135i vs 350z

[1Pirate]

Although some of the statments in this thread are somewhat comical, I'm in as good a position as anyone to compare the two cars since I currently own both, a 2003 Nissan 350Z and a 2009 BMW 135i. I also used to own a 2009 Nissan 370Z before I purchased my 135i.

First Nissan Z cars (350Z and 370Z) are very different than the 1. They are obviously 2 seat sports cars with naturally aspirated engines. All but the base or non sport models come standard with LSDs. They also come with much larger wheel and tire set ups than the 1. The 350Z (and 370Z) will accept much larger wheels (with more aggressive offsets) and tires than a 1 will. I'm currently running 255/40/19s (front) and 285/35/19s (rear) on my 350Z on 9.5 and 10.5 inch wheels respectively. I previously had 295s on the rear.

Stock versus Stock a 135i will out accelerate a 350Z, but a 350Z will out handle a 135i. Both cars accept modding very well, but the 135i is much easier to make more power in because its engine is turbocharged. Aftermarket forced induction is available for the 350Z, but it is not cheap and reliability can be a concern. Most 350Z owners who modify their cars do so with bolt ons, like intakes, headers, cats, exhaust and a tune. Those bolt ons aren't going to make huge amounts of power. Almost any 135i tune alone is going to make a lot more power than any NA 350Z can make with bolt ons and a tune. Torque is the other advantage the 135i has over the 350Z.

Both my cars are modded and have tunes, but my 135i will out accelrate my 350Z all day. However, my Z handles and brakes better than my 135i does. I'd be surprised if my Z would hang right with a stock 135i though in terms of acceleration though. Although my 350Z only has bolt on mods and a tune, it has an aftermarket intake, intake plenum, cams, headers, cats, exhaust, clutch and flywheel, and 3.9 gears. It also has a full aftermarket suspension, chassis braces and a four wheel Stop Tech BBK.

My Z is brash, loud, and rough around the edges. However, it is a hoot to drive. My 135i is much more refined, and since I'm getting older much more comfortable. Now that my 135i has a tune, lost the run flats and I've improved the suspension it not only rides well, but it is fun to drive too, without being too harsh.

[SpaceG135i]

I think this video should help you alot

MY friend has a stillen supercharged 350z and he cant pull on me so i doubt a z without FI will even be close.

[AW128i]

Originally Posted by NYC6

Sorry but you're are mistaken.
http://www.0-60times.com/nissan.asp
http://www.albeedigital.com/supercou...0-60times.html

I was remembering reading magazine articles (C&D comes to mind) from when the 350Z was released and tested giving low- to mid-6s for 0-60 and mid-14s for the 1/4 (both manual times, I think). The 128i does 0-60 in the low-6s and the 1/4 in the low-14s, even autos. Never really looked into it further since I would never buy a Z car.

[Mr. Nice]

Originally Posted by SpaceG135i

I think this video should help you alot

MY friend has a stillen supercharged 350z and he cant pull on me so i doubt a z without FI will even be close.

the stillen blower for a 350 is a joke, but the vq motor can handle a lot of power, there's more potential there than in the n54 no doubt, there are plenty of 350s putting down 1000+ whp, a n/a z would have no chance, still a fun little car to drive

[135Pats]

Look the VQ engines are quite nice sounding and well built, but a stock 350 is getting walked by a 135 every single time, if we're talking a drag race. Not in the same ball park.....370s can move though, i'd be interested to see how they stack up.

[Freon]

Originally Posted by haggomyeggo

I own a 370Z now ...
Around a track....the Z might edge it simply because of the grip levels it has stock....Im not saying the 135i isnt going to be in its rearview mirror though. I think it can keep up no doubt.

I would guess a 370Z should be ahead in most road courses by a second or two per lap, which is well into the rear view mirror. It has 30mm more tire all around, better suspension, weighs slightly less, probably lower CG, much stiffer from the factory, etc.

[Qbrozen]

Originally Posted by AW128i

I was remembering reading magazine articles (C&D comes to mind) from when the 350Z was released and tested giving low- to mid-6s for 0-60 and mid-14s for the 1/4 (both manual times, I think). The 128i does 0-60 in the low-6s and the 1/4 in the low-14s, even autos. Never really looked into it further since I would never buy a Z car.

Yeah, that's wrong. The '03-'05 350z was in the 5.5-5.7 range with manual trans (C&D reported 5.4, as a matter of fact). They got faster after '05, I believe, although I did lose track and don't know how fast. I'm pretty darned sure they never broke out of the low 5s, though.

