"Put in a CD with the engine soundtrack of a 'Vette," Romans advised me Thursday afternoon as I headed off on a camping trip to Big Sur. "And bring earplugs for the road noise."
In a characteristically pithy 18 words, our sage Senior Automotive Editor had summed up everything that's seriously wrong with the 2009 Nissan 370Z.
All this car needed was for someone with clout to swoop in during product testing and say, "Hey! Priorities, guys, priorities! This is a sports car, so why doesn't it sound like one? And it's all well and good that the interior is nicer than a G37's, but why does it have more road noise than an '87 Pathfinder?!"
If Nissan takes care of these two issues, I want one. Because after 800 miles in the Z this weekend, I've realized that I'm on board with pretty much everything else.
Note the qualifying phrase "pretty much." The Z does have a few other foibles that are worth mentioning. To wit: the Bose stereo is unimpressive with a CD and downright awful with an iPod, the shifter grinds too easily on quick 1-2 upshifts and 3-2 downshifts, and while I still say the Z's suspension is supple by sports-car standards, the short wheelbase and minimal suspension travel conspired to beat me up a bit over the 5 Freeway's rapid-fire expansion joints -- so I can understand why there have been some complaints about the ride.
But the rest of this car is so good, so thoughtfully designed and expertly executed, that I don't really care.
Steering: wired-to-your-brain responsive at all speeds, yet confident and composed on the highway.
Body motions: tightly controlled, but with just enough roll that you can feel the car take a reassuring set as it rockets out of corners.
Engine: awesome V8-like tractability at low rpm. Reminds me a lot of the e46 M3's similarly powerful inline-6, actually, except with some extra bottom end and a little less high-rpm kick (or maybe it's just that the Bimmer sounds a whole lot better up there).
Interior
: this deserves its own post, but in a nutshell, the attention to detail in the Z's cabin is simply remarkable for a sports car at this price point, from the stitching running through the center stack and console to the soft-touch dash, signature knee-pads and suede-like padded armrests.
Styling: I still don't dig the jagged headlights and the gaping maw, but this is hands-down one of the most interestingly styled cars on the road.
Moral of the 370Z's first year of production? Fix the engine note and Dynamat the hell out of the floor and wheel wells, and all that "budget Cayman S" noise will start to make a lot of sense.
Josh Sadlier, Associate Editor, Edmunds.com @ 9,155 miles
carguy622 says:
02:17 PM, 07/ 6/09
I've got to hand it to Nissan, they took an already great 350z and refined it into the 370z. Now if the next 370z (maybe turbo?) addresses the road noise and engine sounds then it really will be an all around knock out.
I think we have the Infiniti G35 to thank for the Z though, I don't think Nissan would have bothered to make the sports car without the much more profitable, practical, and better selling G35 as it's platform base.
Now if Toyota would just make a sporty Toyota coupe based on the Lexus IS...
joeo26 says:
02:29 PM, 07/ 6/09
But if they do what you say and refine it even more, and pile on another 4000 dollars; what separates it from its more mature brother - the G37? Isn't that the point of the two?
clarkma5 says:
02:34 PM, 07/ 6/09
I say skip the touring model with the sport package...now you're in a car that's thousands of dollars cheaper, no mediocre Bose stereo (not like the standard stereo would be an upgrade, but at least you didn't pay through the nose for it), 18 inch wheels with a bit more sidewall for a little more ride comfort and hopefully less road noise, no body kit so less worries about curbs and speed bumps, no waste-of-time viscous LSD, no slippery leather seats. Take the money you save and put it toward an oil cooler and a real diff and you're done in my book.
subytrojan says:
02:54 PM, 07/ 6/09
More sound deadening = weight
Shifter grinds? Please elaborate if you can, Josh.
SadButTrue says:
03:07 PM, 07/ 6/09
@joeo26,
Interesting question. I think Nissan erred in devoting so much time and money to the interior -- they should have devoted some of those resources to fixing the engine note at least. But the interior's not going anywhere now, so I was trying to be constructive in my criticism. Honestly I don't think fixing the engine note would encroach on the G37's territory, because a good-sounding engine is expected in a sports car. And the road noise is just ridiculous. I'm not saying make it a luxury car, but find a happy medium, because this is not acceptable.
@Suby T,
Add 50 pounds of Dynamat and the Z is still going to be really fast and handle really well, except no earplugs required.
Re: gear-grinding, the linkage just doesn't like to be rushed on those shifts. In a Miata or S2000 or M3, you can shift as quickly as your left foot and right hand can move; in the Z, you have to wait an extra split-second on the 1-2 and 3-2 or else grraauuunch. Maybe something's busted about 2nd gear, or maybe those shifts are just unusually taxing, I dunno.
