Touring in the states comes with VDC and 18" wheels, unless you order an automatic tranny touring, which comes with 17" wheels.

VDC is an upgrade that will come in handy under many circumstances, its there when you need it, and you can diable it when you dont.

The brakes on the Track are a notable upgrade, while they do not stop the car any quicker they do look very nice and have less fade than the stadard. Thus, it is hard to consider them overkill.

The spring rates and shocks, are the same on all models, from the base, to the touring, to the track.

I would get the track, and skip the 2 month wait,
Eric

 

Both the 6speed manual Track and Touring have VDC and Traction control, but the automatic Touring doesn't.
They almost have the same options, with just a few differences. Touring has leather seats which the Track doesn't. Also, the leather seats are powered versus manual adjust. The Track has big Bembro brakes while the Touring has Unique Power F&R Disc.
The Touring has an average AM/FM Bose stereo cassette with 6 disc CD changer while the Track has an AM/FM stereo and single CD player.
The Track comes standard with a spoiler, but its an option on the Touring.
Both the cars come with 18' wheels, but the Track has Super Light Forged Aluminum wheels while the Touring has Aluminum Alloys.
Other than that, I think thats it. There may be other things that I missed, but I think I got the main ones.
Picking the car is pretty much up to you.
I have a Touring 6spd and really enjoy it.
They both are excellent cars, its too bad you can get both.
Best of luck!

Cheers!!

JT

CS Touring
6spd Manual

 

Sorry forgot that the spec is different in the US.

Here are the extras you get with a Track in Oz:

Front under spoiler
Rear spoiler
Rear underbody diffusers
Brembo Braking System (4-piston caliper with 324x30mm ventilated front discs and 2-piston caliper with 322x22mm ventilated rear discs)
18" x 8.0" 6-spoke Aluminium-Alloy Wheels
225/45R18 91W (front) and 245/45R18 96W (rear) high performance tyres
Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC)

Main differences are the brakes, 18" instead of 17" wheels and the VDC

The Touring spec is here if you are interested http://www.nissan.com.au/z/msummary_touring.asp

Cheers

 

U.S. spec same as Oz

The differences you list are also on the U.S. track version. I'm quite pleased with my Redline track model and, despite the lousy roads and other problems you list, think the track model is the way to go...

 

Go with the track!

Its cheaper to add bose stereo (suxs big time) and leather seats to track than to add brembo to touring.......if you decide you want them later! Btw whats the price difference between the 2 in Aus?

CS Track
6300miles and many more to come

 

Re: Go with the track!

The price difference is US$3,651 - both models already have the fancy Bose multi CD blah blah and leather as standard here (only thing we don't get here is Satellite Navigation - we get a stupid cubby hole instead...)

When converted from Australian Dollars:

Touring costs 36,514.88 USD
Track costs 40,166.36 USD

You are lucky in the US - you get your cars and gas cheap.... And if you think that is expensive, European cars are much worse. A new Boxster S costs $80000 here!

I thought the UK was expensive but oh boy Australia is a whole new ball game.

From my understanding of the differences I'll notice I'm still not convinced the brakes, wider wheels and VDC are worth $US 3,651.

Have any of you driven both 17" and 18" wheel base - what's the difference in handling/ride? I guess it's pretty minimal (I'm no expert racing driver so please don't get too technical on me...)

I assume VDC is a safety feature. How does it differ from Traction Control from an end user perspective.

Thanks for your responses. Lots of useful information for a car novice like me.

 

Re: Go with the track!

bobinoz,

hey dude where about are you? I 'm in WA perth and the dealers here wont budge from $67k and $73k. I am looking to buy a track model and is still shopping around. My sis in Sydney said its cheaper in Sydney but I am not sure how much more. I'll be buying one outright and no trade in. It would be good if you could pass me details on what deal you got with your car.

Thank you.

 

What is wrong with everybody? Step into both cars, and tell me you can feel a difference in the braking, I dare you. The track is a HUGE waste of money. I spent less money, got brakes which stop me as fast, leather, heated seats, 18" wheels....... THE BRAKES DON'T HELP TO STOP THE CAR ANY FASTER, they only help with brake fade. I Autocross my car, and the brakes don't even fade during racing. You would have to go to a 3 mile track and run many laps before you notice any fade, or make quick stops from 100 MPH repeatedly. Does any of that apply to you? probably not, don't waste your money on empty hype. Only 1/500 people really have a need for the Track Model. I bought a Touring, and bought aftermarket 18" rims for racing, which are even lighter than the Track's rims, which brought my total cost to that of the track. Much better.

 

You make a very good point, and that has me thinking.

