I will post pictures and impressions later. Summary= I love it.

-Ethan

 

Congrats Ethan!!! How do you like it? Still staring at it and getting the goosebumps and being all giddy like you were on Sunday? hehe.

 

Damn man, it's about time! Congrats...you're gonna love it. I'm almost at 1000 miles...it's sick!

 

Congrats Ethan! Please post a full review!

 

Damn this is a busy week- I've only put about 50 miles on the car-haven't really had a chance to take it on a long drive- but I have the day off on Friday so I think I'll go for a little ride...

A few first impressions:

1. The gearbox reminds me of a Miata's on steriods- it is sharp, almost video-game-joystick-like- although a little bit heavier than a Miata's- I can't believe how short the throws are though- and the shift **** is more "stubby" than I had expected-I've missed a few shifts here and there- I think b/c it's still being broken-in and I'm not totally used to the gearbox yet- no signs of gear whine or anything like that

2. Brake feel is fantastic- there was zero adjustment to these brakes- they are just so intuitive- very easy to modulate...

3. steering is razor precise- after one day, i'm confident enough to put the front passenger tire an less inch away from the curb on tight turns...no worries about scraping the rim- feels like i'm totally in control..amazing- its hard to imagine coming anywhere close to this car's handling limits on a public road- I haven't heard any complaints from the tires, regardless of what I've thrown at them- zero body roll too- the only price for all of this handling greatness is a pretty harsh ride- I've you just want to go cruising, PLEASE, buy the G35 Coupe- or at least stay away from the 18 inch, low profile tires- to me, the harsh ride is worth it- I enjoy reading every detail of the road- not just an executive summary- but that type of experience is defintely not for everyone-



4. Engine is just so smooth and flexible- at just about any given time, you've got your choice of three or more gears that will work just fine- it pulls from down low, it sings up high (well at least it sings at 4,000 RPM- I'm still taking it easy ffor break-in) I can't wait for brake-in to end- will give more comments then- although I will say this- I took my roommate for a drive last night- scarred the **** out of him on the route 287 on-ramp!

5. I love the interior- it doesn't feel cheap- it doesn't feel like they cut corners- the material quality is great as far as I'm concerned- especially the cloth seats that remind me very much of what you'd find in a VW Jetta, only better-

6. Base radio works fine by me- the radio quality isn't the greatest, but the CD sounds fantastic- I wish the radio preset buttons were a little bit larger...one problem, I did notice a bit of "buzz" when playing songs with some bass...whatever I don't care because...

7. The exhaust note is musical. I love leaving the windows down, holding the lower gear, and just enjoying the sounds- its incredible....

8. My first mod- well I put my factory floor mats in the closet and picked up a set of $11 rubber mats from Pep Boys- they were cheap, they look OK, and I don't care if they get messed up....

9. I like how the owners manual comes in a cool binder type thing, but it sucks that it doesn't fit either of the small storage bins in the back- you have to put it in the large bin behind the passenger seat- of course I could just take the book out of the binder, but that would be to easy wouldn't it....?

10. I'm pretty worried about what I'm going to do during the winter- this car is going to suck if we get any real snow this year...should I keep my old Maxima (haven't sold it yet, decided not to trade it in...)and deal with the extra insurance costs? Should I buy a set of crappy rims and snow tires...? I've got three weeks to figure this out (then the insurance runs out on my Maxima and I'll have to re-new or not...) What are you guys planning to do for the winter?

11. It's wild to see people checking this car out as you drive by or pull up at a light- many are just not into cars and don't care- but for those who are- I've seen a few jaws drop, and that's just in the first 24 hours of ownership- being "showy" isn't really my type of thing, but I'll admit it can be entertaining at times...

12. I think the car is just so gorgeous in person- it looks so unreal- I can't believe this is a real car - in terms of design, I think it looks like it is years ahead of everything else on the road- I'm happy w/ the chrome silver- the color has a lot more depth than I had expected- looks very expensive...

13. Owning and enjoying a brand new Z (hell, buying any new car).. has been a dream of mine for quite a while- part of the reason why I busted my *** in college (and for the last two years on the job) was so that I could one day afford my dream car- I just can't believe that I've been able to reach this goal- it feels so damn good.

OK, that's it for now- I'll have to post some more comments & pics this weekend- and at some point I want to do some comparisons (ie- '84 Z vs. '03 Z and/or '03 Z vs my friends '03 SVT Cobra....)

Also- this month, Sue and I are going on the Z Car Club of Rochester's Wine Tour (see the Club Forum for my post on that...) it should be a good time... and in November I'm registered for a NASA event at Lime Rock....hope to arrange a meeting w/ other NJ 350Z owners- I'm going to talk w/ my contact at Nissan Regional to see if we can maybe arrange something w/ them...

Ethan

 

fuzzy interior pic that got screwed up but still looks kinda cool

 

exterior

 

That looks like a chrome at night? Have any more of those night pictures?

 

mom and dad are proud!

 

That one looks really good!!!....keep em coming..

 

Chrome silver is definetly the best looking color at night.

 

OK, I'm convinced...I WANT MY CHROME!!!!....albeit silverstone is a tough one to turn by...

 

I'm very excited and happy- will take plenty of non-blurry pictures soon!

 

Congrats Ethan!!!! I took delivery of my CS Track 9/6. Sorry I didn't make it to the show, it was my bro's B-day and spent the day in the city w/ family. I really like the CS. Hopefully we'll get to meet up sometime. Congrats again! Enjoy!

 

congratulations ethan! i know it was worth the wait.

 

Had a great time on Sunday, pleasure meeting you and being around all the enthusiasts (mine was the red one).

Regarding #9 about where to put the manual:

just underneath the board/carpet in the behind the seat briefcase box there is a perfect place for the manual, prolly designed for it.

 

i actually think the blurry pics look cool....
makes the cs look better

now that ethan is gonna be in his Z...

whos gonna move threads from general to off topic

 

Thanks for all the congrats everyone!

Dan- good to meet you too- thanks for the owner's manual tip- I know the spot you're talking about...sounds good

Danimsta- no worries, I still got it covered..!

Zrated- no worries- there will be plenty of other opportunities

matt- it was totally worth the wait!

Mike- I'll have a ton of pics online this weekend- will try to get more night shots too- but as you can see, for some reason they weren't coming out too well....

Tim- when are you getting your car

ZGirl- I'm as giddy as a 5 year old at Toys R Us when I see my Z sitting in the garage every morning!

J Ritt- going to HPDE in Nov? I think I asked you this already, but I forgot what you said...

jmanZ- I owe you a my350Z picture!!!!