FWIW. Over the years I have been an avid reader of 350Z.com and found it to be a wealth of info regarding the "Z". Just about anything that you want to know and not know can be found on this forum. I have read the good and the bad and have seen some of the ugly (sometimes I wonder what people were thinking when modifying their Z).

Anyway after four years of ownership here is the state of my 2004.5 chrome silver Enthusiast. I ordered the car and took delivery from a local dealer in January of '04. I wanted the Enthusiast because it had cloth seats. I have had other convertibles and prefer cloth here in the Southeast due to the sun and heat. Cloth just feels cooler. My build date was in November of 2003. After 6000 miles the cloth began to show wear (other Z's had this problem) and the dealer promptly replaced the worn seat covers. Next issue was tire feathering at 8500 miles (no need to go into that) but the dealer realigned the front and gave me two new front tires. I noticed that the tread pattern on the stock RE040's had slightly changed on the replacements. The shoulder blocks were not cut all the way through to the outer edge, no doubt this kept the shoulder blocks from twisting in hard cornering, thus reducing the tendency to feather. Now four years later and at 27,400 miles there have been no other significant issues. The tires have been super quiet since alignment and I really like the way they handle on warm and dry roads. On wet roads you would be better off walking! The original back tires and the replacement front tires are still on the car, however the back tires are done so I am replacing all four this week with Goodyear F1 Eagle All Seasons. I looked at Michelin Pilot A/S and Bridgestone RE960's but decided to give the new Goodyears a try. I wanted a good wet grip tire for the Blue Ridge Mountains where we have daily pop-up showers during the warmer months. I have not been a fan of Goodyear tires in the past but all the reviews have them at or near the top so I will give them one last chance. The Z is my weekend car or sometimes I will take it to the beach. It is driven top down almost any day that the temperature is above 40 and the sun is out. With the side windows up you can stay quite warm with the heater on even in cold weather. The car was switched to Mobil One synthetic after the first 7500 miles. The oil is changed by me every 5000 miles and there is no noticeable oil consumption between changes. Meguires Tech Wax is applied about four times a year and I Vinylex the top twice a year. That's it. THere have been no other issues. The Z looks just as it did the day I picked it up except for about a 1.5 inch cut in the front bumper from a large can that flew out of the back of a pickup on I-40 within two hours of taking delivery. With the top down, people still come over to look at the car when I stop for gas or they will pull up at a red light and say how much they like the car. Nobody comes to look at it with the top up. It really looks "different" with the top up but so do most convertibles. Some people want to know what kind of car it is. I debadged the Nissan hamburgers and there doesn't seem to be many roadsters around so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Handling is ultra-superb and the power (while never enough) is just right for the type of mountain driving I do. On the straight-aways few cars can catch it and it will go as fast as you can afford. For me this car was the perfect blend of price, performance, reliability and style. I would buy this same car again in a heartbeat. Can't wait to see the new body style whenever Nissan launches a re-design.

 

congratz on the milestone...i just hit a wall of words though hahaha.

 

Zeenut...nice post, I enjoyed reading it. I hope im as happy with my Z in 4 years. Congrats.

 

Nice post this is getting me excited to take delivery of mine! Hopefully my journey will be as painless and enjoyable as yours.

 

Good read

I'm in the same boat as you. Picked it up in Feb '04, had a few top issues, some feathering, tranny whines a little on cold morning, but at the end of the day I can't believe its a 4 year old car because it has been relativley trouble free.

 

Max how many miles do you have on yours now?

 

I only read that massive block of words because it came from a ZR brother.
Yay for happy ZR brothers.

 

I finally had a tire feathering event on mine, I couldn't figure out why the car was so loud when driving. I changed out the wheels and tires a month after I bought it used 06 with 34K miles. Ended up the toe in was whacked, the fronts looked ok but they were like driving on fred flintstone tires.

I went with the Nitto Nt-555's again as I got 40K miles out of them, had Tein comfort sport's with edfc installed too, WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I also swapped out the stock brakes to factory brembos all around, it's like sex without a condom for the first time.

I'm right at 76K miles now as I have a 140 mile round trip commute, I actually look foreward to going to work just for the drive...

 

LOL, the brotherhood is strong.

 

Bought my 04 in Aug 04. Now have 62,000 on it and no major complaints except the driver who rides next to me in the left lane gawking until I slow so the people behind him can get around......Yup, I bought it to drive and believe me I do every chance I get....

 

seriously? do you really feel that big of a difference between stock brakes and the brembos? how much were they?

 

Thats the way to do it. My ZR should be here next week. It is an 04, 39K miles. I got an extended warranty of 5 years/100K miles. I plan on driving mine too

 

holly $hit ! that was a lot of reading !!!!
In any case, enjoy your ride ...

 

There is a difference in the feel, you only really notice it when you brake hard at high speed, like 100+, way more control and stability. On the street you'd probably never notice. The brembos will let you do quit a bit more hard braking where the factory stock will be fading. I put them on for the bling, I never track the car or even street race, ever no matter how much I get enticed.

I bought them used from a member here, took them to work and bead blasted them bare and then painted them a shade of purple with caliper paint, yes purple, I just want to look different.

 

....Purple???? Ya, It's different alright...

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8...zewheelqa3.jpg

 

Not a lot....about 25,000 KM's (approx 16,000 miles)

 

Yep my baby is 4 years old too...

She comes out to play later this week.... right when it is supposed to snow...again.