It is a common misconception that bigger breaks stop cars faster. The regular breaks will stop you just as fast. The brembos are only useful if you seriously track the car.

I would go with an 05-06 enthu. because of the tire feathering and 300hp engine. You will waste too much money on the 03-04 tires plus you want something with less miles.

 

'03/'04 with low mileage = too much time sitting in the service bay.

 

NO, mine is the best!!!

 

I have a 05' Enth and the stopping power of the stock breaks is still great. there are several adv to the Enth over the Track....Wheels: how many of you change the wheels? so the 17's are not a loss and wont stay on very long. Breaks: brenbos look great, but are you going to the track? Bose: it is a pain in the butt to change out a Bose system unless you are willing to change the entire system. The only true loss is leather: i have heard of the Enth model coming with leather but it is rare. currently i am debating trying to buy and convert my seats to power/leather, by using someone elses old seats. that is looking like it is going to cost around $1000 or so without labor. so save the $ and get the Enth (unless you are planning to race the car). If you want to know anything else about my 05 Enth PM me.

 

lol are you serious dude.......

braking power is determined by disc size and total caliper piston surface area. The Brembos are huge leap forward in terms of braking power and efficiency over the smaller disc/piston stock brakes

but i agree that on the road you probably wont use them any near to their true potential

they sure look sexc though http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...e/122_2286.jpg

 

I would seeerrriously buy the Nismo model posted on this thread, just read the list of factory mods. thats the one hands down IMHO.

 

go for what you can afford. I bought a slightly used 03 track for 24,500, after tax it was about 26,500 with maybe 19,000 miles. That was about one year ago also. But I've got the nice brembos the car is also a bit lighter than the others. And I got a great deal on it!

 

i got a 2004 with 4k miles on it... other than alignment and the fuel tank TSB it runs perfect...

I agree, shop 04+ based on miles and what you can afford

 

Suspension was bent? You didn't take it to a Nissan dealership for an inspection before you bought it? I paid like $80CDN for a full inspection before getting my used Z. Nothing wrong with it at all other then the known TSBs which I got done before the warrenty wore out.

 

go look at your road and track magazine. the base model has better braking numbers then a track model with brembo. this is just a 100-0 test in a straight line.

 

Would you happen to have a link on that? I searched roadandtrack.com, no luck. That seems a little weird, w/ stock brakes doing better than brembos...maybe cuz brembos need to "warm up" first...

 

keep in mind the 06's are heavier...
I would get an 03 for the price or an 05 if you can afford it... i dont like leather a lot...even though I have a touring... I would definitely recommend an enthusiast.... one thing the 03s have that I love that no other years have is the center consol door rolls into the dash instead of sticking out... on the other years it just pops up.

I've even thought about trading my sc'd 03 touring in for a white 05 enth. and hopefully not have to pay much more, I know some dealers will sell the Z with the stillen kit on it. I'd probably keep my pop charger, wheels and a few other things to get the 05 started off. Actually... I HIGHLY doubt I would do that.. but ive thought about it....

My 03 has been problem free though!

 

What are your plans for the car???

Any tracking or autocrossing I'd go for a track model (for the brembos) and an 05 or earlier model. They are significantly lighter than the 06's but a tad bit more road noise. We're talking roughly (100-200lbs) across different trims.

You're coming from a beamer so you might want a quieter ride?

Also, are you going to mod?
It's easy to get a 287 hp car up to 300 hp to the crank. I don't know how easy it is to get more torque out of the 300hp version, but the 287 has a tad more torque to begin with.
Losing a couple hundred pounds from an 06 to match an 03 through 05 is going to be tough. If you're into the more luxury ride then this is a mute point.

It all depends on your plans for the car.

 

The brembos are nice, but especially if you are looking used, be prepared the cost of replacement pads and rotors when the time comes is absolutly ridiculous, in the thousands of $$. I dont think it's worth it, although they do look nice behind the wheels.

 

You're confused. While Brembo's "Big Brake" kit for the Z is $3000 or so, replacement pads and rotors for the Track model are only about 20-30% more than for the non-Track models. See tirerack.com for details.

 

From Performance Nissan Site:

OEM Brembo Front Rotor: $415.95 EACH
OEM Brembo Rear Rotor: $395.95 EACH

OEM Front Brembo Pads: $132.95 (Non Brembo $59.95)
OEM Rear Brembo Pads $95.50 (Non Brembo $41.95)

I cant find pricing on OEM Non Brembo rotors on the site, but they sell slotted replacements for only $130/$110 and stoptechs for $218/$198, so the OEMs are not going to be more then that, i recall them being in the $120-130 range.

 

get an 05

 

On the 03, center console area is more charcoal in color than it is black, was it 04 or 05 where it is more black in color?

 

i think it depends on whether or not you are going to keep it stock. If you are planning on dumping a lot of money into your Z then go for the 03 performance but if you want to keep it stock go for the 05 track.

 

From what I've seen,

The 03's have a more plastic and thin/ brittle feeling center console with a semi-gloss grey. The 04's -05's have a more rubber and soft contour and you're right, it is more black than charcoal and is more matte color.

-- The door swivels UP instead of IN, but is made a little more beefy.

04's are also when they started putting in the knee pads and seat-belt extenders so they don't hit the door/glass.

06's have an even nicer console, it feels like a more solid plastic instead of hollow. Still black like the 04 and 05. If it's nav it has no door at all. Just an opened and molded NAV window which looks pretty trick.