports car. The only reason I'm selling is that 996s have become affordable (I don't fit well in 964s and 993s with a helmet) and it was my p-car substitute until then.

yumyum1667

Ugghhhh...I really liked the Z design until you pointed out the door handles. I too think a smother design would have been better. Overall it still is a cool sports car.

Cupcar

I would get a guarantee if I could on the 996 engine though, if the RMS leaks, ownership of the 996 out of guarantee may be painful. The new engine fix costs half what we paid for our Z.

Lerxst

That's why I got the 2002 w/ the 3.6L... much more reliable than the 3.4L (according to various reliable sources). According the the Porsche dealership that performed the PPI, the previous owner was fanatical about the car and had the RMS seal replaced, just in case. [/end threadjack]

But bang for the buck, it's tough to beat a 350Z.