Is this a normal sound
 

I was just curious if this was normal for the VQ engine. Since owning my 370z for the last 2mo (650miles) it's had this chirping noise coming from the engine while running. It's constant and seems to speed up as the engine speeds up. You can only hear it if you are standing outside the car while it's running. It's not very loud but enough to hear it if standing with in 5ft from the front of the car. Just not sure if this is a normal VQ sound just like the ticking you can hear at the top of the intake manifold. I'm probably going to go by Nissan tomarrow and listen to one of the Z's on the lot to compare. I just hate the thought of possibly having to take my car in for service and letting someone else drive it. Hoping it's nothing to worry about or possibly something I can take car of myself. thanks in advance.

i dont know about chirping, ive never heard of that. if its more of a whining sound (like a quite supercharger) then its the transmission (the all do that), but if it does it at idle. you got a problem in my opinion

yeah, I don't think it's normal but I wanted to check. It's basically the same sound that a pulley makes when the belt is squeaky. You know, back when you would take some WD-40 and spray the belts and the noise would go away until the next time it rained. It even sounds like it might be coming from the front of the engine but it's hard to tell. I guess I'll see what Nissan has to say tomorrow when i drop by and have the service guy listen to it.

let me know what happens. im interested

do keep in mind about the noises people have complained about due to the wrong type of recommended oil.

I have no idea if its related, just another option to consider.

Kind of gave up on this post due to the lack of feedback. Anyway, I went to my local dealer a few days after I posted this question. First I had the service guy listen to it. At first he didn't hear it which I thought was odd considering we were inside a bay which made it even louder sounding due to sound amplification. After a few mintues he said he heard what I was talking about and that it was normal. Still not convinced I had one of the sales guys start up another Z on the lot. To my surprise not only did it have the same noise but it was much louder.

So in the end I guess thats just part of the VQ's noise and I won't worry about it. Perhaps after I do my first oil change it will get softer. Who knows. I'm just glad that its a normal sound. Just had me worried but then again I'm not used to newer Nissans. My old L28 and VG30 in my other Z's sound completly different. My old 06 Suby was quite as a mouse. Just have to get used to my new baby is all.

everything about our cars is loud, engine, exhaust, tranny, you name it. I think it adds to the charm.

The noise that most people complain about are the loud ticking lifters at idle. Which is pretty normal.

^^^ ya that is a commone one and can be made less loud by using ester oil

I have heard a few people on here say that Red Line oil takes the most of the sound away. I have never used it myself but I do plan to try it out on my next oil change to see if it helps any.

hey guys just getting back to this post because since i got my car in 2009, i have been researching this issue all over the planet! The noise really bugs me! its the LIFTERS by the way. here is the best answer that makes sense an expert told me:

""This is not normal, but it does happen. It's the lifters, 100 % positive on that one. You will distinctively tell the difference between a rod knock and a lifter. A rod knock will most definitely cause your car to run like sh*t as well.

Anyhow, let's go about ways to solve the issue if you want the noise to go away.

A: Run the car at 2000 rpm's for 10 minutes. This acts as a "bleeding" method to the lifters to get the air out of them. This should have been done right when the engine was started the first time.

B: Most of the time, in your case, people who run the car for as long as it has without bleeding them will have to literally take the lifters out of the car, take them apart and soak it in fresh oil. Putting them back together and making sure they don't flip upside-down to let air in and reinstall them will ensure the noise to go away after they are bled using method A once the engine is first started up after re-installation.

Again, this is NOT normal, it just so happens the fallacy of people countlessly repeating it's normal has stuck. I'm not saying you have to do this or your engine will fail from a valve seizing from a failed lifter, because lifters ticking like yours is not a big deal.

Sometimes you just can't do anything about it as they will always tick no matter what you do, but most of the time this is solvable using the above methods, but people are lazy/don't want to take the engine apart (or know how to).

So if it bugs you enough, it's time to take those rocker covers off. Good luck.""

ps... im not going to take my engine apart just for this bull crap noise! ill just deal with it since it doesnt mess with the performance! i wonder if the GT-R has the same problem...

well whoever told you that hasn't seen the inside of one of our heads because we have mechanical lifters, they tick, they've always ticked(since they were invented over a hundred years ago), and they will continue to tick no matter what you do. a good oil will shut them up for the most part but there is only so much you can do. this not a design flaw in anyway and z haven't had mechanical lifter since i think the old vg30 z32 engines(i belive they were the last of the PITA hydraulic lifters that if you tipped them more than like 80 degrees they drained and then you had air in them and a bad tick. our tick is quiet compared to an empty hydraulic lifter with the piston slamming back .100

Ryanboy, that "300zxturboftw" guy over on ChicagoZ that told you this is far from what I'd consider an expert.

He seems like he knows what he is talking about from most of his posts. He's been working on engines for a while according to his site but u never know the real deal but regardless I've tried step A: 10 min 2000 idle rpm and the noise went away so far. It's only been 1 day of driving. Also keep in mind my car only has 10000 miles so I don't know if that matters. We shall see, more days to come- ill keep everyone posted.

Hhhmmm I don't know but working on resolution A first and see what happens...