Yes, it's all personal preference but let me say this: If i am spending $55k CDN on a sportscar, i'm sure as hell going to get one which was specifically designed to be a sportscar. I could care less that it's a little noisy or high-revving around town. It's a sportscar not a family car. If i wanted a quiet car, i'd buy a sedan. And this is exactly the reason why i don't like the 350Z. It's dull in comparsion.

No idea what Afg is talking about with respect to the VQ engine. Yes, i know what VQ is and yes i saw the results of that stupid Wards top 10 but who cares? It means nothing about the powerplant of a sportscar. It's still just a big heavy sportscar wannabe with a sedan type engine.

ok, these vague "best" categories are starting to annoy me. yes, the S2000 probably beat most engines out there for HP/liter. at least in the passenger vehicles. how does it do it? well, it goes to ridiculously high RPMs. that's why F1 cars can get close to 800 hp out of 3 liters--they rev to over 17000 RPM. But for normal everyday use, i hate those high revving engines. they're too whiney. but I'll concede that's just a personal preference.

as for the nissan engine being mounted sideways to reduce the effect of gravity.. umm, where did you get that from? I doubt the effect of gravity is going to rob engine power to any significant degree. plus it's a V-6, so even if you mount it sideways, you're going to have fight gravity. The boxer engines are the ones that probably would do best in this regard--they're flat.

but again, i have no idea if such a layout actually gives you HP boost.

just a picture of 350Z engine: us1.webpublications.com.au

and here it's in a car: images.autobytel.com

so to me it looks like it's mounted straight, with the cylinders facing up.

or am i understanding you wrong APC?

The link is not working so if you want to see it copy and paste this
put the HTTP : than paste the following:

//subscribers.wardsauto.com/Microsites/index.asp?srid=10088& pageid=9608& siteid=26& magazineid=1004& srtype=1

P.O.S. naseeb I hate these villages.

Okay retype on my reply


How am I not making sense?? I am talking about the engine of the vehicle, must have you noted in your first reply. Let me quote you on it:

Distinguished wrote:

that's what happens when you build a high strung motor from scratch instead of taking the same boring 3.5L V6 that you have in your family car and sticking it into your supposed sports car

Did you not mention engines?? Okay well I tried to explain to you what kind of engine the vehicle had - which is a VQ engine (did you know that engines have names and placement??) which is a award winning world renown engine that has been placed since its debut in the TOP 10 engine list of best engines in Wards magazine. Wards magazine - as I had already explained it is a highly recognized magazine and article that is used to compare the engines - read both by automakers and car enthusiasts.

If you go were to Goggle "Wards Top 10 Best Engines" you would see what I am talking yet

Better yet here is a subscribers.wardsauto.com pageid=9608& siteid=26& magazineid=1004& srtype=1

I do not see the S2000 engine mentioned - the one that "I know for a fact that the Automotive engineers ranked the F20C(S2000 engine) as the best engineered engine in the world and it beat the Ferrai Modena V8 to do it"
Yet it is not recognized by Wards? Please provide me the links and facts to back up your statement.

Anyhow I think I am speaking on a different level for your surface car lovers =)

At least you agree that an s2000 should not be compared against the 350z, Porsche, Audi TT or Z4 - it should not even be placed on the sports car platform. I think it should go up against the Honda Civic Si and possibly smaller sized compacts whom sport a souped up 4-cylinder engine =)

Distinguished - if you do not know what Wards is than you don't know engines and I even placed a post telling you what it is. I even had a friend come read my post and it made complete sense to them. If you don't know than of course it won't make sense. Sorry maybe I thought you knew more about cars....

Please show me where the S2000 engine was ranked as best engineered.

You still made absolutely no sense Lisa. Who is wards? Never heard of them.

I know for a fact that the Automotive engineers ranked the F20C(S2000 engine) as the best engineered engine in the world and it beat the Ferrai Modena V8 to do it.

Nissan makes the same engine for all those cars you listed. I'm not 100% certain as i am not a Nissan guy but i bet they just bumped the compression on the 350Z with perhaps some different/lighter internals. It's the same 3.5L V6.

GB is right. You cannot compare a S2000 or 350Z to a 911. Definitely a different league. JD Power is a quality measure like Fisaw pointed out.

Keep in mind, this is measured on what customers have reported. I'm not certain but i can bet my sheep that domestic car owners don't even go to the dealer for maintenance, thus the reason why you see companies like Cadillac in there....(i don't have a sheep). Anyways, i can go on for hours but i'll stop now.

FYI for those who did not know - Wards places a yearly list of the TOP 10 engines out there.

Okay my bad - I totally confused my Porsche's, (oops mistake on Lisa's bad - FIRST of a few) It is up against the boxster that the 350z kills, I think it must have been a typo or mistake on JD Powers fault.

Secondly Distinguished for someone who mentions engines you should know what I am talking about - in his post he stated that the engine of the 350z is used in their sedans and other vehicles. The Nissan/Infiniti (the one in the g35, Maxima and 350z) is a VQ engine, if you know engines I wouldn't be explaining myself right now. The engine is placed on its side thus for the pistons are not fighting with gravity within movement - improving the power on the engine with less engine stress. Which is why the vehicle is able to push out more HP - I don't know am I not making sense?? I thought I was or maybe you guys don't know engines.... but the s2000 should not have been even in the category. It is a 4-cylinder tweaked out civic and no way does it compare to the other sports performance vehicles out there

this was taken from the article:

By contrast, the Nissan 350Z turned the tables on its top rivals, the Honda S2000 and Porsche 911, and took the top rank in the Premium Sports Car class

LET ME KNOW if it doesn't make sense - I will bring out the Wards link and hopefully it will make sense to you guys

LOL let me read my post again and rephrase it

ok, for those wondering (tanveer) why the M3 didn't make it: this ranking is for initial quality, or problems per 100 vehicles. it's an indication of how well the cars are built and how many problems owners have with them in the first 3 months of ownership. it has nothing to do with the 911 being a much better sports car than the 350Z, just says the 911 has more problems. and i guess the same would go for your M3. and umm, yeah, APC, i have no clue what your post was trying to say either...

Ok, your entire post made absolutely no sense but since you're so nice, i won't reply. :)

I don't even think the s2000 should have been on there and in comparison just by engine standards the 350z blows them both out of water. I would have put the 350z up against the BMW z4 and Audi TT - and your M3 falls under a different category, that is Luxury sport sedan if anything. Try not to scratch your head any harder you might get to your brain lol ;)

and Distinguished the engine falls on the same platform as the Maxima and G35 engine but does not make it the same (same platform based on how the engine is placed on its side so that the pistons are night fighting gravity, check out Wards 10 best engines, the VQ since its debut has been on that list) - totally tweaked differently. Much how they tweaked a lawn mower engine and placed it in the S2000 =)

Interesting stuff for sure Lisa and yes, i saw that a few weeks ago. My comments?

Well, this is a JD power survey which means they rank overall quality. While i believe this survey does a respectable job ranking the quality of the car, it in no way truly distinguishes the best, pardon the pun. :) Case in point, i see a lot of Hyundai, Jaguars, Chevy's and Chrysler products there. Sure, they have made strides, but you can't tell me they have anywhere near the quality of a Lexus, Acura or Audi.

Yeah, the S2000 had some little quality issues like 2nd gear grind and the such but all that has been fixed. Heck, that's what happens when you build a high strung motor from scratch instead of taking the same boring 3.5L V6 that you have in your family car and sticking it into your supposed sports car. ;)