What's up everyone, this is my first post here since I recently got a 350z (35th anniversary).
I got the car after it was in an accident and rebuild it. All suspensions, control arms, steering gear assembly, tie rods, and such I replaced. (oem replacement) Also, clutch and flywheel are replaced. (oem replacement) Oil change done recently too.

what's next in my mind is: to drain the coolant and replace it. Other than that, what maintenance do you recommend?
Also, I'm not sure as to what mods I should do (in terms of what build), so I'm looking for ideas of mods that have made a difference to the car to actually make it perform better (not cosmetic).

last question: On one full tank, I did 550km, and had about 50km left (I put gas right when the light turned on). from my experience, this is awesome mileage for a high performance engine but I'm curious as to how much km you get with a full tank

Thanks in advance for everyone's feedback!

 

How many miles (or km) are on it?

 

Also, have you changed the tranny fluid (if it's a 6-speed) or auto tranny fluid? How about a full four wheel brake fluid flush to a high quality DOT 3 or 4 brake fluid?

 

It had 130xx when I got it, I've put only 2k since but I have only been driving it for 2 months now

 

I haven't done a flush on the brake fluid but I will add to the list. You said DOT 3 or 4? I don't know the difference, what is the purpose of each?
I changed the pads and rotors in the rear brakes though, front ones are still good.

 

Oh also its a 6-speed. How often do you usually replace the tranny fluid? I dont believe it was ever done in mine

 

"Mods" depend entirely on what the purpose of the car is. If you are only street driving it, I would say a good set of tires/wheels come first. Following that - or before anything if on stock shocks - new shocks. Car responds well to a new set. If that's not enough to satisfy your "need for speed" in the handling department, a set of adjustable sway bars (adjustable to tune the car to YOUR abilities and desires). You can go for more suspension if you want to extract the best handling. Lowering springs, adjustable alignment, etc. but you can do this all in stages.

The other thing I'd upgrade is the stereo.

As others mentioned, a full fluids refresh is called for (coolant, oil, trans, diff, brakes). Not because you necessarily NEED to but to establish a baseline for future fluid changes. YOU will know when it was all last done and go from there.

 

+1 to replacing all the fluids including brake, transmission, and differential fluid.

Keep an eye on the oil consumption as well…it’s a RevUp after all (I have a 35th Anniversary, too).

As for wanting more go car than show car, I assume you’re still going to drive it on the street. I would suggest:

1. Good brake pads and fluid. There’s no such thing as a true street/track pad, but there’s some really good street pads out there. Rotors don’t need to be fancy, Centric blanks are the budget racer’s friend.

2. Go to the track, get instruction.

3. Square wheel and tire setup with some light(er) wheels and decent rubber. Lots of info on these setups in the forums. This helps dial out some of the factory understeer by adding front grip, and the wheel well will accept a lot of rubber. Get an alignment with 0 toe in the front.

4. Go to the track, get instruction.

5. Poly bushings everywhere (except the compression arms). Solid or spherical bushings are excellent, but more of a compromise than I would make for a dual-use car. This includes the rear subframe bushings, it’s a garbage job but it makes the car much more predictable in highly transient situations. The exception is the compression rod busing. This should be a spherical bearing to get the proper articulation.

6. Go to the track. Marvel at how much better the car feels. Realize that you’ve killed a set of tires and pads, your brake fluid is toast, and there’s the annoying reality of the factory VLSD opening up when you’re hard on throttle exiting a corner…

7. Clutch type LSD. Maybe the fancy cover with the fins. Probably 370Z axles and wheel bearings, because wheel bearing are wear items now…because track.

8. Go to the track. Spin with your new LSD. Be amazed by the drive off the corner. Note that the front wheel bearings are now toast…see Step 7.

9. Weigh your car, do your math, and order custom spring rates and dampers with matched valving. Don’t lower the car more than 1.5”. Get some new adjustable sway bar end links, because you’re low now…hella track low.

10. Go to the track, destroy corvettes in the twisties. “Win” your track day. Notice the oil wash on the rear bumper and the puffs of blue smoke under braking.

11. Go full NA build. 11:1 pistons, cams, injectors, fuel pump, spacer, intake, headers, exhaust, lightweight clutch, big radiator, oil cooler. Go to the tuner, resign yourself to the additional 40hp the DE will give up for that investment.

12. Go to the track. Sound better than everyone else. Take that point of pride home with you. Realize a fire extinguisher is probably a good idea.

13. Finally make your car useless by putting in fixed back race buckets and a roll bar. Keep the stereo and AC because #truestreet and only drive it to and from the track. Get a daily.

