Early Impressions on "Pearlie"

jginnane

Hmm, OK ... then it fits with the spoiler, it's for "spirited amateurs". ;-p

Here's a bar bet you can probably win against a roomful of Z owners -- which has the wider track, the Sport Pack with 1" wider tires, or the base? And the answer, since you're going to check this out, is that the "skinny" tires are actually further apart, by about 1/2 inch, both front and back.

I doubt there's any reason for it other than the way the Rays rims, Akebonos, and offsets happen to interact, but found it interesting nonetheless.

Diversion

Sounds to me you're far reaching for reasons to justify not getting the Sport Package on your Z. As in, making sure you made the right decision. It doesn't matter to US as a community which way you decided to go, it's still a beautiful car in the end and we aren't going to judge against people no matter what trim they decided on. For a lot of us, we felt the Sport package was a killer deal (and in reality it is). Did I *need* the large brakes, spoiler, 19" wheels, LSD, etc? Heck no, I probably will never see the limits of my Z but knowing i've pushed the limits out that far, just suites me well.

For some of us, having the OPTION makes us most comfortable than being limited. I could way off base here, it just sounds like you're still talking yourself out of the idea that going with Sport could have been a better decision. You made the RIGHT decision no matter what level of trim you decided on, it's ***Z*** Haha..

That being said, welcome to the club!

jginnane

OK, I'll admit it. And I'll give you the track of logic that brought me to a Z.

1. I could own any car. At least a GT-R. Price was not at issue.

2. I've driven a GMC Yukon for the last 11 years. Six years were a stretch because our Doberman was big -- my justification for keeping the truck. But back when Tony Soprano switched over to an Escalade, I didn't ... There was a period of alternate justification after the dog passed on because I had to drive into NYC a lot. Truck tires are better on NY streets. But that was old on day 1.

3. At the same time, we moved my wife from an ML-320 to a TSX, to a 3rd gen TL, to (very recently) a 4th gen TL. She likes to drive. (She has never driven a real sports car.)

The point of #3 was I wasn't entirely stuck on an old 4WD, but occasionally drove the "sporty" family sedan. Wife couldn't figure out how I'd prefer the neutral-handling TSX to a nose-heavy TL, because she thought straight-ahead HP was all good. ;p

4. When I started searching last fall I spent a good 6 months trying to get a further compromise car. I thought the Infiniti FX line was a little crude and overtly macho -- no better than the Mercedes, or even an Acura RDX. The EX35 was slimmer, and had a good V6. But ... it was impossible to get one east of the Mississippi, north of FL without AWD. I even stopped in a West Palm Beach dealer to check out his used one. Nawp -- he didn't understand that when a car was built in Mar 07 and has 16K miles, it's now a 2-year old car (even if Infiniti never released a 2009 version).

5. After I got disgusted with Infiniti dealers who just didn't understand why I didn't take one of the creampuffs sitting on their lots (under dust), I spent a brief, intense period looking at hybrids. The Honda Insight was nice. If my stepson was 10 years younger, it would have suited him. The latest gen Prius is being rolled out RIGHT NOW. But to get good headlights (LED, not HID) and leather seats, you were already talking a sticker into the mid-30's. And after you got all done with that... it was still a Prius. "Hypermiling" sounds very virtuous, until you realize that if the car came with a sail, they'd be trying to sell you that, and you'd speak of _tacking_ in these forums.

6. The Z was like going back to an Infiniti, except it had the latest engine, and the correct number of back seats we need. I really didn't look at the 350 or S2000 before -- I came into this fresh. G37, coupe or sedan, wasn't considered because it was easier to let her select something she'd think of as a daily driver (and a TL was cheaper, and, after all, it's a Honda).

And, we still have the Yukon -- and its solid steel bumpers are just fine for parallel parking in NYC, thank you.

jginnane

In that last post I tried to set out a matrix of where we are, what we need, etc.

I saw a recent post from a grad looking forward to getting his first car, a Z. There was a bad feeling, because for many people in various stages of life, it's not only an impractical car, it's dangerous. (If you've looked for threads about roof racks for anything other than skis, or wondered if you could mount a hitch ... this may not be the car for you. Get an Outback instead.)

However. It's not mine to judge other people. I can hint, yah, but everyone has to find his/her Way.

So the sports package has a combination of useful and semi-useful items for people who want to go fast. Serious, pro-type drivers (who like the low pricing of the Z) will go past most items in the sport package. If you scan the for sale threads, there's already been good activity with those OEM Rays Forged 19s. My neighbor who retired from racing except for a bike, questions why Nissan downscaled from Brembos to Akebonos this year.

I could go on ... re-evaluating each component of the package ... but the bottom line for me was, is the 8-9% cost increase over non-Sport really going to give me a better, safer car? Or does it have the potential to turn a very good car into a high-maintenance horror, because of the way I'd want to drive, and because of the higher expense of replacement parts? (I look at the addition of "sport" in the same way I was evaluating adding AWD to the Infiniti EX35.)

It sure would be nice if Nissan used these owner forums as a test bed for future options package offerings.

ChrisSlicks

Actually I do want a hitch, I want to tow a very small tire trailer to carry race tires as you can't fit them inside the car.

jginnane

LOL -- Can I sell you a 98 GMC Yukon? Should be able to carry about six full sets inside. Or, you can put tires in the back, then flatbed your Z on the hitch and you won't have to do setup at trackside. (Plus you can carry a fullsize futon, your SnapOns, a large cooler for victory suds, a weeks worth of laundry...)

Earlier I was just going to CraigsList the Yukon, but there's a clunker law in Congress where they'll give $4500 if you trade an old beast toward a new car with better gas mileage. So the Galves wholesale has a bottom of $4500+ now (or will, as soon as the law gets passed).

ChrisSlicks

That's cool. I have a V6 Dodge with lousy gas mileage, not sure if I'm ready to ante up for a new truck and trailer right after buying the Z. And now thanks to the new law I can't even afford a 98 Yukon!

I've seen trailers like this made from aluminum and towed by Miata's. I figure if a 100hp Miata can do it then the Z shouldn't have a problem.
Harbor Freight Utility Trailer

Diversion

I read and see your points loud and clear. Makes more sense now. Without details it kind of looked like you were having to justify your reasons for not going with this and that, ya know?

Jay

jginnane

Hi Jay,

Well . . . Remember my thought that Nissan should scan these forums for input to future option packages?

One of the most important things in this forum is resolution of the oil cooling problem. I bet 99+% would in retrospect rather have an oil cooler than a rear wing spoiler as part of a "Sport" deal. (I'm not even sure a separate bolt-on cooler is needed, but it might be the cheapest/quickest fix.)

One thing I'm personally interested in is auxiliary front lighting. I have Bosch driving lights on order. (These are more important than fogs because you don't want to be driving the Z fast on summer treads in fog, even with the best fog lights.) None of the aftermarket companies yet have attempted to add lights into their nose shrouds, and it's an easy design if you leave access to the horizontal bumper bar for mounting.)

So in my case, I'd forgo the Rays forged rims and keep the heavier "base" ones in the hopes they'd last longer in the NYC area. But my ideal "Sport" package would either have an extra light set in front, or an easier way to drop them in. Think: removable fangs.

Just the two above changes, let's call them "Sport Package B", would be something I couldn't resist. It probably prices out a little cheaper than the current "Sport" -- but in each case I've replaced things I find less-useful with an item I would call More useful.

( I don't expect Nissan to make these changes because they've been adding profits since forever by bolting slab spoilers on Sentras and the like. )