I'm looking for a Z to be used as a daily driver for the near future, but to ultimately hang on to as a track toy. I'm considering buying a used one with less than 20k miles or just getting a new one.

I've been looking mainly for a 2006+ Enthusiast. I read somewhere that the 2006+ cars had some redesign work to them that uses better quality interior parts?

Anyway, are there arguments for getting a 2006 or a 2007 or a 2008 that I should be aware of? I've heard that there is an oil consumption problem on 06 manuals? (I will be getting a 6 speed for sure).

Any thoughts are appreciated. I had a 2005 G35 6 speed coupe for two years and swapped it out for an 07 Mustang GT, and I miss having an up to date suspension. Thought I'd do it right this time and get a Z

 

I was in the same boat as you earlier this year and decided I wanted a 2006 for these reasons:

Updated engine. I felt a difference between the non-revup and the rev-up.
HIDs and LED tails.
Revised front bumper.

I also decided I wanted a track model for:

The Brembo brakes.
The LSD.
The cloth interior.

I also knew I wanted a white car.

The 07-08 have a punchier engine and they are indeed faster, but for me it wasn't worth the price difference. A 2006 is still under warranty for a bit and the price seemed to be right.

If you do go with a 2005 or earlier, they will be bargain basement priced at this point. There's a ton out there, drive more than one before you buy. I also decided to buy from a dealership as I've had some bad experiences with private sellers before.

I sold an E30 M3 and a Civic Si and bought the Z to be my track car. I've done 2 events since February's purchase and will be doing my third a week from today. It's a perfect car for the track - enough power to get you in trouble, RWD, solid chassis.

Good luck.

 

i dont speak for others but my 06 been having oil consumption problems. Im on my 3rd engine. First engine blew when i didnt change oil after 6K KM of driving, while the engine was at 15k of its life. ( my fault really tracked it twice during that span of oil change, but the engine had no oil left whatsoever when they took it apart) 2nd engine same problem at 4K KM of driving while the engine is at 11k of its life ( was at the track , warm up lap). None of it was me over reving the engine and i drive normal on the streets

I would get the 07 used . While the 07 is more expensive then 06s ,after a couple of years the market is going to have alot more of the HR engine model in the market. If you do buy the revup model, the price of that will even go lower because no one would want to buy the DE version. And not to mention the HR engine responses alot better to mods if you decide its time to upgrade.

 

If you're really thinking about a track only car, the very first thing you should do is get the rule book(s) for the groups you intend to race with and determine what mods are allowed for the class 350Zs can compete in. From there, you'll be able to figure out the best year and model.

Most of the time its best to start with the base model vehicle from the year that best fits the rules and your budget. Its the lightest one and in most cases you'll be replacing things like brakes, LSDs, springs, shocks, wheels, tires, etc. with aftermarket parts. You will also be stripping the interior to install a roll cage and the required safety equipment, tossing out radios and speakers, and generally gutting the car.

 

QFT
The stock VLSD is damn near worthless on the track.
If you are going to do NASA time trials, 03-04 base or 07+ base is the car to have, since a Quaife LSD is only +1 point and BBK's are only +2 (as opposed to an 03 track, which would take +7 from the get-go)

 

I concur with the observations of the above two gentlemen.
IF YOUR REALLY INTEND TO TRACK THE CAR, then don't waste a penny more on a newer car. Get the best '03 in base form that you can find.

But before you even do that, do you have a plan on HOW you intend to track the car? If you intend to go NASA/SCCA etc., then that will dictate what you can and cannot do to the car modification program. Read up on the rules, talk to those actively involved in your region, and develop a plan that will involve a budget you can afford, and a path of improvements you can follow if you choose to progress along to different classes.

If you do NOT intend to do that type of competitive driving, but instead to go the HPDE driving route, potentially with more aggressive mods, that will be a very different modification program. It might involve FI to the engine, for example.

Or you might be uncertain and it is premature at this time to decide, in which case you might want to follow a conservative mods program that is compliant with the competitive programs so that should you later decide to go the route of formal competitions, you do not have to tear things out that cost you money to put in. A good example is the reference to the torsion sensing gear type limited slip differential, the Quaife unit, on a stock engine. If you know that you are not going to go with a built motor and FI, that is a terrific unit and the ultimate in streetability as well.

The difference in market price between the '03 and the '07 will buy a truck load of high performance mods.

 

Buy cheap 03, strip it, mod it, beat the hell out of it on the track, and smile a lot.

 

+10000

if youre wanting to get a newer one get an 07...if you felt the difference between the Revup and the non-revup you'll DEFINATELY feel the difference between the revup & HR...the HR is a far superior engine (much stronger internals, more power potential too...several have been hitting near 290 whp with boltons) especially if youre gonna be racing it. This coming from a revup owner.

 

Engine is likely not going to be your weak point - it's going to be driver skill.

There was an 08 in front of me at VIR last week and when we both punched it, he took off on me. If I do the same thing with a 05 or earlier, I manage to gap fairly well, but the HR is definitely a powerhouse.

Still, is power going to be your limiting factor? The most fun is had in corners where driver skill and tires make all the difference.

 

Optimo makes a good point to be kept in mind when planning out your mods program as well. A lot of money can be spent on engine mods and they will do relatively little to improve your lap times, compared to spending the same amount of money on tires, wheels, brakes and suspension changes. Also, you can recover some of those costs if you sell the car by keeping the stock bits and swapping them back, then reselling the aftermarket parts/wheels etc. The engine mods are pretty much sunk and there is little or no premium for them when you resell...indeed in some cases it is even a negative.

The best mod is driver school. We have all been to track days where a well skilled driver in a 133 bhp Miata with suspension mods beats lesser talents in Viper and Corvette cars by several seconds a lap. Really an eye opener as to what matters. Any simian can punch a throttle on 500bhp and hold on to the steering wheel to keep it straight. The ballet of a perfectly timed thresh hold braking segment at the end of the straight, with two or three heel/toe down shifts, a crisp turn in along the optimal driving line, perhaps a trail brake induced rotation/yaw, quick touch of counter steer and more throttle, keeping the tires working within their optimal slip angle and kissing the apex point to within an inch at 75-80 mph on the corner and tracking out to an inch of the outside edge of the track at wide open throttle on corner exit....that is driving. Once you have all that, and you go to big hp, that is fine. But before, big hp can actually work against your development as a driver. Still and all, nobody can deny that it is a fundamental thrill to have lots of ponies under the hood. So it is up to you to make your own priorities. But this car has plenty of grunt for virtually any track set up you can road race,and you should think about your plan before dropping a penny on mods of any kind, and then stage them seriatim so you can feel and see the difference each in turn makes (it helps to teach you about what they do to the car and allows you as a driver to learn to diagnose what is going on with the car as you drive it), and to avoid wasting money if you change your plans slightly, by not having to redo things.

Have fun!

 

Great advice guys, thanks.

My current plan is to drive the car for my daily driver for a couple of years and do some driving schools and track days at the tracks in the Dallas area.

Then maybe someday I can get into class racing and worry about conforming the car to class specs.

As for near future mods... Nothing to big. I did the MREV2 on my G35 revup and I really notice a difference. So I think that mod and maybe an intake would be my only mods for a daily driver.

I guess I'm trying to decide between a used 03 or 04 for less $$ or just biting the bullet and getting the new engine on a low mile 07 or new 08 enthusiast. My wife thinks I should just get a new one so that I "won't worry about how it was treated."

 

+1 for "Buy an 03" and YGPM

White cars are the best, of course