 

personally....... I got the most enjoyment out of my exhaust.

 

[QUOTE=Sundown72;11053980]+1 to replacing all the fluids including brake, transmission, and differential fluid.


Sundown72, sounds like you are talking from experience. Awesome tips tho appreciate it.
I'm gonna start by replacing the transmission fluid, along with the differential fluid this week. I read that the Z only uses a particular kind of tranny fluid (GL-4) and (GL-5) for the differential. I'm assuming there isn't really any difference between different brands? So it really comes to keeping up with the maintenance

 

Some experience, not all with the Z. You caught the gist though:

- Maintenance first
- Driver improvement second and always
- Handling and power delivery as you grow as a driver.
- Power last with this platform because it costs a lot to gain a little if you stay NA.
- Obviously do what you feel, it’s your car.

As for MTF and diff fluid, give the forums a search. IIRC, the general consensus is Nissan Genuine or Redline with some people using Lucas. Like you noted, get the right GL for each unit.

When filling:

- Be sure you can open the filler before you open the drain.
- Make sure the car is as level as can be.
- Invest in a little transfer pump.
- Replace the crush washers, they cost next to nothing.

Welcome to Z cars.

 

[QUOTE=Zakaros_Z;11054110]The tranny fluid is a GL-4 rated fluid and I'd recommend using Redline MT85. The GL-5 fluid uses pressure compounds that are corrosive for the soft metals (like brass) that make up the syncros in the tranny, so don't mix them up.

As for the difference between DOT3 and 4 brake fluids, it comes down to this: DOT3 fluids will absorb less moisture from the air, and will last a bit longer. But DOT4 fluids can provide greater heat resistance in both wet and dry boiling conditions and are better for performance cars like the Z. Figure on 5-6 year fluid flushes for DOT3 fluids at most, while DOT4 fluids can go 3-4 years (or annually if you/re racing your Z at the track). Personally, I like ATE Gold 200 for an affordable brake fluid that performs well.

Hope this helps!

 

The standard response for most of these type of questions will be something like: "personal preference" or "what do you plan to do"?

Both responses are true, if not especially helpful.

I will just list the things I got done to my daily driver to add some fun:

JWT Pop charger - one of the best low cost/HP investments
Motordyne Plenum spacer - Again, great HP boost for relatively low cost
Bassani Exhaust - getting more expensive here
Uprev Tuning - Probably a good idea at this point
JWT Stage 2 Clutch/flywheel - Because I burn things
Hotchkis sway bars - more stability is always good

Now this might not be the best NA upgrade path, but I am still enjoying my car (2005 350z GTR) with 190k+ miles on it. If I didn't buy the car with upgraded brakes, I probably would have made it my first choice.

Enjoy!

 

Just a quick update, I've been driving with new tranny and differential fluid for a while and the car feels much more responsive on the throttle and smoother as well. Definitely worthy it changing these fluids. I went with royal purple (gl4) for the tranny and castrol (gl5) for the diff. I was between royal purple and castrol for the tranny (only two options where i live) and so far I'm satisfied. Now I'm gonna do the break fluid, replace coolant hoses and coolant fluid, and fix the ebrake. Is it worthy to change ebrake line or just the pads in your opinion? after all, it is a 17 year old car, which is why i want to change plastic/rubber stuff like the coolant hoses that go bad over time.

 

read up on filling and 'Burping" the coolant.........can be a real b1tch to get all the air out!

 

I've had to do that job on a mustang in the past, where one of the hoses literally exploded in the middle of the road (car only had 120xxkm and was a 2008) and had to tow it back, so better get it done on the Z before that happens and i get traumatized again thinking i blew my engine. But thanks for the info, ill check it out first how to do it before doing it.

 

main things are open the bleeder valve, add the coolant VERY slowly and use one of these :

 

Nice stuff!

+1 to using the big coolant funnel. Consider getting yourself a machined aluminum/brass bleed screw assembly as well. The factory plastic one strips out pretty easily.

re: emergency brake. If the inner cables aren’t seized, and the outer cables are in decent shape, and the adjusters still work, there’s no reason to replace the cables. What you should replace are the ebrake shoes, springs, adjuster, and retaining pins. These come in a small kit. Take a picture of how it goes together before pulling it apart. Use anti-seize/lube on the adjuster threads and floating head. You may also need to replace the ebrake “cam”. It’s the small part that operates to push the brake shoes against the drum when the cable is pulled. These often wear out/seize up. You can get them from Nissan online for a few bucks. They’re only labeled “Left” but they work for both sides.