New member considering a Z
 

I've only driven a touring to date. It was very noisy in the rear but I suspect it was cheap Chinese tires. How much difference am I likely to notice when I drive a sport? I plan to drive one tomorrow and may buy if I like it. It's a 2013 with 22,000 miles and NAV. I definitely need the sport because the LSD is mandatory. In connection with that, my differential guy says you can improve the viscous LSD by running straight 140w fluid.

Any input would be appreciated.

Get a real lsd

What's the logic there???

I'm not sure about his logic. I'm really only familiar with Torsens which are common in the Miatas I've been driving. I read here that the 370 lsds aren't very good. If that's the case, should I worry about getting a sport model or convert another car? What's the preferred diff in a 370Z and how much does the conversion cost? I'm not equipped to do that job myself.

Quiafe makes a good Torsen that runs about $1100, you'd have to get a quote from a local shop on install. It's easier to install on an open diff car.


Cusco and OSGiken make clutch type diffs you should take a look at as well.

Thanks for the help. If I'm going to have to change the diff I might consider just a touring model since the bigger wheels and rev matching aren't that important to me. This car will be a DD with several track events each year. I'll get separate wheels and tires for track. I've tried to research the various models and years and I think I read that some tourings could be ordered with LSDs, but I guess that doesn't matter much if they're no good. Is it just that they don't work well out of the box, or wear out with time?

Good tires will be noisy. My pirelli p zeros are akin to snowtires in terms of noise.

The brakes and wheels are worth getting a sport. Rev match is one of those things I didn't care about until I actually owned the car. I'm glad I have it.

Best buy might be a member selling one with Turbo, check the for sale section.

If you are going to put this thing on the track, the brakes are worth getting the Sport package. The rev match is pretty nice also, it actually does a good job if you aren't very adept at heel/toe downshifting.

Ditto. I have Continental's on my mine and the road noise is horrible.

Hmm, I'm an old guy and appreciate a quieter ride. The original Bridgestones were quite noisey (IMO) on my '12 Touring Sport. Had to change out the rears and bought Conti Extreme Contacts. VERY pleased with them, really cut down the road noise on most surfaces. Will be putting the same on the front when they wear down.

:iagree: The better brakes & wheels are worth the exta $$ for the Sport & you get a LSD that will work until your able to upgrade. The heavier oil will help absorb the heat for a while, but once that VLSD heats up it gets weak fast.

I have the Quiafe & it's good for me, but if I was still looking for a LSD, I would look hard at the Wavetrac. There is a group buy going on here.



$.02

Thank you all for the good advice. I didn't think too much about the wheels because I'll have separate wheels and tires for track, but I forgot about the brakes. They're worth it I'm sure.

Agreed. I'd actually get a Nismo for the extra rigidity.