RicerX

OP - I will lend my two cents to your dilemma as I have daily driven my current Z for the last year and 19k miles and have owned 3 different Zs in my lifetime.

I currently own a 2013 Sport + Touring package. I have driven it every single day for the past year except for the occasional business trip. I enjoy the stereo, heated leather seats, and the homelink mirror the touring package offers. That being said, I'm very interested in picking up a 2015 Nismo, but will likely only be able to execute in spring of 2016 if I do it at all. The reasons for that are: 1) I'm a Z fanboy - have been for a long time, which leads me to 2) the visuals upgrades of the Z Nismo are staggeringly awesome to me - I feel it's the best looking Z ever released straight from the factory, and I would have no desire to add anything to the exterior of the car - no carbon fiber accents or spoilers or vinyl or anything. 3) the Recaro seats are a nice finishing touch. 4) contrary to what many people are saying, there are a couple other small upgrades for the manual version, the key of which is the shorter final drive (3.92?) vs whatever is in the rest of the Zs offer. There is no change for the automatic. I'm purely interested in the manual, though for some reason I'm curious about the automatic lately. 5) I'm getting less interested in modding my car and more interested in having a bunch of things out of the box - I enjoy driving more lately than getting into pissing contests with Camaros and Mustangs. The Nismo offers a lot of things that I want to add to my current car, and I'm finding that I'm comfortable with the power the Z has already anyway. I don't need a 500hp DD, and while I've had my fun modding cars and such, you always introduce more complexity when you mod. I find that I'm growing out of that as well. Everyone is different.

I can tell you, being in AL (hot AND humid), the factory oil cooler is just fine (you get it in 2012+ models) for daily driving with the occasional spirited push through some backroads. I have never gone into limp mode (happens at oil temp of 260 degrees), but the highest I have ever seen was on a 6 hour road trip (about hour five as I got into the Atlanta area) on a 105 degree day before heat factor - that temp was 240 degrees, however this was on my 2010. I have never seen higher than 220 on my 2013.

As a sport/touring owner, I can say that if you like music but not enough to go aftermarket, you'll want the tech package for bose audio. As a DD, you may also enjoy having heated side mirrors. My second Z did not have them and I found that I missed them if the car ended up outside overnight during the fall or winter. I'm not sure if the Nismo has those, but it's one of those small things you think about if you use the car as a DD.

The approach and departure angles of the Z can get you into trouble with weird driveways and such, though the 2015 Nismo's front bumper doesn't stick out as far as the previous Nismos. I don't know how it compares to my sport/touring, but it is very close. The Z is shorter than the Vette though, so on a test drive, you may find it easier to maneuver around stuff. There are still weird dips and speed bumps I avoid with mind, but I can mostly get around without a problem. I'm also on stock suspension, FYI.

As for reliability - I have never had a single issue. My first Z (2010) I put 40k on the clock (6MT). Only repair I had was a bad tire pressure sensor - covered under warranty, the other was the steering lock recall. My second Z I only put 8k miles on, but long story as to why I had to get rid of it. My current Z has been everything I expect from a Nissan so far - only oil changes and nearly 20k miles. There is the looming potential of CSC failure, but it seems less frequent in newer Zs and far more frequent in 09s and 10s. Should that happen, I'm prepared, but like you said, every car has its issues. Earlier models had steering lock issues, but they recalled against the older models and the newer models have the updated steering lock switch, so that's that. The VQ is solid - just keep your oil changed, stay out of it until the oil is at temperature, and you'll be just fine.

As for your desires in a car - I think you just need to drive it. You seem to have been around the block, so to speak, regarding your performance cars, and are looking for a blend of daily practicality and reliability yet a hefty dose of fun. You can get that in a Z, but only you can fully know that after a good test drive. If you weren't coming from a Vette, I would advise something like a G37/Q60 coupe to give you a trunk and some backseats for any extra stuff you may carry, but I feel your expectations are aligned fairly well in that regard. With respect to the arguments of ride quality/stiffness, I've never driven a Nismo, so I cannot attest to the difference in ride stiffness from my car, but I don't have a problem with how my car rides - I know that it's a sports car. However, since that is so subjective, you need to find that out for yourself on a test drive. Everyone has their own tolerances.

Sorry for the book, but I felt this was the input you were looking for. Hope to hear back from you after you've had a good test drive. I think you'll find things you like and don't like.

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