First, If you owned a 300zx, you would know it is a 300zx, not a "300z".

Anyway, here are the primary differences:
300zx TT
- more horsepower than most 350zs. (370z has more than both)
- faster than the 350z
- easily modifiable to be MUCH faster than the 350z (400 hp is easy)
- in many cases lighter than the 350z
- transmission is more durable
- timeless design, adjustable suspension, T-tops allow open roof
- big hatchback for storage
- wheel hop on many cars is annoying
- injector failure, power steering pump, fuel pump, turbos are all prone to failure as car ages

350z
- much safer impact-wise, has up to six airbags per car
- stability control
- handling is much better than a stock 300zx
- braking is great, much better than 300zx (300zx always had weak brakes)
- intake and exhaust system is very good on stock configuration
- engine bay is much easier to work on than 300zx
- hatchback is occluded by rear strut bar
- modification is very hard and expensive
- engine and transmission are subject to issues on various years
- tire feathering is an eternal problem
- fuel pump failure and power window failure are common
- smaller interior than 300zx, no T-Tops (but a convertible is available)

370z
- most of what was said about 350z plus:
- more horsepower, up to 350 hp with Nismo version, which is getting comparable to a basically modified 300zx
- shorter and smaller, so less room, BUT hatch is not occluded
- transmission has similar issues to 350z
- beautiful looking design, arguably better than 350z
- many of the issues in the 350z have been corrected
- should probably be a "zx" model due to the lush interior features

Outcome: 300zx is getting too old to be reliable, but it is the ideal for making the fastest car. The 370z is the pinnacle of technology now, and is quick in stock form. If I had the cash, I'd buy the 370z or a used 350z with low miles, given that the 300zx is a money pit. The 370z is also going to be a blast to drive, and has the best handling so far.

 

I honestly regret selling my 94 300ZX more than any other car change I have made. Both are great, but the 300 was ahead of its time and still better looking than 99% of cars being made today.

Thought I'd keep it simple.

 

I've owned or driven every Z model there is and currently own a 280z, 300zx (z31), and 370z. If you have a 300zx TT in good working order then I wouldn't worry about getting a 350z or 370z. If however you have a non turbo 300zx or a 300zx in general that is just falling apart due to poor maintance then I would just get a 370z. The 350z was nice but the only ones worth getting are the 07-08 with the HR motor, but either way the 370z is the better car now. The way the 370z takes a corner is just crazy and obviously more power than any previous Z. Still, if you have a nice 300zx then why get in debt, just stick with your car. Or you could be like me and rather than getting rid of one to get another, you just add to the collection.

 

Great summary of the differences! Well done.
I'd just add that there have been overheating problems with the
370Z when the car is taken to the track, virtually necessitating
the addition of an oil cooler. That doesn't seem to be a problem with
the 350Z.

 

HOD-Z Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great summary of the differences! Well done.
> I'd just add that there have been overheating
> problems with the
> 370Z when the car is taken to the track, virtually
> necessitating
> the addition of an oil cooler. That doesn't seem
> to be a problem with
> the 350Z.


Actually the 350z has the same problem, just doesn't have an oil temp gauge like the 370z. Those few 350z owners who have aftermarket gauges report the same issues as the 370z owners. Also, let me clearly point out that this issue is only a problem with long track days. For basic drag or auto-x there are no problems. for road racing or long canyon runs it can become a problem. For a simple daily driver or weekend auto-x event there are no issues at all. During my auto-x days my oil temp has never gone above 220.

 

MaelstrØm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyway, here are the primary differences:
> 300zx TT
...
> - in many cases lighter than the 350z

It's the other way around. 300ZX TT was 3500-3600 lb., 350Z 3300-3400 lb, 200 lb. lighter-weight.

 

Hi Dan,

The 350z has become heavier and heavier since 2003, and the 2009 350z was brick heavy. The 300zx TT with manual transmission is about 3400 lbs.

The 2009 350z was 3575 lbs. (http://www.kbb.com/new-cars/nissan/350z/2009/specifications-technical?id=246300)

That means the heavier years of the 350z were nearly 100-200 lbs heavier than the 300zx TT. The 2003 350z Track models were lightest at 3250 lbs, with the luxury models at 3362 lbs, just under where the 300zx was. Thus, if you want the lightest possible Z, go and get a 370z, which comes in at 3232 lbs in 2009, and with 330+ hp.

 

Quickly perusing Edmunds.com (not *necessarily* a 100% reliable source), I get 3414 lb. for the earliest (1990) 300ZX TT, and 3247 lb. for the earliest (2003) non-convertible 350Z Touring model (heaviest model).

