I have been skulking around these forums for the last few months (since I bought my 03 Track) and have found it very helpful, informative and sometimes quite entertaining I finally have a question that I haven't found the answer to by tooling around the different threads.

I live in Santa Clara, CA and I drove to Santa Cruz yesterday on Hwy 17 (if anyone is familiar) In 3rd and 4th gear at over 4000 rpms, I would hear a loud buzzing sound from around the shifter/gear box or below. I don't know what to make of it. Has anyone experienced anything like this? This is the first time I have heard this sound and I have owned the car for 3 months. The car is stock other than JWT Popcharger, Borla TD, and NISMO S-tune suspension btw. Just wondering, I will try to reproduce the sound tonight on the way home from work.

Thanks,

Ro

 

What part of santa ana?

 

i think he means santa clara. the buzzing sound could be from your popcharger, makes a whining noise but it isnt that loud.

 

Urm... did you check to make sure the plastic pieces around the shifter are not vibrating?

I'm sure you are aware the Z has many rattles/vibrations. It is more likely to be coming from "trim" pieces than the actual gearbox.

 

Maybe your catalytic converters are busted and the element inside is vibrating and buzzing over a certain RPM?

 

Or maybe a bee has built a nest inside the shift ****?

My best advice is to locate the buzz and then proceed. It couldn really be anything, "in the shifter, shift box, or below..."

 

I checked for the bees first thing, no joy, I suppose I can drive the car below 4k rpms for the rest of its life and I like most of the noises my car makes inside the cabin(the whines and squeaks make me feel warm inside)

 

Welcome.

All cars make strange sounds. Once you become accustomed to the car, you will recognize which should be ignored, and which demand attention (something is not working properly). The transmission and shifter vibrate. No problem.

 

Maybe your Borla TD is vibrating off of the brace the pipes run over by the end of the test-pipes, that can cause somethin like what your hearing. Take a look, if the pipe(s) is touching readjust the flanges higher.

 

I have that "problem" between 5500K-6500K RPM.

An engine damper helps out a lot. I have the one made by Stillen.

 

I've got the same stuff as you do ... I get some sort of 'noise' coming from the same area ... my guess was that it seems normal. I think it's a combo of the Popcharger and the cross-over "H" pipe of the exhaust. Maybe a small exhaust leak??

 

Thanks for all the feedback fellas, I will check out the exhaust this weekend and see if any of the pipes are very close to touching anything, other than that I don't think I am skilled enough to take anything else apart, thanks for making my first thread posting experience great(I believe zero work was done today as opposed to checking random threads every 2hrs) Cheers!

 

For me it's the engine's vibration that causes the inner panels and visor mirrors to rattle.

Apparently rattles are normal for our Zs. I guess that designing a "rattle-free-interior" is a German craftsmanship-trait that gives them justification to charge double an equivalent performance car. Oh well...

 

German cars rattle also and your paying double for that.....lol