Early 350Z v Late 350Z v Early 370Z

[Shifter1]

Yorkshire_LY said:

Shifter1 said:

I think it only looks dated to people who likes the current ipad interiors. I particularly hate them and find them so tacky. Blame Tesla! Give me a nice set of analog dials anytime in a sports car.

The 370Z interior is not bad. The bad bits are all those hard plastics shining through. Sure that red and black interior looks tasteless to me. But that can be spec'ed differently. The plastics can't. But the real problem I have with the 370Z is the childish exterior design. If it wasn't so stubby and fat and didn't have those dreadful kindergartener designed headlights and taillights, it would look much better IMO. The 350Z is svelte in comparison and can look elegant if you don't slap ridiculously large wheels on them, tacky body kits and other things. The 370Z will always look crass to me. I appreciate it might drive nicely and be fun. I just can't get pass the looks.

I agree,only do subtle things to the 350Z - ive only sprayed my Rays a shadow chrome (much better imo) and thats it so far. I do think they look better a little bit lowered rather than stock height. The front end headlights look better on a 350,although i do like the slightly more aggressive rear to the 370.

Do you have a shot of your car?

[Yorkshire_LY]

My 350z :

[cerb4.5lee]

That does look well!

[Shifter1]

Yorkshire_LY said:

My 350z :

That looks great and how a 350Z should look IMO. Very tasteful.

[Shifter1]

Om said:

I agree on this. I find the interior a really pleasant place to be. Seats are comfortable and supportive for me. Mine are grey/black so a bit more understated in comparison, but the materials are by and large decent - there are only a couple of areas of 'hard' plastic (around the hatch/behind the seats) - it is mostly soft touch or similar and it definitely feels a different environmment to most regular cars. Mine is coming up for 10yrs old and all of the switchgear still works as it did from the factory and there are no creaks or rattles.

I'm not sure how soft to the touch it is, it has been a while since I sat in one. But that glovebox corner, and where the door meets the dash, top door card look so cheap. Just a big splash of shiny plastic.

People criticize GM and 90s interiors in general. But that right there looks as bad or worse in my opinion. If you would delete all the fake (are they real?) aluminium trim in the 370Z it looks no better than a 90's Supra, Mustang or Camaro. Infotainment and steering wheel not considered, of course.

[TameRacingDriver]

Yorkshire_LY said:

My 350z :

Agreed, that's very nice.

I've decided that I'm open minded as to what I end up with. There are arguments to be used both ways but I agree the 350 is aging gracefully and it's a good looking car. I think I'm probably best off just getting the best sub 10k example of any variant really.

The z4 coupe idea isn't dead either, I still really like those too.

[liner33]

For the 370 z GT is a trim level , there is the BASE 370 which came with cloth seats , smaller brakes and wheels no sat nav and few other mods and the GT which was bigger wheels, brakes, leather seats and was more "premium"

Discussions as whether the 370z is a proper GT are pretty pointless imo

The early DE 350z are getting long in the tooth a really good rust free one is hard to find, the 2006 (Rev UP) cars can be problematic with oil use and engine issues so you are really in the HR model if you want a good car , best of the 350z imo but pricey and as said they have issues with the oil gallery gaskets (As do pre 2013 370z's)

The plastic interiors of the 350z and 370z are pretty cheap and typically Japanese , they arent that robust and do show the age , the tech of both cars is pretty woeful also but can be improved in each

I've owned the 350z HR and a couple of 370z and feel the 370z is the better all round package, the 370z just feels a little more planted and more power towards the red line encouraging you to exploit the full rpm range the trade off is the stability means it doesnt feel as nimble though but they are way more analogue than modern cars

Some people find the 370z seats uncomfortable so a test drive is essential

I often think about getting a late 370z Nismo myself as I enjoyed my GT Editions

[coldel]

Good write up above. I would be aiming for an HR 350z if I was going for another one. And glad a Z4C isnt off the table as I think side by side they are the better car, lighter, better drive, better equipped, better interior (real aluminium plates on the dash nothing fake etc) and of course subjectively better looking cars.

In terms of modifying, I think its somewhat broad brush to just point and say tasteless. The 350z had a huge aftermarket opportunity and lots of cars were done well, I think the basic look wasn't quite as aggressive looking for what it was and felt a bit too passive and a bit roundy if there is a way of describing it. It most definitely benefited from some work especially with the standard alloys sunk back inside the wheel arches.