I visited my local dealer last week-end and asked a salesman when they will be accepting orders for '04 Z's. He told me they are taking them now, with an anticipated August delivery. I am rather suspicious of that, considering the total lack of details concerning the '04 models. I think they just want to get my $1000 and sit on it until they can actually place an order for an '04.

That said, I'm planning to place an order for an '04 Z in late may, or early June. A few months ago, I had decided to get a touring, but after seeing the track in person last month, I had changed my mind.

I do like the look of the Ray's as opposed to the standard 18" wheels of the touring. I also really love the look of the Brembo's, but agree their functionality is wasted on me as a week-end drive around town kind of guy. They just look great behind the Ray's.

After hearing reports of the poor quality of the Bose system in the touring, I thought if I got the track, I'll just put a killer aftermarket system in instead of paying extra money for a stereo that needed replacing. I also thought if I got the track, I could put aftermarket leather in, and have a very wide choice of colors and styles. But, having powered seats with heaters in them would be nice also.

So.. if I get a touring, I would want to put new wheels and tires on it (which will cost a fortune), plus replace the stereo system (gotta have MP3 support).

All rather confusing as to the best approach.

To make matters worse, I was looking at a CS touring with frost leather. I really liked the gray colored plastics of the interior as opposed to the black that I would get with a track or touring (I want Silverstone paint).

I guess my dream car is a Silverstone Track (for Rays and Brembos), with powered/heated seats that I can have aftermarket leather put in, aftermarket stereo, and the frost interior panels. I know that's probably impossible, but that's what I want.

Rational points of view would be appreciated, and please spare me the 'make up your own **** mind' comments.

 

Micas...

I have a touring with everything I already listed. You can get SWEET rims (Enkei RPM2, 18X8) for $260 each and keep your stock tires until they wear out. I know that the rims are only 8" wide just like stock, but you can put a lot more rubber on them than the factory does. Also, my rims are lighter than the rays that come on the track. I have 265s all the way around on mine, and the car handles SO MUCH BETTER!!! I fixed my alignment (1/8 toe out front, 1/8 toe in rear) along with the now equal width tires all the way around, the understeer is gone! I put in a killer box with 2 10s that takes up most of the space in between the passenger compartment and the rear bar (a useless space anyways, my trunk is still intact) and I now have a machine that is better than the track in my mind (Brembos are a complete waste of money) My stereo was only $700 custom installed with an amp placed out of the way where the stock 10 was. You can get cool rims, stereo, leather, heated seats, xenon, everything else and only spend $1700 over touring sticker. Think about it.

If you prefer, you could add 20" rims. I had 20" chromes added a week after I bought the car, but they were stolen only a week later. Long story there.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add in the $200 for limo tinting all the windows, including the Front 2. It looks so cool!

 

Re: Micas...

If I go with a touring, I'll want to put bronze TE37's (19x8.5 & 19x9.5) on. They are waaay beyond cool looking. I really have no idea how much that will cost with tires, but no doubt a LOT! I could probably sell the stock 18's with the tires, but I'll still be out a lot of money. I guess that's the price you pay for way cool wheels. I still think it would -look- better to have Brembos behind them. If I bought the track, I could still put the TE37's on, and sell the stock Rays for more money then the touring 18's, but I had thought that I wouldn't really need the TE37's if I had the track Rays.

It's a lot to think about, and much number crunching to be done, and it needs to be done in about a month.

If anybody knew the cost of the TE37's with capable tires, that would help me with the equation.

Thanks for the info kvanderb1.

 

It's a shame Nissan didn't offer a Touring model with the Track brakes/wheels - I'd have paid extra for something like that even though I don't race. The leather seats
convinced me to get the Touring but it was darn close - I don't think there's any right answer so you have to trust your instincts.

 

Re: Micas...

I've got some cool bronze spraypaint if you decide to go with the touring... you can just paint your brakes and get the same effect!!!

 

how about a pic or 2....

.

 

pic

If you want a pic of my car with 20s or 18s or my stereo system , e-mail me at kvanderb1@yahoo.com and I'll get some to you.

 

Z prices in Sydney

I'm in Sydney. There are plenty of dealers here with Z's in their showrooms. The Tourings seem to have sold best so you may have to wait for one if you are choosy on colour etc. There seem to be more Tracks available to drive away - the Aussies seem to need a bit more convincing than the Americans to spend the extra bucks on brakes and wheels.....

For a Platinum Touring, I am paying:

59 990 Base Price
2 130 Stamp Duty
350 Initial CTP Insurance
267 Registration
425 Dealer Delivery

= Driveaway $63 162

When speaking to dealers the only thing that seemed to change was the dealer delivery. Most wanted $1995 for this = Driveaway of $64 782. The leasing company I am using managed to get that down to $425.

