auto 350Z vs. CVT 3.5SE?

[08coupedriver]

well alright so my brother has a 2007 nissan 350Z (auto) and i have a 3.5SE (CVT).......i kno i kno, battle of the automatics....anyways he destroys me everytime we try to go for a quick run at a stop light or a stop signand i was wondering if i could hang with a 2003-2006 auto 350Z because i know those models only have 287hp and the a/c weigh less

my brothers car



my car

[striklybidnis]

I would say no. The differences between a sports car and a sports coupe have less to do with small absolute HP differences and more to do with other things that makes cars go fast. Weight is one thing, but the difference is not substantial to make up for gearing, suspension, etc.

My GF moved from an '05 350Z to the '08 A/C-the difference in outright performance is very noticeable (the A/C being on the losing side that is).

Now race it in the rain/snow you will have a different outcome

[GryStrm]

the power trajectory and force of a rear wheel drive and front wheel drive are different....so yeah hell win everytime...but as for what striky said....truefront wheel set ups are for better handling/ traction (the weight of the engine is right on the drive wheels)..but why are we racin in the rain?...or snow?...i think they made something for snow racin....oh yea a freakin snowmobile!!

[08coupedriver]

thanx guys and no i would race in snow or rain lol

[mcheddadi]

listen, you can only beat cars with worst car ratio than yours assuming each have the optimum traction.

2007 Nissan 350Z VQ35HR Roadster convertible can be beat since its heavier than the non convertible one.

altima coupe 3.5SE's lbs per hp is 11.2350Z vq35HR convertible is 11.4 (you can own them)350Z vq45HR hardtop is 10.6 ( )

the lower the number the better

[GryStrm]

what if the person drivin the z hard top is like ....400 lbs...and the person in the alti is...100?

[Hussain]

lol ok good, i raced a convertible 03-05 350Z and beat him no problem, wasn't sure if he was just a horrible driver or what lol but then again, the ppl with 350z's around here don't know how to race, they lose to almost everything lol

[mcheddadi]

you pwn them, simple as that

[nogears909]

ya guys around here cant drive their Z's either, saw one run a 15.6 at the track

[08altima35]

you pwn them, simple as that

you might pwn them from a roll, but our cars being front wheel drive heavily squat from a dig and the z's have a huge advantage. i know you mentioned something about optimum traction, but that's why most sports cars are rwd.

[spockrock]

you might pwn them from a roll, but our cars being front wheel drive heavily squat from a dig and the z's have a huge advantage. i know you mentioned something about optimum traction, but that's why most sports cars are rwd.

btw warner I am sure you have answered this but I haven't seen it but since the turbo have does the coupe have torque steer??

[LinkNuc]

To be honest if you were racing yourself, 100 times out of 100 ANY 350Z from ANY year will beat our A/C

[heeroguy]

the power trajectory and force of a rear wheel drive and front wheel drive are different....so yeah hell win everytime...but as for what striky said....truefront wheel set ups are for better handling/ traction (the weight of the engine is right on the drive wheels)..but why are we racin in the rain?...or snow?...i think they made something for snow racin....oh yea a freakin snowmobile!!

sorry but that is wrong

RWD cars handle better hands down, they have no additional fricton or axles or rotaional weight on the steering tires

they also accelerate better as when u accelerate the body weight is pushed on the rear wheels

FWD have no real performance gains over a RWD car same with AWD, but awd will accerate better but they would not handle as good

[Canadian Coupe]

sorry but that is wrong

RWD cars handle better hands down, they have no additional fricton or axles or rotaional weight on the steering tires

they also accelerate better as when u accelerate the body weight is pushed on the rear wheels

FWD have no real performance gains over a RWD car same with AWD, but awd will accerate better but they would not handle as good

Actually you're wrong. In rainy and snowy slippery conditions a FWD and AWD will destroy a RWD in terms of handling.

