What is the weight of your brakes?

 

Generally when you get the track model for the price of an enthusiast (b/c it is a hard sell in upstate NY where I got it) ... I don't worry too much about the other models.

32k taxed and out the door w/ 8 miles on it 2 years ago

 

don't know about the whole brakes, but rotors are more than 1" bigger on track model and certainly a couple of lbs heavier. (unless you buy some stoptech floating rotors).

 

I don't think the Brembo brakes are that much heavier than the non brembos to negate the difference of the lighter wheels. My wheels weigh 28 lbs and the tracks weigh 18 and I know my front BBK was only a few pounds heavier than stock. Thats still enough for lighter rims to make a difference.

The only reason I can see people need to upgrade the Brembos on the track model is if they go to a full road racing slick. When I run the Yokohama slicks I boil my brake fluid, smear my pads, and roast the paint on my 13" brake calipers. Brake ducts should fix that problem though.

I agree, the 05 track engine dyno looks like its going to being a fun motor to drive.

 

i bought my 03 track model with 1468 miles on it for less than 30k because it was technically used

I otherwise was looking at an 04 base model

I love the track wheels - not ideal size, and i'm going to upgrade them soon enough, but I can SELL them. Can't sell any of the other standard wheels...

also I figured the brembos themselves are worth the $4000 price difference between the two cars I was looking at. They might not be THE BEST, but they suffice for tracking and look great. I'll be having to upgrade to 6 piston fronts and 4 piston rears someday anyway when I get dramatically more power in the car. But in the meantime I can at least go tracking and not be too concerned about brake fade. I might even be able to SELL them someday. Can't sell the standard brakes...

even the stock LSD - not great, and upgraded it anyway, I SOLD it to someone with a base model.

aero kit is neat - plan on putting on a lip and bigger spoiler anyway, but until I do, I like the aero kit just fine. The rear diffusers can only help

I like the aluminum pedals, the normals ones look plain and boring. Even if it is adding some weight, it's low on the car

Homelink mirror - having my garage door programmed in it is nice, but I HATE the auto dim. That and the mirror itself weighs a lb or two

track models are rarer and will have better resale value than a base model, but who cares if you're modding the crap out of it for tracking.

VDC is nice on a stock car for dailly driving, but yeah otherwise sucks. Mine is permanently disabled. I'm sure VDC adds a little weight which sucks.

In my case, the track model has tire pressure sensors, and the 04 base did not - it's come in more handy than I thought it would. I can check pressure while driving.

In my case, the 03 was able to be flashed by technosquare and at the time the 04 wasn't

In my case, the 03 unquestionalbly has tire feathering issues so I knew the dealer was SOL when dealing with me and tire feathering issues to replace my tires. I didn't give a crap about the stock suspension. The 03's SUCK big time with the suspension, but oh well cause that was going to get upgraded anyway

 

Mouwahaha, mi prendi in giro !

You just pulled that one out of your head!

A flimsy .5 inch on the radius of the disc will never negate 10lb less on a 9 inch radius rim ! Not in this universe...

17+base or 18+Brembo, the car with the best tire will out handle the other one. That's all.

Building a Base Z to the level of a Track Z will end up costing more money. Anybody who manage to pay less is not buying legit stuff. It only becomes cost effective if you're building a full race car or super moded street car. If this is what you absolutely want, you're better off getting a Z that was crashed and rebuild it from scratches.

 

Thanks guys, but the more I'm looking at it for what it would take to make one of these cars legit fast, don't know if it would be worth it.

 

I'll jump in with my $0.02....

I say save the cash for building you're own track model if your seriously thinking of going to the track.

I've seen guys liquify their 14" STOPTECH kits let alone the Brembo kit Nissan puts on.

You really need a good 6-piston setup to run all day. You can use a 4-piston but the Brembo's on the Track model just won't go all day out at a track if you're truly pushing it. A better 4 piston setup like STOPTECHs do nicely, just don't miss those 3rd gear downshifts. You also will want to get the stainless steel lines too.

The wheels are actually not bad. Decent weight, could always be lighter though.

As for tires, you'd want to buy some specifically for racing days (same with brake pads). You could get some BFG KDs as a daily driver/track compromise, though. If you go to the track often, you'll burn through those pretty quick, though.

