E90 M3 to 370Z picking it up Friday
 

I am picking up an 09 370Z with Touring+ Sport (7spd 10k miles!)) on Friday and wanted to share my excitement with the forum. I am sure I will be here a lot as I am a track junkie.

The M3 was awesome, unfortunately I was in an accident and totaled it. I really loved that car but it was expensive and I never tracked it much due to fear of damage. It was my DD and although fast, I think the 370 will be more fun as a DD because of the low end torque (M3 has none). I test drove one recently and was very impressed, then I began shopping online. My wife and I are making a weekend getaway out of the purchase, flying from DFW to KC Friday. we will be picking up the car Friday and staying in a resort until Sunday then I get to drive it all the way home!

I had the dealer install a clear bra on the hood, fenders, and mirrors so it will be protected from the beginning.

I have a NASA comp license and race a 1st gen RX7 in performance touring but its a small field and I think I might have more fun racing time trials in a faster car (370). The TT classes frown on contact unlike Spec Miata and PT, the spec classes are so close bump drafting and collisions happen every race-it gets old bending bent sheet metal with a crow bar in the hot sun between every race. Plus, AC will be nice on grid. :hello:

I plan to buy some track wheels/tires, oil cooler, track pads, and brake cooling kit right away.

Pic of the actual car below.

http://173.74.246.28/ktmtalk/photoga...mbers/370z.jpg

Hi

Welcome! Nice car!

Yeap..You will enjoy the Z. Mine is practically all stock with just a SRI and it moves. I have 2009 E90 335i manual and it has the smoothest throw of any manual I have driven...I can only image how cool the M drives.

Enjoy the Z!

Thanks all!

SaLa: The M got me completely addicted to an automatic that rev matches on downshifts. This makes for a car that you can DD and track. My shopping list was short when I ruled out all the turbo cars (been there, done that). Other than the turbos, the M3, the G37, and the exotics, what other NA car has this feature?

Congrats. What is the main difference you found so far between your M3 and your new 370z?

I will look forward to commenting on the differences with the Z but I don't get it until Friday.

Welcome

Interesting on the lack of torque from the m3. I still would like to own an M one day

Welcome to the Z world. Nice choice in color too! :thumbup:

Welcome and congrats.

Welcome.

Been looking at the older e60 M5's...The problems with the M's seem to be that SMG tranny...most members on those forums complain that the tranny pumps for that double clutch assemble seems to fail after about 30K miles...that's about a $5,000 repair if not under warranty.

I'll be sitting tight with my Z.

What part of Kansas city are you buying the car? im in KC !

Yeah, I avoided the older SMG's for that reason. The 08+ Dual Clutch (DCT) trannies are much better and less problematic. If you want an older one get a manual trans. My M3 was an 09 with DCT.

Another reason I like the 370 is they seem to be relatively rare, I see M3s more often around Dallas/Fort Worth.

my old car:

http://173.74.246.28/ktmtalk/photoga...ted_wheels.jpg

Very Nice Unit! When I am ready for the M5...I would look at the new F10 series.

There are threads in the Forum that discusses the AT versus Manual. The 7 speed AT is the way to go. It has the Rev Match so the driving experience will be similiar to the M.

It actually had a button on the center console labeled "fast". I pushed it often. My favorite button of all time. :happydance:

Low end torque? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because you've driven both cars, but wow, that is saying a LOT about the M3. I think the Z lacks low end torque and I'm coming from an '01 V6 mustang...so you saying you're excited about the low end torque in the Z...thats mind bottling!

Anyways, welcome!

lol sorry but tomorrow is friday :tiphat:

nice previous car and new one. :tup:

Well, I've got 8.5 hours seat time now after driving from Kansas City to Dallas. Lots of curvy back roads to test her out on, until the wife cried uncle a few times. :tiphat:

Impressions: I am very happy with the car. It is nimble and fun to drive and is a much better highway cruiser than I expected. I got lots of compliments and rubberneckers in a very short time, (almost as many in 2 days as I had during the entire time I had the M3). As far as compared to my M3, let's just say the $30K price difference makes any shortcomings of the 370 more than livable (the M really is in another league though).

Now that I have some time in it, I will admit the low end torque isn't better than the M3 but it has a nice mid range punch and moves out nicely when you mat it. I appreciated the simplicity of the Z cockpit, the M was like an airplane with so many ways to adjust it.

