Considering a Z from an EP3

[Type R]

Hello, just joined up. Considering a 350Z actually to replace my EP3 civic type R. Not 100% decided yet and was hoping to get some views on a few issues. I'm 22 soon and the insurance for the Z last time I checked was only, strangely, £100 more than the EP3, which was about 888 if i remember.

 

Firstly, will the 350Z be boring? I appreciate this forum may be slightly bias, but I mean this with regard to engine character. The K20 with the tegiwa induction screams at high revs and is a lot of fun, especially chucking around the FWD. The 350Z from what I tell is very linear and smooth. Does this take away from the fun and become boring? I realize the 350Z would be quicker in a straight line, but would it feel it, since the type R is not very refined. I read alot that 350Z would struggle to lose an EP3 on a b-road, but they're very different cars and this doesn't really bother me. As long as the 350 doesn't feel like a boat.

 

Secondly, i'm a bit put off of a rwd car. The Ep3 I chuck everywhere without every feeling like i'm in danger, provided i'm not stupid. Being RWD, is the 350Z very easy to crash? Be no point buying it and not been able to safely push on. I did read the in the USA it gets crashed, a lot.

 

Curious whether anyone has made any similar move? Other considerations include a modified DC5, Scooby perhaps. Just looking around. I'm excited about the 350Z though, for the interior kit, the prestige of a 2door RWD coupe, and i've never ever experienced torque in a car. I have to wait until 5600rpm to play.

 

Mainly curious as a lot of people on the Type R club say they were a bit disappointed with the 350 with regard to fun. Any information appreciated.

[Dblock]

Torque is awesome compared to the high revving vtec.

 

You throw the 350z about like your civic you will crash because 1. its heavy 2. its rwd. You need to drive rwd cars differently. its all about being smooth and having skill.

 

It depends, you put half of us in an s2k we would moan. Yes its a capable car but IMO not the same as the 350z ( my opinion and its good that people have different opinions. I also want an s2k one day so im not a hater btw) The 350z is effortless and a great all round day to day car. The doc wrote the s2k is better at 10/10ths but on an everyday basis its better.

 

I only use s2k as its close to an ep3 and a 350z. A scooby would be a good shout. A dc5 although awesome wouldnt it be more of the same?

[Zugara]

If you drive like a goon eventually you will crash any car.

 

Public roads are not your personal race track. Zed boring.......depends what you want how deep your pockets are and if you want to drive like an idiot stick with what you have got. Zeds are for the most part a well mannered car with respected owners who, rather than rag about actually care about what they drive and not how fast they can go.

 

 

Stick with what you have, you will be far happier IMO.

 

Welcome btw.

[Neilp]

Expect to need deep deep pockets. The zed is hard to drive fast. I thought I could drive when I had front wheel drives but when you step up to the big boy cars with rwd its a totally different driving style. Also expect to always be in the fuel station and in buying tyres.

 

Whether its more fun or not, I know what i'd rather be in.

 

Skip to 50secs on the video and decide if it sounds boring. I couldnt drive a standard one but love mines and think its awesome fun.

[Type R]

If you drive like a goon eventually you will crash any car.

 

Public roads are not your personal race track. Zed boring.......depends what you want how deep your pockets are and if you want to drive like an idiot stick with what you have got. Zeds are for the most part a well mannered car with respected owners who, rather than rag about actually care about what they drive and not how fast they can go.

 

 

Stick with what you have, you will be far happier IMO.

 

Welcome btw.

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't want you to get the wrong impression, i'm not in the habit of doing stupid speeds on main roads or anything silly. My question could equally as well apply to a track situation, I was speaking generally to get my point across. The question really should have been about the differences between FWD and RWD I suppose. I disagree with the implication however, that by someone pushing their car a little and enjoys it must be driving like an idiot and not be well respected.

 

The effortless nature described in the first reply does seem attractive I must say.

[Dblock]

If you drive like a goon eventually you will crash any car.

 

Public roads are not your personal race track. Zed boring.......depends what you want how deep your pockets are and if you want to drive like an idiot stick with what you have got. Zeds are for the most part a well mannered car with respected owners who, rather than rag about actually care about what they drive and not how fast they can go.

