I bought one in Jan to replace my 1966 Elna. I love it! I do think that the higher end Janome's do better FMQ - I tried one at a trade show and I was FMQ'ing up a storm, fabric moved smoothly, machine didn't inhibit the motion. Got home, put on my darning foot, and jerked through some pretty ruffled feathers. Ugh!
I would talk with your dealer and ask for some one-on-one. That's my plan. I fully expect they'll tell me that 3160 is a nice 'portable' for taking to bee and to classes but the Memory Craft or the Horizon are the 'real' quilter's equipment.
I do think that when you drop the feed dogs you should reduce the presser foot pressure unless you have a two-spring foot where you can do this from the foot. In fact, even in piecing I now set it to 4 instead of 6 because it feeds more evenly.
Another thought - I was always having the needle come out because the one-spring darning foot bounces so much - I had to get a real screwdriver (not the dinky little thing that comes in the toolkit) and really crank the needle holder screw good and tight.
Good luck with your machine - I hope you like it as much as I like mine!
