I test drove touring pre-owned '04 350Z yesterday. I really liked it but I have two issues with the car. My first was the bouncing tachometer. When I would excelerate really hard, say to 5000rpm the Tach would be bouncing between 4500 and 5500 for a couple seconds, is this normal? The sales person said so. I have never seen this. It looked like the Tach needle was loose!

The second issue I had during the test drive was the SLIP light came on when I was merging an On-Ramp and lost a lot pf power. I had to hold the Traction control button on for a few seconds for it to go away. Now do I have to turn this off if I want to drive "spirited" and will it stay off?

Those were the only two issues I had. Any imput you have would be greatly appriciated.

Trying to decide between:
350Z
S2000
C5 Z06

Thanks

 

you will lose power if losing traction...the car is intervening and allow you to regain control....you can turn it off by pressing the button.

as far as the needle....maybe its loose, or maybe your VTEC!!! is kicking (joking by the way i really dont know)

furthermore i have a '06 base and ive had no problems.

i considered a s2k.sti, and evo

i think the Z was the best choice for me. overall great balance of power and handling...coupled with looks to kill

 

Haven't seen the Tach problem. The dreaded Slip light.... lol... yes, been there, done that. It's the TCS. If you accelerate too much it will apply brakes. Just press the button to disable it, however, it can save your ****!

 

Thanks for the quick reply, that was my first post. I am impressed with the fast feedback, thanks.

Could it be due to an aftermarket flywheel, the dealership has no idea?

 

just wondering, but why look at a Z if you are even considering a z06, or even a regular c5 for that matter. I love my Z, but its no vette.

 

Sounds like you had the TCS ON which will lessen the fuel to the engine to allow you to gain traction and flash if you are loosing traction. If this is an auto and you use the manual shift with tcs the rpms will go up/down since it is most likely loosing traction, did this a few times already. For sprinted driving yes, take off the tsc. All sound normal I think, just remember every time you turn the car off/on the TCS will default to on.

 

If no SLIP light came on, this sound odd. If the SLIP did come on and you lost some power at the time of the hesitation, you broke traction and the car was "assisting" you.

An aftermarket flywheel wouldn't do anything like this. It would just rev quicker if it has one installed.

Yes. Press in the button and you the light should come on on the console showing that it's disabled. It resets back to on whenever you shut off the car.

 

+1 z06 is over 2 times the cost of a Z. different car, different class. STI's EVO's, s2000 even a mustang i would say are in the same class, vette? next rung up the ladder.

 

The Z06 is getting into exotic territory...not even in the same class.

The S2000 is bad ****, but I'm 6'5, and therefore much too large for it.

 

All are great ideas man... i have more input than i will make anyone read. just let me know what you get

 

The bouncing tachometer needle is not normal - on any car.

If you do not like Vehicle Dynamic Control(VDC) you can turn it OFF.

 

Yea the bouncing tach isnt normal. nothing against you...but maybe it was your shifting...the Z doesnt have a normal clucth...it took me some time to learn as well

 

different class, but the c5 z06 is far from exotic. if your considering a c5 z06 then you should jump all over it.

 

The salesman said a bouncing tach was normal?


oooh my.

 

Great community you have here. I really appriciate all the replies; very helpful indeed.

The C5 Z06 can be bought in the same $ range as the convert 350z. But I am worried about reliablity.
The S2000 had the smoothest clutch I had ever touched in my life, but it was too small, no place for installed nav, poorer rear visablity, and not as nice looking as the Z.

Now I will honestly admit it took a little bit to get use to the clutch. But I took it for a long test drive. In about 15 minutes of spirited driving I had the clutch down smoooth. You're right, it is different and takes a lil' bit to get use to. After that, there were zero jerks in my shifts, but the Tach needle was still "springy". This was a used Manual. I should TD a new 350Z and compair dont you think?

 

the new 06 has a smother clutch and better assisted power steering....some say nissan take the ***** out of the Z

personally i like stiffer clutches so i kinda disklike the soft clutch in my 06, but the speed assisted steering is nice

 

it WILL save your *** sooner or later...

 

my dad has a z06 and i gotta say, the response and power that car puts out is amazing, be wary as first year (2001) zo6's hav only 385 hp, the 405 is due to an ezhaust tweak.

but seeing as were on a z forum... b a champ, pick the 350z. ; )

 

i have a base so i dont have that tcs problem but it will save yo *** fool and that tach problem never heard of it '

 

Bouncing tach is normal when riding over small bumps. The tires lose and then quickly regain traction through weight transfer and loss. Not really noticeable unless you stare at the tach, or if it's a moderate sized bump. I see it all the time in 2nd whenever I am on a hilly or rough road.