G35 vs. 350Z

[joe603]

What are the differences between the two cars? I know the 350 doesn't have a back seat, and the G is the "luxury" version...but what about the engine/drive train? Any notable differences in performance?

[AZhitman]

Same engine / drivetrain. The G is a bit heavier, so it's not as fast, but I've read reports that it actually outdoes the Z on the skidpad and braking.

They're virtually identical.

[C-Kwik]

I suspect the tires used may make a difference. It would be nice to see a test done on both cars on the same day with the same tires. I'd speculate the Z may come out with a slight advantage. The Z was usually tested with Bridgestone RE040's vs the G35 coupe's Michelin Pilot Sports. While it's impossible to say without a direct comparison, I think it would certainly make a difference. The Anniversary 350Z posted better test results than the first tests in Road and Track and I think it was using RE050's.

[joe603]

I agree that tires make a huge difference!

I just thought that the 350Z was like a corvette vs. camaro...Same engine, but de-tuned on the camaro. Its nice to know that they kept the quality up. (maybe that's why the american automakers are in trouble...)

[Bugaboo]

In a 2003 edition of sport compact car they have the Z 0.2 quicker for 0-60 and 0.3 quicker in the quarter mile. They list the G35 coupe 188 lbs heavier than the Z. The big difference is in the salom. Z was 0.88 g's and the G35 coupe at 0.93. Also the G35 is 7.9 inch's longer than the Z.

[joe603]

Wow! almost 8 inches longer...is the wheelbase the same? I uas under the impression that the cars were almost identical, and the added weight came from the back-seat/noise deading material.

[Q45tech]

Z shorter wheel base is the problem in some versions of slalom/skid pad tests.Longitudinal Transfer weight higher is shorter wheel base vehicles in decel/accel.

[Q45tech]

104.3 vs 112.2 WB..............trade off in polar moment of inertia vs longitudinal transfer from CG during accel/decel.

"Unless the vehicle is very short, compared to its height or width, these are about equal. Angular inertia determines the rotational inertia of an object for a given rate of rotation.

The yaw angular inertia tends to keep the direction the car is pointing changing at a constant rate. This makes it slower to swerve or go into a tight curve, and it also makes it slower to turn straight again. The pitch angular inertia detracts from the ability of the suspension to keep front and back tyre loadings constant on uneven surfaces and therefore contributes to bump steer.

Angular inertia is an integral over the square of the distance from the centre of gravity, so it favors small cars even though the lever arms also increase with scale (wheelbase and track). (Since cars have reasonable symmetrical shapes, the off-diagonal terms of the angular inertia tensor can usually be ignored."

"Weight transfer (sum of front and back), in steady cornering, is determined by the ratio of the height of a car's centre of gravity to its track. Differences between the weight transfer in front and back are determined by the relative roll stiffness and contribute to the over or under-steer characteristics. When the weight transfer equals half the vehicle's loaded weight, it will start to roll over. This can be avoided by manually or automatically reducing the turn rate, but this causes further reduction in road-holding. (A collision may be preferable to a rollover.) "

The 350z has 3" less body height than G35 thus Z's CG is ~ 0.8" lower.

[joe603]

good read, thanks!

[C-Kwik]

Just a quick note. I recently put RE040's from a Z on the G. They had 500 miles on them and came with stock touring Z wheels. Anywhoo, I swapped the tires onto the G and I'm not impressed. They are stable and grip well, they don't grip as well as the Pilot sports that came with the car or the S-03's I just pulled off. The rear in particular, breaks loose easier. They are also quite noisy. They had only been used 500 miles before I got them and they were noisy the first day I drove on them. I can only speculate, but I'm certain the Z would have a little better performance than it currently does with better tires. I wonder if it could have made the difference in the sports car comparison that Road and Track did last year with the 35th anniversary Z. I'd love to see some tests with the 06 Track Z. The fatter meats with RE050's may help bump up handling slightly. Interestingly, of the 9 cars in the Road and Track test, the Z was the only car to use less than a Max Performance Tire.

[G35is4me]

What are the differences between the two cars? I know the 350 doesn't have a back seat, and the G is the "luxury" version...but what about the engine/drive train? Any notable differences in performance?

Hey! This is my first post but I'd like to say there are a few differences. I just purchased a 2005 G35 in December............love it! My husband has a 350Z and he, of course loves it! The G is a bit longer and has the back seat. I like to drive both but the Z of course is sportier. The G is much much quieter too!

[Crmd37]

In a 2003 edition of sport compact car they have the Z 0.2 quicker for 0-60 and 0.3 quicker in the quarter mile. They list the G35 coupe 188 lbs heavier than the Z. The big difference is in the salom. Z was 0.88 g's and the G35 coupe at 0.93. Also the G35 is 7.9 inch's longer than the Z.

ONLY 188lbs heavier? damn i read somewhere a while ago that the difference was a lot more...that's so weird and now when i double check you're right! I have to get mine weighed when I dyno it now, haha, don't know how much exactly my stereo weighs!

