considering a G35
04-10-12, 10:39 AM
#46
Wow, this thread woke up from the dead, but since it's up I will include my 0.02.
Back in 2004, I owned a brand new, fully loaded G35 Coupe with the optional sport suspension and VLSD.
Outside of a few problems, the car was mechanically sound. I actually liked the lateral support of the seats. What I didn't like was the suspension. Again, this was the optional sport suspension and there may as well have been bricks in the wheel wells because shock dampening was near zero. A total neck breaker. The Pirelli rubber bands that they mounted as tires didn't help that cause.
Though, I have to mention that I drove this car during the winter on Dunlop M3 winter tires, and I remember being stuck in downtown Boston in the middle of a huge snowstorm back in '05 and this thing climbed through beacon hill like it had wings. A lot of this had to do with the VLSD, no doubt. Not all G's have this option so if any one of you is looking for a 4 season coupe then make sure you get one with VLSD.
Finally, it should be kept in mind that the VQ35/37 has approxiamtely 11:1 compression ratio. NOT good for forced air induction + reliability. Sure, you can change pistons or maybe get a thicker head gasket, but now you are dealing with engine internals and after market parts, which is an area that is much more untested than simply throwing in a time-proven JZ and safely turning up the boost a little to get 50 extra ponies.
Back in 2004, I owned a brand new, fully loaded G35 Coupe with the optional sport suspension and VLSD.
Outside of a few problems, the car was mechanically sound. I actually liked the lateral support of the seats. What I didn't like was the suspension. Again, this was the optional sport suspension and there may as well have been bricks in the wheel wells because shock dampening was near zero. A total neck breaker. The Pirelli rubber bands that they mounted as tires didn't help that cause.
Though, I have to mention that I drove this car during the winter on Dunlop M3 winter tires, and I remember being stuck in downtown Boston in the middle of a huge snowstorm back in '05 and this thing climbed through beacon hill like it had wings. A lot of this had to do with the VLSD, no doubt. Not all G's have this option so if any one of you is looking for a 4 season coupe then make sure you get one with VLSD.
Finally, it should be kept in mind that the VQ35/37 has approxiamtely 11:1 compression ratio. NOT good for forced air induction + reliability. Sure, you can change pistons or maybe get a thicker head gasket, but now you are dealing with engine internals and after market parts, which is an area that is much more untested than simply throwing in a time-proven JZ and safely turning up the boost a little to get 50 extra ponies.
04-11-12, 03:13 AM
#48
I almost bought a used '03 G35 6-speed with factory Brembos. Stock it seemed good to me but I didn't like not being able to turbocharge reliably. My SC 5-speed was not really that impressive out of the box compared to the G35 but it did make me happy in the way buying an old muscle car that needs work makes a car guy happy. It felt like Lexus had heavily detuned a muscle car... which in fact they had.
As for seats... I didn't like the SC seats at all, so I swapped them for MKIV seats. They felt sophisticated and I loved the memory and heft of them but I equated them to LS400 seats in a sports coupe. They had no good lumbar support and absolutely no side bolstering to keep me from sliding around in hard corners.
As for seats... I didn't like the SC seats at all, so I swapped them for MKIV seats. They felt sophisticated and I loved the memory and heft of them but I equated them to LS400 seats in a sports coupe. They had no good lumbar support and absolutely no side bolstering to keep me from sliding around in hard corners.
Last edited by KahnBB6; 04-11-12 at 03:17 AM.
04-12-12, 03:44 AM
#49
G35 is not a bad car by any means. Now compared to the SC, its VERY different.
Main thing that stood out to me was the overall ride quality. I been driving my SC for a long time and it feels soft, smooth and easy. My buddy has an 05 G, the car felt like a normal sports car. Bucket seats were very uncomfortable especially long rides and the steering was so stiff compared to the SC. Than again, its a sports car, it should be that way.
Other than that its not a bad car by any means. I would NEVER take it over the SC mainly because of the played outness.
-BouncE
Main thing that stood out to me was the overall ride quality. I been driving my SC for a long time and it feels soft, smooth and easy. My buddy has an 05 G, the car felt like a normal sports car. Bucket seats were very uncomfortable especially long rides and the steering was so stiff compared to the SC. Than again, its a sports car, it should be that way.
Other than that its not a bad car by any means. I would NEVER take it over the SC mainly because of the played outness.
-BouncE
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