and I have to say I think I over-hyped myself.

But I have to ask, does anyone else foot get caught between the clutch pedal and the housing underneath the dash? I moved my seat back further and the problem wasn't quite as bad, but the toe of my shoe seems to constantly get stuck when I push in on the clutch and I don't exactly have a large shoe size.

My other question was, while driving I loved the sound of the engine everytime I took the car out of gear, but I didn't love hearing every single piece of sand hit the tirewell while I was driving. Granted, the push from the car was kickass. But I'm not sure I want to hear every rock, stick, and piece of sand hit the undercarriage. Maybe I'm too critical?

I'm going to take another test drive eventually, and maybe even try to see if I can rent one for the day (most likely an '04 since I doubt you'll be able to rent an '05).

Does anyone have any advice or recommendations as to either problem? I guess I'm simply looking for peoples thoughts on this. I love the look, and the lakeshore slate color is amazing IMO, but I just don't know if this is the car for me. Feel free to talk me into it.

 

I never really notice the problem with my foot getting caught with the clutch pedal, so I can't help you there. Regarding the foreign objects hitting the tirewell and undercarriage...never noticed that either unless I'm going over something that obviously have layers of rocks and sand. Did you take the G out on a smooth highway? Maybe you'll hear less noise from all these foreign objects hitting the car....but to me, hearing them is quite normal in most cases.

To really tell the difference, test drive another car and go through the same route you took the G and compare. Then drive the G the same route to double-check the annoyance. Just my suggestion...

 

As for the clutch pedal, I don't have my G yet so I can only offer a general bit of advice. Use less of the ball of your foot and more of your toes to depress the pedal.

About the road noise... ...Dynamat Extreme does a good job of sound insulation. Added benefit is the heat insulation. Downside is the added weight (IF you use a ton of it) and the fact that you will have to get to those areas to put some Dynamat on. The trunk, under the back seat, the floorboards, and portions of the rear wheelwells shouldn't be very hard to get to. The front wheelwells are likely going to be more difficult to get too. One of the larger boxes of Dynamat Extreme will be enough for the car, and should run between $150-$200 (can't recall). Sounds expensive, but consider what that translates to in terms of cost per day/drive and you'll find that you would gladly pay multiple times that daily ammount just to cut down on the road noise.

If you can isolate where the majority of the road noise is transmitting through, you can get away with buying a lot less of the Dynamat Extreme. NOTE: Use FULL COVERAGE over the problem area for much better results than what you would get by just using patches of the stuff on the offending panels, etc. Just cut to fit and press it on. A heat gun or hair dryer helps make it more pliable for contoured surfaces, but heat is not always necessary... ...only need it on really uneven surfaces.

 

If you are looking for a calm, quiet, smooth ride....you better go look somewhere else. I feel there are too many people that buy this car looking for ride quality and comfort too much when they have to understand this is a sports car. Sometimes you have to sacrifice comfort with performance.

Maybe you were going over some rocks and dirt in the road because I never have this problem....well unless........I am going over some dirt and rocks in the road.

 

I know what your saying, do however keep in mind that it would be very easy to swap out the firmer 05 sport suspension for the less firm suspension found on all other coupes with oem 17's and 18's. And that those that have not experienced how the 05 sport suspension differs, won't understand where your comming from.

I really don't think it's possible to have plastic fender liners and not hear sand and pebbles pelting those liners. Do to how poorly this car protects the lower painted surfaces, I try to never to be caught dead driving any place where the tires can pick things up, if I do I don't need to be on that road.

 

Thicker swaybars and lighter rims, yes, but I don't agree that there's a night-and-day difference between the ride quality with the 18" and 19". Just like with everything else, YMMV but if you want a night-and-day difference and a truly luxurious ride, drive a sc430.

As long as you're alright with the amount of room in a 2dr and the ride quality of a sports coupe, everything else is a matter of getting used to the car, trust me. It always feels a little weird the first time you drive it, especially if you're coming from a family sedan or something. Drive one again, but I think you'll grow to love everything about it in time

 

Yea my foot gets caught under there too....but only sometimes during reverse clutching and wearing nice dress shoes...

 

I'm a short guy and my shoe is a size 8. I've had the car for a week now and this morning when I stepped on the clutch to start the car, it got caught on there too. If you look down, you'll see the brakes metal support go in a diagonal that closes in near the top of the clutch. That's where your foot is probably getting caught. I moved my seat back a tad further than I'm used to and pulled the steering wheel a tad closer and all is good. I guess stomping on the clutch like I do with my other car (Probe GT) doesn't work in this car. 8 )

On a side note, I didn't have this problem when I test drove the 2004 model. But no big deal. I think I got the problem licked.

 

Seems like a lot of nitpicking is going on in this thread. I dont think I have ever experienced or noticed any of the things being mentioned here.

 

#1: Don't have issue with clutch
#2: Turn up the music!

 

^werd...

 

To the performance minded, the 05 coupe sport suspension is night and day better dampned, buttoned down, rewarding, what have you vs the same car on the other suspension. Now, the ride quality is certainly firmer, some with comfort in their soul will respectfully call it to harsh for their taste. Me, I thought it was what the car deserved from JOB ONE. Heck, it has LESS impact harshness them my car did, and I'm on 18's (and a oem 350Z suspension at the time).