Semtex's Monterey Blue 370Z

semtex · 03-03-2009, 08:37 AM

Here is my 370Z, purchased on Jan. 9 of 2009. As you can see, it is Monterey Blue. It's a Touring, 6MT, with the Sport Package, and no Nav.

Here are some pics I took the day after purchase:

More pics can be found in this album: Nissan 370Z Forum - semtex's Album: My 'Burka Blue' 370Z

I also posted a thread with my initial impressions:
Initial 370Z v. 350Z impressions (after 5 days of 370Z ownership)

Oh btw, my name in real life is Ben.

semtex · 03-03-2009, 08:52 AM

One of the first things I did after getting my Z was track down some wheel locks, as the car didn't come with any. Indeed, I even tried to purchase a set from the parts dept., and they didn't have any that fit the 19" Rays wheels that are part of the Sport Pkg.

There's a thread on this topic, if you want more details: Wheels Locks

But I'll go ahead and give you the net of things. The regular McGard locks that the Nissan parts dept. will tell you fit all Nissans won't work, because the lug nuts aren't the regular cone style that come with most Nissans -- they're shank style. Here's a pic comparing a regular Nissan lug nut on the left, and the Z's lug nut on the right. The contact point is the washer, so you need shank style wheel locks that also have this design.

On the advice a friend who works in the wheel business, I ordered a set of McGard #21153 locks, and they work perfectly.

This first pic shows the wheel lock on the right:

And here are some pics with the locks mounted:

Update: Since this was originally posted, Nissan now has proper locks for the Z in the same shape/size as the stock lug nuts. I recommend getting those instead of the 21153s pictured above.

ZKindaGuy · 08-06-2009, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

Update: Since this was originally posted, Nissan now has proper locks for the Z in the same shape/size as the stock lug nuts. I recommend getting those instead of the 21153s pictured above.

WARNING: The wheel locks being sold by Nissan for the 370Z are NOT the correct wheel locks. I had these very same locks on my 370Z Rays and after one month of driving with them the locks began to show signs of stress fractures around the locking pattern. One wheel lock completely sheared of from the pattern to a 1/4 inch down the lock shaft itself.

I took it over to the Nissan dealer and they indicated the locks that are required are shank-style and the ones being sold by Nissan as the wheel locks for a 370Z are not shanks and they need to be......and they should NOT have the beveled tips but rather instead be straight shaft shanks.

In fact they showed me that these "Nissan 370Z wheel locks" don't even screw on far enough to make contact with the wheel to create locking pressure on the wheel. These wheel locks are they said in plain words the wrong wheel locks to use on the 19" Sport Rays application.

They told me that I have been driving around for a month in essence with just 4 lug nut on and that any cornering in the past month I was doing was putting severe stress on the "Nissan 370Z wheel locks" which was what was causing the wheel locks to fracture.

They indicated the correct wheel lock for the 370Z Rays is the McGard
#21153 wheel locks as these are the correct shank length and shape in that they are straight shafts.

Fortunately no damage was done to the Rays while driving for the past month with the wrong wheel locks being sold by Nissan .

semtex · 08-07-2009, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZKindaGuy

WARNING: The wheel locks being sold by Nissan for the 370Z are NOT the correct wheel locks. I had these very same locks on my 370Z Rays and after one month of driving with them the locks began to show signs of stress fractures around the locking pattern. One wheel lock completely sheared of from the pattern to a 1/4 inch down the lock shaft itself.

I took it over to the Nissan dealer and they indicated the locks that are required are shank-style and the ones being sold by Nissan as the wheel locks for a 370Z are not shanks and they need to be......and they should NOT have the beveled tips but rather instead be straight shaft shanks.

In fact they showed me that these "Nissan 370Z wheel locks" don't even screw on far enough to make contact with the wheel to create locking pressure on the wheel. These wheel locks are they said in plain words the wrong wheel locks to use on the 19" Sport Rays application.

They told me that I have been driving around for a month in essence with just 4 lug nut on and that any cornering in the past month I was doing was putting severe stress on the "Nissan 370Z wheel locks" which was what was causing the wheel locks to fracture.

They indicated the correct wheel lock for the 370Z Rays is the McGard
#21153 wheel locks as these are the correct shank length and shape in that they are straight shafts.

Fortunately no damage was done to the Rays while driving for the past month with the wrong wheel locks being sold by Nissan .

This isn't quite correct. I think there's some confusion on the part of your dealer. I recommend you review this thread, where this topic has been thoroughly covered: Broken wheel stud and lug nut.

