I just picked up a 1-owner automatic tranny '04 350Z, LeMans Sunset, Roadster, so I thought I'd make a post and say hi and I'm going to be around for a while.

I don't expect answers in this thread as I'm still searching the forums, but here's some curiosities I've run into so far.

- My biggest frustration is with the manual (automatic) shifting. As it is now, shifting commands are only suggestions. Can the tranny be re-programmed to shift when shifted? Is there any hope of having a S4/SLK shift response from this Nissan A/T? And what about paddle shifters?
- When the trunk is popped, is the lid supposed to lift?
- If I get a new stereo, will the speed sensing volume control be gone?
- I have VCDS/Vag-Com for VW/Audi. Is there an equivalent for this vehicle. I'd like to change the auto-volume control curve, and have more ECM control over the generic (Win 7) testing software
- All the 350's I've seen have rips in the top in the same place. Can anything be done to prevent that?
- When opening the top, I have to press the switch a few times to get the rear hatch to fully open. It will open then stop, and I have to let the switch go and press it again. Each time the hatch opens a bit more until it's fully open, then It functions normally.
- I'd love to find a two-tone exhaust sound that's a bit louder then stock. It's a kick to drive as it is, but I can't deny that I'd love a bit more F1 sound out the poop shooters.

Like I said, these are questions I'm researching. I'm sure the answers are here somewhere. There's a lot of information here that I need to sift through.

Thanks in advance for the help

 

welcome but thread is useless without pics lmao

 

Here you go.
BTW, I have no idea what wheels they are, but I may have to Plasti-Kote them. I'm not a big fan of Chrome wheels

 

Looks like a very clean lemans. I am very much against chrome wheels on a z as well. Plasticote would hold you over till you can find the wheels that you want. Enjoy.

 

Welcome FEF!

I can comment on NONE of your questions except the exhaust one as I have a manual/base/coupe so none of the features you're asking about come with my car!

As far as exhaust goes, youtube is your friend. Listen with speakers, heaphones, different headphones, different videos of the same setup. That's what narrowed down my selection to the GReddy Evo2 (owned) (youtube 'rxkid09' to hear my girl purr)and the Bassani (2nd choice)

What's your budget? Desired sound level? You can pick up legit used exhausts (as I did in 2011) for 1/2 the cost of new. I'm guessing "two tone" means you want burnt blue/purple/silver exhaust tips?

My suggestions/opinion for new owners and exhausts:
Pay off the car (if it isn't already)
Dual exhausts
GReddy Evo2 (discontinued) :P
Bassani
Motordyne TDX2 (pricey but nicey)
HKS (make sure it's legit, there's threads to differentiate real vs fake)

Singles
GReddy Ti-C single
Tomei Expreme (LOUD)
AAM (LOUD)
Agency Power

These are NOT all the exhausts, but what I would like on my car if money wasn't an issue and I could easily change them out in a minute!

 

Yes, Rusty, it's surprisingly clean. We're coming up on convertible season, so many were asking 3-5k more then what I thought reasonable. To top it off, I got this car for about 2k under "real market value". I looked at SLK's, Z4's, Boxters, XK8/XKR's, along with the Z's. Honestly, and without bias, it's got enough poop and handling to keep an ex-racer happy, and it's comfy for 6 hour drives up and down the coast. I was looking for a "touring car" and I'm not sure many would be better at that function.

Oddly, this is the last color I wanted, but the car is so clean that I couldn't pass it up. I have to say, LeMans Sunset is really growing on me and it's quite visible which can be good and bad. Here's a few more pics:






The glare in the interior shots don't do it justice, but it gets the idea across. Sure, it is just a car but I will feel very sad (upset, frustrated, but mad may not be the right word) when it gets its first ding.

 

Two-tone, or dual tone, refers to the actual pitches made my the exhaust system. One tone is generated from the exhaust gas movement, and the other from the combustion sound. As an example, V8's generally make a lowish single pitch sound because the harmonics aren't heard as well with our ears... It rumbles the ground, though. When you get into higher reving engines, they make two pitches/tones ranging from (I'm guessing) a minor third to a fifth. It's easier to hear the pitches the engine makes because they are higher in the frequency range. I've heard some systems produce more then two notes that create a chord.

Studying the musical physics of an exhaust system is fun, but I may not have explained what happens very well. Here's an example with the Nismo exhaust. At around 4:24 the sound is from the inside. Notice the lower tone stays, but softer, even after the throttle is let off.

I guess I'll cruise Craig's List for a while and see if I can pick up a decent system for a song (pun intended)

I'm still reading these forums... There's a lot of exceptional information here.

 

I'm not a fan of the test pipe rasp, most of the exhausts that i have heard sound better with resonated test pipes or hfc. I went with hfc to stay legal. With my hks replica exhuast and kinetixs cats the exhaust sounds really nice. I occasionally get some V8 guys that can't believe how good my exhaust sounds.

 

Hello and welcome! Congrats on the new purchase. I don't have any answers for you, but I will tell you that I've been wondering the same thing about the trunk. Mine's an '03 Touring and I initially thought the trunk would pop when the button is pressed, but that evidently was not the case.

 

There is 2 black assist springs on the bottom of the hatch that will pop it up, There is a diy fix if you google that you can try before you buy new ones.