I am not trying be a jerk..But man, what are these cars built for ????

Cornering... being driven fast... Not track racing, I get it, but normal sports car driving.

I will be putting limited miles on the 370Z myself...

And sadly, it wouldn't be my Daily driver..

I will Track my Car this year and get all the Fun I need out of life..But if is Sad that they build something that supposed to corner and be driven hard. and it starves and overheats...

Oh, and I love Z's...My 300Zx was great, and my 350Z was great.. i feel that my step up to the 370Z, was although looking good, is a step down due to poor R and D...

They did not get it to starve in testing ??? Man...

Sorry, but I just dropped a chunk on the 370Z and my 1971 Z/28 will smoke this car on the Road Course..Quarter mile they are about even and that is WAY COOL for a quiet idling V-6...VERY NICE...

But fuel starve and oil cooling ? Weak...

I have a 2012 model that i pre ordered, it came with an oil cooler, but i am aware that the 2009-2011 370Z's had cooling issues at the track and with some spirited driving. My best advice would be to get an oil cooler from Z1 Motorsports and be happy, the 370Z is well worth the extra investment. Throw in a CBE and you'll be grinning again,trust me, you'll forget the fact you needed one as i'm told by 2009-2011 370Z owners. :tiphat:

It's a compromise car. All reasonably priced consumer sportscars are. After all, what percentage of them will ever even *see* track usage? Most people buy them for looks, and Nissan has to play a certain marketing, pricing, and looks game here more than anything just to keep the car alive. The oil cooler is a non-issue on the street in most climates (and they put some extra cooling in some hotter markets from the start, and added it to all of the cars in the US in the most recent MY update).

Personally, I think given the situation, they've managed to hand us a pretty awesome platform that's just a few obvious mods away from basic track duty (oil cooling, brake upgrades).

Even the fuel starve thing: most people will never notice this off the track, and even on the track it's mostly avoidable by keeping the tank topped up. It's not *that* huge a deal at the beginner level. If you're out there in slicks and wings and doing some definitely-not-beginner-level driving, you're already in a position where you're doing lots of upgrades to any factory car, so this is just another one to add to the list.

Well, obviously it all depends on the cars' respective mod levels and money input and of course the drivers, but I highly doubt that with other things being comparable, a '71 Z/28 can keep up with a 370Z on a road course, especially if it doesn't have a power advantage. The handling in the modern Z is just miles better than almost anything you could buy in 1971.

I don't see how an oil cooler is supposed to fx the fuel starvation.

Thank you...I will just chill out and add the mods later..

The car is way cool with the new interior and exterior, ect...And I do love it.

Also the Z/28 is Highly modified to be able to perform like it does..I spent as much modifying the Camaro as I spent on the whole 370Z..

Being the Wife's Car, I will have to sneak it to the shop to add the Mods..

My Wife hears the words "modifications" and she knows how dangerous i can be with a checkbook and modifying Cars..She still doesn't get me fixing the "Old " Car...

So Thanks, I will wait and prepare my modification attack...STEALTH...She will never know it .....

Yes, I forgot that part..

Seriously, you should be able to toss the 370Z around and have NO fuel issues..

I have some cloverleafs that I can check, but in the 40 year old car, i can run them over and over and over and over at max grip .....40 year old car with a Holley and a stock Fuel tank..40 year old technology...

ZERO starvation....ZERO cooling problems...

2009 "high performance" 370Z, ???????

No matter how you slice it...It is weak..

But again, it is what it is....Sad.

You said it yourself, you spent nearly as much money on the z28 as your 370. I dont see how valid your complaining is? So I spend $600 on an oil cooler and buying 4 5 gal. gas tanks is the end of the world? I am not happy about it, but move on and stop whining. Your z28 is god okay.

Carbs have their own set of issues under high load. I remember that nightmare.

I haven't used a carb since college...

My scooter has carb, it doesnt fuel starve either woohoo

Scooter the dog? He actually looks a little fuel starved...

