I've only been here for about 2 weeks trying to get as much info as possible. This place is huge.

I've narrowed it down to performance, touring, or track (I think?). Model recommendations if I were to leave stock? And if I were to do mods? This is probably to generic of a question, but any help would be appreciated.

How did you make your choice

 

Have you looked at the equipment list per model at NissanDriven.com?

Stock-Track best wheels/brakes,6MT Best mods maybe
Performance- 18" tires /wheels, 6MT More $ to mod
Touring-leather, power/heated seats, 6 disc changer, 5AT or 6MT, More $ to mod

Do a search for Best Models and the discussions about them.

 

Ask yourself if you want heated leather seats and a 6 CD changer. If the answer is yes, the only option is the touring. If you want a touring you have to decide between 5AT and 6MT. 5AT gets 17" wheels, 6MT gets 18" wheels.

I believe touring is the most popular basically because it's the most street friend model with the most options. I would have gotten a track, but to pay this much for a car and not get leather would be criminal.

 

With mods, your best bet is actually probably going to be an Enthusiast model. You lose out on better wheels (which likely will be replaced if your modding) and VDC, but you save around $4000 on the price.

Personally, I wanted VDC but was not interested in a leather interior. So I opted for a Performance model.

Without mods, your best is the Performance model. Others will disagree, but here are my reasons...

A) If you are not modifying your car, you are not taking it to the race track... at least not for anything more than the experience of driving on a track. If you're not going to the track, then it makes no sense to buy the Track model. You don't need the Brembos for normal driving applications... the regular brakes are fine. And, IMO, the Rays are nice, but not worth the extra cost.

B) Between Touring and Performance, it may depend on whether you like leather and/or and automatic or not. But, the Performance model is lighter than both Touring models. If you gotta have leather, go Touring. Otherwise, go Performance (c'mon... who really wants to buy a Z with an auto...)

C) Vs. Enthusiast... as I said before, you get VDC. I consider it added insurance if you ever have to drive in adverse conditions.

Of course, these are just opinions... no matter which level of Z you chose, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!