Originally Posted by jazz-Z (Post 1708539)

I have been lurking here for quite a while, but only recently decided to join for lots of reasons. I promised myself I wouldn't do this, but I can't help it. There is a disproportionate level of wretching and moaning on this forum. You would think most of you guys hate your cars. It's too loud! Guess what sports cars are LOUD. It doesn't make the right kind of noise! Gimme a break. It sounds mechanical like an engine should, and when I downshift and accelerate, my Z sounds downright angry. I love it!.

The brakes aren't any good. Really, I feel like I can rip a hole in time with my brakes. So what if some bozo from MotorTrend caused the brakes to fail by doing repeated 100-0 stops. I watched Jeremy on Top Gear set the ceramic brakes of an exotic sports car on fire the other day. Any brakes can be made to fail if one pushes them beyond their limits.

The car over heats and needs an oil cooler. I live in the humid, hot East Coast and I have never had my car go into limp mode. BTW guys, your car is supposed to run between 180 and 220 degrees even 230 or 240 is fine. My car was broken in according to factory guidelines and it has never burned oil.

I have never had fuel starve. I don't drive slow, and I have the speeding tickets to prove it ( That's a topic for another thread) but I don't drive like an anal cavity either.

My car isn't as fast as this car, or as fast as that car. When the Z came out it beat the Porsche Cayman S around Willow springs in a direct head to head comparison by Road and Track (Google it) So Porsche came out with the Cayman R in order to put down a faster time than the Z, but they cut weight in that car by taking out unnecesary items like door handles and AC, and then charge extra for no door handles.

The fact is the Z is loaded with edgy technology and engineering. How about appreciating some of what you got for a very reasonable price, and stop nitpicking the car to death.

Okay I know this is the internet, and this post isn't going to do a blankety blank thing to to change much of anything, but I had to get this off my chest.

Originally Posted by shadoquad (Post 1709081)

jazz, the facts of your car are that if you drive it at the bleeding edge, or in excessive heat, the oil will heat to 260 degrees and go into limp mode. MD is not the hottest part of the country. I know, I'm here, too. The oil overheating issue can be fixed with a $500 oil cooler.

And the other fact is that if you heat up your brakes, the stock braking fluid can't handle it and you will experience brake failure. That can be done at the track, but I first experienced it last year at the end of an 11 hour road trip. I pressed the pedal and nothing happened. Had to stop the car using the clutch. This can be fixed with about 60-80 dollars worth of better braking fluid.

Fuel starve is a well known track issue and will probably only occur if one is pushing the car to its handling limits on a sweeping right hand turn. This has not been adequately fixed yet to my knowledge.

All that said, I appreciate the car for what it is. I love it, I've enjoyed every day with it. We have to discuss its faults, so that other owners can know what to expect. You might not want to track the car, so you may never find these faults, but there are plenty of people who want to take the car to a race track, and they deserve to know about its performance limits before they invest money in an HPDE and have it occur at the track.

It's the advantage of having a discussion forum.

Only a blind fanboy would pretend any car has zero issues. Again, I love the Z, but it has faults, just like any other car.

Originally Posted by Spikuh (Post 1709321)

Above 210*, oil temps start having adverse effects on this engine. It begins losing power and my gut tells me some fuel efficiency as well. Continuing to increase oil temps will only amplify the problem. Over the past couple weeks, my engine temps have crept northward of 220* which does not sit well with me. I typically baby my car, but even with my driving style, I still get oil temp spikes up to ~240*. I will be looking into getting an oil cooler put on my car in the coming weeks to alleviate this problem. While an oil cooler may be a necessity, it will help with peace of mind.
/rant

Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1709410)

Modern motor oil can survive way more than 240F. They are running warmer and warmer for emission and fuel economy reasons. Of course as the temperature goes up, it does deteriorate quicker. I am with the OP that it is in your head on this one. Also if you look at the ECU fuel settings, it doesn't pull timing from oil temp. It does it only if your engine is so hot that it soaks the air flow meter's temperature sensor, I highly doubt oil temp at 240F is enough to soak your engine by that much unless you are sitting still

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang (Post 1709415)

So... who else got a hard on looking at the OPs avatar?

Originally Posted by Spikuh (Post 1709501)

I don't think it is pulling timing based on oil temps. I agree with that, but the car still feels and reacts very differently at 190* and 220* for whatever reason. I think it has something to do with the fact that the VVEL system is operated through the use of the oil. When Modshack did his oil cooler write-up back in 2009, he seemed to allude to this when summing up the research he did.

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ttsa-pics.html

I don't Modshack linked backed to the actual research items he found but they may be in that thread somewhere.



