Unless I'm mistaken, 18" wheels come with low profile tires. Shorter life, more expensive, noisier and rougher ride.

 

Just to let you know i was almost in the same boat as you. I now have a Redline Touring 5AT (auto). It comes with the same suspension as the enthusiast and it also has the 17 inch wheels. While I think they are adequate, I am looking into going bigger. To get a final say between the Z's go to the nissan website and check it out cause there is even a difference between the touring automatic and the touring manual tranny. One has traction control(auto) while the other has the VDC(manual). Both have the sucky Bose system, which burns my a** cause thats the main reason why I did the upgrade. I came from a higher end car and fell in love with the sound system and the leather seats, and also the heater. so instead of nit-picking every dollar and cent I went the touring cause all three were already on the car. If I only cared about one of them I would have gone Enhusiast and the aftermarketed what I wanted, but having all 3 already on the car saved enough time to where it seemed it made it worth the money. But now i have to switch out the blose system. great. anyway good luck.

 

I'd say it depends on the color, if the touring has an interior other than black, I'd go for it. I don't mind the Bose so much, it's garbage but it'll do for now and the 6cd in the dash is kind of convenient. I also got the 18" wheels and the aero package (decent for now)
I like the leather and the heated seats, trust me they're worth it, but in black they don't really stand out. Mine are Frost and they completely change the car, one of the reasons I went with the used Touring instead with the new base model.
I see you live in Jersey, depending on how far you live you should go down to Pine Belt (Toms River exit 82 pkwy).
I bought my Touring there, great deal.

 

Get the base model and save money. I have an Enth. and if I was to do it again I would just get the base. You will loose the hids and lsd, but the hids aren't all that.

 

I say touring if you like power/leather seats. Also, the rims look better IMHO. You get used to the 6disc cd changer too, grows on you. Stock Z stereos have always sucked throughout the years. It's just a problem with Zs The $45k z32tt had a crappy sounding one too.

 

I personally like have LSD and TCS. Big help in the snow.

 

I would encourage you to take the touring, although the enthusiast seems to be priced better. Let me tell you why.

1) First of all there has been a lot of talk about the 18 inch wheels and performance. While I agree they are heavier, they also come with wider tires which will improve handling. Furthermore, the 18 inch tires have a lower profile that is a benefit to traction and turn-in (they do pose a small penalty on ride quality). Lastly, yes the 18 inch wheels look better than the 17, not necessarily b/c of size but because of the design. Now if you're gonna be throwing a $3k set of Volks on there, the wheels may not be a big deal.

2) The touring comes with many amenities (heated seats, power seats, bose radio, VDC) that are not easily added to the enthusiast. I'll agree the bose radio is not the best, but it does offer a 6cd changer. Someone mentioned aftermarket leather - take a look at the pics of aftermarket leather, I think they look OK but the fitment is nowhere as nice as factory leather. And I enjoy the power seats...I think manual seats are incredibly lame in days where every midsize family car has 8-way power seats. I'm embarrassed that the driver's seat of the Z has a manual tilt!

Sure the Z is a sports car, but nobody said a sportscar can't offer a good number of convenience items. Hell, even ferrari is offering cupholders and heated seats these days!

NzZ

 

In case you hadn't noticed, a Ferrari costs slightly bit more than a Z.

The point of the Z is to be affordable, hence corners were cut.

 

Originally posted by NzZ
I would encourage you to take the touring, although the enthusiast seems to be priced better. Let me tell you why.

1) First of all there has been a lot of talk about the 18 inch wheels and performance. While I agree they are heavier, they also come with wider tires which will improve handling.

If you mean that 245 instead of 235mm in the rear... wider wheels in FRONT would improve handling. Most autocrossers put same wheels front and back on 350z to balance handling. that increasing 225/245 difference instead of 225/235 is making worse if any... wider tires in the back will probably help lunch but not handling.


Furthermore, the 18 inch tires have a lower profile that is a benefit to traction and turn-in (they do pose a small penalty on ride quality).
So all those millions wasted for F1 research is just that... wasted... if those ingeneers only new that they need bigger wheels


And I enjoy the power seats...I think manual seats are incredibly lame in days where every midsize family car has 8-way power seats. I'm embarrassed that the driver's seat of the Z has a manual tilt!

All that leather and electric motors actually make car a LOT heavier. Fine if you into comfort but problem if you into performance. I would want light manual seats instead of current monsters. And how often do you guys use adjustments? if you the only one who drive the car? I'd imagine most people (me for sure) never use adjustments once find the right position... so why carry all those motors with you?

I'd actullly want a manual windows too. Strange the didn't do it on track model. Yeah, I know, sounds crazy...

BTW, you know how much our mirrors weight? About 6 or 8 pounds each (i have one on my desk). One gotta make an effort to make mirror so heavy for a sport car

 

If you mean that 245 instead of 235mm in the rear... wider wheels in FRONT would improve handling. Most autocrossers put same wheels front and back on 350z to balance handling. that increasing 225/245 difference instead of 225/235 is making worse if any... wider tires in the back will probably help lunch but not handling.
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I agree wider tires in the front would be great, but the rear tires improve traction, which is certainly a benefit (albeit probably a small one) in launching.


So all those millions wasted for F1 research is just that... wasted... if those ingeneers only new that they need bigger wheels
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No. Read what I said carefully - I said the lower profile tire improves performance. I think you misunderstood my point. There's no doubt that a lighter wheel is an asset. But it has been proven that lower profile tires improve steering response. I simply said that the touring 6mt has lower profile tires.


All that leather and electric motors actually make car a LOT heavier. Fine if you into comfort but problem if you into performance. I would want light manual seats instead of current monsters. And how often do you guys use adjustments? if you the only one who drive the car? I'd imagine most people (me for sure) never use adjustments once find the right position... so why carry all those motors with you?
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A LOT heavier? Hmm, I just checked and the difference in weight b/w enthusiast and touring 6MT is a whopping 49Lbs. Please...don't even try to tell me that someone on the street can notice that difference. Most people put stereos in that weigh more than 50lbs. As for power seats, I really enjoy mine - sometimes I have to push the seat back or I want to recline the seat a little while driving...both of which are much more finely controlled with the motors. I can understand the desire for lightweight parts, but this is NOT a lightweight car. The Z is supposed to be a daily driver...it's going to make some concessions to be liveable, and its biggest concession is weight. If you really want an ultra lightweight car look at the elise. Besides that, anyone who bought the Z thinking it was an all out performance car is an all out idiot. It's as much about style and comfort as it is about speed.

The bottom line is the touring has no real deficit in performance when compared to the enthusiast. If you disagree, let's just agree to disagree. But that is what I believe.

NzZ

 

Agreed, and thank god they were! I can barely afford my Z. :-) For real though, my point was simply that sports cars can be equipped with comfort items. I think the touring Z is reasonable in cost and pretty well provisioned.

NzZ

 

IMO,the Enthusiest is the best buy of the bunch. I just checked book value on all the models (work at a Dealership). The difference in value of a Enthusiest v/s a Touring or even Track is much less than what the cost is new between them.
Whats also interesting is a Enthusiest is worth about 2k more thana base..which is about how much more a Enthusiest will run you new.
Now the choice was easy for me. I hate leather,could care less about VDC,and the BOSE does suck.
I did want the limited slip,cruise control and HIDS the Enthusiest gives you over the Base.

I like others here prefer the 17's over the Touring 18' wheels. I like the "3 squares" on them like the door handles. The 18's look plain.
Now the Track wheels are hot!