Nismo VS Sport Package Springs, Struts and Shocks

Robert Yuras

It's my opinion that the Nismo setup is rather sprung at lower speeds, so for common road use below 55 mph, it is harsh. However, that IS the reason the Nismo was made. The car doesn't need shock/spring modifications to run up against some of the most competitive cars on the road course. So when you buy a Nismo from the showroom floor and pay the extra premium, you're kind of accepting the fact that you're buying a "race version". There are trade offs to buying it. Unfortunately, I think some people consider the Nismo cause it looks amazing, but forget that they're getting a fairly prepped car. Lets face it: 75% of our competition made their highest tier cars with more horsepower, but failed to improve the suspension and braking components to create a well balanced car. The nismo has excellent balance in this area (even though the power curve is flat as hell and we'll ignore the clutch/fuel issue).

Side note: This weekend both the BRZ and Genesis clubs showed up at the track. We used to call the Miata's "moving slaloms"...this weekend it was a BRZ/Genesis moving slalom

nis350

This is a great unbiased post. Many simply add after-market parts to improve the performance of the car, but it is the drivers that need the improvements as many simply don't have the ability to reach the full potential of cars.

I personally feel that the Sport version is plenty good and a good compromise as DD.

carlitos_370z

completely

you can install the best coilovers and suspension parts on the market... but if you dont know how to drive the car you are not doing nothing with those parts!

victorofhavoc

I personally feel the sport version is rough as a DD...It's why I drive a Forester XT as my DD. Honestly though, the sport has the LSD and wheel width to handle pretty much anything. With a better set of dampeners and wheels the driver will definitely be the limiting factor. Out of the 2 autox races and one sprint I took my car to last year, I beat several people with aftermarket sway bars, spring setups, and even coilovers. Most people don't even know how to properly tune a coilover so they're often a waste. The only person that beat me had a set of Konis and better tires. He was only .5-1 second faster in autox though, which could be more tire than anything.

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Had a 2010 WRX- boy was it quick in a straight line, got a 2014 Z- man is she grippy in the corners-- then left the Z and later got a GTI, now back in an 09 racecar Z!