Considering 13 G37S, pros and cons of coupe v sedan
 

Hey everybody. My RX8 finally sharded out the transmission and I'm considering a grown-up car next, in line with my job and family requirements. Ha.

So I've been researching. To be honest, I've always wanted a Skyline since I lived in Japan. This is as close as I can get here, that I can have fixed, and won't break every minute I look at it (I'm looking at you, R32 GT-Rs).

I had the best of both worlds with the RX8 - coupe size and handling and four doors to get my kiddo in and out of the back. The kiddo is 5 and is able to buckle herself in, so I don't necessarily need 4 doors anymore. In fact one of the options I'm looking at is a Toybaru, which have (vestigial) back seats.

However, I do transport adults from time to time, and therefore I've been looking at the sedan. I'm looking at 2013 cars as the best choice between the old-style G (which I like the looks of better) and the newer Infinitis.

So... G37S coupe or sedan? What are the major differences? I'm looking specifically at the Sport 6MT versions; I'm not interested in an Auto. Was there an IPL Sedan? Nismo versions? Anything else I should look at/for?

Competitors at this point are a similar age BMW 335, Toybaru, STI. I also looked at the 300hp awd Chrysler 200 (poor reliability) and similar performance Ford Fusion ($40k for a Ford! F no...).

I guess my biggest fear is that the sedan will handle like my couch. Mazda spoiled me with a succession of RX7s and the RX8 in terms of handling.

"I do transport adults from time to time" = Sedan. I, as an adult, would not want to be relegated to ANY of the cars you mentioned in coupe form. Nor would I want the issue of trying to fit them in my car all the while "sorry, I don't carry adults often", etc.

The sedans handle well. Add upgraded sway bars and possibly coilovers and it will handle nicely. May not quite be RX-8 territory, but you will have a grown up car that allows you to do what you need to and still have a lot of fun.

Both the 6MT Sedans and coupes have all the performance goodies from the BBK to the Limited slip diff, thigh bolstered seats, quicker steering ratio, etc. The 0-60 times are about the same and most of the aftermarket performance parts cover both models.
If you don't mind a bit more conservative look, the convenience and a bit more rear seat room with the extra 2 doors is a big plus.

Welcome to the site BTW, any pics of your RX?

So I'm not sure if this will resize well or not...https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...5b4a714848.jpg

I am leaning heavily towards a 6MT sedan. If I can find one. Need to drive one first - no idea of the ergonomics. I've got a while though - kiddo starts school in the fall so the $1000/month day care will drop to $200/mo or so.

Meanwhile I'm balling in an 07 Mazda3 in teen-girl-red that cost less than the parts to fix the '8. At least I can uber in it, so it's essentially free.

Not that it matters to everyone, but I get zero attention from cops in the sedan. I'm convinced it would not be the same in the coupe.

The coupe is actually heavier than the sedan, so the only advantage for owning a coupe is the styling. Rear seats are a big minus due to lack of head room.

Amazingly, I've only been pulled over once in my coupe (37mph in a 25 for 1 point) so I don't think that the G is as conspicuous as many other cars...such as anything with a giant wing.

I only got pulled over in my RX8 when I was in grad school and couldn't afford it. Since 2011 no worries. Probably helps that my daughter was usually in the car from 2011-on, so I don't drive quite as assertively as I used to.

However...

The first time I drifted the '8 around a corner to beat the red light, she threw her hands up like on a rollercoaster and shouted Wooo!. I was *so* proud.

I had a similar incident! Had my 3 and 6 y/o in the back of an e30 325is coupe and they both yelled go fast as we turned from the main road to a secondary road. I too drifted the car through the turn and chirped 3rd gear. Both were in the back seat like this :eek3::eek3: when I looked in the mirror:JAMIN::biggthumpup:

Heard that next gen Rx-7 was coming out in 2018...or was it 2019? Originally 2017? :5091:

Regardless, I was kind of excited when I saw talks of it. My brother had an RX-8 that he literally couldn't drive (he's still wanted for the murder of 3 mailboxes) so I took it whenever I could and goodness are they a lot of fun! Rotary just sounds so cool when it spins up. Could go without the maintenance though...Never had such a difficult spark plug change in my life :icon43:

I think you should rebuild your rx8 with a 21b and call it a day. The sound that engine makes is ... very very good. :D

Otherwise, like Brad said, throw some hotchkis sway bars and stickier tires on the sedan and you'll be surprised what it can do.
If you want to go for looks at some point, I saw someone putting an M aero kit on their G. Looks :titties:

I would not buy a G37 Sedan older than 2016. Before that year they are hideous!!! Go with the coupe or get something else.

lol^^^^^^

Trump's words of wisdom. :D

Except for one period when I had a Jeep Cherokee, I've had rotaries since 1992. I'm no stranger to the maintenance quirks - I built ITS race engines in the early 2000s while I was in undergrad.

My particular RX8 didn't lose the engine (sold already) - the throwout bearing seized on the trans input shaft, sharding the clutch disk enough to frag the bell housing and bend the trans input shaft. I can only imagine that wasn't very good for the tail of the eccentric shaft of the rotary engine, but it's pretty thick there with a large bearing supporting it. I feel lucky that the trans tunnel didn't let some of the shrapnel through. There was some fire involved from a shredded brake line, but when I had carburetted rotaries I learned to carry a fire extinguisher. Odd thing was, I was in 6th doing about 80 on the interstate on my normal commute home... nothing extraordinary. Maybe turning about 4K RPMs. Scared the bejesus out of me, and I've been in some spectacular mechanical fails in my life.

So I'm pretty set on the '13 or so sedan 6MT - sounds like what I want. I need to find one to drive before I start allocating $ to upgrades, but my wife and I agreed I'd have about $5k for whatever I wanted to change. Seems like the good turbo kit is $8k (for a $20k car... wow) so that's out - and after her owning a mini cooper, not a fan of superchargers. I think 300hp + open exhaust (yay no-inspection state) and then handling upgrades might be the ticket. I can always find a 2nd gen RX7 coupe body for the engine I have in the garage - stand dyno'ed at 470hp - if I want to go stupid fast.