For my old 350z I didnt want to lower it, so I put on some Volks Racing 19" two piece alloys along with some side steps and front diffuser to give the illusion of a more aggressive planted car but still be able to deal with speed bumps! Also some subtle changes i.e. spraying black the inner parts of the door handles etc. Of course people went for full rocket bunny etc. but hey its their car its up to them, whats rubbish to your eyes is beauty to them so who are we to judge?

I would be aiming for an HR or 370z if I were buying, or at least give a few Z4s a test run as they will surprise those that judge them without actually ever been in one.

Anyway for posterity

[cerb4.5lee]

I'm loving the pics on the thread.

[TameRacingDriver]

Another nice Z there coldel and of course my thanks to everyone who has contributed into making this a much more interesting thread than I was ever expecting.

I would be daft to rule out the z4c I reckon. It does have an awful lot in its favour, cheaper tax in must cases, as you say, weight, a fabulous engine, very reasonable running costs and I'd swear my old auto was still the fastest car I've had in a straight line, it felt faster than my Boxster S or the 350ZR.

The main complaint, if you can really call it that, is the z4c was a little quieter than I'd like, but I'm sure a subtle exhaust modification would fix that (I'm already aware of the foam removal mod). There seem to be far fewer badly modified z4c's around too.

In all honesty I reckon I'm every bit as likely to go for a Z4C as the 350/370 and I do keep looking at them a fair bit still.

[coldel]

Yes the foam removal makes a huge difference when you rev the Z4 up (and have to point out also the Z4 revs better than the 350z I would say, a lot more rev happy and chases the red line). There is an option to have the back box modified to generate the noise you would want, some just remove it and put pipes on which can be interchanged back at MOT time. Otherwise you are looking at aftermarket exhausts in the £800+ range there arent many exhaust options for the Z4 unfortunately. Just bear in mind if you buy a 350z or 370z they are equally muted in stock form, you do though have cheaper options to modify the Cobra back box etc. are popular upgrades (I went with Berks sports cats and Miltek exhaust on mine)

[Yorkshire_LY]

coldel said:

Yes the foam removal makes a huge difference when you rev the Z4 up (and have to point out also the Z4 revs better than the 350z I would say, a lot more rev happy and chases the red line). There is an option to have the back box modified to generate the noise you would want, some just remove it and put pipes on which can be interchanged back at MOT time. Otherwise you are looking at aftermarket exhausts in the £800+ range there arent many exhaust options for the Z4 unfortunately. Just bear in mind if you buy a 350z or 370z they are equally muted in stock form, you do though have cheaper options to modify the Cobra back box etc. are popular upgrades (I went with Berks sports cats and Miltek exhaust on mine)

I do want another exhaust for my 350 as i think the stock is a little too quiet. But for around £500,what can i get?

[TameRacingDriver]

coldel said:

Yes the foam removal makes a huge difference when you rev the Z4 up (and have to point out also the Z4 revs better than the 350z I would say, a lot more rev happy and chases the red line). There is an option to have the back box modified to generate the noise you would want, some just remove it and put pipes on which can be interchanged back at MOT time. Otherwise you are looking at aftermarket exhausts in the £800+ range there arent many exhaust options for the Z4 unfortunately. Just bear in mind if you buy a 350z or 370z they are equally muted in stock form, you do though have cheaper options to modify the Cobra back box etc. are popular upgrades (I went with Berks sports cats and Miltek exhaust on mine)

Yeah I think I'd be happy just removing some sound deadening from the exhaust in reality, I was going to get bypass pipes for the Boxster until it was written off. Just enough to liberate a bit of 6 cylinder burble. I remember last time I had a z4c that exhaust choices were virtually none existent, one option was the 35i backbox but don't know how practical it is.

[Yorkshire_LY]

I will say one side note about driving something like a 350Z everyday - theres a certain 'thrill' that youre driving something so ANALOGUE,compared to the modern electric SUVs with the iPad dashboards,with all that tech on board. Pedestrian alerts - who need all that haha?!

Its just a simple naturally aspirated engine,RWD with an LSD - and all the analogue dials...and these kind of cars are getting rarer by the day.