[Hussain]

To be honest if you were racing yourself, 100 times out of 100 ANY 350Z from ANY year will beat our A/C

not really, in my area some civics are giving 350z's a run for there money lol my friend called me up one time and was like dude i got a 350Z on tape running 15's (coulda even been 16's, i just remember it being slower then 14's) and i was with my brother in his bone stock 2001 GT Mustang AUTOMATIC (before he sold it) and those things do 14.4 with no passengers and we smoked the **** out of a couple 350z's that didn't even have passengers and no it wasn't like octopussi's races, empty road and both cars got up to about 100. almost everyone race have beatin a 350z in my area. the 350z's in my area are like the worst drivers EVER....... it's pretty sad

oh ya, plus like i said earlier in the thread i beat a 350z with my 3.5se CVT altima coupe. stopped at a red light and when the light turned green we both took off REALLY SLOW and then i heard him floor it all the way and jump ahead by about a half a car length when i floored it and i kept up and then passed him and trust me he WAS racing cuz the way gas prices are, NO ONE would accelerate like that if they weren't trying to race lol

[adidas2go]

listen, you can only beat cars with worst car ratio than yours assuming each have the optimum traction.

2007 Nissan 350Z VQ35HR Roadster convertible can be beat since its heavier than the non convertible one.

altima coupe 3.5SE's lbs per hp is 11.2350Z vq35HR convertible is 11.4 (you can own them)350Z vq45HR hardtop is 10.6 ( )

the lower the number the better

Absolutley not. The HR 350z will destroy you as well. Have been beaten by one myself. These are the 350z's I have raced from a 30- roll, and the outcomes. I was in auto mode.

06 350z hard top auto - equal to 80, then I start to pull away. Win.04 350z 6 speed - equal to 100, then he starts to pull away. Loss.07 350z hard top 6 speed - Gained margin on me the whole time. Loss by three car lengths.08 350z verty auto - Gained by a slightly less margin than the hard top, Loss by 2 car lengths. 04 G35 auto- We destroy 06 G35 turbo- Well....

the power trajectory and force of a rear wheel drive and front wheel drive are different....so yeah hell win everytime...but as for what striky said....truefront wheel set ups are for better handling/ traction (the weight of the engine is right on the drive wheels)

Wrong. FWD is far worse in the handling department because we have this thing called understeer. Its what happens when the weight of the engine, pushes the car forward with more force than the tires have to grip in the direction they are turned. Thats the major downfall of FWD. RWD only uses the front wheels for turning, they use the rear wheels for propulsion. Since the front wheels of a FWD car work for 2 different purposes, they have more to slip.

FWD have no real performance gains over a RWD car same with AWD, but awd will accerate better but they would not handle as good

Performance production AWD cars, handle better than FWD of RWD. Hence the use of it in top european cars. The kings of automotive handling

[Scandinavian Flick]

i love threads like this, so many opinions, so many views. WELL here is my view on this whole topic for starters , i assume most of the people saying that the a/c 3.5 is faster then the 350z have never driven a 350z, now im speaking of the 07 350z with the HR engine, that car is seriously faster then the A/C ( sorry if you feel otherwise ). and now onto what the best drive platform is the best.. for handleing the best set up is AWD , its not RWD, 4 wheels driving you around a corner is better then 2.... just is. ALso RWD can understeer just as well as FWD it depends on your suspensions setup. ive driven many RWD cars that understeer way worse then the A/C , the A/C has a multilink rear suspension that is quite brilliant,

[LinkNuc]

No opinions, just plain numbers...again if you were racing YOURSELF, i.e. same driving habits (you vs you) ANY stiock 350Z from ANY year will beat the stock 3.5 coupe, period. I'll tell you right now the 6 M/T Z will get a car length out (I know because I owned) the TQ is just way more available off the get go plus even my ol '03 Z (287HP/274TQ) would take our 3.5's without a miss

[heeroguy]

Actually you're wrong. In rainy and snowy slippery conditions a FWD and AWD will destroy a RWD in terms of handling.

heh if we are talking performance why are we talking raind and snow?thats a whole another ball game and i agree with u, but if were racing i dunno about you but its dry out or i dont screw around

[heeroguy]

Performance production AWD cars, handle better than FWD of RWD. Hence the use of it in top european cars. The kings of automotive handling

u wanna talk kings of handling?

F1 = RWD =)

but the europen racers are very windy tracks they use AWD to be able to put thier power down and accelerate out of corners, they lose a lil handling but gain traction when stomping on the throttle..

its pretty simple the more weight and rotational mass on a wheel = less handling, now there are trade offs as well but if u want the ultimate in handleing on dry raods RWD is king

[NissanAltimaGuy]

I wouldn't think of tangling with a 350z, unless he starts it or it's all in fun like you and your brother.

If he starts it, and I lose, Oh well.

