Sport vs performance trade off

[Houston.RZ34]

So, if I'm going to spend time and money on brake upgrade, I'm going with something with a good reputation right out of the box.

Hey now. Don't talk down on those rotors, they hold up very well. I've been running them for years on everything in the family fleet from my cars (I drive like a madman) to my Wife's Maxima and soon my Daughter's IS 300. After I preached the gospel pretty much all my car buddies run them as well. They are legit.

Are they super light, 2 piece? - Nope
Do they stop significantly better than stock without warping all the time? - Absolutely
Rotors + Pads, All 4 corners, Under $600 (for most vehicles) and free Prime 2 day shipping lol

 

[takemorepills]

Yadda yadda yadda...

Let's get to the important stuff!

What color?

I'm ok with any color other than grey or black.

Hoping a green one is available, or red, but any of the other colors are fine too.

My last hangup is transmission. I drove the 6MT and loved it. I need to drive the 9AT to be sure. I have the 9AT in my Titan and really don't like it, the complaints about the 9AT in the Z are the same I have with the Titan, but, it's much quicker than the 6MT.....

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

...RTA tax?

As for the Akebonos, drilled/slotted rotors fix their issues. Just some simple ass PowerStop rotors will do (aka the Amazon Specials)

Regional Transportation Association tax. Its another money grabbing politician tax. It uses MSRP and Depreciation value to determine the registration fees to drive legally on the road for 12 months. 1.1% for every $10k of the value on the vehicle based on WA KBB NHTSA book

 

[takemorepills]

Regional Transportation Association tax. Its another money grabbing politician tax. It uses MSRP and Depreciation value to determine the registration fees to drive legally on the road for 12 months. 1.1% for every $10k of the value on the vehicle based on WA KBB NHTSA book

AND only for those unlucky enough to live in the proximity of a proposed light rail area.
If we move from Mukilteo to Lake Stevens, we'd be back to the sub $100 registration....
Wait a minute, I need to move

 

[luke.z]

I'm surprised no one mentioned the roof color difference. The Sport's paint matched roof looks a lot better to me than the black roof. It doesn't look visually cut in 1/2, or visually as small of a car to me.

 

[FSUZ33]

Maybe there was a difference in the past and I missed it, but I thought the single and 2-tone colors were the same across all models.

They are for 2027:
Black Diam. Pearl..........Monotone........Sport......Perf......NISMO
Gun Metallic...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Bayside Blue...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Shinkai Green................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Boulder Gray..................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Solid Red.........................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Pearl White.....................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Stealth Gray...................2-tone.................NISMO only

 

[Exquisite_Red]

Maybe there was a difference in the past and I missed it, but I thought the single and 2-tone colors were the same across all models.

They are for 2027:
Black Diam. Pearl..........Monotone........Sport......Perf......NISMO
Gun Metallic...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Bayside Blue...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Shinkai Green................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Boulder Gray..................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Solid Red.........................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Pearl White.....................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Stealth Gray...................2-tone.................NISMO only

This is correct, solid vs two-tone has nothing to do with trim.

(Though I do agree solid is better, hence my color choice!)

 

[luke.z]

Maybe there was a difference in the past and I missed it, but I thought the single and 2-tone colors were the same across all models.

They are for 2027:
Black Diam. Pearl..........Monotone........Sport......Perf......NISMO
Gun Metallic...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Bayside Blue...................Monotone........Sport......Perf only
Shinkai Green................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Boulder Gray..................2-tone................Sport......Perf only
Solid Red.........................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Pearl White.....................2-tone................Sport......Perf......NISMO
Stealth Gray...................2-tone.................NISMO only

This is correct, solid vs two-tone has nothing to do with trim.

(Though I do agree solid is better, hence my color choice!)

My mistake! I'm new to the Z. To add something helpful to my reply:

The Sport trim is 50lbs lighter curb weight. (3486lbs vs 3536lbs)

 

[FSUZ33]

Trim levels of every vehicle are are there to fit into what customers want and to maximize sales. Both Sport and Perf are great packages, but I do feel like the biggest standout with either is lack of limited slip on the Sport. Again, packages/options are there or not there for reasons. Don't need name brand electronic helical craziness. A basic LSD would most likely be less than $100 parts and labor for Nissan to add on the assembly line. I do think that would pull market share from the Perf though, which may have been their reasoning for that decision.

Imho, a 400hp, 3,500lb rwd car should come standard with limited slip, regardless.

