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Not seen any yellow Zs amongst the few that I do see, unfortunately.
I still find it very odd that almost every day, I drive between San Jose and Mountain View on 85, 101, 17, etc.... still don't see any Z cars. Not even newer ones.
But I'm sure when I see you in your yellow Z, I'll definitely notice you!! Hahaha.
I still find it very odd that almost every day, I drive between San Jose and Mountain View on 85, 101, 17, etc.... still don't see any Z cars. Not even newer ones.
My 04 DB 350Z would've been one of them going up/down 85 and sometimes down 101 and 87. I used to commute to Mountain View or Sunnyvale between late 04 and late 09. But, I don't work there anymore and sold my Z in mid-2011 before moving back to California (left the state again for about 1.5 years).
There is a white (IIRC) 350Zr at my work. I think he heads up 85 north.
Rejoined the Nissan family in late July 2013 w/a leased '13 Leaf. Returned it at the end of lease and recently bought a replacement '13 Leaf.
The sight of Z cars isn't all that common, which isn't surprising given their low sales numbers. In general, 2-door foreign sports cars don't sell in large numbers in the US.
My name is Jomel and I'm from SJ. I used to live in Salinas when I went to high school but then I moved to SJ when I enrolled at SJSU in 2005. Anyways, I recently purchased a black Nismo 350z and I absolutely love it.
You'll usually find me on 101 because I commute to work in SF.
My name is Jomel and I'm from SJ. I used to live in Salinas when I went to high school but then I moved to SJ when I enrolled at SJSU in 2005. Anyways, I recently purchased a black Nismo 350z and I absolutely love it.
You'll usually find me on 101 because I commute to work in SF.
I look forward to seeing more Z's on the road.
Welcome, fellow Bay Arean! And South Bay at that!
Look for me and wave to your twin if you see me!
Would guess that the plate would be sufficient identifier - if not just the fact that there don't seem to be that many Z's on the road these days, let alone another black Niz. (I haven't seen another one on the road since I got mine... )
Would guess that the plate would be sufficient identifier - if not just the fact that there don't seem to be that many Z's on the road these days, let alone another black Niz. (I haven't seen another one on the road since I got mine... )
Mic
Awesome! Right on. I'll keep a lookout for your car whenever I see it. I hope there are more black Z's like ours in the Bay Area.
Not really new to the Z family or the my350z forum, but did just come across the NorCal threads. So, whats up!? My name is Kyle, nice to meet everyone!
Been in SF for 4 years now. Haven't logged on to this site in a few years but got back on a few days ago to get some questions cleared up on some new wheels and tires I'm looking to buy. Looks like I've missed a lot. Nice to see we have some Z owner's that take some pride in their cars. I don't have much in the way of mods just yet rather than a Motordyne V2 exhaust. That's all about to change.
Hi all I'm Joe. I just got an 07 350z 5at touring coupe, all stock supposedly. I say supposedly because I think the exhaust is a mod based on other pics of z's I've seen but idk ish about cars. I'm hoping to learn, as this is my first "real" car in that I can do what I want with it....once I can afford parts that is. Anyways I'm planning it out for now so please recommend parts to me, what I should get, what order I should get them, etc. I'm not building to race, I'm looking for...Idk a daily driver plus I guess I would say. Anyways feel free to message me whenever. I would love advice.
Hi all I'm Joe. I just got an 07 350z 5at touring coupe, all stock supposedly. I say supposedly because I think the exhaust is a mod based on other pics of z's I've seen but idk ish about cars. I'm hoping to learn, as this is my first "real" car in that I can do what I want with it....once I can afford parts that is. Anyways I'm planning it out for now so please recommend parts to me, what I should get, what order I should get them, etc. I'm not building to race, I'm looking for...Idk a daily driver plus I guess I would say. Anyways feel free to message me whenever. I would love advice.
Hey Joe, you get that thing smogged yet? Hahahaha!
Welcome aboard to a fellow Bay Arean.
S'far as parts recommendations, well, I'm full of 'em. But as you're already doing you have to plan out what you want out of the car THEN others can help you with parts selections.
Hey Joe, you get that thing smogged yet? Hahahaha!
Welcome aboard to a fellow Bay Arean.
S'far as parts recommendations, well, I'm full of 'em. But as you're already doing you have to plan out what you want out of the car THEN others can help you with parts selections.
Lol I have some time I think. I'm still trying to figure out if my exhaust is stock (attaching picture). As for mods the only thing I'm 100 on getting isn't even performance related, but I've been hovering over the buy button for the VIS tunnel hatch for a couple days now.
