Engine harshness

nicknick

Well, I am so pissed off at Nissan! I have owned and loved a nicely modified 240Z that my friends still speak of today. I SHOULD HAVE NEVER SOLD THAT CAR!! Anyway i went to my nissan dealer ready to do a deal, I was going to trade my MX5 in on a 370Z. I love the look of the Z, i sat in it and it was nice, i liked it. I then asked the salesman to test drive one. He said of course. So off I went to test drive an auto version. Well let me tell you everything wqas good about the car except 2 things...ENGINE HARSHNESS AND QUALITY OF NOISE IT EMITS. YUK. This is/was a major turn off for me. I had driven it before and noticed to a lesser degree the noise but now that i was serious i guess i was taking more notice of it.

WTF was Nissan thinking releasing such a good sports car with such a debilitating issue. They really missed the boat on this one. I don't mind noise the MX5 is not a quiet car either but at least the engine/exhaust have a relatively pleasant noise. The Z engine noise and noise quality reminded me of my first car, a 1980 GM Holden Commodore with an auto and as 3.3 litre OHV pushrod motor that was designed in the 50's, which developed approx 60 KW.

As much as i have been looking at this car, the Z now since its 2009 intro, i have made up my mind that this noise and noise quality have turned me off the car. Really annoying cause every other aspect is ok. I must say the manual i drove in 2009 "felt better" maybe i should test drive a manaul again but wouldn't the noise be the same. Another thing i did not like was when i was going around a corner with the auto in auto mode, i did not like the feel of the transmission in the way it was delivering the power to the rear wheels it seemed loose and not too connected. The link between accelerator position, transmission shift speed and quality, to rear wheel connection seemed off.

A real shame, cause i so wanted to like this car, i guess i will still hover around this forum and see what the nest incarnation of Z may be like. In the meantime, I will keep my MX5 and possibly look into trading for a boxster or z4. I hear the engine noise in thosethings is good too and everything else is pretty much lineball with the Z.

Nissan you have pissed me off with this. Sorry guys if i have offended you, THAT WAS NOT MY INTENTION. I just needed to express my dissatisfaction with Nissan dropping the ball on this one.

MacCool

As has been noted repeatedly in almost every test or review of the 370Z that I read, the engine does tend toward the harsh side at higher revs. It also tends toward the loud side for road noise. After driving the car, I found both issues to be far smaller deal than I was anticipating, having read those articles.

Each to their own. The car has exceeded my expectations, but everyone has different thresholds of irritation. I don't find it debilitating in the slightest. Personally, I'd be more inclined to label it as a "quirk".

yakz

The road noise doesn't bother me. They could have done better on exhaust sound and engine harshness. I am used to the engine harshness now though and I will rev right up near the red-line feeling like this:

AllForTheCash

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nicknick

Ok, a lot of people here obviously do not read my posts fully and go off half cocked, actually I am guilty of this myself. Let me reiterate. IT IS NOT THE ENGINE NOISE VOLUME OR ROAD NOISE VOLUME THAT IRKS ME. IT IS THE QUALITY OF THE ENGINE NOISE, I CAN'T EVEN HEAR THE EXHAUST NOISE. So, have I made myself clear? I am trying really hard to love this car and I have a sense of brand loyalty due to owning a really hot 240Z, ans also I am not one to gravitate towards Euro cars because I simply believe you're paying too much money for what you actually get.
The quality of the engine noise in the Z is not real sports car music to an enthusiats ear if you know what i mean. This is my only bitch really about the Zed, the other stuff I can live with and appreciate, but a sports car like the Zed should have a better sounding engine note/tone/timbre. I mean think of cars like the Corvette, Mustang, Alfas, Maeratis etc, hell even my MX5 sounds way better. To me a sports car is not just about power aand straight line stomp, which the Zed has in spades, it is also about the "feel" which encompasses sensory aspects like, feel, visual and auditory, and in the auditory sense is where i am saying the Zed lacks and for a sports car like this to me at least is not acceptable. I mean come on it reminds me of my first car, a 1980 General Motors product that had a wheezy agricultural OHV pushrod motor that only revved to about 5,000rpm and sound thrashy and harsh. I expected better of the 370z, much better considering the edigree" of the VQ engine. I wonder as some car mags have said that the cause of this harshness is because this engine design has been stretched to its limits.

I know my friend had a Maxima with a 3.0 litre version of this engine and it was a sweet spinning motor and was no way thrashy or harsh. Maybe Nissan should have kept the older 350Z motor and found ways to make this 370z lighter? Some people on this post have said the Zed is a bare bones sports car, umm no it is not, at least here in Australia it isn't, it is loaded with almost every conceivable luxury. i think the 370 should have come in at approx 1300kilos not almost 1500 that it is, but that's another story.

Anyway I think i have made myself clear and in the end it is my opinion and i am entitled to my opinion. It is critisicm that hopefully sometimes makes car maqnufacturers improve their product.

Cell

It was your fault for being vague in your first post. Should of been more clear on the engine noise.

I thought you didn't like how the engine sound. But that wasn't the issue as the issue has to do with it being to quiet... A simple aftermarket exhaust would of solved that problem.

For me though, my nismo exhaust sounds nice. No idea about the base/touring guys though.

As for your Australian luxuriest 370z, the Americans have three models and the only one that has any luxury is the touring model. My nismo has nearly nothing when it comes with creature comforts.

Sorry for the pic... I just had to do it.

Attached Images

screamingasiankid.jpg (196.4 KB, 30 views)

onzedge

The rampant misunderstanding of your post no doubt arose from your pervasive use of Australian, not American, English in your narrative. American English is, of course, the correct version -- especially for its readability. I hope this helps and that you have a great day.

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FastPaced

Although your intention may have attracted unwanted attention, you have to understand that this is a community filled with 370Z owners/future owners who absolutely love their/the car for what it is. The way you constructed your statement about it's engine noise seemed more like you came to rant and vent. This is why you got the responses that you did.

VCuomo

Mandingo

I actually like the way it sounds now. I admit, at first I thought it sounded like a tractor motor being pushed 2,000 rpm past redline.

Now, I think it sounds like it just means business. A no-frills, *** kicking sports car sound (aftermarket exhaust helps too )

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shadoquad

I don't have a problem with the engine harshness or noise. The engine noise is something you can easily fix aftermarket, too.

USMCASA

want something quiet and less harsh? get an old person's car like a buick lol

shadoquad

God, I hate it when you and I agree on things

Cmike2780

What noise?

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