Picked up my Z today!! 2023 Ikazuchi Performance M/T : Road Trip Blog

[socalAG2]

DAY 4: Moab, UT to St. George, UT to Home (break in period over!!!)

We wokeup before sunrise to hit up Arches National Park before we hit the road. It was pitch dark when we got into the park so driving we had no clue what was surrounding us. We drove about 10-15 miles in and stopped at the Delicate Arches viewpoint trail. We hiked to the top of that and stayed for sunrise and then hit the road. Got some really good shots there. On the way out I finally hit 1200 miles. I had a nice open empty road and man it was time to let her rip. Tiny bit of turbo lag but goddamn when those things kick in you’re thrown into your seat. Even chirped 3rd gear. My girlfriend was used to my NA Z32 so the torque caught her offguard on that first pull. Power feels very linear, matches exactly where my foot is on the throttle.
We exited the park and drove to St. George (around 6 hours).Met up with my girlfriends aunt & grabbed some lunch while we were there. Stopped at grocery and had another really coolrun in. Older guy who said he spotted me in the parking lot said he has been working on his buddy’s 240z for awhile now and he just loved how much this one reminds him of it. We chatted about the car and went on our way. It was the moments like that on this trip that made this car feel even more special honestly.

Hit the road home and hit a bunch of traffic through the Gorge & Las Vegas. Side note, that sphere is fucking insane in person. Didn’t want to stop as it’s a shitshow on the strip right now because of F1 construction etc.. We stopped twice more for gas and boom we were back home. Went straight to In-N-Out by our apartment and took some photos and went home! Wokeup washed her for the first time and went to my co-workers house who was helping me through this whole journey of looking for the car and who geeked out with pretty much everyday for a year straight. Got an oil change and parked her at work for the first time Monday morning. Same response from pretty much everyone… “ wow the yellow looks so much better in person” or “the front grill looks so much better in person and doesn’t look as massive as the photos made it look”

 

[socalAG2]

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
This felt like a once in a lifetime type trip. Been looking and obsessing about this car since the original announcement. At first I was slightly hesitant about Yellow because only color I wanted was passion red, but we all know those aren’t flowing out here anytime soon. The way the light hits the yellow makes this my absolute favorite color, I love the heritage behind it and I don’t regret one bit. Overall, driving the car was great. Yes the suspension is a little floaty at times to me, but that’s exactly what I wanted for a 20hr trip. I plan on throwing some Stillen sway bars & coilovers eventually to stiffen that up a little bit. Love the power band, especially once I was able to get on it. I felt like I could use all the power here and row the gears. Gear shifter has a very nice weight to it and the throws are nice. I actually don’t mind the pumped in sound but I want to have it turned off to see how it sounds without it. Clutch is very manageable like I said before and was easy to get used to. I love the steering wheel, only gripe is that when it’s adjusted to where I like it I cant see the shift indicator or the top of the RPM gauge. Seat position is nice and the alcantara in the interior is a nice touch. Girlfriend was able to sleep comfortable a couple times on the roadtrip until I started getting on it and woke her ass up multiple times. Lol Sound system is whatever, bass felt extremely muted and the sound didn’t feel full. Definitely will be upgrading sooner than later. Brakes were sufficient for the long trip. This car is awesome stock and I love the power and is a great platform to build off of. Z for life baby!!

 

[socalAG2]

Congratulations on the new Z. And congrats on making a road trip out the return to California!
Great fun!

If you are going I70 west, take the old highway over Loveland Pass, not the Interstate through the Eisenhower Tunnel. Much more fun - better scenery and some twisty roads. (photo from trip with my son from N. California to Kansas. - would love to see a photo of a new Z under that Loveland Pass sign!)

And if not I70, then head south through Colorado Springs and do the road to the top of Pikes Peak.

(hope you have seen my road trip thread about driving our new 2023 Z from KC to California: https://www.nissanzclub.com/forum/t...ur-new-z-kc-to-californa-no-interstates.1967/)

The road from Loveland Pass to the west

man i really wish I wasn't pressed for time and could've hopped off the main interstates and checked this road out!

