Engine harshness

Originally Posted by bvl

I think you need to step back and more clearly ask your questions

Harshness and noise are very subjective.

I am in the camp of the OEM exhaust sound is under tuned: many ways to fix this (I went with a NISMO, which still is a bit understated but a step up). Example: The OEM G37 exhaust is more aggressive then a Z, which is unacceptable

The second part of the engine sound equation is intake, which IMHO is actually quite good in the Z. Its got a good growl without sounding obnoxious.

Coming from the honda world, then into a Miata (I known them inside and out, having driven NA/NB/NC, and owned a FM II NA6 for 12 years) the NA/NB engines were very harsh compared to a Honda engine...but I learned to live with it just fine. I think that quite a few Z owners are in that camp too.

Mazda spent a lot of R&D on the exhaust tune of the Miata, its one of the defining characteristics of the car.

NVH often is a function of chassis and tires. We own a 2010 roadster (which basically replaced my FM II Miata), and I can tell you road noise in the car is because of those enormous tires, but compared to the NA6 miata, the Z is quieter in every respect. Even with those big donuts, road noise is subdued compared to running 15" Kumho V700's on my old Integra...tires matter

The Z has a much stronger chassis with almost no bump shake, quieter top (layered cloth vs. 1 piece vinyl), and less wind noise at speed.

Subjective still, but if you actually measured things with a sound meter I would bet you will show lower readings. If you are not happy with how the Z feels then don't compromise on such a thing: continue to drive a MX5 or whatever ride makes you smile the most.

When we went to replace the miata, we had a list of must haves...we didn't sway from that list. Somehow, we ended up on the Z. Is it perfect? Hell no. But for the money, we thought it was a fantastic package for what we were looking for.

My top 3 wishes would be:

A real exhaust note from the factory
smooth out the valve train above 5000
Can a brother get a clutch that doesn't clunk at low speed please

- b

Originally Posted by bvl

My top 3 wishes would be:

A real exhaust note from the factory
smooth out the valve train above 5000
Can a brother get a clutch that doesn't clunk at low speed please

- b

Originally Posted by nicknick

I really do think i have made myself perfectly clear. IT IS JUST THE QUALITY OF ENGINE NOISE I AM COMPLAINING ABOUT. I DO NOT MIND THE ROAD NOISE OR LACK OF EXHAUST NOISE. TOO MANY PEOPLE HERE GO OFF HALF COCKED. I THINK THE CAR IS GREAT JUST NOT THE ENGINE TONE, IT IS HARSH AND THRASHY, VERY UNBECOMING OF A CAR WITH THE zED'S PEDIGREE. Some guys on here say a CAI fixes that, really?? I believe there is more to it than putting on a CAI, i can not see how that would "fix" the top end thrash/harshness.

Originally Posted by bvl

Hmm...I don't think you really have seen just how half cocked some responses can get on the inter tubes. Folks are kind here so far

Your chief complaint is something quite subjective. How do you quantify quality of a sound?

IMHO I think the engine sounds well matched below 5K. This is mostly from the dual OEM intakes and engineering involved. To my ears, its a sports car growl of its own identity. V6's don't tend to be the easiest engines to tune for sound from my experience. The 3.7 is quite different then the 3.5 in our 06 G35 for example. Very similar engines with significantly different engineering.

Changing the intakes to CAIs and such will remove any of the OEM engineering used to quash various frequencies and resonance that will change the sound without a doubt. Will you like it? Depends what you like, but you will need to hear it first and only you can be the judge.

If the only black mark on the Z is the sound from your perspective, then only you can decide if the entire package which includes the tactile responses, looks, and feel is enough to overcome the aural short comings from your perspective.



- b

Originally Posted by TreeSemdyZee

I'd be willing to bet that part of the "harshness" that you speak of is due to the fact that it is a V6 and you're comparing to 4 cylinder cars. A 6 will never be as smooth as a 4 or 8. That's just basic physics.

Originally Posted by Baer383

It's a fvckin sports car turn the God dam radio up.

Originally Posted by bvl

Your chief complaint is something quite subjective. How do you quantify quality of a sound?

Originally Posted by akong51

To the OP, please do us all a favor and DON'T buy a 370Z. Thanks.

Originally Posted by 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.