I think it would be both productive and beneficial if we started a thread about mistakes we've made on our Zs to help prevent others from committing the same; whether it be body work, electronic repair or internal engine overhaul, let's condense it all here for new guys like me to check out. I would say keep it strictly to the Z33 as its value will be much higher here, but to start I don't exactly have a Z33 story.

For example:

1990 White 300zx TT
When I was building my VG30DETT on my '90 Z, I enlisted the help of many of my friends. Rebuilding that thing was quite a task to take on alone. Some of my friends didn't understand the whole overtightening concept, unfortunately. Some of the cam bearing threads were destroyed when a friend of mine forgot to lock the torque wrench when tightening iron screws down into an aluminum head.

Lesson: On rotating and other important parts do all of the torquing YOURSELF!

-Clay

 

lesson, dont let friends drive your Z!

i let a friend drive my Z, he drifts it like a mad man and then the clutch goes out next day.
lesson learned

 

When i first got my Z, i decided I had to mod the body a bit. I preceded to put on a rear diffuser with 3m double tape and screws into the rear bumper. Now I wish i hadn't drilled those holes b/c i want to take the diffuser off, but the rear will look like crap.
Lesson: be completely sure of any body work you do to your car.

 

Don't Auto Cross your car unless you can deal with your bumper showing a few bumps and brusies.

You will find that cone marks aren't quite bad enough to warrent a new bumper, but if your a fanatic you will always notice them. Think of them as giving the car character.

Also, if getting a body pannel resprayed go to a place that specializes in high end cars and pay the little extra. These guys will not leave the orange peel or other errors some ham and eggers will

 

If you plan on driving agressive turn your TCS off!

One time, when I had the entire road to myself, I tried to slip the back end out a little around a corner. I forgot the TCS was still on and when the back end came out the throttle was cut and I nearly lost control.

If you're really in the zone and intending to step the back end out so far and all of a sudden loose power it kind of throws you in a panic situation.

 

Avoid dealerships if possible. The only dealership I liked is no longer in existence. I had a dealership put a Nismo Flywheel,flexplate,clutch,shortshifter in and when I drove off the lot I heard this werid sound. It sounded like a throw-out bearing. I took it back and thankfully since they put it all in and the nismo parts; it was all covered in my warrenty. Long story short I have a brand new transmission with all the goodies still : )

 

Had my 350Z for 7 days and already had its first $1,600 major repair.

Have the battery cables checked because the previous owner must have replaced the battery and not tightened the power cables....causing a short to ALL the electronics in the car. The first day I drove back from work the darn cables caused the battery to short circut the ECM (engine computer) and have to have it replaced ($1,600) 7 days after I had spend all my money on the car. (thankfully parents are loaning me $)

Another stupid thing - when your Service engine soon light starts FLASHING....it means pull off the road NOW! Something major is wrong, it doesn't flash just because your fluids are getting low....

And also don't speed without a radar detector, because a bright orange 350Z is a target on the highway for police...my dad got a ticket while driving it home from the dealership (2 hours after I bought it) that's how much of a target it is.

 

Three things I've learned:

Learn to work on your own car. No one will ever fix it like you can.
Do it right the first time.
Patience will always pay off.

 

Stay the F away from non-authentic body kits. I don't care how much they cost
and how long you have to save... End rant.

 

Don't install the JWT popcharger. While it will yield better sound, actual performance gains are debatable and it will attract more dust and grit not to mention the heat soak and loss of the stock intake's cold air drawing ability.

EDIT: I've learned my lesson from installing the PC on my previous 03. Now with my Nismo 08, the dual stock intakes are staying there for the foreseeable future.

 

Another common mistake is listening to the people who no nothing about their parts and how they work.

Example above.

 

When you see that small rock that looks like you should clear it... go around it, stop and move it... DO NOT straddle it. The only time my gf has seen me

damaged the oil pan, front cross member, and the exhaust allllll the way down. Sounded like a bomb when off when it hit the crossmember (only connected about 1/2 inch on the top of the rock, split the rock, and sent the two pieces bouncing down the center of the car). One of the plastic splash gaurds were also torn loose, and started flapping right after impact. I had to reel my jaw up off the drivers side floor mat at that point. *BOOM! flap flap flap flap flap*

 

QFT!

 

FYI - before people start posting about MODS they regret - there's a huge thread on those already...

https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...d-and-why.html

 

DO NOT PUT ANY FI ON YOUR CAR. Buy one that was already done and has about at least 10k miles on it so you know it was done right. You will save huge!!!!!!!!!!

 

My biggest regret @ first...not researching and trusting the dealership.

 

Don't let anybody but yourself drive your car.

 

Never dry your car with kitchen towels.

 

If you're doing work to your tail lights or that general area always use extra care (and maybe some extra sealant). I fiddled around with some cables and tidied it up a bit in that area, and the next thing I knew there was water getting into the bottom of my trunk! It will cause paint to peel and the chassis to rust. NO GOOD.

 

If you're showing you car to someone, make sure he/she knows how manual transmissions work. My friend was looking at my Z, pressed the clutch, started it and released the clutch while still in 1st gear!!!!!!!

I was lucky I had a garbage can in front of the car, so it didn't hit the wall. No damage fortunately, but it pissed me off because I picked up my Z that same day.