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I saw my first Kia EV6 in the wild last night. Realized it was behind me in a parking lot. Watched as a mother & daughter got in, pulled out and drove away.
The front of this car is drop dead gorgeous. The side profile is unique. And the rear perspective is just freaking weird. I'm lot liking that rear.
It looked wider and longer than a typical crossover (EV or otherwise), but also shorter. Kind of like some futuristic station wagon.
I test drove the GT trim last week and was very impressed. Build quality is high, handling is tight, acceleration is instantaneous and brutal. $60k is a lot of coin for a hot hatch (it no longer is eligible for the tax credit), but it's on my short list. That said, I'm in no hurry to sell my G37xS sedan which still looks, sounds, and drives great!
Someone talk some sense into me. Help? Do I just need to stop looking at M3's and resist the urge
Here's an idea: make a long plan to get a Bimmer in Summer 2024. In the meantime, upgrade to some short rear gears in the G, and budget some money month over month for next car. A 4.08 rear gear ratio will give you at least a year of giggles.
That's a good suggestion, thanks!! Maybe it's also the early beginnings of mid-life crisis? I just turned 37, too soon for that?
Yes. It's way too soon for that. I didn't start thinking about myself as getting old until after 50.
And you know, with respect to aging, an expensive hard-to-maintain luxury German sport sedan will make you feel old when you're stuck in traffic. Whereas short rear gears in your reliably awesome G37 will make you feel like a kid again.
Also get a STS for that car. Seriously. You'll kick yourself for not doing that on day one.
Not that a M car wouldn't be fun! Let's not downplay how awesome it would be, while still acknowledging the baggage.
Ooof! That's grotesque! (The new M2 that is). It looks like it was beat badly with a FUGLY stick. It looks like they are glomming corner warts on this thing.
And now for something much easier on the eyes. We got very lucky and got the first yellow Z in Wisconsin and it looks like the first in the Midwest. I sold it almost 2 years ago so it was not here long. The color and the car look awesome in person! Such a huge upgrade over the 370Z. I hope we get more soon. I have a lot of these pre-sold. Probably because we don't sell over msrp.
Man 4DRZ. With the exception of a second set of doors needed so I can collect a car allowance from my employer, that car checks all of the boxes for me. I doubt that I will ever get tired of looking at it....I believe that the Z gets the upgraded Garrett turbos (as opposed to the Honeywell version on the Q) as well correct? One of the service advisers I've worked with for years told me this recently, but I've never fact checked him. Good seeing the manual trans as well. Have you driven it?
Those wheels compliment the somewhat nostalgic look of this car.
The bronze "Proto-Spec" wheels are also a option:
Figure I haven't found a wheel setup I like, that fits, yet, may as well wait and see these in person...
Last edited by ILM-NC G37S; May 23, 2023 at 11:56 AM.
@socketz67 From what I understand so far, the Garrett turbos are also being used in the 2023 Q50's. From what I understand, the Z version has a slightly smaller CHRA than the Q version. Racebox's dyno sessions on the new Z seem to lend credence to this. I have also heard that literally, the only difference between the Honeywell and Garrett turbos is that the Garrett version has "Garrett" stamped into the casting as opposed to Honeywell. Honeywell spun Garrett off as Garrett Motion in October 2017 timeframe.
Watching the video now. I believe the Z gets a mechanical LSD with clutches as well, so this puts it at a huge advantage over the Q which is Open Diff and difficult to control.
367 WHP stock? 15% loss then puts the crank HP over the advertised 400 correct? They seem disappointed that its only 367.
Last edited by socketz67; May 23, 2023 at 10:08 AM.
Pretty sure they will be using Garrett on both. Wouldn't make sense to source from Honeywell also. But yeah, so far all the Garrett version has is their name stamped on it. Would be nice if they revised the turbo seals as well, but there's not enough information out yet on it. Would be nice if some of the techs would join these forums, posting photos of parts, etc., but not yet. There was a guy that is an Infiniti Master Technician and he did a complete write-up for the infinitiq50.org forum on how to drop the engine from the Q50/Q60 to replace the turbos. That was a cool thread with a lot of photos.
