Ride and sound?

[nefilim]

Hey everyone

I'm interested in possibly getting a 370z but still wondering about exhaust/engine sound, NVH and things like that.
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to take me for a spin? Preferably in a stick shift car, more interested in these combos:

• Any aftermarket exhaust
• Nismo stock exhaust
• Sport package stock exhaust

I'd be happy to take you for a ride in my E92 M3 with iconel performance exhaust if interested.

I'm in San Francisco (Potrero Hill), happy to meet up in Marin or as far south as Burlingame (on the weekend).

Thanks!
Peter

[raymondo510]

Hey Peter,

Now I cant speak for everyone but most people may be a little hesitant to just meet up for a ride (no offense). One thing you could do is maybe go to a few meets and get an idea of how some different set ups might sound and what you like and don't like. Are you going for a quiter setup? The stock is very quite and the nismo has a nicer tone but it isn't loud at all. ZONC is having a cruise coming up next weekend where there will be nothing but Z's. O and Welcome to the forum.

[nefilim]

Hey Raymond

Thanks for the input, fair point!

One thing I quite like about my current setup is that's fairly quiet when off throttle and just cruising, no droning on the highway but gets reasonably loud when using wide open throttle. I've wished for louder at times but overall it's a nice compromise, especially for a daily driver.

Are those without Nissans/Infinitys welcome at the ZONC cruise?

Cheers
Peter

[raymondo510]

Im sure they wouldn't mind. Usually they meet up for about an hour before they actually take off so that would be a good chance to hear some of the different setups. A lot of people on here like the Fast Intentions exhaust or F.I. I myself have it non-resonated with HiFlow Cats but thats a pretty loud setup. They have the option to add 12" or 18" resonators and thats a good option if you don't want it so loud. Let me know if you have any other question, this place is awesome for finding info on the car

[jaytwitch]

Jus installed Aam short tips on my car, the thing is a monster!<<33... Get a Z! Best car ever

[DEpointfive0]

Originally Posted by raymondo510

Hey Peter,

Now I cant speak for everyone but most people may be a little hesitant to just meet up for a ride (no offense). One thing you could do is maybe go to a few meets and get an idea of how some different set ups might sound and what you like and don't like. Are you going for a quiter setup? The stock is very quite and the nismo has a nicer tone but it isn't loud at all. ZONC is having a cruise coming up next weekend where there will be nothing but Z's. O and Welcome to the forum.

I agree with going to a meet. But if I was within a 2 hour drive, I'd let you drive my car.

And why not just test drive a Nismo and any other model 370? (All the exhausts are the same besides the Nismo's, and 99% of those people change their exhaust anyways) and the dealers should let you test drive their cars because you have an M3

[dP3NGU1N]

Originally Posted by jaytwitch

Jus installed Aam short tips on my car, the thing is a monster!<<33... Get a Z! Best car ever

^quick disclaimer: It's really not the best car ever but it's pretty sweet.

[DEpointfive0]

Lets go through the list, anyone who disagrees, feel free to correct me, and/or please give your input!

Noise: inside the cabin, you're left wanting more... There is BARELY an exhaust note, outside it's better, but last I checked, you drive on the inside.
On the Nismo, it's better, but not a whole lot better, it's somewhere like the old G35 coupes... But no real grumble when you really give it some gas

Vibration and harshness for me are similar, look, crap squeaks/rattles after time, more on this vs my Lexus...
Now, there's a gray area in the whole mix of things. The stock 370 isn't loud, it's NOISY, good goddamn, if the roads where you live aren't smoother than a baby's *** like on the Autobahn, the tire roar is terrible, you'll notice yourself talking louder or tuning the radio almost all the way up... Back in Dallas on the road to get to Costco, I swear on my life, that I had to SHOUT to talk and my stereo would be on the last notch to hear ANYTHING... Stock tires have a lot of roar, but I don't have stock tires and it STILL sucks...
This can be remedied by using some GTMat (sooooo much better now)

The ride quality... For 2013 (someone said unannounced in 2011 as well) Nissan changed the Sport suspension, so there are 3 different trims... The base and the sport, they ride great, I would make a 400 mile trip in my car in a heartbeat. I drive from Dallas to LA with 0 issues and I'm prone to back pain, AND I broke my assbone...
This leads to the Nismo... The Nismo rides like my Lexus ISF... Like a damn rock... You feel almost every bump in the road...
This also leads me to the other issue... Base/Nismo vs Touring seats...
The base/Nismo seats do not offer a lumbar adjustment, and they do not have an unlimited amount of adjustment positions (and the steering wheel only moves up/down) so having the touring really helps with getting the exact driving position.

