Exactly

For the small price difference its a no brainer

 

Yes. Specifically:
Bad stuff for some (good for me ):
No vanity mirrors on either side.
No dimming mirror.
No LSD
No TCS/VDC
No Bose radio
No woofer on the back
Sh*ty pedals
Black door sill
Only air bags in steering wheel and passenger side dash.
No cruise or steering controls of any kind.
No heaters of any kind.
Heavy 17" rims (26lb)
Basically anything exept PW/PL, CD stereo and A/C. Thats it.

Good stuff:
Braced engine bay.
Braced trunk.
Same engine as other models.
Same 6speed.
Very simple and very light.
Mod friendly

 

Not necessarily. I have placed my car in classifieds to experiment on how the market is reacting to Z demandwise and people are looking for used 03 base models to make FI.

Don't get me wrong, I agree the enthusiast is probably the best buy. I just like simplicity.

 

Made some corrections

 

Just because some people are too lazy to look it up, and to prevent any more confusion due to improper information given by some members, here is the complete differences for the 06 models:

http://www.nissanusa.com/z/coupe/price_options.html

Are the options for each model worth the additional money for you? That is for you to decide. Everyone on here bought the car that they have for a reason. If I would have wanted a Base model, I would have bought one. I bought my enthusiast for a reason...it had the options that I thought were worth the additional money. Case closed.

 

Thanks for the corrections, camaro.

 

Base model all the way!!!

 

There is one piece of information that I'm still not clear about on the base:

1- Is it true that the carbon fiber driveshaft does not come with the base?
2- A friend that has a track model said his also differs from the base in the engine because it has variable valve timing. Is this true?

 

1. Untrue. All Z's have carbon fiber driveshafts.
2. It depends. All Z's have CVTCS on the intake valves, the rev-ups have it on the exhaust valves as well. It depends on if your friend is comparing a rev-up track against a non-revup base model, but even then it's only half true.

 

Thanks roast. I feel better now.

 

2. It is my understanding that in 06, all 6MT 350Zs got the 300hp revup motor while 5AT kept the 287hp motor. In 05 only the Track and Anniversary got the 300hp revup motor. All other Zs in 05 and before got the 287hp motor.

Chris

 

I went Enthu because of the nifty options. I also appreciate a Traction control for rainy days.

 

The cruise control on my enthusiast has probably made up the price difference in the number of tickets I WOULD have gotten without it.

you just set it and...

...forget it!

 

Its also a weighty option. Its a module in the engine that probably weighs in at 10 or more pounds. Yeah, I know its cool, though. Its a relaxing tool and a ticket saver!

 

go with the base, it has everything you need for moding and nothing you dont. there is no sense in buying all these extra options if your gonna replace them with aftermarket, as for cruise control in socal?... yeah right, and you dont need traction control cause there is no such thing as winter driving here and when it does rain here for one or two weeks out of the whole year just dont drive it like you stole it and you will be fine.

 

Makes me feel better about the base I picked up yesterday. Mine does have vanity mirrors (illuminated) on both sides, it does have the nifty metal door sills with the Z emblem, and it does have the sun visor extenders. Other than those things I think it really is a base model, but that's FINE with me! It's still a rocket.
I'm waiting to get contact info from the guy who owned it previously so I can ask him what if anything he had done to it.

 

So which model did you get?

 

Only reason I want to get a enthusiast over the base is Cruise control and LSD. If it wasn't for those, I would easliy get the base model...and I am still looking at it, but I need cruise (lots of long trips and bad knees equals pain without cruise...)

 

most likely going with the enthusiast...

 

I would say go with what your plan is for the car. We were going for the base model simply because it's a project car and we can foregone the additional 'luxury' items.

If you plan to enjoy the car right out of the box and not looking to heavily modding the car, then go for the enthusiast. If you plan to modify the car like no tomorrow, then base model is the best choice simply it's the best bang for the buck.

However, our project Z ended up being an enthusiast because it was the only white color left for the 06 around our area, and we picked it up for only $700 more than the base for all those options that Enthusiast had over the base, although those extra options really doesn't mean much for us but we are dead set in the white color.

Frankly speaking, if this car was to be my own daily driver I think I would still opted for the enthusiast, but that's just me since all those little nifty stuff makes it appreciable for being a car that cost 30k.