esp1

took ur advice and test drove another today. . . my thoughts:

all those independent used car dealers that you find if you do a yahoo auto search are selling cars that have been in accidents that somehow have not been reported and don't show up in carfax. . this one was missing serial/vin# tags on the good and front end panels. . . second time i've seen this.

anyways. . .drove the snot out of it. first time with the top down.

got a new perspective on the car. . . fun-er with the top down . . . is it motorcycle like ? no. is it better than with the top up ? yes. is it better than a hardtop 370z coupe . . . hmmmmm better go drive the 370z again. . . . . oh wait, did I say that ? I meant, better go drive a vw again, cuz i'm the kind a guy that likes to be told what to do

.. yeah, love honda - great bikes, great cars, great jets, great water pumps and generators. .. i've owned and used them all (well not the jet but that thing spanks everyother light to med jet out there up and down the street. . you name the spec, it spanks the next closest competitor).

questions

1. if i'm tooling around with it running constantly at 3500 to 4500 rpm i feel like i should have upshifted already but its meant to be driven "normally" in this range and then if you need torque, its only 1500 rpm away, right ?

2. people talk about installing "FI" into the car is that fuel injection ? can't be, can it ?

Vik2000

I seriously think my next car will be something torquey. S2000's raw feeling is fun but pure torque is another kind fun, which I found out after driving friend's C63...damn

dat boi

Having driven the 370z (stock) and my s2000 (not stock) pretty much back to back, I came to the conclusion, which even the owner of the Z agreed to no less, is that the Z looks amazing on paper and puts down respectable numbers, but when driving the car, it just doesn't feel as focused or "refined" as the s2000 (or an E46 M3 for that matter since it's the owner's wife's car) The Z has nice suede which feels amazing in the summer heat here in AZ compared to the leather. But some things like the "plasticity" feel of some pieces, or how your elbow hits the center bin when you drive causing it to open all the time may seem like little nuisances at first, but it does get annoying quickly.

Interior quality aside, (lets face it, the s2000's interior may not seem much better, but the design of the driver focused cockpit certainly makes it more aesthetically pleasing imo. And the quality on the M3 isn't better either, at least we don't have peeling on the door handles, but both cars are more quiet with less creaks than the s2) another issue I had with this car was the seating position, I could never find a position that I preferred, I always felt uncomfortable and "pushed back" in the car It's weird to explain it, but I had the same feeling in the 350z as well.

Driving the car:
I wanted to like this car, and I do like it in some aspects, but when driving the car in the street, whatever I liked about it was overshadowed by the transmission. The clutch wasn't exactly hard to modulate, but very unfamiliar and even after owning the car for months, the owner can't get a smooth shift either. As you pushed the clutch down, it was very stiff, then all of a sudden, it was soft and went straight to the floor. The transmission was very very notchy, I heard the 370z was an improvement over the old Z but it didn't feel like so. It was still notchy and the clutch engagement is not smooth or linear, just like before. When driving the Z, I felt like a crappy driver who was driving a manual for the first time, but even the owner can't seem to get a relatively smooth shift. But then again, I'm comparing this to the s2000 transmission which is extremely difficult to beat in terms of overall feel and smoothness.

Engine:
The Z's engine was great, it had nice mid range power and seemed to pull strong in almost any gear. But (maybe it was this particular Z) it didn't seem to like being revved up too much. Obviously the s2 strives in high rpms but it's slower than an old man in low rpms (esp stock s2000s below 6k rpms. After the tune in my car, it feels worlds better but if I were to go WOT next to a Z, both of us in 6th gear and low speeds, the Z will pull away). I prefer the high rpm songs of the s2 and even the M3, which also loves to be revved all the way up to redline and does it with ease.

I loved the sound that the old 350z made, even stock, but this car is too quiet, it is soft, but not necessarily comfortable. It's also quick, and given a good driver, it's quicker than a stock s2000. When we raced from a 40 mph roll (I regret doing this due to what happened after) he didn't pull away. As a matter of fact (and I can let him chime in if he chooses to) we were virtually neck and neck up to near triple digit speeds. The only reason why is that he didn't know how to shift particularly quick, which was enough to hold him back. Again, I'm not stock, but I'm not sc'd either. They are supposed to be as quick as the M3 and I kept up with his SMG m3 with him inching ahead, so I'm not doubting these results much.

Verdict:
Given the choice of a (my) s2000 and a 370z, I would certainly lean towards the s2000. It's not quick, it's not quiet either, but the confidence it inspires, and the raw feeling it gives of you connected the car through it's "cockpit", seamlessly smooth transmission, high revving engine etc etc. make me lean more towards the S2000.

Don't get me wrong, the Z is a great car, but not for me because it feels like it tries too hard to be everything (cruiser, sports car, practical) but ends up coming short in those categories. If you want a car that brings everything in a nice package, get the M3. It's comfortable (though at low speeds, it felt less forgiving than my s2000, which is on coilovers. But that has a lot to do with the optional 19 inch wheels) it's quick, feels planted and inspires confidence, and it is the most practical of the 3.

dat boi

Another point I forgot to add were the brakes on the Z were difficult to modulate. I would barely touch the pedal and the car would nose dive

The Z kinda made me feel like I wasn't good enough to drive the car smoothly and that I should just sit at home and cry because I will never be good enough

exb00st

dat boi – The transmission is the Z takes some getting used to. It engages very high allowing you to shift quickly without pushing the clutch all the way down. I was shifting smoothly after a couple of days. I have heard complaints about this, but just as with any other car, you'll learn to shift smoothly. IMO, the shifter wasn't notchy at all in any 370Z / G37 I've driven.

Regarding your highway run: what does your car trap at? A Z will trap at 106-108 stock. If you don't trap faster than that, he can't drive. Also, is the car broken in? The VQ is notorious for running weak during break in period.

FYI, the 7 speeds are putting down better ETs/traps than 6MTs.

dat boi

I've never drag raced my car and no he can't shift quickly, but I doubt he was in his powerband at 40mph (the sole reason I picked this speed is because I'm sitting in second gear ready to jump the gun) I pulled away from him in second, once we started going faster, he was catching up, not quickly and as he'd be right next to me, he'd have to shift.

With a good driver, I would suspect the Z pulling about 1/2 a car on me from 40-80 ish and then walking me after. That to me isn't a huge difference since I'm not big into straight line speed.

The car was broken in and like I said, the transmission was very notchy. The clutch did have a high engagement point but it was difficult to operate smoothly. I did get a few smooth shifts only to get a jerky one right as I felt comfortable. L

Like I said it seems like a great car on paper, but the way it was executed, I would rather opt for something else, say a used e46 M3. Even still the M3 has its flaws but that's for another thread

bgoetz

Really it wasn't much more than my civic

bgoetz

One good point that has been made about performance comparrison is that everything compares the S2k to their hard top (350z, 370z, etc.). If there was actually a comparisson of the S2k to their convertables I am sure with the added weight of the cars things may turn out a bit different.

On the video of them all together, does anyone else but me notice that the S2k driver spends the majority of his time WAY off line ?? That is the third or so time I have seen that video and I just cannot get over it. And no it is not to let the faster cars pass, if they are faster you make them pass off-line. I am by no means saying the S2k is faster, I just don't think that video is very representative of what the S2k could do against those cars.

JonBoy

I noticed the same thing. Not only that but he was backing off to keep the 135i in front of him when the 135i overdrove a number of corners.

He let them through easily. It's not that they're that much faster or he's that much slower (check the time attack times - most are pretty close), only that he appeared to be letting them go past and battle it out since they're the newer cars.

exb00st

I disagree. I don't think it's a good point because the S2000 was designed from the ground up to be convertible. The 370Z was designed as a coupe first and foremost.