-JS
slickersdrip says:
03:12 PM, 07/ 6/09
Not to sound snarky, but for the money that you guys dropped onto things like brakes for the 2002 M3, the tune for the 135i, or the countless things you've added/subtracted to the Evo GSR-- how about an aftermarket exhaust for the 370Z?
The posts are getting redundant about how much you hate the exhaust note. Personally I haven't spent any time in or around the 370Z, but have spent a fair share of time around the 350Z and G35 and think they both sound fantastic--a manufacturer has bound to have tried to at least replicate that sound.
SadButTrue says:
03:16 PM, 07/ 6/09
@slickersdrip,
A quick response before we head off down this road again:
The 370Z's issue is ENGINE note, not EXHAUST note.
A distinctive tuned exhaust like the 350Z/G35 and G37 (absent on the 370Z for some reason, incidentally) sounds nice from outside. But for the purposes of this post, I don't care what it sounds like from outside.
By "engine note" I mean the sounds coming at you through the firewall. Tuned exhaust got nothin' to do with that.
Clear?
-JS
slickersdrip says:
03:19 PM, 07/ 6/09
Alrighty Josh-- I'll have to test drive a 370Z to see what you're talking about. I'm exposed on a daily basis to an engine with a turboback exhaust so I'm probably biased.
huyracing says:
03:31 PM, 07/ 6/09
Josh: I keep tellin' ya... get an intake and see if that helps. If not, dynamat the firewall along with the rest of the car.
umiami350z says:
03:32 PM, 07/ 6/09
So why not try an intake? Thats a hell of alot cheaper than an exhaust and its done nothing but add character to cars ive owned in the past. It doesnt even have to be a cold air, just get some JWT popchargers, simple install and it made my 350z sound so good that I know longer felt the need to add an exhaust.
SadButTrue says:
03:39 PM, 07/ 6/09
@huyracing and umiami350z,
I hear ya. I floated this idea in the office after my first spin in the Z, but that was before anyone had an intake available for it. I'll try again. I bet you'll see us swap one in before the Z's year is up.
umiami350z says:
04:08 PM, 07/ 6/09
Sounds good!
Straight from JWT's website-
"In addition to a 6.5 to 10 WHP improvement, the tone of the engine due to the dual 6ā€¯ venturis is definitely the most beautiful sound ever heard from a VQ engine!"
Sounds like just what we need
compliance says:
04:15 PM, 07/ 6/09
Nissan bias! Nissan bias!
;)
majin_ssj_eric says:
05:48 PM, 07/ 6/09
I guess I'm just gonna have to drive a 370Z for myself to find out what the hell you guys are on about. I just find it hard to believe that the very same engine that sounds so good in the cabin of my G37S could possibly sound that bad in the 370Z.....
trentor says:
09:27 PM, 07/ 6/09
I agree. The VQ motors have always been annoyingly noisy. My 06 350z was noisy and my 05 G35 is as well. They've done a better job with sound deadening on the G37s though.
However, I HIGHLY second the motion to install a JWT intake. It makes all the difference in the world and complements the exhaust note well. It'll make you want to give it half throttle, if not WOT, from every stoplight just to hear that VQ growl.
SadButTrue says:
09:34 PM, 07/ 6/09
@majin_ssj_eric,
I think I've said this before (and trentor just beat me to it), but the G37 has obviously got a lot more sound-deadening material on the firewall. Night and day difference between the two engine notes. G37's still a bit rowdy/coarse-ish near redline, but it's nothing like the Z.
bkochuk says:
06:25 AM, 07/ 7/09
does adding an air intake void the warranty?
crowb says:
07:38 AM, 07/ 7/09
bkochuk,
It shouldn't void the warranty unless the dealer can prove that the new part directly resulted in the car having an issue.
Most good after market manufacturers will back their products and go to the mat with the dealer if their parts are called into question. I know K&N is very good about this. My product rep gave me one for my Si to try it out. It sounds amazing, and reading through their literature it sounds like they would step in if their intake caused any problems.
kingkhalas says:
03:30 PM, 07/ 7/09
They need to copy the new ford mustang with that sound tube from the engine to the cabin.
mopho says:
09:49 AM, 07/ 9/09
My experience agrees. The VQ puts up some fine numbers, but it doesn't feel very good doing it, and sounds even worse.
dat2 says:
05:15 PM, 07/29/09
JWT FTW!!
Also what about that "Stage 3" VQ37 intake from Stillen with a claimed 20 hp kick????