Got my STi - initial comparison to 350Z
Well, got my STi on Friday. Its a silver 2005 STi with only 12,000 km on the odometer that I purchased from a Lexus dealer in Toronto. I hammered the dealer on the price and got the car for $36,000 CDN (the car retails for $47,000 CDN new), which I think is a pretty decent deal for what is essentially a new car. I think they were sitting on it for a while; they left the info sheet stuck to the windshield and they orginally had it listed at $43,900.
My other car (now the wife's car) is a 350Z 6-spd. To be honest, I was a bit nervous about getting the STi as I was unsure how it would compare to the Z. I love the Z, but the winter/wet road performance was really limiting my fun. Full throttle in 3rd on a wet road will cause the rear to start wiggling and engage the VDC.
I didn't have too much of a chance to drive the STi yet; basically drove it home, parked it, and left for the cottage. I didn't do any hard cornering yet, but did do several WOT runs up to readline, some highway acceleration, and acceleration from a stop.
So far, I can say the cars are very.....different. I need to drive the STi more, but so far I can't say that the STi is better than the Z, or vice-versa. Probably the biggest thing I am trying to get used to is the power delivery. The power delivery on the STi, to me anyways, is very non-linear. BTW, this is my first turbo car.
With the Z, you get a strong push from low-revs, with a slow progressive build up to 6000 rpm, where power starts to drop off before redline. Also, with the Z, hitting the gas in the lower gears gives you an instant push.
The STi, by comparison, is somewhat soft below 2000 rpm, seems to pick up power between 2000 and 2500, where suddenly the car lunges forward and I'm scrambling to grab the next gear as I'm at readline. To be honest, while accelerating, I felt like I was trying to keep up with the car. From 3000 rpm on, the car swings through the tach so fast.
The STi also pauses for a second when you stop the gas, and then hold on. I realize this is the nature of turbo cars. Something I wasn't expecting is a slight "bog" between shifts during hard acceleration. The first few times I did WOT 1-2-3-4, I thought the TCS was kicking in before realizing the STi doesn't have traction control.
It reminded me of doing a 1-2 or 2-3 shift in the Z with the TCS on. The TCS in the Z is quite aggressive, and it cuts the gas if you chirp the tires on shift, causing the engine to bog for a second before allowing full power.
I also noticed on the STi that high-rpm shifts cause the rpm's to jump slightly, as if there was some throttle hang programmed in. I might need to adjust my clutching slightly. Not sure if that's that's a turbo thing, or its a emissions throttle hang thing. The Z does not require this, and I can bang off very rapid shifts.
Dry road acceleration wise, I'd say peak acceleration in the STi is harder (faster). The Z doesn't accelerate as hard, but it accelerates more evenly over a wider rpm range.
Around town, I found myself in 5th gear in the STi where I normally would be in 6th in the Z. The Z has the down-low torque to be tooling around in 6th at 1500 rpm (the VQ makes something like 200 ft-lbs at just off idle). 6th gear in the STi didn't come alive until I hit the highway at 120 km/h, at which point power in 6th felt similar to the Z.
Driving wise, I didn't get to do any hard cornering. The STi seems to corner about as flatly as the Z. The Z's steering is bit heavier. I did notice a very mild tugging of the steering wheel under hard acceleration in the STi. Not really torque steer, but I could tell the front wheels were doing some work.
Interior-wise is really personal preference. The Z feels more like you are "in" the car; you sit low and the window sill is high. The STi is a more traditional driving position. Seats in the STi were very comfy and grippy. Steering wheel in both cars is nice and fat.
My main beef about the interior of the STi is the placement of the gauges relative to the steering wheel. I like to drive with the steering as low as possible, and in the Z I have the steering wheel set to the very bottom. When I do this in the STi, I find that the top half of the tack is completely obscured by the steering wheel, so I had to raise the wheel back up. In the Z, the instrument cluster moves with the steering wheel, so its not an issue.
Anyhow, as I get used to the car I'll start pushing it harder and be able to give a better comparison.
I'll post a few pics later.
