Hello all!

So, I have been thinking about trading my 2006 Subaru STI in for something a little bit more "grown up" for a while now. I've had the car for about 3 years now, and since buying it, my life has changed quite a bit. I'm now married and my wife & I were blessed with the birth of our son almost 17 months ago. Even though I know the G37x isn't really a "large/full size" vehicle, it is bigger than my STI, which at this point is getting a little cramped.

I've been into modifying cars for years, but these days I find myself wanting to move on to a new hobby, or at least, I'm getting tired of modifying my daily driver, and instead would like to pick up a car that's easier to live with daily and maybe pick up an older Miata or something that I could tinker with on the side.

In the past, I've owned a 2nd Gen DSM, '91 Toyota MR2 Turbo, 2004 WRX, 2003 Nissan 350Z, 2006 Mazdaspeed 6 and of course my current 2006 STI. Currently, my STI is fairly modded, well basic bolt-ons, TBE, intake, TMIC, 811cc injectors, Walbro fp, OpenECU tuned on E85, Eibach coilovers, top hats, sway bars, endlinks, ALK, rotors/pads/lines/fluid, extra wheels & tires for summer & winter seasons. The last time on the local dyno here, the STI put down 324whp & 426wtq. It has been a fun ride, but the car is pretty harsh, fairly loud, not a lot of amenities, cramped, and frankly I get a little bit tired of the boy-racer stigma that comes along with having a car with a foot high wing on it.

I think I might end up missing a few things with the STI, namely the insane mid-range torque I'm making on E85, as my car put down 426wtq, which, for comparison on the same dyno, my buddy Dave's Charger SRT-8 with it's 6.1L HEMI, rated at 420 ft-lbs, only put down 347wtq on the same dyno. I'll also miss the manual transmission, even if it does get old in stop-and-go traffic sometimes, and most of all, I will miss the corner exit speeds this thing is able to pull, as it has insane levels of grip for a souped-up econo-box!

I've driven a G35X & G37X lately though, and while not as raw/fun to drive at 10/10ths, it was FAR more refined, quieter, nicer sound system, more comfortable, better looking IMO (subjective, I know), and when putting the tranny in DS, I was surprised, as it really wasn't that bad for an auto. I also sorely missed the low-end pull from a larger displacement motor, rather than the "ball-less until you hit boost" feeling of a turbo-4.

I've had much contemplation on this, as since my son has been born, I have not had the time/desire to actually take the STI to the track. I've also noticed that I've become a much slower/safer driver on the street, most of the time never going over 3500rpm on my daily commute. The car makes good power, and has insane levels of grip, but honestly, these days, it's getting rare for me to actually use the car's abilities. Over the course of the last year and a half, I've really noticed, I'm just starting to outgrow the car.

At this point, I've been looking at used 2009 G37X's with low miles, as it looks like there is a significant difference in price between buying a new 2010 and a low mileage 2009. I'm currently speaking with a few dealership internet salemen, trying to find the best car that works for me. I'm not too picky with options, but would like at least premium sound system (Bose IIRC), and a moon/sunroof. Not too picky on color options, although with this car, surprisingly, I'm kind of partial to the red color they come in.

Anyway, just figured I would stop by and introduce myself!

Just curious, what did most of you drive before your G37?

Either way, hope to join you soon Have a good one!

 

i just bought mine last week. Before that, i had a 2005 Acura TL 6 spd. Before that i had a 2004 Acura TSX 6 spd. And before that a 1991 240SX 5 spd.

I was always into manuals and that's one compromise i will not make. Im sure its different when you have a kid but a manual is a must because it allows you to have a little more fun with the car while still allowing you to be in a more refined car. Matter of fact, the infiniti is must more luxurious than my previous TL while offerring significantly more power and torque. To me it was the best of both worlds.

I encourage you to pick one up. You won't regret it.

 

My situation Sounds almost identical to yours I had a 500 wheel HP evo and wanted a nicer more grown up car. Got my 09 37x last week could not be happier

 

Yeah, I really wish they made the G37X in a manual, but unfortunately, the 7AT is the only transmission option. Actually because of the lack of a manual option, I've also been looking into a BMW 335xi, but can't seem to justify the significantly higher price of entry over the G37X. I had to drive a G37X w/7AT to see if I could live with it, and honestly, while I will miss driving a manual, the 7AT in DS mode really didn't seem too bad.

I considered picking up a RWD manual, but after spending a Colorado winter driving a 350Z one time, I decided against it. It can be done, but at this point I'm spoiled from my last 2 cars being AWD, extremely helpful in the winter up here!

Although when I eventually buy a "project car" as a third vehicle, it will most definitely be a manual.

 

I see you're also in Colorado, nice! How is adjusting to the significant power loss from your EVO to your G37x going?

If you don't mind me asking, did you get your G37x used or was it a leftover from last year new car?

 

I had a 06 STI

I can probably give you an accurate comparison if there's anything specific you want compared.

Since you're looking for luxury and refinement, the 7AT is very well suited. The fact that the 7AT is faster than the 6MT is just icing on the cake. As nice as having additional power is, you probably know how little that extra power is worth on a road course. This car has more than enough grip.

One thing to keep in mind, is that this car does not have any LSDs; it is AWD, but the front/rear diffs are open. It relies on the brakes to stop wheelspin (if there is any at all). Additionally, the G37x does have the advantage in being able to deliver 100% of the power to the rear wheels ONLY, to help save gas, and retain the driving character of a RWD vehicle.

 

im adjusting really well the silent ride nice stereo seats stereo all of it is just amazing. and honestly its not slow at all lol. The DS actually shocks me still I got a left over new one 30 miles on it from work.

I work at Mike ward infiniti in littleton so I drove everything and looked at them all and i could not be happier.

 

I'm really interested to see how the ATESSA-ETS AWD works in the snow compared to the Subaru. Technically the last "motor sport" I've taken part in was ice racing up at Georgetown Lake with a couple of buddies of mine that were driving Jeeps (TJ Rubicon & a JK). Which, I've become a fan of, as it seemed to be very easy on the car, as I was pretty much in 1st gear the entire time on every configuration they setup, I never really went full throttle (useless on a frozen/ice lake haha), and since the wheels would spin, it seemed pretty easy on the drivetrain.

Either way, when ice racing, horsepower was not a factor at all, traction is the name of the game, and with a fairly stiff suspension, I think my traction was fairly limited, as the car wanted to slide rather than grip. Surprisingly, the biggest problem I had was understeer around pivot cones they had setup. It was actually pretty close running against my buddies in their Wranglers haha. One of which was switching back to 2WD quickly around the pivot cones in order to help get the rear end out, as unless you were working the e-brake, the vehicles would just push to oblivion.

Either way, it was a lot of fun! Something I definitely look forward to doing again next year, hopefully in a G37x. Since the G37x's AWD is RWD bias, I'm actually thinking it should be a little faster than the Subaru, as the courses they setup seemed to favor cars that could get the rear end out easily. I suppose we'll see next year.

 

Nice! It's good to hear that even coming from a 500whp EVO that you still don't think the G37 is slow! That's a comforting thought.

If you don't mind me asking, are they giving out any good deals on the left over 2009's?

 

Unfortunately, they use the name ATESSA-ETS, but it is not the same system employed on the GT-R (current and past). The G's system is more based around utility rather than performance (hence, the lack of any mechanical LSD). I've never driven it on ice before, but I can say that the system DOES work. One of the demonstrations I used to do when I was selling Infiniti was to put the two right wheels on dirt, while keeping the left two on pavement. You can just mash the throttle, and you won't even see a hint of traction loss, and the car goes where the steering wheel points. However, the VSA will be correcting the entire time; the light will be flashing until you get to a speed high enough where the power won't overpower the wheels. A similar demostration can be done with a 6MT 2wd; with the VSA on, you won't see any tirespin at all, and the car will still go straight (albiet, while accelerating at a lower speed in 1st gear, due to reduced output to prevent traction loss). You can even shift hard into 2nd, and the left tire will chirp, but the car will still go straight.

This is completely different from the STI, which has a purely mechanical AWD, minus the DCCD. Do you leave it on auto, or do you switch it from 50:50 to 35:65?


Also, keep in mind, the STI came with much MUCH sticker tires from the factory. (RE070 vs RE050A)

I've had the opportunity to take part in low-traction driving simulation in Infinitis, and I can tell you, the VSA in the 2nd gen G is amazing.

 

While ice racing, I've tried Auto, Lock and 1 & 2 clicks down from lock on the ice, and honestly, the car was fastest around the pivot cones in the auto setting while using the e-brake to help get the rear end out. In lock, the car wanted to understeer a bit more than it did in Auto. Lock seems to help a little bit with straight line stability or getting through deep snow (well over the bumper), but anytime I'm turning, regardless of if it's dry or snowy, Auto setting seems to resist understeer to the greatest extent.

The courses at Georgetown Lake were basically short/tight autoX courses, where you and another person start of opposite sides of the course so there's no chance of hitting another person (actually there's really nothing to hit at all except the cones that were stuck into the ice). If the courses were longer, and high speed stability become an issue, I could definitely see the Lock setting being more beneficial, but since the courses were tight, I seemed to pull better laps using the Auto setting.

Even though it was probably assumed, I obviously wasn't running the stock RE070's on the ice haha, I was running Blizzak LM60's.

 

RE070's on ice? They'd be bricks. I tried to go up a (so-cal) mountain once on those, and turned home before I even saw snow to get the corolla.

I have zero experience with high performance driving on ice... I'm more of a track/canyon guy. Even my AutoX experience is super limited.

 

Yeah to say the RE070's are useless in the snow/ice is an understatement haha. Those buggers turn into hockey pucks once it gets below 45 degrees or so haha, that combined with huge tread blocks, and no siping to speak of ect, those things are a nightmare to drive with if you happen to get caught in an early snow storm (happened to me once a couple years ago in early October, hadn't put the snow tires on the car yet, they were just sitting in my garage).

Honestly, I've been autox-ing quite a few times back in the day (mostly in previously owned cars), I've had a couple track days here and there, and honestly playing around on the ice is the most fun I've had in a car. No worries about overheating your oil or coolant, the motor sees VERY little load, no drivetrain reverberation since the wheels just spin, no risk of an accident, not hard of the brakes, just good fun out on the ice sliding around trying to get around a few cones faster than the other guy.

I'm speaking about the bare rubber class though, as technically the studded/cheater classes are a good bit faster, and likely harder on your vehicle.

The only real negative is that the bare rubber classes aren't a lot of fun to watch, as everyone is going fairly slow haha... but from inside the car, since you're constantly busy, it's a hoot! Feels like you're going a lot faster than you actually are.

 

yeah they are giving out really good deals apparently you can get the deal i got as just a normal customer.. i can talk to some people if you are interested

 

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of discounts are we talking?

I appreciate the offer to talk to someone for me, I'm ok though. I'm talking to a few people right now, just trying to get an idea.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you don't want to mention on a forum. I really appreciate it!