For the first time in over 3 years, I was given the opportunity to drive a 350Z in semi-anger at the weekend, and I thought it might be worthwhile putting my thoughts down on paper for my own benefit as much as anyone else's.
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It's no secret that I'm looking to change cars at some point this year, and it's also no secret that the 350Z is firmly on the replacement list. When someone very kindly offered me a drive of their car, a car that I was to find out was modified in pretty much the same way I would do one, then it was an opportunity that was too hard to turn down.
The spec of the car reads as follows:
2003 coupe, approx 90k on the clock
HKS single turbo kit at 5psi, with FMIC and oil cooler.
Fuel return system and uprated injectors and pump etc
Uprev - tuned
DBA 4000 series all round, with ferodo DS2500 and braided lines and motul fluid
Braided clutch lines
BC Racing BR series coilovers/suspension upgrade, lowered 20mm
Eibach anti roll bars
Banana arm Super Pro bushes
Hard race adjustable camber arms and some Super Pro bushes on the back
Michelen PSS all round on Rays
Not exactly stock, but then that's exactly what I was after. Bar the turbo, it's very similar to how I left my old Roadster before I sold it, which I loved, so it made for the perfect test subject.
A confession first, of sorts. I've never driven a DE car (mine was a revup and my brother's a HR), and I've not driven a powerful FR car for a while either. It's also very hard to get in someone else's car and give it a good shakedown whilst staying within limits both myself and more importantly the owner were happy with! As such, I left the DSC on all the time, but that doesn't detract from my conclusions. The test drive consisted of some quick but twisty B-roads, and I drove those roads in the 911 first then in the 350.
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Getting in a car you're already owned before is like making love to a beautiful woman: First you eye the bodywork to make sure it still does it for you, then you check that the rubber is alright, then you open her up and slip inside. Given that the coupe was always the better looking car, and the tyres were my favourite MPSS, I popped the door and dropped into the stock seats.
Still as comfy as I remembered, and a seating position that was immediately setup for a focused drive. As I pulled away, I had forgotten that the gearshift could be a little awkward at times, and certainly my clutch control at low speed wasnt great, but I put that down to unfamiliarity with the car rather than anything actually wrong. The interior had a few little tweaks over standard, but it's still an early 350Z interior with all the pros and cons that come with that. Did I notice the dodgy plastics and stupidly placed hazard button? Not massively. What I will say is that I'd forgotten just what a clean and clear layout the car has.
I stayed off boost for a bit, as I wanted to make sure that the car was steering and braking true before any beans were given. With the mods to the car and the specific alignment it had, I have to say that it was one of the best steering cars I've driven full stop. The turn in was pin-sharp, belying the heavy front end. I had zero issues placing the nose exactly where I wanted it, which I was delighted about having driven MR and RR cars exclusively for a while now.
I only gave the brakes on serious workout, as this wasn't my car, but with the DBA & Ferodo combination here it was very easy to both lock the brakes (indicating I've got plenty of stopping power) as well as modulate the pedal for those tricky heel and toe shifts into a tight left-right complex of bends in 2nd. Truth be told, whilst obviously I have no experience of these on track in terms of fade, they felt the equal to the more expensive PF setup I had on my old car. Definitely worth the money.
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The suspension clearly wasn't stock either, and truth be told there were some issues with it from my POV. I had no complaints over the front end, but the rear seemed very lacking in grip and specially so trying to accelerate out of low-speed bends. It scrabbled quite a bit, however I will say the tyres were past their best and quite worn in the centre, indicating to me they were over-inflated. I adjusted the stiffness of the rear struts approx 5 turns stiffer past where the owner had them set to try and improve grip, which definitely helped. There remains a question over the diff itself, which the owner is going to look at replacing, and certainly after my drive I think that's not a bad plan at 90k miles.
You may think thats me slagging the car off, but far from it. Comparing the ride to my own 911, I would say there wasn't a huge amount in it. Sure, the 911 shrugged off bumps better and roll was far less, but given the relative cost I was seriously impressed with the BC setup. I run the same dampers & springs on the MR2 and am very happy with them, but it's good to know they work just as well on a much heavier car. Towards the end of the drive I was happy turning in and using the throttle to initiate a four wheel slide round the tightest of corners, and even though the DSC killed that idea pretty quick it still allowed it to start. This car is incredibly well balanced, and with the bushes and the ARBs in place it's a credit to the owner in choice of mods.
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Oh yeah, I'd never driven a turbo Zed before either. With just the single turbo on this setup, you may expect it to be lacking in oomph or subtlety: Not a jot. The power is estimated to be around 340bhp at the fly, and tbh I don't think you really need a whole lot more. Of course there's lag, but because it's only running very mild boost it's minimalised. It genuinely felt just like a much larger engine, and I wasn't expecting that. Throttle control was beautiful, no boost spikes at high RPM when exiting a corner, just a good slug of torque built up slowly. Almost SC in delivery, if you will. Make no mistake, on a track you might crave more power, but for the British B-road you simply do not want or need anything more. The 370Z guys running similar power must be very hapy with their cars, I suspect.
Did I notice the lack of revs compared to previous Zeds? Not really, or at least not as much as I thought I would. Of course I wanted the engine to rev out a little more, but everyone always does, and I don't really think it's as much of an issue on an FI car as with an NA one. The engine felt smooth, pulled nicely to the line and didn't have any awkward points in the mapping (the owner said there was one which I tried to find but couldn't. I suspect it's there, but you'd need to live with it to notice it).
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If every Zed came from the factory like this, they'd have sold an awful lot more. The handling is sweet, the power plentiful but controllable, and the confidence this car inspires in the driver is mesmerising. The owner of this car has put his money exactly where it should go: Not chasing lairy bodykits and adding weight, or chasing a billion horsepower, but by maximising the core ability of the car to make the driver feel involved. I'd forgotten just how good a 350Z can be, and whilst this was far from OEM it's also a superb machine that put a smile on my face and had me searching the PH classifieds for good examples when I got home. If a car can do that, then it's a very good one indeed.
Whilst my mind still isn't made up, and I still believe that a stock Zed can be massively improved upon, this particular car has truly convinced me that I'd be very happy with a 350Z in the garage again.
PS I've kept the owner anonymous as per their request, if you know who it is please don't post up here in public unless they give permission. Much appreciated, thanks.
PPS See, I can be positive about the 350!
