My 370z "unicorn"

filip00

A little update about the unicorn.

At about 16.500km I had my clutch pedal fail. Sure enough, it was the clutch cylinder....a master cylinder. They exchanged it and in literally three days I've had my clutch fail again. Took it back, they tested everything and said that believe it or not, the slave clutch cylinder has failed this time. Exchanged it as well, and clutch feels good.

Now, since both failures happened just 10 days before our planned roadtrip, I've decided to go with Nissan provided cylinders. The dealer assured me that they are not the faulty parts that have been used from factory, as these have different catalogue numbers and have been upgraded. I hope they're right.

Also, I'm typing this as I'm just back from the first half of the vacation. We did 1600km (1000 miles) in a week and the car has behaved very very well. No problem with the clutch either, all good.

In order to make sure that my Z serves me well and doesn't leave me stranded somewhere, I've decided to change all problematic issues ahead of time, so that there's only enjoyment with it.

Checklist so far:
1. Clutch slave cylinder - changed
2. Clutch master cylinder - changed
3. Steering wheel lock failure - fuse pulled out! I have a DisklokTM anyway

TBD:
4. Fuel pump upgrade
5. Oil cooler upgrade
6. Galley gaskets upgrade
7. Brake fluid change


Did I miss anything else which should be on the list? Please fill me in.


Some new pics:

JARblue

Great pics!

Unfortunately, you cannot believe them. The OEM slave cylinder is prone to failure, and Nissan has done absolutely nothing to change that over the lifetime of the 370Z. In your case, I'm not sure you had a choice other than OEM. However, you should seriously consider sourcing a ZSpeed CMAK kit to replace the OEM slave as soon as feasible. I recommend installing it as preventative maintenance so you don't get stranded on a trip somewhere when the stock one fails again.

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Maldat

Hello, Ive learnt before low kms can not always be making of a good car

check for mice and rats all over and under the car check everything ,
kms dont matter when it comes to rubber parts of a car .

filip00

Thanks for the tip, however, like I said, the car was kept in showroom condition, perfectly clean, as well as stored in a fancy garage, not a garden shed Also, since I got it, it has been detailed and maintained in sparkling condition. It's not a daily driver and I have enough time to take care of it.

Meanwhile, time to post a few updates for the car. It's rolled over 21.000km and is ready for its winter hibernation. But, before we put him to sleep, I'll have the gallery gaskets changed, as well as a new oil and filter change.

Besides these, I also did the rear hatch weight removal, as well as the clutch pedal spring removal.

So to update the checklist:

Checklist so far:
1. Clutch slave cylinder - upgraded
2. Clutch master cylinder - upgraded
3. Steering wheel lock failure - fuse pulled out
4. Clutch pedal spring removed
5. Rear hatch weight removed
6. Switch installed for turning off VDC
7. Gallery gaskets - in progress

TBD:
*Fuel pump upgrade
*Oil cooler upgrade
*Brake fluid change

Few pics since the last cleaning:

Mecinoid

Nice shots... Enjoy the ride and your trip....

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Z-Forum Member since 2001. Multiple Z owner since 1983 ------- Awesome ---------- Z. --------- Enjoy the ride !!!

filip00

Update for gallery gaskets. All gaskets changed, as well as oil and coolants.
Old gaskets were 12 years old, with 21.000km (13k miles), and they were fully intact, no damage, no leaks, no problem. Basically good as new. But seeing as it's the original paper gallery gasket, it was a necessary change, so it's been changed with an updated version.

filip00

As I picked up the car during night time and drove it to the garage, I thought nothing of it, and I couldn't see well. But today as I was covering it for winter storage I finally had a good look and noticed that the alignment of the front parts (bumper/hood) is just horrendous. Same with hood/lights.

I called them and explained the issue, to which at first they said that minor discrepancies are OK, and I should not be alarmed. But then I decided to take photos and compare how it was originally, and how it is now and it's just bad. I'm still waiting on their input - but in any case, I won't be driving it there for alignment until spring.

In the meantime, what do you guys think, what parts were misaligned? The hood was certainly not taken off, and side fenders probably also weren't. I know the front bumper was removed, as well as parts behind it, and I'm guessing lights as well - but I'm not sure. The hood latches to the bumper carrier, so I'm guessing this part was misaligned.

Thanks for any input.

Maldat

6 coats of clear smoke over chrome

axmea?

In the US, that paint code is available on Infiniti G37s. Smoky Quartz. Yes, a little misaligned and should be adjusted.

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Red-Hat

What a lovely find OP. A 'barn find' but without the chicken poop all over it! Also like that exterior and interior colour combo, very classy. Enjoy the car.

Quicksilvers

Pictures turned out very nice OP. Good job!

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Mr. Clean

filip00

Spring has finally arrived and Z is again back out of the garage. Have went to the shop to fix the hood alignment they screwed up last time (when I had the gallery gaskets changed) and it's perfect again.
In the meantime, I was thinking about the oil cooler, as I'm experiencing temperatures of 95-100°C often, and I'd like to be able to push the car when I feel like it without thinking about oil temp. I have been searching the internet and decided to get this:
https://www.driftshop.com/mishimoto-...ssan-370z.html
Any experience or advice regarding it? Much appreciated. I've read conflicting info here about it, some people think it's very badly made, whereas others are happy with it.

Also one question, how heavily do the rear swaybars impact the cars handling? I wouldn't mind it being more tail happy, would this help? The car has too much understeer for my taste so I think this might help. Any thoughts?

filip00

I ordered a few things from the driftshop and after two weeks of absolutely nothing, cancelled them. Just a warning to anyone in Europe thinking about ordering from them - the displayed times to ship items that are "in stock" are NOT accurate and can vary very very much.

Meanwhile, I got a new exhaust system, I ordered Invidia Gemini V2 catback system after thorough reading online about all exhaust options as well as which ones are TÜV legal as I really don't want any hassle with the po-po.
After the whole system arrived, I checked some youtube videos about installation just to have a heads up if there's anything special to it, but there isn't. It took me 3 hours to completely remove old system and install the new one. I'm very happy with it.

Attached Images

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filip00

With a soundcheck:

https://youtu.be/Wl5J24lATvI

ZontheRocks

Sweet Z!

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'16 Pearl White Sport | Stillen Gen. 3 | Motordyne ART | Motordyne Shockwave | ZSpeed | Powertrix | EVO-R | Aeroworkz | Nismo | Z1 | EcuTek | Tuned by Seb @ SpecialtyZ