I had an '04 Touring. I really loved that car, but only owned it for 6 months before we found out our first kid was due. Traded it 3 months later.

My 1 is, without a doubt, much faster in a straight line. The 350, however, was more confidence inspiring in the twisties.

[_x3M_Competition]

We'll I just got done racing a nismo 370 from a 10mph roll to about 90mph on a closed course and beat him by about 2.5-3 cars I had someone in the passenger seat only mod I have is the N55 JB+ I don't have any badges on my car and he thought I was a 335i

[1speedbike]

Originally Posted by haggomyeggo

I own a 370Z now and Im trying to sell it. Its a great car with tons of mechanical grip (I have the sport pack so bigger wheels and tires and the LSD in the back) i also have the touring pack...

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

Although some of the statments in this thread are somewhat comical, I'm in as good a position as anyone to compare the two cars since I currently own both, a 2003 Nissan 350Z and a 2009 BMW 135i. I also used to own a 2009 Nissan 370Z before I purchased my 135i.

First Nissan Z cars (350Z and 370Z) are very different than the 1...

Both of these are extremely awesome and helpful posts. It's really great to see the feelings of actual owners rather than just speculation. I agree with both of you 100% (even in the parts I didn't copy into your quotes because I didn't want my post to be obnoxiously long). I think it does boil down to what I said earlier... the Nissan Z cars are sports cars, the 1 series is a sporty luxury coupe. The better performance out of the box, stiffer suspension, LSD, roughness on your back () are all in the sports car Z blood. The 135i is smoother, more compliant, more user-friendly, but ultimately less "sporty" overall without the upgrades us "enthusiasts" on the forum usually do versus the average BMW owner. Different missions, different emphasis. Both awesome cars. But obviously, the turbo is more tunable, and the BMW (versus a Nissan) is more refined. No reason to get upset over anything. There's things Porsche could teach BMW, too. Likewise, there's things Nissan could teach both

[Flash237]

8 or 9 cars seems like a lot to win by though. On a jetstrip I raced a 370Z with intake/exhaust/catless test pipes/tune with my current mods at a 40 roll and I beat him by 3 cars by the time we hit 100. by the time we hit 120 I was at about 5+ cars

[Flash237]

I could imagine that with having a nice tune and downpipes it would just be major raping.

[mikead_99]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nice

the stillen blower for a 350 is a joke, but the vq motor can handle a lot of power, there's more potential there than in the n54 no doubt, there are plenty of 350s putting down 1000+ whp, a n/a z would have no chance, still a fun little car to drive

I came from a 2006 Z myself, so I'm pretty familiar with the platform. Just have to say that the VQ can be built to handle power, but with factory internals it isn't that strong, being pretty limited in the amount of boost it can handle. Best target on stock internals is low boost for around 400 whp and even that needs a conservative tune to stay safe. If I recall (they were just hitting market when I got out) the HR version had a little more overhead, but no chance of 1000 whp without total rebuild.

And yes, the Stillen blower is probably the worst FI bang for the buck for that platform. Vortech is the only supercharger I looked at for my Z, but really the platform does much better with single and twin turbo setups. And also yes, the car was a blast to drive even na. Great car for road courses, not so much for straight lines as everyone else here has pointed out.

[jbertino]

Originally Posted by Flash237

8 or 9 cars seems like a lot to win by though. On a jetstrip I raced a 370Z with intake/exhaust/catless test pipes/tune with my current mods at a 40 roll and I beat him by 3 cars by the time we hit 100. by the time we hit 120 I was at about 5+ cars

I was researching. And A auto z is much slower than the manual Plus u said u pulled 5 + on a 370z which would pull like 4 or 5 on a 350z with the de. So the 8-9 cars I pulled on him was no joke

[M135]

Originally Posted by 1Pirate

Although some of the statments in this thread are somewhat comical, I'm in as good a position as anyone to compare the two cars since I currently own both, a 2003 Nissan 350Z and a 2009 BMW 135i. I also used to own a 2009 Nissan 370Z before I purchased my 135i.

First Nissan Z cars (350Z and 370Z) are very different than the 1. They are obviously 2 seat sports cars with naturally aspirated engines. All but the base or non sport models come standard with LSDs. They also come with much larger wheel and tire set ups than the 1. The 350Z (and 370Z) will accept much larger wheels (with more aggressive offsets) and tires than a 1 will. I'm currently running 255/40/19s (front) and 285/35/19s (rear) on my 350Z on 9.5 and 10.5 inch wheels respectively. I previously had 295s on the rear.

