state police behind me and got towed, yay love fuel starve!

UNKNOWN_370

The Z barely starts and as we already know. It shuts off when u turn. So its a WIN!

cossie1600

It is a design issue and it is pure physics. It has nothing to do with my car. As red said, some guys just didnt drive hard enough to hit it. Heck, I would argue you dont even have to drive it that hard to get it. I literally did it with one dog on my lap and one on passenger seat while driving eith ome hand. I made it out of the turn, it ran out after the reserves in the cup was used up.

UNKNOWN_370

Ok, so I spent the last 45 minutes doing some research trying to see if I can at least help a little bit on the fuel starve issue. No one has a real solution on the 370z side. But as I dug deeper, I find out many sports cars have this problem. NOT JUST THE Z. It turns out other cars like corvette and lotus suffer from the same issue. Fuel starve in hard right turns. I don't understand cossie's case but in most other cases there are many issues.

I will post my search and you can see the several forums from a few car makes with this issue. Maybe one of them have an answer? The only thing I can think of that would fix the problem is an aftermarket fuel tank... I can't find one for the Z. The only other solution is to watch miles like I do.

how to resolve fuel starvation - Google Search

Red__Zed

A lot of cars do have it. The z is somewhat unique in the propensity to starve catastrophically.


The s2k is also pretty prone to fuel starve, so you can add that to your list

cossie1600

They do, just not at 3/4 full tank. Also it would literally be a hick up instead of being dead for hours. No cheap fix on 370 due to returnless system. The shop that designed my hitch has a few ideas, but we won't get to dig in until winter time.

_ace_

To all those who have never experienced it and would like to see for yourselves:

1. Get the car down to 1/4 tank or less
2. Find a safe spot to do this with a reasonably long right turn:
   • Take a right turn at 0.8g or harder. You can use an iPhone or Android app to check that.
   • Hold that turn for a total of 3-5 seconds with the go pedal down pretty hard and at high RPMs. Have a passenger count it on a watch.
   • How long it takes depends partly on how hard you're turning and partly on how much fuel you spend while cornering hard.
3. That's it! When your car dies, you had fuel starvation. Note that this does not require any speeding--it just means you are cornering hard on a longer turn. I have an exit ramp with a very tight bend on the way home and have gotten it there 2-3 times. Without breaking the law.

On the bright side, I had a 5 gallon gas tank and found I could get the car to start up after putting 2-3 gallons in (from an indicated 1/4 tank). I guess somewhere in there it's enough to either pool near the pickup or spill over the saddle of the fuel tank.

Also, when going around a long right hander near 1/2 a tank or less, I've started to just take my foot off the gas--that seems to make starvation almost never happen. But fuel starvation in this car is still very much a real, genuine, and initially totally unexpected design flaw than can happen to any 370Z owner on the street if they simply come across a long right hand corner and take it hard.

UNKNOWN_370

Being honest here. I'm hardest on my car in hard turns, curves and up and down hills. So much more fun than driving fast in a straight line. I've drifted exit donuts when I'm the only one on it. I never had this issue. I'm not going to discredit the issue,but it hasn't happened. My car never has less than 33% of the tank.
All I can say is, all you guys going through it. I wish you the best and hope there is a resolution. And I pray I don't jinx myself by posting my experience in here??? Good luck guys.

cossie1600

That is a big risk. If it doesn't fire, you are SOL on the side of the road....

Here is a picture of the tow truck towing me to get 14. gallons of gas, that can't be environmentally friendly.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

red6spd

I guess this issue is like the horrible tranny. Some have it some don't. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I'm a race car driver but I have thrown the Z around alot with much less then a half a tank and have never had this problem, I hope I never do. I love my smooth shifting non fuel starving Z lol.

__________________
2010 Base+Sport 6spd: Stillen G3, FI Non-Resonated CBE, FI Non-Resonated Test Pipes, UpRev Tuned, Custom 24R Oil Cooler, JDM Rear Fog-OEM Harness.
???Whp ???WTQ (Will find out come spring time)

Red__Zed

cossie1600

Thank you

This is where the turn was, yellow is where I picked up the gas and blue is where it ran out


Shot at 2012-05-05

mantella87

It's an interesting issue to say the least. Haven't experienced it myself, it's rare when I allow the Z to get too low on fuel, and I'm sad to say it, but it's rare when I drive the Z like a sports car. As Red pointed out, the 370 is not the only car that is prone to this. Aside from the S2K, what other cars are known to have this problem?

Deadman

Hope I don't jinx myself as well but I have not had this and I never fill the car up with a full tank . I have taken corners just like you described and no problem.. either way I hope they have a tsb for this somewhere down the line

Red__Zed

Quite a few cars have it.

The big issue, as cossie stated, is the results of the fuel starve. My s2000 never did anything but a mild stutter starve, whereas the results of similar treatment caused to the to die.

The other issue is of course the fact that there is no readily available solution, but that's what happens when people pretend an issue doesn't exist.

cossie1600

Exactly. Here is the thing. This is a street car, no one is expecting it to be able to get down to 2 gallons. Yet, is it really that much to ask for a car that can go down to 3/8? (I have to fill up at the 12-13 gallons mark at the track). I actually wasn't mad that I had the fuel pick up issue at 1/4 tank on the street. I am more mad at the fact that I was stranded because the design was so poor that it takes HOURS for fuel to leak back to the other side. It's one thing for a quick stutter or two, it's another to be sitting on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

Here are cars that have similar problems, but no where as severe as the 370z. I will exclude the ones that get it at 1/4 tank.

STI/EVO/S2000/Elise

C6 and 350z can get down to 1/4 tank