Hey there, I'm new to these boards and in the market for an M35 or M45...still trying to decide.

Anyway, I was wondering if you guys could give me some input.-Anyone look at the Lexus GS300 or IS350, BMW 5 series before deciding on the M, and why?-What are some of the best Lease deals you guys have found on the M's

And the most important question....do you regret getting the M35 over the M45 or vise-versa. I'm thinking if I get the M45 I can use lower grade gas, and hopefully the ecu will adjust the timing and drop some HP, which will still be higher then the M35. Where if I get the M35 I'll always have to use super to give it some extra power and keep it from struggling too much.

What kind of gas are you guys using...and which M do you think I should end up getting?

Thanks for your input!

Welcome aboard!

Here's a few threads with some "comparison" nifo that might be of interest to you...

zerothread?id=161925

zerothread?id=154829

zerothread?id=155465

GS300? Save $11K and get the Camry.

IS350? Good but not great. There's a reason C&D and MT both gave it mediocre marks.

5-series? Closest competitor, really comes down to ownership experience and the "feel" of the car. I'm not a fan of BMW's service, nor their tendency to "rest on their laurels".

I'd highly recommend driving the 35 and 45 back to back. Trust me, the 35 won't "struggle", and the 45 is simply a modern hotrod.

Others can chime in with some more useful info...

I test drove the Lexus GS300 AWD. It is not even in the same ball park as the M35X and every auto magazine/Consumer Report agrees completely with me. The Lexus is more like a AWD ES300 and is no real sporting car, has a lower power V6, and is missing a lot of the features. The only advantage is a 6 speed automatic.The only IS that has AWD is the IS250 which is really underpowered. The IS series is more a competitor of the Infiniti G series. Not as big of an interior and not the features.

AZhitman wrote:Welcome aboard!

Here's a few threads with some "comparison" nifo that might be of interest to you...

zerothread?id=161925

zerothread?id=154829

zerothread?id=155465

GS300? Save $11K and get the Camry.

IS350? Good but not great. There's a reason C&D and MT both gave it mediocre marks.

5-series? Closest competitor, really comes down to ownership experience and the "feel" of the car. I'm not a fan of BMW's service, nor their tendency to "rest on their laurels".

I'd highly recommend driving the 35 and 45 back to back. Trust me, the 35 won't "struggle", and the 45 is simply a modern hotrod.

Others can chime in with some more useful info...

Thanks for the feedback bro. I did test drive a sport M35 this past weekend, and to me it did feel as if it was struggling a bit. I wanted to place a realistic load on the motor, so there were three people in the car including myself, A/C and seat coolers on full blast on a pretty hot CA day. And the car felt a little sluggish down low.....I would really have to plant my foot down for the motor to get going. I'm a big performance and HP nut, so maybe my opinion of a struggling motor may differ with others...but now I'm thinking I should definitely test drive the M45 before I make my final decision.

I'm just worried about the gas consumption, but if I can run it with medium grade fuel....it might be worth it to get the V8. I'm also scared of getting the 06 M35 with all these rumors that the 07 M35 is going to have more HP. I can't see Infiniti not upping the HP when their lower grade G now has over 300hp and so does the smaller IS350.

Welcome to NICO!

The M45 V-8 is a smoother engine than the M35 V-6 in most ways. The extra oomph and V-8 translates into a less strained ride in general.

However, I would add one comment. Please do not run the M45 with mid-grade gas. You will lose some nominal power, even though the engine management will compensate for it somewhat.

(a) It goes counter to your desire to get the performance you want, and

(b) the reduction in cost is less than $10 to $15 a month at best for most people (given the cost difference between 89 and 91 premium is about 10 cents/gallon). Hopefully, this is not a killer situation for you!

Z

szhosain wrote:Welcome to NICO!

The M45 V-8 is a smoother engine than the M35 V-6 in most ways. The extra oomph and V-8 translates into a less strained ride in general.

However, I would add one comment. Please do not run the M45 with mid-grade gas. You will lose some nominal power, even though the engine management will compensate for it somewhat.

(a) It goes counter to your desire to get the performance you want, and

(b) the reduction in cost is less than $10 to $15 a month at best for most people (given the cost difference between 89 and 91 premium is about 10 cents/gallon). Hopefully, this is not a killer situation for you!

Z

Yeah I guess you are right, there isn't much difference between the 2 fuel grades (Price wise). I see you are also located in San Jose....nice to see some locals on this forum.

The one thing that bugs the crap out of me is the orange on black gauge cluster Infiniti chose. I think it looks like crap, and way out of place in this class of vehicle. It's the same one I had in my Armada, same one in my cousins Altima...it's just pure wrong and out of place in this car.

At least Infiniti learned and changed it up in the new G35's, and made those blue and more fancy. That's one thing I loved about the Lexus compared to the M, but I would say that's the only thing I liked more.

What, you mean this cluster??



Trust me, youll fall in love with it. The rings are great. At night its very sharp. I had orange in my previous car, an 04 Maxima, and I wouldnt even compare the two. That said, blue would be cool too.

As for your original questions, it sounds like you defintately need to step up to the M45 Sport. I had this tough decision about year ago. I absolutely love the V8. Every single day I get a thrill from it. Yes, I do get a few less miles per gallon, but i deal with it. The M35 actually doesnt get much better than the M45, believe it or not.

One test drive of the M45, and your answer will be had. Just DONT test drive it unless your willing to buy. Good luck hiding that smile from the salesguy

Yeah that's gonna be tough.....if I love the V8, there is no way I'm going to be able to go back to the V6!

However, I've heard the same thing from several people about the V6 not getting that much better MPG. I would think it has a lot to do with keeping the V6 in the higher end of the power band and revving it up to get it going....where with the V8 you could keep the RPM's low for the same amount of acceleration. Same principle would apply on the freeway too with the lower rpm's at cruising speeds.

TXSJaybird wrote:What, you mean this cluster??



Trust me, youll fall in love with it. The rings are great. At night its very sharp. I had orange in my previous car, an 04 Maxima, and I wouldnt even compare the two. That said, blue would be cool too.

As for your original questions, it sounds like you defintately need to step up to the M45 Sport. I had this tough decision about year ago. I absolutely love the V8. Every single day I get a thrill from it. Yes, I do get a few less miles per gallon, but i deal with it. The M35 actually doesnt get much better than the M45, believe it or not.

One test drive of the M45, and your answer will be had. Just DONT test drive it unless your willing to buy. Good luck hiding that smile from the salesguy

Wow Jay, everytime I see that pic, I can hear my M's engine throbbing for me to floor it! Ugh, I love the sound of our cars (06). Plus when I see that pic and hear that sound in my head it makes me appreciate what a sweet car we have

Get the M45. It just doesn't lack in power. I can agree with a post above that you'll have a terrible time convincing yourself to get the M35 after driving an M45. I drove the M35 first to see how it did and to hear the 5.1 audio. I then drove the 1 M45 the dealer had. If they didn't have that 1 M45, I could have been happy with the M35 (not a bad car). But the M45 was wonderful (my first V8) and the M35 was only rated at +2mpg. How could I not get the M45?

Just please do not use mid-grade gas!