In the early 90's I had the opportunity to be a transport driver for Motor Trend Magazine on two of their huge Bang-For-The-Buck tests. I was one of several people whose job it was to move the different test vehicles between the various test sites, I also changed tires and did whatever else needed doing. In this capacity I had the opportunity to put a lot of miles on a lot of different high performance cars. The thing that impressed me was how stunningly easy it was to pick up on the differences between the various cars. I was surprised to find out how easy it was to overcome my preconceptions and to determine which car had the best steering or the most supportive seats or the best transmission. I found that if I drove one car for a long time, that car became the "norm" and it was only when I switched to a different car that I became fully aware of how I had adjusted to (and in some cases compensated for) the flaws and limitations of the previous car. I have had the opportunity to drive quite a few cars over the years and the Z is unquestionably the loudest (road noise that is, I've driven lots of cars with louder exhaust systems, actually the Z's exhaust is on the quiet side). I found that the stock level of noise to be unacceptable for my intended use and accordingly, I have invested about $350.00 and a weekend of my time to address that issue. I am happy with the result and if additional affordable opportunities for further improvements present themselves I'll probably do those as well. As track cars go, the Z may be as quiet as convent at 3AM, but as a road car it's loud.
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