View Single Post
Old 05-08-2009, 09:57 PM   #8 (permalink)
jginnane
Base Member
 
jginnane's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: coastal NJ
Posts: 163
Drives: 09Z Pearl 7AT, 09 TL
Rep Power: 16
jginnane is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by awesomez View Post
... don't buy a Z if you don't want to spend the additional money for sport package. It has the only LSD that will be under manufacturer warranty. Forget the SynchroRevMatch forget the brakes just think about 5lb lighter 19 inch rays and the stickier bridgestone rubber with VLSD are worth a lot more then 3K.
The flip side to getting Sport is:

(1) a pretty-but-useless poseur spoiler;

(2) while the Rays are beautiful, replacements are not cheap outside of warranty;

(3) the Akebono brakes might be the best part. Unless you're going to drive "normally" (on the street, close to the speed limit) most of the time.

(4) Without Sport, you can select better rubber (on a smaller rim, with a higher ratio) for your personal driving needs. Someone just mentioned a good UHPAS tire, the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus, for example. These will probably last at least twice as long as the Bridgestones, assuming again that you're not on the track all the time, and could extend your safe driving by 2-3 months each year (depending on the weather where you live). Even with all-seasons, you'll still have the best car on the road.

(5) Yes, a limited slip differential is important ... but only if you drive in such a way that it's going to help you much of the time. On my GMC Yukon, for example, I only need to turn on 4WD 5-10 days each year. Is it worth carrying around the rest of the time? (Rhetorical, but the answer seems to depend on how much you like to live in your vehicle.) If you believe you MUST have LSD, then maybe you need to come into the purchase decision from the opposite side, and ask why you don't "absolutely" need AWD.
jginnane is offline   Reply With Quote