Get $3-5k and call Pedders.

 

Well you would have to start with a faster steering rack for one.

Then upgrade the suspension with better springs, struts, swaybars bushings, better tires and a good brake kit with SS lines.

They do weigh less then us by a few hundred pounds which help a lot.

BTW I have a Mini Cooper S with Koni Sports and bushing so I know what you mean.

 

I've heard that the Cooper S will spoil you for just about anything. One fellow I know called it the best handling off-the-shelf car he ever drove, and he's driven some pretty good stuff.

 

Wow... that's scurry.

 

Meh, I never liked all the understeer built into the 350z.

 

I have never had an issue with understeer in the car. If you know how to grab it by the scruff of the neck. its not an issue. Of course with the much bigger tires of the track I might not be experiencing the understeer that the other stock wheels incur.

The z does have some fatalities to handling. If you ever truly push it you get brake pad knock off. If i am truly pushing hard, I always give a false pump before flooring the brakes. Just to settle the pads. (I have the track with brembo brakes and some other goodies)

I got this car because at the time I was living in Rural Ohio with tons of twisty fun roads to go blast on.

Now? I wish I had your goat for comfort and drivability. Texas is not the place for something that handles. (I have like three curvy turns on my 20 mile trip to school.) Or has the correspondingly stiff suspension that hurts your ass over ever single concrete expansion joint that the transpo engineers are in love with around here.

i get 20 mpg mixed driving in texas. I got 6 mpg during the winter in ohio. Partially due to really enjoying the lack of traction and rwd. (I know how to driftrrrrrrrr now.) Best ever was 29.9 driving through virginia where i spent 5 hours coasting up hill and only speeding up going down hill.

 

Nissan's do tend to handle well.

For a budget, just start with some springs. You'll be surprised how badly the GTO is under sprung. Sways are a nice touch as well. As are new dampeners, ect, ect...

But get some springs, they are cheap and easy. Good tires can go a long way too.

 

1st thing run him side by side in the corners then decide. You'll be surprised how well you hang with him. Doc was running better than vetts in his on road courses. Doc does have the drivers mod as well

 

First off get off Doc's Dick lol......j/k heard on other post he is a good driver...BUT STILL! Lol

Second my buddy has a 350z with hooked up suspension!! And when we are out messin around i can keep up with him for a while but then he really leans into it hard and i have to start easing up a bit...we are both good hard drivers too...my suspension is all stock ..i could imagine that with very minor work i can be right on his ass....so it makes me wonder what would happen if he were stock suspension...

Go to the 350z boards and read the posts on "how to make my car as fast as a GTO"

5-6k to be as fast as a stock 6.0

^^^ GTO Ftmfw!!! all hail the mighty goat :hail: :turbonaug

HAHA i was dying when i saw these Lol

 

Get some springs and sway bars. The steering can be fixed with radius rod bushings and the steering rack bushings. I have the Pedders track 2 kit (3/8 drop front 5/16 drag rears) with hotchkis sways and now theres hardly any play at all in the steering wheel. The car turns as soon as I move the wheel.

 

Dude I am just as loaded up as you on my car.

- Poly Steering rack bushing
- Hotchkis sway bars maxed out
- Poly x member bushings
- Poly radius rod bushings set to 9 degrees of positive caster
- Poly sway bar link bushings
- Pedders coilovers up front
- Pedders zero drop springs
- Pedders CG struts

The wheel has zero play in it and the car has a very minimal amount of body roll, it also handles like its on rails honestly. The moment I move the wheel the car is moving the way which the wheel is directed in. I would like a little more grab in the rear, so sooner then later I will be reverting my setup to mustang coilovers in the rear. As far as a stock GTO is concerned though mine handles like a 4000lb ballerina and will easily take high speed hairpin turns at about 50+ without much of a problem til the tires start crying. I have crappy general exclaim tires though so I assume those are also at fault for less then desireable traction.

Hope this helps to the OP!

 

Those are the very same reasons I miss my Evo, but with half the monthly payment it should be easy to save up to make the GTO handle just as well if not better.

 

Ah another ex Evo owner!

 

Radius rod bushings, rear x member bushings, rear king springs and rear shocks at the least. Just a start if you're tight. The next step would be a fast ratio rack, which still does not feel anywhere as good as that z rack feels. When more funds kick in, do the front springs and struts, hotchkis sways should be next if you don't get race rate springs.

 

Track ll bushing kit, then Hotchis sways, then Xa coilovers.

 

Buy a 350z, problem solved.

 

Go to the 350z boards and read the posts on "how to make my car as fast as a GTO"

5-6k to be as fast as a stock 6.0

 

Funny shit......:gr_jest:

 

There are a lot of opporunities for very serious upgrades to get close to the 350z. But none of them would be considered budget oriented. If you could give us a budget, wheel, tire data, I can assist you.

thanks
mike
dms

 

can we get stiffer springs with the xa's?

 

On the other hand...how to make the 350Z pull like a GTO:

 

That would be the only way I would drive a Datsun. I'd rather be inferior in the suspension and upgrade than drive that stock pos car around. :barf:

 

I want to start by spending no more than $1k. I have stock 18's with General Exclaim UHP since its my daily driver and I have a 45 mile round trip per day commute. Figuring I'll start with springs and sways with maybe some bushings.

