2014 Nissan 370Z

[MeehowsBRZ]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

You can easily get a 2014 for under $27k now brand new. Yes, its a base but it's not like you're getting anything fancy with the FR-S and the BRZ only has a few frills. Now is the time to do it if you're set on the Z.

That's not true. The BRZ comes standard with nav, but if you want that with a Z you have to buy a touring model AND add a navigation package. That's a $38,230 MSRP. Even if they drop the price $3k its still almost $10k more after taxes then my car was.

[Jaylyons1]

Originally Posted by MeehowsBRZ

That's not true. The BRZ comes standard with nav, but if you want that with a Z you have to buy a touring model AND add a navigation package. That's a $38,230 MSRP. Even if they drop the price $3k its still almost $10k more after taxes then my car was.

Hence why I compared it to the FR-S and said the BRZ only has a few frills. Also, if you pay MSRP, you're ignorant. With the Z cars, you shouldn't pay a dime over invoice since the new ones are rolling out soon.

[Jaylyons1]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Torsen limited slip. Bluetooth. Those are two important ones.

That said, I like the 370z. It's not a bad car. Just a lot heavier than I'd want. But if you're ok with its weight, it's a good time to buy with the price drop.

Yea, the LSD is the biggie for me. Does the FR-S base radio have bluetooth? Personally, I couldn't care less about blue tooth as talking on the phone while driving isn't the brightest thing in the world to do. But some people need it I guess.

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

Hence why I compared it to the FR-S and said the BRZ only has a few frills. Also, if you pay MSRP, you're ignorant. With the Z cars, you shouldn't pay a dime over invoice since the new ones are rolling out soon.

If you want a Z....you should be shopping for a 2014 Mustang. Should be able to get a GT for mid 20s right now.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Jaylyons1

Yea, the LSD is the biggie for me. Does the FR-S base radio have bluetooth? Personally, I couldn't care less about blue tooth as talking on the phone while driving isn't the brightest thing in the world to do. But some people need it I guess.

Yep the FR-S base radio has BT. Not the greatest in terms of functionality, but the call/voice quality is great -- even with my exhaust. I sometimes need to take calls on the road, so it works out well for me.

[chrisl]

Originally Posted by noobcake

god just look at that beefy rear end..

I really have never liked the rear end on the 370/350z. It looks swollen, and something just seems a bit off about it. In some ways, it kind of looks like someone took a skinny, somewhat tallish car and then added enormous fender flares in an effort to make it feel "aggressive" and "sporty". It's not a bad car to drive, but I just can't get over the looks...

[Jaylyons1]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

If you want a Z....you should be shopping for a 2014 Mustang. Should be able to get a GT for mid 20s right now.

Yea, I have seen them going for around $24k. Best time to buy a Mustang too. I considered one but I just can't drive something that is everywhere. If too many twins start popping up in my neck of the woods I'll probably jump over to a S5 or M3 again.

[totopo]

Originally Posted by noobcake

I love the Z, still haven't made my mind to get a brz or the Z (2 different cars i know). 330 horses right out the box and it came with the synchro rev match that would blip the throttle for you(feature can be turned off) I think its been untouched performance wise since 09 and still holds up as a modern day sports car..god just look at that beefy rear end..

I was in a similar position and went for the Z, for a multitude of reasons.

In case you come back to read this thread, here are my 2c. I of course own a z so know it better since I have driven it orders of magnitude more:

The 2 cars are fairly different, so you should decide what's more important for you and go from there. In my view, they both were designed with different goals in mind, and both perform very well to their design goals.

The 370z was designed to be a budget sports car, to have track times that rival cars much more expensive. The ft86 was designed to be a fun car to drive with a focus on the driving experience. It was designed to be a fun, toss-able car that is very forgiving to the driver.

So the 370z, has gobs of power and torque. It has a stiff chassis and is fairly heavy because the budget price doesn't let it go exotic. It has gobs of tire and gobs of grip and puts out big lateral acceleration, puts down power well post apex and is a very stable car. Because of this though, it is perhaps too stable, and doesn't really do anything at sane driving speeds or street driving speeds.

