While the pads may have been a contributing factor, their pedal hit the floor due to boiling brake fluid.

 

Although, I found the shifter quite nice/smooth. The high clutch engagement is kind of annoying though.

 

cool graph, pedalfaster. The Atom is a clear indication of how important aerodynamics are for a really quick laptime.

How hard would it be to add some CF panels to streamline the Atom without increasing weight too much?

 

My apologies. I didn't catch the part where the brake pedal went to the floor.

If that's the case, and Nissan thinks it's a pad problem (i doubt it)... then next year the 370Z will go into the wall again.

 

I have gotten a "long pedal" at the track (Mont Tremblant) due to pads once. I decided to experiment with Hawk HPS pads (big mistake!), and after just a lap or so the pedal started getting very soft/long. I re-bled the brakes, no change. I had to do short stints and rely heavily on engine-braking. After three sessions, the pads were DONE, pretty much eroded to nothing. I swapped the OEM pads back in and got a firm pedal and way more braking!

Regarding aggressive pads putting more heat into the brake fluid, my impression has been that lower-performance pads require greater pedal pressure and heat the fluid more. I think that could have played some part in the long/soft pedal I got using the HPS pads.

 

That's disappointing to hear that Nissan's manual isn't good. I drove a first year G35 manual a few years back. I wasn't at all impressed with the shifter. However, I think the 350Z I drove was OK. Of course part of the problem is going from an S2000 to any shifter including the Miata is a bit of a let down.

 

The best I can offer is that the shifter didn't draw attention to itself, which means it wasn't bad, but not S2000 caliber either. It seemed a bit jerky when I released the clutch post-shift, but that could be me just not being used to it. I certainly wouldn't consider the shifter to be a deal-breaker on this car.

 

That's awesome

Maybe the jerky feeling you felt post clutch maybe be the turbo lag no?

 

I concur, I believe just jumping out of the s2000 into the 370z may have been the contributing factor at this point.

 

Yep, further evidence to support my claim that the Cayman platform is superior to the 911 and therefore, IMO, Porsche should drop the rear-engine 2+2 platform and concentrate all their resources on the mid-rear-engine two-seater layout. (For the sake of heritage, drop the Cayman name and rename it "911." Produce base, S, 4S, Turbo, GT3, etc. trims...) Jon, I think your desire for a 911 because of the rear seats is, umm, silly. Sorry. If you want a rear-seat Porsche, you'd be better served with a Panamera (more expensive though) or a Cayenne S (a good bit cheaper, actually.) For $16k more than a Cayman S, a base 911 gets you LESS performance, with the only advantage of two rear seats that cannot be used by anybody more than, like, 4ft tall. (You actually have to spend $27k more than a Cayman S to get similar track performance via a Carrera S!) Basically, except for the GT3 and Turbo models, in my opinion the only reason to get a 911 these days is for the prestige of it - other needs are better served by other Porsche models.