Same thing here, no big deal except that i never considered the gas issue =X

 

That's funny, because recently I've been noticing that I am charged with a lot of static electricity. I thought my wife had changed laundry detergent or something. I now realize it is since I've had my ZR (a few weeks now) that I also have a lot of static electricity build up in my clothes. Haven't gotten shocked though--it seems to stay on my body, esp. sweaters, for some reason. Wierd! Never had it before the Z...

 

i think it may be a combo of your butt rubbing against the seat and the carpet that causes the shocks.
i too noticed that the severity of the shocks depends on the type of shoes and pants ur wearing. like when i'm going to basketball practice, my shorts will be clinging to my legs by the time i get to the gym. and the sneakers don't help either.

i noticed that if i touch the door panel before opening the door, the shocks are lessened.

 

I haven't noticed this problem.. I have a ZR Touring. Does it seem to happen with Coupes/Cloth, or not matter?

 

It's really a function of physics.....I was a Helicopter crew-chief in the army a few years back. We supported an air-assault school that taught sling-loading (carrying cargo in a net or other container attached to the bottom of the helo by it's cargo-hook. When we hovered in at ~5 feet for the students to attach the cargo-sling to the hook, it was standard procedure for them to stick a metal rod in the ground with a wire/probe attached. They would touch the probe to the cargo-hook to discharge the static built-up in the helicopter from the rotor system spinning through the air before attaching the load....This static discharge if not left to the grounding rod would knock you flat on your a**. Worst in the winter, obviously, but the principal is the same. Your car moving through the air, and your tires moving over the ground all cause the car to build up a charge....I guess we humans in our sneakers are more conductive than our tires...we provide a path to ground that the car can't get otherwise.

 

No problem here in Buffalo, Z isn't out of the garage yet. but any day now just had a nice rain that washed the salt away! Can't wait to be shocked!

 

someone should try getting their face close to the door when getting of their car, and get zapped in the face, for the hell of it, and get it on tape.

Now THAT would be funny....

Anyway, i get zapped everytime, so i try to close the door by pulling from the inside of the door since it isn't metal, kinda hard to grab, but the door closes pretty easily with a light pull, so it doesn't take much to close it.

 

Here's a post I wrote on Maxima.org a couple years ago.

It's a little early but here is my once a year explanation of why we get shocked and how to lessen or avoid it. I deal with static elimination in all enviroments, industrial to clean rooms.



What causes static electricity?

For our example, getting out of the car, it's friction. At the molecular level there is an exchange of electrons between the seat fabric and our cloths as we get out of the seat. Electrons are negative. So strong atomic structures gain electrons and become negatively charged. Weak atomic structures lose electrons and become positively charged.

Why do I get shocked?

Humans are static sponges. As the friction occurs between the seat and our cloths a charge is formed. This charge is then absorbed by our body. Since our body is not grounded and is covered by an insulator (cloths, shoes) this static charge keeps building. When our body comes in contact with ground (metal door) the static charge is discharged and we get zapped. We get shocked much more during the cooler months because the relative humidity is much lower than it is during the summer time.

Why are some cars worse than other?

Seat material, specifically composition and texture. Seat fibers with alot of nylon and polyester will create alot of static. Conversely if a manufacturer substitutes other material instead of nylon and polyester the propensity to create static is less. Leather is much smoother than cloth seats so there is less friction. Less friction means less static.

How can I stop getting zapped or lessen the effect?

The suggestions up to this point all work. Fabric softner works but keep in mind this is just coating the seat fibers. All coatings wear off. How often you have to spray your seats will have to be deterimed by you. Touching metal before you start to leave your seat and maintaining contact as you get out is the best way. This way your body is in constant contact with ground and there is no chance of a static charge building. Now lets say you forget to do this and your looking to bite the static bullet. Use your elbow or the heel of your hand to close the door. This displaces the static discharge over a larger surface area. When you reach out with your fingers and go to touch the door a very large static charge is heading for a very small, focused point, your fingertips, with painfull results. Visable static discharges are in the area of 30,000 volts (luckily very little amperage) and can go much higher. Now the cloths we wear also influence the static charge immensely. Cotton is the best choice to reduce static charges. Wool, silk, or synthetic materials are the worst. Women tend to get zapped worse as most of their clothing is made from synthetic fibers as well as thier undergarments.


teh215- The reason why the bumpers have a high static charge and maintain it, is because they are plastic. The rest of the car is metal which as we know is conductive. When you take a cloth and rub back and forth across the bumper you are creating static. Remember you cannot ground an insulator so that charge has nowhere to go and to make matters worse your body can absorb some of that charge. The best solution would be as Montez stated is to spray it down or use a damp rag. Water neutralizes static charges.

You will also hear about a person walking up to a car or a doorknob and getting shocked. What is happening hear is that person was close to a strong static field or they are wearing garments that create static electricity and their body is storing it. When you reach out and grab a grounded surface the static discharges and you get shocked.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that we are discharging static to the car. The car does not shock us.

 

Cars maintain constant contact with ground, unless you drive like those crazy Duke boys, unlike a helicopter which is in the air and has no way to discharge the static. Hence the use of metal probe to ground the helicopter. The tires still have enough carbon (conductive) in their rubber compound to have dissapative properties. The likelihood of static building up as we drive down the road is very small.

 

Happens to me too, I just hold the door sill while getting out of the car and seems to work fine. When I forget to do that, it lets me know it.

 

actually, i have leather seats (touring 6MT) and get shocked all the time too

my old car, an mx3, had a touch pad in the door which discharged static... all I had to do was touch the pad before leaving, and I wouldn't get shocked... I thought it looked cheesy when I first bought the car, but realized how useful it was later on

 

COMMING SOON: 350z door touch pads...

 

I used to get shocked alot too, but lately I haven't. I don't know what I did differently, but now more static for me....

 

I have the same problem in my Z also. When I had my other car it was really bad. I went to the store and purchased a can of Static Remover and sprayed my seats every couple of days. It worked well and didn't effect the seats what so ever. I think I'll do the same. I wish I could tell you guys the name of the product. db

 

Lol i thought i was the only one i guess not.

 

I get it once out of 2 times I try and close the door. It's a B****!