Thank you.

 

I concur...awesome post. Its okay to solicit opinions but the bottom line is that you do what you want with your car.

 

Went out and violated one of my cardinal rules.... "Go slow at first... THEN push it."

Made some suspension adjustments last night. Out in the hills this morning and it felt so good getting to the hills that I - not so intelligently -pushed the car right off the bat.

Ummmmm, what is usually a controlled tail out turned out to not be so controlled. Pranged a rear wheel on a roadway sidemarker.... the kind that tell you not to go off the road and take the shortcut into the valley next to it. Ooooops.

Welllll, there goes the resale value of THAT wheel.

Whatevs..... I'll just sand it and re-coat it....not bent. I went back to inspect the marker sign and you'll be happy to know it was fine. Hey, courtesy, y'know. Hahahahahahaaaaaaaa.....

At least I know my changes worked.... too bad the driver didn't stay true to his preaching.

Mic

PS "I blame it on the tires, man!!" Laff....

 

Hahaha damn man glad it was just a prang!

 

Nice writing.

Ps. Your 03' headlights need the "sand and clearcoat" method to fix that yellowing permanently.

 

I got my slip light to go on today, worked like a dream car started to go sideways slip light flashed power was cut instant recovery. Im blaming it on my bald tires and my new weight loss in the back. O and the pouring rain along with my clunky *** work boots that make the car almost impossible to drive with.

Glad the marker sign and the car lived to fight another day. Glad your so upbeat about the wheel... Sometimes a little wheel scuff is just the cost of doing business.

 

Yup, caught it soon enough, a little opp-lock and kept my foot in it to avoid the alternative.... a full spin or pleasant trip down the side of the hill.

Thanks, and yup, agreed. Just lazy....

"Cost of doing business" is exactly how I look at it. Or shorthanded: "Ehh..." Although I'd be pretty ticked off it was on my OEM wheels.

As it stands:


Right rear manglement.

As it's said, "It is what it is."

Mic

 

Went from an 04' Enthusiast to a Nismo and his assessment is spot on.

-First thing I noticed was the clutch pedal difference (I started thinking the clutch was on its way out though it wasn't), that took a while to get used to and when I went back to my 04 it felt like a bit of a work out. I sort of miss that feedback the 04 gives and will most likely do a heavier clutch and or mess with adjusting the clutch pedal in the future on the Nismo.

-The DE feels slower overall but feels like it has more torque on the lower end which makes stoplight to stoplight fun without breaking the speed limit. While the Nismo doesn't really feel much faster til past 4.5k mark so it requires higher revving to get that same feeling (Makes sense right?). I drove my 04 one last time before I sold it and still loved the way it accelerates compared to the Nismo.

-Sound wise, the DE engine sounds better than the HR hands down. It grumbles which I liked a lot. Though nismo sounds good too, just different.

-Handling, Nismo, hands down. At high speeds feels so stable. You can't tell when you are going tooo fast because it handles so well. Almost got my first ticket in the Nismo but the nice officer admired the Nismo so he let me go (+bonus points?)

-Can't comment on braking since I did the brembo swap.

I think a good comparison between the DE/HR nismo would be the Z31 VG and the Z32 VGDE. Overall I chose the Nismo

 

Its so interesting how you make this comparison. Lately ive been wondering if i should build up my 06 revup for boost, or sell and buy a nismo or even a z34 nismo..

 

I really like my 03 now that I've read this thread. Then again, why shouldn't I like it? The Z and I get along famously. Since day 1, we've had an understanding about how both of us should handle the roads. It's safe to say that we're happy with the direction of our relationship, i.e modding and driving practices.

I've driven plenty of other cars, but I feel like I really know my 03Z. With that being said, I'm sure I could say the same about most performance cars. It's about knowing your abilities and limits.

That M brace, as I like to call it, is heavy. I would love to find a light weight version that allows for better rigidity.

 

I hear ya, SmoothZ. The Nismo is a righteous evolution of a design that got it - for the most part - right from the start.

As I pointed out, it's more about the DE vs. HR that makes a world of difference. Plus, everything in the HR is lighter to the touch (clutch, steering, shifting, etc.) and a tad less "raw" than my '03.

I refuse to say that one is better than the other but more than likely, I will always tell prospective buyers to try and get a newer model but that's mostly due to the age and the relative miles between the typical '03 and '08 models rather than superiority of one over the other.

Mic

 

I wanted a Nismo but the 35th anniversary has everything I thought I had to have. The great thing about my Z is, only true Z people know how to identify it. I'm not sure why, but I really like that.

 

Knowing me, I'd be happy with both or either one.