Base Z - Regrets?
 

Hey guys, I recently purchased a base 370 and I love it so far. However, the one thing I miss from my old 350 is the LSD. I would love to swap an LSD in, but I know it will void the warranty. So I've been contemplating trading up for an LSD equipped model, but I know I would lose my shirt in such a deal.

Does anyone have advice on this or is in a similar situation?

Thanks

Any particular reason your looking for an LSD? Do you track your car? Just curious bc I've owned 2 350's. One with and one without an LSD and I could never tell the difference with my driving style.

Your better off getting a clutch type LSD installed for track purposes anyhow. The VLSD, which comes on the Z, is crap from what I've read.

I think the sports package is pretty much a must have.

In general, VLSDs are only for comfort or road speed (as in oh, it's nice) purposes. It's a Torsen diff, which basically means it sucks... bad... if you really wanted to install a good diff and if you wanted to track often, you should get a Quaife clutch type, which is basically the god of diffs. It shouldn't void your entire warranty though. You may want to talk it up with your dealer.

In any case, if you just plan to use it as a daily driver, whether or not your have the differential installed will only show if you took a 90 degree turn at something like 40 mph. Then you'll feel the rear give out a bit since I think if you don't get the VLSD, it's probably just an open 2 way.

The VLSD, is a viscous LSD, not torsen.

Quaife is not a clutch type LSD, but rather a gear type LSD. Torsen and quaife are both gear type LSDs.

Articles: What's the Diff?: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

Someone told me the VLSD in the 370Z was a Torsen produced one... well, that's completely wrong.

Who has clutch types? Maybe OS Giken or Kaaz?

I had a fully loaded touring on my 350 and it was nice. I bought a 370 base when I traded in my 350 and in all honesty: my wife and I enjoy the cloth seats more than the leather, I don't worry about wearing out the outter edges of the leather seats, DC winters aren't so harsh so I'm not gonna miss seat warmers, as nice as the Bose system was, I certainly prefer a real premium system with high end door speakers, JBL sub, amp and double din head unit with back-up camera. VLSD I guess is nice, and as much as I consider myself a hardcore driver, the fact of the matter is, the most hardcore driving I'll do is driving down to Charlottesville on the winding backroads. I've never attended driving school, I don't race, I feel like a good driver, I've been told by those who can really drive that I'm a good driver, but when it comes down to it, who am I kidding. I'm no Cole Trickle. The Rays and bigger brakes woulda been nice but I wanted a Bubba Gump lip on my 350 but couldn't justify it and now I can get 'em cause I have "measly 18's". Sport package still needs an exhaust and intake and the synchro to me means that the years I spend burning out the clutch on my '96 Integra was in vein cause no there is no need for heal n toe. I think that the only mistake that can be made in buying a 370 is getting it in an automatic, there is no excuse for that!!!!

^^^ yes what sensi09 said.

370 Purist - VLSD is NOT the same as a Torsen LSD. The 370 has a VLSD, not a Torsen. A Torsen LSD is generally considered one of the more desirable diffs ala S2000

-and yes both OS Giken and Kaaz use adjustable clutch type diffs

Agreed - its hard to imagine why you'd want a sports car with out the sports.... weird. If it was for cost I'd hold off and save up - the difference in price overall is fairly small.

Honestly if you plan to track the car you'd be upgrading every component the sport package comes with. The LSD would get swapped, the brakes would be upgraded, and SRM isn't a must have. The sport package is nice but not necessary at all.

I don't see how it would void your warranty at all, aside from the diff itself. Just go with a mechanical differential like what Mike @ DDM just installed and it will be 100 times better than the viscous one in the sport package anyway. Might not want the aggressive ratio that Mike used, but there are other ratio options. You also might be able to get someone's viscous unit fairly cheaply if they are upgrading and haven't toasted it yet.

Disagree. Better wheels, more rubber on the ground, bigger brakes....what's not necessary about that. It's a sports car, it needs all these attributes and more really.

Sure you can spend another $8,000 on a set of new rims and tires, for what ?? That's not necessary.

Brembo brakes - another $4,000 That's questionable.

Change out the LSD - a couple of thousand with labour.

Well while I'm in there might as well get a better clutch - $4,000

Exhaust, DP, Remap - $ 3,000

You can try and void your warranty many times over as you try and rebuild the car. That's really not necessary.

It's a great car, no complaints, SPORT is a MUST.

You know I have to laugh as I write this. Some guys get fully loaded Z's spend another $20,000 + re-outfitting the vehicle, just to put them in the ball park of a Porsche. BUY A PORSCHE...

Oh ! how much I would love to have a Cayman S maybe even a new Boxster.

Oh well, to each his own.

Cheers,

You're obviously not into modifying your car and that is your choice. But for those of us who are all of the components of the sport package will quickly be replaced with more capable hardware rendering it completely useless.

yes, to each his own... this 370z when set up for the track will cost less than a cayman and be faster and IMO more fun to drive... I'm pretty confident in this assessment - my last car was a Boxster S that I tracked at least 1/month and I've already had my Z on the track with loads of P-cars... both great platforms, but z is a better value

OP, I have a carbonetic LSD installed and so far I couldn't be happier... it has carbon plates that result in very progressive engagement so it is more predictable and controllable IMO vs some of the other more aggressive diffs... as mentioned above, Mike at DDM is selling... might also check with Sharif at Forged Performance... good luck!