If he starts it and I win, well, lol.

[mcheddadi]

Absolutley not. The HR 350z will destroy you as well. Have been beaten by one myself. These are the 350z's I have raced from a 30- roll, and the outcomes. I was in auto mode.

06 350z hard top auto - equal to 80, then I start to pull away. Win.04 350z 6 speed - equal to 100, then he starts to pull away. Loss.07 350z hard top 6 speed - Gained margin on me the whole time. Loss by three car lengths.08 350z verty auto - Gained by a slightly less margin than the hard top, Loss by 2 car lengths. 04 G35 auto- We destroy 06 G35 turbo- Well....

What do you mean absolutely not? I did say in OPTIMUM TRACTION conditions. You can't break the rules of physics, so a car with a better power to weight ratio will win.

I'll use the bold tag, wait a sec...there:

in OPTIMUM TRACTION conditions.

p.s.: I'm talking about straight line acceleration, not slalom.

[nurseryboy]

I owned an 06 350z coupe 6spd before my AC, and, from my experience, the Z was quite a bit faster. Not only did it have that "put you back in your seat" feeling (which you definitely miss out on with CVT), but it was actually faster too. There's a place near my parents that from a stop sign to an overpass I could get up to 110 in the Z, and I can only get up to around 90 in the AC. I thought handling was a lot better in the Z too. I'm not a huge fan of FWD, especially with 270hp in the AC. I think that's too much for FWD. You'd think it would feel like you have more control than RWD, but I don't feel it. No matter.. couldn't drive the Z in the snow, and didn't like having to own a SUV just for the winter, so AC was the way to go. I'd trade in for a Z any day if I could drive it year-round, but for where I'm at, the AC is great and I'm lovin it

[LinkNuc]

Hey there Happy Valley, I confirm that the Z is impossible to drive inthe snow, after I wore my OEM potenzas down to slicks I replaced with All-Seasons not a real big help, but I could sort of go in LIGHT and I mean light snow, anyway my A/C does ok in the snow.

BTW

WE ARE!

[rjdmmfl1]

LinkNuc, I've seen reviews of the 03 automatic Z with a 1/4 mile time of 14.6 , and 0-60 in 6.1...

Its not far fetched at all that the CVT A/C would beat an Automatic early model Z...

[SuperHeero]

[Hussain]

LinkNuc, I've seen reviews of the 03 automatic Z with a 1/4 mile time of 14.6 , and 0-60 in 6.1...

Its not far fetched at all that the CVT A/C would beat an Automatic early model Z...

i ran a 14.4 100% stock and a 14.2 with my cat-back exhaust, and with no muffler attached i ran a 13.9 but i don't drive around with no muffler on lol so a stock CVT 3.5se altima coupe could win and with exhaust ya you'll beat a stock 350z with the VQ35DE (03 350z). well, i wonder what the 2003 stick shift 350z can run with a driver that can actually drive (which excludes every 350z owner in sac and elk grove lol)

[LinkNuc]

5.4 to 60 with 6-speed M/T, the auto is 5.8 , again stock vs stock you vs yourself the Z wins everytime

[rjdmmfl1]

5.4 to 60 with 6-speed M/T, the auto is 5.8 , again stock vs stock you vs yourself the Z wins everytime

wrong and wrong... back up your claims of the auto 350 Z with links, tests, not just speculation

why are you even talking about manual Z's.. did you even read the thread title????? AUTO 350Z vs CVT 3,5 A/C

and the auto 350 Z's stock times are very hard to find... but I've seen websites listing auto 350Z times around 6.3s 0-60 and 14.6 - 14.8 s 1/4 mile for 03 - 06 Z's stock...

http://autos.msn.com/research/...id=-1

A/C 3.5 vs auto 350 Z (03-05) = A/C FTW every time!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Modified by rjdmmfl1 at 11:26 AM 7/16/2008

[LinkNuc]

Let's not forget here skippie, I owned a 2003 Brickyard 350Z Touring 6M/T but here ya are:

http://www.modernracer.com/nissan350z.html

http://nissan.jbcarpages.com/Z/2003/index4.php

http://www.albeedigital.com/su....html

http://www.cardomain.com/MakeM...pts=1 6.2A/Chttp://www.edmunds.com/apps/vd...ber=1 6.0 A/C

http://www.motortrend.com/road....html