That said, the things I missed the most were the seat comfort, the exotic exhaust note, and the extra 77 hp. All of these I believe can be improved substantially with a few mods (G 37 seats?). I also missed the abrupt crispness of the BMW DCT trans, but again, I am sure there are some mapping solutions out there that may help the Z in this dept.

If anyone would like to make some suggestions on the best way to supplement these things, I will add it to my research.

BTW, with lots of spirited driving and 90-100 mph cruise I averaged 22.3 mpg over the entire 600 mi trip, pretty good!

Overall, I can tell already that this will be a fun car to own and I am looking forward to the lower expense and worry associated with my ride (translation-I will track this car ruthlessly).

ps: I got pulled over in Southern MO and the cop was so impressed with the car he let me go with a warning! :tup:

The wife calls it "the baby Z" and "baby batmobile" lol. She wants to drive the Z , but was scared of the M3 and never did.

Awesome! I live right here in Plano and can tell you first hand I saw 5+ M3's the other day and maybe 1 370z, the exclusivity is nice. Having driven quite a few M3's older and new generation I will tell you there are definitely a few things to love about the M over the Z, but you will be more than happy with it. Looking forward to seeing you at our meets!

M3 is one of my dream cars. Loved your e92. Welcome!

you got lucky to find the one cool highway trooper out of thousands lol. how did you wreck the m and what did you pay for the z? congrats!

I had an e93 335i as well. Wonderful to shift and gobs of low end torque, but just high maintenance. There was no way in hell that I was going to roll out of warranty. BMW= Bring More Wallets. Nissan=low maintenance and reliable.

Let me know about the G37 seat change. I had a Bimmer, too and the one thing that I miss the most is the seat.

Welcome, I went from a E92 M3 to a Nissan also and I miss my E92.

I picked up this nifty seat cushion at Fry's electronics this weekend for $15. It really helped with comfort on a 3 hour drive today, matches pretty well too.

http://173.74.246.28/ktmtalk/photoga...at_cushion.GIF

FRYS.com*|*WAGAN

No need for an oil cooler on your 2013 - it comes with one.

Congrats on the pick-up. The simplicity of the interior is because you didn't get the navi package - otherwise you would've felt at home with that interior since it is a totally different center console than the one you have now. I wouldn't have a Z any other way, imo.

But if you intend to track it, then I guess you probably don't care as much.

Thanks Cyborg. That looks legit. I just might pick myself up one...

My Z is an 09 with Tour+ Sport (Auto) got it with 10k miles, still had plastic wrap on the dead pedal.

I would trust that puny new OEM cooler anyway, not in Texas. 2 summers ago at Texas World Speedway I got heat stroke racing my RX7 in Performance Touring and completely lost my bearings on the track-I was going 110 mph on the banked oval section and suddenly had no idea why or what I was doing. It was 118 deg in the paddocks, who knows how hot I got being in that fire suit all day. Luckily I noticed the flag station going nuts and pulled off. They came straight up to my car and poured ice all over me before I even unbuckled my harness. Scary! I was a rookie then and didn't have a proper cool-suit set up. Happened to a few other drivers that weekend. I have high heat tolerance from racing enduro (dirtbikes) but had no experience with fire suits, you just bake in them inside a hot race car.

Anyway, its hot here, really hot. Cant wait to track the Z, the more I drive it the more it impresses me. What an outstanding machine. I swear it has more grip than my M3 did.

Oh. Idk why I thought I read it was a 2013.

Stock from Nissan would be an 18 row cooler like mine. But 25 is definitely preferable in Arizona, Nevada, and Texas.

And yes, the Z is definitely grippier than the M3. The rear track is wider, the center of gravity is lower, and there's less total weight. If you think the Z is grippy now, drop it on Swifts and add a set of Michelin Super Sports - you'll feel like you're glued to the road.

Welcome nice M3, and new ride!

Funny how nice the 370z is. I has a 1993 NSX prior, and I get **** now and then for getting rid of it and picking up my 2011 Z (touring+sport). It doesnt have that "exotic" bling the NSX had, but I was in the same boat where I wouldn't drive it hard because fixing it was so expensive, couldnt take it out in rainy days to due motor placement and heavy down pour blowing out coil packs, etc. (dont ask what I paid for clutch work). I like the Z because its a scalpel to drive, comfortable and reliable. My wife's car was a 2009 lexus IS250, and she even agrees the seats in the Z are far and away better then the ones in the lexus

Another 100hp is what this car needs, and a better exhaust note. It sounds exactly like a Frontier pickup when I floor it. I like it though, good car.