Fifth Gear Z4 vs 350Z

S

smorris_12

Senior member
 Somerset
This popped up on my YouTube over breakfast. Fifth Gear (remember them) had a head to head between the 2000's Zs:



(7 mins in if it doesn't take you straight there.)

I thought the 350Z was all turbos and corner vectoring software but it seems not (edit: oh, that was the Nissan GTR.)
 
Last edited:
I was getting confused with the Nissan GTR. I remember the bits Top Gear did on that one and they both look like wedge shapes to me. Probably been confusing them for the last 20 years!
 
  • Haha
Reactions: RMB
The Nissan 300ZX Turbo was probably the one you were thinking of. Original Nissan Super Car. Those were the days. Supra turbo. Mitsubishi 3000gt vr4 and of course the early skylines. Who needed European cars then. Of course I bought a Fiat. :eek:
 
  • Like
Reactions: RMB
I had a 300zx twin turbo, then a 350z, then a z4. The 300zx was a complicated tech fest of a car - very complicated plumbing under the bonnet being twin turbocharged and twin intercooled. Mine eventually grenaded itself and put a rod through the block.

The 350z that followed was lovely. Big, torquey 3.5 litre engine, lovely feelsome steering and butch controls. But a great cruiser and sounded great with a sports exhaust.

The z4 was a lot more nimble... a lot smaller, probably 200kgs lighter than the 350z. Very light controls so felt more dainty, but still fun. Great round a track when the 350z would have felt too heavy.

Obvious third choice would be a boxster, of which a 987.1 beats either a z4 or a 350z easily.
 
brillomaster said:
Obvious third choice would be a boxster, of which a 987.1 beats either a z4 or a 350z easily.
Click to expand...

I am an engineer. I can memorise email addresses, IP addresses, codes and patterns without a problem. I can tell you my first Switch card (remember them) number. I worked out how to decode barcodes when I was a teenager. I dial whole mobile numbers from memory. I use the phonetic alphabet.

But, for the love of Jebus, I haven't got the first bloody clue when people start quoting the bloody Porsche ISBN numbers. It must be hell in the Dog and Duck on a Friday night: "Oh, well I've got the new 987.1 which is miles better than the 983.1939.45 it replaced but nothing like the old 917.255.255.0 or the 992.992.992.992.992.992 Carerra dot RS dot Beetle dot replacement." Is it just that Porsche owners just look longingly at the back of Darren's Corsa with a selection of Halford's finest stick on letters on the bootlid and really just want a piece of that instead of worrying about whether or not a trip to the shops is going to ruin the resale value????

I'm going to have a cup of tea to calm down with a copy of the BT Phone Book.
 
I've driven both albeit in coupe form rather than soft top.

I was actually surprised at how well the 350 drove. Nice big, torquey V6 that sounded good and the controls are all hefty which I liked. It doesn't feel anywhere near as nimble as the Z4C and the straight 6 in the Z4C feel a bit racier to me. Interior on the Z4C is a bit more charming too.

A friend of mine had a 350z the same age as my Z4C and it's basically falling apart and he's going to have to scrap it as it won't pass an MOT with the amount of rust it has. It also had some weird timing chain issue that was 4 figures to put right so maybe not as reliable as the BMW.
 
Its not difficult, the only numbers you need to concern yourself with are 996, 997 and 991. Anything older or newer than that is unobtanium and irrelevant.

986 is the boxster equivalent of the 996.
987/987c is the boxster/cayman equivalent of the 997.
981 is the boxster equivalent of a 991.
.1 or .2 is the mid life refresh, like bmws LCI.

To be fair, bmw codes are far worse. Other than 'bmw' its all alphanumeric codes.
 
brillomaster said:
986 is the boxster equivalent of the 996.
987/987c is the boxster/cayman equivalent of the 997.
981 is the boxster equivalent of a 991.
.1 or .2 is the mid life refresh, like bmws LCI.
Click to expand...

Holy cr4p, I never matched up the last digit of the model code between the boxter/cayman and the 911. Mind blown and very simple now it's been pointed out, thanks.
 
My boss on one of my longer-term contracts had a 370Z that he swapped for a 370Z Nismo as a birthday gift to himself.

He went on and on about how well it sounded and handled, so when I gave him a go of my Z4MC he couldn't fathom how a car of similar weight and power could feel so different and raw.
 
