2003 Nissan 350Z Enthusiast from North America - Comments

Nothing.

After years of looking and almost pulling the trigger on several sports cars (86 Lotus Esprit, 99 Porsche 911, 2004 Mazda RX8, even a 85 Ferrari 308), I made an impulse buy and bought the 350Z. While I may always long after the Porsche or Ferrari, I am quite sure my wallet loves the Z.

I was looking for a pure sports car in the $30k range and picked up the Z for 27,500. I was looking at the 911 at the same time, and came to the conclusion that with the Z I was getting a car that was equal in performance, 5 years newer, still under warranty, and with probable Japanese quality, for $6k less.

I really can't say enough about the performance of the Z. I have run 3 autocrosses in the past 2 months, and have had done really well against some really good cars. There has been some talk about tires feathering and or cupping. I seriously doubt that my tires will ever last long enough for any of that to occur.

At the last autocross (a Porsche club event) I finished 6th overall out of 30. First went to a race prepared Mazda Miata. The course was really tight and the torque of the Z really helped. I could put it in 2nd gear and pull strongly out of every corner.

The car was pushing really bad on my first couple of runs. I had checked the air pressure before leaving home, stock Potenza's had 41 lbs which was perfect. I checked again after 2 runs and it was up to 60. I lowered the pressure to 42 and knocked 5 seconds off my next run. Still had mild understeer, but could kick the back out in very controllable powerslides around the corners. This car is a ball to drift. I know it can get pretty hairy in the rain, but you have to be smart and back off a little when it is wet.

I have to say though, I get a certain satisfaction out of beating the lap times of more expensive, more powerful cars, even some prepared cars in my bone stock Z on worn out tires. I just can't wait to get it onto the track, although I know I will need to upgrade the brakes for track duty. This is an excellent car at a very good price.

SMOKES 911 for less $???

WHERE?

WHEN?

HOW?

This would be a first so I really would like to see this.

& tahts stock vs stock of course.