hey, new poster here! just got an a/t '03 touring with 86k miles and would like some advice as to what I should upgrade first

this is my first 350z and my first sports car so I would really appreciate all the advice I can get

the car is completely stock, runs smooth and was just serviced by the dealer (has a 60-day warranty) so it doesn't need any basic maintainance

given the miles, I'm mostly interested in upgrading anything that could start giving me problems in the near future, that way I can start killing two birds with one stone

the car is plenty fast for me so getting more hp isn't a priority right now, but I'm definitely willing to look into anything that can improve efficiency while also giving me better performance and a smoother ride

I definitely don't want anything that will make the car obnoxiously fast or loud, if I wanted a race car I wouldn't have gotten an automatic, I would like to install a paddle shift kit eventually though

the one thing I'll probbaly do soon is install a JWT pop charger, other than that I'll probably look into doing things like adding a plenum spacer and upgrading the manifold, headers, y pipe, etc. later this year, coil over and other things in that price range would go on eventually

 

Do you have any records showing the actual scheduled maintenance was done? There should have been a lot of things replaced from 60,000-75,000 miles. Not that I don't trust dealers and all but "just serviced" is usually a fancy term for checked the oil level and tire pressure. Otherwise, the Z is a very reliable car. If you don't hear or see anything out of the ordinary, enjoy it.

 

I don't have records of the maintanance but I'll see if I can get ahold of them when I go in again on Monday to get the the bumper painted, the word "gold" was thrown somewhere in there when the maintanance was brought up so it did sound kinda gimmicky, the 60-day or 2000 mile warranty on most engine and drivetrain parts eased it in though

 

seems like the dealer didn't really do much, got a cold front today and the heater wouldn't work, did a quick search, checked to see if it was a coolant problem and it was, dealer provided me with a bottle of coolant and I'm just waiting for the car to cool down now

I'm also under the impression that they filled up my tank with regular fuel, going to go through all of it just in case and fill up with premium

I'll look into everything that should have been replaced at 75k and ask about them monday

 

I wouldn't suggest doing the paddle shifters if you don't want to have a "race car". But definitely look into a Transgo valve body upgrade. It helps shift gears faster when accelerating. Since you don't want to max out your HP, get a higher final drive gear and better LSD. If I would've done more research, that would've been one of my first upgrades.

 

it really depends on what you want to do with it.. the best thing you can do for yourself (to help minimize flaming / getting slammed) is to do your research

 

I suggest brakes and tires right off the bat.

 

Looks like the first thing I'll be doing might be flushing the cooling system since there seems to be air in it, that or the thermostat needs to be replaced.. I'm at the dealer now waiting to hear what they say

 

I'm trying to do all the research I can with the time I have, so I really appreciate all the advice I can get

 

Are you at a Nissan dealer? Flushing the coolant in a Z requires a few more steps than a normal flush so hopefully they follow the service manual.

 

there is sooooo much info on this site.... we can all give you what we like or did on our car... but this is your car, you need to do the homework

 

Sadly no, and I hope whatever they do they cover it because they supposedly did maintenance on the car before I bought it but they didn't even check the radiator or resivoi

 

If they don't do it correctly, you will more than likely still have air in the system.

 

Its a Mopar service and parts, not that it means they'll know what they're doing.. Haven't heard back from them yet so they might not even know what's wrong

 

Ends up the radiator was leaking, if it wasn't for the random cold frony I wouldnt have known

They're putting in a new one tonorrow and replacing the belts free of charge, no misfires or anything else came up on the engine check so everything else is good for now

 

Just goes to show how 'thorough' their service was. I'd be pretty insistent about getting those service records though because without them, well, you're driving into the unknown. As AdvanZ33 says, with regular servicing they're a very reliable car, little or no servicing is a time bomb just waiting to rape your wallet.

 

I'm also under the impression that they filled up my tank with regular fuel

 

definitely don't wany any surprises so the first thing I'm going to do it take it to my local Nissan dealer and do the 90k mile inspection

going to talk to them about it tomorrow, hopefully they have some service records of the car

 

talked to Nissan today, they've got a free visual inspection and a $170 full inspection, anyone had experience with these?

I'm thinking I'll take it in for a free inspection then do the full inspection at 90k unless they find anything alarming

 

Look for a manual car with a v8