I flew to Florida and got my Z car. It fit all my criteria although I had to settle with getting a base. Picked it up from an old guy in Florida who has had it for 10 years. He has a prosthetic leg so I highly doubt he did more than put around town it in.

It's an 07 so I got the HR engine. Manual of course. White. Base model although sometimes it really feels like it has an LSD back there. It will wheel hop and tail wag side to side which I have never experienced in another RWD car with an open diff. It has the the first Gen NISMO wing on it as well as nismo floor mats. Was told the original owner who had it for 22k miles put those on. Maybe he put an LSD back there? Seems like it.

Had no undertray so I got an aluminum ones, had to get fender liners too. Changed all the fluids, Rotella T6 engine oil, Redline MT-85, coolant. It has a small leak in the radiator so I'll have to swap that out. Any benefit to an all aluminum one on an HR engine. Aftermarket is like $300, OE from Z1 is like $140.

I'll take her all apart this winter while I have it in a garage.

This car is quite quick. Going to definitely need better tires. 225 front/245 rear regular all seasons can't put the power down at all. Anything over 3800 in first gear spins the tire(s).

Happy to be a part of this forum. Thanks for everyone's help when I was deciding what to buy.

Oh yeah and I had to adjust the clutch pedal on the way home bc the clutch released suuuuuper high and I couldn't stand it. Now it released a few inches from the floor like I like it. How did this guy drive it like that for ten years?

 

Congrats. I have a ton of stuff for sale on my Z if you need parts.

 

Congratulations and welcome to the forum, officially!

 

My honest recommendation would be to go with an all aluminum one. The OEM plastic radiator is garbage when you live in a hot climate such as Florida. Between the environmental heat and the heat generated by the engine they get weak and break, so it doesn't surprise me that it had a leak. I doubt it will have that problem to the same degree with you being in Chicago, but why not upgrade since you have to replace it. Better to do it now and have a larger capacity and cooling capability than when you get down the road.

 

Regards, Bmsluite:

Congratulations on your Z. Nice color.

A FYI: The high clutch release point is typical for the Z.

In the barrel of the master cylinder there are ports allowing fluid from the reservoir to recharge the cylinder, fluid will eventually bypass the seals. If the pedal is adjusted too far forward (it doesn't take much) these ports are obstructed and as brake fluid is displaced will ultimately result in inadequate stroke at the pedal. If you begin to experience resistance in shifting or the pedal fails to return, you'll want to adjust the pedal for more stroke.

As to wheel hop, check your silicone damped differential bushing for leaks.

Enjoy your Z!

 

OEM, good for 12 years

 

Does that master cylinder condition apply to the 07s as they have the cylinder in the bell housing?

I did check the diff bushing as it seems fine, will be replacing with poly soon. It also doesn't help. Wheel hop that it is cold as ***** here and I have ***** tires

 

Nice buy. Did you drive home or ship? Props to the previous owner for driving a stick shift with a prosthetic leg.

 

Flew down with the gf. We took our time driving back spending a night in Atlanta, a night in Chattanooga, a night in Nashville, then finally visiting her friend in Springfield before finally driving back into Chicago. It was a lot of fun. It was cool because it was a one way road trip.

 

Master cylinder. is mounted to the firewall, you're thinking about the slave cylinder.

 

Awesome. I love big road trips like that! I hope to do one in my car this summer.

 

Nice buy! 2007 Z’s with HR engine is the way to go. I have a 2007 ‘Enthusiast’ with 23k miles!
so far only a set of tires and regular oil changes. Absolutely no issues - ever! It’s a summer driver
’cause it’s in north and Z’s generally are not good in the snow. Have fun, be safe!

 

Pictures or it didn't happen.
Congrats , I was trying to get you to Florida to buy my Z.

 

Congrats, and I'd suggest you rethink the Shell Rotella T6 in your HR. That's an excellent diesel oil, or if your engine needs a good cleaning, but there are other oils with better UOAs for the HR.

 

I'm so mad that you didn't include any photos!

Congrats anywho though, good job on the HR pick up, quick little cars indeed.

 

Sounds like you got a nice car that requires just a little work

 

Here's the pics. I wish I could get rid of that wing. The clear coat on the top is gone. Sadly there's big bolt holes holding it on plus I'll bet the paint under the wing is trashed. I'll either try to sand and repaint the carbon fiber or if anybody knows of something else that would cover that trunk area then I'm all ears.

I will also have to repaint the interior panels as they are all scratched up. I'll do that when I install the android auto double din over the winter. She will go into storage next week and then the fun begins.

This thing SERIOUSLY needs different tires. In the cold the thing wheel hops like hell until the tires warm up. I lowered the pressure in the rear but it's still bad. Either getting more firestone firehawk indy 500s or these federal ss595 tires everyone seems to rave about.

Did you guys all go wider with the tires? 245 seems pretty skinny for over 300HP

 

Oh yeah and what's wrong with Rotella T6 for these engines? I love that oil. Way underrated. Has a lot of detergents for highly mileage high performance engines and holds up as well or better than all enthusiast oils (Mobil 1, Castrol European, RP, etc.)

 

Yeah not a fan of the nismo wing either. Right before I sold my 350z I put on the bfg sport comp 2's on it. Noticeably wider than other brands the same size, nice ride and grip

Oil wise, I have used mobile 1 in the 350z, corvette, and cadillac....no complaints

 

Rosella detergents are not made for the **** gas engines make. The HR is also a high reving engine and you need a certain level of protection, and rotella is made for Low RPM diesels.