Hands Up all the Aussies

[peter]

I've been thinking I might have my Coupe by Christmas but that is looking more and more less likely.
Maybe Easter 2023?

We should start a sweep to see who can guess the closest delivery date.
At this stage with Proto orders still to be advised I'll take a guess at March 2023.
I see that Toyota has just announced price rises for their range, the story said that those who ordered before May 2022 may not have to pay the extra, lets hope Nissan doesn't go down this path

 

[Ballast Scorcher]

Between the dealerships, nissan au and onto nissan global, im having a hard time thinking that collectively they could even organise a piss up at a pub. They're all fucking hopeless in my book.

 

[Ballast Scorcher]

Anyhow, my punt is mid November 22 for my proto, and the coupes, shit, I'll go with April next year.

 

[Fontana]

Mate, im flat out believing my fucking proto will be here by then. Reading between the lines, I reckon there's Buckley's chance of coupes hitting the black top.

Just the nerve to throw the damn nismo down with that kinda date when we've been here since the dawn of fucking time is testament to the cheek of these fuckers.

Hey mate did you have a source for that nismo release date? I didn’t know of anything being officially announced yet

 

[Ballast Scorcher]

Hey mate did you have a source for that nismo release date? I didn’t know of anything being officially announced yet

Have a gander

https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/nissan-nismo-reveals-nissan-z-gt4-2023?utm_source=Socials

 

[Proto Z]

Phew! What a day!
Picked up the car around 11am, and have basically just come home now. It's pretty much been a show-and-tell cruise - lots of coffee's and chatting to mechanics/techs. Still managed to rack up about 150kms though, so thought I'd share my initial thoughts.

* First and foremost, it's no where near as skittish as I thought it would be. I've driven quick cars and bikes before, but was a little worried after seeing some reviewers say how tail happy it is. It is, IMHO, very composed. The delivery of power and torque are both very linear, and I had no issue at all controlling it. Just note - I'm sticking to the manufacturers recommendation of not exceeding 4k rpm and no full throttle. I'm sure it'd skid a lot more readily if I planted my right foot, but you certainly don't NEED to drive that way to get a rush.

* No issues whatsoever with the manual box. No problems hitting 2nd, shifting is buttery smooth, if a little short. Clutch feels fine - few reviews said the bite point is at the top (which it is), but from the very first drive it was very intuitive. It communicated well. Reverse is probably the biggest pain... but I'm coming from european cars, which are just very, very different.

* Noise inside the cabin is pretty good. Deadens road noise pretty well, and you get a nice engine note under load. Fucking silent on the outside though! lol

* Took it to my tuner and we put it up on hoist. Exhaust piping is stuuuuuupidly small. About 45mm we reckon. Catback would very much make it sound different, but would absolutely, 100% need a downpipe, cat delete and solid tune to get any more power out of it. Its VERY restrictive.

* Suspension isn't SOFT soft... I didn't feel too much roll in corners but it does definitely soak up small bumps. This isn't going to suit everyone (ie, track enthusiasts in particular) but fits the bill perfectly for me.

* Steering is light, but again, not in a bad way (at least for my sort of driving). I managed to whip it around some pretty tight suburban streets.

* Stereo is absolute garbage. I've had Bose systems in relatively inexpensive cars before (Mazda's et al) but this is just woeful. I'll dig out some soundproofing to cover the sub (the spare wheel mounted ones need it in my experience) and crank it up a bit with some tuning. Will see what I can do.

* Infotainment is snappier than I thought it would be, which is very welcomed. No issues with Android Auto (sorry don't do Apple...) - connectivity was pretty much instant and responsive. Sucks it needs to be cabled in, but my yellow chubby cable does fit the theme

* Rear camera is fine. Again, used to euro style setups with 360 cameras, but it's clear enough. The car is fairly easy to navigate in tight spots because there is very little overhang beyond the wheels.

* Last point is pretty subjective, but man this thing was getting some looks... Like everywhere, everyone. Even some ~70ish year old lady crossed the road to tell me she loved it and wanted to take a picture to show her grandkids. I legit thought she was going to tell me off or something.
It draws looks everwhere. Not all of them are good though. I got full abused by a council bus driver over something? Not even sure why... I had windows up (tint curing) and no idea, but he was losing his mind... I think it's just a very polarising car/colour - gonna get praise and straight up hate. (I live for that lol)
Some guy driving in the opposite direction in a 370z had a heart attack I'm pretty sure lol


What next? (this is VERY much just my own person preference)
1. Sort out the stereo. I can't drive it like this. I'll be using headphones if I can't get it sorted... Will try tuning it, but otherwise I'll be looking at Focal K2 all round. They'll sound great, and should match colour pretty perfectly.