Stock versus Stock a 135i will out accelerate a 350Z, but a 350Z will out handle a 135i. Both cars accept modding very well, but the 135i is much easier to make more power in because its engine is turbocharged. Aftermarket forced induction is available for the 350Z, but it is not cheap and reliability can be a concern. Most 350Z owners who modify their cars do so with bolt ons, like intakes, headers, cats, exhaust and a tune. Those bolt ons aren't going to make huge amounts of power. Almost any 135i tune alone is going to make a lot more power than any NA 350Z can make with bolt ons and a tune. Torque is the other advantage the 135i has over the 350Z.

Both my cars are modded and have tunes, but my 135i will out accelrate my 350Z all day. However, my Z handles and brakes better than my 135i does. I'd be surprised if my Z would hang right with a stock 135i though in terms of acceleration though. Although my 350Z only has bolt on mods and a tune, it has an aftermarket intake, intake plenum, cams, headers, cats, exhaust, clutch and flywheel, and 3.9 gears. It also has a full aftermarket suspension, chassis braces and a four wheel Stop Tech BBK.

My Z is brash, loud, and rough around the edges. However, it is a hoot to drive. My 135i is much more refined, and since I'm getting older much more comfortable. Now that my 135i has a tune, lost the run flats and I've improved the suspension it not only rides well, but it is fun to drive too, without being too harsh.

I had a G35 and G37, the Infiniti version of the Z cars. I agree with alot of what you're saying here as well. I think that the G37 was a big leap from the 35 in regards to technology, and that is a big leap beyond BMW technology. Flashy nice gauges, a touchscreen navigation interface that was easy to use, an LSD, etc. are all nice things that my 1 does not have. However I went to the 1 because of the power mostly, but most of the interior I would trade for the G37 interior. Either way, I think they're all pretty nice cars when not ragged out.

[Diver]

I am a former G35 driver. That car was not fast by current standards with a 0-60 time of roughly 6 seconds. When driven hard it sounded like it might blow up. The automatic could not do successive manual mode downshifts quickly. However, it was one of the most reliable cars I ever owned.

For pure driving enjoyment the 135i blows it away.

IMO the problems of the Z as a DD are ride, road noise and almost no luggage space.

[jbertino]

He just spent Bout 6k in mods ... Vortech s/c and valve body cover for better shifts

[1Pirate]

Originally Posted by M135

I had a G35 and G37, the Infiniti version of the Z cars. I agree with alot of what you're saying here as well. I think that the G37 was a big leap from the 35 in regards to technology, and that is a big leap beyond BMW technology. Flashy nice gauges, a touchscreen navigation interface that was easy to use, an LSD, etc. are all nice things that my 1 does not have. However I went to the 1 because of the power mostly, but most of the interior I would trade for the G37 interior. Either way, I think they're all pretty nice cars when not ragged out.

I really liked my 370Z's interior as well. I had the Touring Sport with leather seats and the touchscreen Nav. I really liked the music hard drive that was part of the Nav too. The interior was much richer than my 350Z Touring's interior. My only two complaints about the 370Z interior were the lack of headroom and that it didn't have a sunglasses holder like the 350Z does.

The reason I got rid of my 370Z was the engine. If my 370Z came with the N54 motor from the 1 I'd still be driving it today. The VQ37 is a sophisticated engine, but it is far from being a smooth running motor, especially over 5,000 rpms. It also doesn't have a pleasant exhaust note like the 350Z does. Finally it has an issue with very high oil temps when driven hard. Initially 370Zs didn't come with oil coolers, although I believe that they now do, but the oil cooler is tied into the cooling system rather than being a stand alone cooler.

[jamj0911]

Originally Posted by SpaceG135i

I think this video should help you alot

MY friend has a stillen supercharged 350z and he cant pull on me so i doubt a z without FI will even be close.

yes a FI 350z its a fast car but NA isn´t

[135Hoser]

I walk all over 370's in my 1 day in day out even while misfiring on one cylinder.

[jbertino]

He just got everything installed and tuned we are going for another run But now I got vrsf dps and 50:50 e85. Let's see how I do

[mikead_99]

Originally Posted by jbertino

He just got everything installed and tuned we are going for another run But now I got vrsf dps and 50:50 e85. Let's see how I do

You still win.

[jbertino]

I don't know he put like 410 to the wheels we are going for a run tonight if the weather holds its going to be a tough run