Ouch thats mean......I cant afford to feed the dog, oil cooler is too expensive

Sorry my computer got fuel starvation...I am back..

Yes, it is hard to compare the two..Since i went mod crazy on one and not the other..An unfair comparison. So to your point, not valid, you are right.

But I would just like Nissan to address the problem...

My Z/28 is still an unrefined harsh Beast..So God no it is not God...

As long as you are not happy about it, meaning that it is BS that they do not fix it for free.

But for sure no more whining, I have plenty to keep me Happy.

But, I will do the cloverleafs in the 370Z and let you guys know..I should have done that first...i would have saved a lot of typing..

Other than that, the 370Z is Sweet...I am still trying to get used to the smoother power...My 350Z felt quicker...But the new engine seems smoother and not as fast...But I need more seat time..

Again, my unfair comparison to the Z/28 unless I modify the 370Z..My bad.

Oh and quickly, I am SO Impressed with the Times I hear you guys are running in these cars...V-6 Engines N/A...Amazing.

I really need to starve my cats...Or put them on weight watchers

I totally dont agree with many opinions written here. I mean those, where you say that most of the cars will never see the track and most of the people will never expect fuel starvation. Actually, this is true. Most cars wont ever be tracked. But I have bought a sports car, didn't I ? It wasnt listed as a sports looking car only ! I have had 350z 2004 before and never experienced a problem, on the street, on the track.
I sometimes drive hard on the street and go on the track about 6 times a year. On my 2009 370z a already experienced fuel starvation on the track as well as on the street and also the oil overheat issue.
I should always top up the tank, this solves the problem? Im pissed off! I always have to carry 50 litres of weight with me. I never had to do this with 350Z.
With so many people designing the fuel tank and the whole car, this shouldnt have happend.
I experience the fuel starvation on the street sometimes and Im not a formula one driver... This problem should be solved by Nissan itself!

I'm just glad my next track day at AMP is mostly long left handers and small quick right handers. See what I can get away with.

The 350Z didn't have the accentuated saddle design which is why it didn't have this problem.

Corvettes do though yet they have no issue. Should investigate what solution they employ.

You are right Nissan have tons of idiots on their payroll, yet I am not sure what you can do short of selling it and get another car. There is no fix currently and we already told you the best thing you can do. If you don't want to listen, that is your problem. If you care so much about weight, you will know that the 370 is still faster than a 350 with an empty tank....

I was at Sebring last weekend to spectate a NASA event... there was a 370z in DE4... it was sad watching him go around the long right hander before the start/finish straight - you guys know the one if you've ever run this track or played it on a sim... very bumpy and high speed entry if you do it right... anyways every time he came around it sounded like he was stabbing at the throttle. for a minute I thought he was an idiot, then realized it was fuel starvation. poor guy.

I won't sell the Wife's car, but that is all it is....The Wife's car...

Cossie, You seem so defensive and tell people they are whining.. This is a problem that never should have happened..

And I am sorry if your nose is bent because the Nissan Sucks.

I am not angry...I have plenty of money to buy whatever I want, whenever I want...So Money is never the problem..My mistake for not researching the problems...Yes, MY mistake...So yes, you are right...My Problem...

It is NISSAN that doesn't want to listen... We listened and the fix is LAME.....You may want to roll over for Nissan...Go for it.

You and I both know Nissan should step up....You know it...But since you own one, you defend it....OK...

How someone defends this "sports car", is beyond me...Is a Sports car for cornering ? Or to look at ?

Travis, that is SAD....All the other cars laugh at that guy and the Nissan 370Z..

But the wife will look good in it...

Hmm..i hate Nissen as much as you do, but for different reasons. why would I want to suck them off when my gas tank actually broke at 12k miles and I still have to deal with the same exact problem on a new tank. I trash them whenever I can get, but whining about fuel starvation when everyone already knows is a joke. What are you going to say next, stock pads and fluid arent track ready?

not the same.

completely agree... the fuel starvation is a huge disappointment especially because no one knows how to get around it really... A lot of "sports cars" stock brakes wont hold up on a track just like ours...

