I convinced my buddy to buy a new 04' 6mt SB Z (touring). He picked it up today and here are the differences I noticed between the two that I'd like to retrofit on my Z (if money were no object and all this was available for retrofit of course ) ...

1. Seat belt extenders on each seat, so no passenger seat belt rattle anymore.
2. A front cigarette lighter underneath the cup holder on the dashoard. Makes using a radar detector much more feasible.
3. Retractable sun guards on the visors.
4. One extra adjustment **** on the drivers seat. No idea what it does yet.
5. New and MUCH BETTER SOUNDING Bose stereo. His is now black, not grey to match the surrounding dash area like mine, and it really does sound alot better than my Bose system. Much more definiton. The dealership said that bose had redone the radio for 04'. Said Bose 'may' fix the 03' radios at some point...
6. Center console storage area button actually works. Pops the lid up about 4 inches when you push it, unlike mine where you need to wedge your fingernail in there to get it open.

Somemthing I could do without:
1. The new nav door. I like how mine hides into the dash. His sticks out when open...kind of obtrusive and odd looking.

Still love my 03' of course, but it'd be nice to have the fixes the 04's got. Some seem like they should be covered by nissan as warranty replacement items.

btw...Super black is hands down the best color for the Z. His car looks amazing.

 

Take a look at the dome lamp. Did it get the same upgrade as the ZR?

 

dome lamp looked the same to me. I saw the one on the ZR and it doesn't look anything like it...I do like the one on the ZR though.

 

Did the gauges have the 'soft touch' feel to them? What about the suspension? Does it still have the bounce that's been mentioned many times. And are there driver and passenger knee pads? Thanks!

 

Gauges? I'm guessing you mean ***** etc..no I didn't notice any soft touch controls anywhere. The suspensions feels the same as my 03', which is to say, no bounce. I think the bounce problem was with the early 03's. There were no knee pads. I'm guessing the knee pads and soft touch controls might be on the 2004.5 z's.

 

I've got an '04 Touring that just came in off the boat 1st of December. I have the knee pads on both sides. The suspension has no bounce at all, I was wondering what some magazines were complaining about after driving mine.

What are the soft touch controls you are asking about? For the A/C? They seem soft touch to me, no click or anything to them. Is that what you are asking about?

Greg

 

Congrats on your new Touring! According to an article in Autoweek, the main gauge cluster and the secondary gauge cluster has a softer feel to the surface to give the car's interior a less 'plastic' feel.