Years ago I have done some round track racing and some auto cross events. Got out of it all due to family and kid responsibilities. They are grown now and it's time for me to play. I am looking at buying a 350z and doing some auto cross events and maybe some track days. How much difference is there in performance of the 350 roadster and the coupe? I know if If I go with the coupe I will need to add roll cage if I want to do track days but would sort of prefer the convertible.

 

Anytime you remove a roof section, you lose some chassis stiffness. Nissan added some reinforcement to help, but the Z33 coupe is lighter and stiffer. If you're doing track days, you won't necessarily have to add a roll cage, but if you have a ZR you may have to add a roll bar to participate in some events.

 

He nailed it on the head ^^^

 

I tracked my vert a few times and I def feel safer now that I have a coupe that's dedicated for track duty. I am lucky though as I get to own more than one car If you haven't bought either yet and you intend to get serious about tracking I would get a coupe.