Hi guyz new owner here! for some reason or another last week I got a 2004 silver 350z with 140k miles but couldn't pass up because it only cost me 6k I think I must have been really bored :P

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone is also living in the Princeton NJ area who can recommends a good shop/mechanic to take a look at the car. It runs fine for now and the engine sounds good but the flashing airbag light is really distracting , and the check engine soon light too . I was also worried about the clunking sound when I shift but from what I read I guess it's alright.

At least the Z is easier to learn stick shift on than on my friend's miata

 

that day of a 6k z has arrived, is it clean title?

 

Yup, clean no accidents
Just did an airbag light reset per directions on the forums (thanks guys!) and now both the airbag and check engine lights are gone yay!

 

Now the trick will be accelerating your learning curve so you'll be able to drive the Z well. Learning to shift a close ratio six-speed gearbox effectively without damaging it is a skill unto itself.

 

Wow that is very low price.. It's sad that the Z isn't holding the value as much as I wanted.

The tranny in our z is VERY close ratio and is notchy.

 

the Z value is all over the spectrum, so I wouldn't say the value isn't held well.

yes you can get early gen1's for 6k it seems now? with clean title.

06's with under 100k miles are still 10-15k

07-8's are still 14-20k depending on trim and miles

nismo's are 20 and up still.


comparably, a 2004 mustang gt which retailed for same $ as an 04 350z can be picked up for way cheaper.

 

I've tried like hell to sell my 2004.5 touring Z with only 53,000 miles for less then KBB without luck.

Compared to other cars for sure Nissan and the Z holds value better. Another difference is rebates for new cars the mustang generally has some and the 370z never.

 

Ya I got a good deal because the guy was wanting to sell quick. I would have spent more money for lower milage or newer model but this guy was living right next to me so it was doubly nice that I didn't have to drive across the state. Was seriously considering an RSX/TSX/TL for my first car but this lil baby popped up out of nowhere and messed up all my planning .

So what do you guys mean with the tranny being close ratio? How should I drive it? Seeing how much torque/power this thing can output I was planning to go 1->2->4->6. Didn't mind shifting every gear thus far though .

PS: funny story, I stalled at an uphill highway intersection yesterday on my first non-parling lot drive around

 

You will probably stall many more times. It happens.

The transmission is very simple to use and to shift. It is a close ratio but that has nothing to do with the ability to shift cleanly and properly. Just practice and you will be ok.

 

You just have to get used to it... For example after I drive my civic and go back to the Z, I will not shift as effective as I normally do.

 

The clunking when you shift is probably the transmission mount or rear diff bushing. Have them inspect the rear subframe inside and out. They tend to crack.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-ratio_transmission
http://www.5speeds.com/ratios.html

basically, a close ratio transmission has the ratios set up such that the rpms dont differ a lot when shifting from one gear to the next...thats the shortest explanation i can come up with. in a sports car, or a motorcycle (like my ninja), you shift and drop maybe 1500 rpms when going to the next gear (i just picked a number). my bike, stock, would do 87 in first (topped out at 16.5k rpms). 2nd i would drop to 14.5k...so you see, the spread isnt much. on a bike like a harley that has a much lower rev limit, and more torque (and weight!) the gears are much wider ratio. or in my old Altima 5 speed.

thats one thing i noticed when i got my 350. i shift so much more in the thing than i did in my Altima. i dont rev the **** out of mine all the time, especially when the engine and oil arent up to temp. im at 45 mph in 5th. in 50 i go to 6th, and im still at 2000 RPMs. cruising on the highway close to 3k. its ok, i dont mind shifting a lot. LOL

 

Hmm so the gear ratio for a civic is as follow:
5-Speed Manual Transmission Gear Ratios: 1st: 3.143, 2nd: 1.870, 3rd: 1.235, 4th: 0.949, 5th: 0.727, Reverse: 3.308, Final Drive: 4.294

...and for our Z:
1st -3.794
2nd -2.324
3rd -1.624
4th-1.271
5th -1.000
6th -0.794

The Z's 3rd and the Civic's second are similar, maybe you can redline 1st and go directly to 3rd?

 

Welcome and congratulations.

 

hhaha Sorry I should have specified it's a 2007 Civic SI. Which also has 6 speed transmission.

 

Thanks! I'll try to get some pics up later today

I was considering the SI too, although I read somewhere that its clutch is rather hard for beginners. Hope I made the right choice

 

It's a shame that's the way things are now. Not so when I was learning to drive, but I'm a lot older than most of you guys. I learned to drive in 1974 in a brand new '73 MG Midget (no synchro on 1st gear), and quickly progressed to a 300+hp '67 Jaguar XK-E the next year. Never any issues, and many track days at Lime Rock Park. Virtually all sports cars then had manual gearboxes, and I owned/drove almost too many to remember; several Alfa's (still have 3), Austin-Healey's, a few Lotus's, BMW's (2002's and 3.0's), Porsche's, and on and on. All sports cars were RWD, and learning to handle a FWD was the issue, although I did have a Saab 99 for the snow. I still hate driving my wife's Acura TL-S. Learning to drive a fast car only requires patience, the willingness to learn, and understanding the dynamics of the situation. Too bad now kids start to drive in FWD/AT crap, and like they're recreating a scene from one of those retarded F&F movies.

 

Yea, well many people these days just wanted to have something that gets them from A to B safely and reliably, so there's nothing wrong with an AT. I just wanted to have some fun now while I still can so I got a Z, after 8+ years of boring AT . And at least in Europe most people still drive manual so not all are lost .

BTW thinking of getting a proper driving wheel set up with GT5 on the PS3 so I can practice drifting safely . What do you guys think?

PS: the future will be driverless car. There's no dispute to that IMO. Now that will be a bleak future to car enthusiasts.

 

Congratz on your purchase.

 

Thanks, I think I did pretty well for first purchase AND didn't know how to drive manual. So almost 1 month later, I found the car to be running pretty well, except that the clutch pedal wasn't coming back up fully sometimes and that the brakes sound a bit weird. Might have to change the clutch master and brakes . Wish I wasn't living in an apartment complex and have my own garage so I could do everything DIY.