Seriously?
 

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.

well said, but there is always going to be people who disagree with your view which in itself is partial opinion. myself, like you i have never had any of the issues in the 18,000 miles i have driven my Z, but like any product there is always going to be a few bad ones in the bunch.

My car is slow, too loud, and over heats due to the lack of oil cooler.

lol

Good points. I think a valid theory to consider about the complaints is some of these owners are ritzy folks that are not used to the rawness of the Z. They got it because it looked cool, fit the bill, and they heard it's "pretty fast". Just my thoughts.

My windshield wipers make a weird noise. Anyone else have this problem? About to trade it in.

Coon-Azz
 

previously coming from a highly modified Pontiac Solstice GXP, I have to agree. I've driven 700 HP Ferrar'is around Summit Point, been in 200 HP Porsche that were more fun etc etc. I have to say that I really like how easy to drive the 370Z is...Everyone is at different stages in their passion for cars...I know. But I think there is a lot to enjoy about the car..once all said and done. (yeah, of course I plan to modify it-duh) just not to the point I did the last one. :tup:
Really enjoy the balance and how driving is "point and shoot"...

Hope you don't get stranded the next time the car runs into a fuel pickup issue due to a design flaw. 30k gets you a car that can go somewhat fast, but only if x and y conditions are met. What you perceive to be fast is slow to others...

aaaannnd here we go, lol

The purpose of a discussion forum is to point out and address problems. It serves as a medium for people exchange ideas to improve the car. What good would it do if you have a bunch of guys posting how perfect their cars are?

It would be a circle jerk party like the corvette meets

Yikes! Welcome to the Internet.

:tup:

I learn more from the failures of others on this board then I ever will by the successes.

If you can't handle people griping about things they wish were improved I'd suggest logging onto a Bugati forum where there is no room for improvement.

Just because you didn't have the aformentioned problems doesn't mean no one else on the board did and it certainly doesn't negate the validity of their claims. Limp mode was discovered because cars went into limp mode, fuel starvation was discovered when cars were stranded on the highway... I am trying to see what your angle is but personally I'm not getting it.

what the hell is this fuel starve?

it's not as bad as you make it out to be imho...........
sure we all share a love for the 370... and no car is perfect....
so we come here to vent to someone we have something in common with.....

this is the problem every time the fuel starve issue comes up. Most people here have apparently never been in a car driven anywhere near the limit.

The Z is a nice car. If you wanted something smoother & quieter, then go with the G37. The Z is a sports car & isn't going to ride like a Cadillac, or be as quite as a Mercedes Benz while driving. When you buy the Z you are getting what you paid for. Like most of us were not too crazy about the exhaust that came on the car, so we upgrade to a better exhaust system. If you want more hp, then go out & buy the parts to help you reach your goal. It is like watching a movie......some people will like it & others will not. There is no such thing as something being 110% perfect b/c there is always going to be something that should have been better, or done differently. At the end of the day if you do not like something about the car, then change it (exhaust, HU, intake & etc).

leasing a 2012 Z for 320 a month, no sport package but what a steal!! im thankful but there is no doubt that the gas mileage is absolutely terrible in my opinion, crappy speakers and drivers side view is not to much of a biggie. Overall coming from a supercharged s2000 and E55 amg this car is EPIC.

Baller. :icon18:

OP is right though about Z owners who hate there cars. I honestly think its a way to self justify there next purchase and not looking like the typical suburban "gotta have it before my neighbor does" mentality", in some cases. NOT all... but, its like all of a sudden SOME guys just give me that vibe. One day the Z is awesome. The next they have to go to the dealer for an issue and the Z is worthless.

Other sports cars see the dealer too. :ughdance:

The Z has given me nothing but joy. I bought an oil cooler (not installed yet) but RP is doing a great job @ staying cool thus far. I don't get worried when my car sees 240. When I first bought the. Car my Z would jump to 260 degrees in 15 minutes on normal roads. Came to find out Z's run hot during break in. Doing the correct oil changes from 0-5000 with premium oil really slows that process down as the engine lubricates. 6300miles and in 8 months of owning the Z. I haven't seen high temps in 6 months. We just started going into the 90's. I'm still staying around 230 or lower.

Brake cooling will be addressed. Better pads, lines and rotors have been done. I'm considering selling my stop tech rotors for ebc dimple-drilled and slotted??? My S tune pads work like magic. Repeat stops feel sure and fade free. I won't track this car till every preventative mod is completely done and I have it dropped, spaced and swayed.

Love your Z and it will love you back. Fuel starvation. I have no comment because I never been through it even though I drive like I stole from the president sometimes. But I feel for that situation. That is one flaw that is hard to address as just an owner. But if you love your Z? USE THE FORUM FOR WHAT ITS HERE FOR. Don't just complain here. Gather guys with the same issue's info. Write a petition for inspection and TSB. Add the names and gather forum support. Rants and cries get these issues nowhere.