The ft86 on the other hand is the opposite, especially the frs more so than the brz(with its softer rear suspension). It is lightweight, with a low center of gravity, so it is a very nimble flickable car. It has thin tires that stay stable through high slip-angles making it a very fun car to let loose and over-rotate and practice steering adjustment. Things like speed with which you turn in and throttle adjustments have a relatively large impact on what happens to the car, so it feels very responsive. It also doesn't really have too much power to get you bent out of shape, but enough to break loose the thin tires at low to medium speeds. But conversely its track times are nothing to write home about.

The kind of amusing thing is, though, that track times are probably somewhat overrated, especially if you track. They're mostly for bragging rights, and for feeling good about yourself for passing expensive cars in a DE setting. All track times really gets you is it gets you thrown into a higher starting class for time-trials or autoX.

Other things to consider: ft86 gets better mileage. hp is probably nicer for daily driving than tracking. you may really want to have rear seats. if you have the funds you may want a nicer leather interior. torsens are nicer than VLSDs. And of course subjective looks is always important, especially for car enthusiasts.

The 2013+ mustang GT, especially with the track package is also an interesting car to consider.

Originally Posted by Boxer486

My auto does that, you need a manual stick to have the computer figure it out for you?


What do you mean by untouched performance wise?


If you can't decide, get the Z because that means you don't appreciate what the BRZ is about.

Sheesh, I don't understand why people get so butt-hurt about other cars on this forum. Yes, you're on this forum because you like the ft86. Yes, it's a great car for some reasons, but it's not like the ultimate car or anything.

I can and do heel toe, and I still mostly leave the synchro rev match on. It is very convenient, especially for daily driving when you're not downshifting to red-line. The computer is sadly just so much better than humans, and it saves me wear on my clutch. If you think the driving experience on a torque-converter paddle shifter is anything like a manual with snychro rev match you are sorely mistaken.

The 370z is great performance for its price, if by performance you mean road course times. Sadly, it's hard to find good lap times to compare, because so few pro-drivers have logged lap times in the 370z

If you look at the amateur level though, the 370z is very well regarded. Look at the time trial categories for NASA, the 370z starts out as TTB + 14 points. The step just right below TT123.
http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/time_trial_rules.pdf (page 19+)

cars that are similar price and similar or better category is basically the mustang GT, camaro SS, wrx sti, and evo x mr.

But again, what do track times get you? You just compete with faster cars :/ It does get you a different driving experience at the track though. A lot of people have fun flying through corners in their miatas and put-putting it down the straights. Others like to drag race it down the straights. Other like to rocket out of corners with their 4wd. why can't we appreciate the diversity.

[HercMax]

Well said totopo. You are a pillar of car culture maturity.

[blackhawkdown]

Why hasn't anyone here do an apple to apple comparison? I went to nissan's website and did it for you all on a pdf.

[phobos512]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

Why hasn't anyone here do an apple to apple comparison? I went to nissan's website and did it for you all on a pdf.

That is such a joke. More than half of the items that are marked "Nissan Advantage" are wrong or of dubious value.

The Z is bigger, and has no back seats, and that's an advantage?

Turning radius has no standard (yes, that's weird, but there is no agreed upon SAE standard for measuring it so it's not a useful datapoint).

The twins don't have any digital data readouts? Really? Huh, I wonder what Nissan would call the speedometer, gear and gear change indicators, trip meter, odometer, temperature, etc. if not digital?

[tennisfreak]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

Why hasn't anyone here do an apple to apple comparison? I went to nissan's website and did it for you all on a pdf.

Outside of the HP and Torque I really don't see any "advantages" to the Z.

Although HP and Torque can be a compelling advantage to some.

[regal]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

Nissan has announced pricing for the unchanged 2014 370Z (reference Autoblog for more info) and the big news is that the base price has been lowered $3130, new base price being $29,900.

332hp
270 lb-ft torque
3278 lb curb weight (still 500+ lbs heavier than our cars - ridiculous!)

What you guys think? Seems like this makes the 370Z a legitimate competitor for the Twins (or at least more than before).

No its not a sports/performance car without LSD, poser.

[was385]

Originally Posted by chrisl

I really have never liked the rear end on the 370/350z. It looks swollen, and something just seems a bit off about it. In some ways, it kind of looks like someone took a skinny, somewhat tallish car and then added enormous fender flares in an effort to make it feel "aggressive" and "sporty". It's not a bad car to drive, but I just can't get over the looks...

I completely agree. I've never understood what anyone sees in that car aesthetically. It just looks bloated and awful IMO. Wouldn't even consider buying one unless they did a drastic overhaul of the body.