What He Said
 

Z_ealot pretty much nailed it. Of course there are and will be issues with the car. It is a mechanical device and parts will fail. I started reading this forum as a new Z owner in search of information about my car, what it's capabilities and limitations were. I was also interested in staying informed on TSB's and finding a support system to direct me to parts, service, and yes problems with the car.

This forum provided me with information to have my hatch springs replaced. When i was havng a problem with my brake booster, information I found as a result of a a search of this forum enabled me to diagnose the problem before the service techs at the Nissan dealership. (They did replace my booster under warranty.)

To Coosie I feel for your experience with fuel starve and replied to your post, so no need to wish bad things on me. I also agree that if others have experienced this problem during the normal operation of their vehicle, then they should report the problem to Nissan and the NHTSA. However, if the problem only occurs while on the track, or "drivng the car to its limits" on the street (BTW if you are driving to the limits on the street you are definitely drivng recklessly and could lose your license if you are caught by the PoPo.) then don't blame the car, or Nissan.

The Z is NOT a race car. It is a high performance sports car that provides dependable drivng, and a reasonable amount of comfort at a low price point when compared to vehicles with equivalent performance metrics. That's it. If you want more luxury and a resulting decrease in HP/weight then buy a G37. BTW the Z was widely praised for taking a leaner, lighter approach to sports car design when it was released. This is why it has a cheaper sound system, at least in the base model, and noisy wheel wells. If you buy a Supperleggera (read superlight) Lambo I don't think they even give you a radio. If you want to track your car then you may have to make some modificaions, but why would Nissan include all of these things (oil, and transmission cooler, brake cooling ducts, mechanical differential) for specialty purposes resulting in inflated prices, and possible increases in liabilty for Nissan.

I don't modify my car, but I understand it is fashionable to do so with younger drivers, and maybe some of these guys will go on to design their own cars one day. If they do I wonder what they will think when people start to rag on their design concepts.

jazz, the facts of your car are that if you drive it at the bleeding edge, or in excessive heat, the oil will heat to 260 degrees and go into limp mode. MD is not the hottest part of the country. I know, I'm here, too. The oil overheating issue can be fixed with a $500 oil cooler.

And the other fact is that if you heat up your brakes, the stock braking fluid can't handle it and you will experience brake failure. That can be done at the track, but I first experienced it last year at the end of an 11 hour road trip. I pressed the pedal and nothing happened. Had to stop the car using the clutch. This can be fixed with about 60-80 dollars worth of better braking fluid.

Fuel starve is a well known track issue and will probably only occur if one is pushing the car to its handling limits on a sweeping right hand turn. This has not been adequately fixed yet to my knowledge.

All that said, I appreciate the car for what it is. I love it, I've enjoyed every day with it. We have to discuss its faults, so that other owners can know what to expect. You might not want to track the car, so you may never find these faults, but there are plenty of people who want to take the car to a race track, and they deserve to know about its performance limits before they invest money in an HPDE and have it occur at the track.

It's the advantage of having a discussion forum.

Only a blind fanboy would pretend any car has zero issues. Again, I love the Z, but it has faults, just like any other car.

...unsubscribe. :facepalm:

I'm sorry. I have this flaw... I'm an honest person.

If you weren't so even-keeled and logical, you would have friends.

What would you know of being logical to the point where it offends fanboys? :bowrofl:

All I know is:

On the Subaru forum I am a Z fanboy
One the Z forum I am mustang fanboy
On the mustang forum I am an s2000 fanboy
On the s2k forum I am a wrx fanboy
On every forum but the bimmer forum I am a BMW fanboy...

But most importantly, everywhere I go, I am a shado fanboy.

On the Britney forum I'm a Gaga fan boy. Sorry, but I was born this way.

Sub'd.

I said I hope you don't hit fuel starve and end up being stranded on the side of the road like I did. It isn't hard to hit fuel starve given the poor design on the Nissan. And no, you can do it without having to break the speed limit as I have done. I don't have to be a Nissan fanboy because I have owned other vehicles and can be objective about things. Also as much as I love my car, the car is full of little problems that can be cure with a simple fix at the factory or design table. Yet Nissan continues to ignore the problem and have their owners foot their bill. (Hello steering lock!) Is it as bad as owning an Audi or a Chevy, probably not? At the same time, it is not a perfect vehicle that some of you guys perceive it to be.

I do 100% agree with you that the car gives a lot of performance for the buck. You are absolutely right that some parts are strictly on the owners if they wish to track their vehicle (pads/brake duct/oil cooler). Yet you have items like the steering lock, abs ice mode and fuel pump design that should have be addressed to begin with. They are all potential safety hazard, so not sure why Nissan refused to address it. Well I understand why because I dealt with them in the past on other vehicles, let's just say I now understand why I paid so little for my Z cars and so much for my Mercedes.

I do not recall many/any complaints about the breaks being bad, just that they fail very quickly when in comes to taking the vehicle to a track. Even then, simple changes have been pointed out that basically alleviates this problem.

Can you point to some specific assertions where people are saying the brakes are categorically bad?

Above 210*, oil temps start having adverse effects on this engine. It begins losing power and my gut tells me some fuel efficiency as well. Continuing to increase oil temps will only amplify the problem. Over the past couple weeks, my engine temps have crept northward of 220* which does not sit well with me. I typically baby my car, but even with my driving style, I still get oil temp spikes up to ~240*. I will be looking into getting an oil cooler put on my car in the coming weeks to alleviate this problem. While an oil cooler may not be a necessity, it will help with peace of mind.

Also, if oil temps are truly not a problem, why do the newer Z's have them then? [EDIT]I left out a not, so went back and fixed it...

:shakes head: Driving fast does not cause the fuel starvation...

It faster than some, slower than others.

How do you know they don't appreciate all these things?

/rant

I had the need of a new short block at 2900 miles. I complained.

As far as other complainers and complaints. Just fix what you do not like. Where I live I needed an oil cooler. I just bought one. it was an easy fix. The brakes served me well until i went to Leguna Seca. Now I have addressed the deficiency. I did not like the exhaust note so I changed it for one I do.

Here is a poll that ran recently here. I thought everybody hated their Z as well. http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-happened.html

I couldn't not have said it any better myself. :bowrofl::tup:

Modern motor oil can survive way more than 240F. They are running warmer and warmer for emission and fuel economy reasons. Of course as the temperature goes up, it does deteriorate quicker. I am with the OP that it is in your head on this one. Also if you look at the ECU fuel settings, it doesn't pull timing from oil temp. It does it only if your engine is so hot that it soaks the air flow meter's temperature sensor, I highly doubt oil temp at 240F is enough to soak your engine by that much unless you are sitting still

So... who else got a hard on looking at the OPs avatar?

I don't think it is pulling timing based on oil temps. I agree with that, but the car still feels and reacts very differently at 190* and 220* for whatever reason. I think it has something to do with the fact that the VVEL system is operated through the use of the oil. When Modshack did his oil cooler write-up back in 2009, he seemed to allude to this when summing up the research he did.

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...ttsa-pics.html

I don't think Modshack linked backed to the actual research items he found but they may be in that thread somewhere.

She stares into my soul...