VLAD where in michigan you from im in the detroit area

 

Zboy, I am so sorry to hear about your accident. That sucks. I can tell you that these new paints are usually 3 stage, which means that on my Z32 TT, when my across the street neighbor backed into the rear quarter panel, I had the whole side repainted at a good body shop. To properly match the paint a good shop will paint at least an entire side to blend properly with the old paint. You could never tell mine had even had work. I wouldn't worry much about it. If you use a good body shop, they will make you satisfied. Also, if you have a little extra to spend, it might not be a bad idea to have the whole thing wet sanded and repainted. This is obviously the best time to do it, and the good shops bake that stuff on so it is pretty tough and will look better than factory job, although maybe not quite as tough. Although, apparently Nissan's paint on this car isn't that durable anyway.

Think of it this way. It is likely to happen to very many of us eventually, so you just got yours out of the way early and thank god you weren't injured. Just be careful out there from now on. I am sure you car will look great when you get it repaired.

 

Sorry to hear about your misfortunes... but remember that cars are just inanimate objects in the end. This was a hard lesson for me to learn, and I am paying for it now. Just be glad that you are okay and weren't nailed by someone on the highway when you spun out. From the sounds of it, the car wasn't damaged very badly, so it should be an easy fix. Good luck!

 

I'm in Grand Rapids

 

Be careful about the rock-scratch sugestion. Submitting a false insurance claim is a felony. Adjusters are trained to look for what is called "augmentation" and to deal with it aggressively. You don't want to make a hassle into a problem. Just take your lumps and move on.
I had the identical road condition problem with my Supra TT a few years ago. A freak snowstorm + the worn 40's on the back tires was a bad combination. I was fortunate to come upon a rest stop after two miles. Sometimes you get a break. Very close to a black ice level of grip. Sounds like you did everything correctly. Pop for the repaint and get back to enjoying the car!

 

I have driven my Z a few times in the snow with the stock summer tires a few times. I definitely would not go over 10 mph either!

In any case, my suggestion if you start to slip: put in the clutch immediately! You need to practice this technique to get it right. I'm an old pro so I can actually react faster than the TCS/VDC system.

If you have an automatic, shift to neutral immediately instead. It may also help to run in second or third gear and ride the brakes. The reduced torque going to the wheels will lessen the slippage, although your brakes will overheat. You can use this technique to go 2 miles like you had to.

Best of luck with fixing everything up. If you get a chance, get to a big empty parking lot with your car on summer tires and see how it slips and slides with these different techniques.

 

I guess I'll be riding with the wife to work when we get the big snows, 2 weeks out of the year on average. I'm not taking any chances with my baby after hearing this info.

 

Sorry about your car! Next thing to do is concentrate on the the fix. The insurance needs to put the vehicle back in like condition. Your car with <10K miles is like new. Make sure they fix it as such. New panels are like new,repaired panels and bondo panels are not like new.
Stick to your guns and don't settle for less and you will never be able to visibly see your car was crunched.

 

Zboy, glad you are ok. Quick question; what kind of car did you drive before your Z?

My previous car was a Toyota MR2 Spyder. As people started to get them you would see a lot of crashes in the rain on spyderchat.com. People claimed the car was undrivable. Problem was not really with the car however, it was with drivers inexperienced with RWD cars.

Here in SoCal it doesn't rain often so after reading all the horror stories I waited for the first rain. Well, the first rain came on my way to a track event!! Actually it snowed pretty heavily then as the sun came up a bit it turned to freezing rain. We got to the track (Streets of Willow Springs) about 7:30 am and we ran the event. I watched FWD Celicas spin off all day, but never a problem with the mid engined, rwd Spyder. Sure it was more fingertip driving, but it was adapting to the much lower traction. I found the MR2 to be no problem at all in the rain.

Now sure on sheet ice, there is little you can do. But the fact that cars weren't crashing all around you tells me that probably wasn't the case. Nearly all of these types of accidents can be summed up as too low a gear with too much throttle input resulting in loss of control of the vehicle. I'm not saying that is what happened to you Zboy, but just a reminder to everyone else.

 

Zboy, where you in Natick this week? I just saw a black Track a few days ago, I wonder if that was you. I'm so sorry about the accident and the car, but waht really matters is that you're ok.