I'll list the items I'm thinking about buying and y'all will see exactly how n00b I am... I still don't even know all the parts I need yet. FYI the list was longer before I found out exactly how strict Cali is, now I'm trying to figure out what is or isn't allowed.
wish list:
VIS tunnel hatch
car seat swap if I can't figure out how to get rid of the thigh bolsters (they be killing my hips)
C west long nose kit
Shaved door handles
driving lessons
Lighter flywheel
better differential
Popcharger
Cat back exhaust
lighter/smaller wheels/tires (car came with 20s)
Suspension (have to learn the names of the parts first)
370z 7at swap (is this even possible?)
Sleeving the engine (not sure what this is exactly but people make it sound like a good idea)
Last edited by Grumpytechguru; 01-30-2017 at 10:35 PM.
Reason: Add pic
Lol I have some time I think. I'm still trying to figure out if my exhaust is stock (attaching picture). As for mods the only thing I'm 100 on getting isn't even performance related, but I've been hovering over the buy button for the VIS tunnel hatch for a couple days now.
I'll list the items I'm thinking about buying and y'all will see exactly how n00b I am... I still don't even know all the parts I need yet. FYI the list was longer before I found out exactly how strict Cali is, now I'm trying to figure out what is or isn't allowed.
wish list:
VIS tunnel hatch
car seat swap if I can't figure out how to get rid of the thigh bolsters (they be killing my hips)
C west long nose kit
Shaved door handles
driving lessons
Lighter flywheel
better differential
Popcharger
Cat back exhaust
lighter/smaller wheels/tires (car came with 20s)
Suspension (have to learn the names of the parts first)
370z 7at swap (is this even possible?)
Sleeving the engine (not sure what this is exactly but people make it sound like a good idea)
You said the MAGIC WORDS!!!! Hooly Looya!!
That is, "driving lessons". My friend, you have made my day (and its just started!) Hahaha. OK, you probably don't get that but I have something of a reputation, er, OK, annoying habit of being the guy on the pulpit preaching "improve the driver BEFORE anything else."
VIS tunnel hatch - personal preference.
car seat swap if I can't figure out how to get rid of the thigh bolsters (they be killing my hips) - you nailed that one, you'd best get seat time (no pun) in any of those before committing. Everyone seems to like Bride seats. Nice but personally not built for those. I like Recaros, they just seem to fit me better.
C west long nose kit - again, personal preference
Shaved door handles - personal preference. Me, I wouldn't trust the complexity of an electric solenoid actuated door. Too many things that can go wrong.
driving lessons - I am a Bondurant grad from when it was at Sonoma (nee Sears Point) Raceway but they're in Phoenix now. Easy flight to Phoenix but look into who's teaching advanced driving skills and take your pick.
Lighter flywheel - you have A/T? No flywheel. Flexplate on an AT and nothing available and nothing to gain.
better differential - What do you mean? Like a limited slip differential? Why do you think you need one? If you can answer this then there ARE options. But otherwise, stick with stock.
Popcharger - No real gains over stock but it looks cool and sounds a little more sporting but personally, can't tell the diff.
Cat back exhaust - Again, no real gains unless accompanied with "real" power producers like forced induction. (Or extreme NA build) But if you want to make more sound, great. The most talked about systems are Nissan S-Tune (no longer available new), HKS (or copy) true dual exhaust and in that same category the budget friendly Invidia Gemini and the top-of-the-line dual system, Motordyne TDX 2. Single exhaust (generally louder) that is most talked about is the Tomei Expreme. But there are lots of others not so expensive.
lighter/smaller wheels/tires (car came with 20s) YES! Get yourself a good, lightweight set of wheels, key words, LIGHT WEIGHT. Lighter weight translates into better, quicker steering response and, when accompanied with fresh suspension (note I didn't say "performance suspension", get to that next), light wheels/good tires are where all handling improvements BEGIN.
Forged wheels are the best but there are other solutions like lightweight Enkeis that are produced using a technology called MAT where they spin the wheel during the casting process which gives strength to the wheel by making it more dense, resulting in having to use physically less material but with greater strength.
There are a buhzillion wheels to choose from but know that the better wheels start at around $300 EACH minimum. Wheels below that are OKfor general street use/looks and cost as low as about $500-600 a set. But, my recommendation is to spend more for a better wheel over the long haul.
Suspension (have to learn the names of the parts first) Your options are endless here. Even a switch to newer OEM grade equipment will help you enjoy your Z a lot more. Especially if you're on the original equipment now. But here is where you really need to define what it is you're expecting out of new suspension because that's the only way to properly make an intelligent parts selection.
