:iagree:

U will be fine with an 09. Any problems an 09 will have, a 10 will have. Which isn't much.

Hi

The Z is my travel car, road noise sucks on the interstate combined with my exhaust. But that is what good music is for;) i am completely happy with my Z, sexy and cute!

Change out the stock tires with some Continental Extremes. Much easier than sound deafening and much of that road noise will go away.

:icon14: never heard the words 'continental extremes' and 'less road noise' go together...

What about the Vette makes it not a good DD in your opinion? Everyone has different expectations from their DD they need satisfied and I feel like the Z and the Vette might come up short in the same categories. The would for me at least.

I've had 4 Corvette..(On one now) And this is the first one I didn't use as a DD and it's held up much better. The roads in Pa. suck and I'm sure that plays a part into this as well.
As far as Z's vs Vette's I'm still a 100% Corvette guy and as stated my first pick was to get an SLK350 as a DD but I'm pretty much off that idea and I'm liking this 370 more and more it's just 10 days ago I had no interest at all and now it's become a pretty big deal. I still haven't driven one and thats real important before I decide if I really like the car. Maybe it's the time of year but there doesn't seem to be a whole around here at the moment, i'm sure this will pick up after Xmas is over.

Oh for anyone that doesn't know some c5 Corvettes have the same steering column lock issue as this car seems to have...crazy when you think about it.
Also what I'm getting from you guys is an oil cooler seems to handle the over heating problem.

Just so you guys know I really have no plans of tracking this car at all... this is just for trips and Day to day stuff, I'm single...no kids so I really don't need a back seat...LOL Oh before someone says it, in case of snow I have a 02 Ford Ranger for the bad days so having this and a Vette is easy.
:tup:

As I stated above I have a Vette with Billy Boat Bullets on it.... THATS LOUD! LOL So that doesn't bother me.:tup:

But would I be better off with at least an 11 ?

Welcome! First let me say that my '09 is currently at a Nissan Dealer getting the dreaded steering lock problem fixed. Fortunately it's under warranty otherwise it would have been a $1,500 repair. Keep that in mind if shopping for an '09 or '10. Other than that, I have put almost 15k miles on it and have had no problems. I use mine as a DD and I drive back and forth to work an hour each way. Gives me something to look forward to when I get up each morning to go to work. You don't have to wait until the weekend to enjoy the ride! Except for the blind spots, I find it very comfortable to drive and the M/T shifts smoothly. One thing I don't hear very often in the forum is in regards to the stereo system. It's the best I ever heard in any car I previously owned and at 59 years old, I've owned many. Turn the volume up and you'll feel like you're at a concert. SAT radio works well enough but I do notice that for some reason, it looses reception easier than other cars I have driven in the same area. As others said, road noise is substantial. I just put new Michelin Pilot Super Sports on it which I hoped would minimize the noise but not so. Hey...it's a sports car! Gas mileage isn't bad for this car and when I'm very careful (easy start/stops, under 65) I have gotten 25 mpg. Even at spirited driving, I get about 23 mpg on ave. One thing about the Z is that I wished the stock exhaust system was more aggressive. The engine noise inside the car is a little too passive for me. Of course a different exhaust would solve that issue. I have the Touring model and the heated seats and auto seat adjustments work great. The ventilation/heating/cooling system works fine. I love the gauge cluster lighting, bright orange/red much more than the 350Zs which were a dull amber color. The only really negative as I said is the blind spot which really would come into play while driving in rush hour traffic. Nissan needs to put traffic indicator lights in the side mirrors which tells you when a car is in your blind spot. I owned a MazdaSpeed 3 and that had them in it's tech package and that really worked great. The MS3 really didn't need them, the Z does! Bottom line...you'll love the Z as a DD....just stay home when it snows if you live in that kind of climate! I live in New England and the number of days that I couldn't drive to work because of snow is minimal. Good luck!
:tiphat:

I have an '09 Touring w/7AT. No performance mods, but I did add some sound damping material (GTMat's free sample) to the rear area. I also pulled the fuse powering the steering lock unit and have a ScanGaugeII on top of the dash. Ie, pretty much a bone stock, middle-of-the-road 370Z - not a Base model, but no Sports package, either.

I think a stock 370Z would make a great DD for anyone that likes to really drive a car. It is well-behaved around town, has more than enough power to merge onto busy freeways, gets reasonable gas mileage (I average around 21-23 MPG, mostly in-town, and my foot is not very light), handles very well on winding country roads, and will put a grin on my face when I put my toenails in the radiator.

The main complaint I have is that it tends to run hot in stop-and-go traffic during South Arkansas Summers. Not a huge problem, but the ECM will definitely reduce power until you get moving at 40+ MPH speeds for a few minutes. High engine compartment temperatures and slow speeds can cause intake air temps to rise above the point where the ECM starts to pull timing advance.

From what I have heard, the marginal cooling system will not do the job if you drive the car hard for very long. An oil cooler and better fan management and/or bigger fans are needed.

Edit: I have to agree with an earlier comment about the blind spot to the right side. It can be a real PITA. /edit

I'd buy another one.

lots of great stuff there guys.... I'm about 75% on this thing but again need to drive a few. Which believe it or not I kind of hate doing. What I mean is I'm not 100% sold on the car yet and I've always felt like I need to drive about 6 different models of a car before I get a feel of what they really are. You drive one and it's bad you're done you'll have a bad vibe for a car forever (at least I do) 5 or 6 and you can say "ok this is what this car is" and you either like it or you don't. Of course from all you guys I have some concerns about the blind spot and some what the over heating issues that still need to be looked into. But Corvettes have their little bumps too so i fully understand that.
The reason I hate test driving of course is sale people AGHHHHHH!
But it has to be done i guess.

You guys have been a big help... but still just so I know SHOULD I get at least an 11? Were the improvements that big a deal from the 09-10's?

Thanks again

imo no. Also, since you're only going to DD the car you will not need an aftermarket oil cooler by any means. If you were thinking of tracking it, which you have made clear you will not be, then you would want/need an oil cooler.

I may have overstated the cooling problems, but, since you have "Racing" in you username, I thought you should be aware. I have never had a serious problem with overheating (even with 100+F ambient), the ECM just reduces power until the temps come back down. From what I have read, an oil cooler is only required if you drive very hard for more than a few minutes, eg, at the track. I don't have a cooler, but I don't drive real hard.
For a DD that only sees spirited driving, it's not really a deal-breaker. I can zip through the corners and sprint down the straightaways all day with no problems, even during the dog days of Summer. It's only during stop-and-go or very slow moving traffic that the temp gets high.
Now that the ambient temps are down in the 30-50F range, no problems. She'll idle in the driveway for extended periods without getting hot.
BTW, if you plan on doing any tuning, the UpRev software will allow you to turn the radiator cooling fans on sooner and alleviate most of the problem.
Believe it or not, it helps to turn the A/C on - this kicks the cooling fans to high.

The blind spot is something you get used to and plan ahead for. I've driven other cars that were just as bad. Defensive Driving FTW.

All-in-all, it's a LOT of fun to drive.