Going from a sensible car to a sports car

Zaggeron · 05-31-2010, 01:01 PM

Hi and welcome to the forums. I don't use mine as a daily driver, but plenty of folk do and find it plenty comfortable. I find the comfort and road noise non-issues. For me and I'm about 5'10 175 lbs I find the seats comfortable for long trips and the road noise is only excessive if there is a bunch of sand or gravel on the roadway.

Winter driving ... I would definitely get snow tires -- there are some very informative threads on here that go over some nice winter setups.

Paint ... People complain about road chips and so forth, but those are gonna happen with almost any cars ...paint ain't what it used to be I guess. That said the color can make a big difference in the amount of upkeep required. The silver and platinum graphite are easy colors to maintain and don't show swirls like the red and black. On the other hand, lots of folk enjoy detailing their cars and would be at a loss if there were no swirls/minor scuffs to buff out with their new PC

.

Do you have a link to that JD powers survey you reference? I've heard that the Z scored well in quality. Other than a few flakey e-key issues, ecu whining (which I haven't heard much about lately so they must have fixed it for the '10s) and aftermarket oil cooler issues, I haven't really heard of any systematic problems.

That's my $.02, I'm sure you'll hear some other opinions

fyreboltx · 05-31-2010, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

Do you have a link to that JD powers survey you reference? I've heard that the Z scored well in quality. Other than a few flakey e-key issues, ecu whining (which I haven't heard much about lately so they must have fixed it for the '10s) and aftermarket oil cooler issues, I haven't really heard of any systematic problems.

I don't have a direct link, just what I read on USNews.
2010 Nissan 370Z Reliability - Best Cars & Trucks - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

Quote:

Originally Posted by waaaasabi

I'm not really sure if the 370Z is the car for you honestly. It's a great daily driver, but it seems like you want a low-maintenance car, which the Z isn't necessarily.

Firstly, being in a state with harsh winters, you can't just throw on all-seasons and call it a day. It's either winter or summer tires, and any compromise would likely result in sub-standard traction. With winter tires, snow is barely an obstacle.

The road noise is ever-present, and furthermore, you'll feel just about every bump and hole in the road. But you could swap out the OEM tires for 'quieter' and cushier tires.

The paint quality, or lack thereof, is an especially salient issue, particularly with the black; swirl marks and scratches abound everywhere. You'll probably have to wash and detail the Z more often than your previous cars.

Along with all of those factors, you'll have to regularly check your oil and various other normal car maintenance procedures. Do all of the above and you probably won't run into any reliability issues.

It's not that I want a low maintenance car, it's just that I don't know how different the maintenance is from a regular sedan to a sports. I understand how to check all the fluids, can change my own oil (though I probably wouldn't risk it on the Z), and I clay/wax my car twice a year (and polish every other year).

But obviously, there are somethings simple detailing and under-the-hood checking won't take care of. That's what I was more interested about.

SkyZ · 05-31-2010, 01:43 PM

im in Canada, snow isnt an issue WITH snow tires. not stupid enough to try without and crash my lovely z. start in second gear, dont drive with a lead foot, all that jazz. lots of tips from various places on how to drive in snow.

road noise isnt that bad if you get into the mindset that its a sports car not a lexus. same with comfort.

other than that i would find its pretty low maintenance as opposed to what a few posts above suggested. not much to do. drive it, change the tires for winter, check/change oil once in a while.

Zaggeron · 05-31-2010, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyreboltx

I don't have a direct link, just what I read on USNews.
2010 Nissan 370Z Reliability - Best Cars & Trucks - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews

The 6 is a made up value by US News. The actual JD powers predicted reliability is 3 of 5. This is an "average" rating. It's really just a guess though since the predicted reliability is supposed to be based on historical trends for a vehicle or manufacturer. Since the Z has only been out for a little over a year and a half the bulk of the predication must come from general Nissan reliability.

JDPower.com | 370Z

daleks · 05-31-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

The 6 is a made up value by US News. The actual JD powers predicted reliability is 3 of 5. This is an "average" rating. It's really just a guess though since the predicted reliability is supposed to be based on historical trends for a vehicle or manufacturer. Since the Z has only been out for a little over a year and a half the bulk of the predication must come from general Nissan reliability.