She stares into my soul...

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang (Post 1709415)

So... who else got a hard on looking at the OPs avatar?

Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1709546)

You have a point and you might well be right, but I am not certain if the difference is as big as people seem to think. I have done laps at 200F/220F/240F and 260F. My datalogger shows no noticeable difference in acceleration between any of the laps with corner exit at the same speed. The difference between them is so small that I am not sure if it does anything on the road. A few HP, I would buy in, but the car isn't going from 330HP to 230HP.

I mean I wish I didn't have to spend $700 on a new oil cooler, but I think Nissan would take care of most of the complains by putting in a oil pressure gauge instead of temperature.

Originally Posted by UNKNOWN_370 (Post 1709557)

Haaaaa... nice pic but... there's a certain female member on here who will remain nameless that is slightly more impressive than even that avatar. Lol.

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1709583)

Awwww, thank you

*blushes*

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1709583)

Awwww, thank you

*blushes*

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1709583)

Awwww, thank you

*blushes*

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1709583)

Awwww, thank you

*blushes*

Originally Posted by Spikuh (Post 1709616)

I knew it!!!!! So that is you doing the squat over in the conference room!!!

:icon17:

Originally Posted by Red__Zed (Post 1709583)

Awwww, thank you

*blushes*

Originally Posted by 2011 Nismo#91 (Post 1709812)

As a track day car there are flaws some rather expensive ones. As a road car there really isn't anything wrong with it. It's a very rare situation where any of the issues mentioned here appear off the track.

Originally Posted by red6spd (Post 1709975)

Maybe if I ever sell my Z it will be worth money because its the only good one Nissan made I guess?

Originally Posted by gomer_110 (Post 1710105)

I'll agree with you OP. The only thing I can say is that it seems that we do have a lot of whiners here. Sometimes I wonder why the fuel starvation problem is still an issue. Maybe it's the engineer in me but I would have thought that by now someone on here, especially the guys that track their Z's, would have figured out a solution to the problem. :stirthepot:

Also as far as the NVH complaints all I can say is it's a sports car not a luxury car. Maybe that's just because I've never had a BMW M3, etc. but when I think sports car I don't expect quiet and smooth.

Originally Posted by red6spd (Post 1709975)

Wow cant believe I did not see this post earlier. Its sad that a new guy on the forum has got the feeling that most people hate the Z. But I do agree, there are way to many Z owners... And past Z owners that complain about the most stupid stuff. I know at 17k my Z is still a baby but I have not had one issue that everyone complains about. Oil Consumption Nope! Rough clunky noisy (apart from the throw out bearing rattle) tranny NOPE! Fuel starvation on the street NOPE! High oil temps Nope (most I ever got before the cooler was 260) Maybe if I ever sell my Z it will be worth money because its the only good one Nissan made I guess?

Originally Posted by cossie1600 (Post 1709208)

I said I hope you don't hit fuel starve and end up being stranded on the side of the road like I did. It isn't hard to hit fuel starve given the poor design on the Nissan. And no, you can do it without having to break the speed limit as I have done. I don't have to be a Nissan fanboy because I have owned other vehicles and can be objective about things. Also as much as I love my car, the car is full of little problems that can be cure with a simple fix at the factory or design table. Yet Nissan continues to ignore the problem and have their owners foot their bill. (Hello steering lock!) Is it as bad as owning an Audi or a Chevy, probably not? At the same time, it is not a perfect vehicle that some of you guys perceive it to be.

I do 100% agree with you that the car gives a lot of performance for the buck. You are absolutely right that some parts are strictly on the owners if they wish to track their vehicle (pads/brake duct/oil cooler). Yet you have items like the steering lock, abs ice mode and fuel pump design that should have be addressed to begin with. They are all potential safety hazard, so not sure why Nissan refused to address it. Well I understand why because I dealt with them in the past on other vehicles, let's just say I now understand why I paid so little for my Z cars and so much for my Mercedes.

Originally Posted by gomer_110 (Post 1710105)

I'll agree with you OP. The only thing I can say is that it seems that we do have a lot of whiners here. Sometimes I wonder why the fuel starvation problem is still an issue. Maybe it's the engineer in me but I would have thought that by now someone on here, especially the guys that track their Z's, would have figured out a solution to the problem. :stirthepot:

Also as far as the NVH complaints all I can say is it's a sports car not a luxury car. Maybe that's just because I've never had a BMW M3, etc. but when I think sports car I don't expect quiet and smooth.

Originally Posted by nismochiq (Post 1710987)

ahh the best way to put it...complain about the people that complain...really?