I've always like the styling of the G coupe, but they were more than i wanted, and I thought that they may be a bit heavy or less nimble than I wanted for occasional track days/drivers' schools.

I got an '02 WRX in '07 and have loved it as a daily driver and weekend toy. I've installed lowering springs, Koni strut inserts and several other handling and braking upgrades. It's a great car, and for the money, no one beats a WRX on bang for buck out-of-the-box.

But, I have been toying with the idea of a more "age appropriate" vehicle that could still perform well for occasional track days. I've seen a few at the track that appear stock, but were driven very well.

So, to the point, I finally drove my first G35 coupe, an '05 6MT with about 75K miles. My initial impression was that the clutch and shifter were so much softer/less precise than my WRX. Is that a trait of the G's driveline? I know I need to drive more examples before I form an opinion.

The clutch pedal travel seemed excessive, maybe twice as long as was necessary. Are there upgrades out there that limit clutch travel? How about short shift kits, or kits that tighten up the shifter play?

I was impressed by the road feel. I expected a much more sedated ride in an Infiniti.

And, is the stated HP increase at '05 really just a bump in the redline limit? Or maybe a small computer tweak on the same engine?

Thanks for any advice or comment.

Mike

 

Yes you can adjust the engagement point of the clutch. You are correct it is really high compared to other cars, i had mine readjusted to a lot lower point.

The 05 i believe came with a slightly more aggressive cam profile, stronger valves and some other slight improvements in the head. You can find out more if you do a search.

The g35 is more of a luxury gt that can do ok at the track. Its not going to be the same as a awd turbo car. Its heavier and less forgiving on the track.

I drove my friends 300awhp evo 8 and its probably the easiest and most forgiving car i ever drove. Great track toy that gives a lot of hp for the buck. But i wouldn't want it as a daily driver, the interior is cheap and flimsy and the cars not that comfortable to drive over bumpy roads.

Keep in mind getting hp out the vq35 is a lot harder then your ej. You'll need to do a engine swap or go force induction to get any real power out of the car.

 

Thanks for the reply.
Are there clutch pedal limiter kits that keep the pedal from going to the floor? i.e. only letting to go in as far as is necessary so that shifts can be faster.

Also, I'm curious about the 350z (although I really like the idea of the token rear seats in the G35). In general, how does it compare for, say, a 2005 G35 Coupe 6MT vs. 2005 350z manual? I would assume the Z is lighter and more nimble, correct?

 

Here's some cheap mods you can do to adjust the the engagement point.

https://g35driver.com/forums/engine-...al-remedy.html

https://g35driver.com/forums/v36-diy...al-travel.html


I think the 350z is around 150lbs lighter since its a shorter wheel base and no back seats. To be honest, I didnt really feel a difference in terms of real world driving when i drove my friends 350z....i'm sure on the track the 350z is probably like .1-.2 seconds faster. I dont think its worth losing the back seats.

Also there basically two different cars. The interior on the 350z is more plasticy and doesn't have leather..designed more as a afford sporty roadster. The g35 can carry 4 people has leather and some other luxury features, more of sporty luxury gt...think reliable 3 series.

If you want more of a track car or race car the 350z would be a better platform to start. The 08 350z comes with the vq35hr which is a improved engine and makes more power.

Why not just keep your wrx as a race car and just buy a cheap auto g35 as a daily driver?!? It'll be cheaper to make the wrx fast compared to the g35.

 

The Z has better a better breathing intake tube that doesn't have all of the sound deadening stuff that the Gs comes with resulting in slightly more power. The z is also lighter than the G.

http://www.rjmperformance.com/ This is a common solution that many people have gone with for the G/Z's high clutch pedal engagement point. I may also purchase one of these sometime. Even after about two years of owning my G and feeling like I'm improving I still have those moments where I don't start off or shift smoothly. It's definitely a bit different from other manual cars.

 

Thought that I'd add in, I'm not to sure on all the g35 drive train upgrades yet, but I was in the same situation as you.. I owned a 98 eclipse gsx, Big t28 stage 3 head, put 12 grand into the car 340whp, decided to move on. Bought a 06 mt coupe 25k miles instead of the 3000gts and evos I was looking into... I'm a college student also.. And it was the best car decision I've ever made. G35s look so sexy, can hold its own at the track while having luxurious aspects, and sound amazing STOCK. Its like a rich business man that can still beat some *** and do the dirty work.

 

Thanks! Those links are really the DIY equivalent of the kit I put on my WRX. There are guys out there designing parts for Subarus (and others) at home and sending the CNC plans to shops to machine out of metal (ex. Kartboy, IXIZ, Paranoid Fabrication).

I don't race, per se, just track schools. The WRX is great, I was just playing with the idea of a trackable daily driver for a 50-something guy. But, to get appreciable hp gains out of a WRX (not STi), I would still have to invest more than a couple $thousand in a full exhaust, tune, and maybe injectors, then upgrade the brakes to handle it. Or "drop" an STi motor into my WRX wagon...Or maybe a newer STi.

