stormcrow

I receive a call from the transport driver yesterday afternoon stating he was one to one and a half hours out. Imagine my excitement to know that the car is almost home! The driver says he will call when he's on the street near where we have pre-arranged to meet.

The call comes and I tell him exactly where to go and that I will meet him in five minutes. I pull into the parking lot and he's pulling in at the exact same time. Timing perfection! We both exit our vehicles, exchange pleasantries and then get down to business. A quick hookup of the power from the rig to the trailer and then the hookup of the master control for the lift gate (this is an enclosed trailer with a drive on lift...super sweet) and I am wild with anticipation. The driver hits the "down" button and the gate opens about five inches...then stops. He looks over at me and says "It's just a fuse. I've been frying them for a while now. Let me go replace it." Fuse is replaced, "down" button is hit again and nothing. Zero. Nada. WTF? Driver fumbles around for about an hour and makes a few calls. Needless to say, I wasn't getting my car that night. I tell the driver to call me if things change but that I will not accept the car at night due to it being dark and I want to inspect it.

The call comes around 11pm that he has gotten it fixed. A wire was grounded to the metal of the trailer...shorting shiz out. Nice. So, we meet this morning before work around 8am. I have had a short ride into work in pretty much stop and go traffic. I did have opportunity to "get on it" a bit in a few short spots. My impressions so far: (keep in mind this is the spring pressure...I have not dialed up the boost controller)

1 - Comparing this to any other vehicle I have had to date is apples to oranges. The torque curve is a very linear in ramp up, nothing like the 350Z with GReddy, but so much more managable and pleasant. It hits hard and strong so it is not weaksauce like the supercharger kits I have owned, but doesn't cause major traction issues or obtrusive fish-tailing. What I really like is that it pulls the whole way through the powerband. Where my 350 would hit like a freight train and then take a nose dive, the 370 just pulls and pulls and pulls all the way to redline. Comparing it to the GT-R, it doesn't pull as hard down low, but I am attibuting that to the lower torque numbers and lack of AWD. Traction is still a small issue. Higher in the RPM band, it pulls harder than the GT-R.

2 - The exhaust is by far WAY too annoyingly loud. And it DRONES like mad at anything below 3000. Thumbs down for the GReddy TI-C TT with test pipes and resonators removed. I plan on replacing the resonators, if possible, to see if this will help alleviate some of the nasty rasp and drone. If not, then another exhaust is in my near future.

3 - Lifting the hood gave me wood. I mean, I had seen pictures, but crap the charge pipes look so stealthy and clean! Sam did an incredible job on the setup. The gauges are perfectly placed. The EVC 6, though hard to read due to the angle from the driver's seat, is beautifuly mounted in the slot in front of the cup holder where the dummy switch covers reside. (none of those switches are used in the Nismo) Nothing is damaged or out of sorts. Keep in mind that my car had less than a 1000 miles when it went to Sam. I had just broken 800, I believe. The car was brand new and still looks that very way! Not a scratch on any interior or exterior piece. That is no easy feat when basically disassembling the whole car.

As I drive the car more, I will give a better update and comparison. I need to "feel" her out a bit and see what all she has to offer. But, so far, the decisions I have made seem to be good. Many thanks to Sam and the hardworking guys at GTM for taking such good care of my car and putting together such a seamless build.