im pretty mad right now... nissan told me that my car threw several codes that day i picked it up..... i asked the rep guy and he said "yah man your car threw us several codes...." i asked him wat are the codes so i can tell my friends online so they can help me... he says o only the tech guy knows that.... im like let me speak with the tech... "o his out to lunch" so me and my friend ran a scanner on my z today and got zero codes..... just perfect.... i guess my car fixed itself lol now for even more news... i just confirmed that my car was driven to a place that was far far from the dealership.... unless someone has the same car as me lol with all the graphics and body kit on it like mine with no front bumper on.... my friend tells me o hey man i saw you flooring it in NCS yesterday? i was like when? in the morning.... i was like waaaA? it was at the dealership my friend then said well yah bro that was your car driving fast... real fast because i was pulling outa the turn and i was like wow thats a nice sounding exhaust then a little red car just passes me and i was like that was jons z!!!! im pulling out my plugs tomoro and see if that was a lie too... if it is...... the dealership is gonna get a piece of my mind... :shakeshead: there is only one thing i believe the dealer in... and thats the fact that my air intakes are experiencing heat soak.... but thatll change cuz im getting g3's tonight..... stupid nissan dealer i wish there was more than one dealer out here

yeah... it takes thirtyminutes to change the plugs on our cars thats f'n bs, they handed you time to call the nissan customer service line, i would boat up your car and send it somewhere if you ever have an engine or tranny fail under warranty because they obviusly know nothing. the plugs are on the top of the motor, unbolt and unplug the coil pull it off and out comes the plug repeat 5 times, you have to take off the cover and the upper part of the intakes, and maybe disconnect a line or two, easily done in an afternoon, drinking a few beers, with a radio, and shootin the sh!t with ur bro's. the plugs are probably around $13 a piece though as there are special iridium plugs with a weird thread size.

Defiantly sounds like limp mode now. You should be able to prosecute them under false tense. I just don't get these dealers anymore.

wow i never even knew that the plugs were on the top the stupid ******* kept telling me its on the side!!!! wow thanks 1slow370 :D rep for you.... by the way whats a good gauge... i was gonna get a scangauge II from z1 performance but i think they arent sellin em no more

Simota - how much did they charge you and what did they say they did?

they charged me $120 for the diagnostic tests... they told me they worked on my z the whole 2 days they had it.... found out the tech was just joy riding in it in the northern part of the island :shakes head: its funny because when the guy should me the first paper it read "diagnostic test $65" then when i say how much do i owe you? his like o wait this is the wrong paper and then he re printed it and it said $120 i was like what did you guys change? he said nothing we didnt change anything because you need a major tune up and all your plugs are starting to foul.... and it is not under warranty because of my mods... then he explains it costs $600 to change and i gotta provide the plugs or else im gonna fry my coils next which cost $500 each he said... you guys have no idea how hard my stomach was churning that morning he just kept saying stuff costing like $500 or more and i was crying inside already lol

i found the scan gauge II :D

The ScanGauge II - Gauge, Computer & Scan Tool - eBay (item 140260683538 end time Mar-10-11 21:42:53 PST)

correct? i can use it to find out if im lean right? or rich

I can see the plugs costing 600 bucks parts and labor at a dealer. They probably charge 16-20 bucks per plug and at around 110 per hour charge you a few hours labor because the intakes have to come out as well as some hoses and the throttle bodies have to come out to change. Ice never seen a coil pack cost 500 dollars though more like 70 80 bucks each probably.

I smell lawsuit bro, don't let them fvck up your Z.

ugh. so frustrating when they handle crap like that.

hey guys i need a lil help with the scangauge is that the correct one or is that thing not good anymore thats why z1performance doesnt sell it no more :(

I am unfamiliar with said item, thus i'll let someone else chime in. :tup:

What do you need to do exactly? The one you show looks like a regular OBD reader. Do you have a CEL? The one I use is the one from Actron if that helps any.

http://www.amazon.com/Actron-CP9145-...=pd_sim_auto_7

The less expensive one's work just fine, but some don't show live data.


They probably cleared the codes if there were any. You have to drive it a few miles so the computer can gather more data. I honestly think it was a limp mode issue and they are trying to screw you over. Can you really trust someone's diagnostic expertise when you clearly know they were out joyriding in your car. If the coils or plugs are the problem, it should still be running pretty rough. That kind of thing just doesn't go away.

i was looking for a guage that shows me if im going lean or running rich....

and i dont have a cel :D never did.... even when i brought it to the dealer

Your looking for the an air fuel ratio meter or gauge then. The obd and scanner you mentioned is more of a diagnostic tool. A gauge would be better for what you want to know. Air/Fuel Monitoring - Air/Fuel Ratio Gauge - Air/Fuel Meter

That's why I couldn't understand about what the heat shield had to do with the spark plugs. That's why I stated there not even in that remote area.:shakes head: How do they go home and sleep at night? If you pulled some lame crap on them they would lash out at you.

do i need one with wide band.... man i dont even have turbo lol damn......

i know man freaking guys are messed up im gonna pull the plugs today....