 

Since it's your daily driver, IMO I would look for a package like the Lovells Eliminator package struts/shocks/springs. I was surprised at how stiff my ride became with the bushings replaced in my 05. As I use my 06 as a daily driver, I am looking to keep a not too stiff of a ride, but a bit more performance for my suspension.

 

As softly sprung and a rolly as the GTO is, it seems to stick pretty well.
We had a EVO on our tail of the Dragon Run and he wasn't able to runaway from us.

 

I've had several Evo's and a Z06 and I can't say that I could put their handling to the test much down here in Florida. The back roads of Virginia were another story. I think the GTO is a perfect bomber for Florida's straight roads and entertaining on the exit ramps with the tail out.

 

Haha I'm from the back roads of Virginia and damn do I love it! Can't wait until next summer when I can save enough to put the Pedder's Track II w/ drop on. Damn I love college but the always broke part sucks...

 

I cannot imagine trying to change the spark plugs on that 350Z with the LS2 in it.

 

With a grand for parts, you can get some good improvements on gto (if you want to do the labor). Do some searching and figure out what you want for a stance on the GTO and start with rear springs, RR bushings and start looking from some sways in the for sale section.. then start saving for struts and springs

 

Exactly.

Hotchkis Sways (front and rear) and some RR Bushings and you are well on your way to your car feeling like it is on rails.

After that, pick out the shock/spring setup of your choice. Or, if you want to invest in a bit more money, a real coil over setup (KW's, for one).

I've seen GTO's make 350z's cry at the track (road course) with a setup like mine...

 

you can get a 3/4" drop or 1" drop from lovells with a camber kit if you to the 1" drop for less than $900. comes with front and rear springs, front and rear struts...and camber kit.

if you get the 3/4" drop you wont need the camber kit and you will only be spending around $825 or so.

that will give you a kick ass stance and handling, thats what i would do if i were you.

 

I have the 3/4" lovells eliminator kit + radius rod bushings and my car handles amazing! I love the stance as well, very happy with Lovells.

 

You guys realize the 350Z cost $5-6k more than a GTO brand new as well. It was sick to see some of the new 370Z cost upwards of 40k. I'll take the GTO with about $3k in suspension mods any day!

 

:iagree:

Can't understand why anyone would pay that much for a Nissan (exception being the GTR, if I was rich and could buy it with two extra transmissions just in case) j/k

 

I have the RR bushings already as they are part of the tire rub package. I think I'm going to go with the 3/8" drop in front with the 2589 rear springs. Shocks and struts not really sure which yet. I have a 600hp project car in the garage so its tough to buy for the GTO as it takes away from the other car.
There is lots of good info here and I can do all the install myself. So whatever I decide shouldn't be too hard. $2k right now is not where my focus is. Sooner or later I'll fulfill my original expectations of the GTO. 12.9 ET and well handling

 

All you need for the 12.9 ET is long tubes.

not even, just the driver mod

 

All you need for the 12.9 ET is long tubes.

 

You don't need any mods for 12.9 on an 05 A4.

As long as you can launch the car right, you can run 12.8s and 12.9s all day long stock. I ran a 12.7 on Nittos bone stock. Launch the car at something like 1800 RPMs.

 

OP, keep in mind that you are comparing a short wheelbase 2 seat car to a longish 4 seater. Kind of like driving a Corvette then getting in your GTO and being disappointed with it's handling.
And +1 on the tires. Go to bridgestone RE11s and you will be very impressed.
i've got the RE760s and they are a better tire than the KDW2s I had a much better than the original BFGs.

 

Newman, I own an '04 Z and my boyfriend owns a GTO with the Pedders suspension. Go Pedders! All I have on my car is stock suspension with Hotchkis adjustable sways. Granted, I love how my handling improved with just the sways but having driven my car on the Dragon in NC and having ridden in his car through some canyons in Cali, I'd take his car over mine in a heartbeat.

I'd also take the power, the interior quality, sound, reliability, transmission and sweet cushy seats of a GTO over my car in a heartbeat too but thats another thread entirely. Anyway go Pedders. If I'm ever lucky enough to move up to a GTO, G8 or Camaro, thats one of the first mods that I want to do.

 

I'd also take the power, the interior quality, sound, reliability, transmission and sweet cushy seats of a GTO over my car in a heartbeat too but thats another thread entirely. Anyway go Pedders. If I'm ever lucky enough to move up to a GTO, G8 or Camaro, thats one of the first mods that I want to do.

+1. I own a 00 celica. The ONLY thing lacking in my GTO was the handling and steering response. Although I would argue the GTO sticks to the road nicely despite the bodyroll creating the poor handling illusion. My car had a 1" Eibach drop when I purchased it. This did not eliminate the bodyroll. I recently had Pedders Sway bars installed by Formato Tuning.

Man! What a difference! Bodyroll seems to be reduced by somewhere around the 80% clip. I would not say it is on par with the celica yet. But, I will have to address the lazy steering and maybe some bushings here and there.

I have had plenty of upgrades done to the engine here lately. However, I would have to say the sway bars brought me the same amount of joy as added hp.