[ZPirate]

Originally Posted by ALMN

I am pretty sure i even heard Thomas saying that its not even a sports car, it is a GT car! GT in grand tourer or get off the track

LOL! Yeah that was funny.

[John Simon]

The newer Nissan Z is much better than the BMW z4 and the its brother Toyota Supra. The Turbo charged V6 in Nissan is amazing and is like a GTR and 370Z has a baby. Tho I am not a big fan of its design. I like Supra's design better.

[Dabjbr]

Originally Posted by ALMN

I posted that above before you did

Yep, beat me to it!

Originally Posted by ALMN

Let’s not also forget that the camaro is a 4 seater even though the back seats are cramped ( i do carry my 4 year old no problem on a booster seat).

Agreed. Although I wouldn’t say the Camaro is truly practical, it is way more practical than just about any 2-seater sports car while performing better than most!

[ALMN]

Originally Posted by John Simon

The newer Nissan Z is much better than the BMW z4 and the its brother Toyota Supra. The Turbo charged V6 in Nissan is amazing and is like a GTR and 370Z has a baby. Tho I am not a big fan of its design. I like Supra's design better.

Did you read the multiple z reviews and comparisons? It looks like completely the opposite of what you are saying. New Supra is definitely a better car and in fact that B58 engine is underrated with lots of potential from stock block. No matter what car you put that engine in, its going to shine.

I am considering a BMW 340XI for a daily in the future which has the same engine and can’t wait to test drive one. Nissan’s hands are tied with the initial bad reviews because people are considering canceling their orders. It’s not looking good. They need to come up with a Nismo version which can handle and around 500 hp, then maybe and maybe they can gain some interest. Not much in US market at this point.

[NG329]

Most people who are tracking their cars end up making tweaks anyway (suspension, tune, etc.).

I think the biggest issues with the bone stock Z are the tires and the suspension. Fix these two items and the car will be just fine for a local fast guy. Stock for Stock comparisons are nice and good for entertainment but that is where it stops since most people can't take an Apex properly (or consistently) to begin with.

I think a lot of us were let down that it couldn't take the fight directly to the Supra but at the end of the day we're really talking about a BMW and they were always better than Nissan at the mid price point. LOL

[TheSpectre]

For all the people who gave the Supra (which, contrary to opinions posted earlier here, will go toe to toe with a 1LE) shit for “just being a BMW”…. at least it’s a good looking, great performing sports car. The new Z shows just how broke Nissan is.

All the reports of it being a refreshed 370Z are only partly right. The 370 was itself a refresh of the 350, and so this new Z is riding on the now ancient as balls FM platform. We’re in New Edge Mustangs actually being Fox bodies territory. The front is ungainly, and looks slab sided in profile (the rear looks nice). The interior is a mix of new AND old (everything in the lower dash - there’s an obvious trim line- is taken directly from the 370, and the seats are *unchanged* from the 370.)

The manual tranny is the same (but with a few new tweaks to the gearshift), and so the engine is the only real “all new” component (for a Z, it’s been in Infinitis now since 2014….. so how does this abomination cost 15-18k over the price of a 370?

Shameful.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by TheSpectre

For all the people who gave the Supra (which, contrary to opinions posted earlier here, will go toe to toe with a 1LE) shit for “just being a BMW”…. at least it’s a good looking, great performing sports car. The new Z shows just how broke Nissan is.

Agreed, the BMWs are really fast. A few modded M2s at local BMW autox events are crazy fast. The issue with the Supra is the M2 Comp exists and I'd much rather have that... or the M2 CS for a bit more, that thing will smoke the Supra and the SS 1LE.

The new Z doesn't appeal to me and costs too much for what it is imo.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by NG329

Most people who are tracking their cars end up making tweaks anyway (suspension, tune, etc.).

Maybe most people with old cars that need to be gutted to be competitive sure, but most people running newer cars, 911s, Caymans, 1LEs, Boss, Mach 1s, etc., aren't doing much to them, because they are competent out of the box.

