The 350Z Touring coupe that I ordered came in yesterday. I picked it up from the dealer late last night and drove it home.

It looks great; I am excited and can’t wait to get it out on the twisty mountain highways.

I do have a concern though… Last night after I drove it home (including a joy ride around the neighborhood; < 15 miles total), I parked the car in its new spot in the garage and went to get ready for a sleepless night. A little more than two hours later I was out in the garage again to admire my baby one more time before bed. I noticed that the hood (and the entire garage for that matter) was very warm. The sides and rear of the car were cool to the touch, but the hood was quite hot. I popped the hood and sure enough the engine was still burning (hot enough to hurt the hand, but not hot enough to steam water). I would think that after over 2 hours the engine should be cooled down (at least to the point of being able to lay your hand on it for a few seconds). This only concerns me because during a test drive several months ago the dealer had me touch the engine after a 10-minute (rough) test dive and the engine was cool. The dealer was bragging about this fact. MY engine was not even near cool after two hours of being off. I drove the car very easy both on the way home and on the few minutes of joy riding.

Do you guys think that this is a problem? Does your engine take a long time to cool down?

The engine was cool this morn when I drove it to work.

Advise please…. Am I just being paranoid?

Chris

 

Sounds fine to me, engines get REALLY hot and I imagine it takes quite a while to cool so it can be touched. Ever changed your own oil? I always do and I usually leave the hood open and the car sitting for several hours, and the oil still is hot sometimes....

 

Chris:
I also have a new touring too. Just got it in late July. I can't say I have noticed the heat/cool down problem you describe above. Since you report the engine was cool in the am, it does not sound like you have a serious problem. Does your temp gauge register normal when you are driving the car? I would be more concerned about a high operating temp. As for cool down in your specific situation: Is your garage a small, one car garage? I have a townhouse with small garage and can assure you it gets HOT in there after the car is parked (even after a short run). Remember, our Z's are high performance engine's - so there is going to be heat. I can also imagine you shut the garage door too. That would also create the "simmering" effect you describe. Hopefully this helps. If not, write back and let us know. Good luck and enjoy your new Z!!
Lou
PS - What color did you get? Stick or auto?
Liquid aluminum, auto here.

 

Novaz,

The temp gauge does not seem to be high when driving (at the mid point) and the car seems drive very well. I am just being over cautious. I only asked because I remember the test drive a few months ago when I touched the engine just after driving and it was cool.

The garage is a large two car and yes the door was shut, but the heat in the garage is not a big deal, it is always warm in there.

I got a Pikes Peak White Touring; stick. No navigation or side air bags, but all other options. Love it....

 

I happened to experience "the oil hot" scenario this past Sunday... dropped the plug into the oil drain pan. Even with latex gloves, that oil was burning hot and the bad thing is that you take your hand out and it still feels like it is in the pan (being coated with oil).

Hundred or so oil changes under my belt and this was only the second time I've ever dropped the plug into the drain pan... the first time I dropped it was the first time I've ever change my oil

Sorry to deviate, but Fizz, wouldn't worry about it. The engine has been known to get hot... heck, there've been threads about how hot the cabin gets from the engine heat. Make sure that your coolant is topped off as the dealership is supposed to do this upon arrival to the dealership. My dealership apparently hadn't and I was always wondering why the coolant level was so low.

 

Remember- there is a shroud under the engine compartment for aerodynamic purposes.
There's not alot of air exchange with the outside environment when it is sitting still, so it takes alot longer to cool down.

 

Just enjoy your new baby..Its normal.

 

Actually I am kind of surprised it takes so long to cool down the engine. 2 hours seems too long of the time. I don't know the specs of the engine but I would certanly find out from the manual or NNA engineers if this is normal. Just my .02 cents.

 

Don't think you have a problem.

 

I noticed the heat too, but to a greater extent. I can feel the heat on my fenders, and the whole garage is just unbearably hot. I've owned many cars, and this one in particular seems to get and stay hot for a long time!

I think that is one reason why the A/C has to always be on, even in cool weather. The engine compartment gets so hot that it heats up the air in the ventilation ducts, and the fans end up drawing hot air into the cabin. It could be 65 degrees outside, but the air that is drawn in gets humidified and heated to 80+ degrees, especially after driving, parking, then getting back in the car within the hour. I HATE having to use A/C when it's 65 outside!

Besides the tire feathering, and the porky weight of this car, I'd have to say the ventilation system is 3rd on my list of Z pet peeves.

 

Thanks for the great responses...

I agree there is most likely no problem.

I need to go back to the dealer today to get my pickup out of their parking lot, so I will just mention it to the service guys and find out what they have to say about the time it takes the engine to cool down.

Right now I am going to sit back and enjoying knowing that I now own a Z.

Chris

 

I also have a Touring in Denver. I was also pretty surprised when I got my car with the heat that it put out. I don't know what your dealer was doing making you feel the engine after your test drive. That's like playing "Touch the Stove". All internal engines should be hot, unless they are running at a 100% efficiency. Congrats on the car and it's okay to be paranoid. Make sure that you keep track of all the drives, track events, and happy hours that the Denver 350Zs put on.
David

 

What's up with everyone talking about the "porky" weight of the car? It's it around 3,200lbs? Correct me if I'm wrong but that's about what the C5 is and the new $440,000 Carbon Fiber Porsche Carrera GT??

Are we expecting RX-8 3000lbs curb weight or Miata curb weights? Is our car really that big a pig?

 

I for one luv the rock solid feel of the car; if its "porky" I'll take the pork!! LOL!

 

one has a v8 and the other a v10, the weight makes sense for such large engines. not that i've thoroughly researched it, but the z is probably one of the heaviest v6 two-seat sports cars.

 

Okay, I looked up cars on MSN. Weights:

2000 2835
Boxster 2936
RX 8 3053
Vette 3179
Zzzzz 3188
Mustang3290
M3 3415.

 

i remember checking and the evo8 and the sti also weigh in close to the Z if i remember correctly. sure if it was lighter it would be nice, but i dont think it's all that porky.

 

A performance car *shouldn't* weigh more than 10 pounds per horsepower. The Corvette and the Porsche have the HP to carry their weight. Our Zs only have 287 hp, so yeah, our Zs, especially the roadster, are porkers. Now add a twin turbo, and the weight would be about right.

 

I can't think of any performance car that qualifies under the price of the corvette. Evo, Sti, S2000, M3 (the m3 is close though) all don't meet that standard.

Can anyone think of other cars up to the price of the vette that qualifies?