Yes, they did seem disappointed in the Z's dyno numbers as most Redsport Q50's will dyno 375hp to as much as 380hp at the wheels, assuming they're RWD. The Q's that dyno at those numbers are underrated for sure. When I had my G37 dyno'd it came in at 270hp to the wheels (without tune), and 309hp to the wheels after it was tuned. I calculated my G37 had roughly a 21% drivetrain loss of power since it was rated at 328hp at the crank.
The true crank horsepower of a Redsport trim VR30 is between 430-440hp.
Pretty sure they will be using Garrett on both. Wouldn't make sense to source from Honeywell also. But yeah, so far all the Garrett version has is their name stamped on it. Would be nice if they revised the turbo seals as well, but there's not enough information out yet on it. Would be nice if some of the techs would join these forums, posting photos of parts, etc., but not yet. There was a guy that is an Infiniti Master Technician and he did a complete write-up for the infinitiq50.org forum on how to drop the engine from the Q50/Q60 to replace the turbos. That was a cool thread with a lot of photos.
Yes, they did seem disappointed in the Z's dyno numbers as most Redsport Q50's will dyno 375hp to as much as 380hp at the wheels, assuming they're RWD. The Q's that dyno at those numbers are underrated for sure. When I had my G37 dyno'd it came in at 270hp to the wheels (without tune), and 309hp to the wheels after it was tuned. I calculated my G37 had roughly a 21% drivetrain loss of power since it was rated at 328hp at the crank.
The true crank horsepower of a Redsport trim VR30 is between 430-440hp.
Garrett was a division of Honeywell, so I suspect that once they were spun off, the Garrett branding was added to the same turbo. Many people online state that the turbos after 2018 are more reliable (not sure where the data comes from), and that seems to coincide with Honeywell spinning the division off, so its possible that they did a rev change that then led to some additional reliability focused changes to the same turbo that went into the Z a few years later. Agree that it would be nice to hear this first hand from an Infiniti/Nissan tech.
Is 21% drivetrain loss standard? I thought the ROT for RWD was closer to 15% (AWD a little better)? There's alot of science involved in the actual calculation, which is likely why manufactures rate HP at the crank.
The VR30 is a beast (younger cousin of the VR38), which is why the Q50 Redsport remains near the top of my list as a worthy replacement for my existing G37S. I'm fine with the infotainment system that everyone bashes as I think its nice to have a separate screen for navigation. What really gets me is that the brakes (same as our G?) are inferior to the previous gen as shown in testing, open-diff (Lexus does this on the IS as well) and the ECU generated steering seems to be a love/hate for most with no where near the steering feel in the prior Gen. I still see the Q targeting a "grand touring" crowd, which is likely why some of these tradeoffs make sense.
The 2023 Z was recently reviewed on Talking Cars (Consumer Reports Podcast) and everyone except 1 loved the motor in the car. The one that did not was trying to drive it in Vermont during a cold rainy week and she felt that the car was difficult to control through the notchy manual trans. I think she also had problems reaching the clutch/gas due to their position deep behind the steering wheel. Its an interesting listen.
Last edited by socketz67; May 24, 2023 at 10:10 AM.
...The VR30 is a beast (younger cousin of the VR38), which is why the Q50 Redsport remains near the top of my list as a worthy replacement for my existing G37S.
Just make yourself aware of the issues that the VR30 has: shredding belts, leaking injectors, turbos, porous blocks, (very glitchy infotainment), etc. Whether the newer revisions have been addressed/ applied to the newer Q's or Z's who knows, but there are plenty of 2020/2021 Q owners that are still having constant issues with the dealers throwing parts at them like there is no tomorrow.
Last edited by ILM-NC G37S; May 24, 2023 at 10:43 AM.
Just make yourself aware of the issues that the VR30 has: shredding belts, leaking injectors, turbos, porous blocks, (very glitchy infotainment), etc. Whether the newer revisions have been addressed/ applied to the newer Q's or Z's who knows, but there are plenty of 2020/2021 Q owners that are still having constant issues with the dealers throwing parts at them like there is no tomorrow.
Thanks for the heads up as I've read about all of these and reliability is one of the reasons why I oscillate back and forth between a Red Sport vs. NA IS 500 vs. M340i.
I keep cars for 7-10 years, so long term reliability is huge.
