New Car and Driver review of the 370z... oil temp fail!

6MT

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Andrew

2009 370Z Sport/Touring 6MT sold
2013 Honda Civic Si coupe D/D

Mt Tam I am

I do not mind losing this test to an EVO, it is fourth place that is tough to believe.

I was just at Jim Russell race school where they use stock EVO's with professional drivers. I stuck to them like glue on the paddock. On the track they were max'ed out and I was still with them. I do have an oil cooler which I can't imagine being without and well worth the expense.

Here is a recap: Race school day.

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Nissan Motorsports 34R Oil Cooler. Stillen CBE. Hotchkis Sport Sway Bars. KW Variant 3 Coilover System. Stillen Gen3 CAI. Michelin Pilot Super Sport. Stillen Brake Ducts. Carbotech™ XP10/XP8 Pads. Z1 Front Rotors. Z1 Stainless Brake Lines. Two degrees of camber

onzedge

Good stuff, Mt. Tam.

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Pharmacist

Maybe you just don't know how to drive?
RWD cars are much different from AWD cars. For AWD, the computer basically drives the car and controls understeer and oversteer as needed. You just point the steering wheel where you wanna go and the car does the rest. RWD cars are more driver focused. The driver has to modulate throttle, brake, and steering wheel in order to direct the car in the corner and control under or oversteer.

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

LakeShow

Hey I am looking to get a Z, is this oil temp issue a year specific or can just happen to any Z?

Pharmacist

But Nissan never claimed the Z is a "track ready" car. Maybe the Nismo is marketed a bit as "track oriented" or "track focused", but Nissan never claimed the Z is ready for hardcore track duty. It's a sports car, not a race car.

Regarding the brakes, the majority of even "sports" cars would need at least pad and fluid upgrade for track use. I'm sure EVO brakes aren't the greatest either. The fact is that 95% of all Z owners just like other sports car owners will buy the car to cruise the roads. The most perfomance oriented drive they'll do is maybe a run down a mountain road on a weekend. For them a street pad is ideal. If Nissan puts aggressive track pads as standard they will whine about dust, noise, and excessive wear on the rotors.

As for oil temp, yes it would have been good if Nissan offered a cooler. Maybe not standard on a base model, but at least as part of the sport package or even on the Nismo Z. But again, just as it was mentioned, most Z buyers are NOT hardcore track rats.There just isn't a demand for upgrades like that. Heck, here in Ontario, from what I've seen and heard, there are probably only 2 or 3 guys other than myself in the entire province that track their car, and even they aren't regular.

And don't EVOs, at least in MR trim, have their own overheating and limp mode issues with the double clutch gearbox?

At the end of the day, even with the oil and brake issues, a stock z can still pull off very fast and competitive 2 or 3 laps before needing to cool down. If you talk about a full 20-30 min session, that's a different ball game, and only a race-car-with-a-license-plate such as a viper acr or gt3rs can pull that off without aftermarket upgrades.

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

Pharmacist

all years. but it's really only if you do track days. On the road, it's extremely rare and you only get it on very hot days while driving very aggressively and bouncing off the redline for a lot of time. Really, 99% of all limp mode incidents are encountered on the track. BTW do u have a gtr?

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

Pharmacist

I believe the culprit is the vvel. The swinging arm mechanism has lots of friction and generates a lot of heat.

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

Snakes709

I'll admit, im not the best driver on the track. I took the Z on the track 3 times and i only been to the track once with the evo. So in no way am I pro. That being said, you take the AWD vs. RWD and the systems out of the picture, you got 2 cars, pretty much the same price but the Z being a V6 sports car, going against each other. Which car can hold up better on the track? iiunno anything about the MR having issues with the tranny because I own a GSR. However if it is having issues its just as much ******** as the 370z having oil temps. But stock for stock at my local track i can keep the rpms alot higher and have more power coming out of the turns then i could in the Z do to heating issues. Also i can brake a hell of alot harder/faster in the Evo as well.

I'm not going to seat here and beat a dead horse...think thats been done already. Like i said, if you want a nice weekend car or a car to mod...sure the 370z is a nice car. But for what i needed it for, the 370z was garbage. Having 2 seats sucked ***, couldnt carry my military kit at all (had to do 4 trips to the base to get my gear to my unit for deployment), stock wise it was useless on the track and the VDC system was garbage. Not to mention the car was a damn hit and run magnent.

The Evo on the other hand can hold all my military kit, has 4 doors and can seat 5 people, it has no issues on the track and the S-AWD is amazing. Even when i turn it off the car still reacts in a well behaved manner. Also i like having something not everyone has. As each month goes by i see more and more 370z. I rarely see Evo's on the street unless we are all meeting up or going to the track.

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LakeShow

Ah ok don't think my Z would be seeing the track a lot when I get it although in NY we get those 100 degrees summer days. What is limp mode? Is the car able to still drive? To answer your question my older brother has a GTR and he's going to probably trade in for a 12' soon, I personally have a 2010 Maxima right now.

brian0128

I agree with the article overall. One of the reasons I just sold my high mileage Z was because of the brake fade and the engine going in to limp mode during spirited weekend drives or during prolonged high speed use. Driving from Vegas to Texas I hit limp mode multiple times and had to slow down and let the car cool down. Don't get me wrong, I'm still going to buy another Z but this time I'll put an oil cooler on the car within the first week. The only other problem that I've had with the Z that they didn't cover was the clutch fluid overheating and the pedal sticking to the floor. I even switched over to MOTUL fluid but on a few of my weekend drives I'd have the pedal stick to the floor.

Pharmacist

Too small. I have the 34 row cooler, and oil temp is never a problem, even with sustained track use. I've done as much as 1/2 hour sessions of hard lapping without a problem.

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

Methodical4u

I have owned 2 Evo's ... an 06 RS and an 08 GSR. Both were a blast to drive... but the money is in the drivetrain, the handling and the brakes.. inside the car is a complete POS! It's cheap plastic just makes you angry looking at it and hearing all of the rattles.

You should have known when you bought a 2 door sports coupe it wasn't going to carry much, so that "garbage" was your own fault, so don't bash the car based on that. While the Evo X is an excellent car and I would never knock it as far as performance goes, but to call the Z "garbage" based on your VERY limited driving ability and going to a track a few times. There are multiple guys here that do serious track driving and have no problem getting around a lot of Evo's and STI's the aftermarket for Mitsu and Subaru is what makes the difference.. handling wise however it is shown that this car had a faster lap time, had better skidpad grip, highest G load, and it's got better 1/4 times.

Garbage? A bit of a stupid statement IMO.

Pharmacist

in limp mode the car basically cuts off spark to the engine at 5000 rpm, so you cant rev past that. you can still drive the car normally, you just have to upshift sooner. so basically 5000 rpm becomes the new redline.

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2009 370z Sport Touring/Nismo shift Knob/Z1 motorsports 34 row oil cooler

UNKNOWN_370

So basically in a nutshell, what you're saying is... your driving skills suck. You needed an all wheel drive car with a million restrictive safety doodaas to keep you safe in a car because rwd takes too much skill to drive that you don't have! Turbos are 10k or better and you really can't afford that either? So between your low budget and lack of driving skills. The EVO was your best choice. Is that what you were trying to say?????
And a good choice at that. After you learn how to drive in your beginners tuner car. Redrive a Z. An evo will at least get you where you need to be. The evo is well made for such a situation though quality is shoddy. More advanced drivers with a little extra cash for mods will choose a Z.
There's no such thing as a garbage Z. Only garbage drivers that can't control them.