 

 

Stick with what you have, you will be far happier IMO.

 

Welcome btw.

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't want you to get the wrong impression, i'm not in the habit of doing stupid speeds on main roads or anything silly. My question could equally as well apply to a track situation, I was speaking generally to get my point across. The question really should have been about the differences between FWD and RWD I suppose. I disagree with the implication however, that by someone pushing their car a little and enjoys it must be driving like an idiot and not be well respected.

 

The effortless nature described in the first reply does seem attractive I must say.

 

 

I have a 172 also. I love the 172 its awesome. Im not wanting to start a ep3 vs 172 debate but IMO they are great cars and more fun than the ep3' IMO. You can just chuck them in the corners and jump on the brakes and throw it into gear and away you go. The 350 takes skill to drive fast but its more rewarding. In a fwd car its too easy point and shoot if you will. You have to work the 350 but it gives you alot of feel and satisfaction from driving it.

 

I sometimes love to give it a good blast but sometimes you can be on a b road driving just keeping it in 4th and still having enough go keep pace. I'm not really a fast driver its all about the drama to me, with an exhaust it sounds like your going fast, the seating position is perfect and you feel like your going fast IMO.

 

Have you thought of a s2k over a dc5? You need to test drive one ideally though as it might be horrible to you or you might love it.

[Ekona]

The Zed isn't chuckable like a hot hatch is, so if that's what floats your boat then I'd suggest it's not the car for you. However, if you want something that will reward you far more than any FWD scrabblewagon can, then you'll find it an incredibly rewarding car to drive at pace.

[Ricey]

I Know what your worried about mate. When your driving a scrabbler and you don't have rwd experience you have this image that every time you go round a corner or breathe on the accelerator you are going to crash in a ball of fire.

 

You won't

 

What you do need to remember is that rwd needs a bit more respect than fwd. technically speaking (although I doubt the real world application of this) you should be able to correct a slide better in rwd than fwd.

 

Tyres make a MASSIVE difference to road holding.

 

Engine wise......are you a revvy engine kind of guy or a torque whore? I'm a torque whore.....this is the best car I have ever driven but my old rx8 was the worst because they are totally different ends of the spectrum.

 

Test drive one and find out

[SteveRS]

Welcome along

[RisingPower]

Went ep3, m3, then 350z.

 

Tbh, an ep3 is a lot of fun down b roads, it's a fantastic car for that type of roads, very chuckable, imho lovely gearchanges and everything feels very direct. Drive the same way in the zed, you will be sideways, you will hit something.

 

Imho, The 350z is a bit more of a compromise for all types of road, it's much heavier, it's less practical and tbh I seem to ground out surprisingly often

 

That said, I like the torque in the zed, I love the sound of the zed, I much prefer the way it looks and it is a bit quicker.

 

I do have memories of the ep3 putting a big smile on my face, but got a little bit less keen on the understeer and tyre scrabbling in the end.

[Wasso]

A mate of mine went touring with me round europe in his ep3.

 

They're pretty good 1st and 2nd gear and can 'just' hold a Zed, but once 3rd gear comes along the revs climb as they did in 1st and the power just keeps coming. You look at the rev counter and that's when you realise what sort of car you're in.

 

Out the box it's good I'm the corners but invest in suspension and tyres and it's an all new ball game. Another member on here Bennett has his suspension setup perfect. I drove it a few weeks ago and it's flippin epic.

 

The looks the Zed gets hands down beats the ep3. Again when touring my mate got pi$$ed off cos everyone was looking at the Zed.

 

Finally, cruise a Zed at 90mph of course on an autobahn, and the revs sit nicely and even in 6th gear the torque is there to use. Drop it to 5th and say hello to 140+ in a flash. You can of course keep going depending on your nerve. The ep3 as my mate said doesn't like 100mph+ on a motorway as the engine is making a racket and found it quite annoying.

 

The Zed is built for a number of reasons. All except for being a hot hatch and that's the difference.

 

Personaly if you went from an ep3 to a Zed there are some significant changes, but you'll love it for the right reasons.

[bamdc2]

Well for the last 6 years I have driven Hondas and moved from a JDM Integra DC2 to the Z, so I had to think about everything you have just asked! Would it still be fun?!

 

The Intergra is one of those cars you just have to own, its fantastic and as with the Ep3 they are so easy to drive, you just chuck them into corners and come out of them whailing in VTEC!

 

Overall I do miss the DC2 some of the time, but 90% of the time the Z just ticks all the boxes. As said above its a TOTALLY different way of driving and they do feel really heavy in comparison but the sound of the V6 is unbelievable (better than VTEC IMO). You have to drive the Z with care, but you will definately feel the power difference in 3rd onwards and can get to very illegal speeds without realising.

 

The guy that said their Z got more looks than the EP3, totally agree!! I have gotten a load more admiring looks and comments about my Z than I ever got about my Integra, and my Integra was such a clean car.

 

Take a few test drives in a Z, you will see what we mean. But just dont get hung up on comparing them as they are two different ends of the car spectrum. Z is a cruiser and not something you throw into corners hard (unless you have an awesome suspension set up as said above!).

[jjt]

OP

 

This is my previous car before the Zed:

 

Yes it was great fun to drive when in the mood, and I still say that I will get another one day, but the Zed is in another league. It sounds great, goes great, and I actually believe it flows along down country roads a lot better than the Civic, which crashed about a bit. Having owned more rwd cars in my life than fwd, I much prefer the balance of rear wheel drive.

 

But there are a few things which, in my eyes, set the Zed apart from the Civic...

- It gets looks everywhere I go whereas the Civic was like any other hatch on the road;

- Every time I get in it I enjoy driving it, even if its to work (whereas the civic was only enjoyable on a B road); and

- I USUALLY change cars quite often; this is the first car that I'm not worrying about it holding value and constantly checking auto trader to see what else I could be driving... this says a lot about how highly I regard it.

 

Another great thing about the Zed is this forum- seriously I have never used one as helpful or informative as this, and all the users on here are really friendly and keen to offer advice.

One thing to note- I used to think my Type R was bad for fuel economy when I was getting about 26mpg... the Zed is a lot worse, and as I rarely do motorway miles I only get about 21mpg...

Ultimately, am I glad I made the switch? 100% yes, but this is my humble opinion

[SteveW]

A zed does surprise a lot of people on track with how quick they are.

 

I love mine and think its great fun to drive.

[M13KYF]

best advice is go and test drive one

 

 

the wife has a type R. Its good but I much prefer the Zed. It can be quite stealthy with its power. Its only when you look at the speedo you realise what your doing.

[p40ulw]

cutting out a long story, (i had never owned a rwd car before my zed either)

 

i went form a track spec fiesta ZS to a astra vxr to a zed (with the exception of a few boring cars in there somewhere) by far the ZS was an absaloute animal, i took my bro round donnington and i was getting pi**ed of with waiting behind a ep3 on the bends, but it was only a good track car, it sucked ass on general roads, everyone looked at me like i was a ****,

 

my vxr didnt handle at all, if i came to a corner i would re-write my will before negotiating it, but it was scarily fast on the autobahn, i hit 160+ countless amounts of times,

 

now as for the zed, like others have said you cannot throw it into a corner like a hot hatch you have to respect it treat it well feather the throttle in because if you dont it will bite you and you might hurt more than your car! but on the same page i couldnt drive 200 miles in either oif the cars above without having a bad back but in the zed i have driven 250 miles a few times now and arived at my destination feeling as fresh as a daisy! and if someone comes along that wants to try it on i have full faith they will lose (some of the time ) as for the amount of people that look it gets addictive

 

my final words would be 'by no means are 350Z's boring whether you like to try and drift, sprint, or just like to drive quicker than others you will be very impressed!!

[brillomaster]

my two cents for what its worth...

 

I had an civic coupe - not a type r, but had the B16a2 engine, so it was an 8k redline VTEC screamer also.

