bruthaboost

So I was doing my monthly finances online and noticed that used car financing percentages were absurdly low and thought to myself was it time to sell the Fit and look into another coupe? I love the functionality of the Fit, but I don't have any kids and don't really need the space so coupe it is. I'm sure this applies to most everyone here, but cars are more than an appliance to me, they are toys to be tinkered with. With that in mind, I wanted one with reasonable aftermarket support that wasn't essentially an S2000 (hot revving 4 cylinder). I settled on a 08 350z. The performance/$ ratio is outstanding with plenty of coin left over for mods/track day fun.

It's a respectable GT car offering a totally different driving experience with respect to the S2000. If the two were swords, the S is a rapier where the 350z is a broadsword. The available torque jumps out immediately. I can lug around 1500 rpm in 6th and still accelerate up an incline with ease without downshifting. It's interior noise levels are quieter, however tire noise is fairly intrusive at highly way speeds (especially on concrete). Ingress and egress are more difficult due to larger doors. Thank goodness the GF is a good sport.

Maintenance seems to be inline with most Asian offerings. The motor is everywhere in Nissan's offerings so a cheap 3.7L stroker is a 300 dollar crank shaft and 500 dollar custom piston swap away if so inclined. Z's have a few chronic bushing problems, a differential mount "issue" and couple temperature problems cured with engine and PS oil coolers. Like the S, the only real power increasing mod worth while is FI and for the HR series motors, there are only 3 or so offering kits with GTM being the most popular. I'll probably go with their stg 1 SC kit good for 430-450 whp. They have a stg 2 offering 500+ whp but I can't deal with urethane engine mounts. Crazy part is my S, SC'd at 13 lbs, will be close to HP but a world away in torque to the Z and that makes an enormous difference in driving feel. I've turbo'd cars before and just don't want to deal with the heat management.

Some things I don't like.
Dual mass flywheels. Booo. I have a shop that can resurface them, but the internal can still wear and you don't know when they will go, so you may as well convert to single mass and deal with the transmission chatter/noise.

Only one rear mounting point for the differential. The busing is frequently going out "prematurely" I'm tempting to convert mine to a more conventional two point.

This is very nit picky, but the steering wheel leaves me less than inspired. I like the S's design worlds more.

Things I do like.
VQ35HR: As mentioned earlier, torque. It's a lovely thing. It's good for 500whp on pump gas with enough cfm and that's about the limit of street-ability with two wheel drive and no TCS.
Stock exhaust note is good.
Available oem brembo brakes is a nice option.
Interior ergonomics are very good. I like the positioning of all the controls and center console layout. Seats are supportive and comfortable as well.
Aftermarket support is comparable to the S, though for the HR series motors, it's considerably pricier.

With that said, sure it's not the visceral experience the S is, but that's why I picked up the Z as an addition. Besides, if well taken care of, Z cars generally age well. Sorry no pics, it's been raining here lately.

Thanks for the bandwidth.

edit:
A few pics.

sahtt

Nice review. It's a good value in an otherwise over priced used car market (including our s2k's IMO). I'm looking for a 2008/2009 g37 as I prefer that drive train. Used car financing rates at my local credit union are M1.5% for a sub 3 year loan; makes paying cash for a majority of the purchase price idiotic IMO.

NuncoStr8

Sounds like a nice ride. Great mini-review

Reckon

Nice. Great car all around, good luck with it!

FearlessFife

In for pics.

S2k Ok

no pics no care

mazelmazelgoodthings

Meh I've driven a couple of 350Z's and I was not impressed at all by them. It was another choice I had when I was in the market for an s2k. The interior is just so plasticky and tacky. The door handles are tacky. The whole car just looks awkward to me. Plus it doesnt hold the heritage that the Z's before it do. The thing was designed in california for gods sake. Im not so keen on how the car sounds either. I don't know, but the 350Z didn't impress me one bit, just my opinion. but congrats on the new DD.

bruthaboost

I hear you on the interior materials. The 370z addressed this issue, however it also went up significantly in price (along with increases in power and decreases in weight) and the performance/dollar ratio just wasn't there. Call me a cheap bastard, but I have a hard time throwing 20K+ into a car I'm immediately going to mod and drop the value significantly. I love the S, but it does have its shortcomings. That or I'm just getting old-sometimes I don't want to feel the texture of the asphalt.

mazelmazelgoodthings

well being a college student that saved up for 7 years for the s2k I know where your coming from from a financial perspective. I think the 370z is worth the money, the 350z though, I don't. I just think that for $25k, the s2k is the best sports car you can get. and even if I had the money for a 370z, I probably wouldn't get one, I would look for a nice used porsche boxster S. Or even a nice porsche 996.

Carbon Blue

Ive always loved the 350z, they look much nicer than the 370's in my opinion. Congrats on the purchase.