Engine harshness

Originally Posted by nicknick

Ok, a lot of people here obviously do not read my posts fully and go off half cocked, actually I am guilty of this myself. Let me reiterate. IT IS NOT THE ENGINE NOISE VOLUME OR ROAD NOISE VOLUME THAT IRKS ME. IT IS THE QUALITY OF THE ENGINE NOISE, I CAN'T EVEN HEAR THE EXHAUST NOISE. So, have I made myself clear? I am trying really hard to love this car and I have a sense of brand loyalty due to owning a really hot 240Z, ans also I am not one to gravitate towards Euro cars because I simply believe you're paying too much money for what you actually get.
The quality of the engine noise in the Z is not real sports car music to an enthusiats ear if you know what i mean. This is my only bitch really about the Zed, the other stuff I can live with and appreciate, but a sports car like the Zed should have a better sounding engine note/tone/timbre. I mean think of cars like the Corvette, Mustang, Alfas, Maeratis etc, hell even my MX5 sounds way better. To me a sports car is not just about power aand straight line stomp, which the Zed has in spades, it is also about the "feel" which encompasses sensory aspects like, feel, visual and auditory, and in the auditory sense is where i am saying the Zed lacks and for a sports car like this to me at least is not acceptable. I mean come on it reminds me of my first car, a 1980 General Motors product that had a wheezy agricultural OHV pushrod motor that only revved to about 5,000rpm and sound thrashy and harsh. I expected better of the 370z, much better considering the edigree" of the VQ engine. I wonder as some car mags have said that the cause of this harshness is because this engine design has been stretched to its limits.

I know my friend had a Maxima with a 3.0 litre version of this engine and it was a sweet spinning motor and was no way thrashy or harsh. Maybe Nissan should have kept the older 350Z motor and found ways to make this 370z lighter? Some people on this post have said the Zed is a bare bones sports car, umm no it is not, at least here in Australia it isn't, it is loaded with almost every conceivable luxury. i think the 370 should have come in at approx 1300kilos not almost 1500 that it is, but that's another story.

Anyway I think i have made myself clear and in the end it is my opinion and i am entitled to my opinion. It is critisicm that hopefully sometimes makes car maqnufacturers improve their product.

Originally Posted by onzedge

The rampant misunderstanding of your post no doubt arose from your pervasive use of Australian, not American, English in your narrative. American English is, of course, the correct version -- especially for its readability. I hope this helps and that you have a great day.

Originally Posted by MUST

i'm with the op on this one, i love my '09 pw 370z 7at sport and i loved my '06 mb 350z 6spd base and i will prolly love my '73 s30 (once finished) but..

i didn't like how high the 370z was so i lowered it on hks coilovers.

i didn't like how the front chin spoiler rubbed constantly as i drove my 370z daily so i removed it.

i didn't like how the 370z sounded so i got injen cai and went through 4 different exhaust setups (amuse r1000 > mxp > hks ti > akrapovic ).

i didn't like how i couldn't see much with the stock 370z rearview mirror so i put in a broadway mirror.

i didn't like how the stock 370z sport rims didn't have any lip so i put volk te37's on.

i didn't like the 370z fangs or how the rear valence looked like it was stolen from the rogue so i blacked them out.

i didn't like how shiny the 370z headlights were so i blacked them out.

i didn't like how i'd have to drill holes in the 370z's front bumper to mount my front license plate so i made my own mounts ($2.00 mod).

i didn't like how dim and yellowish the stock 370z d2s bulbs were so i swapped in polarg 6k bulbs.

i didn't like how the 370z oil temps were crazy high so i got the ae oil cooler.

i didn't like how the 370z took corners so i installed hotchikis sways.

i didn't like how my 370z's rear rims weren't as flush as my fronts so i put in h&r spacers.

i didn't like how unresponsive and gray the 370z sport bbk were so i got orange project mu 6/4 bbk set installed.

i didn't like how my te37's filled the 370z's wheel wells so i got 20in ssr sp1s.

i didn't like how my new 20in tires rubbed the 370z's fenders so i rolled/pulled them.

i didn't like how the 370z doesn't know what gear to be in when in auto mode so i drive in manual mode 100% of the time.

i don't like how there isn't a proper rear-under diffuser for the 370z so i'm in progress of making one.

most of all..

i didn't like how someone who doesn't own a 370z can bitch about how it doesn't fulfill its sports car image / heritage and how he/she prefers his/hers pos-zoomzoom on a 370z forum and expect to not offend me so i unsubscribed from his/her thread after placing this post about my '09 pw 370z 7at sport.

no offense to you mr./mrs. kiwi.

Originally Posted by nicknick

I do not take offense, as you have not fully read my post and if you have read my post fully then you have come away with prejudice. No i don't own a 370Z but until recently I was seriously considering it. Remember Motoring journalists don't own the car either but they make commentary don't they? That is all i did. Oh and the MX5 is obviously not as fast a 370z in a straight line, but please understand there is more to driving than straight line performance.


I think whoever that poster was quite a while ago wqas onto something regarding MX5 doors. Don't knock until you have tried and i have tried the 370z on numerous occasions. So in a nutshell.....aGIAN..... the Z is a great car, no doubt, it has many things in its favour, looks, handling, quality, braking, features etc BUT for me this quality of engine noise for a car such as this just turned me off, for now. Maybe I'll revisit the Z showroom again and drive a manual Z like I originally did and then i thought WOW. The auto simply made the engine too thrashy.

Originally Posted by bvl

I think you need to step back and more clearly ask your questions

Harshness and noise are very subjective.

I am in the camp of the OEM exhaust sound is under tuned: many ways to fix this (I went with a NISMO, which still is a bit understated but a step up). Example: The OEM G37 exhaust is more aggressive then a Z, which is unacceptable

The second part of the engine sound equation is intake, which IMHO is actually quite good in the Z. Its got a good growl without sounding obnoxious.

Coming from the honda world, then into a Miata (I known them inside and out, having driven NA/NB/NC, and owned a FM II NA6 for 12 years) the NA/NB engines were very harsh compared to a Honda engine...but I learned to live with it just fine. I think that quite a few Z owners are in that camp too.

Mazda spent a lot of R&D on the exhaust tune of the Miata, its one of the defining characteristics of the car.

NVH often is a function of chassis and tires. We own a 2010 roadster (which basically replaced my FM II Miata), and I can tell you road noise in the car is because of those enormous tires, but compared to the NA6 miata, the Z is quieter in every respect. Even with those big donuts, road noise is subdued compared to running 15" Kumho V700's on my old Integra...tires matter

The Z has a much stronger chassis with almost no bump shake, quieter top (layered cloth vs. 1 piece vinyl), and less wind noise at speed.

Subjective still, but if you actually measured things with a sound meter I would bet you will show lower readings. If you are not happy with how the Z feels then don't compromise on such a thing: continue to drive a MX5 or whatever ride makes you smile the most.

When we went to replace the miata, we had a list of must haves...we didn't sway from that list. Somehow, we ended up on the Z. Is it perfect? Hell no. But for the money, we thought it was a fantastic package for what we were looking for.

My top 3 wishes would be:

A real exhaust note from the factory
smooth out the valve train above 5000
Can a brother get a clutch that doesn't clunk at low speed please

- b

Originally Posted by bvl

My top 3 wishes would be:

A real exhaust note from the factory
smooth out the valve train above 5000
Can a brother get a clutch that doesn't clunk at low speed please

- b