FR-S vs. 370z, end all be all of discussions

[Matador]

No.

[DavidGaddy]

I've owned two 350z cars a 2002 and a 2005 yellow. But this car is all new horse power is great because this car is so lightweight it is going to feel like your driving a v6

[Dragonitti]

Z = heat issues at the track, so no.

[Ryephile]

There isn't much that the Z does right, and the combination of negatives really hits a nerve for me. V6's are soulless bastard engines, and I loathe them. Not to mention the Nissan VQ engines' exhaust tone is absolutely the worst sounding in modern times. That immediately disqualifies the Z from my shopping list. The interior is typical Nissan, which is slathered with plastics just as crappy as past Chevrolet's. The fuel economy is poor, it's inexcusably obese while simultaneously being rather impractical, and the head and tail lights look like they're cyst growths. Sorry 370Z enthusiasts, it's not personal, but I couldn't convince myself to buy one regardless of price.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by KidWonder

I understand why you would prefer a new car. It's all about what YOU want, I just wish their was more stock HP. Since i'll be going to college, I want have the time to go to work especially as an engineering major. And internships only last a summer.

I'm going to go ahead and toss some engineering advice out to you. As an engineer, I think I'm somewhat qualified. Engineers often dwell far too much on an individual component's specs. We often think things really are a sum of their parts. And then the system doesn't perform to our expectations. Everything playing nice together means that you have predictable, reliable results.

Before you are certain that the FR-S needs more power, you really need to get behind the wheel. An elegant, simple solution is often times the better choice over a high complexity, high power engineering solution. If the ultimate goal of this car is to bring a smile to your face, an extra 50hp probably isn't going to be what pushes the vehicle over the threshold from OK to a blast to drive.

My 2nd bit of advice is to not worry about what car you have in college. I had a 2 year old GC6 Impreza 2.5RS my last few years of college. Living in a college town, my pristine, babied RS was in pretty rotten shape after a few years thanks to tight parking garages and inattentive drivers. By the end, I don't think there was a single side of the car that didn't have some sort of damage from people backing into me or dinging doors. Also, unless you have a full ride to college, I certainly wouldn't be getting into additional debt just to have a cool car. You'll thank yourself if you put that money toward minimizing school loans. Then when you get a job out of school, you can buy what you want; not just what fits your budget. (i.e. a new 370Z instead of a 70k mile, used and abused version) I had <$20k in debt leaving school; my wife had none. That gave us a great head start in life to where we easily afford our house, paid off her MINI Cooper S after 1.5 years (5 years ago!), and paid my 2010 4Runner off in 1 year (1 year ago). You can't be stuck in a cycle of debt if you don't get into debt in the first place. Be patient and save up for what you really want instead of settling for what you can sort of afford right now.

[Mitch]

I know I'm in the minority, but I just can't stand the look of the 370Z. It just does nothing for me.

[keiri]

Originally Posted by Quentin

I'm going to go ahead and toss some engineering advice out to you. As an engineer, I think I'm somewhat qualified. Engineers often dwell far too much on an individual component's specs. We often think things really are a sum of their parts. And then the system doesn't perform to our expectations. Everything playing nice together means that you have predictable, reliable results.

Before you are certain that the FR-S needs more power, you really need to get behind the wheel. An elegant, simple solution is often times the better choice over a high complexity, high power engineering solution. If the ultimate goal of this car is to bring a smile to your face, an extra 50hp probably isn't going to be what pushes the vehicle over the threshold from OK to a blast to drive.

