New Owner in Central Illinois

Augustus

I posted this over in the 'new member' area, then realized there was a separate area for 'new Z' owners. Makes more sense here. Stupid newbie.

Greetings!

I'm the proud owner of a gunmetal grey 2011 370Z Touring, MT. Picked it up this weekend, haven't stopped smiling since.

I've flirted with buying a Z for several years. Almost bought a 350Z 4 years ago but couldn't reach an agreement with the dealer.

Decided recently that I wanted a sporty car again - previous car was a 2009 A4. I did extensive test drives of new Mustang 5.0 GT's, Camaro SS's, and (don't laugh) Dodge Challenger R/T's. Even a WRX (had one in '05, fun car). They all had their charms, and I was pretty serious about the Mustang until I found the Z. I think by the first shift of the Z, I had that old, "this is the one" feeling.

Absolutely love it. The 1,200 miles of break-in can't come fast enough.

You've got a great forum here. I hope to hang around for a while!

red6spd

Congrats on the Z. Why did you pick the Z over the Stang? would like to know why?

__________________
2010 Base+Sport 6spd: Stillen G3, FI Non-Resonated CBE, FI Non-Resonated Test Pipes, UpRev Tuned, Custom 24R Oil Cooler, JDM Rear Fog-OEM Harness.
???Whp ???WTQ (Will find out come spring time)

Augustus

Thanks for the welcome.

Mustang vs. Z, I know it's the age-old debate around here. I'll tread carefully....

There are a couple of reasons that I chose the Z over the Mustang.

Simply put, I enjoyed driving the Z more than the GT. There's no denying that the GT's 5.0 V8 is an incredible engine. It really is. Go drive one. But I was a bit let down with the overall driving experience of the GT. My understanding is that a GT weighs about 300 pounds more than a Z, and I could feel it. Just puttering around the city, while enormous thrust was readily available, it just felt like a heavier car. While the GT actually does corner well, it still seemed to require effort. Like an old-school muscle car that had been through years of intensive therapy to teach it that cornering is ok, but it's still a little bit trepidations. That live axle isn't doing it any favors.

The Z, in comparison, felt like I was driving a very comfortable go-kart, and cornering is absolutely effortless. Let's go over there. Done. The steering feeling in the Z is amazing. The Mustang's, just average.

I also preferred the Z because of general build quality. The Z is my first Nissan, so long-term-quality remains to be seen. But as far as immediate tactile quality, the Z just feels like it's in a different price bracket. A $37K Mustang feels like a $23K car with $14K worth of options. A $37K 370Z feels like a $33K car with $4K worth of options. There is a difference. From seat comfort, to the stitching on the shifter, to the feel of the window buttons , to the panel gaps, to the feel of the shifter sliding into gear, to the wiring under the hood, it just looks and feels like someone put an extra couple of bucks into design. I care about that. I've owned a couple of Audis recently, and the Z just feels more like something from Ingolstadt than from Flat Rock. Right or wrong, I just prefer it.

I also value uniqueness. Two favorite cars I've owned before the Z were an '05 WRX and an '07 Pontiac Solstice GXP. Neither were perfect, but I loved them both because they were unique and fun. And as everyone knows, there's a Mustang at every stoplight. There's a Camaro at every other stoplight.

And lastly. Have you really looked at a Z lately? It's a beautiful machine. The arc from the windshield down to the taillights. The rear fender bulges. The detail in the headlights. In the taillights. The classic long hood, short body, 2-seater proportions, not unlike a Jaguar E-Type. I know, it's the 240/280 lineage. The Mustang is a fine looking automobile, with equally important echoes to the past. But as a 2+2 "muscle car", it simply doesn't posses the same kind of design elements that the Z has. I prefer the Z. Others don't.

In the end, I enjoy unique, well-designed cars that are happiest when sizzling through corners on well-paved back-country roads. I could care less about 0-60 or quarter-mile times. The Z, with it's balance of handling & power, is more in line with my driving ideals than the Mustang.

nmjaxx9

Welcome and Congrats enjoy the Z!

One_Quick_Z

Welcome to the site!


Where do you live at in Il?






DAN

__________________
-My BRZ with exhaust will decimate all if we overnight parts from Japan-

10 Civic EX Sedan- Current Daily

Augustus

Near Springfield.

One_Quick_Z

Wow I was going to invite you to come to some ChicagoZ meets but that would be a little bit of a drive



Heck its a drive for me some times haha





DAN

__________________
-My BRZ with exhaust will decimate all if we overnight parts from Japan-

10 Civic EX Sedan- Current Daily

Augustus

No sweat. Thanks for the thought!

BlueZair

Welcome to the Z man. Congrats! We might have a meet and greet when the weather warms up,if you wanna join?

haggomyeggo

Welcome
There's a few of us in the STL area too. We are trying to get better at meets. But it's still a drive. I am from the IL side too though

Welcome and let's get some pics of that new baby!

ZMan8

Welcome!

yeah it's quite a drive for you to the chicago meets, but maybe if we are driving further south you will be able to meet us.

__________________
2010 370Z 40 Anniv., 6 MT | Fast Intentions | Swift Springs | SPC | Z1Motorsports | JWM | Redline Oils | 35% Window Tint
2015 Mazda6 | 370ZChicago: Chicago Area Cars & Coffee

Augustus

Thanks for the welcome!

I live west of Springfield,IL. But my wife & I drive down to St. Louis once or twice a month for shopping, a good meal, or whatever. We consider it our "home city". Chicago's great, and we visit whenever we get the chance. But it's about a 3 hour boring I-55 drive from here, so it's a more planned kind of trip. St. Louis is about a 90 minute drive (if we go the direct way), and we'll do that on just some random Saturday.

But we love to take the long way to St. Louis and zip down through the river valley roads by the Illinois, Mississippi, & Missouri rivers. Do the ferries over by Grafton, Kampsville, IL. Quite good backwoods roads around there. In fact, just last weekend I needed to see how the Z really handles. So we did a loop out on Highway 94 from Hermann back in to St. Louis. Picked up a case of wine and hit the twisties. Such a great road when not packed with winos, like a mini Tail-of-The-Dragon but at a legal 55mph. The Z was in its element.

But yeah, if there's ever a St. Louis meetup or cruise somewhere and it's on a weekend when I'm free, it'd be fun to meet a few "locals"!

Here's the baby...

ZMan8

Nice!

__________________
2010 370Z 40 Anniv., 6 MT | Fast Intentions | Swift Springs | SPC | Z1Motorsports | JWM | Redline Oils | 35% Window Tint
2015 Mazda6 | 370ZChicago: Chicago Area Cars & Coffee

haggomyeggo

Good looking car!

I love the great river road but it's hard to go to grafting and fast eddies and not take my bike...

I've never driven down by hermann. I'll have to check it out!

jav@vossen

Welcome!!!

__________________
Jav
Vossen Wheels
1-888-463-7778 --- Web: www.vossenwheels.com
Video: www.youtube.com/vossenwheels / Images: www.flickr.com/vossenwheels
Twitter: www.twitter.com/vossenwheels / Facebook: www.facebook.com/vossenwheels