370Z disappointment -is Nismo the cure?
 

Test drove a 370Z base with sport package and was really not impressed at all. Steering felt mushy. Engine tame and docile, not to mention you couldn't even hear it! Gear box felt notchy. Car felt like a bad rental with no road feel whatsoever. View from the drivers seat lame when compared to my RX-7 or Mini or Vette---there is no view of muscular body---just hood bump.

Before you rip me a new *******, I want honest opinions on whether it is worth driving an hour to test drive a Nismo version. How different is it?

Thx for any assistance

Probably the only difference will be the handling. I drove my friends Touring model and even with the upgrades the touring had, the Nismo felt better. I modded mine to get a better sound. The nismo does not sound any meaner at all. They sure made the car quiet. Cant comment on the view, I have no problems with the view. I would rather drive this car then any Vette out there!

must be that you are use to the short wheel base and direct imput from the RX and Vett. But the Mini? Is it an older one, cause I raced one of those around a track all day, ont a day trip and it was horrible. Felt like a plastic POS with a lawnmore engine. Just my honest opinion. :tup:

Sounds like you dont like the z so IMHO dont go and waste your money and buy one and then throw more money at it. if you dont fall in love at first then it will always be in your mind that it will never be any better. Best look for your fix elsewhere.

If you didn't like the regular 370Z that much, then you will not like the Nismo either. Save yourself the trip.

It's like the base model, it just has a lot stiffer ride.

When I drove my Base/Sports Z I was very impressed. And I came from a 300ZX TT.

The Nismo is not much different. Much stiffer ride, some better sways and 18 more HP. So I would say you won't be much impressed...

if you want to be impressed drive my car (see sig for mods) LOL

Sounds like the Z is just not your cup of tea...keep shopping. A mini? Really? WOW lol.

Think you would be better off in a GT-R if you wanted a Nissan.

I think that statement could hold true for most of us here. :icon17:

the Z isn't for you

also holds true for some members here. :icon17:

Thx all---It is really sad---I loved my 280ZX and I loved my 300ZX :-(

My Mini is the JCW model and the Vette has the Z51 suspension and the RX-7 is far from stock. They all make noise and are point and shoot.

I really wanted to love this car. I thank you all for weighing in with your honest f/b and help.

I am going to try and go drive a Nismo. If I like it, I will get all your help figuring out how to make it "noisy"

If/when, check my sig.

If not enough noise is your only concern, I am sure there are plenty of aftermarket CAI and CBE to make your ears happy. The stock Nismo sound slightly meaner but not by much. The ride is much stiffer tho and handles better.

Different strokes for different folks.

My base with sport still gives me wood every time I get into it.

Noisy. Try LTH, no cats, 12" resonators, and cbe. :D

Click on picture for video.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...ps3e963093.jpg

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i2...deo/th_007.jpg

Honestly, do what I did. Test drive "Similar Cars". Boxster, Cayman, Z4, etc. then drive the Nismo. Only then will you understand what makes it unique, and revered. Otherwise, well it's apples and oranges...


BTW- Rusty, you have one bad *** car!

I thought more about this. My car goes right where I point it. The Nismo is awesome, the best handling car I have ever driven. I say go test drive it. An hour is not far!

:icon18: I agree,you got to drive as many of the cars in the same class as possible. Then decide which one best meets your needs and cash flow. I have drive most of the ones listed in thread and the Nismo rocks!

I have the Nismo Z and 35 Gtr, I guess I'm lucky. But I like the Z better, the car really gives you that amazing "feeling"

That amazing feeling when you bump a year old thread? :p

;)


Yes, you're very lucky if you own both a GTR and Z. Don't rub it in. :rofl2:

Autoblog said they didn't like the base/sport Z, but loved the Nismo version. Its just one persons opinion but its worth reading. I personally love the Base/Sport/Nismo and would buy other trims in a heartbeat

First Drive: 2010 Nissan 370Z Nismo simply rocks - Autoblog

I agree with the best handling car. But its not the best with feedback. It will do exactly what you tell it to do, but its a car you have to get a feel for. where as a car like a BRZ or cayman S just have that good connection with the driver. They dont handle any better, they just FEEL like they do. Great car, but if your on the ropes its not for you. Its a very unique platform, ether you hate it, or you love it. Everyone that owns a nismo swear by it, everyone that doesnt.... will talk it down. but its not a car you will "like or dislike" on a silly hour long test drive. since you even MENTIONED a vette in the same sentence as a 370z it sounds like your more interested in uncontrollable useless power and lots of noise, but then you mentioned a mini. which also has something in common to the vette, they are both made worse than a chinese plastic toy from 1985. If you want a shitty car, dont buy the Z.

:facepalm:
You were doing so well in this post and then you just veered off so quickly.
I hope you mention of the Corvette and Mini is from long extended first hand experience, since as you said it takes more than a short 1 hour test drive. Additionally, no one talks down on the Nismo, they say the value of the purchase could be obtained better through other sources.

as a NISMO owner, I can mostly attest to this.. only I paid for my NISMO what a sport model Z cost so I can't complain to much :bowrofl:

I was under the impression that a C6 is lighter than a Z, makes more power than a Z and has more tire under it and pulls higher skidpad numbers. And for the price of a new Nismo, you're in "used Z06" territory.

Ditto. I don't know what all the fuss has ever been about. Don't think its worth the price, don't buy it.

