Worthy successor to my 91Q

[yidal8]

to be or not to be , to keep or not to keep to Q or not to Q , this is the QQQuestion !My rides are : 91Q , 127Kmi , 93 Ducati 900 SS , 30Kmi , 00 HondaS2000 , 9Kmi. My wife drives 99 Pathfinder .My daughter will start driving in less then 1.5 years . I would not let anybody drive my Q . But I don't want to have another car in the family . So , the Q will go , or given to a good friend , or just become a statue in my back yard .Do you feel the 02-03Q is good enough substitute ? , or 2005 AWD G35 , or FX45 , or 2005 next gen. M45 . I am lost .

[PalmerWMD]

There are some great deals out there on 00,01 and even 2k2 Q's.

Also I think the current M45 is one fine automobile (plus we need our first M45 member ..)

Fred...:thumbup

[90Q45blue]

Let me know what you plan on doing with your old Q if you wanna get rid of it.

Nick

[yidal8]

Palmerwmd- 00-01Q ? Those are like underpowered Lexus no? I thought 02Q is the first with the "comeback" motor.

[PalmerWMD]

yes the 00-01 have "only" 266 hp, BUT they are still VERY nice cars and can be had for great deals as can the 97/98/99.

(As some members will attest).

They are also nearly bulletproof.

Fred....

[eQlipse]

I concur! '97-01 may not be as potent as the first gen Q, but it's no slacker in any way. I'd put it up against most cars!

[yidal8]

palmerwmd - you mentioned some good deals are possible on 2k2Q ? what price ranges are you aware of . The thing about the 97-01 , I talked to few people in my local carwash who traded 1gen.Q for3gen.Q . They liked their car but all wished they kept the old one .Even with the 2k2Q , I can see a lot of cost cutting everywhere compared to our cars .also the dash is too busy and not as classy as ours . I need to drive one though before passing judgement . I did drive the G35 for a weekend when they came out , and was extremely impressed with the whole package . I may end up getting one once they bring the AWD version in the spring of 2005 .Probabely the best thing from my point of view will be if they can fix the look of the M45 and still keep the price where it is .

[greg_atlanta]

Not a good idea to buy an M45 or Q45 unless you REALLY like it and plan to keep it forever... since they're selling so slow on the new market they'll probably sell just as slow on the used market. Might be hard to get rid of for a decent price.

G35 should be a little safer in that department. Where'd you hear about AWD in 2005? I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later -- already offered in Japan -- but I think it's too early to set a date (dealers love to speculate and trade rumors). With the VDC and snow tires on the RWD version I'm sure it would perform fine in nasty weather.

You can always do what a lot of us do.... spend $3-5K in rehab on the old Q and fall in love again.

[PalmerWMD]

Not a good idea to buy an M45 or Q45 unless you REALLY like it and plan to keep it forever... since they're selling so slow on the new market they'll probably sell just as slow on the used market. Might be hard to get rid of for a decent price.

but easy to pick up one slightly used.

lets say u feel they are 10% cheaper than they should be and u buy one at 40k so u save 4 k.

When u resell a few years later at 20k you lose 2k.

Sounds like a win to me.

Fred...

[PalmerWMD]

palmerwmd - you mentioned some good deals are possible on 2k2Q ? what price ranges are you aware of . f.

you should be able to get an early 2k2 in the mid 30's w/o too much difficulty.This is a depreciation typical for a 50-60k lux car.

depending on milage, a bit lower and higher is possible too.

Fred..

[yidal8]

greg-atlanta : AWD G35 in18 months. Per dfw who is the guru in http://www.freshalloy.com web site , infiniti forums . So far , everything he revealed about G , Q , FX , I , was right on the money . Incidently , he is saying that after infiniti becomes a household name in the near future , Goshen will increase the sticker prices of the infiniti brand to BMW / Lexus levels , meaning no more bargains .palmerwmd - I also think the M45 is a great sleeper , similar maybe to the 90Q which very few people understood then .

[Chaz98Q45t]

I don't understand why everyone says the 97-01 Q's are underpowered. I will admit that I have not driven an earlier Q with the 278 hp, but the hp per lb and torque per lb are very similiar. 90-96 = 4039 lbs, 278 hp (14.5 hp per lb), 292 torque (13.8 torque per lb) 97-01 = 3879 lbs, 266 hp (14.5hp per lb), 278 torque (13.95 per lb). All of the 0-60 times are around the same, 7-7.4. Maybe I need to drive one to understand, but I don't think that my 98Q is underpowered at all and I dust people with it all day long...