Back to noise: aftermarket exhausts:
Almost none have drone or tinniness or rasp right off the shelf...
Titanium exhausts to up the pitch and almost make a tinny sound (some say exotic)...
I have had a Stillen exhaust, a FI exhaust with 12" resonators, and I have driven cars with a few extra exhausts (Ark, FI 18", FI non res)
I don't want to turn this into a "oh this is the best exhaust on the market thread" so I'll move on...
So, if you change the cats, this is where you'll get rasp, most of your tinniness and such.
When I had Berk HFCs, there was no rasp, no drone, no tinniness, there was however a whooshing sound and a hiss on deceleration. This is something you WILL experience with any HFCs, (a bit less with resonated ones)
When I had resonated test pipes (only tested it with my Stillen) everything else got amplified, exhaust got deafening (shít eating grin). Rasp, hiss, they were DEFINITELY apparent. But I'd only get SLIGHT drone at 80MPH on the freeway, and I do mean SLIGHT...
What would be worse is 45MPH in 7th under load (may sound dumb, but it's when I'm in cruise control going up a hill. 45MPH on flat roads with CC was fine)... I'd downshift to 4th-5th kill the drone if I was having a conversation with someone...


I THINK that covers it... Feel free to PM me or text me (310)eight nine three-4207
--Andrew

[axmea?]

DEpointfiveO summed it up for you.

[DEpointfive0]

Originally Posted by axmea?

DEpointfiveO summed it up for you.

Thanks, I try!

[jaytwitch]

Yaaa driving on expressway with no radio sucks.... But u get used to it, as it was never there

[SouthArk370Z]

Originally Posted by DEpointfive0

... tuning the radio almost all the way up...
my stereo would be on the last notch to hear ANYTHING... This can be remedied by using some GTMat (sooooo much better now)

Turn on the speed-sensitive volume control (may be a Bose-only option). Three levels of adjustment. I have mine set to the mid level and it works well. I have to manually adjust volume only on the roughest of roads (or when Sweet Home Alabama comes on).

I installed the free sample from GTMat and it made a noticeable difference, even though I wasn't able to cover the entire hatch area.

[nefilim]

Appreciate the input everyone.

Thank you DEpointfive0 for the detailed response, answering some questions I was wondering about and haven't even asked yet!
I have seen mention of the loud tire noise in virtually all the reviews I've read, sounds like the GTMat made a nice difference, did you only do the trunk area? Can you remember how (in weight) you used?

How's the reliability been for you guys, other than steering lock issues on the earlier models? I should probably ask this in the general forum...

[SouthArk370Z]

Originally Posted by nefilim

I have seen mention of the loud tire noise in virtually all the reviews I've read, ...

Lots of info on tire noise in the wheels and tire section. I'm still running the original tires. Going by what I've read, these are very noisy and there are MUCH quieter tires available.

Originally Posted by nefilim

... sounds like the GTMat made a nice difference, did you only do the trunk area? Can you remember how (in weight) you used?

I used their free sample which was 9 sg ft of their light-weight material. I was able to cover most of the hatch area, up to the rear half of the shock towers. If I were to do it over, I'd use the light-weight material for the doors and use one of the heavier mats for the hatch area. And I would have started with the shock towers and worked my way back - they are a big noise source and I wish I had covered them before I ran out of mat.

Originally Posted by nefilim

How's the reliability been for you guys, other than steering lock issues on the earlier models? I should probably ask this in the general forum...

Very good for me. I've had the hatch springs and front wheels (discoloration) replaced. The driver door window rattled and needed adjustment. A few other minor items. All under warranty.

Other than the SLU, I've noticed others have reported oil consumption and clutch slave cylinder problems. I'm sure others will chime in with more gotchas to look for. No car is perfect, and the 370Z is no exception, but, so far, it seems to be very reliable for a sports car that a lot of ppl drive like a sports car.

[DEpointfive0]

Originally Posted by nefilim

...sounds like the GTMat made a nice difference, did you only do the trunk area? Can you remember how (in weight) you used?

How's the reliability been for you guys, other than steering lock issues on the earlier models? I should probably ask this in the general forum...

So far I have only done the trunk, I used the 50 mil, but I doubled up almost everywhere. I also applied plastidip underneath the GTMat to make an uninstall easier.
I used probably 15-20 square feet (before doubling up in certain areas, just depends how anal you are) as well as putting expanding builder's foam in the left side wheel well against the body and I filled the bottom chassis brace.
I MIGHT be doing it all again, in which case I'll be using 70mil Butyl GTMat

As for reliability... it ain't like any Toyota I have ever owned!
I'll PM you MY problems so I don't have to clog this thread with my issues