Another 'Which one' thread
 

Okay, I know that there's a hundred 'do I buy this or that' threads, but I'd like to hear from the Nismo, Roadster, and Touring crowd to compare. I love all three-the Nismo for its looks and performance, the Roadster for top-down fun, and the Touring cuz I'm old and like my cars comfortable.

So, I'm trying to decide which one I want. I love the Nismo, but think I should buy a Touring for the leather and Nav, then modify the body/engine. Or I could buy the Nismo and put in the stereo and settle for clothe. Then again, that seat A/C is pretty amazing in the Roadster.

Love to hear from somebody that's gone through the same issues and made a decision.

Thanks for any advice,
Mike

The difference in comfort packages between the touring coupe and roadster are small -- the cooled seats are cool, but nothing keeps you cool with the top down when it is 103. With the top up, the air conditioner is powerful enough that I find I don't need the seat coolers turned on -- so they are neither here nor there for me except for April and October when we have our two months of San Diego weather ;). The choice between those two should be on whether you want top down motoring or the bit of extra performance you get with the coupe.

Good advice and good points.

Well, I say go for the nismo if you can live with cloth interior, here's why:

1. stereo can always be upgraded to better than OEM and you can even get nav in an aftermarket head unit.

2. The aero on the Nismo is functional, and since it's from the factory, it's going to fit better than most aftermarket stuff out there, plus you know it's been tested and proved to work at improving downforce.

3. the wheels are nice.

4. a bit more power

5. limited production (not really that limited but they do include a numbered plaque).

6. Has improved suspension already.

7. It's a Nismo and that's just ******* cool.

8. conclusion: get the Nismo. :tup:

Just a counterpoint, but since the base or even the touring has performance numbers documented to be on par if not superior to the nismo, I'd get the touring due to the fact that it would be a lot more expensive to add those missing parts than it would to add a couple of performance parts (which is not really necessary given the facts stated above).

Dynos show the Nismo is putting more power to the wheels.

OP: If you think you're gonna do any mods at all, I'd skip the Nismo unless you absolutely LOVE the body kit. Otherwise, after coilovers, exhaust, intake, new rims, etc...you're gonna be mad you "wasted" 6k on Nismo seat etchings.

the nismo performance parts are sub par in comparison of what you could upgrade to if you had touring. The aftermarket performance parts guys out there have very good things out there for a decent price - people who have nismo parts are selling their parts for the aftermarket parts.

not everybody wants to mod tho, they may like the fact that it has better stuff than the touring and will leave it at that.

Yes it has more power but it apparently is heavier than the standard version causing it to have the same 0-60 time making the extra power useless.

I would just get the standard car with the touring + sport packages.

I test drove the convertible at francorchamps and I noticed alot of extra wind noises especially at 90+ mph.

so I was glad that I didn't pick the convertible

As an aging driver too, I tried both NISMO and Touring sport package, not the convertible.

I drove a street legal autocross track suspension 280 Z for years. So I know stiff. I went to a 300 ZX with an adjusting suspension, and thought it was a luxurious ride by comparison.

Both the NISMO and touring have stiffer rides than 300 ZX on soft adjustment. The NISMO reminded me more of the 280 Z ride, and since the touring sport package posts better slalom times and the same 0-60. I went with the touring. It has creature comforts such as heated leather seats that are not purple cloth. The NAV is only interesting to me for the music box feature, since I know where I am going most of the time.

Whatever choice you make you will end up with a fun car! Good Luck.

touring/sport/nav/kickplates/floor mats/6spd and you are out the door for less than the nismo. The interior of the Z, even base, is miles ahead of the 350z, with the touring package/nav, its really a nice interior. take advantage of it.

Fully loaded touring/sport/nav VS. a Nismo:
Do you want leather seats, navigation, and a stereo system? or do you want a body kit, different wheels, and different suspension?

and, dont' get me wrong here, if someone gave me a black painted nismo body kit, i'd put it on in a heartbeat, but i'm 22. I really love the way it looks, but its a little ricey, and if you're an older guy, it might look not very age appropriate.

True, there is nothing the touring or Nismo package offers that you couldn't do yourself that is of actual value. You could do leather seats, a stereo, and nav for cheaper than Nissan offers. Additionally you could add coilovers, stiffer sway bars, rims, and a bodykit on your own. The thing to do is pick what you WANT to do mods-wise and go from there.