Edit: ..."standard" based on the safety aspect of 400hp and that it's a sports car. The Sport, will behave noticeably better with limited slip. More predictable in certain conditions. I would assume Nissan would want this behavior across the platform, but obviously it wasn't a big enough deal. Of course, it is NOT necessary, and plenty pf people are ripping and loving their Sport Zs without it. Just saying, good marketing decision or bad, every RZ34 would have limited slip if it were up to me.

 

[Who.Am.Eye.2716]

My mistake! I'm new to the Z. To add something helpful to my reply:

The Sport trim is 50lbs lighter curb weight. (3486lbs vs 3536lbs)

The reason Sport is lighter, is it has smaller brake caliper/rotors, manual non heated seats, no spoiler, and no BOSE sub. Not sure if the stock 18" wheels are lighter than the 19s

 

[Exquisite_Red]

I do think that would pull market share from the Perf though, which may have been their reasoning for that decision.

It is 100% this. The Sport is intentionally nerfed to make the Performance more appealing so they can charge you $10k more for an incrementally more expensive (to Nissan) vehicle. Your eyes would water if you saw the margin difference between the Sport and the Performance.

 

[FSUZ33]

Roughly what I've gathered regarding wheel weights: (MY2023 to MY2027, at this point)
18" Sport: 29-30 lbs (18x9)
19" Perf: 23-25 lbs (19x9.5, 19x10)
19" NISMO: 23-25 lbs (19x10, 19x10.5)
Heritage (Watanabe-style): ???...Assume around 25 if forged, 30 if cast.
NISMO LM-RS1: 21.5 lbs (19x9.5), 22.5 lbs (19x10.5)

I assume someone's thrown them on a scale but I don't recall running across it.

 

[zeroptzero]

I bought the Sport model recently, and I'll be honest I just wanted to spend less money. The performance model is a great value for what you get but I have short arms and deep pockets . I would love a performance model I just didn't want to pay for it. The OP is right that a lightly used performance model can be had for the price of a new Sport. I like the cloth seats for comfort, the faux leather seats look better as does the interior accents. All variants of the sound system are poor , the Sport one is not good but it is not something I care about much, I enjoy listening to the powertrain sounds. The Performance model has lighter forged wheels which are nice, I like the Sport model wheels in their appearance, but they are heavier, much heavier as my back will attest to. I would have liked the performance model brakes for cosmetics, but the stopping numbers are going to be similar in normal daily street driving. If you plan to track either car it will need upgrades either way. Braking is good with either car. I don't need heated seats or electrically controlled seats. I am keeping my Z spoiler free on the rear, I like the look with no rear spoiler. I added the front lower lip to my car, it was an easy mod, using factory oem parts.

The one thing I really miss not having is the LSD, that is a big one. I may add one to my car by next driving season as the car will be in winter storage. I really wish they put an LSD on this car. The price difference between models where I live is $12,000, for brakes and and LSD it just didn't work for me, I got the sport and I'm happy with it. The performance model is a good value overall, if you can use or benefit from all that it comes with.

I have the auto tranny, super happy with it, it has one of the better trannies I've used, zero complaints with it. There was no added cost which is surprising , so you can get either tranny you want - same price. Good deal. White pearl paint scheme cost me extra money, but I get a ton of compliments about the appearance of the car.

 

[FSUZ33]

Personally I wouldn't use the standard vs BOSE sound systems in weighing Sport vs anything. No, it's not a LEXUS LFA with a $10K Mark Levinson system, but it's also not up to BOSE standards in my book. Although I had two 350Zs with BOSE and those were sort of blah too. They make OK sound, but it's not remotely dynamic. Bottom line, the standard system is subpar for a $45K car and the BOSE is subpar for a $55K car.

Z33 and RZ34 are a completely different animals than an SUV, but the BOSE system in my wife's '23 Buick Enclave has noticeably better quality, crispness, bass, volume and other stereophile words that I don't know because I'm not a stereophile.

 

[zeroptzero]

Personally I wouldn't use the standard vs BOSE sound systems in weighing Sport vs anything. No, it's not a LEXUS LFA with a $10K Mark Levinson system, but it's also not up to BOSE standards in my book. Although I had two 350Zs with BOSE and those were sort of blah too. They make OK sound, but it's not remotely dynamic. Bottom line, the standard system is subpar for a $45K car and the BOSE is subpar for a $55K car.

Z33 and RZ34 are a completely different animals than an SUV, but the BOSE system in my wife's '23 Buick Enclave has noticeably better quality, crispness, bass, volume and other stereophile words that I don't know because I'm not a stereophile.

I had a Bose system in a Honda, it wasn't good at all. I liked seeing the little Bose logos in the interior but that was it.