I melted the stock pads off the Corvette and e46 and 350z within 3 laps. Why do you think most regular track people swap the brakes before each track day.....

:werd:
unless you are buying a prepped car or very slow, you are an idiot for running stock brake pads/fluid on a track, even if they can be used, it just makes sense to swap them.

Adding an extra pump to the fuel tank is another animal entirely.

Let's keep it civil, gents.

"Treat everyone like a gentleman,
not because they are, but because you are."

Nope, I wasnt talking about anyone but you! I never said Nissen shouldnt fix it for free, but I have always said that you have a better chance of seeing god than getting Nissan to fix anything or doing the right thing. (see steering lock too). As of right now, there is no fix. you can come up with one to make money or just deal with it like everyone else.

Or if you are just taking your wife's Z4 out for a session to see how it handles on the track. But then again, her brakes held up fine for me.

Again, not serious tracking if you're taking it out for a couple laps.

Best post of the day...and the signature ? Priceless..

I will do my own testing this Summer...Until then...No Comment..

Thanks to those who gave some good info..And to Travis, for some sanity.

I won't defend Nissan any further. In other threads/places you'll find me cursing them up and down the wall on some issues. But you (and they) have to look at reality too. Even on a very enthusiast forum like this one (which, IMHO, is a step above the car culture in many car forums), take a look around at the ratios of "types" of owners by the threads and mods and whatnot.

Most people buy sportscars to look sporty. Whether it's a stereotypical "chick buys sportscar because it looks sexy" or a guy that buys a car because he thinks it looks racecar-y and then does a bunch of "I want it to look faster and meaner" mods. I'd love it if Nissan ignored all those people and released a true track-ready car that made no compromises. You could order this dream car for $30K and it would come with proper oil/tranny/diff cooling, a completely stripped and caged interior like the NISMO RC version, no radio, no AC, an ABS OFF switch, no Ice Mode programming, etc.

But it'll never happen. The two nearest approximations they can offer us, given the market, is the consumer 370Z we have today, and the $150K NISMO RC. There's just not a good market for a brand new pure track car where you can sell it on the cheap side at high volume, so car companies compromise. They try to give us something the enthusiasts can still make use of if they put some work into it. The fuel starve thing is a rather unfortunate design problem, but I still think if you've got a reason to really complain about it being a practical problem for you, you're already in the kind of category where you're modding the hell out of the car. Adding a surge tank or whatever isn't that huge a deal.

Most owners, when given the option to vote with their dollars, will pay more for a better factory subwoofer setup than to get a fuel starve fix from Nissan.

Last leg here... we have a pair of intake manifolds going in the CNC on saturday and then its surge can production time.

BTW, our prototype tester told me yesterday he has 400 miles on it now on this track only car between dyno and track testing. Sometime in the last week or two he had it on thunderbolt or thunderhill or something along those lines near NJ and he said he was able to run the car to at 1/4 tank (or maybe he said just below, cant recall) without a single hiccup yet. So he hasnt found a limit of our prototype so far. This track apparently is a mostly right hand track? You guys would know better than me. Either how, he said he used to have a lot of problems on this one. But there is another track that was the biggest problem for the car that he is going to be testing on soon and that should be the final results.

The part I was really happy to hear about was that he was satisfied enough with the results so far, that instead of moving to a fuel cell as he originally had planned, he has ordered another OEM gas tank from Nissan to weld on the dry break fill neck stuff and move the existing rig all over to it and put it in the car.



As for complaining about Nissan not fixing this.... This is car has the worst fuel starvation I have seen. Its it not acceptable at all. I have been around tons of sports cars working in this industry for a long time... its always been common sense to be careful at low tank levels but the 370z is horrendous... I am not exageratting when I say I can EASILY get my 370z, with only 1 LED of the gas gauge not lit, to completely starve coming out of a right hander. It wasnt so bad when my car was more stock, it used to have to be half tank or below... but at mid 500s to the wheels on 305 R compound tires, using E85 (increases fuel needs roughly 30%)... this is rediculous.

