I'm not a huge Z fan for their straight line performance and would think the same thing. But the magazines and Z owners would have you believe they are low 13 second cars right out of the box????

 

I guess that all depends on who is driving the car right?

There have been people who took stock s197 GTs to low 13s. Same with the Challenger R/T.

What the car is capable of, and what the average driver can do with it, are two different things quite often.

 

Exactly. That's why I like to go down to the strip and watch. By the end of the night you'll have a good idea what average joe is gonna do behind the wheel.

 

Like I said... I've owned both and my Z was quicker. The Z's problem though is that it's limited in how much power you can make while staying NA. I had just about every bolt-on possible and only made 40 rwhp more than stock. An S197 3V makes 40 rwhp with just a tune, cat-back and an intake.

 

40rwhp from a n/a 6cyl is pretty damn impressive in my opinion...thats alote actually...us new edge guys r lucky to get a extra 35rwhp with full bolt ons...i heard the 350z dont even respond to bolt on mods tho.

 

the car i raced is an automatic if that helps any.

 

Uh wut? A cat back does practically nothing for these cars. Unless we're talking about removing the cats entirely and having just a straight midpipe. An intake and a tune is not gonna come even close to netting 40rwhp.

 

Well, 30hp gain and weight reduction will make for a pretty good difference.

 

I guess. It weighs 100 lbs. less than the 350.

Still gonna be pretty close though especially considering it only gets another 10ft. lbs worth of torque over the 350.

Realistically it'll be less than 2 tenths faster than the 350 IMO.

 

on the highway my Lincoln LS beat a orange 2003-2004 350Z by a 1/2 car... race was like 60-120/130MPH, plate read "MNSTRZ"... thought it was funny

IDK, with my stock lincoln running 14.7 @ 98MPH on a 2.4 60ft, I'd say a Z's straight line performance leaves something to be desired for a "sports car"


back when I owned my basic bolt on automatic 2V the 2003-2006 Z's were pretty much fodder for it and I was making 24XRWHP... 10 less than the OP

an older Z is not going to be faster than a 3V GT... sorry