Mustang GT vs Nissan 350z

[gashog]

I've read several articles and both cars are pretty much similar in straight line performance.

Anybody with real world experience at the track?

How does the 350z respond to modding compared to the new GT?

The reason i'm asking is that I have a really cocky friend with a 350z and I want to know if I can put him in his place at the track if I have to.

 

[bellegt06]

Straight line you should have a slight edge stock for stock. Handling wise the 350z is much better. It does take a lot of $$$ in mods to get anymore out of the nissan VQ motor (pretty much tapped out from the factory). The Mustang on the other hand responds very well to mods.

If you both can drive i say you should win. If you are concerned add a CAI and tuner and that should do it.

 

[351CJ]

If by "track" you mean drag strip, you're OK.

If by "track" you mean road course, you don't have a chance.

 

[bigcat]

here we go again

although talk is not searchable, you will find this topic has been debated MANY times. if you look through the pages of talk manually, you will see several threads with your answers already there.

 

[2003gt]

i've beaten several stock, semi modded when I was stock.....and now i'm modded and have beaten several "highly" modded 350z's....there not that impressive after mods....handling yes, power no..

 

[stanmckinney]

I drove a used 350Z ( only a couple of years old) while my Mustang was being serviced at my Ford dealer. (He also owns a Nissan dealership.) I once thought I wanted a 350Z but not after driving one. Dollar for dollar, I would much rather have the Mustang. It's more comfortable and better looking in my opinion.

 

[07gtfolife]

I drove a used 350Z ( only a couple of years old) while my Mustang was being serviced at my Ford dealer. (He also owns a Nissan dealership.) I once thought I wanted a 350Z but not after driving one. Dollar for dollar, I would much rather have the Mustang. It's more comfortable and better looking in my opinion.

05+ mustang > .

 

[Rock36]

here we go again

although talk is not searchable, you will find this topic has been debated MANY times. if you look through the pages of talk manually, you will see several threads with your answers already there.

+100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Not only that but other Mustang forums have debated this topic ad nauseum

Bottom line assuming equal drivers:

350Z is better than the 05+ GT at the road course
05+ GT is better than the 350Z at the drag strip to include the 300hp/260 ft-lb version of the Z.

So in conclusion :Track:

 

[cLeAnRaCiNgLdR]

A friend of mine has an 06 350 track edition with the 6-speed and My 05 GT is a 5-speed manual. We are both decent drivers and when we raced stock I had him by 6 tenths of a second... I was at 13.7 and he was at 14.3. I had a 1.92 60ft and he had a 2.09.

 

[Mr_Q]

Before my current GT I owned a 350z for nearly 4 years. I spent $3200 in mods and gained all of 5hp to the rear wheels.

The only way that car scoots in a straight line is to turbo or supercharge it.

You will beat him for sure if you get the Brenspeed CnL intake and SCT tune kit. You may also beat him in your current stock form, it's a driver's race stock Vs stock.

350z 3250lbs and usually 230-240 to the rear wheels (dyno variances)
Mustang GT 3450lbs and usually 260-270 to the rear wheels. (dyno variances)​

 

[spooky]

I've read several articles and both cars are pretty much similar in straight line performance.

Anybody with real world experience at the track?

How does the 350z respond to modding compared to the new GT?

The reason i'm asking is that I have a really cocky friend with a 350z and I want to know if I can put him in his place at the track if I have to.

if you're cocky friend gets out of line, just smack him in the head or give him a swift kick in the crotch. that's a lot easier and cheaper than spending money on a car.

 

[Rock36]

Before my current GT I owned a 350z for nearly 4 years. I spent $3200 in mods and gained all of 5hp to the rear wheels.

The only way that car scoots in a straight line is to turbo or supercharge it.

You will beat him for sure if you get the Brenspeed CnL intake and SCT tune kit. You may also beat him in your current stock form, it's a driver's race stock Vs stock.