MOST cars will need a surge can setup at SOME point. I have never seen a car that needs one STOCK.

Where nissan went wrong, is not entirely clear to me. This cars fuel system is nearly identical to the 350z in its theory... just some things have been shaped and squished around a little... but the entire theory on how it operates is the same and the 350z did not have the problem NEARLY as bad. My 350z was setup more than my 370z and could turn harder, and made more power, and only once in 7+ years of having that car fully mod'd and twin turbo, did I ever get right hand fuel starvation.

There are easy changes that could be made to the gas tank itself, that would cost nissan very little, that would resolve this issue. But making changes to the gas tank in the aftermarket in just not the same... it needs to be done before the gas tank is welded together at the factory and filled with gasoline. Once that is all done, forget adding anything significant to the inside structure of the tank... and getting the tank inside and out of these cars is no fun task either.

say.. intake manifolds for the Z? :D

to add to this... the fuel starvation in this car is so bad that even with a surge tank configuration setup.. I have concerns of the primary pump (pump that fills the surge can) frying on a regular basis due to constant abuse of running dry. With people who track regularly, even with our surge can product, I might recommend people keep a couple small tools and a backup primary pump on hand.

There is very little I can do to help the primary pump from running dry. I have built in some "recovery" features that I believe will help aid the primary pump from getting dry quite as often... but I have no way to tell if that will be enough until I have a whole clan of you guys out there running this setup.

No revision as of last year, still the same BS. I wonder if the 2013 cars have a revised gas tanK?!?

If they did, I would probably know by now. I say that only because our prototype tester is a part of a Nissan dealership, and he would have most likely noticed a change in the part number. If the tank itself using the same part number has been revised, then we will know that shortly when his new tank arrives.

BTW Our prototype is in the Performance Motorsports 370z. I dont think they post a whole lot, but I did a quick search and found they have some videos on youtube but they dont add any descriptions or anything. I havent been there in person to see anything, but I assume this is the car running the prototype: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1Wzh...feature=relmfu

I cant recall when he installed the prototype, I would have to look back thru this thread at my old posts... I dont think it was in the car in that video.

Thunderbolt and Lightning are the two NJ tracks.

Thunderbolt is all right hand turns except for 2 lefts, the 7, 8, 9 linked corners take you through a 270 degree sweep and is pretty brutal for fuel starve if you have sticky tires.
Thuderbolt Track Map

Lightning is also all right hand turns with 2 lefts thrown in. The tough one here is the 9, 10 combo. It is a lightly banked high speed (90 mph entry, 110 exit) turn called the lightbulb that takes you through 180 degrees. You are 50% throttle after turn-in and then 100% throttle by the time you spot the late apex. You usually get the fuel stave here as you are straightening out the car for the main straight.
Lightning Track Map

Yes but for more DE engines.

Very little has been done on our 370z billet intake. Its actually been waiting for the surge can. I told myself why even bother with the intake for now when we are struggling to wrap up the surge can which is going to sell far better. I will probably zip up the intake manifold when the surge can is done.

I could make a 5 page post about that stuff but I dont want to take this thread off track

HAHA, true...most people I know don't buy a "Sports Car" to drive it like a Sports car. Every once in a blue moon you'll see them driving it hard in a straight line, but most of the time they just wanna be noticed that they're in a "Sports Car" that can do whatever spec they can remember from the brochure. But they won't ever like to take it to the extreme because they're worried they'll damage their expensive toy.

Which is why Nissan won't acknowledge too much of this, if we start a poll for majority of the Z owners, they probably won't even know this was a problem to begin with. They'll probably complain about how sucky the upgraded Boss stereo being an issue, loud cabin noise, etc. Rather than oil over temp, fuel starvation, or even brake fade issue.