Misha roasted the Nissan Z

[Exquisite_Red]

Chevy with 400hp loses rear traction: weeeeeeeeeeeee, so playful! swoon

Nissan with 400hp loses rear traction: wHErE GRiP?????!!!!!1!

 

[DiZZ1]

Nobody here should honestly care what is said about any car tracked on the “ring” not even our Z’s. Unless you are a professional driver getting paid??? Most factory track focused cars have mid brakes and the car he drove wasn’t a Nismo. My Nismo is not heads above the sport or performance, I think the performance is definitely the best option. I got such a steal on my pre own Nismo couldn’t pass it up.

 

[Apex_Z]

Nobody here should honestly care what is said about any car tracked on the “ring” not even our Z’s. Unless you are a professional driver getting paid??? Most factory track focused cars have mid brakes and the car he drove wasn’t a Nismo. My Nismo is not heads above the sport or performance, I think the performance is definitely the best option. I got such a steal on my pre own Nismo couldn’t pass it up.

Yep. The fact is, it is an older platform and you can feel it. It doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles a BMW or a mustang has. The performance trim with the manual trans like I have is kinda hard to keep in the power band when driving aggressively due to gear spacing and lag.

All that is what makes it good. It's like driving a time machine. I could go on, but there's a nostalgic and visceral feeling from the car that you don't get from modern cars in this range. Also, the looks are just so good. The car looks like a concept drawing from the late 80's. For a street machine that matters.

 

[DiZZ1]

Man you hit the nail on the head! It has old school character with that power delivery. More like an 993 or 996 Porsche 911’s when the turbos kick in. I know that sounds crazy cause it’s front engine however the rear squat is so dramatic. I was actually in the market for 2014-2017 Porsche 911 but really wanted a second generation 991.2 with the turbo and electric turbo assist but I’m not overpaying for a ten year old Porsche with no warranty. The Z is 3liter as well with 2 turbos and for the record you’re not buying this setup in any car for less than 90 grand. I’m rambling but this will a modern classic .

 

[Crownleyian]

I have to be honest, this thread really has me torn up. I could barely make eye contact with my Z when I walked by it in the garage this morning. It’s so embarrassing, all this time, I had no idea how bad this car was. I’m seriously considering selling the Z and buying a Yaris so I can have a real sports car.

Honestly don’t think you should feel like that at all, as some have said you can get it close to a Nismo and fix the issues or upgrade to a Nismo manual.
It’s more Nissan being slack rather than the car in general being bad, suspension should’ve been better and wheels from factory, that’s my take.

I was on track this week with my Z Nismo 24 and there was a performance Z with mods and he was going quite fast, probably faster than I was.

 

[Exquisite_Red]

Honestly don’t think you should feel like that at all

It was a sarcastic comment, I don't really want to get rid of the Z. I was mocking the suggestion that a Toyota Yaris is a better sports car than a Nissan Z.

 

[wooferocau]

. I was mocking the suggestion that a Toyota Yaris is a better sports car than a Nissan Z.

The reality .... the GR Yaris is a better Sports car!

 

[Exquisite_Red]

 

[trackratZ]

Honestly don’t think you should feel like that at all, as some have said you can get it close to a Nismo and fix the issues or upgrade to a Nismo manual.
It’s more Nissan being slack rather than the car in general being bad, suspension should’ve been better and wheels from factory, that’s my take.

I was on track this week with my Z Nismo 24 and there was a performance Z with mods and he was going quite fast, probably faster than I was.

Going back to why I decided on the Manual Performance, it has great, proven bones, although not as delivered. The potential is there, still an analog Z! I wanted to do my own step-wise upgrades, mainly from the suspension, brakes, as priority, then, cooling, more power if needed; a great base to start with. Now with the Nismo Manual coming out, that's even better as a pkg, you can do a lot to screw it up with unnecessary upgrades. Just the Nismo price point is kind of ridiculous, always has.

 

[tractng]

I am going to sell the Z too and drop $100k+ on another car just because one guy says so (I just need to drive to the grocery while looking good).