Base price is 65995 for a Track and the other costs would be similar.

The prices you are being quoted are very high. I would ask your dealers how they are arriving at those prices based on the MSRP of $59990. If they won't budge come and buy one in Sydney! The dealers are a funny bunch. Some of them were telling me how you can't get a Z in the US for blood and money due to the 6 month plus waiting list - then you come on this forum and realise what bullshit they are talking.

Cheers,
Bob

 

Hi K...

Thanks for the reply. You have summed up what I suspected, ie buy the Track if you will be driving on a Track! I certainly won't be.

Regarding the wheels, the Oz Touring comes with 17". What difference would I feel between driving the 18" wheeled Track that I test drove and the 17" Touring I have ordered? I was told it would result in a slightly softer ride - which I assume will suit me if I am using the car everyday on less than perfect roads.

Cheers,
Bob

 

Re: Z prices in Sydney

bobinOz,

you guys are definitely getting a far better deal than us in Perth. I think the dealers here have team-up to set a high price. If that's the case I might just sit back and watch till it drop. here are the pricing I've been quote so far.

Touring Track

Vehicle Price (Excl. GST) $55,508.00 $59,953.00

Dealer Delivery included included
Airconditioning included included

Subtotal $55,508.00 $59,953.00
GST @ 10% $5,550.00 $5,995.00
Luxury Car Tax $920.00 $2,031.00
Subtotal $61,978.00 $67,979.00
Stamp Duty $4,028.00 $4,418.00
12 Months Registration $500.00 $500.00
Driveaway $66,506.00 $72,897.00


I am not sure why there is an extra luxucy tax imposed on it which is 25%. I would have thought thats included in MRSP and also the extra $2k on stamp duty. I thought stamp duty should be the same in Sydney or Perth.
There is definitely plenty of Track model around here. I think there is a shortage of Touring all around.

 

Re: difference in rim size?

In a car that is so stiff to begin with, I don't think that you are going to notice a difference. The main reason people say that there is a difference is that the side wall is shorter on the 18" wheels (245/40 rear) so it is less cushy. However, I had 20s on my car with 245/35/20 and It felt bumpy, just like it did originaly. I would say that there isn't a difference in ride feel from the 17-18s

 

Wish I had the Track...

Unless you plan on going out and buying rims, right away, buy the track.
The 17" wheels look pretty small in the wheel opening compared to the track rims. And for the Brembos, there where some previous posts about group drives, in which, the cars with standard brakes were experiencing a little over-heating on mountain roads, while following the Tracks.
Compared to the cost of upgrading to Brembos and Rays...The track is a great deal.

After-market wheels and brakes?
OR
After-market leather?

 

Re: Wish I had the Track...

I'm with kvanderb1 on this based on the Oz spec - where we get the same leather and stereo on the Track or Touring.

The main difference is wheels, brakes and VDC for which you pay the equivalent of US$3500 extra.

As I said earlier I'm no Micahel Schumacher so I doubt I'll even notice the difference between brakes or wheels and I'm not paying $3500 for some minor aesthetic differences.

I still don't know what difference the VDC is likely to make but seeing as a number of people seem to turn it off I'm taking that out of the equation.

Cheers,
Bob

 

Well - lots of information,
When you go to TRACK model from Touring,
YOU LOSE (at least in USA models)
BOSE SOUND SYSTEM with 6-Disc Changer and woofer etc.
Leather Seats and both power seats,
Heated seats,
You Gain
BREMBO BRAKES, yes the AeroDynamic Package is included
but you can get on Touring anyways.
You also get Rays Engineering Light ALlow Wheeels.

Everything I read on the TRACK BRAKES are that they are only slightly quicker in stopping power (a few feet) Most people couldn't tell any difference.
I can hardly tell the wheels apart both are 18".

If you like LEATHER and SOUND System then go with TOURING, The Power seats and heated seats are nice too. I cant understand why BOSE Sound system was taken off TRACK (in USA) but it is. May be reason alone for going to TOURING.
Seems most people just plain like the look of a bigger CALIPLER - its a personal choice, I would say heck with RAYS Wheels and get some great looking after market wheels and go with Touring.
Thanks CLint

 

actually...

There is no difference in stopping distance with the brembos. Big brakes(brembos)reduce brake fade from high temperatures. I believe the claims about standard brakes over-heat while trying to keep up with the track models, but I think slotted/drilled aftermarket rotors would be enough for those mountain pass twisties.
As for the "premium sound"...I dunno. Seems like the standard radio/CD turned out to be the better system in the Z.