For example, if you drive on the street/highway only, you DO NOT need coilovers, as popular as the are. But if you want max-lowering for street or show, then either coilovers or air suspension are what you want.
Once you define your real needs (vs. the "cool factor") then we can make recommends.
370z 7at swap (is this even possible?) - Another case of "why-do-you-want this?" If you can define why, then maybe there's an answer. To be honest, it seems like it "sounds good" for that extra couple of gears but there's no practical reason for as the gears are just spaced tighter.
Sleeving the engine (not sure what this is exactly but people make it sound like a good idea) It's ONLY a good idea of you're tearing into the engine and making repairs on it already. Elsewise, not something you need to consider unless you're about to force feed (turbo, supercharger) the engine. And if you are going that route, there's a LOT more things to consider than just sleeving the block. No, just no.... this is something one might overhear when talking to some gearheads bench racing. Laff....
I think you just saved me about 3 years worth of reading old threads. I've been searching the old threads for a couple weeks before I signed up, but when the last post is 8+ years ago and all the links/images are dead, they're not very useful.
I'm not sure how to label my objective, maybe "daily driver plus"? Generally looking for aftermarket parts that are good replacements from OEM. Not looking for major hp gains, but maybe more increased response in handling and throttle. I'm not the kind of guy whose speedometer gets to 80 very often, but when it does I would like it to get there ASAP.
Driver Lessons: Yeah I know I need them. I'm still new to the car, but I don't trust her yet - I'm finding I take a lot of turns slower than I did with my '12 xB, so while I'm not necessarily looking for the full race training, it would be nice to have her on a track a few times just so I can learn about where the limits are.
Differentials: So here's what I've learned about differentials so far from here and wikipedia mainly. LSDs help move torque between the rear wheels to help prevent tires from losing contact with the road. My car (07 350z touring) has a Viscous LSD, which is expected to last only 60k miles, and I'm at 40k. I heard good things about Nismo's 3 way LSD (from a 13 year old thread) so I thought it should go on the list for when my VLSD goes out.
Catback/headers/ecu tune/etc.: Honestly, this being in california thing has really thrown my plans off. I had no idea they were this restrictive, nothing like the southern states. I'm not sure which systems are legal because here even an ecu flash (if discovered) will fail you, and I don't want to be taking parts off and putting them back on, too much trouble. I was figuring when I'm ready I would just go to zcar garage in sj, trust in their expertise, then go to a less thorough test center lol.
Suspension: Not looking for hella low. I've heard that it's best not to go more than .8" down because of the cabmer or something, and looking at my car that'll be plenty. But ride comfort comes first, I'm looking for a setup that'll soften the bumps a bit more than stock, but won't make me feel like I'm losing touch with the road.
350z 7AT Swap: So from my limited understanding, I'm under the impression that when a car has more gears, they can get more out of the engine, by helping me get to my max speed (80-85 MPH) faster and get better MPG for daily driving both.
I think you just saved me about 3 years worth of reading old threads. I've been searching the old threads for a couple weeks before I signed up, but when the last post is 8+ years ago and all the links/images are dead, they're not very useful.
To be perfectly frank, the old threads are still plenty useful as the car is already 14 years old (from model year inception) and there isn't that much new; plus all of the "improvement principles" remain the same.
Power increases can be had through better breathing, handling prowess still improved with good ol' shocks/bars/alignment. This isn't new and honestly, will ALWAYS remain the same. Names/brands have changed as far as the "hot tip" but that's about all.
I'm not sure how to label my objective, maybe "daily driver plus"? Generally looking for aftermarket parts that are good replacements from OEM. Not looking for major hp gains, but maybe more increased response in handling and throttle. I'm not the kind of guy whose speedometer gets to 80 very often, but when it does I would like it to get there ASAP.
My take on this is that Nissan got it pretty right from the start. Sure, there's always room for improvement but unless you're willing to open the wallet and turn it upside down for more power, best to stick with handling and, dare I say it, aesthetic improvements to suit your taste.
Besides, power isn't the end all if the driver skills don't meet the potential.
Driver Lessons: Yeah I know I need them. I'm still new to the car, but I don't trust her yet - I'm finding I take a lot of turns slower than I did with my '12 xB, so while I'm not necessarily looking for the full race training, it would be nice to have her on a track a few times just so I can learn about where the limits are.
Even a one day advanced training course is always beneficial and that even goes for old dawgs like me who need to be reminded of things long forgotten. Especially considering that today's Zs are already so much faster and handle better than the old days. I mean, seriously, a stock/base 350Z will outrun, out-handle and just gets it done better/faster than anything I trained in 30-some years ago. Besides, it's just fun!