 

[takemorepills]

Oof, 8 pages...... I'm going to jump in to this cesspool.....

I really loved Misha's take on the Z because it corroborated many observations and feelings I already felt true:

I don't care what anybody says, the Akebono brakes just don't cut it. I had upgraded Akebono brakes on my Q, I have no desire to have Akebono brakes again.

When I test drove a 6MT Z, it really was all over the place, the VR30 not only overwhelms the tires, but the stock suspension too.

Misha was favorable to the power of the VR30, and he mentioned that the platform really feels like it could be made great.

As for other stock cars that track better, I'll stick to Japanese options:

The 86 definitely tracks better, but the engine is really not upgradeable in any meaningful way. I did consider the 86 and researched engine upgrades, but the Subaru flat four isn't really a good engine to modify. The 86 trades power for excellent driving dynamics. And at mid $30k and up, way too expensive for what's under the hood.

The Miata is great, but more niche as a daily than a Z. The NC generation seemed to have an engine with the most potential, but many people say power is not important in a Miata, and I don't want a car that can't hustle uphill on a high elevation mountain pass.

The Corolla GR is pretty much tapped out under hood. With AWD it seems like a good basis for a powerful little monster, but the 3 cylinder doesn't have much left on the table. On a track, great.

Civic Type R: I'm done with FWD. Too much power through the front wheels. Great car, I know, but the markups are ridiculous, and track isn't my concern.

How much money would it cost to get everything above to out-accelerate a Z?

How much money would it cost to get a Z to be respectable on the track? It'd even be slightly quicker if you sort the suspension out and it hooks up better.

Depends on a person's wants. I don't want to flail a Z through Seattle traffic. Occasionally I want to blast at freeway speeds, or enjoy V6 turbo power going through mountain passes. I can whittle away at new tires, brake kit, better suspension whenever I feel like making an investment in parts. Except for the Type R, the aforementioned cars will just disappoint me for how I like to drive, and adding power costs more than adding suspension and brakes, plus, if you blow up your modified engine, it gets even more expensive. The mods a Z can benefit from don't risk catastrophic failure

 

[Zplz]

And of the other cars you mentioned, TMP, I doubt they’re a more comfortable daily driver than the Sport Z. I had a BRZ, the Subaru version of the 86, and it was very maneuverable but it was too close to driving an enclosed go cart, for me. Not at all comfortable on less than ideal roads or at highway speeds, where the noise level was just too blasted high. Similar kind of issues with a Miata I once had.

 

[wooferocau]

Oof, 8 pages...... I'm going to jump in to this cesspool.....


The Corolla GR is pretty much tapped out under hood. With AWD it seems like a good basis for a powerful little monster, but the 3 cylinder doesn't have much left on the table. On a track, great.

Honestley DONT want to start another bickering argument.

When i spoke to Charles from Lamspeed Racing here in Aus, he stated that there are many GR Yaris and GR Corolla,s running 5/600HP Daily Reliable HP in the G16EGTS with some very straight forward upgrades.
Lamspeed Racing

 

[takemorepills]

Honestley DONT want to start another bickering argument.

When i spoke to Charles from Lamspeed Racing here in Aus, he stated that there are many GR Yaris and GR Corolla,s running 5/600HP Daily Reliable HP in the G16EGTS with some very straight forward upgrades.
Lamspeed Racing

I'm not going to argue with you, in Australia there are people making big power with the Nissan VK56, in USA we are just catching up.

The Corolla GR is still kinda on my radar, I don't want to push a 3 popper that hard. The VR30 makes big power gains with much less work, anyways, stock for stock, a Z will absolutely demolish a Corolla GR in a straight line. My priorities are different than yours, you don't need to adopt a defensive tone straight away with me.

I have looked into modding a GRC, it's more work than I want to do, and the car is kinda chintzy (we have a Corolla Hatchback) for the price and the insurance is the same between the Z and GRC. I'd rather have twice the cylinders and displacement and the much better build quality of the Z for the $$$$

 

[Zplz]

Here you go. For me this is true, considering the deal I got on a 2025 Sport.