Originally Posted by The HACK

Just a couple of points I'd like to add, since I had a 350Z as a track rat, and now have the MZ4 Coupe and the WRX...

You will NEVER get the same joy out of any of the cars you are looking at as a track car, outside of maybe the S2000, as you ever will with the MZ4 Coupe. I'm not kidding. The only work I've done to the MZ4 Coupe was swap out the OEM BMW brake pads for Cobalt XR3s, and it is faster out of the box, than my 350Z ever was even with R-comps. And the 350Z had a full list of work done on it, ranging from coil-overs, intake, headers, exhaust...etc. The only car I've ever driven, out of the box, that was better to drive than the MZ4 Coupe was the Lotus Exige S. But with a car like that, I wouldn't even bother driving it on the street. The only place where it'll ever be happy is on the track.

If you're going to get a 370Z or any of the Japanese cars under $30K, you must consider upgrading the brakes first before you take it on track. I burned through an entire set of brake pads on the 350Z in 4 20 minute sessions all the way past the backing plate, and back then I was still on the OEM street tires AND only a "B" student in the BMW CCA ranks (which is to say, not even all that fast). I fully anticipate the same for the WRX, I will not be taking it to the track unless I can get a set of brake upgrade from my buddy at RacingBrake. The only car mentioned so far that has a worthy set of brakes is the RX-8. That thing has high-end European like brakes, with only a set of race ready brake pads being the ONLY thing you'll need to have a great time at the track.