Evenflow80

Hi everyone ,

I have an old 2004 Nissan 350z, track trim, with 144,000 miles on it . I got it in 2007 with 38,000 miles on it .

I recently rear ended someone and insurance didn't help so had to repair out of pocket . I upgraded the radiator from stock to Mishomoto and repalcing stock filter with k&n short ram intake .

My question is due to age and high mileage , what can I do to extend the life of my Z ? What oil or upgrades or anything do you guys recommend ? I just spent more than the car is worth to repair it because it means more than money to me, but want to ensure it lasts as long as possible

Thanks !

khnitz

My $0.02...

I think with a high mileage car, there are basics that we can control: keep up on needed and regular maintenance and change fluids on schedule (oil, coolant, brake, transmission, differential, power steering). Beyond that, anything else that happens, happens.

If this is your daily driver (only car), then I would also recommend getting another, good (can be used) vehicle to use as a backup and to trade-off on where you rack up miles. I have found that having a backup vehicle means that I can take my time and make a repair myself, and that saves money and I like the satisfaction of maintaining my own vehicles. A backup vehicle affords you to take the time to get a good price on the parts you need, as you're not in a rush and need the car back on the road right away. Also, if there's an unexpected hiccup in the repair (you find another broken part, etc.), then you have the time to get that handled, too - again, without the pressure that would otherwise force you to pay whatever it takes at a shop to get it repaired.

I do keep a logbook of my fill-ups and repairs for all my vehicles. My family does not see the value in it, but I think it helps to give an early indication of problems: if my expected gas mileage starts dropping from fill-up to fill-up, then something may be going bad that I need to address and maybe I can identify it before it fails catastrophically. So, I always top-off when I fill up, and reset the trip odometer so I have a reasonable value for the miles-per-gallon on that tank. And the other thing is that I can look back and identify when I should preventively replace wear items like belts, wipers, air filter, etc. based on the time/mileage of when they were last replaced.

Evenflow80

Hey thanks so much for the detailed response !

It's not my daily driver . I have a Honda Civic SI I use for the kids etc. To give you perspective , I hit 100k miles in September 2012 and as of today I have 144k.... So that's about 6-7k miles a year

How many miles to Z's last anyways ? On average ?

khnitz

There is another thread in this forum you can search out where members share their high-mileage Z's. Some are approaching (exceeded, by now?) 300k miles.

I'll be in a similar boat with my Z - picked it up for a song last year and it will be a summer-only car and likely get around the same miles put on it per year as you. The fun-per-$ factor is pretty high on the Z, from what I've read and experienced. My Z isn't a pristine example by any means (the previous owner used it as a DD, it has 125k miles on it now, and MI winters were not kind to the underbody), so I'm not worried about preserving it to perfection. But, this means I am free to drive and enjoy it - just need to keep it clean and and keep up with the maintenance.

Winter duties go to other vehicles I have (with a set of snow tires). I do need to update my wife's vehicle in the next couple of years, though. But, then I'll have another vehicle for me with her old Volvo (a 2005 V70R...Turbo, 300hp and AWD ).

niznos

iTrader: (2)

When I went from a poor kid in an apartment to a grown up with a house that had a garage, I noticed a huge difference in the aging of my car(s). If it's one thing I have to attribute to a car's long life, it's garaging it. It's not just saving it from the moisture that causes rust, or weather that rots the rubber and plastics, or the sun and heat baking the paint, leather and dash; it's also getting the mechanical parts inside, away from outside winter cold starts that may be way below freezing. They say cold starting is where most engine wear occurs. Parking in a garage is also a passive act, as in it doesn't involve physically doing anything extra.

Added bonus: the car's interior is also not too cold or hot for you when you get in, and you don't have to get wet or walk through snow when the weather is bad.

I don't understand the people that have a garage and instead of parking in it, they pile it full of their worthless horded junk and leave the most expensive thing they own outside.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

The Z33 remains a modern vehicle; built with materials and technology capable of lasting 300K miles or more. There's no "average" out there, but it seems that ownership is the biggest single factor in determining longevity of any particular model, The Z is a hot looking car, and tends to attract a younger customer who may not have developed their skills or judgement. Those cars end up totaled, badly damaged and/or neglected to the point they get scrapped early.