khult350z

Any experience with taking a 4-6 hour road trip with your Z?
I am considering a Z, having had 5 other Nissans(non Z's) over the years.

If you have road tripped please share your thoughts on:
Comfort, Road Noise, Etc... The dealer doesn't want me to take a 4 hour test drive for some reason....Hmmm, I wonder why?

Thanks for any feed back you can offer.

jdm3fiddyZ

iTrader: (4)

i took a trip to atlantic city for a car show from harrisburg pa, it was about a 3 hour trip...and i travel from harrisburg to my school in the poconos almost 2 times a month, and thats about a 2 hour trip. The only thing that you should worry about is rock chips and stuff like that. if you are going to be driving your Z alot, invest in a Clear bra...it will save you thousands in paint...

Zcool

Santa Cruz (NorCal) to Las Vegas, NV (550 mi) in one day with 2 stops for gas/food/restroom. Returned a week later same way. Enjoyed every minute of it, especially the 130 mph run through the Mojave Desert.

shopdog

I've driven the Z between my home here and my vacation home, a 420 mile drive across 3 states, several times now. The Z isn't an Altima, but it doesn't beat me to death on the trip either. I've been *lots* more fatigued when I made the drive in my old diesel Datsun pickup, or my old (1983) Camaro for that matter.

The drive doesn't make me stiff or sore, which sort of surprised me the first time, because the Z doesn't seem all that comfortable on short drives. But the firm tight cockpit grows on you. Everything is so well laid out that you settle in very nicely.

My Z is a roadster, so even with the top up, the noise is more than that of a luxury car. But it isn't bad, the radio can still override it. The only time it gets *really* noisy is when driving in the rain. *That* can be nearly deafening.

The one real drawback of the Z on a road trip is the relative lack of storage space for luggage and other junk. If you travel light, you'll be fine, but if you need a big trunk, or a truck, to haul your junk, the Z won't do.

nsxpower

I just went on a road trip in my Z last weekend:

Barcelona > Salon de Pce. > Monaco ... all the way back. About 1600 km / 1000 miles covered in about 10 hours over two days with pitstops for gas and to take a slash. Overall it wasn't too bad, but after 4 hours you wish the seats had lumbar support, which is so far No.1 PITA for me when long trips are concerned. Lack of luggage space is not a problem for me as I was traveling light. Noise levels were well under control and never bothered me. The cruise control on the Z is nice and works well ... I actually used it to pass people occasionally

ypwpat

the Lumbar support you can get the inflatable one. That should give you a Lumbar Support

maxipad96

iTrader: (5)

I've taken a 9 hr road trip from atlanta to marco island florida. The Z is fine if your driving fast, but really starts to get to you at normal speeds. Noise is expected at 130 mph, but when your driving 75-80 for long periods and can barely hear the radio because the road noise is so loud, it starts to get to you. Especially if your riding with someone else who doesn't like to listen to the radio loud, because the radio has to be blasting in order to even hear it. Just an observation.

As far as comfort of the seats, I do wish there was a drivers armrest, but the seats themselves are fine. Does anyone else's elbow start to hurt from resting it on the door?

ivanito

perfomance tires = loud

stock = quiet

just my observation... oh and the floor gets really hot

cobf32

I went on a long road trip this summer> Phoenix AZ to Milwaukee Wi, then on to Wyoming before returning to Phoenix. Over 4000 miles in all.

The Z was GREAT. Very comfortable even for me (6'3, 250 lbs) The ride gets anoying on the choppy concret in the midwest, and if I lived there I would invest in a good set of coilovers. Got 28MPG also!

Montez

Drove it from Dallas to El Paso about a 10 hour drive, we enjoyed it (neither one of us complained about back issues),on a desolate stretch on I20 got him up to 136 felt like I was going 75.

khult350z

Thanks all for the comments. I was glad to hear cob32's comment as I am also 6' 3" & 230lbs. I am getting closer to my decision to buy a Z.

shopdog

I have a 2004.5 Touring roadster. The leather seats have built in, though not adjustable, lumbar support. Nissan must have been listening to the complaints of the 2003 owners.

ZYAL8R808

I live in Hawaii and the longest road trip for me would be about 50 miles. Then the road runs out. But, for those 50 miles it's a great ride. haha

nsxpower

Mine is going to be two weeks old next Monday ... so it's a 2004.5 model too, but I am not sure if how EU spec seats differ from the US seats. That said there is not enough lumbar support for me (6'2" / 200 lbs). I compared to my friends S3's Recaros and the lumbar support on those simply blew me away.

Something I did for the first couple of days was switch on butt heaters a few times ... accidentally.

I am not sure abt US spec Zs, but one feature that I liked was padding where you right knee rests on the side of the console ... small, simple, cheap ... but a very nice touch.

Tire noise is not a Z problem per se since its the crappy stock Bridgestones that are making the noise. At cruising speed (160km/h ~ 100mph) the engine stays under 4000 rpm and it pretty quiet actually ... at 200km/h ~ 125mhp the engine is noticebly louder since you are at aboout 4500-5000 rpm and the exaust noise is definatelly there

hf448402

i took a trip from dallas to florida, about a month after i got it, with the borla on, and it was very comfortable, but ill tell you now, if you have a loud exhaust, it will drone and get annoying about 3 or 4 hours into it, and that was a 26 hour drive, so just to let you know

nitrousoxidex

iTrader: (4)

I'm going to Vegas soon probably tonight or tomorrow. Its going to be a 600 mile trip(both ways). I think I'm gonna enjoy the drive...

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Just took a 2200 mile road trip to Tx and back. It was a nice trip other than a few rattles and yes the bumpy road does get annoying sometimes.

The other thing I didn't like was the floorboard gets a little warm.

I averaged 27 MPG.

And yes, invest in a clear bra. I just detailed my car and the only issue I had was road tar.

Loretta Long

I am going on a road trip Labor day weekend and realy looking forward to the trip. I have had my Baby Z for 4 weeks now and I am totally in Love with it.

This may sound Dumb but where can i get a Clear Bra. Would like to get one befor I go on My trip, going From Florida to NC (Cant Wait )

zand02max

iTrader: (22)

Try the yellow pages for starters. However, do your homework. The clear bra business is very profitable, so be careful. Some folks do not know what they are doing. The dealer razor bladed my car.

Once you find a place, do a search on your local Better Business Bureau.

GL. If you don't get a clear bra, get a colgan bra instead for the trip. You will regret it if you don't.

freerad

Drove Abq to Santa Barbara and back in July. Loved the trip especially that stretch of the I-40 when no one was around. Hit 140 for about 2 seconds and dropped it down, had to be able to say I did it once. Drove most of the way at 90-100 and Z felt great at those speeds. Who needs to pack lots of stuff?