2. My tuner is a distributor for AMS. Getting onto them now to sort out a cat-back and one of the intercooler setups they've shown in the last couple of days.
Not in a huuuuge hurry, but I think my guys will try to push it through quick for publicity (for them).

3. Tyres were originally high on my priority list... but the break in period is 2000km... so might just leave it for the moment. Really need to source some NISSAN Z stickers for them though...


Hit me with any questions!

 

[Tdog87]

Have a gander

https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/nissan-nismo-reveals-nissan-z-gt4-2023?utm_source=Socials

You have misread this article as this is not the Z Nismo, this is a GT4 spec designed race car for the GT4 series which are factory built race car's which anyone can buy. These are not road cars.

 

[Tdog87]

Really need to source some NISSAN Z stickers for them though...

I have PM'd you.

 

[peter]

Congratulations looks great

 

[Mud]

@Proto Z Congrats.
Your write up is my exact expectation and I'm so happy to hear these words from an owner.
I look forward to seeing you around

 

[West Aussie]

I just called Nissan Customer service and asked as I have two orders at different dealers would they see this and contact me to see if I really wanted two cars and should I cancel the later order and free up an allocation.
The answer was that the second order may come before the first, and it was up to me to cancel one order if I wanted too. As far as they are concerned I will get 2 cars allocated.
Based on that I'll keep both orders live and see who gets a car first maybe I should buy the 2 of them. Maybe a small profit to be made.

Hmmm…this is worrying. Why would the second one arrive before the first, if they were following the virtual line they keep talking about?

 

[West Aussie]

Between the dealerships, nissan au and onto nissan global, im having a hard time thinking that collectively they could even organise a piss up at a pub. They're all fucking hopeless in my book.

Well let’s put it this way…my “case manager” that was supposed to get back to me within 24/48 hours about my complaint about deliveries, must have lost my phone number
This is no way to treat paying customers

 

[morgand]

This is no way to treat paying customers

As much as I love the Z, I had an original 260z coupe (not the 2+2 so same as a 240 just with the 2.6l), I am almost convinced that I will have the BRZ before the Z.

If it does and it's half as good as what reviews suggest, I'll keep the BRZ until the Mustang turns up.

I won't cancel the order, however probably flip it based on everything so far.

If they do a Nismo version in the future, or start to discount when willing buyers dry up, I might look at that.

Resale on cars is stupid good at the moment, so may as well drive something today rather then living for tomorrow.

 

[Zzzz]

Nice, agree that it needs a new exhaust. My Abarth sounded a lot better than that.
I would be keen to see what AMS comes out with. I have seen the z1 ones but haven’t seen any sound clips online.
You looking at the AMS down pipes? The TJ hunt video showed how little room there is to get the down pipes in.

 

[Proto Z]

Nice, agree that it needs a new exhaust. My Abarth sounded a lot better than that.
I would be keen to see what AMS comes out with. I have seen the z1 ones but haven’t seen any sound clips online.
You looking at the AMS down pipes? The TJ hunt video showed how little room there is to get the down pipes in.

I'm a little torn to be honest.
Straight up, this car has more power than I am ever going to want or need. I'm very unlikely to track it, I just enjoy the way it looks and feels on the road. I'd be looking for ways to improve it on-road driving appeal.

This may extend to tyres later, but i'll certainly be looking for sticky+quiet over pure corner hugging. It's also the reason I dont' think I'll mess with the suspension - Its actually pretty perfect for on road driving right now.

I think that a cat-back is going to give me some more meaty noise, and a new intake is going to give me some in cabin whoosh. Both of which I like.
I can do both of those without a full tune, and might start and finish there. If I start to see reviews suggesting that full system (downpipe included) sounds even nicer, and reliable gains can be had with a small tune, then I might look at doing that sooner rather than later, but otherwise it'll be after warranty.

So... to answer your question... probably leave it as a simple catback for now, unless I hear a note I really like the sound of with a full system. I'm waiting for Stillen's results to be honest.