 

Really didnt get along with it much at all... the lack of torque low down was a pain (admittedly though when in VTEC mode it was awesome) and when cruising on motorways it was doing 4-5k in 5th gear, which was a real headache. The zed on the other hand sits at around 3k when doing 90, and still pulls away if you floor it. Plus its so much more refined and grown up than the civic was.

 

as for the FWD/RWD debate, yes, if you boot it half way round a roundabout in the wet in a rwd car, you'll go backwards through a hedge. But then again if you boot it halfway round a roundabout in the wet in a fwd car, you'll understeer massively and go forwards through a hedge. Moral of the story is, dont drive like a bellend! however in all seriousness, i much prefer the steering on all rwd cars i've had, feels so much more direct and pointy, even with the weight difference.

 

And I would take the naysayers about tyre wear with a pinch of salt - a 200bhp fwd car will eat through its front tyres just as fast as a 280bhp car will eat through its rears.

 

i'd say if you're a honda VTEC guy but want to mix it in the big leagues, its got to be an S2000. however if you fancy some low down grunt, get a zed. Either way, if you want to step up to the big leagues its going to have to be a RWD, this new breed of superhatches is just wrong!

[ersen.o]

ive had a zed and an ep3 and the ep3 felt twitchy and light, the zed fees solid and planted

[Type R]

Very very useful replies thanks. Especially useful was the Ep3 and integra past owners. The EP3 is great but is only enjoyable when going nuts, no so much daily. Some torque sounds very appealing and the Ep3 is getting far too common, when I see a 350 on the road it always draws my attention has great presence. Get the exam results soon (part time student linked with pay at work) so this goes well I think i'll go for a test drive.

 

I do drive many hire cars at work, brand new golfs and astras and insignias etc but hate them all, too much wallowing. Hopefully the 350 will be smooth yet still firm and pointy. Starting to look in to maintenance, service stuff next. I.e. try and buy one after when ever the big service is. Looking at the 280bhp one for price reasons really.

 

Does seem like the perfect overall car, where as my past 2 cars I loved but had drawbacks. i.e. modified almera Gti that was loud and on stiff shocks and knocked my teeth out, lol.

 

 

One big issue i;ll need to check is room. I fit in the ep3 but none of these new cars, or my old almera was I comfortable in. Only the ep3 and a primera GT have I ever fit properly in due to long legs.

 

It would appear for the 280 earlier ones about £8k is a good price for a decent one? I have seen ones cheaper but don't want a dog.

[Ricey]

If Will can fit in then they must be ok for the taller man!

[Seabee]

I to owned a b16a2 Crx mk2 and loved it! I really miss the car. If I could have both I would. My Crx was a safe bet and very predictable. However I did get a zed for that very reason my Honda was to predictable! My zed scares the sh!t out of me! Lol

[rtbiscuit]

I have had a CTR, 350Z and an S2000 all great cars have to say the best out of all of them was the S2000, i know i'm in the minority here and it wasn't that the zed is a bad car, but the 2 of us just didn't gel. after 12 months i found the car a bit of a disappointment. by 18 months i'd sold it and swapped to the S2K. best move i ever made. i found the zeds engine note a let down, it looked faster than it actually was, had a plasticy interior. its the one car i don't miss after selling.

 

but if this is your first time in RWD cars then the 350Z is a great car to move to. although its RWD its a very predicatable drive, and when it does break away its fairly progessive (tyre dependent) and if you leave the TCS etc all switched on its very nannying and doesn't really let you get out of shape.

 

externally the zed is a great looking car and although i moaned about the plastic inside its far better than a lot of cars, and the kit levels not bad. its a comfy drive for most especially long distance i again am on my own on this but my hip could never find a comfy driving position for anything over a 3 hour drive. its a great GT car, has the low down grunt for overtaking on motorways. 270 bhp may seem alot but its well packaged in the zed and its not an out of control car. but treat it like a numpty with the toys turned off and you'll end up in a hedge.

