Decision: Coupe or convert?
06-11-2018, 06:17 PM
#19
Administrator
iTrader: (8)
With the hard-top up, I think the Vert looks better than the Coupe. But with the top down, the Vert looks kind of meh.
The Vert is very heavy. The kind of heavy you know is there as you maneuver the car at any speed. The only saving grace is the 3.9 final drive on the 6MT Vert. I can only imagine the AT Vert would be horrible. And the non-sport AT Vert even worse.
The Vert is very heavy. The kind of heavy you know is there as you maneuver the car at any speed. The only saving grace is the 3.9 final drive on the 6MT Vert. I can only imagine the AT Vert would be horrible. And the non-sport AT Vert even worse.
07-20-2018, 11:42 AM
#22
Registered Member
Exactly why I bought both versions. I used to own the 350Z in my bio as well. Most vert owners that truly love them understand that rattles, leaks, and other nuances are to be expected for the sheer joy one gets when that top is down, the cool breeze is just right, and you are doing your parade wave at those you Lord over in your mind. I even do the Pop wave sometimes. Well worth a rattle, a leak. Usually when it rains I take the Coupe out instead.
07-20-2018, 12:47 PM
#23
That's one way to overcome that
I finally took a vert for a test drive the other day, and that was the only real complaint I could think of. Granted it was a sport, and I was coming from a Journey..so.. yeah.
I finally took a vert for a test drive the other day, and that was the only real complaint I could think of. Granted it was a sport, and I was coming from a Journey..so.. yeah.
08-09-2018, 08:33 AM
#24
Registered Member
I see the OP went with a coupe, and honestly, you can't go wrong with either. I chose a '13 G37S Vert 6MT over a '14 Q60S Coupe 6MT, both with ~35K miles. As the vert has more headroom, trunk space, better audio and visibility, it was the more pragmatic pick for me. At the time, I could take or leave the top. After 18 months, however, I wouldn't trade the open-air experience and total package value for anything short of a C7.
As mentioned before, certain suspension and exhaust bits can be iffy with fitment, but just about all the other mods are interchangeable. The (minimal) rattle and body flex are inherent to most convertibles, but the FM platform absorbs most the the chop-top shortfalls well. The trade-off is weight, which the vert has a good bit of, but the 3.9 rear and 6-speed do a great job offsetting the straight-line difference. All the weight is behind the front wheels, and actually improves the weight distribution (and mitigates understeer at the limit) ever so slightly over the coupe. After a driver mod, a few bolt-ons, and a tune, the vert is easily as quick as any other NA G or Z. With my 4.36 rear end, I've run on 5.0s, R/Ts, and many a 5th gen Camaro SS. In autocross, I took a C6 Corvette by well over a second.
Both platforms are great for the price, but the Vert (especially with the Sport package) is much less compromised than some would make it out to be. Sport pack for sport pack, performance is a wash, and I've had absolutely no issues with the top. Being that there's better visibility, headroom, and amenities in the vert, I think it actually makes for a slightly better daily than the coupe.
The coupe isn't appreciably better than vert, the vert isn't appreciably worse than the coupe. I think it simply comes down to personal preference, but that's just my $0.02.
As mentioned before, certain suspension and exhaust bits can be iffy with fitment, but just about all the other mods are interchangeable. The (minimal) rattle and body flex are inherent to most convertibles, but the FM platform absorbs most the the chop-top shortfalls well. The trade-off is weight, which the vert has a good bit of, but the 3.9 rear and 6-speed do a great job offsetting the straight-line difference. All the weight is behind the front wheels, and actually improves the weight distribution (and mitigates understeer at the limit) ever so slightly over the coupe. After a driver mod, a few bolt-ons, and a tune, the vert is easily as quick as any other NA G or Z. With my 4.36 rear end, I've run on 5.0s, R/Ts, and many a 5th gen Camaro SS. In autocross, I took a C6 Corvette by well over a second.
Both platforms are great for the price, but the Vert (especially with the Sport package) is much less compromised than some would make it out to be. Sport pack for sport pack, performance is a wash, and I've had absolutely no issues with the top. Being that there's better visibility, headroom, and amenities in the vert, I think it actually makes for a slightly better daily than the coupe.
The coupe isn't appreciably better than vert, the vert isn't appreciably worse than the coupe. I think it simply comes down to personal preference, but that's just my $0.02.
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ionharry37 (04-26-2020)
08-27-2018, 07:58 AM
#29
Registered Member
I do like the look of the coupe. While I like some vert-specific design elements more, I think the coupe, as a whole, is slightly better looking. At the time, if there were any in my area with sunroof deletes, I'd probably have picked one up. Never been a fan of the IPL bumper though. I think the sport bumper is the sharpest looking of the bunch. Awesome headlights, btw.