But I'll give you the Cliff Notes real quick. When the 370Z was first released, they did not have wheel locks. Dealers started just throwing on the standard wheel locks that fit all Nissans, not realizing that the Z's wheels were different. This picture here shows one of the lug nuts from a 19" Rays Sport wheel on the left, and one of the 'standard' Nissan locks that the dealers were putting on:

This was a colossal fail on the part of the dealers, and these standard locks started fracturing, as shown on the far right of the above pic.

Since then, they have finally gotten with the program and now have locks that are correct for our wheels. This is what they look like:

These are the ones you want. Notice that they're exactly the same dimensions as the stock lug nuts. So your blanket statement that "The wheel locks being sold by Nissan for the 370Z are NOT the correct wheel locks" isn't quite accurate. It depends on which locks your dealership is selling. If a dealership is selling the 'standard' Nissan locks for the 370Z, then yes, those are the wrong ones and they need to come off asap. But if they're selling the ones pictured above, those absolutely are the correct ones and there's nothing wrong with them.

The McGard 21153s I put on my car are also compatible, but understand that I put them on my car as an interim measure. In other words, I ordered them before Nissan caught up and released the correct locks. Now that the correct ones are out, there's really no reason to go with the 21153s. Btw, just as a side note, the Nissan locks are also McGards (i.e., McGard makes them). In fact, I have since swapped out the 21153s for the 'correct' locks from Nissan.

Hope that clears things up.

semtex · 03-03-2009, 08:57 AM

The next thing I did was have ClearBra Xpel film installed onto the front bumper, hood, mirrors, fenders, and rocker panels. Not much to tell here, so here are a few pics. Oh, there's a thread on this as well: What do people think of Clear Bra Paint Protection?

semtex · 03-03-2009, 09:05 AM

As luck would have it, I got a nasty chip in a spot that wasn't protected by ClearBra. I used a product called Dr. Color Chip to repair it and it worked pretty well. You can read all about it here: Nasty chip in my paint!

Before:

After:

semtex · 03-03-2009, 09:10 AM

My next project was to hardwire my radar detector and install a Blinder Extreme laser jammer. I detailed all the steps in this DIY thread here: Blinder installation and radar detector hardwire

But here are some pics of the results:

semtex · 03-03-2009, 09:22 AM

I tried installing a set of Ichiba 15mm wheel spacers to push the wheels out to the fenders more. It didn't work out too well and ended up being a no-go. The spacers went on just fine; the problem was with the wheels. This is all detailed in this thread here: Spacers on stock Z?

Here are the spacers:

Mounted:

The stock studs are supposed to fit into the little gaps between the mounting holes of the wheel:

But the gaps aren't cut large enough:

And that means that you can't mount the wheels back onto the car properly once the spacers are mounted to the wheel hub.

semtex · 03-03-2009, 09:24 AM

I have the new Stillen cat-back exhaust on order, as well as the Berk Hi-Flow cats. Both are supposed to arrive on Thursday 3/5. I'll be installing them on Friday, and will post pics as well as video/sound clips.

dlmartin81 · 03-03-2009, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by semtex

I have the new Stillen cat-back exhaust on order, as well as the Berk Hi-Flow cats. Both are supposed to arrive on Thursday 3/5. I'll be installing them on Friday, and will post pics as well as video/sound clips.

Looking forward to the review!!

ssqpolo · 03-03-2009, 09:53 AM

man ur good. I bought my Z on Jan 8th and still havent done anything besides put 3100 miles on it. Got the Berk test pipes coming in next week, gonna keep stock exhaust, and maybe pop in the stillen G3 intake, depending on how good the results are. other than that I will just do the stereo w/ subs and thats it. Congrats. your car looks great.

par4bmw · 03-03-2009, 10:22 AM

Looking nice.

Can't wait to see a review on your experience with the Stillen/Berk combo.

RCZ · 03-05-2009, 09:35 AM

Awesome Semtex, good first few mods!

semtex · 03-06-2009, 01:19 PM

The Stillen/Berk combo has been installed, and the results are awesome! I did a full write-up separately, so I won't bother repeating myself here. Here's a link to the full write-up: Stillen Exhaust with Berk HFCs

Here's one of the vids:

LenZToy · 03-06-2009, 05:07 PM

Sounds great!

03-03-2009, 08:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Semtex's Monterey Blue 370Z Here is my 370Z, purchased on Jan. 9 of 2009. As you can see, it is Monterey Blue. It's a Touring, 6MT, with the Sport Package, and no Nav. Here are some pics I took the day after purchase: More pics can be found in this album: Nissan 370Z Forum - semtex's Album: My 'Burka Blue' 370Z I also posted a thread with my initial impressions: Initial 370Z v. 350Z impressions (after 5 days of 370Z ownership) Oh btw, my name in real life is Ben. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf. Last edited by semtex; 10-02-2009 at 02:16 PM.

