2016 Midnight Blue Sport
Hey Everyone,
Finally got around to getting my first Z car. I've been driving an NC Miata for the last two years as my old commute was ridiculous (Atlanta) and while I've had tons of fun in it, it was time to get back into a car with real power. I was looking at 997 Carrera S, 987 Cayman S, 981 Cayman Base, e92 M3, 2015+ Mustang GTs, 2011/2012 GT500s, and 370zs - in that order. After driving them:
I was ready to pull the trigger on a 2012 GT500 but the dealer was asking 4k over market value. Lucky for me it was parked next to a 2016 370z Sport in Midnight Blue - I test drove it an fell in love with the car. Midnight blue looks absolutely ridiculous in the sunlight. In direct sunlight it's almost a dark sparkly turquoise, then it turns into a dark blue/purple when it's dark. They were more motivated to get rid of it so we signed papers the next day and I've had the 370z for about a week.
Initial impressions:
1. Whoever decided to put a heavy clutch spring right where the clutch starts to engage is an absolute moron. It forces your foot off the clutch right when it starts to catch and I wish them one hundred years of incredible daily inconveniences. I removed the clutch spring last night and it feels 100X better.
2. Visibility is worse than any other non exotic car I've ever been in - Solution: Left mirror out all the way, right almost all the way, downshift and accelerate when changing lanes (remember to not take the next two gears to redline)
3. Driving position is perfect - my dad has a G37X which has the driving position of a Lincoln Continental so this was a concern until I actually sat in it. The "cockpit" feels like a "racecar" and I love the gauges.
4. It handles way better than I expected. At low speeds you have tons of control and feedback from the steering wheel and at highway+ speeds it's very smooth
5. Power: low end torque feels pretty good and I finally took it to 7500 last night in MEXICO. Pulling onto Interstate Baja lastnight I took 2nd-the top of 4th and it was honestly very surprising. 6000-7500 it screams (as loud as the stock exhaust will let it)
Future Mods:
1. Clutch spring - removed the clutch spring last night and looking into a lighter spring
2. Exhaust - I was looking at AAM Short Tails but I'd end up switching to a catback anyway so I'm leaning more towards the Invidia Gemini
3. Spacers - possibly 20mm spacers just to bring the wheel out to meet the body lines
4. Shift knob - I drove a friend's 370z with a Tomei shift knob and it feels so much better. The stock knob makes the shifts feel sloppy and rubbery so I was previously planning on getting a short throw shifter
5. Intakes - probably go with Stillen Gen 3s in a few months
6. Tune - this is the first manual car I've driven with drive by wire and it's a little tricky to heal toe and rev match, coming from a cable driven throttle body Miata with a well-laid out pedal move and OMP Pedals
7. OMP Pedals - I had them on my Miata and I can't go back. I love my "Cheater pedals"
Closing notes:
1. I love the Z
2. Power is awesome and it just needs a little more sound
3. My building and office both have parking garages so I make it my life's mission to park on the top floor and hug the pillars so I don't get dings
4. I'll probably keep it until 2015+ Nismos come down to the 25k mark
|