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I think the fenders could stay on the car. But the bumper and hood should be removed (same for the rockers if those require some work). This will give the painter the best chance at a quality finished product (good even coverage, less visible tape lines). New fender and bumper emblems should be purchased, don't bother re-using the originals, they aren't that expensive (maybe $120 for all 3). Push for new if they mention anything about re-using the originals with aftermarket double-sided tape.
Cheers!
-Icer
I talked to the other owner about the painting today. When I asked about the emblems, he immediately said we'll get new ones. He is definitely planning to remove the bumper, rockers, hood, lights, rubber strip around the windshield, rubber gasket on the softop side, etc... He said they never do any paint jobs where they don't do all that. He said I wouldn't see any mask tape lines. So more and more I'm thinking they are going to do a good job on it. Or at least they seem to know what a top notch job is versus a quick mask and spray job.
Update. Six weeks ago I dropped off my car at Elite Automotive in Sparta Tennessee for a clutch. I finally have it back.
I'm going to write this post as a summary.
I bought a creampuff 2006 350Z Touring Roadster with 21,750 miles on it, all stock. Over a period of time I installed mild bolt-on upgrades to the car and six weeks ago brought it to Z1 Motorsports for the final tune/dyno. An hour after having that final tune done, my clutch gave out and I couldn't get the car into gear. This is a problem that had been coming on and had nothing to do with Z1 Motorsports. I got the car towed from GA to Elite Automotive in TN to have a new clutch installed. The call to have a new clutch installed was mine. I did not let them diagnose the car, I simply assumed it was a clutch problem and ordered the parts and they installed them for me. It turns out that the problem was a master cylinder and not the clutch.
One of the bolt-on upgrades was a new RJM clutch pedal. I think this clutch pedal exacerbated the issue I was having with the clutch/master cylinder.
While the car was at Elite Automotive, a technician left a pressurized vessel of brake fluid sitting on the floor in front of my car and over a weekend a hose blew off and squirted brake fluid all over the front of my car. Rather than take the car to my own bodyshop and fight with them to get it paid for, I decided it was best to allow Elite to use their body shop to fix the damage, which they did. I have to say that they did a very nice job of repainting the hood and bumper, and feathering new paint into the old on the fenders. Having that repaint meant that several rock chips that I used to see every time I cleaned my car are now gone. They also fixed a small dent on the top windshield frame that happened months ago when a stick fell from a tree on a drive one windy day. They did a very nice job of cleaning and detailing the car. The only thing they didn't do that they should have is replace one of the headlights. I believe one was damaged from brake fluid and the owner disagreed with me. I'm just letting it go. Life is short. I have no time to spend in a lawyer's office.
The car I just picked up at Elite feels totally different to me than the one I remember dropping off there six weeks ago. I had so little seat time on all the mods and no time really after the final tune - and with a new clutch installed, it's really taking me some time to get used to how this car feels now. I've got a few hundred miles on it since getting it back, and the clutch is breaking in nicely, I'm getting used to the RJM clutch pedal, and I'm really enjoying the overall performance of the car A LOT!
Every single upgrade that I did to the car is contributing to the overall balance of performance. It's all just right, and so much fun.
Hey. I'm late to this thread but I mostly hang out in the track section. your first question was why doesn't this feel like 300 HP. I was going to respond but nine pages of posts later... maybe someone already addressed it... but have you done basic maintenance on the engine? plugs, injectors, coils, MAF sensor, camshaft position sensors, etc?
All of the upgrades mentioned on this thread assume that your engine is already running it peak performance but you didn't say anything about refreshing it first.
these cars don't necessarily tell you when something is wrong unless it's really wrong. in my case, my 2004 had a bad camshaft position sensor. I got an error on it two years ago at the track and cleared the code And it didn't come back. until recently. My last track day in May through a cam code again and definitely felt the engine lose power.
I installed two new cam sensors. in my 2004 DE engine, there are only two. If your car there would be four sensors behind the engine. A bit of a pain to get to but if you remove a few things to get them out of the way then it's very easy to do this yourself. or a shop can do it in less than 2 hours
what's more important than this though is checking the deeper Nissan code's that are not revealed by a cheap OBD2 scanner. you need a Nissan scanner to dig into the ECU beyond the top level error codes. That's the case with my engine. The cam sensor error was deep. The cheap scanner I had cleared the code but did not bring up anything about the real problem buried in the Nissan code's. so you need a good code scanner. I bought one from Z1 And it displayed exactly what was wrong which was not visible with the cheap one. I was able to clear those codes after installing the new sensors.
now here's the most important part that's relevant to your thread: after clearing those codes and installing the new sensors, it felt like I had a new engine. it turns out during the two years I've owned this car, it was pulling timing the whole time. And I've taken this car to the track I have dozen times and I had no idea that it was so problematic.
