Car and Driver Crashes a Nismo 370Z

TheWeatherman

This was a really big article in the past by Car and Driver. The car they had was the Infiniti FX50 which runs the same brakes as our Sport and Nismos. Same exact thing happened. They had a whole data chart with it as well. After about 5 stops from 100, the brakes gave up on the FX. Stopping distances went off the chart. I just signed up for 2 track events at Road America this upcoming year. I'm not too happy I have to buy all of this stuff in a car that was advertised as a sports car. I know, we've been here and done that already, but my brother's Jeep SRT8 is more track capable than my Z. It's kind of pathetic. BTW, I think Infiniti FX50 owners could go back to the dealership and get performance pads fitted for no charge. Nice, huh?

MightyBobo

Seriously?

RCZ, are there seriously people who try to go out on OEM pads instead of just getting proper brake pads and doing a fluid swap like they should for SAFETY'S sake??? Its barely over $300 for a GOOD set of pads!

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I don't own a car anymore.

pulpz

C&D did. And so will the other magazines.

It's to be expected that brake fade will occur on stock hardware after a few laps (or even runs on, say -Tail of The Dragon etc.) , but again - my concern (and C&Ds) is that for the 370z exclusively the fade is almost non-existent and rapidly becomes failure.

I'm not saying one shouldn't have to expect to upgrade pads for serious track or mountain driving. but I am saying a dramatic failure like this that can suddenly create a very dangerous situation on OEM hardware has to be considered poor engineering.

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2016 Cayman GTS 6MT / 2017 Q60 Sport / 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD / 2015 Lexus IS 350 AWD F-Sport (Sold) / 2009 PG 370Z Sport 6MT, (Sold) / 2003 SS 350Z Enthusiast 6MT (Sold)

370Zsteve

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SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

370Zsteve

From Car & Driver September Edition (is this even the same car?)

When the road starts turning and twisting, the steering wheel, while heavy in the hands, relays with precision what the Yokohama Advan Sports are doing.

From Car & Driver Feb 2010 Edition:

Even with enormous grip from its Yokohama Advan Sports, the Z feels uncomfortable and slightly disconnected when pressed.

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SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

RCZ

Well, because everything else on the Z is MUCH better suited for the track than the everything else on those cars. The GTI is waaaay too soft both in chassis and transmission and then the Genesis...well...I would not feel safe in one of those on the track without MAJOR upgrades.

Well, I have done it twice. Its not really about the cost either. The first time I went out, I couldnt even run into that problem because the car would overheat before the brakes did (sad) and then the second time its when I experienced brake failure...twice. The first time it happened there was no real warning, I was coming down a long straight and braking for a hairpin and half way into braking it felt like someone put marbles under the tires and off I went. In the following sessions, I ran slower and tried putting less heat into the brakes. This time I did feel them slowly going away, more with each stop and then finally braking for the same corner (with lots of room this time) I gave them a nice stomp and there I went on the marbles again, but this time I had a lot of time to stop. Had to drive the car at 80% the rest of the day so I could enjoy my trackday and live to tell about it.

Its dumb to think you can do fine on the track with a 100% stock car that costs $35k. All the folks in porsches and z06's that I know do just fine on the stock tires and brakes. Some of you guys that get upset about brakes fading on the track, I think you are ridiculous...its a relatively inexpensive car and there HAVE to be compromises. Its not a race car, its a 30k street car. Be happy that everything else works as well as it does and if you are going to get on the track, then get some pads and an oil cooler. Its not that Nissan couldnt do it, its that they couldnt do it on that budget.

That sir is why Car and Driver is not a good source on information. About anything.

nicknick

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Its dumb to think you can do fine on the track with a 100% stock car that costs $35k. All the folks in porsches and z06's that I know do just fine on the stock tires and brakes. Some of you guys that get upset about brakes fading on the track, I think you are ridiculous...its a relatively inexpensive car and there HAVE to be compromises. Its not a race car, its a 30k street car. Be happy that everything else works as well as it does and if you are going to get on the track, then get some pads and an oil cooler. Its not that Nissan couldnt do it, its that they couldnt do it on that budget.



That sir is why Car and Driver is not a good source on information. About anything.[/QUOTE]

How many of you would have paid an extra 1G to not have these issues? 1G is a weeks pay for most of us, right? If you could not afford an extra 1G then should you really be owning such an "expensive" car?

370Zsteve

Carve that in stone. Good points. But dammit mine cost $35K not $30K and it's Japanese and it should work perfectly just like a Lexus or a BMW or my wife's goddamn Benz SUV

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SOLD MY Z MARCH 2018 - another Core OG moves on - new ride 2019 Z Corvette Grand Sport - no mods necessary but already have eyes on HFC and intakes LOL IT NEVER ENDS.

TheWeatherman

Yes Bobo. Yes. There are a lot of people who do. I know you have a lot of pride in your car and this model, but for some of us, this is unacceptable. I went to the Chrysler SRT driving school at Road America. Those were all stock vehicles running all day. Go to an Audi event. Most of the folks here in Wisconsin running all day at Road America are stock as well. Completely. No pads, no fluid, no cooler. Mustang, Corvette, and "Camero" events. Porsche. Mostly stock on all. I've been to them. I've seen it first hand. Talked to the guys. To go play with a bunch of cars that are even cheaper than mine, I have to go buy $2,000 more worth of stuff? You're forgetting the labor costs. I think this is going to be my last Nissan or Infiniti. I've had it with the excuses from them. I'd like to see the base Z out there with the smaller brakes. That's the only one that has only a window sticker below $30K. Those brakes would fry. I bought a $3,000 sport package to eliminate this. Just like you can buy a similar "Track package" on a Mustang. There's no sport in this.

You also picked out the parts you didn't like about my last post, but never focused on the points you thought were strange. Tell me, why are new pads being put on Infiniti FX50's for free, via customer request? Why is my brother's Jeep more track capable than my Z? That's completely stock. Why can my friends Mustang go out and run all day at Road America without the track package and I can't?

Nissan duped me into buying a car that I thought I could play with my friends. Most of their cars are even cheaper than my Z, brand new. The Jeep SRT is more expensive since he has Nav, seat heaters, 425HP, all wheel drive, a trailer hitch, Boston Acoustics stereo, MyGig, remote start, and power seats. If I was able to get all of this on my Z, mine would be a more expensive car than his. Look at a touring w/ sport. I got less than what I payed for. Go ahead and flame me all you want. When it comes to my next car, especially sports car, I can't believe I'm about to say this... I'm going American. They put out what they advertise. A sports car. (I still couldn't do a Camaro though.)

midget

If a set of nice new brake pads and an oil cooler breaks the bank for ya, after buying a Z, why don't you just sell it? Clearly those two small problems, on an otherwise outstanding and inexpensive car, are just too much to overlook.

TheWeatherman

Because the Z was budgeted for this. I have my 2009 FX35 and a future to think about. Think about what $2,000 buys you. I bought the Z as a toy car. I bought it new, with the sport package, thinking I could have some fun with it when I had some free time. An extra $37,000 for another car was enough. That's all we're trying to say. I don't need to push that to near $40,000 extra for a toy. I really don't need to GTFO.