If I was buying my Z over again I would get a base model and not a Track.

Base w/aero $26,800
HID's 1,000
LSD 1,100
4 Wheel Brakes 4,500
Wheels 2,200
Tires 1,200
Pedal Covers 80
Total $36,880
Sell Stock Whl/Tire -500
Total $36,580


I would have better HID's, a much stronger LSD, call me a confessed closet ricer cuz GodDamn that 4 wheel Stoptech kit is gorgeous and I wouldn't have had to buy the lines seperate, stocke Rays are great, but not wide enough for the race rubber I want, tires would of course be an order of magnitude better, and of course the pedal covers just to make it equal. I couldn't care less about VDC or resale as I will probably keep this car for a long long time. Oh well, too late now!

 

i guess i'm a closet ricer, or just plain ol' ricer since i have the stoptech 4 wheel big brake kit raceboy!!

i did trade in my cs track in order to get a ppw touring. wish it was a straight trade for a track model though. the dealer did order me the aero package and gave me the track wheels off of my track model. white has always been my favorite color on any car.

if i had to do it again, i would of bought a performance.

john350z

 

Probably the Quaife or the Kaaz. I like the engagement properties of the Kaaz, but the damn Quaifes are friggin indestructable.

 

Dude! How could you forget the suspension mods?

I would have bought a Track and added aftermarket leather with Alcantara center inserts and done the suspension upgrade. The Track was only ~$600 more, but I was stuck on getting factory leather. What an idiot I am sometimes.

*Me, beating myself up.*

 

hey john350Z...
did you really trade your track for your touring? If so did the dealer have problems with it and how much did you end up eating..how many miles was on it..?

 

i ate about $2500. the chrome silver track i had traded in had 850 miles. had it for two weeks.

i bought car for $500 under msrp in december.

i guess the dealer had a buyer for a chrome siver track used. too bad the new buyer rolled out with touring rims.

john350z

 

2500 isnt too bad..are you pleased with all your mods thus far what would you say made the biggesast improvement? ?I noticed you have jic coilovers..how is the ride over stock?

 

I was just adding up the parts that the Track would have over a base. I would do the suspension on either one. When I ordered my Track I wrongly assumed it would have an uprated suspension.

 

350z4steve:

yes, i am pleased with all the mods thus far. i say this because i have bigger brakes, bigger wheels w/tires, and a better suspension than a track model.

if i had the performance model in the beginning, i would of had my recaro spg seats and maybe the nismo body kit already.

i'm still not a big body kit fan and am still debating on putting one on. would love to have the nismo r-tune carbon fiber kit, or better yet, the nissan gt race car front end, side skirts, and salad bar rear wing.

can't wait until engine mods are fine tuned!!!!!!!!! that 's when i'll get engine mods.

anyways, i can't decide which is the favorite mod because they all intertwine together on handling. maybe suspension.

also the ride is stiffer than stock. you will feel every bump on the road with the jic.

my friend has the tein flex. it is more forgiving on the street.

john350z

 

Ha. you BETTER be loving your car now John.

and i better see you on the track within the next few monthes else i will pull you with me.




as far as regretting which edition decision, i like my brembos on the track. i mean. really, these brembos, with the right pads will definately be "enough" for the weekend race course... unless you're running Lemans 24hr.. or some serious repeative 120->0 mph stopping, wouldnt a 4 wheel kit be over kill?

but hey. if you can hurl your passenger's lunch that would be fun,..

 

hi cheston,

hurl your passenger's lunch: fun, but messy

 

I would get the Enthusiast model. I think it is the best bang for the buck. The VDC in my opinion is too intrusive for everyday driving.

I am so glad I didn't pay extra for the Track model as I would have expected the suspension to be atlleast decent for hard cornering.

 

You may be paying a lot more for the Track model, but keep in mind all of those parts are factory warrantied and replacements are readily available from Nissan. Keep that in mind before you consider thinking going all-aftermarket is a smart move.

 

readily replacable? the rims on track are like over a grand a peice, and not cause thats how much a rim like that goes for. so if you band it up, its not covered, and if you want a replacement rim, you will be paying approx what 2 TE37s cost.

what else does it have thats warrentied? LSD? eh. doubt its gonna break in 3 years.

by the way, you cant get aero on base

I would personally say enthusiast, and then remove HID(the HID is HID, there is nothing better, new bulbs maybe but not the point), no pedals, you get TCS, maybe not VDC, but its something. you also get CC, home link, and LSD if you want, but yeah its not as good as what you get aftermarket.

anyway, I still think enthusiast is the best model over base, but I agree track, touring, and performance are all a bit of a waste if you really plan to race the car... stuff you learn a bit too late I guess.

 

I agree with Steve on many points. Probably would have ordered an Enthusiast model, as others have pointed out it's advantages over the base (plus I wanted cruise control for those long trips). I agree that the Quaife would be (and may still be) the limited slip I'd pick.

Had I gone with the Base model, I'd have spec'd a full weld-in cage and considered running it in SCCA. But, all-in-all I'm not totally devastated with the Track. Sure, it understeers WAY too much and I've made my views on that oversight known to Nissan. It was also my best guess at the time- was January 15, 2002 that long ago?- and it made sense for those of us hoping for ultimate performance. I still think it's a good starting point for a dual-purpose street/track Z car.

 

There's something you guys have to realize about "modding right away" vs. getting the stuff with the car.

Most people DON'T buy a Z flat out, most finance it. Therefore the extra cost of a higher model is part of your loan. If you want to get a cheaper model, and mod it...great, but the fact is all that extra cash comes right out of your pocket and is NOT financed...unless you get a loan for mods

 

Your right....the amount we spent on our touring and track models could have definitely allowed us to seriously slam out base models. The only problem is that modifications do not retain their value like stock options. If you are like me, in 3 years you are going to want a new car and then you will thank yourself that you have a car that will sell/trade for what it is worth.

 

hey at least you guys have the option in canada there is only three trim levels touring(auto,with leather and bose)performance(stick,leather,bose,tire pressure monitor)these are the same price.And track which is the same as the usa track but for 1600.00cnd more than the preformance and touring, the only option on all the modles is the navagation system.I bought a black track for 46,500.00cnd before tax.

 

Thanks raceboy. I had totally settled on a track, but this makes too much ****ing sense?!? Plus twice the fun =).

Back to the drawing board.

 

You're forgetting a few things..

1) Time and effort
2) Installation costs ($$$)
3) Sanity (a stubborn bolt here and there...)
4) Resale value

The base isn't going to resale for jack and you don't get a very good return on investment of aftermarket parts.

Personally, I couldn't be happier with my choice of a Track model. If you want wider wheels, I'm sure there are a LOT of Touring or Performance owners out there who are DYING to take those Rays off your hands.