Was sorry to said that I had the common tranny grind problem that some of us had. Mine was a 04' Enthu, picked it up almost 4 weeks ago from Perf Nissan. Am happy to tell yaˇ¦ll that I dropped my car off this morning to have it replaced with the newest ver. Tranny! The process was surprisingly easy and fast. Michael at Perf Nissan got me thu the paper works in 10 mins. Jason helped me to pick out the flywheel/clutch combo. The car was ready for pick up at around 5:30pm.
First impression was the clutch is much tighter than stock, and there are almost no free play. Almost as soon as you release the clutch, it picks up. New tranny works great. No grind, no hard shifting. Smooth and quiet. Tho the clutch is heavier, its very easy to pick up. Very streetable. Engine revs up noticeable faster. Did not punch the gas yet cuz I kinda wanna break it in first but the car does accelerates faster.

Q: However, the flywheel growls under 2k RPM? is that normal? It gets pretty loud if I gas it at low RPMs. But above that runs/sounds like any other Z...just faster

I give Performance Nissan an A+ no doubt. Service, knowledge and price. Dont I feel lucky that I live only 10 mins away...

 

Glad you like it! The noise is normal. They should have explained this to you ahead of time, and I'll remind eveyone here of that fact. The stock flywheel is a dual mass unit with a chunk of rubber in the middle to absorb tranny noise...... you no longer have that! Enjoy...

 

Jeff do you know anyone at smithtown nissan in NY/longisland? I have a 03 performance with 3rd gear grind and I am looking for a good dealership to take it too. I would love to have it don at Performance Nissan but I am in PA.

 

Has anyone else with an 04 had their tranny replaced??

 

also, what were your symptoms of that bad tranny...us 04'ers would like to know....tx

 

Grinding(I can both hear and feel) 1st to 2nd when the cars cold, after the car warms up, I can still feel the clip(only feel). Sometimes I had problem shifting into 3nd and 5th on the freeway. After moving forward slowly, had problem shifting into reverse(when making a 3 point U-turn).

 

Not to hijack your thread and turn it into a repair topic, but was it a loud grind? I get a small grind in second when the car is cold when i shift slowly. Its not a loud grind though, very soft. My tranny also makes a hell of a lot of noise, but I thought that was normal based on the comments Ive heard from here.

 

Yeah, it was pretty loud. You can Def tell its not normal.

 

The problems Phatmitzu described are identicle to the problems I had with my '03. I, too, took my car in to Performance Nissan, and had a new transmission dropped in without hassle. Mine also came with the new clutch pedal assembly, which really gave the clutch a smoother, more polished feel. Definite improvment.
I'm less sure about the benefits of this "new" tranny, though. Shifts are noticeably lighter now, but the roughness is still there, as before, when shifting 1 => 2 when cold. Also, 2 => 3 is rougher than my old tranny when cold. However, unlike my old tranny, the roughness subsides after only 15 minutes of driving. Not sure what to make of it...
Mika

 

hey how much did u get the clutch set for? cuz im about to take my in to get my 2nd tranny replaced, <---experiencing same prob w/ 2nd tranny

 

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, OPEN A DAMN PERFORMANCE NISSAN OVER HERE!!! :/

 

I got them for $479 I think...

 

The Nismo lightweight flywheel/Nismo clutch combination is a total no brainer mod. You have to strongly consider doing it anytime you are going to be cracking open the tranny, as the additional labor component is eliminated and basically you are just paying for the parts. The Nismo clutch performance is much better than stock, the flywheel benefit is immediately apparent, and the noise factor is truly minimal, and limited to barely audible sound at idle with the clutch out....and under moderate to hard acceleration when starting same under about 2250rpms. Otherwise, just results, no consequences. (Maybe easier to stall until you get used to the shorter engage on the clutch take up, but that is all). The car is totally civil in street and traffic situations, but is more responsive in performance driving. If I had it to do over again, I might actually go one step more aggressive and put in the JWT flywheel which is even lighter at 14 pounds compared to 23 for the Nismo.

The Nismo limited slip differential is a different story. That is a bad boy that lets you know he is with you. Not bad, but not for almost everyone either, unlike the clutch/flywheel mod.

I highly recommend the flywheel/clutch mod for the performance driver. Unless you carve canyons, or do autocross/track driving, you probably do not want the LSD. It really sits the car down and grabs the road in performance driving, and on the track at Laguna Seca, especially in places like turn 2 (Andretti Hairpin), turn 8a/b (the infamous "Corkscrew"), and turn 11 (which I thought of a couple of times as "$#@% I am screwed") the impact of the LSD on exit speed was awesome. But on city street slow 90 degree turns and supermarket parking lots it chirps and barks and clunks and generally has attitude unless you learn how to work your way around its "trigger" points.

 

Anyone in St Louis / Memphis / Chicago area that you guys would recommend to the equivalent of Performance Nissan? My tranny is kind grinding but not at the level where I would be taking it in. I will watch it closely to make sure to do it before warranty expires if it gets worse.

 

In St. Louis Bommarritto Nissan is the best one here. Dont go to Lou Fusz, they suck.