| VSMSIR |
I'm am looking at 2 different 350s
2003 Performance 25000km
2005 35th Anniversary 32000km
I've read a little bit about the possible problems with both models, tire feathering and tranny problems with the 03, and oil consumption problems with the rev up engines found in the 35th anniversary.
Can any of you Z owners out there suggest one model over another? Or share your experiences with any of these?
Thanks! |
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| AudiInProgress |
Any car is going to have problems, if there's a TSB get it fixed, if there isn't.... Then it sounds like you're already doing your research, you know what to look for, and you can do preventative maintenance to avoid running into similar problems yourself.
I'll let the 350Z guys speak up though. |
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| euro777 |
i have an 05 enthusiast with the non rev-up, so it has a little bit of both of the cars you are looking at.
with respect to warranty and service: this would be a bonus for the 05 since it should have some warranty left.
I have had no issues except the rear axle clicking TSB and Mills Nissan fixed it with no hassles or cost to me- and it is a USDM car and the tires were toast at the time so if they wanted to jerk me they would have had two angles right there.
:thumbup: Mills and nissan in general for not trying to fuck owners who have hopped the border.
known facts:
-the wheels on the 35th anniversary are awesome
-brembo's on the performance would be nice
-consuming oil would be a real piss off.
i guess you have to balance the chances of having tranny issues+ tire feathering with the chance of oil consumption and use these costs as factors and look at service history if possible.
all in all they would both be sweet- if you could verify it doesnt sip the oil i would go 05 if you cant then its a 50-50 for which i would choose.
They both have low km's and will be a blast. My only personal regret is that i cant use my nice car to tote my ass up to the mountains to go snowboarding, so every now and then i think i should have bought an STI- but instead its just beaters for me in the winter and rwd in the summer. |
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| aarrgghh |
The 03 performance won't have the brembo's, they're on the track version. I've got an 2004.5 performance so it has some of the 03 problems and some are already fixed. I've had the grease streaks, the trans replaced, and it will feather the older style stock tires (I picked up a set for cheap). They modified the tread on the 04 fronts at some point to make the tire less likely to feather as well as tweaking the alignment specs, my 04 stocks went 3 summers. I find I kill the back rubber before the fronts feather too bad due to autocrossing the car and not being able to rotate the tires.
Nissan has a spec for replacing any of affected engines burning too much oil (>10mm drop on the stick after 1000miles I believe). All things being equal, go for the 05 as its newer and should still have some warranty. Check if the 05 dropped the tire psi readout (they went to a simple warning in the 06) I find that feature really useful on track days.
Come out to the club show and shine on Saturday at the new Mills Nissan if you want to hear more opinions than you probably want. We should have several 350Z and owners there. |
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| MixManMash |
Ok. This is coming from a 300ZX guy. I like the 350Z, but not over my 300ZX.
The oil consumption is partially due to improper motor breakin. The VQ motors are super slippery out of factory and typically need longer breakin time (i.e. don't use synthetic oil after 2000kms) than your average motor. I believe some of the early VQ35DE blocks were porous enough that it would actually sweat it out of the block.
The transmission problems in the manual gear box have been solved. Use the stock Nissan manual transmission fluid (special formula developed for this transmission) and no problems should occur.
What I would also check into is if Nissan covers these TSB type issues even after the warranty period. I have seen cases where Ford & Honda both had head gasket issues on 1995-1996 cars which are covered in TSBs and they both replaced motors for free even after warranty had expired.
And what Aargghh says holds true! Definitely come out to the EZCC Show & Shine! |
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| RX_AGENT |
Wow, thanks for all the information so far.
The 03 has extended bumper to bumper warranty till Jan 2010.
The 05 has brembos which is nice tho and it's bumper to bumper is good for only about 2 more months, then powertrain is good until September 2010.
I think I'm leaning towards the 05 a bit more except that I might get a better deal on the 03 w/ lower km.
What time is the show and shine? |
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| MixManMash |
Is that warranty for the US only or does it also cover Canada? Just make sure :)
The Brembo's is more bling than anything IMHO. I remember seeing a test on the braking and it was marginally better than stock. Upgrading to Stoptech's was better than stock & Brembo's.
The show and shine is at the new Mills Nissan.
Registration starts at 10:30, the show starts at noon.
More info here. |
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| RX_AGENT |
Oh these are both local Edmonton cars so the warranties are all good! Both 1st owners too :).
I'll definatly try to stop by the new Mills this weekend. |
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