Which model year, pre 2006 or after 2006? Here is a list, feel free to correct me if any info is incorrect and feel free to express your opinions.

As for trim line, I am going to go atleast touring. I want the leather seats, the heated doesn't matter but they don't have leather without heated. Things like Nav or steering wheels stereo controls ( when did they come with the controls, 2006?) are nice but not a must.

The obvious is probably going to be price, getting say a 2004 is generally going to be much cheaper then getting a 2006 for the exact trim and options.

2005 and older puts out less HP but more TQ. I figure the more TQ is going to be more useful in day to day driving?

2006+ gets some cosmetic upgrade. They get bi-xenons instead of just single xenons? Rear LED Tails, but this is a pretty straight forward swap if I really wanted the LEDs.

2006+ had Brembos available, but again pretty easy swap if you can find some used OEMs. It's going to be easier to find a non-Brembo Z then a Brembo one not to mention probably cheaper.

I figure if I can more easily find a 2004/05 ZR Touring in the MT and the color I want and do the 06 swaps I want and still be ahead of the price game.

Is there anything else I missed?

 

A red one of course.

 

question is do you feel like buying stuff and swapping out all those parts...

 

I took my time and found a good deal on a red 06. It has higher miles on it, but this is only a weekend driver for me, so I don't care. I believe if you take your time you will find what you want. It's a good time of the year to buy a convertible.

BTW, I have driven the 05 and 06. You will not notice any difference in engine performance. Just put the top down and fly!
--DAN

 

I don't mind doing the swaps myself, heck I enjoy it.

Mine will not be a weekend driver, it will be a summer only car because my job does require me to drive around the city quite a bit. This is the main reason I went to the Z over the S2000. The more usable power of the V6 over the 4.

I used to own a 05 G35x, so I know the engine and the nissan/infiniti in general and I searched and waited for the 05 rather then settling for an 04 because the ext and int changes were worth finding an 05+ one but I just don't see that kind of difference between the 05zr and the 06zr.

 

How about get the one that requieres the least amount of changes so that you can concentrate on other mods instead of catching up... just decide on the color you want... that is what I did... and look where the other money went...
https://my350z.com/forum/members/a3v...r-a3vt-74.html

 

I had the same problem last year. I went with an 04. It had the best price, best reviews and low mileage.

Being that it is the only one I've owned, I can't recommend it over any others, but I can say it is a phenomenal year for the car.

 

Well, the importance of one mod over another is all personal taste....to me the aero kit is like the last thing on my list, it's just not my thing. Don't get me wrong, the stock front bumber looks out of place to me and I plan on changing it but for me the "performance" mods are more value to for my money then any body kit But the bumber still isn't ugly enough to be very high on my list of things to do. I would rather do a Brembo swap then do a body kit.

If I could find a MT6 06 350ZR GT that is a color I can live with for the same price of getting an 04 touring plus doing some swap work then of course I would get the 06 but realistically why spend like 5-10k more for basically the same car, just because it's a couple years newer when mileage isn't an issue (because there are just as many high mileage 06s as there are low mileage 04s) ?

It's too blue :P

 

Best case scenario would be to find an 05 ZR GT since I belive that was the first year of the GT and such comes with everything without having to pay the 06+ prices but again those are going to be hard to find. Even then I have seen many advertised GTs that don't have Brembos, weather it's on purpose or not is another issue in itself - I am not sure if they don't know what options the GT came with or they are just trying to pass it off as a GT in the hopes that the buyer will not know?

 

well it looks like you answered your own question... and by the way.. the body kit was my last mod...

 

I have a late '05 GT roadster and they came with the Brembos - if not, I doubt it's a GT. It has leather (vented seats), electric seat adjusters, seat heaters, Bose 7 speaker blah etc.

I really wanted the Brembos and a GT spec and mine was the only one I could find within 700 miles. Got it for $17K instead of the $28K asking price with 35K miles.

 

I just got rid of my 05 GT Roadster in September. Leather heated seats came with the GT, and vented seats were an option, but IIRC they were only available in orange. I used the heated seats more than I thought I would, especially during summertime nighttime cruising.

I had a few mods on my Z (287 motor), and it ran dead even on the freeway with my buddy's 06 Z coupe (Rev up) with exhaust and test pipes.

The rev up engine will respond more to the 'MREV and spacer' mod, so that's where the '06 would be a little more desirable. The down side is the fact that so many Rev ups have had issues with oil consumption.

No steering wheel audio controls on the 05's. And no 'auto' setting for headlights.

Brembos come on GT's -- I would highly recommend the brembos!!!

Edit: Also check the top for signs of wear. I had my top replaced under warranty because it started to separate in the corners, outboard of the rear window.

 

I am in Canada so it is likely I will be importing into Canada as there will be more selection and inventory in the US, so the location isn't really an issue.

 

save up some more money and get newer one.

 

+10000!

 

Note - there is a reason you didn't notice any difference between a 05 and 06 - they have the same engine. The '06 got the styling update, but the HR didn't appear until '07.

I have an '06 and love it..

 

Hmm, I thought the 300hp Rev up motor came in the 06 and them it went to the 306hp in 07+, unless it was the 05 track edtion which was 300hp

 

Partially true - auto's had the same engine - some '05 and all '06 manual's had the rev-up. Having said that - be aware of the issues that the rev-up engine had. It wasn't every one - but enough to create a big hassle for Nissan (oil consumption). The 'old' DE has proven reliability...

Good Luck.

 

buy mine, red 04 touring. leather, bose, heated seats, the works.

https://my350z.com/forum/cars-for-sa...r-touring.html

 

They are all the same, I would just stay away from the '06