So perhaps it's more down to personal preference than facts and figures
I would usually consider personal preference part of a driver's skill and ability to drift. It's like taking into account a drifter's style in trying to tune a car. What is not an optimal tune may be faster and more reliable because of a drifter's different preferences for how a car is configured.
But the greatest differences between the similar cars (Z33 and Z34) are very small. So small that even the differences in style or tuning between drifters will make more of an impact than choosing between the two similarly tuned cars. It makes sense that differences in personal preference would overwhelm any minor performance improvement, however, if a drifter is precise and careful enough, when achieving a certain goal, those differences will become more important compared to differences in personal preference.
Basically, the more and more a drifter improves toward a goal (whether that is impressing people, or taking a corner at a certain speed, or increasing the angle without losing speed), the less their personal preference matters in comparison to the small tuning and vehicle specifics that could raise their limit of performance. Basically, how much are you willing to sacrifice for a little more performance? Are you willing to change your driving style? Are you willing to choose and uglier car that may be slower in other circumstances?
I have always been of the opinion that if there is greater performance and reliability to be found in another car or tune, although it's differences necessitate a change in personal preference or ability, then the driver must change his preference, skill, or ability in order to improve to the utmost, and if they do not, then they should recognize that they are not achieving everything they can. That is fine, not everyone is out there to squeeze every little bit of performance out of their car, but I have a fanatical devotion to driving, and drifting, and I can't live with myself if I do not understand every aspect of the car and how to improve. That's why I drift the S30, instead of a Z33. But I do use the Z33 occasionally.
In this case, the Z33 seems to have a higher threshold for performance as a consistent, reliable, fast drift car, mostly due to its shape, tread size, and chassis stiffness compared to the 370z. I spent a lot of time deciding to use it over the Z34, and I trust my research on it.
That's what this thread is about, really. Does the tiny differences between the Z33 and Z34 result in an 'optimal' style that is better in one than the other? And if so, how do we achieve it? When does this small difference matter more than your personal preference in trying to improve? That's what I think this thread is getting at, the 350z and 370z are just really good examples of that.
But yeah, Z33 all the way. If you are good enough that in order to improve you need/are willing to sacrifice any personal preference toward the Z34, then pick the Z33. If not, then it won't matter which one you pick because they're so similar that any differences will be marginal.
