Damn, these sports cars are so noisy and uncomfortable...

[DesiPower]

So a friend of mine bought a Z370 NISMO a while back, it was the talk to the town (workplace) for a while. Yesterday he gave me a ride. While I was really impressed with the power and performance and the engine roar and all that, I cannot imagine having it as my main/only car. The suspension on that damn thing is so freakin stiff, road noise and engine noise is just deafening... It was my first time in any such car and all the time I was thinking, I hope you are really into this buddy, coz this car is really uncomfortable and as you primary car its gonna be tough... Do people generally have these as their primary/only car?

 

[jlee]

I wouldn't want my MR2 as my only car, no - it's not uncomfortable or deafening, but you can't easily hold a conversation at highway speeds, can't fit much stuff in it, and I have a habit of tearing it apart and replacing stuff fairly often (and I can't take more than one passenger anywhere).

That's why I have other options in the driveway.

 

[DesiPower]

Also, I guess for a driver it does not bother that much, as you are on the driver seat, you are enjoying it... but as a passenger maybe you fell more of it...

 

[thedarkwolf]

I drove my miata as my daily 70% of the time for a few years and it has a autox suspension setup in it. At the time it didn't seem too bad but my other car was a worn out old 89 dodge caravan lol. It did get annoying if the road was rough. Now I have a 03 pontiac vibe beater that gets decent gas mileage I find myself driving it most of the time.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

I have one of the worst of these types, a z4 m coupe, and I agree with you on it not being ideal as an only vehicle. Not only is the chassis itself incredibly stiff, but it's sprung way too hard.

Personally, I feel as though it would be a huge pain without a second car. I have excellent roads where I live, but if I'm going to an 'unknown' area I will take another vehicle.


It's not just about the ride itself either.. Parking is a pain, they're low to the ground so you have to be careful on certain inclines, these types of cars are magnets for vandalism and break-ins, etc etc.. Tires only last 25k miles or so..

All of that being said, it's well worth it. There's something indescribable about driving a true performance car.

 

[jlee]

I have one of the worst of these types, a z4 m coupe, and I agree with you on it not being ideal as an only vehicle. Not only is the chassis itself incredibly stiff, but it's sprung way too hard.

Personally, I feel as though it would be a huge pain without a second car. I have excellent roads where I live, but if I'm going to an 'unknown' area I will take another vehicle.


It's not just about the ride itself either.. Parking is a pain, they're low to the ground so you have to be careful on certain inclines, these types of cars are magnets for vandalism and break-ins, etc etc.. Tires only last 25k miles or so..

All of that being said, it's well worth it. There's something indescribable about driving a true performance car.

25k?

Haha, I'll be happy to get 10k out of my rear tires...might be able to stretch 25k out of the fronts, but I highly doubt it.

 

[NutBucket]

It all depends on perspective noise wise. I would probably hop into the 370Z and not notice anything out of the ordinary. That, and I'm used to having cars with "harsh" suspensions.

 

[exdeath]

Whhhhhhhaaaaaatttttt??

 

[Viper GTS]

Perhaps the NISMO is substantially worse than a normal 370Z but I can't imagine a Z is THAT bad.

I intend to essentially daily drive the Viper this summer, any time it's not raining it's coming out. I do have a backup vehicle but the goal is to drive it as little as possible.

And yes, it is worth it when you're the one driving it.

Viper GTS

 

[Insomniator]

Maybe you're too old to enjoy fun cars?

I heard town cars are comfortable.

 

[JackBurton]

Maybe you're too old to enjoy fun cars?

I heard town cars are comfortable.

lol, yeah I heard those town cars ARE pretty comfortable. And they are dead quiet when you are traveling 50MPH on the highway.

 

[T2urtle]

the nismo has larger wheels and S-tune suspension compared to a normal Z. I also think it has S-tune exhaust and intake, adding to the noise.

Maybe a normal Z could work as a daily driver.

I enjoy my g35 as a daily, have coilovers on it so i can make it harsh for the summer months and smooth/stock like for the winter.

Almost no way i would take a nismo z as my only car, nor any 2 seater sports car. Generally speaking, if you can afford to have a sports car i think you should have a eco/daily driver as well. Kinda like you should be able to have a garage of some sort before owning one as well. But thats me personally. I know not all people live within their means.