But something else to consider: HPDE (track days) and Autocross are your friends. You don't need to go wheel-to-wheel racing. HPDE and AX are excellent for getting to know yourself and your car - WITHOUT the pressures of worrying about what the guy trying to overtake you is doing. (Although in HPDE, you certainly have to be wary of the more advanced people that are passing.) Either way, no pressure to "beat anyone" in these disciplines and you can learn better control at your own pace. Can't rush improving the skills without being able to apply the principles through practice, practice, and then some more practice
Differentials: So here's what I've learned about differentials so far from here and wikipedia mainly. LSDs help move torque between the rear wheels to help prevent tires from losing contact with the road. My car (07 350z touring) has a Viscous LSD, which is expected to last only 60k miles, and I'm at 40k. I heard good things about Nismo's 3 way LSD (from a 13 year old thread) so I thought it should go on the list for when my VLSD goes out.
My opinion (related to how much better cars are today, above)... Don't worry about this yet. Wait for it to break or you've reached a level of driver confidence where you actually NEED a torque sensing differential. The VLSD in the Z, while not totally competent in, say, a competition setting, isn't exactly an old open differential.
Honestly, in "Street Plus" driving, the stock VLSD more than acquits itself in all but the most demanding settings. I run in the hills more often than the average person (a perk of being semi-retired ) and have NEVER felt the need to up my rearend - other than perhaps lower gearing on my former HR and VHR cars which like the higher revs offered with a nice 3.9 or 4.10 R&P.
Catback/headers/ecu tune/etc.: Honestly, this being in california thing has really thrown my plans off. I had no idea they were this restrictive, nothing like the southern states. I'm not sure which systems are legal because here even an ecu flash (if discovered) will fail you, and I don't want to be taking parts off and putting them back on, too much trouble. I was figuring when I'm ready I would just go to zcar garage in sj, trust in their expertise, then go to a less thorough test center lol.
Any catback is legal here. Headers and test pipes (and even hi-flow cats) are NOT. But the fairly minimal gains from the latter aren't going to make or break a car from its potential underneath a good driver.
Tuning via a dyno tune AND/OR with Uprev/Osiris is NOT legal per CARB. HOWEVER, switching to the stock engine map is easy via the software. I am NOT encouraging cheating (as I remember California when you couldn't see across the SF bay due to the brown air and I don't miss that) but it's a pretty common practice and even the most aggressive tune is still cleaner than anything back in the day.
Suspension: Not looking for hella low. I've heard that it's best not to go more than .8" down because of the cabmer or something, and looking at my car that'll be plenty. But ride comfort comes first, I'm looking for a setup that'll soften the bumps a bit more than stock, but won't make me feel like I'm losing touch with the road.
That's pretty much true. The "rule" - if you could call it such - is you can likely lower the car by as much as 25mm/1.0" before you start NEEDING alignment correction hardware. But, so much depends on the individual car that it's not funny. But for general purposes and planning, the 1" "rule" is pretty safe. Lowering of ANY kind will throw out your alignment but not so much that you'll be out of the alignment range or if at all, just a small amount. Little extra handling at the expense of a few miles off your tires, ehhh, no biggee.
350z 7AT Swap: So from my limited understanding, I'm under the impression that when a car has more gears, they can get more out of the engine, by helping me get to my max speed (80-85 MPH) faster and get better MPG for daily driving both.
Debateable. The newer 7AT has two extra gears, sure, but are they spaced in such a way that an older car with a slightly different power band than, say, a VQ37VHR from whence it comes, can take advantage of the two extra gears? I highly doubt it. Or at least, "not enough to warrant the swap". You'll have to learn to do gear calculations to see if its really worth the time and expense of doing it. (And I'm not going to get into that right now as it's far too complex for casual discussion. And I'm over my word limit anyways. Hahaha.... inside joke about me.)
In any event, glad to see you've done your research. Far too often, threads tend to go down the road of "I'm going to try and get 550 horsepower to the wheels, what do you think of that electric turbo they sell at JC Whitney?" Laff.......
Oh yeah, you might notice a theme to everything I say.... it has to do with tailoring a car to the driver's competence rather than putting all this time, money, and effort into the hardware when the driver can handle MAYBE 50% of the car's potential.
[ Off soapbox ]
Last edited by MicVelo; 01-31-2017 at 11:43 AM.
Reason: spelin erur
07-31-2015, 08:55 AM
(I haven't seen another one on the road since I got mine... 
)
) and have NEVER felt the need to up my rearend - other than perhaps lower gearing on my former HR and VHR cars which like the higher revs offered with a nice 3.9 or 4.10 R&P.
