Ticking sound. Possibly timing belt issue?
 

I can't hear it when I'm in the car. (Even with the windows down)

But then when I step outside and stand by the fender I could "clearly" hear the ticking noise.

This is not a clutch ticking sound.(As I have heard of them in person)

I recently had maintenance and they said the car is in great condition...

Any thoughts? :inoutroflpuke:

VVEL sound.??

Check your oil level. Some valve train noise is 100% normal. If it's bad it could be due to low oil levels.

Fuel injectors are also a bit noisy as well.

My car ticks like crazy! I have taken it in and they told me injectors.. then they said something about when the exhaust is cold and warming up it can make noise... Nissan is very good at finding reasons to NOT fix our cars.

It probably is the injectors. They aren't quiet. I hear them ticking away on my 5.0 at idle as well.

And the exhaust on the Z is very tinny on a cold start for a reason. The ECU holds a high RPM idle to get fluids pumping and warm the car up. This is not a problem. There is no need for a "fix."

Its the gentle tapping of the pistons into the valves, massaging them into the proper shape. After a little bit of driving, they'll be shaped to perfection, and you'll gain horsepower.

The Z is probably one of the noisiest (as far as valvetrain goes) cars I've ever had ... and I've had a lot. Same with the 350z I have. It was bad enough that I thought something was wrong with it, but the dealers tell me that noise is normal :shrug:

You should probably add some sort of indicator that you're joking ;)

Keep in mind that a lot of people with little to no knowledge of how an engine works use the internet.

Yeah yeah, I know. I actually had it typed out, but I thought, "meh, lets see how long it rides".

On the plus side, its not like I told him he needed to fix it by pouring a bottle of the (human consumable) NOS into his gas tank, right? :)

Go listen to some LSX motors. The valvetrain noise is affectionately called "The Sewing Machine".

Frost had an LSX or two!

But yes, the Z is very noisy. People that don't know will think the car is broken but everyone else will understand it's just everything inside the engine happily working away. :icon17:

lol, I can think of 6 off the top of my head :icon17:

:icon18::icon18::icon18:

I hope it's not at bas as my ticking noise.

98intrigue... I saw you posted you have a ticking noise and had to go read your ENTIRE build thread. Holy sh!t you have bad luck... I hope you get everything fixed.