R&T Long Term Test Update
 

Perhaps this was posted, but I haven't seen it anyplace but on their site so far. So, here you go.

My take:
The reviewers are slowly changing their songs. First the biggest gripe was NVH. Now they say they like the engine noise or can't hear it enough. On the flip side, they said the car's handling was top notch. Now they claim that the steering feel is too heavy and deadens the experience.

My take after 7500 miles:
1)The NVH is a non-issue. I agree with those who say any 'raucousness' of the engine adds to the raw experience of the Z sports car experience.
2) The stock exhaust is too tame, but this is quickly fixed with almost any of the aftermarket exhaust options.
3) The 6MT is great and driving the car smoothly is not a problem once you are familiar with it. One review I just read said that you have to shift slowly when going slow and quickly when going fast to get smooth shifts. There is some truth in this.
4) As Consumer Reports will tell you, reliability is top notch so far. Aside from some small issues like the stuck hatch (fix it with the penny trick), the car has been rather flawless.
5) Who simultaneously brakes and accelerates leading to throttle cutout (per this long term review)? Anyone who can explain why I'd want to brake while trying to accelerate, please enlighten me so I can appreciate this driving style.

the steering is fine, luv the gearing.

the factory sound is good. it's much quieter than my stock G35C as far as intake and exhaust, but it's still entertaining and yet does not attract unnecessary attention.

not sure about the ester oil thing. im using some cheezo off the shelf dino oil to
top off on occasion. going to use M1 starting the first change next season.

Ive got 8K miles on mine now and only had it about 4 months. Did a few inter state trips and I like to drive and listen to music to relax some. But I think the steering is very good, and the handling is good. I would say the only negative thing so far for me is the NVH. Compared to my other cars its very noticeable. A friend is coming from a Scion and he thinks the Z has less NVH, so its all about what your used to in that area. I get looks all the time with the Z and when I start the car and they hear the exhaust roar to life, heads really turn to see.

I always try to heel-toe when braking and shifting into lower gear. Maybe that's what they meant about "braking and accelerating."

you buy a good car and you use cheezo oil? you with us man?

i heel and toe all the time, never get throttle cut off. if anything, i sometimes overrev the engine.

That's RIGHT! Recognize! PW in thu heezy! :rofl2:

i couldn't find any super duper extra special dino oil to top off the factory stuff at the autoparts store... that's all. :ugh2:

i'm using Mobil 1 so i'm using a high quality oil that readily available. no reason to use OReilly brand :shakes head:

so you mixed M1 in your initial oil that the car came with from the factory?

i was thinking about doing that too because i have stock of the M1 silver cap which i use on my other cars, but i thought you were suppose to use dino oil until your first change. so that's why i went out of my way to get the 1qt of dino oil. hahaha. :icon17:

i did a complete oil change at 3250 (a lil late) and added a drain plug and filtermag.

well then, im not there yet so that's why im using dino oil (valvoline or something). my car has like 1300miles and its hibernating.

next summer im going to use my usual silver cap M1.

im feelin noobish so ima ask what NVH stands for?

Noise Vibration and Harshness

In certain cases a little throttle-on is needed to keep a car stable under braking. These are mostly in racing applications, though, where brake biases and differential settings are very aggressive.

There isn't really any need to do this with a stock Z. I could think of maybe some situations where you might need a dab of brake to help set the nose, keeping the throttle on to avoid unsettling the rear wheels, or just to keep engine momentum up. But on the street, it's doubtful you will run into any of those situations... especially any extreme enough to cause cut-off.

Maybe they were running into throttle cut-off issues with heel-toe driving... but it seems like most here aren't running into that issue. I'm thinking if there's a cutoff it is probably only enabled when the car is in gear. I suppose one of us should apply a little throttle under braking while in gear and see what happens... then try to brake while applying throttle...

I can confirm that the throttle cuts when you try and left-foot brake. The 350Z did the same thing.

Are the oil changes really $85 a pop??

They can be more depending on where you go. The Nissan brand Ester oil is about $12/quart.

So you turn off SRM?

You cannot mix synth and dino oil. Well you can, but good luck replacing your engine.

Granted, I've only put about 300 miles on the Z so far. Well I've ran a tank of gas through it. I've had it a month almost, and I'm still struggling with smooth shifting. I feel like a noob ( to still a gamer word.)

Anyone have any tips? I'm guessing practice makes perfect is going to be the standard response.

I find 3500 rpm to be ideal when shifting from 1st to 2nd

Hope that helps.

Don't try to force it into gear -- the transmission doesn't like those kind of movements. You have to be smooth and deliberate with the shifter.

Thanks. I did not realize that. No big deal....

So does the Porsche GT3, it's not unusual in fly by wire throttle systems.

Heal and toe is no problem, but left foot braking is. Not an issue for street driving, mainly an auto-x and track thing.

Does braking while on the throttle help you rotate the car when cornering? (I don't really understand the braking while on throttle indications).

Yes, it lets you make minor corrections to the corner balance of the car to change which tires have the most grip. Basically used to shift the balance forward slightly to get better turn in grip, i.e. you're already in a corner but the corner angle increases slightly. You can also just lift but the brake "dab" is sometimes quicker.

It's also easier to upset the balance of the car and cause oversteer with a lift. Left-foot braking is more controlled, if you do it right.

Judging by the handful of times I've EVER tried braking with my left foot, I can only imagine the wreck I'd have if I tried a left foot braking maneuver while in a hot corner at the track. Hmmm, 360 degree spinout or 720 degree spinout? Or maybe a roll...

Maybe my left foot braking while playing Forza 3 with my wheel and pedals will actually improve my real life left foot braking :)

Meh... Forza is still too arcade to be of any real benefit. The only thing it's really good for is helping you keep your hand-eye coordination up.

If you really want to get some good track simulation experience, pick up a good wheel like a Logitech G25 and head over to iracing.com. You pick up skills there that directly translate to the real track as that's what the software is designed for. It can be pricey, though I think it's worth it. Read up on the technology that goes into it... it's very impressive. I can't believe how accurate the laser scanning is... VIR in the sim is a 100% correct recreation of VIR in real life... it's amazing.

Kinda the same with the Edmunds.com long term review. I think it is just them warming up to the car..... Some people appreciate the car as being a somewhat raw sports car, others do not know what to make of it!

bleh you can mix synth and dino oil np as long as it is the same weight.. its not the most optimal mix but its not going to harm your engine.

Yeah, I agree. It's one of the things I really like about the Z is that it is sowhat of a rwa sports car. Inputs are heavier, and torquey, and some NVH - leans towarsd american muscle more so than.....say finished Audi TT.

When I first got my 350 I had a problem with feeling like the engine was dumping out after an up shift and reengaging the clutch. And it was because I would completely lift my foot off the throttle when actuating the clutch. So i didn't have a smooth rev match on the upshift. So I began only partially lifting off the throttle during shifts - enough to reduce load off the transmission, but not so much to allow rpms to drop very much. This worked wonders for smoothing out upshifts.