I drove my 300zx thru three winters with no problems (but it had the all season tires, not summer tires) and thought the 350Z woud not be too bad. But after hearing at 10 mph you're sliding, I'm a bit worried. I commute the Pike as well, but only to Framingham. Let us know how it turns out with the insurance, and hopefully you'll get your car back soon.

Eduardo
Silverstone Perfor.

 

Sorry...

1. Your insurance will not go up by much, unless your under 26 yrs.
2. Park the car and drive the SUV/beater in the snow
3. If SUV/beater is not an options...SNOW TIRES

Your body damage is easy to repair and your car will look new. Black is a great color to repair, it hides imperfections.

 

All properly constructed roads have a "crown" (High in the middle, low on the sides) to prevent rain and melted snow from pooling on the road. As a result, ALL cars will pull to the right when in the right lane if they are properly aligned, because the road is slanted to the right. Since you said yours pulled SLIGHTLY, that's probably what the issue was. With some cars with tighter suspension and steering, the pull is more pronounced. Likewise, if you cross into the passing lane on the interstate, the car will pull slightly to the left, IF it is properly aligned. If it still pulls to the right, take it to an alignment shop.

Some states have extreme paving standards due to heavy rainfall. I suspect that those who have the worst problems with their Z pulling to the right live in these states.

Dead

 

Sorry about your car. Here;s a few thoughts.

Your writeup sounded like you wanted prepainted new panels. They dont come that way.

If you want to repaint the whole thing, the diff will come out of your pocket.

You are lucky, in one way. Black is the only color that is perfectly matched every time. White is the hardest, and the others in-between.

I would ask the Nissan dealer where they get their damaged cars fixed, and go to that body shop.

I did almost 10k worth of damage to a 96 S-10, and the body shop was so good, the dealer couldn't tell. A great body shop is everything.

The phrase to use with your insurance for depreciation is "diminished value"

Good luck

 

Sorry for your loss. A new front fender is probably cheaper to fix, than pounding out the old one. On the rear quarter though, they will straighten and fill a litlle most likely, unless the metal is ripped. I appraise cars all the time, I can tell when any car was painted during the day... at night or in the rain...it is a little harder. So here is a little advice to all of you...when trading a car, go at night in the rain...hard to pick out hail, dents, and scratches.

To the member who posted " the 350Z should handle in the snow..." I noticed you were fron Florida. Maybe you have snow belt experience....but unlikely from your response. If you have never lived through the Snow-belt winter...YOU HAVE NO IDEA!!!

Get some WINTER tires at a minimum.

 

nice post s2000. Sorry I took away your 1 point.

Dead

 

I can't help you, I'm not a body man, but I want to warn all 350Z drivers not to drive in the snow on the stock tires! Go to Tire Rack's website and read the testimonials about the RE 040s. According to an owner, they are the worst tires in the snow he's ever driven and he was driving an Audi S4/with the OE 040s and quattro all wheel drive!

The OE RE 040s are "Summer" tires only and will not handle any snow or ice period. If you run into snow or ice, get off the road ASAP and call for a flatbed from Nissan to get your car out of there, it will be undrivable. This a situation where no amount of electronic devices will help you until you change out the tires for dedicated snow or all season tires. I think Nissan should be notified about this problem with the standard tires, especially for Z owners in the snow belt.

This nothing to do with rear wheel drive, the tires have 0 traction in winter weather and I believe snow belt owners should be assisted to buy new tires since the RE 040s already had a bad reputation when they were chosen as Original Equipment. If you've visited Tire Rack lately you may notice they recommend Michelin Pilot Sport A/Ss as replacements for the Zs with 17" wheels. I was very disappointed when I found out what tires we were getting as standard equipment. This accident confirmed my fears about them and I think Nissan should be hearing from a lot of us about this failure of the O.E. tires.

Boomer

 

This is my frist rear wheel drive car. So I cannot compare to anything else (rear wheel). But I did know that I had to be careful with rear wheel cars in snow/ice. I think the problem isnt the car itself though, I mean its not any worse than other rear wheel drive cars. The problem is the stock tires it comes with, imho. And add to the fact that I did not have any additional weight in the trunk at the time.

 

No counter steering. I did not do much really other than step hard on the clutch and keep the wheel pointed to where was car was slipping. The car spun at an angle so quickly that steering or anything would not have mattered in that snowy condition, I think. The second time I slipped I was thinking of pointing the wheel in the direction of slip and to actually step on the throttle slightly for traction. But I didnt since the car came to stop before I could try that.