For me, bigger rims, aero, suspension, and exhaust for 3k was not a bad option at all. I got mine new for 36 and a half. I don't see people complaining about all the Touring models being how much more for some leather.

Coincidentally, the argument "Why pay more for parts that you're going to replace" doesn't hold water either. You replace your exhaust on a base 370Z, and you've got some scrap metal? I was able to sell my Nismo exhaust to get my new exhaust for a fraction of the price.

For that it makes sense. At $43k it's a harder sell.

Comparing a mini and a vette to a nissan in build quality and reliability is apples and oranges. All that needs to be said there. I too sold my nismo exhaust for 500. Which means i bought a brand new ark dts for 900 bucks. But some people dont WANT to modify every single thing on their car. Yes u can get aftermarket parts a slight bit better than the nismo has at a fraction of the cost. But my TIME is worth the premium alone. Not only do u have to waste countless hours researching parts, setups, prices. Then u have to find a reliable place to install it using more valuable time and money. Even at 43 its still a damn good deal considering a sport with nav can nip on the heels of 40k. And dont even mention a convertable those are MORE. Its called price of convenience. I got a fantastic car, paid a fair price,and didnt have to do a damn thing but pick it up.

I think everyone is basically saying the same thing, it all depends on what an individual wants to spend and the type of performance, sports car style or build they want to do or not. I think you got to be off your rocker if you don't think driving a Vet is not fun or worth it. I personally choose the Nismo because of it uniqueness and performance factor. I since have gone nuts in customizing it. Is it worth it...really could care less about popular opinion, it's my money and my fun. I see Corvettes everyday a Z once in a while and a Nismo hardly ever. I never considered myself an exhibitionist, but it is pretty damn cool to have people take pictures of your car as pull up beside you or wait for you to come out of a store to talk cars....and the ladies love it! :tup:

Yes that!!!

Yeah, the recent price increases are a bit rough. But I appreciate them helping to keep my trade in value high. :tiphat: I've seen a few with Bose etc going for 47k now. For 47k... I'm not going with a 370Z. At the same time you can easily option out a Touring Sport to around 42k. Which gets you some leather, ok sound system, and some navigation. Totally not worth it to me, but to others completely justified.

I do think the Nismo Z and the 370Z in general is in a weird class though. It's gets compared up to the Cayman S and Z06 and at the same time gets compared down to the BRZ/FRS. It's an oddball that doesn't quite fit in, and I'm ok with that.

meh, even at 43.. it's not TERRIBLE... I have seen a few cars for got much more then they are worth..

my 2010 brand new nismo was well worth the 37,700 i paid. the new prices are a bit steep.

...I don't have the Nismo and don't think I would pay the extra money for it. If you want to personalize your Z, going with the touring or even base is the best option. I've spent 27k (a little too much) for mine and invested 2500 and produce as much if not more hp than a stock Nismo (and I have a touchscreen navi). 1500 more for the sports brakes and I'm there basically, almost (didn't really like the bodykit of the Nismo).

At the end of the day, it's all about what you want to spend your money on. 43k + 8k = C7 ...I'd go that route if I had the cash flow...I just feel the Z is not a car everyone has like a Camaro or Mustang...

I love how people compare buying a brand new Nismo to buying their used non-Nismo. Stop comparing apples to oranges. For me 3k more for the rims, suspension, body kit and extra power was well worth it. 5k more for some leather seats and crappy Bose sound system not worth it to me. Another 2k for some navigation? Not worth it to me either. I know where I'm going and if I don't my phone does. And always add the Sport if you can is a decent value.

So 2500 for more power and 1500 more for Sport brakes and you're there? So that tells me you have the base. So still open diff? Suspension? Functional aerodynamics? Wider very light rims? Doesn't sound like you've came close to touching the Nismo for 4k more yet to me.

You need to buy a different car or you will be the next JungleZ poster out there. Really if you dont like the car now its not going to get any better. A Nismo adds some more power and is worth the extra money but doesnt sound like it is going to help your case any.

:iagree: I was speaking of the engine, exhaust, etc. I don't like the wheels, so I purchased some vossens which look a lot better than the stock whatever. It's all about what you want to do to your car. If I didn't want a challenge with personalized mods I would have looked for a Nismo but I like to personalize my toys. Also like I said before, the Nismo bodykit does nothing for me.

Also it's not apples and oranges. It's the same car; Nismo just nissan upgrades for 12k more when you can do it all yourself for about 7-8k depending on what you want.

the rims alone are 4k, the bodykit is 5k, the suspension, sways, and dampers are at least $1700, the exhaust is about $1500, brakes are about $3k, diff (junk) will run about 1k, and SRM which you can't buy. if you were to buy it all new from Nissan (I'm guesstimating), you're looking at $16,000. Resale and vendors, it would still cost at least $10,000. Even if you sold all your base parts, I'll be generous and give $3,000, you're still $7,000 deep and we haven't paid for labor.

If you want to do your own mods, that make it similar to a Nismo from a base or touring, you're still at least $10,000 deep. Yes, Nismo cost $13,000 over the base model, with the sport package, you could get 3/4 of the Nismo mods for 1/4 the price. This tells me anyone who bought a base model to turn it into Nismo like performance is a poor choice. You could trade your car in for a SP, do the mods and still have less in it than if you'd start with a base model.

Oh, and the Nismo is just a bit sharper here and there compared to a SP Z. If you almost like a base or sport model, maaaaaybe the Nismo is for you. If you don't like the base or SP, Nismo isn't enough to change your mind.