You will get much more pussy with the roadster. Without question. :tiphat:

/\ Hey, I'm a a slightly older guy and my wife and I love the way the Nismo looks. Honestly the best thing about the aero like I said earlier is that it's functional (it ain't rice if it's functional), which is important to us since this car will be tracked regularly. if it weren't for that, we'd probably have gone with a touring/sport pack/nav etc.

unless you look like the elephant man you'll get all the *** you can handle no matter what model you buy.:ughdance:

Don't get me wrong...the coupe is a great looking car. But chicks dig roadsters. Putting the top down allows for a great many more possiblities than the coupe offers. :driving:

You can erase the Nismo then!


If you buy a car to get pussy you are in serious trouble my friend!

i dont mean ricey in a bad way. just in a descriptive way. the nismo body kit is definitely, in your face, aggressive, japanese sports car styling. if thats what you want, then more power to you. didn't mean to generalize, just a lot of older people seem to like more subtle styling. but then again, a lot of those people buy lexus and other boring cars, so you are already a step ahead :)

only problem with the nismo and getting it as your 'track' car... is that it really isn't much more track ready than the sport package. still needs an oil cooler, and i'm not sure how the brake pads are as far as track use.

...like driving with the top down? Yea... chicks do did roadsters... thats why chicks buy them :stirthepot: :roflpuke2:

Did I say that I bought my car to get pussy? I'm just letting the OP know that it's a nice fringe benefit. :tiphat:

All great comments, I appreciate them all. I do like the roadster, but not sure that the TN weather really makes that worth it. I hear what you're saying, JeffBlue, and agree with you a bit. I'll be turning 40 next month and don't like 'ricey' cars, but I agree with FL 4motion that I don't really think it looks ricey. That's one of the things that appeals so much to me is that it all looks factory. Been looking at a few 996 GT2 Porsches as well and find the wing a bit too big and a little 'ricey' for a DD. Don't get me wrong, they're BEAUTIFUL, but I don't like how massive the wing is because I'm not going to track it.

I forget which poster made the comment, but I think it sums up the solution most succinctly. He said that either the Touring or the Nismo will be just as great, it just depends on whether I want to mod the interior or the exterior.

Thanks all.

There are older member on this forum that own nismo models, not just younger guys. I went with the nismo because I liked the more agressive looks. The nismo really isn't any more track ready then any of the other models, as stated, they all need an oil cooler and upgraded braking systems to be safely tracked. I drove both and ended up with the nismo and haven't looked back. Leather, nav, heated seats were all just a waste of money for me, I really have no use for that stuff in a sports car. I ended up getting a great deal on my nismo which put it at close to the same price as a touring with nav. I just decided that if I'm buying a sports car then I'm going to buy the sportier model. Everyone has different needs and desires in a car, I wanted something that I could track once in awhile with the agressive wider look, just get what fits your needs. I certainly wouldn't say that any of the other Z models are "superior" to the nismo, performance wise they are all on the same level. Marginal differences at best that likely couldn't be replicated by most people on this forum. A nismo will likely have a better resale given its limited production numbers. Buying a touring and putting nismo parts on it will cost you plenty too, I can't say that I've seen anything aftermarket that looks as good as the nismo aero kit either. IMO the wing is bigger then I'd like but it fits the type of car that it is and carries the car lines well enough; and its functional according to Nissan (something to the effect off 150lb of downforce @75mph or something?). Just my $0.02 Best of luck to you in your decision.

Gotcha :tup: Well, the Nismo still needs and oil cooler and brake pad upgrades just like all the rest of em (big pet peeve of mine btw). However, my biggest reason for choosing the nismo is that the it would be difficult/expensive to replicate the functional aero with aftermarket parts. Could you do it? sure, but how many manufactures are going to list how much downforce their wings, front lips/canards produce? Not to mention the prep, paint bodywork needed to get them to fit and look oem can sometimes be $$ and time consuming. Even for me, sticking an aeromotions wing on the back of my Z (which is super functional) is a bit over the top for a car that is still a dd as well.

/\ well said. At the end of the day, OP can't go wrong cause he'll still be in a Z. Well, except if he gets a convitable, that's a no go for me. :p