Imag Z journal

imag · 05-06-2009, 01:53 PM

Well I got it. After lurking the boards, after spending half a year looking for exactly the car I want to buy (used, classic, new), after carefully pondering every single sports car built in this country for the last 40 years (I even considered building my own), I got a black base sport.

And it's sweet. I don't have photos yet, but I figure you all know what a stock black Z looks like.

Driving it home last night, I felt like I made the right choice. It's a bit heavy compared to my AW11 MR2 - I could feel the weight on the bumps and transitions. But it's very well damped, really planted, and it handles amazingly. The feeling I get driving it is that it could eat the road and most of the cars for breakfast without even trying. It's a cliche, but I've never driven something that I felt so *owned* the road (the Viper was impressive, but in a different way). The Z has so much capability beyond what is usable on the street, but it's so user-friendly. I really can't imagine buying this car and not taking it to the track. Freeway onramps and on-road twisties feel like they just reveal a tiny part of this car's capabilities.

I have no issue with the noise level or the noise from the wheelwells. Compared to the MR2, this thing is so refined, it feels like a luxury car (in fact, I almost didn't buy it because I was worried that it would be too insulated). Love the smoothness, love the torque. The speed is deceptive; it doesn't feel as fast as it is. I'm looking forward to doing intake and exhaust, for the sound as well as for the slight bump this car can easily handle.

So - I love it. Glad to finally be a proper member. I may not have the money to keep up with the Joneses (or RCZ or Travis), but I'll be at least trying to follow in their footsteps and do solid upgrades.

For now my upgrade path is based upon monthly paychecks. I'm going to start with the short shift kit, just because the shifter feels too spindly now (and the shifter is half the interface to the car).

Then, on to the important bits I need before I can track the car:
-Oil cooler
-Carbotech pads (hopefully they have the rears out by July).
-I'll also probably try the 15mm rear spacers while I have the wheels off.

Performance/sound (phase 2):
-Catback - leaning toward the Stillen because I love the sound; don't like the weight
-Berks HFCs - I'll risk it in California, but the headers will be too much of a pain to swap when smog comes around, for too little gain.
-Stillen intake

Stereo (phase 3):
-Subwoofer - still finalizing
-Sub Amp - Alpine PDX 1.1000
-Still trying to figure out if I want to do the H/U
-Front speakers (hopefully the Focal K2 165 3 component group, if I can afford it)
-Front speaker amp - Alpine PDX, most likely, depending on speakers
-Still trying to figure out if I want to add the rear speakers.

Phase 4:
-Sway bars (hopefully sooner rather than later)
-Flywheel (watching travis carefullly)

Long term:
-Coilovers (when I start feeling like the car is holding me back on the track)
-Quaife differential
-Supercharger (some day, if Stillen gets it right, and I've got money laying around)

imag · 05-06-2009, 01:57 PM

[reserved for photos]

ChrisSlicks · 05-06-2009, 02:04 PM

Congrats!

As far as the spacers go, don't do it until you've run it at the track at least once in the stock configuration. The spacer is for aesthetics and may have a slightly negative effect on the handling at the track as you have altered the rear track in relation to the front.

imag · 05-06-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Congrats!

As far as the spacers go, don't do it until you've run it at the track at least once in the stock configuration. The spacer is for aesthetics and may have a slightly negative effect on the handling at the track as you have altered the rear track in relation to the front.

Thanks Chris!

I was worried about that spacer - I even asked about it on the wheel/tire section - but people told me that it would be fine, that we might even get a benefit from the added width. I did see that people were running spacers on racing BMWs, but I doubt anyone runs spacers on one axle.

However, what you're saying agrees with my gut feeling, so point taken. I guess I'll just have to go with wider wheels to fill the wheelwell sometime in the future. I was figuring that the Nismo configuration (offset and width) is probably the most well-thought-out, so I was going to copy that. Like most manufacturer configurations though, it's probably still biased toward understeer...

At least I have some time before I'll be buying rims. I actually like the stock rims a lot, but I just wish they had the width of the Nismo rims to flesh out the wheelwell a bit better (not to mention get more rubber on the road). I'm sure not doing anything that decreases performance for looks - I'd only get rims if I could decrease unsprung weight, which means volks to me...

ChrisSlicks · 05-06-2009, 03:05 PM

By all means try the spacer, but definitely try it without the spacer first to get a base line feeling for the handling characteristics.

To me the car feels fairly neutral at speeds over 40mph and it is easy to use the throttle to modulate the balance. At lower speeds it does have a tendency to understeer especially if you don't get enough weight transfer to the front axle under braking.

The Volks will be a nice choice. I've signed up for a set of the 18" Forgestar F14's for track duty. The weight should be the same or less than stock despite a larger footprint.

05-06-2009, 01:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
imag Enthusiast Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 446 Drives: up the wall Rep Power: 16	Imag Z journal Well I got it. After lurking the boards, after spending half a year looking for exactly the car I want to buy (used, classic, new), after carefully pondering every single sports car built in this country for the last 40 years (I even considered building my own), I got a black base sport. And it's sweet. I don't have photos yet, but I figure you all know what a stock black Z looks like. Driving it home last night, I felt like I made the right choice. It's a bit heavy compared to my AW11 MR2 - I could feel the weight on the bumps and transitions. But it's very well damped, really planted, and it handles amazingly. The feeling I get driving it is that it could eat the road and most of the cars for breakfast without even trying. It's a cliche, but I've never driven something that I felt so owned the road (the Viper was impressive, but in a different way). The Z has so much capability beyond what is usable on the street, but it's so user-friendly. I really can't imagine buying this car and not taking it to the track. Freeway onramps and on-road twisties feel like they just reveal a tiny part of this car's capabilities. I have no issue with the noise level or the noise from the wheelwells. Compared to the MR2, this thing is so refined, it feels like a luxury car (in fact, I almost didn't buy it because I was worried that it would be too insulated). Love the smoothness, love the torque. The speed is deceptive; it doesn't feel as fast as it is. I'm looking forward to doing intake and exhaust, for the sound as well as for the slight bump this car can easily handle. So - I love it. Glad to finally be a proper member. I may not have the money to keep up with the Joneses (or RCZ or Travis), but I'll be at least trying to follow in their footsteps and do solid upgrades. For now my upgrade path is based upon monthly paychecks. I'm going to start with the short shift kit, just because the shifter feels too spindly now (and the shifter is half the interface to the car). Then, on to the important bits I need before I can track the car: -Oil cooler -Carbotech pads (hopefully they have the rears out by July). -I'll also probably try the 15mm rear spacers while I have the wheels off. Performance/sound (phase 2): -Catback - leaning toward the Stillen because I love the sound; don't like the weight -Berks HFCs - I'll risk it in California, but the headers will be too much of a pain to swap when smog comes around, for too little gain. -Stillen intake Stereo (phase 3): -Subwoofer - still finalizing -Sub Amp - Alpine PDX 1.1000 -Still trying to figure out if I want to do the H/U -Front speakers (hopefully the Focal K2 165 3 component group, if I can afford it) -Front speaker amp - Alpine PDX, most likely, depending on speakers -Still trying to figure out if I want to add the rear speakers. Phase 4: -Sway bars (hopefully sooner rather than later) -Flywheel (watching travis carefullly) Long term: -Coilovers (when I start feeling like the car is holding me back on the track) -Quaife differential -Supercharger (some day, if Stillen gets it right, and I've got money laying around) Last edited by imag; 05-06-2009 at 01:56 PM.

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05-06-2009, 01:57 PM	#2 (permalink)
imag Enthusiast Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 446 Drives: up the wall Rep Power: 16	[reserved for photos]

05-06-2009, 02:04 PM	#3 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	Congrats! As far as the spacers go, don't do it until you've run it at the track at least once in the stock configuration. The spacer is for aesthetics and may have a slightly negative effect on the handling at the track as you have altered the rear track in relation to the front.

05-06-2009, 03:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	By all means try the spacer, but definitely try it without the spacer first to get a base line feeling for the handling characteristics. To me the car feels fairly neutral at speeds over 40mph and it is easy to use the throttle to modulate the balance. At lower speeds it does have a tendency to understeer especially if you don't get enough weight transfer to the front axle under braking. The Volks will be a nice choice. I've signed up for a set of the 18" Forgestar F14's for track duty. The weight should be the same or less than stock despite a larger footprint.