[coldel]

Yes I agree, I am not a fan of these TVs that are jutting out on modern cars, I prefer tangible tactile interiors. From a pure driving perspective modern dashboards look very meh.

In terms of your exhaust option. For £500 and a bit more you can get a cobra back box which should help, they come in non and resonated depending on the noise. Another option which sounds great is to go sports cat and a motordyne XYZ pipe or similar, and keep the original exhaust, it gives off a great sound. There are options like this, but for a couple hundred quid more you can start to look at full systems.

[Mr Tidy]

TameRacingDriver said:

coldel said:

Yes the foam removal makes a huge difference when you rev the Z4 up (and have to point out also the Z4 revs better than the 350z I would say, a lot more rev happy and chases the red line). There is an option to have the back box modified to generate the noise you would want, some just remove it and put pipes on which can be interchanged back at MOT time. Otherwise you are looking at aftermarket exhausts in the £800+ range there arent many exhaust options for the Z4 unfortunately. Just bear in mind if you buy a 350z or 370z they are equally muted in stock form, you do though have cheaper options to modify the Cobra back box etc. are popular upgrades (I went with Berks sports cats and Miltek exhaust on mine)

Yeah I think I'd be happy just removing some sound deadening from the exhaust in reality, I was going to get bypass pipes for the Boxster until it was written off. Just enough to liberate a bit of 6 cylinder burble. I remember last time I had a z4c that exhaust choices were virtually none existent, one option was the 35i backbox but don't know how practical it is.

My 2nd Z4C came with a custom cat-back exhaust and my Z4MC has Powerflow back-boxes so you never know what you might find!

[rotaryjam]

I came from an MX5 ND to a 350Z and really like it.

It feels pretty big in comparison but for my driving it fits well (no B roads). I love the big hurly noise and torque. All the inputs feel great. My only complaint would be the slow steering.

I too considered a Z4C which seems like a very similar car, but prices for a similar car were nearly double so I went for the Z.

Managed to pick up an early one with 100k miles in good nick for £4250 last November.

I don't really understand the criticism of the interior?? It's a hell of a lot better than most cars I've had (90s sports cars) and is very well put together. By comparison, I had a 997 which rattled like mad...

[coldel]

rotaryjam said:

I came from an MX5 ND to a 350Z and really like it.

It feels pretty big in comparison but for my driving it fits well (no B roads). I love the big hurly noise and torque. All the inputs feel great. My only complaint would be the slow steering.

I too considered a Z4C which seems like a very similar car, but prices for a similar car were nearly double so I went for the Z.

Managed to pick up an early one with 100k miles in good nick for £4250 last November.

I don't really understand the criticism of the interior?? It's a hell of a lot better than most cars I've had (90s sports cars) and is very well put together. By comparison, I had a 997 which rattled like mad...

The interior is 'ok' for that era, the E86 Z4 that im in at the moment which was being produced at the same time is quality wise much better, from the real aluminium dash plates, to leather trimmed door panels the whole package inside is just better. Thats not to say the 350z isn't well equipped, it just wasn't of the same quality that say BMW was knocking out at the time.

[TameRacingDriver]

Yep I can agree as an ex owner of both that the z4 is in a class above when it comes to interior design and quality.

That said, thanks rotaryjam, always interesting to hear that take from someone driving a similar car to yourself.

The only thing that slightly concerns me about these cars is the B road factor. I tend to stick to A roads mostly for fun but living in the North East it's pretty much impossible to avoid going into a B road and many of these are single track, very rough roads, that I'd argue are just about fun in an mx5 but for anything bigger, maybe not so much.

[Unreal]

TameRacingDriver said:

Yep I can agree as an ex owner of both that the z4 is in a class above when it comes to interior design and quality.

That said, thanks rotaryjam, always interesting to hear that take from someone driving a similar car to yourself.

The only thing that slightly concerns me about these cars is the B road factor. I tend to stick to A roads mostly for fun but living in the North East it's pretty much impossible to avoid going into a B road and many of these are single track, very rough roads, that I'd argue are just about fun in an mx5 but for anything bigger, maybe not so much.

In which case you'll suffer in terms of the visibility lower down from a Z4. They are nice cars but not exactly an unusual sight on the roads if you want something that will turn a few heads.