hey guys, i understand a few of the members here also own soarers. just wondering about the handeling of a soaer compared to the z. and which is faster stock (both tt).
well despite what your mates have told you the facts are this soarer TT around 1650kg, runs on floaty air suspension longer wheelbase. great for cruising essentially a floating armchair, big turning circle slow turn in (they arent meant for harsh corners) 2.5litre TT big laggy less torquey which results in slower 0-100 times as it carries so much weight. 300zx TT around 1550kg runs on FIRM suspension renown for handling feel and prowess (alot sharper than a soarer) 3.0litre TT developes more torque and lower down. in short its ALOT quicker. if you want a comfy cruiser get a soarer but buy a v8, the TTs arent that fast unless you spend big dollars. 300s have alot more go, alot more torque than a soarer TT and handle tighter, they are nissans porsche their flagship remember that. so if its a sports car your after go the 300
Gee Ive driven plenty of Z's but just as many Soarers in both V8 and TT form.. I would have to say they are both really nice cars, especially if you take into account what they were designed for.. The Z with its race car feel, nimble, powerful yet still enough creature comforts to keep anyone happy. The soarer is large, very plush and comfortable, even more creature comforts, much more "limo" its ride is smooth and pampering. Depends if you want a race car, or a limo really.. I wouldnt call a Stock TT Zed a Snarling beast in terms of performance, and a stock TT soarer really isnt far off the mark, They are quite quick (straight line) and they do have toyota's 1ZJ which is almost as bulletproof as their 2JZ, but they have much more body over hang, and do need suspension help if your looking at track or super sharp handling, something the Z comes bundled with. I have slammed my foot to the floor in a few V8 models, the last one I drove was over a year ago.. Im still waiting for it to hit 100... (joke) the engine is as smooth and refined as you would expect a lexus V8 to be.
I drive a V8 Soarer as a daily driver. It feels a lot heavier than the Zed, but is much smoother, quieter and effortless to drive. The Zed feels more like a go-cart, firmer suspension, noisier, harsher and engages you more. More exact steering and more road feel. I would not call the Soarer a slug though. It is certainly quite a bit faster than the NA convertible. Being an automatic with computer controlled shifting, sometimes it takes off like a scalded cat when you put you foot down, while other times it is slow to shift down and nothing much happens. at first. After you hit 60 or so, it really goes. Note, it is only the V8, limited model that has air suspension.
never been in one, they look like a hotdog with cheese on wheels. but the interior is very sexy indeed..
I think in Std vs Std all the above is correct. I came across one down the gold coast a few weeks back, that I was flat out keeping up with, although being behind wou have to wait for them to go before you can go etc, but it moved along quite smartly. I test drive a V8 soarer with body kit before the Zed, it was very nice. The only thing that turned me away was the stupid Japanese LCD screen that the dealer told me "Couldn't be removed" or the car wouldn't run??? WTF Oh well, whether true or not, the lost him any chance of the sale.
My friend had one, a 1JZ TT. Was a nice cruiser, nice to sit inside, had a fair bit of power too. He bought it knowing it wouldn't handle like a supra so it was what he expected. But sadly, his turbo's gave up on him. I think it was because they were ceramic turbines or something which were prone to failure if the car was boosted too high.
Not getting involved......... in this debate accept to say that "High Performance Imports" did a test on a TT Zed Vs TT Soarer, both auto boxes, and in standard form the Soarer was quicker. Had something to do with the almost 40kw lost through the Nissan auto. Anyway.....I'm going to shut up before our Mod Wannabe Stef tells me to stop spruiking again!
probably a dud z32, saftey boost perhaps, or big boost leaks.. a stock z cant lose to a stock soarer, its not on the cards.
The thing I like least about the soarer is that screen. It controls the radio (TV and sat nav, camera) trip computer and air con. I would love to put a proper radio there, but have to endure the jap radio with 2 frequency converters under the back seat. The better soarer to buy would be the 'sport' or standard V8 without the screen and without the air suspension (or a TT which doesn't have any of that stuff either)
I found the article... HPI issue 12 for those of you who might buy this magazine. I quote..."some will be surprised to learn that it's the Soarer that has a clear performance lead over the 300ZX.The smaller 2.5-litre 1Jz has the strongest mid-range and top-end urge, allowing the Soarer to pull four or five car lengths clear of the Zed in a standing-start acceleration test accross the quarter mile. The 300ZX isn't too shabby with a 15.8 sec pass but it's no match for the Soarer which marches along the strip nearly 1 second quicker at 14.9 seconds! Not content to let it rest there, we took the pair to the dyno where the actual shape of their power curves could be assessed. Here we discovered the secret of the Soarer's extra performance, as the car simply made more grunt than the 300ZX with a stomping 162kW at the rear wheels. The larger Nissan V6 is more linear but far less impressive at 142kW." They say the Zed beats the Soarer almost everywhere else so all is not lost. They also say it's the Zed that responds better to tweaks!:zlove: :zlove: :zlove:
A TTZ only putting out 142RWKW???? Something horribly wrong there as a stock TTZ should be around 170RWKW (as evidenced by dyno days). As for 1/4 mile times, well in actual stock form (as the Z in this test is obviously stuffed) both should have 206kw at the flywheel. The soarer is heavier, with sloppier suspension. So obviously it should lose.
lol a tt zed doing 15.8 stock on the 1/4??? DEFINATELY STUFFED. i dont even think an na zed is that slow
as quoted from the net hmmm My mate had a TT auto 300ZX and I had a TT auto Soarer. The zed had a few little mods and my soarer was completely stock. The Soarer handled a LOT better than the zed, got a number of people to drive both cars and everyone agreed the Soarer was better handling car. Also the Soarer was a little faster. On the gtech the zed got 14.5 while the soarer managed a flat 14
I'm not so sure.... they seem to actually like the ZED in every other respect.:zlove: Later on they have an article on how to tweak your ZED to get some healthy gains without too much expense but i agree.......15.8 is awfully slow!
It is not all about speed guys. The zed and the soarer are 2 completely different beasts. The soarer is a luxury armchair on fasts wheels. Absolute comfort and rather quick The zed is a sports car, responsive, fun to drive, and also rather quick. When you don't want to drive but have to, like going to work, the soarer is perfect When you want to have some fun, get the zed out To compare a soarer and a zed is like comparing apples to pears. Both taste good, but which tastes the best ? Compare apples to apples and pears to pears instead.
