Planning my next move.

[RicerX]

I'm in a state of discontent for many reasons, but I'm ready to get my car hobby on unlike I have ever been able to do before.

For those of you who don't know me, I currently have an awesome kiddo. Wife and I are building a house, and close on everything in May-ish. I used to have a 370Z and I now have a 2015 Q50S 3.7L RWD (necessitated by said kid). I loved my Z, and it's the only car I have ever owned that I would truly buy again, no questions asked, if the right opportunity presented itself.

I like to autocross when I can (which isn't often) but my favorite car event ever has been tail of the dragon. I plan on doing the dragon twice a year after the transition stuff settles down a bit. (In the past three years, I have moved out of state, moved back, gotten married, changed jobs, had a kid, selling and buying a house). Lots of s*** going on. The light is finally at the end of the tunnel and I have a lot more wiggle room for car stuff than I used to (time and money).

So... I have always liked the idea of a one trick pony. I have been so blindly loyal to Nissan since my Dad's first Maxima in 1990 and my first Nissan, a Sentra Spec V. My ideal car is a super sedan. The Q50S actually comes quite close to meeting all my criteria, but it's not quite there. It doesn't have a manual transmission or a limited slip differential. I personally think the 3.7L Q50S would be the perfect car for me with those two things added (that and non run-flat tires, but that's easily fixed). I have decided that Nissan doesn't offer a total package car for me out of the box. I enjoy driving stick, and I enjoy RWD with a proper limited slip. The open diff in the Q50 is glaringly noticeable even in daily driving for me. I hate it.

I have decided to open myself up to the possiblity of a couple things. 1) maybe I would enjoy more than one car, or 2) I need to broaden my horizons a bit. Included in point 2 - I may just need to fully build my Q and quit swapping cars for a while, or I may need to just find out what car truly works for me on all fronts without a lot of tinkering. Included in point 1, I have wanted a truck off and on for four years, and it would be fun to have a 4WD Titan (if I buy a truck, I'm buying one that will be large enough for family stuff and our two dogs and I'm going to run it into the ground as long as possible)

As a final prerequisite, as life evolves, what I do now needs to last me around 10 years or so.

Mod the Q50, and buy a DD
Pros: The Q50 already has a super competent chassis. The 3.7L has a great aftermarket (I can make 500hp with a supercharger and an upgrade to the trans internals), and I'm currently working with Quaife to R&D an LSD for it. Do I miss driving stick enough to forego what is otherwise a fantastic car before a couple tweaks? I could spend $5,000 (supercharger aside) and have a pretty damn fun car.

Cons: It's not a stick, and I miss that a lot lately. I don't know if modding the car that much will make me truly be content, and I know I want wheels/tires, visual upgrades, a trans cooler, an oil cooler, and a full package of breather mods (Z1 motorsports 400hp package comes to mind - intake manifold, intake, headers, exhaust plus a tune). Plus, mine doesn't have a spare tire, but I can always rig something up there via ebay or something.

F80 M3
Pros: This car does it all. Suspension is ready. Wheels/tires don't need upgrading. It's a stick. It's boosted. It's fast. It's built to be fast. It fits my whole family. This is a car that I'm trying to make the Q50 into, honestly.
Cons: I literally know nothing else about BMW other than what I have heard about trouble spots in reliability, especially with age. Are the newer ones better? Will the interior fall apart after 50k miles or so? Am I better off leasing one for 3 years and dumping it?

Cadillac ATS-V
The American version of the M3, but with more aggressive styling. Depreciating in the used market quickly to some sweet prices (have found them in the $40k area with 6MT and 20k miles). I know very little about them other than it's a GM product, I'm not a huge fan of the interiors of GM products at all, especially this one considering it's supposed to be the best they make given it's a Cadillac.

370Z
I love the 370Z. It's one of the most fun cars I have ever driven. I wish it would fit both my wife and kid, which is the biggest drawback. The preowned market for Nismos is getting to a very comfortable place. I could keep my Q as a DD (and maybe not mod much of anything) and weekend warrior the Z and have a great time.

Wait and see.
The next gen Z will ride atop the Q50/Q60 platform. It's going to be boosted with the VR30DDTT. It's going to be offered with a DCT, and very likely with a manual. Could this mean that the Q50/Q60 could be offered with a MT down the road after the launch of the new Z? If so, this changes everything. I can continue to be blindly loyal to Nissan, and perhaps get an Infiniti version of an M3. However, if the new Z is amazing looking and has a backseat, we're likely settled.

So, after that diatribe, I'm open to input. What is your experience with the BMW brand? The ATS-Vs and Cadillac? What do you think about the current Infiniti stable and the possibilities that lie with the upcoming Z?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I believe Nissan made this commercial specifically for your situation:


Too bad its complete s***.

[frapjap]

How about a Q50 Red Sport? Its auto, but still probably what you're going to make your car into if you kept it.

Why not get a cheap 2 seater with cash for fun and then a truck? Is that too many vehicles in the driveway?

[RicerX]

How about a Q50 Red Sport? Its auto, but still probably what you're going to make your car into if you kept it.

Why not get a cheap 2 seater with cash for fun and then a truck? Is that too many vehicles in the driveway?

IF they revise the Q50 Red Sport with a dual clutch option and a limited slip differential, I would absolutely consider that if it's not priced to oblivion. I will straight up order one if they make it with a manual transmission and forget about anything else. Otherwise, the Red Sport as it sits... I'm not quite comfortable with the 3.0T just yet. I want to see how it does with more people hammering on them. I trust the VQ37 more today, all things equal. There are also more sophisticated electronics in the Red Sport than in my current Q50. Electronically adjustable dampening is one thing that turns me off - if I want to do coilovers, I would have to work around that (there isn't currently a solution without wigging the car out). With my current Q50, I'd just slap on a set and rock without drama. The transmission in the red sport is also integrated with the navigation via Adaptive Shift Control, and that's mainly to have the transmission control module "anticipate" elevation changes that would require downshifts to deliver adequate power without a major adjustment in throttle input from the driver (as an example).

I would get a cheap 2 seater with cash as long as it had a 370Z badge on it (not terribly cheap, but low $20k range at the bottom end for what I'd want) as long as I had something that fit the family in addition.