When I bought my sedan, I figured I wanted the Sport Package for the enhanced handling, cornering, etc. However, I drive a lot of freeway and really feel and hear the road, so much so that I am wondering if I made the right decision.
Am I crazy thinking about having the Sport Package removed? Is this even possible? I did not test drive a G without the package before I purchased, so I do not really know the difference. Can anyone give me a comparison?
There also seems to be a lot of noise from road grit in the wheel wells. Why is this?
Thanks!

[b][i]<font color=red>BoneDaddy
2003.5 Garnet Fire, Premium, Aero, Sport

 

I hear you buddy. The ride at times does seem a bit harsh and even bouncing a bit. But I like the awesome cornering and quick no-roll movement. I have notice it also depends on the freeway condition. On a newly paved freeway the feel is smooth. You definitely feel the road more than the standard package. I would wait or switch to a better set of tires.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Black/Graphite Premium/Sport/Nav/Black Chrome

 

Anything's possible, it just depends on how much you want to spend and what your goal is. For example, the titanium-colored dash is part of the sport package, but since you're concerned with ride comfort, I imaging swapping that part out isn't necessary.

The first thing I'd look at is the tires. There have been complaints on this forum about the Goodyear tires being noisier and rougher than the Bridgestones. If your car does not have Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires, you might want to try them out first. Another option would be to go with a slightly larger tire, such as 225/55R17. This does a couple of things. First it opens up the choices of make/model tire available to you to choose from. Second, the tire is going to be just a little bit taller, which may help cushion the ride a bit. Note that this size tire will cause about a 1.6% odometer discrepancy, so at 60mph on the speedometer, you'll actually be going 61mph. Take a peek at TireRack.com and look for Grand Touring or Touring tires instead of Performance tires to give you an idea of what's available and how they might differ from what you have.

If just getting different tires doesn't do it for you, it'll start to cost more money. One option is to get 16" wheels. The "other" stock tire size for a G35 is 205/65R16, but once again, aftermarket choices are limited. However, something like a 215/60R16 (TireRack's recommended plus-zero size for 16"s, and 1.2% off the size of your stock 17"s) opens up the choices again. This gives you a full extra inch of rubber on the ground to cushion the blow. Another option is to look at the suspension. Most aftermarket companies go for the sportier direction, so your choices will probably be limited to either purchasing parts from Infiniti, or finding someone who has a non-sport car, bought an aftermarket suspension kit, and is willing to sell their stock parts.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I think Ryoken has the right idea. I personally didn't get the sport package because of ride issues. I felt that there are going to be a ton of kits to make the car handle and very few could improve the ride. The only thing I can add would be to try changing to Koni adjustable dampers. Tirerack can also help you with those.The soft setting might give you so cushion. Tires are the cheapest.Try a set of wider tires like Michelin-they always score well with ride and noise quality. Try the 235/50 17s. Tirerack has a customer review of the tire as well.

03.5 Sedan/B. Silver/Premium/Winter/Aero
69 Chevelle BB/4.11's

 

235/50R17 seems like an attractive size. Only 0.3% off the 215/55R17's, as well. However, be aware that Infiniti's official position is that you shouldn't go wider than 225 in the front, and you don't want to stagger the tires on a sedan (gives the VDC system fits). That being said, several people on this forum have reported that 235's work fine for them. Be aware, though, that with the steering/suspension in the front in a fully-turned, fully-compressed state a 235 tire may contact parts of the suspension or wheel well. Nobody's reported any problems yet, and Infiniti's recommended maximum size may be buffered on the side of safety to cover themselves.

Now that I've scared you, let me add that if there aren't any more choices on the market besides the OEM tires when it comes time to replace mine, I'll probably be looking at 235/50R17 myself.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I bought a 2003.5 in January with sports suspension and the ride and road noise have been my number one complaint too. I have the Bridgestones as well. The suspension was secondary to the rear spoiler option I wanted. It is interesting to note that some others might be wondering the same thing. I wish Infiniti would have added a little more sound insulation to take care of the road noise too.

 

Hey, Pestilence, are you watching this thread? Ignoring the audio system for the moment, how well did that Dynamat work on road noise on your G35?

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

hey ryoken..
I dont really hear road nose.. Normally when im in my G i have the music up.. and even if the music isnt up the bass still overpowers the road noise.. i konw that the Dynamat helped ALOT with the trunk vibrations and a more cleaner bass sound.. I dont konw what it can do to stop road noise though.

I think there was somone on this forum who wanted to layer the bottom of their sedan with some sort of metal to stop road noise.. dont remember who it was.. or if there even was any response from him after he did it..

..pestilence..

 

Why does Nissan/Infiniti not want us to stagger the tires? How does VDC get pissed? I need to know because that is what I wanted to do. I bought new rims for the time being. 17 enkei's. They were nice and cheap and they don't look stock;P Help on the VDC thing-it won't compensate?

03.5 Sedan/B. Silver/Premium/Winter/Aero
69 Chevelle BB/4.11's

 

The VDC detects wheel slippage when one tire is spinning a different speed in relation to another tire. If you stagger your tire sizes and the diameter of your tires are not darn near exact, then the front tires will always spin a little faster/slower than the rear, and the VDC system may wind up in a perpetual state of slippage, or it may just engage more readily than normal. The VDC system on the Coupe is apparently set up to handle the staggered tires. This is information I've gathered from reading these forums, and from asking my local Infiniti Service Rep. (Although, truth be told, I'm not inclined to believe that everything coming out of my local Service Rep's mouth is 100% accurate.)

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

I had planned to get the sport package. Even though I'm 50 years old - I'm still well into sport. In fact, my weekend car is a 2003 Corvette with Z51 suspension - and I still drive hard.

I had read that the sport was pretty firm. But it still came down to luck. I had been shopping the G for a while, and the day I bought mine, I walked into the dealer not knowing what they had, but ready to buy. The car that was the perfect car did not have sport and that's the way I went. I have added 235/45 18 tires . Believe it or not, they made very little difference in ride.

The car still rides plenty firm, and handles as if it has a sport suspension. Very little lean, and no floatiness at all.

I can't help with your delimna, but to future buyers, I'd say you should very seriously consider the base setup, then add some better looking wheels, like I did.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by JJSg35 on 03/05/03 08:20 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

27434-side7-8over.jpg

 

Thanks for the info. I was really hope to stagger the tires like my 911. Well tech stuff is more important than the staggered look....Damn

03.5 Sedan/B. Silver/Premium/Winter/Aero
69 Chevelle BB/4.11's

 

I don't know about everyone else... but having the sport suspension and feeling/hearing the road to me is one of my favorite things about the car. I love the feeling of having total control over the car. A cushy ride is for non "sport" sedans. The advantages of the suspension (cornering, anti roll, etc...) comes with the added advantage of feeling the road... thats if you look at it my way.

Aux

Silver 6MT Sedan in NJ

 

I'd have to agree with AuxNuke. Despite my suggestions for increasing ride comfort, I don't actually plan to do any of that to my sport-tuned G35. I like the ride. I was in the market for a true Sports Sedan, and never considered the non-sport package of any of the cars I test drove.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

You two (above this post) may not have taken what I said above seriously. You are convinced you are hard core sports guys, so you never considered a non-sport equiped car. I'm betting you never spent any time in a non-sport car.

I have 3500 miles on my non-sport car now, and believe me or not, I don't care, but I promise you my non-sport G35 suspension is as firm, if not more so, than my Z51 Corvette.

I'm just suggesting that everyone drive enough miles on both to get a fair feel for them before buying.