[yidal8]

o.k. , here is my gut feeling :the current 1gen.M is a very slow seller ( just like the 1gen.Q was) .many people did not get used to the looks yet ( just like when 1gen.Q came out) . I did not drive the M yet , but most say it has the dynamics , power , agressiveness , character on the road as the old Q .The redesigned 2gen.M will come in 04-05? then a used 1ge.M may be a terrific bargain to grab .

[eQlipse]

Chaz98Q45t is right on the money. The 2nd Gen Q has a lower hp rating but it's not underpowered at all. I have no trouble keeping up in traffic on my 60 mile commute in ILL, where average speed is about 90 mph. My '90 was definitely more perfomance oriented but the 2nd Gen Q is no chump.

[greg_atlanta]

Chaz98Q45t is right on the money. The 2nd Gen Q has a lower hp rating but it's not underpowered at all.

But the early Q FEELS faster (and 90-93 pulls better off the line per more aggressive 1st gear).

The 97+ Q feels more disconnected from the road per softer strut front suspension, doesn't hug the road as well..... but I'd like to drive one with high performance summer tires, might help.

[BadQ45t]

I have a 92 Q that I drive every other day and a 97 Q45t that I drive on the other days. Well, this is suppose to be my wifes car (the 92) but until things are sorted out on the ownership of the car (it is my dad, divorce ****, nuff said). Here is how I see it. The 97 is NOT underpowered by any stretch, the 92 does get up and does feel faster. The motor reminds me of the sound of a refined GM small block, but my 97 feel so much smoother in comparison, almost electric in comparison. Handling wise the 92 feels closer to the road but when I push it through turns there is more body roll, I think the lack of rear sway bars and the front brace on the 97 touring package does that. Bottom line I can push them through turns about evenly, but the 92 does feel closer to the road. Needs a rear sway bar bady.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy another 97-01 car, but IF I could get an 02 at a great price for that interior alone I'd go for it and spend a bit more (the extra ponies would be nice too).

[airman]

Handling wise the 92 feels closer to the road but when I push it through turns there is more body roll, I think the lack of rear sway bars and the front brace on the 97 touring package does that. Bottom line I can push them through turns about evenly, but the 92 does feel closer to the road. Needs a rear sway bar bady.

I wonder what can be done to get this "closer road feel" in 97-01 Q.

[PalmerWMD]

I wonder what can be done to get this "closer road feel" in 97-01 Q.

Urethane bushings, stiffer shocks, maybe bigger anti-away bars------>problem solved.

Fred...

[greg_atlanta]

Are there any non-OEM struts, shocks, or sway bars available for the 97-01 model?!?

I'm sure something could be made, but at what expense?

Tires are the best way to improve road feel... a softer compound and stiffer sidewall.

BMWs use struts in front and are known for hugging the road.

[airman]

So, it might be an alternative... I've been looking for 95Q for a while and haven't found any clean one for a decent price. I am ready to give up and turn to something like 98Q45t or even I30t.

[BadQ45t]

I hope the addition of a set of 17" rims will fix the problem coupled with a setup of big low profile sticky tires. I'm sure the addition of stiffer shocks and springs would help, but I'm not so sure I'd opt for that now that I've got a 92 in the garage. I also wondering where the heck are the stiffer shocks/struts for the 97-01 Q. Tokiko has yet to do blues for these models. Remember Infiniti sold lots of them 97-01 (in fact the 01 sold double the units of the 02). I'm not changing out mine until Blues are available (I'm at 69k and the car doesn't feel like it needs new shocks, although Q45Tech would beg to differ). When I drive my 97 to LA from SF (about 400 miles) the 97 is my preferred transportation.

If you look at from a resale point of view, a 98 or 99 is probably your best money bet wise, I've seen them in the mid-20s. This is alot of car for 25k. I've been checking out the used 2002's and most are a total rip-off. If I was interested in the 3rd Gen Q, I'd go and find one that a dealer needs to dump. My dad's moonlights as a car broker and he said he could find new Q's in the high 40's, fully loaded in the low 50s. The combo of a brand new car with the full 7 years of warranty to me would be worth it. BUT you should very sure you want to drive that puppy for 10 years.

[BadQ45t]

Oh, and I drove a new M45, very fun car, but if I had to buy something new I think I'd still want a Q.

[maxnix]

Quote »BMWs use struts in front and are known for hugging the road.[/quote] On the larger cars, it is a special strut with a pivoted lower link to negate some of the unwelcome camber change that occurs with a McPherson (a Ford engineer, by the way) strut.Quote »I've been looking for 95Q for a while and haven't found any clean one for a decent price.[/quote] Oh, they are still out there. It just depends how diligent you are and how far you will go to get one.