Considering a Nismo

Slownismo

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here but I have been skimming through some of the different threads on nismos and had a few questions about them.

I will be in a position of purchasing one come early next year, and wanted to know if others would chime in why they chose the nismo over the regular z or some other make/model. I very much like the looks of the nismo (honestly, how could you not), and it is one of the cars in my price range I am considering. I know it offers a stiffer ride than the rest, that is fine with me, I am currently driving a 2006 GTO lowered with very, very stiff springs- so I am used to feeling every bump, yet don't think I can go through the pain it offers again.

Apart from my first question on why you chose the nismo, let me ask a few more:

1) It is pretty hard to find nismo's in my area. If I could find one to test drive I would just go do that, yet I can't. So I ask you, how rough is the ride on the nismo? Do you find it annoying at times or will it really not be that bad coming from a car that is already very rough?

2) How loud is the cabin noise? The goat has a horrible drone around 2k rpms, which I find myself at on the interstate quite frequently, so I have to resort to earplugs for those long trips. Is the noise really not that bad and the car critics are used to more "normal" cars?

3) I can't decide on color. I was sold on black for a while but after seeing some of the pictures of white with tints... it really is damn sexy. Opinions?

4) The other cars I am considering are the Audi S4, the BMW 135i, and possibly (not likely because of the lack of stick) Audi TTS. I am concerned because I will be in a situation (working under a professor) where I won't have the most time to tend to my car or keep her in top shape, so am faced with the prospect of getting the most practical, albeit very nice, choice of the S4 (4 doors, more space, etc).

One final word, do you nismo owners feel "connected" to your car? This is important to me because I truly value what I am driving and don't want to feel like it is just some transport to get me from A to B.

Any thoughts?