Hi everyone! I'm new... MY biggest complaint at this time is the excessive paint chips. I do have a protective bra now (newly installed) but its over the existing chips. Ive only had my car a month...the dealer has offered to paint lower front of car but, will I get it back in a condition that is acceptable to me?
Has any one had a bra on (new car) long enough to see if it actually prevents paint chipping?
Also has anyone used a "invisicord" to mount radar? If so which model.

Tried to avoid the interstate until I had the clear bra put on, managed to pick up one small chip only. Since that time the bra has been flawless at protecting me, no chips at all. My 350 was a mess, looked like the front end was shot with a shot gun. I swore I would never deal with that again, hence the clear bra. The paint will chip it you just look at it hard.

John

How long have you had the clear bra? Also do you drive the interstate now? I drive 200 miles a day on the interstate.

Yes, since new, although I had a pro remove the original one I had put on the car, and another one installed. The first one was done by a rookie, and I wasn't happy with the job. New one looks fantastic. Yes, I drive the interstate daily, and have no issues at all. You're driving 200 mile a day? Wow, thats a lot of driving :tiphat:

John

Thanks for the input. I just went to the official Nissan site and complained about the paint. If everyone did it might make a difference. Now that I have my Z I love driving over 200 miles a day. It's a great drive across Alligator Alley (I 75 in sw Fl) It's 100 miles of straight flat highway. All I need now is help with a power cord and harness for my radar!

A lot of guys attach to the rear view mirror and wire in there. That assumes you have a power mirror. Try this link for an attachment: MGT Motorsports.com

John
PS: they also sell hardwire kits

Just read all the complaining here. Last Car was a 06 G35 Coupe. Before that an 05 G35 sedan. TPMS had a little symbol, no numbers. Symbols & lights are fine. Also ad a 93 300ZX TT. Stillen rear spoiler. The 370Z rear view and my 370Z view (with NISMO spoiler) is about the same; a small slit. So 20% tinted the rear window to really fix it up. G35 Coupe didn't have rear wiper either. RAINX worked fine on G will do same to Z. Road noise hasn't bothered me, less than G35. I find the vision thing challenging. Sort of under the mirror on corners. I have been able to use the portholes but I drive with the seat reclined to almost touch the bar behind. With the passenger seat at a more straight up angle the right side porthole works. No transmssion clunk. Might want to go to dealer and speak at them. My 300ZX TT was modified with suspension, brakes, intake, exhaust, turbos etc. Had the G35 for winter cause I could get winter tires for it. Ready to retire so sold the 300. G35 had suspension, exhaust, Supercharger etc. Never bonded. Saw 370Z. 5 minute conversation and I owned it. MY Z IS BACK!!!

Have the clear bra. Had it on the Infinitis. Works very well. Hence, 370. Working good here also.

my 2003 350z did the same clunk clunk clunk... when you depress the clutch, guess its "normal" although not too cool with people around.

hood struts=more cost, weight and is an extra thing to break

wow, 19 pages on complaints! :eek:

I've grown accustomed to most of the complaints I have about the Z. The one that still bothers me a lot is the quality of the paint finish. The entire car has bad orange peel. Not just the metal, but the bumpers, too. Surely they didn't spray them at the same time and place, did they? How could the WHOLE CAR have an orange peel problem?

I get it too, exactly as you describe. It sounds like something is going to break and you can actually feel the clutch disengaging which lightly thumps the car. Although it doesn't sound great, I think it is normal and due to the following:

When the car is going at a very low speed with the clutch fully engaged, like a car about to stall, it jerks a little bit. By disengaging the clutch suddenly when you step on the clutch pedal, you release the engine from the transmission causing the thump. It also happens at lower speeds because the car bogs a little bit . At higher speeds, there is no/minimal bogging.

I used to work at a dealership and a car shop in high school and noticed that this thumping or clunking when depressing the clutch is more noticeable in cars that are RWD where the clutch / tranny is located closer to the driver's seat. Its definitely not isolated to the 370Z. Hope this helps but let me know if the dealer tells you otherwise or has a quick fix.

I love the car and wouldn't want any other car on the market right now for the same price, but there are a few things I would fix. I've tried to be as comprehensive as possible.

1. There is no trunk privacy cover so everyone can see what is inside your trunk looking through the rear window. This is a feature that even much cheaper cars have and doesn't add much weight or additional cost to the car. The one on my 00 Celica GTS only weighs like 3lbs.

2. Only 90% of the side mirrors painted body color- can see some black plastic trim when looking from inside the car on the side. They should just paint the whole thing.

3. Armrest storage is too small.

4. Glovebox is too small to hold the manuals with the case.

5. Of the three dashboard circular monitors, the use of two of the three appears silly. One is for a digital clock and another is for the battery voltage. I would much rather not see the battery voltage and see the oil pressure and something else to go along with the oil temp.

6. The rearview mirror barely covers the span of the rear window.

7. Bluetooth phone connection should be standard and not optional.

8. All the painted silver parts of the interior and also the exterior door handle looks like it could fade over time which may show the black.

9. You cannot run the fan on recycled air without having the A/C turn on. If you turn on the recycle button, the AC turns on and if you turn off the AC, it automatically goes back to fresh mode. What if its not hot but something just smells outside?

10. The fuel gauge with the dotted lights instead of a gauge looks like a bad attempt to make the car look futuristic. In 5 - 6 years, it will look outdated. They should have used 1/8 inch lines. Also they should cover the fuel / coolant gauge with a clear plastic cover as is done with the tach and speedometer.

11. For those with 19 inch wheels, the average tire that fits as per tirerack.com is about $250 - $400 a piece which doesn't even include install/balance/shipping cost. Don't go crazy burning out, or you will spend $2000 a year on tires.

12. The front lip spoiler is easy to grind on the floor even if you haven't lowered the car. Fortunately its black plastic and is not painted.

13. There are too many bolts on the underside of the car to take off the plastic cover just to change your oil. I haven't done it yet, but looking at the photos others posted...

14. The clutch rides a little bit high and the pedal depresses very far down. During quick shifts, this will make it easier to scrape the gears due to the chance of not fully disengaging. Not a huge problem but just need to watch for in case your previous car had a "short clutch."

15. Some tranny noise in 1st gear when depressing clutch at low speeds. Normal but annoying and a bit more pronounced than other cars.

16. The rear fog lamp looks a little funny- big red square in the center of the rear bumper.

17. Seat sits a little low so sometimes getting out of the car
is a little stretch.

18. Blind spot - drivers side more problematic. Just turn your head more.

19. Seat makes clicking and on some others cars actually moves when turning hard. There are some DIY repairs for the clicking. Not sure about those whose seats actually slide during turns.

If I think of anything else, I'll add on later.

MY COMPLAINT IS THAT i DON'T HAVE ONE!

Its very strange that you hit 9K RPM with the auto transmission. Its not like on a manual transmission where if you misshift, lets say from 3rd to 2nd instead of 3rd to 4th going fast that you can overrev the engine that far. If your car really hit 9K RPM, you could have floated the valves on the car and damaged the engine. Does the engine sound fine?