I don't drive full send, 10/10. I drive at like 7. so I did not really know about the problem but the engine was not running at peak efficiency. The ECU was pulling timing on the intakes.
as soon as I installed the new sensors and fix the code, I took the car for a test drive. this was a few months ago before it went off-road. I still had a registration on it. I was shocked! it was a totally different car. I hit red line for the first time ever in this car because it revved up to it so damn fast compared to in the past. I hit red line on several shifts without even trying and I had never done that before in this car.
regarding trying different cars to find one that you like, I completely understand and have done the same thing recently. I tried a 2011 GT500, the 2004 350Z, a 1998 Z3 2.8L, and a 2006 Cayman S. so far I sold the Shelby because it was a big GT car and I didn't enjoy it.
The 350Z has gone full track and I enjoyed driving some mountain roads quite a bit before taking it to this level. it is mainly due to cost. these cars are very cheap to work on and upgrade. but it is not even remotely the best driving car of the bunch. but I can thrash it on the track without any concern.
The Z3 2.8 5MT is only 200 HP but it is incredibly fun. And I'm talking about with 25-year-old stock suspension. it's unbelievably fun. it puts a huge smile on my face every time. I'm going to replace all of the suspension and put a roll bar on it for track. The car is brilliant. I already installed Fortune Auto 500 coilovers on it. it used E36 front and E30 rears. The stance is awesome. I was going to sell it to focus on the Cayman but I just can't. every time I look at it I smile.
And then the Cayman... this is a 987.1 3.4L 6MT mid-engine. I tracked it six times last year and the experience was incredible. I set one lap time in that car that I can't match even with the massively upgraded Z. oh but I will eventually :-)
just going for a drive, the way this car winds up is shocking. And the sound! My God, that flat six scream, there is nothing like it. you know, I love the VQ orchestra. I love it. but the flat six is another level.
The Cayman only weighs 2,900 lb. versus the 3300ish in my 2004 Z. I love the Z, because it's reliable and fun. but the Cayman S engine, with the same number of cylinders and the same horsepower more or less, the short ratio gears, the mid-engine weight transfer in corners, F/R weight distribution, take it another level.
Yes, it's bitchy. it's demanding. but in the year and a half now that I've owned it, I've done everything myself that needed to be done. If you're handy in the garage, it's just a car like any other.
I highly recommend you give a boxster or Cayman a try before settling. I had my Z for a year before buying the Cayman and I won't thrash the Cayman on the track. The m97 has an oil weakness on long sweepers so I'm not going to track it anymore. even with upgrades you're taking a chance with it. The Z is a great track machine. especially with all of the stuff I've done to it. If you blow that engine, it's not really a big deal to get another VQ or HR. or just rebuild your own.
I recommend a 987.2. that is when Porsche perfected the engine, 09 to 12. they're going up in value because people are figuring this out. The 981 also is a good choice from 13 to 16 but you lose the hydraulic steering. The best driving experience is with a 987.2. I was going to pick up a Boxster but I love the Z3 so much that I think I'll just keep that instead. I only paid $10k for it.
How do you like the RJM pedal? The stock pedal is utter **** in terms of feel.
Likes? Dislikes?
I'm also curious about how you like the RJM Pedal after spending some time with it. I'm in love with mine, which is why I recommended it for you. It makes sense that it would exacerbate your clutch issues. The RJM pedal by design has a shorter CMC rod stroke vs. stock. Meaning if you had air in the lines, a worn CMC/CSC, or a worn out clutch, then you won't fully disengage the clutch when depressing the clutch pedal to the floor. RJM talks about this in their instruction sheet that bleeding the hydraulics should be done BEFORE installing their pedal.
The benefits the RJM pedal offer far outweigh the installation/tuning pains. Shorter stroke on the CMC rod means longer seal life, less effort required for your foot/leg, and better engagement/bite feedback. You can fine tune the pedal height and angle to fit your preference. You can also fine tune the engagement point and duration. After I acclimated to the RJM pedal, I simply can't go back to the stock one. Seriously, after years of driving with the RJM pedal, I tried driving a Z33 with the stock pedal and I felt like a teen boy learning to drive his 1st MT again! It was horrible. The stock assist spring/design is simply terrible.
Cheers!
-Icer
08-31-2023, 10:08 AM