Ok. Everyone seems to be confused about the different LSDs. Here is a VERY quick LSD 101. Viscous is speed sensing. Torsen is torque sensing. Hence the compound word Tor-sen. Torsen like stated above is the more desirable unit out of the two. Reason being that viscous won't do anything until the wheel actually slips and creates a difference in the speed of the wheels - hence the term "speed sensing". Torsen because it is once again a torque sensing unit, it is able to transfer power before the slippage actually occurs. Torsen unit is designed to last the life of the car. VLSD that comes in the 370 is an ok unit for a street driver but for track purposes will not be sufficient. Then we can talk about 1, 1.5, 2 way units but that's for later. Hope this helps atleast a litto bit.

I got the Sport because of the LSD. I was thinking of swapping my own in, but I don't want to void the warranty, not yet anyways

I think the sport package is actually a very good deal. I agree it's a must for a sports car. You get big powerful brakes, lightweight large rims with sticky performance tires, front and rear spoilers (maybe aerodynamically useless, but hey they look good), and the synchrorev which reduces clutch wear and enables smooth downshifts. Heel and toe is good, but for average daily cruising in the streets can get exhausting and cumbersome.

Re: warranty. You never know what Nissan may argue. They can argue that the upgraded LSD increased torque stress in the drivetrain, causing the driveshaft U joint to snap, or the transmission to grind a gear, or the crankshaft to throw a bearing, etc..... Don't you remember the whole GT-R fiasco?

Thanks for the responses so far guys. I wouldn't mind getting a torsen unit, but again, I'd be afraid that they would void my warranty.

It really depends. Obviously, if you make a warranty claim cuz your power window is not working, or your AC compressor blew up, that's fine. If it's something drivetrain related, engine, transmission, drive shaft, differential, half shafts, etc... they might give you a hard time. Of course, this may only happen if for one reason or another they opened the differential cover and discovered the upgrade.

bingo! how often are they going to open your diff cover ! ;) and if you know that's going to happen, swap back.

I couldn't be happier with my base model. My wife is the primary driver and she DOES NOT need 19 inch wheels. Without a doubt the best sports car I have owned. She does not need big brakes either. :tup:

Warranty really shouldn't be an issue with a LSD.

My main concern with a LSD, other than performance, is how it is in terms of noise and regular driving.

For those characteristics, I'd look into a quaife, cusco or carbonetics LSD.

Love my base model, did not want:

- Leather seats: a pain to keep up, lexoil application plus when wearing shorts you stick to it.
- 19 inch wheels: harsher & noisier ride and tires are more expensive.
- Spoilers: in my previous car a 2004 Vette the front spoiler (although spring loaded) scraped on everything. So I had to slow down all the time to prevent serious damage.
- Navigation: Sorry but I am an old fart and prefer paper maps, plus my iPhone has a crude navigation feature.
- Electric seat: since they do not have a memory feature they are worthless to me.
- Homelink: In my condo we use key cards so it would have been of no use to me.


On the other hand would have liked the LSD, auto dimming rear view mirror, and the Bose system.

What is LSD?
Is it a somekind of clutch for manual gear Z's?
sorry for noob question... :-P

Limited slip differential.

in a nutshell, it enables transfer of torque from one side to another for better power delivery to the wheels. that's just the concept. you might want to try howstuffworks.com, wikipedia, youtube, etc. there are tons of info out there.

It's pretty complicated because there are open diffs, limited slip diffs, 1 way, 1.5 way, 2 way, clutch type, gear type, hypoid type, viscous...

well i got the sport package mainly because of brakes, rims, and syncro rev match. im not 100% sure and im not a professional track driver, but i heard the synchro rev match shaves off a second or two and isnt that a big difference on a track?

srm won't shave off time for an experienced driver... benefits are big for more novice drivers and I'd believe saving a second or two there b/c it allows you to drop a gear in a turn and be ready to accelerate out of a turn as opposed to waiting/coasting... for experienced driver that can safely downshift in a turn using heel-toe to rev match, there is always the risk of fowling up a heel-toe, which could mean losing control of the car... srm eliminates that risk... all in all, srm is a nice option to have regardless of skill level

You guys lost me at torsen.:confused:

Even the concept of an differential of any type tends to confuse people... but technology is great like that. Makes jobs. hahahaha

:bowrofl:
Your so funny...

im very happy i did not get a base. i searched for over a month, put TONS of hours into finding a white, base, with sports 6 spd. couldnt do it! i really wanted white, and sports, and needed a stick shift (to deter the GF from driving it), so i settled for the only one i could find, touring sport with nav.

turns out, that is my favorite part of the car. coming from a truck with 420+ hp, that handles great, i found myself loving the leather, luxury, and nav.

not saying i would not be happy with the sports, but in my case it was meant to be!

I hereby declare that this man is a genius. But I am also assuming that this "GF" is mechanically inept (as in, she couldn't tell a tranny from an engine).

I've met only one girl who is very good with cars, but she's a tomboy and not the most attractive of girls. Unless the girl is God-given, the tradeoff is going to have to come somewhere...

:iagree: Pro level drivers actually leave it off because they're so used to heel-toeing that not doing it all of a sudden is super weird and actually throws them off, hurting the times.

I was ok with that. It was the image conjured up by the phrase "fowling up a heel-toe" that got me. :bowrofl:

lol... don't drink and post people ! meant 'fouling' :)

It's all good. :icon17:

no fowl play here... move along folks

:icon17: