Thinking About Making the Switch
 

Hey guys, I'm thinking about switching from an STi to a 370Z, and wanted to hop on a forum to get a feel for the Z community.

I'm a long time Subaru enthusiast, but I'm looking to get into something a little different. I currently have an 08 STi, but the styling just has not grown on me. I've got a good price on a 370Z, and am spending the weekend to think about the decision.

The only thing holding me back from making the switch is the utility of the STi vs the Z. Losing All Wheel Drive and a back seat is a bit of an issue.

I'd love to hear your thoughts in general, but would be particularly curious to hear about the following:

1. Anyone else come from an STI, and what are your thoughts?
2. How is the Z on an auto cross course? Is it expensive to buy racing slicks for this car, and how do you get them to the track with so little stortage?
3. Any complaints about the car in general?

Glad to be aboard, and look forward to reading your thoughts.

The Z is good at the auto-cross, I have not been beaten by an STI yet - even in full wet conditions. Obviously it does take more skill to drive a RWD car in the wet vs AWD but the car does perform well.

Tires are a big issue in the 19" sizes, I am buying 18" wheels to widen my tire choices - see here

You can just barely cram 4 wheels in the car with all the stuff in the rear removed by stuffing 2 in the back and 2 in the passenger seat. It's not very easy to drive this way as you can't see out of the passenger side of the car at all. I plan on having someone with a full trailer carry my wheels for away events, for local events I will drive as it is close. Eventually someone might come up with a trailer hitch capable of towing a small tire trailer like this:
http://www.wizco.net/MX5/Trailer/trailer5small.jpg

The car has some serious issues under track conditions that is going to cost a little bit of money to fix.
1. The car needs an oil cooler, you may not need it for auto-cross but you will absolutely need it for open track.
2. The brakes. They look OK on paper but fail under track conditions. We're still figuring this issue out but it would appear as though the rotors are overheating. I've never seen it this bad on a stock braking system before.