 

[Donalex]

Is that a gas filler cover or an aeronautical flap?

 

[jayhawk70]

GREAT Road Trip report! And lots of great photos. Looks like you got to drive some beautiful roads and highways and got to some scenic wonders. Thanks!

 

[280driver]

DAY 4: Moab, UT to St. George, UT to Home (break in period over!!!)

We wokeup before sunrise to hit up Arches National Park before we hit the road. It was pitch dark when we got into the park so driving we had no clue what was surrounding us. We drove about 10-15 miles in and stopped at the Delicate Arches viewpoint trail. We hiked to the top of that and stayed for sunrise and then hit the road. Got some really good shots there. On the way out I finally hit 1200 miles. I had a nice open empty road and man it was time to let her rip. Tiny bit of turbo lag but goddamn when those things kick in you’re thrown into your seat. Even chirped 3rd gear. My girlfriend was used to my NA Z32 so the torque caught her offguard on that first pull. Power feels very linear, matches exactly where my foot is on the throttle.
We exited the park and drove to St. George (around 6 hours).Met up with my girlfriends aunt & grabbed some lunch while we were there. Stopped at grocery and had another really coolrun in. Older guy who said he spotted me in the parking lot said he has been working on his buddy’s 240z for awhile now and he just loved how much this one reminds him of it. We chatted about the car and went on our way. It was the moments like that on this trip that made this car feel even more special honestly.

Hit the road home and hit a bunch of traffic through the Gorge & Las Vegas. Side note, that sphere is fucking insane in person. Didn’t want to stop as it’s a shitshow on the strip right now because of F1 construction etc.. We stopped twice more for gas and boom we were back home. Went straight to In-N-Out by our apartment and took some photos and went home! Wokeup washed her for the first time and went to my co-workers house who was helping me through this whole journey of looking for the car and who geeked out with pretty much everyday for a year straight. Got an oil change and parked her at work for the first time Monday morning. Same response from pretty much everyone… “ wow the yellow looks so much better in person” or “the front grill looks so much better in person and doesn’t look as massive as the photos made it look”

Wow! Great pics!

 

[socalAG2]

Is that a gas filler cover or an aeronautical flap?

Is that a gas filler cover or an aeronautical flap?

the thing’s a fuckin pizza dish

 

[zrocco]

Congratulations! It looks beautiful!

 

[Chriss01]

After about 3 shipping delays that pushed the delivery date from 9/09 to 10/10, I was able to finally go get my Z. I want to give a huge shoutout to Jake Stein over at Willis Nissan in Des Moines, IA. I'll preface by saying this is my first new car purchase, but they truly made this pain free in every single way for me. Promised MSRP from the beginning and did not try to hit me with any last second markups or charges. Confirmed they will be charging MSRP on '24 models too. They were also able to PPF the front end including headlights & mirrors for the journey.

DAY 1: Started this morning by flying from Santa Ana, CA to Des Moines, IA. Arrived around 3pm and ubered straight to the dealership. Met Jake & his dad Pat (sales manager at Willis) and chatted it up about Pat's '91 AG2 TT (I just sold my AG2 '90 NA) then got to work on the paperwork. Paperwork took maybe 10 minutes max and boom the car was pulled up outside in the meantime. After facetiming all the homies back in Chicago and California and some photos I finally hit the road to Omaha. First driving impressions are limited since I'm trying to properly break this in, but damn do I want to get on it bad. She's a beaut though and I love the Ikazuchi yellow with the gunmetal wheels a lot. Started storming bad as soon as I got to the hotel earlier so didn't have time to stop and take many photos.
Next stop Denver

Congrats

 

[jayhawk70]

Is that a gas filler cover or an aeronautical flap?

In aeronautical terms, that would be called a speed brake... But you do need them on both sides to avoid a yaw on landing...

A6 Intruder "trapping" aboard the USS Kitty Hawk, 1972