[skyline]

I have had the privilege to sell one of the first delivered 350z's in Houston. Sold and driven them hard. I now work for Infiniti. I personally sell an average of eight G35 Coupes per month. The bulk of those clients have test driven the Z which, by the way, Nissan dealers are averaging 1 to 5 units sold per month per dealer despite the substantially lower price of the Z compared to the G. The Z is also easier to get substantial discounts from the MSRP than the G. The automatic transmission in the Z is a slow dog. The G's automatic transmission is faster than the Z’s automatic and was actually faster than the G35 6MT before the 2005 changes that increased the horsepower and rev limit of the 6MT (an effort to make the G's 6MT more appealing to enthusiasts). Obviously the G rides smoother and quieter than the Z. But remember, the G has a significantly longer wheelbase with a more advanced suspension. The Z's suspension is very, very unforgiving. The rigidity of the Z's suspension causes the body to resist the turn so much that the tires tend begin chopping & skipping when in a curve. The G's smoother more advanced multi-link setup is better. The multi-links in the G's suspension are far more refined and there are more links to better manage terrain changes and chassis recovery when slaloming or aggressively turning. The standard Vehicle Dynamic Control works more efficiently because the suspension and chassis aren’t battling. The tires aren't the advantage for the G because those tires (G tires) wouldn't last very long with the Z. The G sits low and has a longer wheel base giving it greater stability at higher speeds and a larger footprint gives you better slalom capability. G has a sunroof where as the Z, well, you'd have to by the Z-Roadster which sacrifices structural rigidity and is not really a performance vehicle. The list gets longer but we’ll leave it at this for now.

[C-Kwik]

Sorry, but the Z is selling more than the G right now. Take one look at nissannews.com and you'll see february 2006 saled figures and 1,643 G coupes were sold while 2,249 Z's were sold. 2005's December year to date totals reflect more sales of the Z The difference isn't substantial, but certainly not even remotely close to what you suggest. And as far as per dealer sells, you have to understand, there are substantially more Nissan dealers than Infiniti dealerships. So, but the bigger picture is that the 350Z does indeed sell a bit more than the 350Z.

That being said, I must also retort much of your technical arguments. I'm curious as to where you are getting data about the AT. They are the same. How is one faster than the other?

And the suspension? Aside from the recent addition to the G of the active rear steer(sounds alot like the Super HICAS system of old), it's not any different. And if the active rear steer is indeed similar to the HICAS system, then it is technically only really an active toe system. It's not going to make miracles of it's handling. The rest of the suspension uses the same parts other than perhaps spring rates, sway bar stiffness, and shock valving. And how exactly would a suspension arm act in a more refined manner anyways? All they do is control the angle of the wheels throughout their range of compression and rebound motions. The springs, shocks, swaybars and perhaps bushings are the factors that control the resistance in the suspension in either direction. A stiffer suspension in any car tends to increase overall responsiveness. All cars will resist turning. In fact with all else equal, a car with a soft suspension and the same car with a hard suspension will have the same resistance against the suspension when turning at the same rate. A car with a softer suispension will have to compress more to reach the same load on the suspension. And this load is reactionary to the turning movement and will always exist under that turning load. And I would love to hear your technical explanation as to how this causes VDC to work differently.

And tire wear? hmm? So far, I am on my 3rd set of tires at 25,000 miles. Are you saying the G actually has great tire wear? Or that tire wear will be worse on a Z with tires that come with the G? If there is any worse tirewear on the Z, it'll be a result of alignment differences. Particularly those that are probably adjusted in favor of performance.

Seriously though. You're write up really has no technical merit. Feel free to respond with some if you'ld like. I love a good discussion. Welcome to the club. But if you would like to make a technical argument, then please provide some technical reasoning or evidence to support it.

[ZrealSoon]

Can you install all of the NISMO parts for the Z on the G? Parts such as the R-tune camshaft...and cat back.. (looks like a good upgrade rigtht?)

[joe603]

I know you can do the CAT-back...and I'm sure you can do the CAM, but any "R" spec (race) NISMO part will void your warranty. Only "S" spec (street) parts will retain the factory warranty.

[9095240SXDUCK]

I have had the privilege to sell one of the first delivered 350z's in Houston. Sold and driven them hard. I now work for Infiniti. I personally sell an average of eight G35 Coupes per month. The bulk of those clients have test driven the Z which, by the way, Nissan dealers are averaging 1 to 5 units sold per month per dealer despite the substantially lower price of the Z compared to the G. The Z is also easier to get substantial discounts from the MSRP than the G. The automatic transmission in the Z is a slow dog. The G's automatic transmission is faster than the Z’s automatic and was actually faster than the G35 6MT before the 2005 changes that increased the horsepower and rev limit of the 6MT (an effort to make the G's 6MT more appealing to enthusiasts). Obviously the G rides smoother and quieter than the Z. But remember, the G has a significantly longer wheelbase with a more advanced suspension. The Z's suspension is very, very unforgiving. The rigidity of the Z's suspension causes the body to resist the turn so much that the tires tend begin chopping & skipping when in a curve. The G's smoother more advanced multi-link setup is better. The multi-links in the G's suspension are far more refined and there are more links to better manage terrain changes and chassis recovery when slaloming or aggressively turning. The standard Vehicle Dynamic Control works more efficiently because the suspension and chassis aren’t battling. The tires aren't the advantage for the G because those tires (G tires) wouldn't last very long with the Z. The G sits low and has a longer wheel base giving it greater stability at higher speeds and a larger footprint gives you better slalom capability. G has a sunroof where as the Z, well, you'd have to by the Z-Roadster which sacrifices structural rigidity and is not really a performance vehicle. The list gets longer but we’ll leave it at this for now.

LOL I am not going to really going to quote you about the G35 out sale the Z. Because I work for a Nissan Dealer, and we cant even keep ours on the lots. And I see more Zs on the road the G35! Not everyone can pocket out a 33+ on a G35 (mind when new the MSRP was $38.$%^, thats what the org owner payed)but more people can pocket out 26+ for a Z! So I think you should 2X check you Info!