03-03-2009, 08:52 AM	#2 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Wheel locks One of the first things I did after getting my Z was track down some wheel locks, as the car didn't come with any. Indeed, I even tried to purchase a set from the parts dept., and they didn't have any that fit the 19" Rays wheels that are part of the Sport Pkg. There's a thread on this topic, if you want more details: Wheels Locks But I'll go ahead and give you the net of things. The regular McGard locks that the Nissan parts dept. will tell you fit all Nissans won't work, because the lug nuts aren't the regular cone style that come with most Nissans -- they're shank style. Here's a pic comparing a regular Nissan lug nut on the left, and the Z's lug nut on the right. The contact point is the washer, so you need shank style wheel locks that also have this design. On the advice a friend who works in the wheel business, I ordered a set of McGard #21153 locks, and they work perfectly. This first pic shows the wheel lock on the right: And here are some pics with the locks mounted: Update: Since this was originally posted, Nissan now has proper locks for the Z in the same shape/size as the stock lug nuts. I recommend getting those instead of the 21153s pictured above. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf. Last edited by semtex; 06-18-2009 at 11:24 AM.

03-03-2009, 08:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	ClearBra The next thing I did was have ClearBra Xpel film installed onto the front bumper, hood, mirrors, fenders, and rocker panels. Not much to tell here, so here are a few pics. Oh, there's a thread on this as well: What do people think of Clear Bra Paint Protection? __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

03-03-2009, 09:05 AM	#6 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Chip repair As luck would have it, I got a nasty chip in a spot that wasn't protected by ClearBra. I used a product called Dr. Color Chip to repair it and it worked pretty well. You can read all about it here: Nasty chip in my paint! Before: After: __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf. Last edited by semtex; 06-18-2009 at 11:42 AM.

03-03-2009, 09:10 AM	#7 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Radar detector hardwire and Blinder laser jammer installation My next project was to hardwire my radar detector and install a Blinder Extreme laser jammer. I detailed all the steps in this DIY thread here: Blinder installation and radar detector hardwire But here are some pics of the results: __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf. Last edited by semtex; 06-18-2009 at 11:45 AM.

03-03-2009, 09:22 AM	#8 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Wheel spacers I tried installing a set of Ichiba 15mm wheel spacers to push the wheels out to the fenders more. It didn't work out too well and ended up being a no-go. The spacers went on just fine; the problem was with the wheels. This is all detailed in this thread here: Spacers on stock Z? Here are the spacers: Mounted: The stock studs are supposed to fit into the little gaps between the mounting holes of the wheel: But the gaps aren't cut large enough: And that means that you can't mount the wheels back onto the car properly once the spacers are mounted to the wheel hub. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

03-03-2009, 09:24 AM	#9 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Coming soon! I have the new Stillen cat-back exhaust on order, as well as the Berk Hi-Flow cats. Both are supposed to arrive on Thursday 3/5. I'll be installing them on Friday, and will post pics as well as video/sound clips. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

03-03-2009, 09:53 AM	#11 (permalink)
ssqpolo Track Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 882 Drives: '12 Black Nismo Rep Power: 268	man ur good. I bought my Z on Jan 8th and still havent done anything besides put 3100 miles on it. Got the Berk test pipes coming in next week, gonna keep stock exhaust, and maybe pop in the stillen G3 intake, depending on how good the results are. other than that I will just do the stereo w/ subs and thats it. Congrats. your car looks great.

03-03-2009, 10:22 AM	#12 (permalink)
par4bmw Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Scottsdale, AZ Posts: 267 Drives: 09 370 M6 Touring/Sp Rep Power: 446	Looking nice. Can't wait to see a review on your experience with the Stillen/Berk combo. __________________ I tellya what, its got this s-mode thing down here...it moveees so incredibly... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7JsL...e=channel_page

03-05-2009, 09:35 AM	#13 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1119	Awesome Semtex, good first few mods!

03-06-2009, 01:19 PM	#14 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 33	Stillen Exhaust with Berk HFCs The Stillen/Berk combo has been installed, and the results are awesome! I did a full write-up separately, so I won't bother repeating myself here. Here's a link to the full write-up: Stillen Exhaust with Berk HFCs Here's one of the vids: __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

03-06-2009, 05:07 PM	#15 (permalink)
LenZToy Base Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Mechanicsville, Va. Posts: 143 Drives: 2013 370Z Black 6SP Rep Power: 269	Sounds great!

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