A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Fellow Z'ers a guy on a different forum wrote this in a debate about handling and how usefull it is on the street, if your going toe to toe with say an F-body. Im really posting this cause i thought the quote was really funny, but what do you think. Does the Z's extra capable handling really make a difference if your not at the track?
"handling matters in the aspect of overall manueverability. Deer jumps out in front of you @ 65... your Celica is in the woods... your Civic is in the deer... and your Z is in the opposite direction going home with a story".....hahahahaha
A:
The ability to control your vehicle (any vehicle) is key to avoiding the type of scenarios listed above. The vehicles ability to do what you want it to do without any "tricks" only aids more to your level of control. The 350 is very responsive at all times and will responded to what you tell it to do. I know professional drivers that can drive a pickup truck with a flat tire better than I can drive my 350. But the low learning curve of the Z makes even bad drivers a little safer (once they get a hold of rear wheel driving, and the torque).
If your going toe to toe with a Mustang or an F-Body on the straights then it comes down to shear capabilities of the two cars (HP, Weight, etc.)(I would even go so far to say that the muscle cars would have a much better launch), but take two equal cars through the twisties and the Z is more at home.
A good for instance is the Lamborghini Murcielago, a V12 with 580HP, but it doesn't launch much better than the 350 on the 1/4 mile in the 12 second range.
But approaching a deer at 100MPH I would rather be in the 350 or Lambo than a muscle car. It would be cooler to die in a Lambo.
2003 350Z LeMans Sunset
JWT Pop Charger
Rallitec Q-Shifter
Zainoed (Z1, Z2, Z6, Z18)
A:
drivenZ, consider taking the Z out with VDC or no VDC. the difference is substantial.
2003 350Z LeMans Sunset Track with Nav
No mods
A:
Im well versed on the subject and have my own opinions im just seeing what you guys thought. Some people like to throw around comments like
" yea a Trans Am might be fast in a straight line but I would smoke it if there were some curves" that sort of talk you know. Ive never driven an f-body and have driven a stang but never pushed it.
A:
I have a low opinion of techno drivers like VDC and such but I can tell you that handling is indeed a necessity.
The other day on a highway I almost hit a deer at 60mph, the deer crossed the road in such a way that I would have hit it dead center if I hadn't done something, the handling and braking abilities of my car allowed me to slow down to 10mph, swerve, recover, and accelerate back to speed before my passenger even saw the deer and before the car behind me could hit me. If I had been in a lesser car, I would probably be in the hospital having a deer sandwich.
It's well known that a sportscar has less chance of getting into an accident than other cars because of its superior response characteristics.
A:
To make a long story short, I wa sbeing an idiot and decided to run from a cop.... a 90 degree right turn came up and i was hitting about 130. I slammed on the brakes, kicked out the rear and cleared it perfectly. I'd say i was going about 60-70 mph when i took the turn, I thank three things for me being alive today:
God
The Zs incredible level of grip and stability
Brake Drift
I'd just like to note that I am a damn moron from running from the cops, and the Z (as with any car) should only be pushed on the track. The Z gave me another chance at living my life more responsibly and I thank it for that.