 

There is a full clutch kit some guy sells for $100 i think, but i dont believe in wasting $100 when you can do the same thing yourself for $20 or less.

Reliable turbo setup for the vq35 with a built bottom end is around $10k. A LS swap will run you about the same.

The g35 can handle the track well, the car is more of a jack of all trades, master of none type of car. I would suggest just driving the car and see what you think. Make sure it doesnt have oil consumption issue. I would try to get a 06-07 if possible. The 06-07 comes with projector HIDS and the interior is a lot nicer. Most of the common problems on the g35 was fixed in 06-07.

 

I've owned 3 subarus, a 2.5rs, a RHD GC8 STi, and a WRX Wagon. The wagon. It has aftermarket suspension and gram lights on it. I still have and I've had an 06 6mt G35 for about 4 years. The G is a totally different experience, You have to learn to drive it, move it with the throttle and kind of manhandle it to get it to what you want. That being said, when you learn how to move around the big body of the G, it's extremely capable, and fun to drive. My friend has a 07 with an exhaust, I'm maybe a hair faster.

The AWD clutch feels pretty different than other clutches. The engagement of the G clutch kind of sucks and if my seat isn't set perfect, I don't drive it well, but you get used to it. Overall the G is a more complete package and has great low-end torque. It'll probably be even or a little behind the WRX on the track, but overall, better DD imo.

P.S. They get around the same gas milage, but the G is better on the highway

 

The 350Z FEELS about 400lbs lighter than the G when being slewn around a track sideways at speed. In day to day driving conditions, I notice next to no differences in feel. Obviously, the G has more interior acruments but driving is the same. I've owned both (I owned the Z in my single days and own a G now that I'm married with kids and settled).
I also don't notice a difference in feel between the 03-05 models and the 06+ models. I know that the HR models have more HP but there isn't a faster FEEL to it. Matter of fact, my buddy has a lightly modded 07 and on a highway pull, he pulled on my BONE STOCK (motor wise) 03 but it was barely noticeable. It was the equivalent of maybe 2/3 of a car length. In a track setting, I would be willing to be that both cars in similar trim would take a driver to really define the difference.

These are all personal opinions of course, but that's my take on G vs G vs Z.

As far as it vs an awd turbo car, my G is more comfortable hovering an inch from the pavement than my friends Evos and WRX's at rally height, according to them. But, stock vs stock, I know the G would outshine either of them. it was built to. The "jack of all trades" analogy is really the best description. I don't think it does anything GREAT but it does so many things well. And if you grab one, I'm sure you'll be happy with it.

From a power perspecitve, unless you plan on dumping double digit thousands AT LEAST at it, I wouldn't change any of the car. I'm basing that on the less than stellar improvement of a lightly modded newer model vs my stock older model. The gains, in my eyes, should be greater. And, my buddy hasn't gotten cheap stuff either. Again, he's definitely driving a faster car, but I don't know if the extra speed is justified by the extra cost. It's not in my eyes.

Hope that helps and good luck.

 

Thanks for all the good stuff. Time to drive a few more...

 

I think the g35 works okay as a daily driver/track car. It is definitely on the heavy side with a lot of torque. It's not a very "throwable" car like an s2000 or miata and maybe not as fun, but it teaches you how to manage weight transfer. It is a pretty mild mannered track car, with a little understeer balance, but very easy to power over with with its gobs of torque. I`ve driven my g35 sedan on the track quite a few times basically stock and it's supposedly quite a bit worse than the coupe, and I have fun. It has enough torque/hp to play with on the track with street tires, so I think that's a plus for a track car, since you don't have to spend money on the engine mods that make your daily driver more unreliable. You definitely would want to get one with the brembos on though. Even with the brembos, I get terrible brake fade with the dual use street/track pads.

There just is something about driving a real wheel drive car too. Tons of fun and teaches you real car control. Sure awd is probably faster, but really your goal as a novice/intermediate driver should be learning how to drive first.


the g35 coupe is basically the same as a 350z on the track

 

If it's a daily driver then you'll want one WITHOUT the Brembos due to their terrible brake fade. From what I remember while researching when I first got my '06 was that the ('05+) models didn't come with Brembos BECAUSE of that premature wear issue that so many pre-'05s were having. Don't quote me on that though. I was just curious back then as to why mine didn't have the Brembos and came across that info.

 

The OEM brembos came with pretty aggressive pad material, which meant they dusted a lot and wore much quicker than what you would expect out of an oem pad, which people didn't like. This can be remedied with more modest aftermarket friction material. Brake wear is different than brake fade, which is loss of braking power at high temperature.

The reason they switched from brembos to akebonos in 06+ I think is because of cost. Consumers I guess wanted a bbk, not specifically brembos. The 350z track versions those years (but not the lower version 350's) still came with the brembos, because they still are better from a track performance aspect.