Yes, I've seen more old nissans and infinitis gutted out and turned into race cars, as in cars you can no longer drive on the street at all, but the 400z is just not very competitive in it's form. They could have leveraged their engineering to make a lighter car that handles better and has the power to back it up, but as mentioned above, they made a GT type car that isn't exactly in a hurry for any of those things. Sure, the world needs cruisers too, but it's a sad state of affairs how far the Japanese sports car offerings have fallen. It's coming in last in any comparo and it's obvious Nissan didn't make a very serious effort with it. A car is more than the engine.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

Agreed, the BMWs are really fast. A few modded M2s at local BMW autox events are crazy fast. The issue with the Supra is the M2 Comp exists and I'd much rather have that... or the M2 CS for a bit more, that thing will smoke the Supra and the SS 1LE.

The new Z doesn't appeal to me and costs too much for what it is imo.

M2 was a pretty big let-down when it came out. It suffered from a similar problem, BMW didn't take it serious enough and didn't equip it right from the beginning. A little while later they fixed that with the M2 CS, it's a little heavy for the size, but it fixed pretty much every other let down from the original M2. It seems too in the US markets the "CS" have been pretty rare...until BMW decided to "fix" the M2, now CS models abound. It would have been a lot closer decision between the 1LE and M2CS if it existed when I got the 1LE. The 1LE just has so much grip though, it's so much fun to drive.

[DaveC113]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

M2 was a pretty big let-down when it came out. It suffered from a similar problem, BMW didn't take it serious enough and didn't equip it right from the beginning. A little while later they fixed that with the M2 CS, it's a little heavy for the size, but it fixed pretty much every other let down from the original M2. It seems too in the US markets the "CS" have been pretty rare...until BMW decided to "fix" the M2, now CS models abound. It would have been a lot closer decision between the 1LE and M2CS if it existed when I got the 1LE. The 1LE just has so much grip though, it's so much fun to drive.

I'm also very happy with my SLE, great car, fun to drive. Costs a lot less than a M2 of any type. Doesn't need much to be competitive in CAMC. M2s big advantage seems to be the ability to easily add significant power. It's got potential to be faster than a 1LE at autox and has a harder PAX, BMW AS is .831 vs .819 for CAMC, which is a pretty large difference.

[JamesNoBrakes]

Originally Posted by DaveC113

I'm also very happy with my SLE, great car, fun to drive. Costs a lot less than a M2 of any type. Doesn't need much to be competitive in CAMC. M2s big advantage seems to be the ability to easily add significant power. It's got potential to be faster than a 1LE at autox and has a harder PAX, BMW AS is .831 vs .819 for CAMC, which is a pretty large difference.

All bets for any car are generally off when you start modding of course. That's why you learn quickly in racing you either keep it close to stock within the limits of what your class allows, or you go all out...or you buy a full on race-car like a GT3 RS that will do both. I don't think we've had an M2 show up, but I pretty easily beat the 140/240 cars, even though the x-drives absolutely slam the straights.

Any of the shorter wheelbase cars though are generally more optimal for AutoX, all other things equal. The 1LE is in a special position where it's just short enough to still be pretty competative and with the grip, it doesn't suck at AutoX. You go a little longer though and the cars start sucking pretty fast. The M2CS is probably putting down around 480 or so at the crank, just a hair lighter, but the wheelbase is going to help it significantly, especially when they put on some wider/stickier rubber. Add the full torque at low RPM and it's going to do pretty well at lower speeds and tight courses. The bigger the course, the more it will drop off due to the chassis, but not by much, the 1LE will slowly start to edge it out...but slooowly, driver's race for sure, 5 seconds on the nearly 3-min VIR course.

[Bosse'sBoss]

The front of the Nissan 400Z looks terrible, like an unfinished product, as the review mentions the suspension setting is terrible. By all means the 6th gen Camaro SS or SS1LE are a much better choice, if you are looking for a more expensive option than the Nissan's the Supra 3.0 performs better.