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

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by crazyyankeefan

Boy I love the RSX. I had one until I accidentally racked it. It was truly a great car. Honda really need to start to make things like that again.

How would you sum up your feelings on the Z vs the RSX. I like the Z way more than my car. I love the VQ engine for its V8 like torque feel.

[Deslock]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

I think the steering wheel was back to its furthest setting from me. As soon as I sat in the car I had to make adjustments as the steering wheel felt about 12 inches to close to me. I like to be able to extend my arms and not bend them like I see a lot of people do. Also when I am more closer to the wheel braking feels more unnatural as I press the brakes more harder than needed.

You drove (not just sat in) the FT86 with the wheel all the way forward and the seat all the way back?

[SUB-FT86]

Originally Posted by Deslock

You drove (not just sat in) the FT86 with the wheel all the way forward and the seat all the way back?

No I haven't driven it yet. It was at a auto show and I got to sit in the car with ZGrinch for about 15 minutes before the place got busy. I was comfortable in that position yes. I never cared for backseats anyway but this car is 6 inches shorter than my RSX(172 inches) which is probably where the rear leg room got axed in comparison.

[switchlanez]

The other day I drove coworkers to lunch with a 6 footer in the passenger seat and a 5'11" guy behind him. They insisted that I drive just to check out my new car but I'm sure they were regretting it during the ride. Watching them squirm their way in was kinda hilarious. :p

[Minhtyfresh]

Originally Posted by justaquestion

Guys, FYI, just because your 3-4 foot kids fit in the back seat, doesn't constitute it as "roomy".

Its ultimately not a useable backseat for the majority of humans.

And IMO, I feel bad for any kids who's parents bought this as a DD with intentions of sticking them in the back seat... I'm kid-less, but as soon as ones on the way, the Civic is getting traded in for a SUV, and the M3 is getting traded in for a sport sedan.

And that, my good sir, is why I'm glad I don't have a wife and kids yet! That back seat is not usuable by anyone.. and im 5'4". Even the space behind my seat is impossibru. But it folds down.. and helps the insurance ALOT. I also havent found the need to carry more than 3 people in my frs yet, so those seats are fine by me. (:

[Deslock]

Originally Posted by justaquestion

Guys, FYI, just because your 3-4 foot kids fit in the back seat, doesn't constitute it as "roomy".

Its ultimately not a useable backseat for the majority of humans.

And IMO, I feel bad for any kids who's parents bought this as a DD with intentions of sticking them in the back seat... I'm kid-less, but as soon as ones on the way, the Civic is getting traded in for a SUV, and the M3 is getting traded in for a sport sedan.

Hello straw man argument. I never claimed the rear seat was roomy. Whether or not it's useful for you simply depends on your needs.

I wouldn't use it for long family trips (we take my wife's car for those), but my boys (51" and 60" tall) love riding in the BRZ.

BTW, I'm impressed with just how many assumptions, misrepresentations, and misplaced judgements you managed to squeeze into your post. Well done.

[SUB-FT86]

I love the fact that the BRZ and FRS isn't great on rear room though. I like the cozy more driver oriented, glove fitting type cockpits in these cars and the 370Z.

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by SUB-FT86

I love the fact that the BRZ and FRS isn't great on rear room though. I like the cozy more driver oriented, glove fitting type cockpits in these cars and the 370Z.

Exactly, it's like the FC3S RX-7. My Turbo II model was strictly a 2-seater, but they did offer the lower trim levels with 2+2 seating. Kind of like the Lotus Evora, too. The 350Z/370Z are similar, except they become Infiniti models. The Audi TT is a 2+2 unless you opt for the convertible, when it becomes a 2-seater. They're all compact and 2-seater-y inside.

[SUB-FT86]

Its like you wear the damn car!!!

[iLuveKetchup]

To me, the 370z drives like a GR STi or WRX. Same driving position, light steering, low end tq, & size. I guess this is good or bad, depending if you like that type of car. To each his own.

[Jordo!]

You, know, being low to the ground aside, the motor is really the Achilles heel of this car.

It makes limited power, not much torque (and then there's that big "death valley" dip), and seems to have cam issues (not clear if this is sensor based, mechanical, or both) right out of the box.

Toyota needs a better power plant for this thing. Everything else is fine to good.

[TRD_86]

Beside the handling, how is the 350z/370z steering feel compare to the brz/frs? is it like a light weight steering of a typical sedan car compare to the frs's weighted direct steering? Motortrend did the 2012 best driver's car and mentioned the steering of the brz consider close to top best of the 9 cars. The steering feel is one of the very important factor for me whenever I put my hand on the steering for a test drive. I'd test drove the 05 350z, 08 G37, 08 M3, 08 ISF, C55AMG and I don't recall these cars have weighted direct precise steering feel close to FRS/BRZ.

[Honesty]

The FR-S has electronic steering, which is what you'll recall a bunch of people cry "ruined" the Porsche 911's steering feel.

But it's more efficient, which is good because it's giving you less parasitic loss.

I'm not sure if the FR-S has a similar setup, but the 370Z's steering help is variable, so at low speeds the system gives you more boost, and at high speeds less, so it stays consistently heavy. It's a pretty heavy steering car imo. It's certainly heavier than my M3 was, that's for sure. It's not a Mustang or something.

[Honesty]

I can't speak for the 350Z though. They're two totally different cars - aside from the 370 having a shorter wheelbase (shorter than the FR-S's wheelbase even), it's also got double wishbones up front, instead of the MacPherson struts up front in the old 350. So the different front suspension has affected the tie rods pretty greatly, meaning they really aren't similar enough for me to speak on a 350.