Lol, yeah, It's a little over kill to really monitor this stuff with your setup. A tuning shop and a good tune is really your best option. They have the equipment to really dial in the fuel air ratio like Uprev. An OBD reader/scanner will tell you if it running to rich or lean, but I'm not sure, if any, gives you more than a code reading from the O2 sensor when the readings exceed the values. Sorry I couldn't be more help. I'm no expert on this stuff.

there not much support out here for tuning cars.... everything is based on hondata and crap like that :shakes head: most shops out here wont even try and deal with our platform.... which is such a shame..... we dont even have a dyno out here :facepalm:

Simota, I think the scan gauge is just what you need to do your own basic diagnostics. With it you can check and re-set fault codes, check the air fuel ratio (as I mentioned in my PM, make sure to set it to show the right A/F reading, see: http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...scangauge.html) and you can check the air intake temperature. Good luck getting it all solved. And another thing, I'd tell the dealer that joy rides in your car cost $120 each, so you don't pay for the $120 diagnostics they did for you...

Only $120, sign me up.:tup:

:iagree::iagree:

thanks jb1..... i already ordered the scangauge i freaking love this forum lol thanks everyone!!!!

What Scan Gauge did you buy ? I hope you bought one that records live data ? This is the one I've been using for 2 years now its paid for its self many times over. It also shows your fuel trim. And when a cell is triggered it will show you what caused it. ( don't go cheap on just a simple code reader, trust me I learned the hard way )
http://www.canobd2.com/Products/Tool...5fcd2d10756b95

i ordered a scanguage II its like a gauge and can measure live data.... perhaps jb1 can chime it schrute modshack and jb1 all had the gauge and reported great reviews :tup:

I didn't need to use it as an real diagnostics tool yet, no CEL or error codes in my car so far. I just like to be able to get a bit more info on what is happening with the engine while driving. So I have it set up to continuously read A/F ratio, water temp, Intake air temp and for the 4th one I switch between speed, hp (just for fun), and MPG.

It also helped me to conclude that short ram intakes are a no go. In take temp got way to high, as Simota experienced the hard way...

The trip computer is nice as well, a bit more elaborate then the one that already comes with the car.

However, if you do need the Scan Tool functionality, the Scangauge II does do the trick, this is from their webs site:

Do you have :pics: of it setup and doing it's thing ? It sounds very cool, i don't really have a use for it but i would like it.

its a really nifty product man i wish modshack had the brackets for it still... but i dont think he goes on here that much... :( he sold his z thats why anyways ill post pics once it arrives!!!! woooo im excited got more stuff for my z!!! thanks jb1

I don't have a picture of mine yet, but I found this one in Forum member Schrute's Journal. But my setup is exactly the same as this. Note that
the ScanGauge doesn't come with the bracket you see in the pic. Schrute and I both got one from another forum Member, Modshack


http://www.the370z.com/members/schru...cangaugeii.jpg

Thanks :tiphat:

The bracket is not that special, just an aluminum strip L shaped strip, some velcro on top to hold the Scangauge and some foam strip on the short end of the L, that's it. The short end sticks in between the dash and a pillar. With the bit of foam its It's a tight enough fit so it doesn't move. Very simple but elegant solution, easy to DIY. I'll take a picture of the bracket tomorrow so you can copy it. The cable that connects the gauge to the OBDII port can easily be pushed behind the weather striping by the door frame.

thanks jb1 i got scraps of aluminum laying around at my shop ill make one once my gauge comes in

Yes sir thank you for all the info/pics and the tips on the bracket. reps to you.:tup::tiphat:

yeah the scan gauge 2 will work i don't know how accurate it is for the air/fuel ratio i have one it was kinda hit and miss, it's great for a lot of the other stuff it does though. the best thing for air fuel ratio is and always will be an innovative lc1 wide band or two. the plug check method is actually fairly good when your talking about spark plug life. and being how much of d bags they are at your dealer they could have pulled out a plastic bag from one of your intakes, and gone joyriding in your car thinking your just some rich prick who has it better than they do. I bought my z and for the last 2 years anytime i tell someone about it they don't believe i bought it and want to know how much my parents paid for it. I've seen guys at dealerships do the whole reprint the shop order, and lye to people, if you don't walk in there and bend the head tech over your car, prove he's F'n wrong and make the service adviser your friend you are gonna get screwed at most dealers now a days. Think about it most service advisors are just salesman, and they don't bat an eye at bending you over.

Also you would have to be running catastrophically lean to have a power down like that normally if you are lean you get knock first then it goes limp. and they wouldn't really be driving like they stole it if it was misfiring bad enough to go limp because it would have died on them too my guess is they might have removed an obstruction from your intake or fixed a hose that came lose, reset your ecu then gone joyriding and told you it was the plugs as that is probably the easiest thing to tell a car noob when this happens. if it runs like crap because of something stupid that is easily fixed but they want to ring money out of you they tell you it's the plugs because they figure you have to know what those are (which is why they didn't really care to tell you where they are really because they probably aren't bad) then charge you 4 times book to put in new ones thankfully you pulled your car from them.

just give me a call next time. If you need help tomorrow lmk, I may be going up to the track for the autox but thats it.

i know how you feel man... most people out here thinks my dads pays for all my stuff on my z.... and thats the reason why i have a sticker that says my dads shop on the side of my z... lol i freaking work there and wanna promote it because one day itll be mine off course ill promote it lol back on topic yah i agree... we didnt have time to pull the plugs yet but my friend has been test driving it around to try and throw a cel or experience what i went threw and nothing wrong so far.... :tup:

i will definitely do that next time man.... not this sunday though.... :( the shop has my car and theyre closed.... car should be outa the paint shop monday!!! wooooo :happydance:

Can't wait for some pics.