My 2nd bit of advice is to not worry about what car you have in college. I had a 2 year old GC6 Impreza 2.5RS my last few years of college. Living in a college town, my pristine, babied RS was in pretty rotten shape after a few years thanks to tight parking garages and inattentive drivers. By the end, I don't think there was a single side of the car that didn't have some sort of damage from people backing into me or dinging doors. Also, unless you have a full ride to college, I certainly wouldn't be getting into additional debt just to have a cool car. You'll thank yourself if you put that money toward minimizing school loans. Then when you get a job out of school, you can buy what you want; not just what fits your budget. (i.e. a new 370Z instead of a 70k mile, used and abused version) I had <$20k in debt leaving school; my wife had none. That gave us a great head start in life to where we easily afford our house, paid off her MINI Cooper S after 1.5 years (5 years ago!), and paid my 2010 4Runner off in 1 year (1 year ago). You can't be stuck in a cycle of debt if you don't get into debt in the first place. Be patient and save up for what you really want instead of settling for what you can sort of afford right now.

The best advice, and answer, in this thread.

Personally, I like the Z but I'd rather have a new FR-S with no gremlins, possible service issues, or abuse that the used Z may have.

[Neutral_Eyes]

No interest in a fat two seater with expensive tires. Guessing there's a good reason behind the massive price drops.

[Longhorn248]

*looks at sub forum header*
*looks at post title*
*looks at who the OP is*

[borge12]

Yeah, Quentin is full of sage advice. He is absolutely right, any car you have in a crowded area filled with drunks will end up in much poorer condition. While at school, my car had these things done to it:

1. Driver side mirror knocked off.
2. Dent in the hood
3. Long scrape down the passenger side from some other vehicle
4. Tail light busted
5. Back bumper dented in
6. Back bumper dented in, again
7. More door dings then I wish to count

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

There isn't much that the Z does right, and the combination of negatives really hits a nerve for me. V6's are soulless bastard engines, and I loathe them. Not to mention the Nissan VQ engines' exhaust tone is absolutely the worst sounding in modern times. That immediately disqualifies the Z from my shopping list. The interior is typical Nissan, which is slathered with plastics just as crappy as past Chevrolet's. The fuel economy is poor, it's inexcusably obese while simultaneously being rather impractical, and the head and tail lights look like they're cyst growths. Sorry 370Z enthusiasts, it's not personal, but I couldn't convince myself to buy one regardless of price.

I feel the same way about N/A 4 cylinder high revving torqueless wonders.

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by DavidGaddy

I've owned two 350z cars a 2002 and a 2005 yellow. But this car is all new horse power is great because this car is so lightweight it is going to feel like your driving a v6

I highly doubt it. The horsepower isn't the problem it's the torque.

09 Toyota Camry V6 is 268hp/248 tq 3470 lbs
13 Scion FRS 200 hp/151 tq 2700 lbs

The power to weight ratio is close with some 34-3500 lb V6 vehicles but there torque figures is pretty strong regardless.

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

There isn't much that the Z does right, and the combination of negatives really hits a nerve for me. V6's are soulless bastard engines, and I loathe them. Not to mention the Nissan VQ engines' exhaust tone is absolutely the worst sounding in modern times. That immediately disqualifies the Z from my shopping list. The interior is typical Nissan, which is slathered with plastics just as crappy as past Chevrolet's. The fuel economy is poor, it's inexcusably obese while simultaneously being rather impractical, and the head and tail lights look like they're cyst growths. Sorry 370Z enthusiasts, it's not personal, but I couldn't convince myself to buy one regardless of price.

I think you actually dislike the Z even more than I do.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

I highly doubt it. The horsepower isn't the problem it's the torque.

09 Toyota Camry V6 is 268hp/248 tq 3470 lbs
13 Scion FRS 200 hp/151 tq 2700 lbs

The power to weight ratio is close with some 34-3500 lb V6 vehicles but there torque figures is pretty strong regardless.

Torque only matters in how fast a car is if you limit your RPM range. Engines designed with torque in mind return great daily driver drivability. They tend to lack on the top end though. For a light weight sports coupe, I don't give a hoot how fast it feels at 2500rpm. I want it to scream to 7000RPM, upshift, drop a couple grand in RPM, and scream back to 7000RPM. The gear ratios shouldn't be dropping it to 2000 or 3000 RPM where you aren't making much power thanks to the low RPM and low torque.