For suspension, even with the Track model, you're going to want to swap out the sway bars. The stock setup is just way too prone to understeer.

If you live in a hot climate you may want to consider the oil cooler. But only if it's really hot.

Unless you become a track *****, the above will do you fine. If you go insane and fall in love with track days, you may want to start making a list, an expensive list.

 

FWIW I actually calculated the moment of inertia of the stock 17" wheels + rotors and 18" rays + brembo rotors. And it was almost the exact same. it came down to the equivalent of a fracion of a lbs between the 2 setups.

 

Calculated the moment of inertia? Where did you get the mags cross section to get the weight distribution? Sliced a mags and mesured it?

Stop trying to find excuses for the 17in wheels. It's silly.

 

This argument is really pointless. I have a track and I'm happy with it, because it has all the specs i wanted, just the same as a base might have all the specs another consumer might want. the fact is that the engine is the same and it's still a Z, choose whatever model that fits with your personality. If the track had a V8 and the base had a 4 banger then you guys would have a valid debate.

 

this seems like a debate of opinions more than fact. Im all about having fun with the car i bought from the factory but i also dont plan on modifying this. thats why i opted for the 35th anniv. I hope im not a poser because i bought a rare Z. because to me this is a luxury sports car i drive everyday. i have a mr2 turbo that out runs this car on the drag and in the turns. but on a side note, ive had my car to both the strip and a open track and love everything about the 35th including my heated seats . It ends up being that you will buy the one you truely want because thats whats goin to make you happy. if you know its a base with new wheels brakes and etc. go for it im just glad to see theres another person on the road i can wave at.

Although it was pretty cool to be an owner of the first 6 35th in the country. ive just been waiting since my last 50th anniv 84 300zx turbo was sold.

 

I just assumed the material was distributed evenly obviously, wheels have a common enough design. The point is that the track version(even the one with 300hp) has never "substantially" performed better than any of the other Z models, even the BASE! (except for sustained braking). Skidpads, acceleration, handling, etc... all the same. I find that 8000$ premium over base is not worth it, especially when you can have...

2300$ Nismo LSD + 350evo 3.9 final
4200$ Stoptech 13" kit front rear
1800$ Nismo LMGT4 18" wheels
650$ Kumho MX (245-40/18 275-40/18)
1000$ install (0 if DIY)

You want to argue this is an inferior track car? it less than 2K over track model and includes all superior parts(I even put the 3.9 final drive). The most rediculous point is people with the track model selling their LSD and brakes and wheels to buy improved parts... ends up costing even more than what I just posted.

that's me though. THat would be MY track car. I can perfectly understand someone who does the opposite. (even though buying a track Z and never going to a roadtrack is kind of a waste imho... I know it's not your case).

 

I felt it was and thats why I ordered it. I'd rather have a good starting point to enjoy for awhile than having to spend $8k ordering and installing new parts to get it up to spec. Thats just me.

 

I have an 04.5 Track and i love it, theres just something about Leman's Sunset with those matching Brembo Brakes.....Yummy.

 

one reason i got the track was for the new engine, allthough in 2006 this won't be a reason anymore since every model will have it .

 

^But we can say we had it first!

 

 

let me be clear when I say I didn't buy my track model so I "could sell the stock parts and get some killer money out of it"

Like I said, I bought my track model for $4000 less than a new one with only 1468 miles. The fact that I CAN sell some of the parts off of the track model is a BONUS. Obviously you'd never get TONS of money for them, but considering MY car was just $4000 over the base model, I knew I wasn't going to have the money to upgrade all aspects of the car immediately, so in the meantime I get at least SOME sort of nicer brakes and wheels that ARE trackable.

 

First don't take it personally. You had a good deal, and I think you have built an extremely nice car. Upgrades come naturally to car fanatics, whether you have a 500hp vette or a 150hp miata. that was not my point. (also, what makes sense for me might be silly for a lot of people )

Second, unless you are an advanced driver and do extensive tracking, change pads and fluids on stock brakes and you have lot's of tracking with non-brembos too. You will reach a point where you need to upgrade for sure, which certainly comes sooner than with the brembos. But it's silly to say the non track brakes are NON-trackable. The car will not implode