Well, got my STi on Friday. Its a silver 2005 STi with only 12,000 km on the odometer that I purchased from a Lexus dealer in Toronto. I hammered the dealer on the price and got the car for $36,000 CDN (the car retails for $47,000 CDN new), which I think is a pretty decent deal for what is essentially a new car. I think they were sitting on it for a while; they left the info sheet stuck to the windshield and they orginally had it listed at $43,900.
My other car (now the wife's car) is a 350Z 6-spd. To be honest, I was a bit nervous about getting the STi as I was unsure how it would compare to the Z. I love the Z, but the winter/wet road performance was really limiting my fun. Full throttle in 3rd on a wet road will cause the rear to start wiggling and engage the VDC.
I didn't have too much of a chance to drive the STi yet; basically drove it home, parked it, and left for the cottage. I didn't do any hard cornering yet, but did do several WOT runs up to readline, some highway acceleration, and acceleration from a stop.
So far, I can say the cars are very.....different. I need to drive the STi more, but so far I can't say that the STi is better than the Z, or vice-versa. Probably the biggest thing I am trying to get used to is the power delivery. The power delivery on the STi, to me anyways, is very non-linear. BTW, this is my first turbo car.
With the Z, you get a strong push from low-revs, with a slow progressive build up to 6000 rpm, where power starts to drop off before redline. Also, with the Z, hitting the gas in the lower gears gives you an instant push.
The STi, by comparison, is somewhat soft below 2000 rpm, seems to pick up power between 2000 and 2500, where suddenly the car lunges forward and I'm scrambling to grab the next gear as I'm at readline. To be honest, while accelerating, I felt like I was trying to keep up with the car. From 3000 rpm on, the car swings through the tach so fast.
The STi also pauses for a second when you stop the gas, and then hold on. I realize this is the nature of turbo cars. Something I wasn't expecting is a slight "bog" between shifts during hard acceleration. The first few times I did WOT 1-2-3-4, I thought the TCS was kicking in before realizing the STi doesn't have traction control.
It reminded me of doing a 1-2 or 2-3 shift in the Z with the TCS on. The TCS in the Z is quite aggressive, and it cuts the gas if you chirp the tires on shift, causing the engine to bog for a second before allowing full power.
I also noticed on the STi that high-rpm shifts cause the rpm's to jump slightly, as if there was some throttle hang programmed in. I might need to adjust my clutching slightly. Not sure if that's that's a turbo thing, or its a emissions throttle hang thing. The Z does not require this, and I can bang off very rapid shifts.
Dry road acceleration wise, I'd say peak acceleration in the STi is harder (faster). The Z doesn't accelerate as hard, but it accelerates more evenly over a wider rpm range.
Around town, I found myself in 5th gear in the STi where I normally would be in 6th in the Z. The Z has the down-low torque to be tooling around in 6th at 1500 rpm (the VQ makes something like 200 ft-lbs at just off idle). 6th gear in the STi didn't come alive until I hit the highway at 120 km/h, at which point power in 6th felt similar to the Z.
Driving wise, I didn't get to do any hard cornering. The STi seems to corner about as flatly as the Z. The Z's steering is bit heavier. I did notice a very mild tugging of the steering wheel under hard acceleration in the STi. Not really torque steer, but I could tell the front wheels were doing some work.
Interior-wise is really personal preference. The Z feels more like you are "in" the car; you sit low and the window sill is high. The STi is a more traditional driving position. Seats in the STi were very comfy and grippy. Steering wheel in both cars is nice and fat.
My main beef about the interior of the STi is the placement of the gauges relative to the steering wheel. I like to drive with the steering as low as possible, and in the Z I have the steering wheel set to the very bottom. When I do this in the STi, I find that the top half of the tack is completely obscured by the steering wheel, so I had to raise the wheel back up. In the Z, the instrument cluster moves with the steering wheel, so its not an issue.
Anyhow, as I get used to the car I'll start pushing it harder and be able to give a better comparison.
I'll post a few pics later.
(a hell of a weekend car in my book)