For the last year, I get 3502 lb. for a 1996 300ZX TT, and 3381 lb. for the last year (2008) non-convertible 350Z Grand Touring.

I.e., the heaviest 350Z (other than the 3500-lb. Nismo model, or the even-heavier convertibles) is lighter-weight than the lightest-weight 300ZX TT.

Which jibes with my memory of these cars' weights (something I pay particular attention to).

The 300ZX TT was heavier than the 350Z, not lighter.

 

I would agree with Dan on this as well. The 300zxTT was heavier than the average 350z. Also, the 300zx TT isn't faster than the 300zxTT as mentioned above. The 300zxTT ran anywhere from 13.7-14.0. The 03-06 350z ran anywhere from 13.8-14.1, which is roughly the same. The 07-08 350z ran anywhere from 13.4-13.6, but there are reports of few people running as low as 13.1. The 370z hasn't proven to be much faster yet but it also hasn't been out as long and the volume of Z's out there isn't the same as the 350z. Currently the fastest stock time I've seen is 13.1 with the average owner running 13.2-13.4. Given more time I'm sure we'll see someone break into the 12's stock.

 

Sorry, you have to provide real numbers, not just made up stats. Neither car would ever run 13.1, that is absolute fiction. They are both up around 14s, no amount of dreaming will shave off 1s. Here we go, real numbers and evidence:

When you run a stock 300zx TT against a 350z (2003-ish), the 300zx TT will beat the 350z in straight-line numbers by a small margin. The 350z is ever so-slightly-slower in stock form because the 300zx turbo was slightly under-reported in power, as was the Supra Turbo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeNZluEhydE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNMvX7NnOs

2003 350z - 287 hp, 274 ft-lbs, 3362 lbs weight. Final drive 3.538. This is 11.71 lbs/hp. Factory Reported 1/4 mile: 14.2s. Factory Reported 0-60: 5.9s.
http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=192

1990 300zx TT - 300 hp, 283 ft-lbs, 3483 lbs weight. Final drive 4.080. This is 11.61 lbs/hp. Factory Reported 1/4 mile: 14.1s. Factory Reported 0-60: 5.4s.
http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=243

And the far and away clear winner:
2009 370z Roadster - 332 hp, 270 ft-lbs, 3425 lbs weight. Final drive 3.692. This is 10.31 lbs/hp. Factory reported 1/4 mile: 13.43s. Factory Reported 0-60: 5.2s.

 

You guys have put up some good info and insight to the different vehicles and my car (1990 300zx tt) weighs 3974 without me in it and at half a tank. Darn heavy car lol.

 

MaelstrØm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, you have to provide real numbers, not just
> made up stats. Neither car would ever run 13.1,
> that is absolute fiction. They are both up around
> 14s, no amount of dreaming will shave off 1s.
> Here we go, real numbers and evidence:
>
> When you run a stock 300zx TT against a 350z
> (2003-ish), the 300zx TT will beat the 350z in
> straight-line numbers by a small margin. The 350z
> is ever so-slightly-slower in stock form because
> the 300zx turbo was slightly under-reported in
> power, as was the Supra Turbo.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeNZluEhydE
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJNMvX7NnOs
>
> 2003 350z - 287 hp, 274 ft-lbs, 3362 lbs weight.
> Final drive 3.538. This is 11.71 lbs/hp. Factory
> Reported 1/4 mile: 14.2s. Factory Reported 0-60:
> 5.9s.
> http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=192
>
> 1990 300zx TT - 300 hp, 283 ft-lbs, 3483 lbs
> weight. Final drive 4.080. This is 11.61 lbs/hp.
> Factory Reported 1/4 mile: 14.1s. Factory
> Reported 0-60: 5.4s.
> http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=243
>
> And the far and away clear winner:
> 2009 370z Roadster - 332 hp, 270 ft-lbs, 3425 lbs
> weight. Final drive 3.692. This is 10.31 lbs/hp.
> Factory reported 1/4 mile: 13.43s. Factory
> Reported 0-60: 5.2s.

**************************************************

Sorry, but that whole thing on that ENGLISH TV Show was staged........! Now if it was on a REAL Drag Strip I might believe it, but it wasn't. Those guys just didn't like the 350 and that was all there is to it, PERIOD............!!

BTW, in watching the tape, both cars ran their quarter in 10 seconds. hmmmmmm..?

 

Sorry, you have to provide real numbers, not just made up stats. Neither car would ever run 13.1, that is absolute fiction. They are both up around 14s, no amount of dreaming will shave off 1s.

