Qualities far outweigh the few problems which will all eventually be fixed.

This car is the best bang for the buck I’ve ever owned or seen.

 

I've had my Z for 2 days. I have 160 miles on it. So far...everything is great. no issues at all. Body looks great, and has just a little orange peel which is almost un-noticeable until you really look and angle your head just right. Transmission is quiet and smooth in all gears. Shifting is fast and slick. Interior finish is simple and Japanese - I am happy with it. A little too much plastic, but it's a $30K Japanese car not a $50K German car.

I love this car.

My initial reaction is more satisfied than with any other car purchase I have made. The overall sense of power, handling control, and road feel even at just 4000 RPM is amazing. This was definitely a good choice. I almost bought an Audi TT, but I am now very happy with my decision.

 

Actually, as long as you didn't drive it long while it was over-heating, your engine should be fine. Your aluminum block has iron sleeves for durability and if any damage was done, it would be fixed by Nissan. I know its a lousy thing to happen to your new car but it should be fixed good as new. Did they repair the radiator and you have the car back or are you waiting for parts?

I am also interested in what fail safe measures are present in the VQ engine.

Like what? Did they give you any examples or just say it? This is important for the rest of us owners to know for our reference. Overheating is always a concern with any engine, but if our engine has these fail safes, it would nice to know specifics. Thanks.

Boomer

 

got the car back... they replaced the radiator and all belts.
They said the fail safes would only let the car run at about 5 to 10 mph when it overheats

 

Great! I like that, limpalong mode w/o damage. Good news for engine longevity. Thanks

Boomer

 

Only two problems:

When going over speed bumps, I have to go very slowly i.e. less than 5 mph or else the bottom end of the car hits the bump which I can feel with the shifter. I have not have this problem with other cars.

When downshifting, I meet alot of resistance. This is especially true when going from 2nd to 1st while going faster than 15mph. I think this may be a safety issue so that you dont accidently downshift at high speeds which may over-rev the engine.

 

The truly horrible ride has eclipsed all other problems w/the Z. The ride is the worst I have ever experienced in a sports car of any manufacturer.

 

Luckily I have next to no problems with my car. My cd player ate my cd's and the dealership had to order a new radio to install. I figure I'll upgrade the stereo at some point, but for now I'm satisfied.

Only thing that really bugs the hell out of me are occasional rattles coming from the dash somewhere. While I have no problem with the plastic everywhere inside -- I like the differing textures -- hearing the rattles kick up really irritate me. Shouldn't happen in a brand new car costing 36 grand.

 

Most cars with a mechanical linkage are not happy about gong into 1st at speeds over 10mph in my experience. Most recently, I came from a car w/cable linkage and I could slip it into 1st at 10-15mph fairly easily if I wanted to do so.. All of the mechanical linkages I've owned had similar behavior to the Z's and I didn't make a practice of downshifting into 1st at 10mph, more like 5mph, coasting to a stop.

I'm not being critical, but why do you put the Z into 1st gear at 15mph or more?

 

I am very pleased with my Z. I have had it about two weeks and the only thing I've noticed is the slight rattle from the driver's side door when I turn the stereo up. I have been trying to isolate exactly where in the door it's coming from so that I can fix it, but it's really not a big deal. I usually have the radio down so I can hear the engine anyway .

 

Four days and 400 miles on the new tires have blunted some of my anger over the ride. It is improved, not fixed, but improved enough for me to stop my whining and get on w/life.

I will note it on my next trip to the dealer to have them replace my radio and amp for the Bose, not Blose for me. I have had several very good to excellent Bose systems in other cars. I tried to listen to the radio today and couldn't hear any lyrics over the bass, even turned down to -3. Terrible, but repairable, I think.

Incredible acceleration; I felt a little boxed in on I40 today, dropped the drive by wire from 60-80 in the blink of an eye and left two 18 Wheelers and 5 cars twenty(20!) car lengths behind. True story.

 

There are rattles, the sounds system is not great - but I still love my Z. zoom zoom zoom

 

That's because we have such great taste, right, Iris?

Boomer
Brickyard/Frost/AT

 

Does the car still porpoise with the newer tires?

The porpoising is the one aspect of the car that makes me really unhappy, since I have to drive over I-294 almost weekly. If I take alternative routes to avoid I-294 it doubles my trip time.

 

The porpoising has greatly diminished, not disappeared. 400 miles is not much to gauge the tires' ultimate impact on the problem. I can just be pleased so far, but I think it will get less and less as the tires wear off the softness of the new surface tread. There are some streets where I live that cause the effect in my wife's Maxima!

I can tell you, I will NOT be going back to the 040s ever. The A/Ss are vastly superior and the ride is sports car "stiff", it just doesn't knock your fillings out like the OE tires and turnin is better than the 040s too. Not having driven on I-294, I can't say it won't porpoise some, but it will be much better than before.

Boomer

 

WTF?! I would never consider putting a car into 1st gear "while going faster than 15mph". Maybe it's my training & experience with older MT cars, but it's normal for me that a tranny will only be easy going into 1st at a dead stop. You can usually work them into 1st at 3-4 MPH while rolling to a stop, but you understand that it might be difficult.

Besides, why would you want to? If you're rolling at all you can put it in second, let the engine idle, drop the clutch & go!

 

My thoughts exactly. ?

 

Most modern day cars are not designed to be shifted into first at slow speeds. It is a safety thing. I can sometimes get around this in my accord by revving up to a reasonable rpm, then it drops into first. Obviously, I don't do this too often. In a car like the accord, starting from a standstill in 2nd is a pain. It's often easier to just stop all forward motion, shift to first, and go from there.


In the Z, 2nd is fine.

No problems with it other than the radio and intermittent creaks.

 

I'm very happy with my CS Touring Z. I have 2950 flawless miles. Fastest car I ever owned.