Brakes:
Sport/nismo vs base is a pretty big difference. The sport akebonos, although on the heavier side, stop significantly better than the standard brakes. It's not just a new rotor. New calipers as well. I find that the stopping power of the standard brakes is plenty for the track, but definitely needs a pad upgrade, especially on tracks that tend to be harder on brakes. This car will be more abusive to brakes and tires compared to the Mazda.
Suspension:
I have the stock sport suspension and I find that it's a bit nose-dive-y for dedicated track use, but because I do mostly street driving, with 1-2 track days per year, I personally wouldn't go too much firmer that how it is stock. Otherwise, the car tends to have some mid-corner understeer, with some lift off and power-on oversteer. You can get sway bars to adjust as desired. Either way, it's certainly not a super plush/squishy ride. On the firmer side as far as passenger cars go.
CSC:
The design of the slave cylinder has the slave in the bell housing, concentric to the shaft in the trans. Unfortunately, its construction leads to relatively early failure, especially with harder use. People seem to have variable luck with it, but generally, it's anticipated as something to be fixed on most 370zs. A lot of us go with an aftermarket slave that is either not concentric, or is of sturdier construction. There are a few different options out there. I went with the CMAK from Z-speed, I think. It auto-adjusts, whereas, some of the other kits need manual adjustment.
VLSD:
Not one of the Zs strong-suits. Much like the one on the E46 M3, the VLSD on this car can overheat relatively easily with heavy use and it will lose it's ability to lock, effectively converting into an open diff. Obviously, much more drivable than some of the aggressive counterparts. If you're not tracking very often, it probably doesn't matter. If you track regularly, it's probably worth switching it out at some point. It's on my "someday" to-do list, but I haven't gotten around to it.
Sport vs base: definitely opinion. If you like the synchro-rev match, you can only get that in the sport or Nismo. If you don't care, and plan to do a huge number of modifications anyway (i.e. you're going to do brakes, aftermarket LSD, wheels, etc.), it might be worth it to start with a base and put that money towards the mods. I went with sport because of the wheels, brakes, and LSD. I don't plan on doing a crazy big brake kit, the wheels offer me tires that are a bit more appropriate for track use compared to the base-model 18s (and I like the look of these), and an aftermarket LSD (I was looking at helical) was going to be out of budget. You're looking at around $1.2k for a new helical LSD, plus install or the time for install if you're doing it yourself. The Rays wheels that are stock on the sport are relatively light for their size, especially for an OEM wheel. The biggest downside for me, for the sport and the base, are the seats. They're not bad, but I found the Nismo seats to hold better around corners. Not a deal breaker for me obviously.
Things to look for. Other than the usuals you mentioned. The rear diff bushing can pop and you'll see this black stain all over near the diff and rear subframe. If that's the case, make sure the bushing has been replaced, or plan on replacing it. I'm sure others who are more knowledgeable can chime in. Hope that helps!
|