Well said OP

Hahahaa.... the radio is my biggest pet peeve. I hate it. I think for Z money, they could have done better. But aftermaket stereos rock, so its all good:tiphat:

probably has the vdc on...

I rented a Versa it had the exact same radio. Mine is getting swapped within a couple weeks

definitely gotta agree with you on all points, i think what the OP is hinting to is instead of moaning and groaning about it all the freakin time on these boards as has been done many times by certain people why not actually be proactive like UNKNOWN says and get together a petition from everyone that has the same issue. i'm with OP as far as that goes, heck i would definitely sign a petition if anyone ever got one together but going on and on with the complaints will only eventually do one thing: annoy the heck out of people, and with that being said most people who would rather not hear it on a constant basis WILL start ignoring you which is counter active to your cause.

+1....... :iagree:

What purpose does it serve to bash the car if you have an issue??? It goes both ways. But forums almost always lack objectivity.

I was getting to the point of questioning if I should buy a Z after seeing so many complaints about this and that. Glad I went forward with the purchase afterall... haven't experienced any issues that have been brought up here...great post OP

Well said OP. :iagree:

:iagree: I could not agree any less!:tup:

Hahaha...who needs a radio anyway??? Hearing the exhaust notes in my Z is an orchestra to me. Who cares about a radio its a sports car for crying out loud. But that is just me, OK No hard feelings. :tup:

BTW I only have the OEM exhaust for now but not for long my upgraded exhaust is on the way...
Then I'll have a CONCERT!:tiphat:

What He Said
 

Z_ealot pretty much nailed it. Of course there are and will be issues with the car. It is a mechanical device and parts will fail. I started reading this forum as a new Z owner in search of information about my car, what it's capabilities and limitations were. I was also interested in staying informed on TSB's and finding a support system to direct me to parts, service, and yes problems with the car.

This forum provided me with information to have my hatch springs replaced. When i was havng a problem with my brake booster, information I found as a result of a a search of this forum enabled me to diagnose the problem before the service techs at the Nissan dealership. (They did replace my booster under warranty.)

To Coosie I feel for your experience with fuel starve and replied to your post, so no need to wish bad things on me. I also agree that if others have experienced this problem during the normal operation of their vehicle, then they should report the problem to Nissan and the NHTSA. However, if the problem only occurs while on the track, or "drivng the car to its limits" on the street (BTW if you are driving to the limits on the street you are definitely drivng recklessly and could lose your license if you are caught by the PoPo.) then don't blame the car, or Nissan.

The Z is NOT a race car. It is a high performance sports car that provides dependable drivng, and a reasonable amount of comfort at a low price point when compared to vehicles with equivalent performance metrics. That's it. If you want more luxury and a resulting decrease in HP/weight then buy a G37. BTW the Z was widely praised for taking a leaner, lighter approach to sports car design when it was released. This is why it has a cheaper sound system, at least in the base model, and noisy wheel wells. If you buy a Supperleggera (read superlight) Lambo I don't think they even give you a radio. If you want to track your car then you may have to make some modificaions, but why would Nissan include all of these things (oil, and transmission cooler, brake cooling ducts, mechanical differential) for specialty purposes resulting in inflated prices, and possible increases in liabilty for Nissan.

I don't modify my car, but I understand it is fashionable to do so with younger drivers, and maybe some of these guys will go on to design their own cars one day. If they do I wonder what they will think when people start to rag on their design concepts.

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.

...unsubscribe. :facepalm:

I'm sorry. I have this flaw... I'm an honest person.

If you weren't so even-keeled and logical, you would have friends.

What would you know of being logical to the point where it offends fanboys? :bowrofl:

All I know is:

On the Subaru forum I am a Z fanboy
One the Z forum I am mustang fanboy
On the mustang forum I am an s2000 fanboy
On the s2k forum I am a wrx fanboy
On every forum but the bimmer forum I am a BMW fanboy...

But most importantly, everywhere I go, I am a shado fanboy.

On the Britney forum I'm a Gaga fan boy. Sorry, but I was born this way.

Sub'd.

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.

I do not recall many/any complaints about the breaks being bad, just that they fail very quickly when in comes to taking the vehicle to a track. Even then, simple changes have been pointed out that basically alleviates this problem.

Can you point to some specific assertions where people are saying the brakes are categorically bad?

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 not be a necessity, it will help with peace of mind.

Also, if oil temps are truly not a problem, why do the newer Z's have them then? [EDIT]I left out a not, so went back and fixed it...

:shakes head: Driving fast does not cause the fuel starvation...

It faster than some, slower than others.

How do you know they don't appreciate all these things?

/rant