Agreed. The G35/350Z don't weigh in the mid 3000's because of their seats and trunk carpeting. If you take out the entire interior, dashboard included, I doubt you'd get below 3000 lb.

The G is a comfortable grand tourer that is probably about 90% as capable as an Elise/Exige on the track given the right suspension and brake upgrades, and it's a great everyday car at that. No matter what you do to it, you're never going to achieve 100% of the performance of a lightweight car, especially one of the lightest street legal ones that exists.

Also, a note to the original poster, Infinitisport. I've got several thousand track miles under my belt now, mostly in the Elise, but also in the G35, so I'm well acquainted with both cars on track and street. You mentioned earlier that you don't want to mess with suspension and brakes, just reduce weight. That's downright foolish. It's not going to help your car on the track the least bit, since the biggest limit is indeed braking and suspension, in that order. Once you have removed those huge roadblocks, only do you then start removing the smaller ones, like weight. The G35 that kicked my *** while I was driving my Elise on the track was completely stock inside, but he had great tires, suspension, brakes, and a good driver.

 

thanks marc,
yeah, i know you're right about the supsension and brake thing cause i come from a line of sport bike enthusiaist and nothing matters more on a bike than susp and brake, but anywho...

so went to check the used lotus elise today, i have to say their built is very very below standard of infiniti or bmw standard, everything thats plastic is rattling or broken at the bumper, and doesn't hold as well as say a subaru... i really want one but now know that's it's not built to retain value...

i still love my g35 but damn it's so heavy...

 

The Elise interior is an afterthought. It's made of crappy plastic (maybe recycled milk bottles), lots of the trim pieces are held on by velcro and double sided tape, and over time the glue dries up and they fall off, so you have to replace the velcro. There is very little sound deadening material, so the car is loud. The A/C sucks and suffers from radiator heat soak, so it's all but unusable in the hot summer (there are mods to fix this), etc. The car has a lot of little issues of this nature. Oh, and if you ever crack the body panels, the front clam is like an $6k replacement cost and back is closer to $10k, since the entire body is two pieces.

That being said, I like this car like no other that I've ever driven before. The handling and feel of the car is phenomenal. The Probax seats (2006+) are amazingly comfy on long drives, more comfortable than my G's seats, by a long shot. They're designed to position your hips and back so your leg circulation isn't cut off. I loved my G when I bought it, but I barely drive it anymore, since the Elise is so much more fun. I only drive the G now when I need to carry a few passengers or it's raining, since I have comp tires on the Elise.

This isn't a car you buy if you intend to sell it and not lose too much money in the future, it's something you buy to put a stupid ear-to-ear grin on your face. Don't buy a new one, since that's pointless, they haven't changed much over the years. Look nationwide for used ones, and you can pick one up for something in the mid twenties to mid thirties, shipping a car with a reputable carrier costs ~$1k across the country, cheaper if it's closer. If you need someone local to check out an Elise for you, you can ask the nice people at lotustalk.com or britishspeed.com to look over it for you. I think a new generation Elise is coming out in a couple of years, this should make existing Elise prices drop, so if you can wait a while, under $20k should totally be doable.

 

Oh, one more thing. If you buy a used Elise and don't live in the fascist empire of California, you can actually make a lot more power out of that engine. The factory supercharger (which I have) makes ~200 WHP. For about the same price as factory SC, you can install the new TVS SC and 260 WHP is totally possible. Any more than that and you need a new clutch. Still, used Elise with TVS, clutch job, SC, will cost you a lot less than a brand new one with factory SC. Here's a link about the supercharger I mentioned: click me.

 

yeah i hear man, i knew about the tvs sc thingy for a while but with a 0-60 under 4.5sec who needs a tvs man...

anywho, coming from 2dr civic to clk430 (my favorite) to g35c, i just feel the elise the next step up... either that or kill myself on a yamaha r1...

 

I thought I'd chime in and do some repeating as well. It really sounds like you would prefer something to be a fast trackable car, but still retain some comfort for the street. Once you start stripping out the G to only save about 400-lbs realistically, it will not be anywhere close to the car you covet now. It would have lost all of its appeal.

Also correct me if Im wrong, but it sounds like you dont want to do anything to your G's suspension in the form of a high end coilover set with some adjustable suspension arms? If thats the case, the ride is going to suck once you start removing weight. OEM suspensions are designed tightly to support OEM weight and then some, shedding that weight and not readjusting the suspension is going to make the car behave very weird.

In all honesty, if you want something to be a bit more trackable but still comfortable, look at used a Corvette Z06 or some used Porsche 911 or Boxsters. They're both lighter and more powerful than a most modded G35's and have much better suited performance parts from the factory. The elise is a great car, but it is a car of compromise and it is of a very focused nature, one I think you have already figured out does not meet your requirements. Get a vette or 911 and call it a day.

Aso a used NSX is a great car to consider as well,think Lotus Elise, just bigger, more comfort features and better built! i think between my three suggestions, the NSX would be top pick in my book.

 

I considered buying a Lotus but then i realized i wasn't a female.

 

^Exactly how is any Lotus a girls car......?

 

ive been looking at getting an elise as well..of course not brand new but ive seen many in the mid 20k range..well worth the money!!..and imo def not a chick car...a beetle is a chick car

 

Those who buy Lotus do not expect quality in the interior. Thought that was a given... They hold their values better than your G, so if you want to get something that retains their value get an exotic. If you want a lighter G35 get the Z, seeing as how you are looking at the Lotus rear seats are not a concern for you. Or you can get the cheap-man Elise which is basically an MR-S with 2zz swap.

 

I work with a MD from San Diego and apparently any and every fake breasted, botox injected female in SoCal drives one!

 

Weird, I've never seen a woman driving a lotus before, just guys. It's actually kinda hard to imagine lots of women driving an elise or exige because of the car's nature..... No offense to women, lol

 

+1, don't see that many Elises at all and don't recall seeing a chick driving one.

 

DOMOi wish i could run into these women - i would offer my body to them for one night if they let me drive their elise
DOMO

 

One of the trainers at my gym drives an elise. It's one of two I've ever seen on the road.

He could punch a hole through me. Not very lady like.