JDPower.com | 370Z

The "Initial Quality" or IQ ratings are based on how many "issues" are reported by consumers for that vehicle type during the first 90 days of ownership. It's only based on whatever strange reason a person may bring their car to the dealership (you've seen the threads on this forum...), and doesn't account for any by-design behavior or if there is a true defect. Also, I don't believe there is any weight to severity. The hatch spring issue a lot of people had was incredibly minor, and would impact reliability ratings just as much as melting electronics.

Zaggeron · 05-31-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daleks

The "Initial Quality" or IQ ratings are based on how many "issues" are reported by consumers for that vehicle type during the first 90 days of ownership. It's only based on whatever strange reason a person may bring their car to the dealership (you've seen the threads on this forum...), and doesn't account for any by-design behavior or if there is a true defect. Also, I don't believe there is any weight to severity. The hatch spring issue a lot of people had was incredibly minor, and would impact reliability ratings just as much as melting electronics.

"predicted reliability" is different than initial quality. I agree the "initial quality" rating are rather arbitrary since someone may give a low rating because they don't like where the stereo controls are ... In any event initial quality wasn't what I was referring to -- the Z got 4 out of 5 on that anyway ...

daleks · 05-31-2010, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaggeron

"predicted reliability" is different than initial quality. I agree the "initial quality" rating are rather arbitrary since someone may give a low rating because they don't like where the stereo controls are ... In any event initial quality wasn't what I was referring to -- the Z got 4 out of 5 on that anyway ...

"Predicted Reliability: Derived from historical trending for a vehicle and/or manufacturer in our Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability Studies, Predicted Reliability is a forecast of how reliable a newer vehicle might be over time."

Zaggeron · 05-31-2010, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daleks

"Predicted Reliability: Derived from historical trending for a vehicle and/or manufacturer in our Initial Quality and Vehicle Dependability Studies, Predicted Reliability is a forecast of how reliable a newer vehicle might be over time."

Ummm ... I'm not sure whether you are agreeing with me or disagreeing...
Yes, predicted reliability is derived from their initial quality studies and historical data. Nevertheless they are different categories in the JD Power report -- obviously since the Z got a 4 for initial quality and a 3 for predicted reliability.

My point in my earlier post was about how they are determining this because the 370 hasn't been around for very long. I posted to your post because your post seemed to be all abut the initial quality ratings which do not use historical data and, as I agreed with you, are mostly about the customer's subjective impression of the quality of their vehicle.

I think that, other than our choice of words, we are in irreconcilable violent agreement

waaaasabi · 05-31-2010, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fyreboltx

It's not that I want a low maintenance car, it's just that I don't know how different the maintenance is from a regular sedan to a sports. I understand how to check all the fluids, can change my own oil (though I probably wouldn't risk it on the Z), and I clay/wax my car twice a year (and polish every other year).

But obviously, there are somethings simple detailing and under-the-hood checking won't take care of. That's what I was more interested about.

Maintenance is pretty much the same, except you'll have to be a bit more vigilant on checking the oil as the engine will go through its share. Changing the oil yourself is pretty straight forward on this car, and AK has a great DIY guide in the DIY section of this forum.

But ultimately the reason I believe you want a low maintenance car is because you expressed unwillingness to change out your tires from summers to winters. If you want to drive it during the winter, through snow and sleet, snow tires are your only choice; compromising with all-seasons would be disastrous. As for potential paint damage from winter driving, a good waxing before the season and a good detail in immediate post-snow period will suffice, but again, if it's black, you'll be putting in more work. Also, you'll probably have to do some rust assessment after the snow season, but that's pretty simple, too.

fyreboltx · 05-31-2010, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waaaasabi

Maintenance is pretty much the same, except you'll have to be a bit more vigilant on checking the oil as the engine will go through its share. Changing the oil yourself is pretty straight forward on this car, and AK has a great DIY guide in the DIY section of this forum.

But ultimately the reason I believe you want a low maintenance car is because you expressed unwillingness to change out your tires from summers to winters. If you want to drive it during the winter, through snow and sleet, snow tires are your only choice; compromising with all-seasons would be disastrous. As for potential paint damage from winter driving, a good waxing before the season and a good detail in immediate post-snow period will suffice, but again, if it's black, you'll be putting in more work. Also, you'll probably have to do some rust assessment after the snow season, but that's pretty simple, too.

I guess that does sound lazy of me... but no, I'll definitely get snow tires since it definitely sounds like doing so otherwise would be idiotic. I have no plans to drive it when the roads are covered in snow. And I guess I better keep a few extra quarts of oil around, just in case.

Thanks.

