Diamond in the rough.

Originally Posted by cossie1600

This can happen to you if you don't keep the car full

Originally Posted by SurfDog

I consider the Z to be a good car with great potential. My question is what mods MUST be done to fix the factory design defects that make this car mediocre when it could be great.

Below is a list of what I believe to be the basics (or key weaknesses if you will) That MUST be addressed in every 370Z. What Key weaknesses have I missed.

1. Steering lock (duh)
-Needs the steering lock fuse pulled/or voluntary recall at a minimum (duh)

2. no oil cooler
- unforgivable defect but easily retrofitted. (I used stillen 25 row kit)

3. Horrible clutch feel on 6mt
- many solutions from removing the stupid assist spring to a full clutch replace. I went full on with a JWT, but do we all agree the OEM clutch sucks donkey balls and should be considered a must fix or is it just me???

4. Failure prone CSC.
- I did mine when puling apart tyranny to put in JWT. Is it worth swapping before failure?

5. Massive 25 lb Flywheel.
-Is this a poor designby Nissan? I think so!!! I put in a much lighter JWT flywheel and did not notice increase in vibration, but did notice much better throttle response.

6. TUNE!
- why don't they all come engine tuned to NISMO specs. Why do I have to put it up on a dyno (4-600 bucks) to get the same tune a nismo has stock??? That's just stupid marketing bs IMHO. It would cost Nissan nothing to flash all EDCs with the nismo data no?

7. Horrible road noise.
-From day one it has been criticized for road noise by everyone from R&T to my wife. I know sound-proffing is heavy (for you track bubbas), but a little engineering effort to help buffer the howl is definitely needed if you DD (I put some dynamat in key spots, but it still screams on some surfaces)

8. The "sport" VLSD. (let alone the base "open" one!!)
-this thing is terrible. A real locking 1.5 or full 2 way (or at least a helical gear type) is a must unless you only bought the car for looks in which case this thread is wasted on you.

9. hatch springs
-I mean come ON Nissan

10. unnecessary Hatch weight
- so stupid that some have and some dont, even the factory kinda addresses this by only putting them in like half the cars.

I realize this is not a full wish list of things we would all like to do, more a list of the things Nissan should have done at the factory.

Although awesome, I did not include things like:
HFC/CBE
Twin turbo or SC
better sways
better Stereo (though I almost did)
Pilot super sport tires
...Because they are mod/improvements not really design flaw fixes.

So what have I missed. what do you guys think is really broken or just poorly done?

In summary, for a few thousand bucks you can turn a pretty, though unreliable turd into a "real" sports car capable of holding its own against other "real" sports cars.

What have I missed??

Originally Posted by JARblue

Originally Posted by SurfDog

Good one! I have not had starvation but I've considered the thousand dollar fix anyhow (I don't like surprises) have you wound an off-ramp yet and lost power??

Originally Posted by Jordo!

I'd say the diamond could use a little cleaning, but it aint all that rough.

Only real issues for me are the need for better brakes (even the sport brakes are lacking), and better throttle mapping (one of the most basic aspects of the tune that needs work).

Different LSD would cost more; Nismo tune is part of what you pay for in getting the Nismo; oil cooler was finally addressed in '12+.

The other things (e.g., hatch poppers) are pretty minor issues to me. For about the same money it's either a suped-up pony car or a much slower FR-S/BRZ. For me the Z wins every time in terms of the overall package.

Originally Posted by 6MT

means your assessment went a wee bit overboard

Originally Posted by SurfDog

a car supposed to be track ready from the box...

Originally Posted by cossie1600

This can happen to you if you don't keep the car full