 

as for the S2K yes i found it a much better drive, but it could be a little more tail happy than the zed, and it has a reputation as a widow maker, not sure why as i found it a very communicativ e and progressive drive. the S2k has a lot smaller cabin space, but it does make you feel like your squeezed into an F1 car. i prefer the leather and the dash in the S2K but its very minimal inside. although everything is right at your fingertips from 10 to 2 driving position. yes it lacks the torque that the zed has but for B road bombing and track work the stook is a dream to drive, the gear change is magic and its made for heel and toe work. (couldn't do it in the zed pedal setup was not right for my dodgy ankle) yes its more tiring on a long drive especially with a loud exhaust on.

 

i don't hate the zed but i always feel it should have been so much more, its a great car for modding, its a good safe start for learning RWD she's big she's planted, she's safe and you get a lot for your money.

 

as a driving car the S2K is the daddy i loved mine, has been one of my all time favourites to drive, very rewarding an di think more enjoyable if you have some RWD experience already.

 

the best advice is go try some cars out, see what you like. one mans whiskey is another mans dishwater.

[Type R]

I have had a CTR, 350Z and an S2000 all great cars have to say the best out of all of them was the S2000, i know i'm in the minority here and it wasn't that the zed is a bad car, but the 2 of us just didn't gel. after 12 months i found the car a bit of a disappointment. by 18 months i'd sold it and swapped to the S2K. best move i ever made. i found the zeds engine note a let down, it looked faster than it actually was, had a plasticy interior. its the one car i don't miss after selling.

 

but if this is your first time in RWD cars then the 350Z is a great car to move to. although its RWD its a very predicatable drive, and when it does break away its fairly progessive (tyre dependent) and if you leave the TCS etc all switched on its very nannying and doesn't really let you get out of shape.

 

externally the zed is a great looking car and although i moaned about the plastic inside its far better than a lot of cars, and the kit levels not bad. its a comfy drive for most especially long distance i again am on my own on this but my hip could never find a comfy driving position for anything over a 3 hour drive. its a great GT car, has the low down grunt for overtaking on motorways. 270 bhp may seem alot but its well packaged in the zed and its not an out of control car. but treat it like a numpty with the toys turned off and you'll end up in a hedge.

 

as for the S2K yes i found it a much better drive, but it could be a little more tail happy than the zed, and it has a reputation as a widow maker, not sure why as i found it a very communicativ e and progressive drive. the S2k has a lot smaller cabin space, but it does make you feel like your squeezed into an F1 car. i prefer the leather and the dash in the S2K but its very minimal inside. although everything is right at your fingertips from 10 to 2 driving position. yes it lacks the torque that the zed has but for B road bombing and track work the stook is a dream to drive, the gear change is magic and its made for heel and toe work. (couldn't do it in the zed pedal setup was not right for my dodgy ankle) yes its more tiring on a long drive especially with a loud exhaust on.

 

i don't hate the zed but i always feel it should have been so much more, its a great car for modding, its a good safe start for learning RWD she's big she's planted, she's safe and you get a lot for your money.

 

as a driving car the S2K is the daddy i loved mine, has been one of my all time favourites to drive, very rewarding an di think more enjoyable if you have some RWD experience already.

 

the best advice is go try some cars out, see what you like. one mans whiskey is another mans dishwater.

 

 

Hmmm very interesting too. yes test drives are important. I need to make sure I test drive different cars not just test and buy the Z. I doubt i'd fit in an S2000 unfortunately. Prices of cars have depreciated quite a lot in this climate and at £8K now there are so many choices it's proving difficult.

 

One things for sure, I don't want just another hot hatch, even though some of them have stupid power. Need some character and appeal.

[rtbiscuit]

pro's and con's with all cars, and to be honest others opinions aren't the best basis, you need to make your own mind up. many on here love the zed it is a great car. but for the likes of me it didn;t meet my requirements. the one thing the car did give me was acess to a forum where i made a great bunch of friends, so much so that i have now moved on 2 cars since the zed and i'm still here.

[370Ad]

8k will get you a very decent 280 zed. Price wise you will pay for more for black/blue, it's the only car I have actually noticed this on.

 

My friends got an EP3, we recently went to Le Mans in it. Was an absolute blast and the engine is awesome. He always says the Zed is more grown up and a nice place to be all the time where as he gets tired of the civic sometimes, especially on the motorway.