2004 350Z 6speed 13.64 @ 102mph (link)
2007 350Z 6speed 13.15 @ 107mph (link)
2009 370Z Auto 13.1 @ 108 mph (link)

 

MaelstrØm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sorry, you have to provide real numbers, not just
> made up stats. Neither car would ever run 13.1,
> that is absolute fiction. They are both up around
> 14s, no amount of dreaming will shave off 1s.
> Here we go, real numbers and evidence:


How about you actually know what you are talking about before you post. Z33Driver beat me to it but it's been known for a while now that the 07-08 350z with the HR motor is quite capable of running low 13's. Try broading your knowledge of Z's instead of focusing on the Z32.

 

>How about you actually know what you are talking about before you post. Z33Driver beat me to it but it's been known for a while now that the 07-08 350z with the HR motor is quite capable of running low 13's. Try broading your knowledge of Z's instead of focusing on the Z32.

Haha, you guys are a laugh! You take the lowest reported numbers from the time slips at local tracks and count that as the lowest acceptable speed? Take a look at the mean and median of those numbers, it completely supports my assertion that the car runs around 14s! What is the error rate on those? If it is even 10%, then you'll get greater deviations than what you see. Do you know the air temperature at those tracks? Do you know that those cars were "100% stock"? What about tire size? This is the kind of armchair racing is BS. Go look at the median values and learn something about statistics.

The HR motor lowers the torque curve, even if it has slightly higher horsepower. I'm posting factory numbers and sources, which you have yet to disagree with. The link to the drag strip numbers above are subject to local conditions, air temp, altitude, etc.

Sheesh.

 

I just spent some time looking through the thread, and it's even worse than expected. It's self-reported and many conditions unknown. If you go and look at the time slip websites for the 300zx TT, you get some very low numbers too. I'll dig those up to show you how foolish your arguments are.

 

Is this guy really arguing that the HR 350z is no different in performance than the 03-06 350z?

 

If you were a simpleton, you might guess something like that.

What I am asserting:
1) Nissan Numbers - Nissan's official numbers report that between the first model year 350z versus the first model year 300zx TT, the 300zx TT is FASTER in stock form. Anyone who wants to dispute that will have to show that the numbers below are somehow not the numbers that Nissan reported, period.

2003 350z - Factory Reported 1/4 mile: 14.2s. Factory Reported 0-60: 5.9s.
1990 300zx TT - Factory Reported 1/4 mile: 14.1s. Factory Reported 0-60: 5.4s.

2) Compare Apples to Apples - The later 2007-2008 350z with HR engines are heavier than the 2003 350z. The torque curve is lower on the HR engines, however the HR cars are measurably faster than the earlier models. Conversely, the 1996 300zx TT was slower than the 1990 300zx TT.

3) Timeslips are NOT a good argument - if you want to compare the MINIMUM possible times for each car, you need controlled conditions, not some aggregate of self-reported timeslips on unknown condition cars. The Timeslip data posted above supports the notion that 14s is a target 1/4 mile time for the 350z, because the data is subject to statistical error. Also, you have not provided similar timeslip data for "stock" 300zx TTs. Therefore, the timeslip argument, without similar data for the 300zx is misleading and doesn't show much other than confirmation that Nissan was correct with their factory numbers.

4) I have owned both the Z32 TT and Z33 and have years of hands on experience with them.

I get the impression that some people are just butt-hurt that Nissan didn't outdo themselves with the 350z. However, this is ridiculous because, as I said above, the 370z is CLEARLY faster than everything before it, has better handling than everything before it, and is all-around the best car, maybe even a 13s car in the 1/4 mile. Stop being butt-hurt and get on with your life.

 

Wow i didnt mean for the thread to turn out like this.

 

1990z32 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow i didnt mean for the thread to turn out like
> this.

Thanks for asking the same question I was going to ask. Have a 94 NA now.
As for the whiners, I dont notice as much of that from the Z32 section.
(now just watch!)

 

If you can swing it keep the 300 and get a 370! I did just that. No way was I gonna "trade in my 300" for $4,000. I'll just keep it!

 

First if you are deploying, don't worry about a 350 til you get back. I saw an '03 for 13,500, it'll be below 10 in 2 years.
Second, keep the 300 regardless. Something about t-tops. I had a 90 NA and you just thought about touching the gas. That said, I test drove that '03 350 and it smoked. The numbers above are so close that it really won't matter for the most part. Besides, we know the 300 will get Barbie...must be the T-Tops ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8QKK5IDSXE&feature=related