AK370Z · 05-31-2010, 06:50 PM

Quote:

Some things I'd like your opinions on are:
1. How does it fair as a daily driver? I've read a few of the previous posts on this topic and most of it seems generally positive but... not really reassuring.

I'll be driving to/from school (an hour each way) in the fall when I go back to school for my Masters and most of it will be fairly smooth roads. I know it's not going to comfortable, like my previous cars but is it at least bearable? In my city there are plenty of really bad roads which I'll have to drive through nearly everyday but they're short stretches. I'm only 5'8" and have sat in one already so space isn't an issue.

2. I've read a lot of complaints about road noise. Has that issue been fixed or is it still prevalent?
ANS: It's a sports car. It'll always be noisy. High end sports cars like Lambo, Ferrari are far more noisy than this. I personally have no complain. The Z will certainly be more noisy than your previous cars, no doubt.

3. Now... I'm sure this will make some of you cringe but can this be driven during the winter, with the standard all season tires? (*My brother's IS350 has summer/winter tires and that's something I'd rather not put up with.)
Ans: Dry Winter = all season no problem. A lot of snow winter = you need dedicated winter tires. I have a winter tire set for winter snow driving. 370Z is a very light RWD car. Coming from FWD Acura TL and Accord, I DO NOT suggest all season for you. Also, you must learn how to drive RWD in snow too (how to accelerate slowly in 2nd gear, no gas during turns etc)

My commute will be done in the northern IL area and winters here are pretty bad... and I know that going from two front wheel drive cars to a rear wheel sports car is NOT going to be an easy transition.
Ans: Look at my reply to the previous question.

4. The paint really that bad? I mean... I sofa-king hate swirls/chips on my cars. I understand it's unavoidable but from "Most Fragile Car I've Ever Owned!", it sounds like the paint just falls off for some of you.
Ans: I think some paints are more fragile than other (i.e. Black) but I have no complain with Monterey Blue. I just wash/waxed with the cheapest wax on the market and here's how it came out. It'll get much better with professional detailing product (which I'm planning on using next time after I attend detailing clinic on how to do proper detailing)

5. To those of you with the 2009 model, is it a fairly reliable car? We've always bought Japanese since they make reliable cars but JD powers gave the 2010 Z a 6/10 rating in terms of reliability. I understand it's only an estimate but still, figured I'd get some of your opinions.
Ans: just rolled over 19,250 miles (and that's in just over 1 year). Only made 1 trip to the dealer so far and that's because I overtightened a lug nut (wheels) and broke it. Those who rides with me knows that I def "DRIVE "the car (don't baby it). Maintain any car, put the best stuff in and it'll be problem free for years.

..

05-31-2010, 01:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zaggeron A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,951 Drives: '10 370ZR '13 BRZ Rep Power: 19	Hi and welcome to the forums. I don't use mine as a daily driver, but plenty of folk do and find it plenty comfortable. I find the comfort and road noise non-issues. For me and I'm about 5'10 175 lbs I find the seats comfortable for long trips and the road noise is only excessive if there is a bunch of sand or gravel on the roadway. Winter driving ... I would definitely get snow tires -- there are some very informative threads on here that go over some nice winter setups. Paint ... People complain about road chips and so forth, but those are gonna happen with almost any cars ...paint ain't what it used to be I guess. That said the color can make a big difference in the amount of upkeep required. The silver and platinum graphite are easy colors to maintain and don't show swirls like the red and black. On the other hand, lots of folk enjoy detailing their cars and would be at a loss if there were no swirls/minor scuffs to buff out with their new PC . Do you have a link to that JD powers survey you reference? I've heard that the Z scored well in quality. Other than a few flakey e-key issues, ecu whining (which I haven't heard much about lately so they must have fixed it for the '10s) and aftermarket oil cooler issues, I haven't really heard of any systematic problems. That's my $.02, I'm sure you'll hear some other opinions __________________ 2010 Platinum Graphite 370z Roadster:Touring/Sport 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited

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05-31-2010, 01:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
SkyZ Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 382 Drives: 09 370z PG M6 Rep Power: 17	im in Canada, snow isnt an issue WITH snow tires. not stupid enough to try without and crash my lovely z. start in second gear, dont drive with a lead foot, all that jazz. lots of tips from various places on how to drive in snow. road noise isnt that bad if you get into the mindset that its a sports car not a lexus. same with comfort. other than that i would find its pretty low maintenance as opposed to what a few posts above suggested. not much to do. drive it, change the tires for winter, check/change oil once in a while.