I looked at a 370z once. But took one look at the low rent cheap plasticy interior and wrote the idea off immediately.
I also tried a 987S but not nearly as special as the S54 in my old E46 M3 and a lot more money at the time.
986 was the first Boxster w fried egg lights. Same style as the 996 911. Horrible imho
 
I would love to try a 370z at some point. Decent slug of power from an even bigger naturally aspirated engine... two slight problems, its a bit portly for use on track, and they're all in the highest tax band.
 
Off topic slightly, my son had a 1998 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Tiptronic (or 996.1, for smorris_12 :p ) and I would say the performance was very similar to my 2007 Z4 3.0Si Auto.

The major advantage was that the 911 was much more comfortable in which to drive longer distances since the suspension seemed much more compliant and didn't take your teeth out over rough roads.

The major disadvantage was that you never knew what was going to break next - it was in an almost continuous state of repair. It was more thirsty than the Z4, getting around 23mpg. It also leaked oil like a sieve and my driveway still suffers from the bleeding.
Have Porsche ever made a car that doesn't drip oil, apart from maybe the Taycan ?
 
Last edited:
smorris_12 said:
I am an engineer. I can memorise email addresses, IP addresses, codes and patterns without a problem. I can tell you my first Switch card (remember them) number. I worked out how to decode barcodes when I was a teenager. I dial whole mobile numbers from memory. I use the phonetic alphabet.

But, for the love of Jebus, I haven't got the first bloody clue when people start quoting the bloody Porsche ISBN numbers. It must be hell in the Dog and Duck on a Friday night: "Oh, well I've got the new 987.1 which is miles better than the 983.1939.45 it replaced but nothing like the old 917.255.255.0 or the 992.992.992.992.992.992 Carerra dot RS dot Beetle dot replacement." Is it just that Porsche owners just look longingly at the back of Darren's Corsa with a selection of Halford's finest stick on letters on the bootlid and really just want a piece of that instead of worrying about whether or not a trip to the shops is going to ruin the resale value????

I'm going to have a cup of tea to calm down with a copy of the BT Phone Book.
Click to expand...
So what's an ISBN number. Oh and don't panic, I have heard of Porsche and Octal is a second language to me. ;)
 
I had a 2007 Rev-up 350z about 12 years ago and tbh, it really wasn’t a great ownership experience. Unfortunately it was a model renowned for severe oil consumption and the gearbox had knackered syncros due to a failing clutch master cylinder. This also destroyed the dual mass flywheel and made it a bit of a pig to drive.

It was a 1 owner car with full and regular main dealer servicing, so thought I was getting into something good. In hindsight I shouldn’t have gone for it but it did teach me a lesson in making better car purchasing decisions.

From memory, the engine was very eager in the upper revs but down low didn’t feel appreciably faster than the diesel fiesta it replaced!

Despite being down a little on power in comparison, my 30i E89 is a much better all rounder and with suspension upgrades, a better handling car. Oh and there is absolutely no comparisons to be made on interior quality. The 350z, even in facelift guise is dire.
 
Some interesting observations on here.

When I started thinking about getting my first E86 I was also considering a 350Z, but after my first test drive in an E86 I knew that what was I wanted - it sounds like I didn't miss anything not trying a 350Z!
 
A work friend and neighbour had a 350Z. In the days before speed cameras in these parts, we would dual up the hill nearby. It was a match for my Fait Coupe 20vt. But once the ///MR arrived it was consigned to a spec in the rear view mirror. His Renault engine gave up the ghost, after around 100k. So I would not consider a second hand one.
 
350z/370z have often come up in my searches, but I've never considered them for long because:

  • Interior looks awful
  • Convertible version looks odd
  • Running costs and performance don't seem to match
  • Interior looks AWFUL

Looks like some bargains on autotrader though, would probably look again if I was in the market for a £5k coupe as a toy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RMB
A mate had a 370Z recently and I drove it a fair bit. Heavier and not a agile as my Z4C, nice bit of torque, but sluggish to be honest. The subframes were rotted beyond belief and the gearbox self destructed it's top gears and couldn't work out what gear it was in. It went back to the dealer who couldn't get if fixed and it got messy. He walked away with a loss. It had around 80k on the clock.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom