OMG. I used to be an active member here and had some great conversations and got some great insights from other guys who really liked cars. The G was a great car in it's day. Remember though, the FN body was designed in the last century and was first seen in production in 2001. The G was one of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen. For performance, it was really never a competitor. The suspension was way too soft. The engine was under powered to really compete with the class leaders-the BMW 3 series is usually the bench mark. Once you gave it some forced induction, and then added water-injection, it really hauled. I got a lot of useful insight from members here. There was no problem with power, and the water injection gave a margin of safety with non-forged parts. The suspension and flexible body really showed then. A Hyundai Veloster Turbo really handles better above 80mph, as long as the road is smooth. At high speed, the G just pitches and rolls too much to feel secure. I had the shock tower braces and giant sway bars, but it still didn't cut it. It couldn't run with an M4 around a track. This was a 2010 G37x. I wanted a car with forged internals that I could tweak, and had more modern features. The G's most modern feature is Bluetooth. It lacks active suspension, driving mode selection (sport track, etc, that change the active damping, transmission, and engine management), auto head-lights that will go to high beam when nobody is coming the opposite way, bending headlights for corners, Apple car-play, blind spot warning, collision warning, rear cross-traffic warning, seats with good lateral support, and a lot of other things. The Q50 fixes some of these, but the suspension is still inadequate and the motor isn't enough. So I've done the whole G thing, and taken it as far as I thought I could before it became a money pit.

So I looked for another car that I could tweak. The ATS-V is American. I like it's looks. The alpha platform is very good, and is used on the CTS-V and the Camaro ZL-1. The lateral g-force is over 1g, so you can take cloverleaf entrace ramps at over 3x the legal limit. It is a totally different feeling.

I've never raced cars, but I've raced bicycles in college, where the contact patch is the size of a quarter, and I raced amateur flat-track motorcycles. I feel OK driving a car. I race a little on the street with my car, and on the country roads in Nebraska and Montana I move at a really good clip. Maybe 90% driving at the best. After my accident where my bike was hit by a street racer on the interstate I'm a little more aware of my mortality. I have 3 kids I need to get through college. I don't really have the desire or time to track it, but I got to drive the exotics (Ferrari, etc) when they came to the Council Bluffs airport. I drive kinda crazy on the streets but try to keep it in check.

So I'm pretty happy with my current car. I'll probably keep it at least 3 more years until I get another. With tuning and methanol (like my G) but with forged and titanium internal, I should get more out of it. My sis will be happy as heck when she inherits this.

The G community was pretty cool when I had a G. I happened upon this thread and thought I'd offer an opinion having had a G for years and been through the whole performance chasing thing. Apparently if you don't drive a G and worship it you are no longer one of the cool kids, but I have to tell you that there are much better sports sedans out there. A Fusion Sport would probably be the cheapest that betters the G in about every measure, and is up to date.

Peace out guys. It was a wonderful car when it was new--not a class leader, but certainly one of the most beautiful cars ever made.

 

So a supercharged G37x with "shock tower braces and giant sway bars" didn't handle as well as a M4.



I'm shocked.

 

Moving on...

I read today that BMW is planning a CS version of the M3 with 460-ish hp (probably to stay ahead of the M2 CS that is supposed to get the M3 motor.) Then I saw that BMW is also planning to release a new 3 series next year and a new M3 a couple years later. Seems like a rather short life cycle for an M3, but maybe not if the next one really does not come out for a few years after the new 3 series.

Then again, this could help drop values on used (current body-style) M3's when the next gen drops in a few years. Perfect timing for those of us not in the market for a few more years.

 

Dude that CTS-V let off at 0:23 in your video and he clearly pulled hard the second before that. The only reason you think your car kept up is because you stayed on the throttle and eventually caught up when he let off seconds before..

You're getting a little too excited from that small little sprint. If you were side by side with him and did a rolling run again you will clearly see how fast and hard he will pull on you.

 

Guys no doubt the ATS-V is a beast and the CTS-V maybe even more so. But let's get this back on topic about suitable replacements for the G37S sedan when it comes time. Please take your street racing and bench racing stories elsewhere.

 

4DRZ, what are the on-topic parameters here? Priorities, doors, cost...

I'm guessing $40k on a used, performance oriented daily driver, is that right? Anything else?

 

I'm in the under 30k crowd. Trying to figure out what I should get next. Used sport sedan with 300+ HP, good handling and all the electronics. No more than 3 years old...

 

Same here. There's really not much tbh.

- WRX / STI
- Focus RS (I dont think used ones are under 30 yet though)
- Golf R
- Maybe a used S3?
- Used Q50 3.0t with a tune?

 

^I read a lot of issues are creeping up with the RS models; more specifically, the engines. If you were interested in one, I'd hold off until there's more evidence of what's going on with them.

The Polestar catch anyone's eye? Seems like a rocket but the transmission is the Achilles heel from what I've read.

 

Any vehicle is fair game.

Polestar Volvos seem very interesting to me. Curious to see what their 1st production car away from Volvo turns out to be. I even liked the back end styling of the C30 when it came out vs. Mini Cooper S or VW GTI.

 

I read that Volvo is using them for a performance EC in the near future. Seen the new S90? 400hp & 475tq...very impressive but that price...WOW.

I'll be with the G for a few more years but everything from 2015-2017 that is in the $40-50k range should decrease in price by the time 2020 rolls around; or I'm ready to start to seriously looking. Really like the arms race between the American based companies right now. Pumping out a lot of good products. Even the Focus ST is a really awesome little car. Germans are always going to have prospects but I'm holding out hope Mazda comes out with some type of performance oriented vehicle. They always seemed to be able to dance on the line of style, comfort, affordability and performance.

Toyota's new prospect seems interesting but they have a gated automatic that mimics manual shifting....kinda lame in my opinion but I can see it being a hit with the general public.

 

Come on, man. Without parameters to your next-car goals, then you're just dreaming.

Age, budget, seats, doors, automotive priorities like creature comforts, technology, performance, etc.

 

• Max budget $40k
• 6mt
• 4 doors
• RWD or AWD
• If used, less than 30,000 miles

I keep coming back to a Golf R, but I'm not super excited about that, seems like a lateral move for the most part.

Maybe a ATS-V, but I think they're going to be more than I want to spend.

Alternatively, I could keep the G and look for a third car in the $20k range, something like a Boss 302 maybe

 

Yeah, i read about the RS problems. It's a shame, besides that they seem like great cars. But even ones that are totally stock are blowing up for seemingly no reason.

Golf Rs are pretty cheap too, and I think they can make pretty good power with a tune.

I was looking last night, S3s are actually kind of cheap. My only problem with that car though is its almost too small.

 

Say goodbye to your warranty unless you go piggyback, and even then, the stock clutch probably needs upgraded.

Agree though, both the R and S3 are a little smaller than I'd like.