In hopes that Nissan reads this forum/website, I am creating a thread with positive and realistic suggestions 350Z owners can give them to improve the Z.

Jeff - Zland

 

My first suggestion is to make the track model a real step up. Here are some suggestions:

1. Make the track model have NISNO S suspension with NISMO sway bars stock.

2. Increase wheels width so they have 245/275 tire combo stock. I would have purchsed a track model if i could do have done this but because i couldnt thus HRE wheels and Toyo tires got my money I would have spent on a track model and not Nissan.

3. Put decent rubber on all models. You did on the G35 couple do the same for Z's.

4. It would be nice if you could add some hp on the track model.

I think all of this could be done for little manufacturing cost. After all, the sway bars and NISMO S suspension does not cost more to manufacture than the stock yet gives the customer a real reason to upgrade to a track.

Jeff - zland

 

I believe that Nissan should not just improve the car for future customers, but to give current 350z owners resolutions to the current tire feathering and transmission problems owners are currently having. These are oblivious issues that have been publicized in major magazines and owners have either sold/traded-in/lemoned/went to arbitration as a result of these problems. Their first priority is to keep the current owners and keep them satisfied and then focus on the 350z future comings. I believe that if current owners are not happy with their Z, word of mouth would spend (ie website message boards, magazines, reviews...) and diminish what people would see as Nissan's outlook on customer satisfaction. Therefore, losing potential owners.

I think the Z is a great all around sports car that is expected to have small problems as any sportscar would have (ie rough ride, small cargo space, impractical...). But it seems that the tire feathering issue is getting out of hand. Power delivery is good in it's current form as it's in a class of it's own with no close competitors in it's own price range and is a 2seater. (I would put the RX-8 with the G35c...GTO with the Cobra and other V8s....EVO & STI are in their own rally type car category). I would suggest to s-tune for the track model as std equip since it is the "track model" and that have the suspension as a base model.

 

Re-tune the ECU for 300HP/320HP as is (motor) and if possible. Then offer a re-flash (free) at the dealerships for current owners.

 

1. moonroof
2. interior trunk release button (how about right next to the gas hatch release button?) the keyfob doesn't work when in the car is on and the release pull wire under the strut bar is not reachable.

 

I'd say to get rid of the 5 trim levels. Let everyone start out with a base and build on that (like the Porsche Turbo). This would keep people from having to spend extra money on features they don't want just to have one they want. I don't know if it's realistic though.

 

Jeff - that pretty much sums up my thoughts in the NISMO thread, and I agree 100% - If I coulda bought a z with the suspension I've got now, wheels that fit 245/275, and a bit more HP, I woulda bought it instead of an enthusiast.

 

Make a sunglass holder overhead that actually works with adult size sunglasses.

 

Subbacultcha


You know that there is button to open the rear hatch above the license plate, right? It will open the rear hatch when the car is running...

 

Another recommendation:

Have the Z come with a bracket to fasten the front licence plate in the opening rather than screw into the front bumper. A lot of us our driving around without a front plate just because of this poor design and risking a ticket. The current location just ruins the lines of the car from the front.

Jeff - zland

 

"Make a sunglass holder overhead that actually works with adult size sunglasses"

My 2004 sunglasses holder works perfectly and it's holding one of those sport type sunglasses where the lens wrap around the side a bit...so that's already fixed

they need to use more durable paint...or put some sort of protective clear coating on the Z 'cuz the paint chips too easily.

 

When the 350Z first came out there was a group from Nissan . The group consisted of a person from Tokyo, Cal., and the Regional director for the East Coast.
One of the topics/suggestions that was dealt with was the placement of the license plate.
I suggested that if they had a recessed portion in the front bumper, aka corvettes, then the plates would be less intrusive to the overall apppearance of the front bumper/grill area.
I was left with the feeling something was going to be done for future model years. So far, no changes and I don't have the plate mounted.
I only wish I had known about the feathering at the time like we knew about the BOSE problems. They were very interested in our opinions in the very early days unlike today.

 

The #1 reason production of the 300ZX was shut down was due to loss of sales due to the high price, so the new approach was to build an affordable Z (like the 240Z) but offer upgrades for enthusiasts at the dealership. This is also the reason we'll probably never see a factory FI setup. They want to keep the Z well below 40k.

It seems they're leaving it to the dealerships to offer tuned packages like the Nismo Z.

I predict that we just might see them throw in something like the suspension in a year or two to bump sales, but I doubt we'll see any more HP since they want you to buy the nismo products. We'll probably see more of those.

 

I can verify what zxsaint is saying. There is a dealer here in Atlanta that is putting togther a Rtune 350Z. And will be selling it to the public. Car has Nismo Rims,R-Tune Flywheel,Nismo CAI, Nismo Headers, S-Tune Suspension, Nismo Clutch, Nismo LSD, Nismo Cat back exhaust. Plus our friends at Performance Nissan are sending our Z's out to do battle with the Hondas of the world.