I hate bingo, and i know statistics show more than 85 % of vette owners are in their 50's i am not, i am however happy with it, as it is fast n fun to drive,might not b as reliable as the nismo, but thats why i got extended warranty as i did when i own the nismo,nothing against Nismos i was a happy owner for 2 years, i just wanted some with more power...:happydance:

bmws do nothing for me when it comes to asthetics design very boring..I will take a 370nismo in a heartbeat before any bimmer.

LMFAO !!!!!! So true

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Hmmm, I had a C6 vette for 3 years and that car never broke down and was never in the shop. Was reliable as hell. The only thing that ever went wrong with it was the drivers side door panel started to buzz after 3 yrs when you had the radio up too loud. Aside from that the car was perfect. It was as fast as or faster than any car or bike that ever challenged while at the same time being just as fun to cruze in at 40mph down the Vegas strip with the top off. Comfortable on long drives and stiff enough to have fun at auto-x. People talk a lot of crap about Vettes but during our 3 yrs of owning one it was a blast.

I may jump in a GS next year as prices drop in preparation for the C7 Vette. My Nismo was just schooled by one on the way back from California to Vegas. People always say they can't handle for **** but it out did the Nismo. 180 degree turn with a 55mph posted sign for the turn (70mph limit on the hwy its self). Took the turn at 90mph while the Grand Sport Vette passed me like nothing. Sure on tight turns our Z might have an edge but thats about the only place our car will beat a Vette.

I am pretty sure they were just being facetious.

I saw a new titanium grandsport the other day beatiful car the rims matched the car perfectly, I was contemplating for a c6 one of the nicer looking cars out there, but can't get over the crappy low budget interior.

Agreed on the crappy interior, other than that the grand sport is a beautiful and a great sports car. Even a base Corvett would eat a NISMO for lunch, straight or twisties, in capable hands.

:iagree: May 5th at Willow Springs was a big track day for the M group, I checked their site to see if the discount code was better. This time it wasn't. LOTS of them were interested, showed up and ran intermediate. I was in fast intermediate with a bunch of them, stock-looking M3's and a $29k 370Z with $3k worth of Stillen Intake/HFC/Exhaust bolt ons and RE11's (265/305). As usual, I would repeatedly catch them on the 1/2 mile frontstraight from 25 car lengths back, have to hang back through the esses and pass them when they get flagged to move over on the back straight. I had to move up to Advanced and run with the Corvette club and guys I know with modded 1's and M3's with GT wings, all running RS3 tires. It was better to be a backmarker than a bulldozer, as far as having more fun goes on the track.

Their suspensions are better engineered and I think their gearing is more refined and it gives them a great street to track car without modifying, but I don't know anybody that's had their Z for more than a year that doesn't already have the mods to equalize them with these M3's on most tracks. So, don't race them anywhere there aren't runoff areas and safety staff. There's no point, and it's lose-lose!

Props to the M guys for being true enthusiasts and backing up their talk by showing up for real fun. Most SoCal Z guys with all the bells and whistles just settle for hardparking, in fact their "that meet time of the month" thread just got stickied :barf:

Pfft, track results mean nothing. Bench racing is where it's at. :p

they want to showoff to their friends about how fast they can go on their skatrboards. "Dude, i totally owned this car on the wayto school today, by the time i got here, he was like a mile away! " :roflpuke2:

For my money the best comparison gauge out there are the 'Top Gear Power Laps' from the BBC show in the UK. They've got 9 or 10 years worth of times for all the best performance cars in the world and the times are all from the same circuit and driven by the same driver who has done thousands and thousands of laps on that track.

The 350Z touring put up a 1:31.8 ('03 model year so only 292 bhp)
The M3 (E46 333bhp) put up a 1:31.8
Incidentally the RX8 and the BMW 535d (yes that's right, a diesel) put up exactly the same times, all in dry conditions on summer days.

So one generation back the standard Z and the M3 were neck and neck, but the E90/92/93 M3s are a whole new kettle of fish, V8 and a mind blowingly clever traction management system (second only to that of the GTR) cut the M3s time to 1:26.5 for the coupe on a damp track and 1:25.3 for the saloon on a dry track while the 370z (not a Nismo as they don't have them for the UK market) could only post a 1:27.5. For comparison purposes the 2012 GTR posted a 1:19.7 which puts it up in the rarified air of the Zondas, Veyrons, McLarens and Ascaris.

1/4 miling isn't my thing so for me circuit times are the real test, but I'm pretty sure a 2007-present M3 is gonna smoke a Nismo in a drag race too.

But if you see an E46 M3 acting the A-hole feel free to teach that punk a lesson.

One last thought, have all the douchebags who used to drive M3s switched to Audi S4s? If so feel free to take the bait, the S4 only managed a 1:30.9 while the RS5 matched the Zs 1:27.5, but did it on a damp track. And the BMW Z4 ran 1:28.2 but not much chance anyone's gone take you on in one of those as they're only bought by middle aged middle management guys who can't afford a 911 and by trophy wives of the upper managent guys who can.

Very nice write up.

BTW, not all of the douche bag M3 owners bought Audis...some of us bought Nismos. ;)

That was a slow bike then...or a crappy rider. Or maybe a R6...any new liter bike would kill a vette. I got a ZR1 to kill my Nismo yesterday......but it was cool to hear its blower
huffing as he went by and the low rumlbe exhaust.

I had that almost happen to me once. Looks like the guy just bought the ZR1 and was trying to catch up to me on the highway, but I had to take my exit by the time he got to me. Did sound really good though.