Enjoy your new TL in good health! : )

 

4DSC,

If you're just looking for a great cruiser, TL is a very nice choice imo. However if you're like me and buying a car with some nice plans for it I think G is a better choice.

Some people on this forum are running 300+whp G's for the price of TL + A-spec package. 0 torque steer. Can TL do that?


***04 G35s 5AT/Sport***
***04 Volvo XC90 T6***

 

My friend that is signing the papers tonight on a new TL 6spd drove my car today since I had to get it fixed at his body shop that he owns. Well, he has driven it a few times and now he got to compare them in the same day. I got my car back today too and he drove me back in my car. He said he LOVED the way the car felt over the TL. He said the G35 is no comparsion, its a real sports sedan. The way it feels, the way it drives. He said barely hitting the throttle throws him back unlike the TL. He is getting the TL mainly because its the best trade in value he can get on his truck. Or he would've ended up at Infiniti.

 

Good luck with the TL. Hey Alfa man, I used to have the Gulietta 2.0 and loved that car - I keep saying that my G is a 2004 version of the same 83 Alfa I loved. Brute torque, a bit load, a little rough, huge bags of fun!!! - keep that spyder and enjoy it.

 

Hey ColinR,

Yup, I'll never sell my Duetto. Restored it myself. I've owned a few others over the past 11 years. I miss my 2.5l Milano. That's why I'm getting a G - Great V-6 and RWD. I'm so sick of FWD !!

Ciao !!



Dan
Stevenson Ranch, CA

 

Why not try an internet search? Go to Infiniti's web site and see if something like what you want is available at another dealership. BTW, I had to order my 6MT car, but I went shopping for the G 4 months before my lease ran out on my BMW. I ended up getting the G with one day left on my lease. It took 3 1/2 months to get my special ordered car. The difficult item to obtain was not so much the 6MT, but the full factory body kit. I have pretty much exactly the car you want, but with NAV too.....sorry, I love it; you can't have it.

04 G35s 6MT BS Aero Kit/Nav/Prem
Warning: Objects in Mirror Are Losing!

 

Don't blame you for the frustration on the G machine - I ordered one fully loaded and waited the 6-8 weeks quoted, then found out from the (very honest) Internet/Fleet Sale Mgr I ordered it from that the factory had not even STARTED production on my car - said they will e-mail him a "tracking" number when it starts down the assembly line, then a VIN # when it's done, also for tracking. Got lucky and found my dream machine (Obsidian Black/Graphite Leather 6MT Sedan w/ Sport Suspension (std) , Navigation, Premium Pkg, and Aero Pkg w/wing & splashguards) via the Infiniti website the day it arrived at the dealer nearest to my house! The other nearby dealer whom I originally ordered a car from told me "go for it" - that when the car I ordered does arrive, it will be easy for them to sell it at a higher price than they were giving it to me for ($750 over factory invoice) since it will be fully loaded, so no problems and "happy motoring" (they didn't want a deposit from me when I ordered it, either). One problem does seem to be a shortage of the 6 Speed trans. (with corporate priority given to the 350Z and the G35 Coupe first, then the Sedan), and the other options have supply problems/shortages as well, so the more options you want, combined with the 6MT, makes yoiur car hard to find at "random" in dealer stock, and also takes a while (apparently) for the factory to have all the parts needed together at one time as well (it would seem). - FRUSTRATING FOR SURE!!

BUT, like my mama always said "Don't marry the wrong girl". If you're like me, you're gonna drive this car for the next 5-7 years and 100-150,000 miles, and it would be HELL to marry the "wrong" car and then be stuck with THAT for a long time, eh?? I got "lucky" and found what I wanted by monitoring local dealer's inventory via the Infiniti website daily, until I stumbled across the one I bought late one night, and bought it right away. You can call the Internet Sales Manager (usually also the Fleet Sales Mgr) and they will "hold" the car for you for a day or so if need be, being an "Internet" customer.

Regarding the Acura - I always liked the TL, but they are absolutely different cars, in both intent and practice. Get the TL if you like the higher level of luxury and feel that it offers, but don't think you can run with a G machine, at least not for long. There's a reason why no front wheel drive car has ever been very competitive in (asphalt) road racing, especially that which involves heavy braking and cornering - and if you follow my G35 6MT with ANY level of "tuner modified" (front drive) TL down a twisty canyon road for more than 3-4 miles, your front tires are going to get overworked and will "go away", and then so will I, off into the distance. Just look at any real "track testing" comparisons, and the G35 will hold consistently fast lap times, while the TL (as is the case with all front drivers) will get slower and slower as the (street) tires begin to go away.

As regards the G35 vs. "A Spec" in particular, there is no doubt that the "A Spec" is a world class example of front wheel drive performance (at a world class price, too!), yet I can equal or surpass it's numbers with my G machine with very little effort or investment. For example, I can buy a Stillen Catback exhaust and intake for for my G35 for less than $1500 for both, and pick up a quick 30+ HP and 30 lbs. of torque right there for less than $2,000 installed - and then my 1/4 mile ET (which is already almost equal to the "A" Spec at 14.3 Sec bone stock, anyway) will be superior, and the trap speed (at 100.3 MPH for the G35), which is already higher stock, would just increase that sizable gap. The braking from 0-60 of the stock "G" machine is already far superior to the "A Spec" at 110 ft., and the stock G35 slalom (at 66.0 MPH) is virtually identical to the "A Spec". So, I just put on a larger set of tires (which can be done even with the stock rims, as the stock tires are relatively narrow and tall at 215/55), and then the G Machine begins to separate itself even on the skidpad and slalom from the "A Spec" (again, which numbers would just get further and further apart as the overworked front tires on the "A Spec" begin to fade after several runs). All of the above numbers are quoted from your source, Motor Trend Magazine, as shown in their annual "Road Test Roundup" section of their March, 2004 issue.

Ya can't beat rear wheel drive - and it is what truly separates a sport sedan from a "sporty" sedan - so buy the Acura ("A Spec" or otherwise) if you wish, it's a beautiful and worthy machine with it's own wonderful attrubutes - but don't kid yourself (and others) about seeing "G Machines" in your rear view mirror - regardless of your frustration or level of animosity towards Infiniti and/or it's dealers. (By the way, if you want indifference and arrogance, pay a visit to your local BMW dealership!).

Best of luck - DB

Sport Sedan Fan