Dave, my car doesnt really feel like it handles as well as the way your describing and im on G/Z springs with coupe struts...

My car feels.... i dont know, not very good on corners. I have the 19s with 245 series tires on all 4 corners (Falken FK452) and honestly, my friends 03 Sedan on stock sport suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s felt way 'sportier' than my car does. My car feels very... loose almost. It stiffened up a LOT when i had the coupe eibach pro kit on. I could take corners like a fricken champ. There was nothing like being able to feel teh VDC kicking in coming out of corners, right at that limit, and just sticking on the quick toss around corners.

But, it rode like complete **** and i bottomed out with 4 people in the car, so that had to go, and now im back to my more comfortable Z/G coupe setup... doesn't handle as well, but it rides a HELLUVA lot better. I don't live on a race track, and i do a lot of driving, and quite low just wasn't cutting it.

I don't know why though. I get a lot of front plow going into corners and the car feels very heavy. In fact, im almost afraid im doing damage to the car when i hot dog it around cloverleaf's... it might be my upper control arm though. I need to fix that when i get home.

 

I've got to put my $0.02 in here. MOST users on here are younger and have over the average income. Some have had there parents buy it.. some of us pay out of our own pocket... but MOST of us have this car for now and plan to upgrade in the future.. especially because we're SEDAN owners. I love this car because it's a DECENTLY quick 4 door sedan that has a beautiful exhaust note and enough bells and whistles to keep me happy. I wouldn't say its any fancier than a new FORD. But I have it now because I'm 21 (almost) and am in school. I have an internship which I travel a bunch.. and I like to be comfortable and entertained while driving so much! But ultimately.. I want an M5 or an S8.. AMG... something along these lines... and at the rate i'm going I plan to be there in just a few years!

 

The point being here.. is that I don't think anyone would say its a SPORTS car. It's an entry level sport SEDAN. It handles decent. decently quick. decently equipped... and priced accordingly

 

Yesterday I was annoyed at my newly bought G35 as I was worried it has the oil burning issue - btw the dipstick for the engine oil is a total piece of garbage. Just found that out yesterday. It looked like the car was dangerously low on oil so this morning I went to get it changed before work and have some M1 5w30 put in. A new air filter was put in as well - the old one looked pretty dirty last night when I was checking several things on the car but when the mech removed the filter this morning I was a little shocked - filthy doesn't begin to describe it. It looked like someone actually dipped the filter in motor oil - that's how disgusting it is. I'll post a pic later.

Anyway, the mechanic put the car on the ramps and lifted it up. Very clean underneath and everything looks good. It sure sounds great for a V6 with a stock exhaust, that's for damn sure. Freshly washed as well so now I'm ready to rumble.

Now my BIL took home a brand new, totally loaded 2010 G37xS yesterday - white exterior with stone interior - friggin beautiful. My car looks every bit as good, imo. It's not as fast, as good on gas (so I hear) or as luxuriously appointed as his car but I paid $20k less than he did and my car looks brand new as well.

Yeah the G35 is not the newest flavor around but you cannot argue with it being a superb package which is a great compromise of many things people look for in a car.

Looks
Performance (decently quick for a 6)
Handling (yeah it's no Porsche or little track car with seats from hell)
Available AWD
Fun as heck to drive imo
Solid powertrain with few caveats
Very nice interior with great stock sound system
Safety, with several airbags standard

My other car is bigger, faster, holds way more cargo, rides more comfortably on the highway but I love having a smaller car now and it's my work-beater so I'm not complaining whatsoever about this car.
Nothing is perfect but for the price and everything else you get, it's damn hard to beat.

 

TehG35: What are you studying that you'll be able to afford those cars a few years out of college O_o

I ask because I'm your age and in school but I don't expect to be making any money haha. Probably because I'm gonna be in Hollywood getting coffee/mail for someone else.

But I have to agree with TehG35. My g was basically the best that I personally could do. My parents wanted to get me a used Camry, but I said, "just tell me how much you would have spent on the Camry, and I'll find a car for less." Not a bad car for 13 g's right? I had no qualms about modding the car because I know by the time I get a new car, the depreciation on mine will make it pretty much worthless.

It's a great first car for me. I love that it's very "me". Everything I do to the car (whether ugly or horribly installed) adds personality to the car. I feel like this is one of the better cars to do it to, with such a strong G community and DIY information everywhere that tricks me into thinking I know more about cars than I actually do.

I don't see this as an end-all car by any means. Nope. My end-all vehicle is a jet pack. Or maybe a Mercedes SLR McLaren, you know something that can go upside down (not really). But damn, it's an all-around package that will keep you occupied until you can step up.

 

slam it on some sick rims with sick offsets. No camry or Accord looks this good =X

 

seems to me some of you have expectations that cannot be met in a non 6MT G! my G is my 2nd car. When i bought it back in Feb. i wanted to buy a car that i could actually afford, more than avg pwr, looks good, and drove better than my previous car. my G has been able to provide me with all that. seeing as i just recently got a job promotion i can actually afford something more expensive but at age 23 i am more concern with paying off all my debts than buying an M or AMG.

My 6MT on sport suspension is plenty fast to me at this point. I'm not a track guy nor do i like the look or ride of a lowered G. to each its own but definitely do what makes you happy. life is too short.

 

I found that part a bit optimistic as well, but who knows maybe he is in professional school and his parents are picking up the tab? Or inheriting a family business? Or has the in at a major company due to connections? Honestly I don't see a situation where somebody could graduate with a bachelors or even a phd and be buying $100k+ cars a couple years out, without some kind of outside help. But everybody has their own situation, I'm certainly happy for the guy if he's in a good enough situation to be able to do that!

Myself, I'll be 28 when I graduate dental school. I'll be making good money right out of school but will also be buried in loans. I was considering an M3 out of school but realistically speaking I will be driving something around BMW 335i or Audi S4 level. FML.

 

Haha, I'm a mechanical engineering major. I will be pursuing my MBA as well after I get my BS. I already work as a co-op for a large company.. And feel like I have my life in a good direction. I'm not getting ahead of myself and dropping big cash on something new now though... No point. Plus nothing in life is guaranteed, so I don't wanna be presumptuous. I definitely didn't mean to sound like a pompous ***** and act like i'd drop $100k on a car lol. I will forever buy used. Even if it's 10k miles on the sucker it's typically at least 60% the price of new. Besides, I'm partial to the E39 M5

 

cool dschool student. i was planning on going the dschool route but i didn't get in twice so its in the backburner for now. i was going to try a third time early this summer but my plan B, IT, is looking very promising right now. just got promoted to MIS Director. Goodluck with your studies man, I envy you!

 

Everything you said here makes 100% sense, even down to the E39. Good for you - you seem like a guy heading in the right direction.

 

Haha good for you man. I was an electrical engineer in undergrad for a year, but then I realized I couldn't do math worth a **** and switched to neurobiology instead. Mechanical engineering is a very good field to be in though, if I had some inclination towards math it's probably where I eventually would have ended up.

And ditto on the used car. Lightly used definitely stretches your dollar way farther than buying new and losing like $10k the moment you drive off the lot. I'll let somebody else take that hit!

 

Haha sounds like this thread is chock full o' people just like me! This is exactly what I love about the G community. It really is full of a bunch of intelligent individuals. Hence the really helpful and insightful DIYs and the endless mods people have created themselves and started to mass produce.

 

lol. I'm a smartie who went to magnet schools for math and science. and then i go to USC for cinema/business. haha i'm a fail.

 

I am in a marketing/management major. Business degree=business car. Gotta haul the clients