350z 3250lbs and usually 230-240 to the rear wheels (dyno variances)
Mustang GT 3450lbs and usually 260-270 to the rear wheels. (dyno variances)​

What were your mods to your old 350Z that only gained 5rwhp?

Don't they have any aftermarket tunes or chips that would bump it up at least 10 rwhp or so?

I'm only asking, because I don't know and I'm curious.

 

[Mr_Q]

Pretty much the standard 350z mod list......intake, hiflow Y-Pipe (midpipe), pullies, grounding wires, catback exhaust.

About when I sold my Z there were only TWO companies doing tunes for the VQ (motor) and even those were spotty. People reporting issues or not really gaining much of anything.

As for real horsepower added from that mod list....some people claimed 5hp, some 15hp, all were varied because of non-consistant dyno runs.

I did mine on the same dyno, nearly same outside temp and humidity and only one month later.

Fact is...ALL the guys that did their best to get consistant dyno runs made low power gains with their mods. Some even made LESS. (most likely meaning they made no gains and subtle differences in the dyno run made it report less)

 

[Rock36]

Good info

I guess it does make sense. If I'm not mistaken, the VQ engine is 3.5L, and 300hp (current 350Z) is quite a lot of power to pull out of that size engine while remaining N/A. So I can see why squeezing out anymore would be difficult.

 

[07gtfolife]

if you're cocky friend gets out of line, just smack him in the head or give him a swift kick in the crotch. that's a lot easier and cheaper than spending money on a car.

I like your style

 

[TGJ]

What were your mods to your old 350Z that only gained 5rwhp?

Don't they have any aftermarket tunes or chips that would bump it up at least 10 rwhp or so?

I'm only asking, because I don't know and I'm curious.

A couple of friends of mine have 350Z's. They come from the factory pretty maxed out and there is not a lot for them to gain from a tune or other aftermarket parts like the Mustang. I am running mid 13's with my GT with only the SLP LM exhaust, one of those 350Z's has $1200 in aftermarket parts and is still running low 14's.

 

[stanmckinney]

I have a 2005 and a 1966 Mustang. I wouldn't trade either of them for a 350Z.

 

[gashog]

if you're cocky friend gets out of line, just smack him in the head or give him a swift kick in the crotch. that's a lot easier and cheaper than spending money on a car.

Indeed.

The 350z is a sweet car for sure, but i'm pretty sure now that I can take him at the strip.

Handling wise, is there anyway a stang could compete? I mean how do they do when you drop it and stiffen it up?

 

[kooldawg6]

Good info

I guess it does make sense. If I'm not mistaken, the VQ engine is 3.5L, and 300hp (current 350Z) is quite a lot of power to pull out of that size engine while remaining N/A. So I can see why squeezing out anymore would be difficult.

350Z:300 HP 3.5 L=85.7 HP/L
GT:300 HP 4.6L=65.2 HP/L
Trying to squeeze out 100 HP/ Liter being N/A is tough. Look at how the 350Z compares to some really big dawgs in the N/A Factory Stock world...

2007 Z06:505 HP 7.0 L=72.1 HP/L
2007 Viper:600 HP 8.4 L=71.4 HP/L
2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640:640 HP 6.5 L=98.5 HP/L

From the #s above you can see just how much power Nissan did squeeze out of the 3.5 L Z motor.

 

[351CJ]

Indeed.
Handling wise, is there anyway a stang could compete? I mean how do they do when you drop it and stiffen it up?

The top 3 things you can do to a 2005 Mustang to improve road course performance are:

#1 Brakes
#2 Brakes
#3 Brakes

It also needs better tires & springs. FRPP handling pack is a good starting point.

C&D commented on how much better the Shelby GT-H was on a road course than a stock GT. So use the GT-H as a starting point for how to make a Mustang GT better on a road course.

Oh, in case I forgot to mention it, don't forget to upgrade your brakes.