burton227

Hey guys whats up was browsing around and stumbled upon your little corner of the internet. I used to own a 2010 camaro and was apart of the camaro5 forum and loved being part of an active community. I have since sold the car and purchased a more economic 2014 ford fiesta hatchback. I thought i would be able to handle the lack of power... well its been 6 months now and I am hating every second of it.

So I am currently selling my fiesta and am looking at a return of somewhere between 11-12k. So with that I have decided that a 350z would fit exactly my wants/needs. I would be doing a few minor mods to it but it would be my daily driver. So with that all being said I have a few questions.
1) Is it worth it finding a car with the brembo brakes?
2) What year/ mile combination should I be looking at in my price range?
3) What are some things to look out for when I am surfing the web/ test driving?
4) Should I even consider buying a Z with a salvaged title?

Thanks for looking and helping me out guys! I look forward to being part of the community soon.

Aaron Nathaniel

Hey I purchased a red 2008 Nissan 350z Base with plenty of additions to it. It's got right over 60,000 miles and I love it. The only problem I have had was the tires I had 275/30ZR20 97W has some very bad wear on the inside, but that could be because it's lowered, has a slight camber and has 20' wheels. Also check the paint job because it seems like Nissan cheaped out on the paint job and that seems to be with every Z though. Personally when I was looking I was focusing on a 2007-2008 because of the more powerful VQ35HR engine over the VQ35DE. Also the later years have nicer headlights and maybe taillights. The only thing I know to look out for would be the miles (because people dog out this car) and in my case the tires. If you would like to see my Z follow me on instagram @and_350z

MicVelo

In that price range, you're mostly looking at earlier Z's - '03-06 BUT I've seen a number of later models as well in that price range (mileage, condition) so your search is going to be all over the map, unfortunately.

However, if *I* were doing it all over again at that price point, I'd try to locate a low mileage (say, under 75k?) '07 or later, Enthusiast trim or above model.

Why?

- 2006 saw revised head and taillights. These are the more "desirable" Bi-Xenon headlights and LED tails that many like to update earlier models with. (Nothing wrong with the original HIDs (I've not overdriven them anyways) but if you start with the Bi-Xenons, you can skip that upgrade later.)

- 2007 saw the introduction of the higher powered VQ35HR engine with 306bhp (US market and torque about the same as earlier) to 287bhp-274 ft lbs torque in the earlier VQ35DE engines.

- Enthusiast level trim (just a notch over base) adds two very key components if you are planning to mod the car into a canyon runner... Limited slip and traction control (absent from base model). Oh, and base model doesn't have HID headlights - all models above base do - just pointing that out.

Note: VDC is added in Touring trim and in Track trim, Brembo brakes, forged alloys and rear spoiler are the key differences.

Which brings up your Brembo question.... yes, if you are going to track the car, this is a great addition and reason to seek out a Track version. However, for day-to-day use and occasional trips into the hills, the stock brakes are more than adequate (and can be upgraded to better friction materials in the stock calipers and rotors for more performance OR you can swap to Brembo or other aftermarket BBK in the future.)

That all said, however, nothing wrong with the earlier models (happy with mine!) but doing it all over again a few years since I bought mine, I'd raise the bar a tad due to lower price points of later models now, kapeesh?

Finally, salvage title. NO F'N WAY. (IMO) Yeah, yeah, they're cheaper but who REALLY knows what happened to the car to earn it a salvage title? Was a time here in California where insurance companies either refused coverage or you could only purchase PL/PD for a salvage car. (Don't know the stance on that now though.) No, pay the price now for a clean title. Not worth the risk - again IMO.

Good luck.

MicVelo

Ooops, just saw that previous poster - Aaron - pointed out pretty much the same things I did. Sorry for wasting your bandwidth.

I'll shut up and go to my corner now.

NiLL

'06-'09 had bigger base brakes and according to a stoptech shoot out are very close to the brembos in performance and heat soak. (brembos being slightly better) That being said, for 1400-1600 bucks you can get the akebonos off a 370 sport and they are massive compared to even the brembos. I would rather save the money upfront and go with these.
I would try to find something with the VLSD though.

burton227

Awesome thank you this is exactly the type on information I was looking for. So with those 07 and up z's what is the power increase like 0-60 and quarter mile times? Because now I have to just decide if I want to settle on one of those newer ones with a little higher milage or an older one that was only driven on the weekends. I would prefer the upgraded headlights and taillights and I absolutely need the traction control and stability control (those babies have saved my *** more than once in my camaro). How much would upgrading the breaks cost later on w/ installation and all so I know how much to price the gap.

burton227

So is that all 06-09 models? And do you know the reason why these would be so much better than the earlier models? Did they use better components and mechanisms or is it just the increased surface area? Because I would probably rather just get regular brakes that perform like brembos than getting the actual brembos because it seems that whenever a shop sees that you have the performance brake kit they automatically double or even triple the price they would normally charge for a brake job.

n0smoke

iTrader: (1)

Yes. All 2006-2008 models came with the upgraded brakes. The front calipers use two pistons instead of one (like the 03-05 models with the exception of the track/Brembo cars). The rotors and pads are also larger front and rear.

Here is a comparative taken from another thread:


2003-2005

Single piston front (1)
Front rotor size: 11.65" x .95" / 296mm x 24mm

Single piston rear (1)
Rear rotor size: 11.50" x .63" / 292mm x 16mm


2006+

Dual piston front (2)
Front rotor size: 12.59” x 1.10” / 320mm x 28mm
(24mm /.94 inches LARGER than 2003-2005)

Single piston rear (1)
Rear rotor size: 12.13” x 0.63” / 308mm x 16mm
(16mm /.63 inches LARGER than 2003-2005)


Brembo:

Quad piston front (4)
Front rotor size: 12.76” x 1.18” / 324mm x 30mm
(4mm /.16 inches LARGER than 2006+)

Dual piston rear (2)
Rear rotor size: 12.68” x 0.87” / 322mm x 22mm
(14mm /.55 inches LARGER than 2006+)

IMAG0031.jpg?t=1300680492



Also, if you DON'T plan on driving the car competitively, the 07-08 Base models are great around town, even in inclement weather (I don't know about snow; I'm in Florida. Though we get some pretty torrential downpours and if you drive sensibly (or on the edge of sensibility ), the car is fine.

I recently purchased a 2008 HR Base with 36k miles, brand new Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, and overall great interior/exterior/mechanical condition for $15,250 private party.

With the Base you lose out on LSD, VDC, TCS, cruise control, BOSE (hah), navigation, and steering wheel radio controls.

You DO get Bi-Xenon headlights, LED tails, nice cloth seats. You can always pick up a used diff later. I'm not saying the Enthusiast isn't ideal, but if a Base pops up, don't rule it out completely. They're still very nice cars and unless you are pushing it 80%+, you probably won't notice a difference in the way it drives.

Pic of cloth interior with no gadgets on the steering wheel. Because... c'mon... RACECAR.



Good luck