THe whole point for me to own a sports car is to look forward to driving it on the weekends, not have it deal with driving it in traffic or worry about people dinging up the doors at walmart.

 

[Zivic]

So a friend of mine bought a Z370 NISMO a while back, it was the talk to the town (workplace) for a while. Yesterday he gave me a ride. While I was really impressed with the power and performance and the engine roar and all that, I cannot imagine having it as my main/only car. The suspension on that damn thing is so freakin stiff, road noise and engine noise is just deafening... It was my first time in any such car and all the time I was thinking, I hope you are really into this buddy, coz this car is really uncomfortable and as you primary car its gonna be tough... Do people generally have these as their primary/only car?

compared to a rolls, your comparison would seem legit... but in terms of real world cars, you are being a bit over dramatic.

The Z is plenty comfortable for an everyday car.

 

[manimal]

Nismo 370 is a bit harsher than a normal one but for the most part its acceptable for a performance car.


Drive a regular first gen boxster op and tell us if you think its comfortable.

 

[Hecubus28]

We have a 2007 Nissan Altima as a daily driver to our Supercharged 2006 Mustang Gt. The mustang is harsh/stiff and pretty loud but so much fun. It's hard some days to take the Altima to work instead of just hopping in the Mustang.

 

[jtvang125]

Drove a 04 Mustang GT convertible for a week. Ride comfort was good and engine/exhaust noise was fun for the first few days but became quite annoying by the end of the week.

 

[ballmode]

The 370z is notorious for road noise coming from the tires

 

[JulesMaximus]

Depends on how far you're driving it I guess.

What do I know though, I commute on a motorcycle 60 miles round trip a couple times a week... You think the Z is noisy? Try a Ducati at 80mph on the freeway.

 

[dascoyne]

I've got a modded '10 Mustang GT as a DD and the noise and ride are just fine for me. The ride is a bit stiff for my pregnant wife. In a couple of weeks I'm getting an offroad H pipe ... I really pray my wife doesn't have a problem with the noise.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I've got a modded '10 Mustang GT as a DD and the noise and ride are just fine for me. The ride is a bit stiff for my pregnant wife. In a couple of weeks I'm getting an offroad H pipe ... I really pray my wife doesn't have a problem with the noise.

Noise is tiring so the longer you drive with it the more likely that you'll arrive at your destination feeling fatigued. When I go for longer rides and even when I commute I sometimes wear ear plugs because of the wind noise on the bike.

 

[exdeath]

My exhaust note makes it impossible to see out of my rear view mirror at times :awe:

Well you can it's just blurry.

Trips longer than 15 minutes = numb butt from road surface.

But all that goes away when you rev match 3rd at 80 mph to sail through a 180 degree off ramp and that black BMW 328 that was riding your tail has to brake first.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

25k?

Haha, I'll be happy to get 10k out of my rear tires...might be able to stretch 25k out of the fronts, but I highly doubt it.

I was fairly happy to get 25k out of my rear oem contisports before replacing them. The car has 30k on it with 5k left out the fronts, I'm planning on replacing them with michelin pilot super sports.

 

[Throckmorton]

How much of the stiffness is for performance vs making it feel sporty?

 

[RPD]

Loved driving my 350z every minute I had it.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I drove my previous 98 Camaro as my only car for a little over 3 years. It wasn't too bad, but it was a stock 6 cylinder so it wasn't all that loud and frankly I found it more comfortable than my dad's previous 04 Camry - I couldn't ride in that car more than 30 minutes without fiddling with the seats but I could go nearly 2 hours without much hassle in the Camaro. Strange, I know.

Now I have a 99 Camaro that is a little more raw due to mods (and will probably get more so as I keep modding it), but it doesn't bother me. I rather enjoy it actually Cruising at highway speeds isn't that loud.

I have my Trailblazer for my bad weather vehicle and equipment hauler, so I'm not limited to just the mean machine. I have a more comfortable ride for when I feel like it.

Last week I drove the Camaro almost exclusively, this week looks to be mostly a Trailblazer week.