Muscat350

haha it doesnt work like that out here. The (only) Nissan garage/service centre was desert 10 years ago. Swiss Army Knifed the door apart this afternoon, the faulty bit was in a part of the inner door I'd rather not access so main dealer it will be. Enjoyed playing 350Z lego. The original parts list on the Nizmo site was handy.

Thanks for the reply. Sorry....I should have mentioned....I'm in Muscat, Oman. Out here it's main dealer or car butcher. I don't mind MD but booking/dropoff/pickup is a right pain.

Hi, My drivers side exterior door handle has stopped working. The central locking is fine and the door opens from the inside. The handle has a weighty feel but I see no metal bits move in the latch mechanism when i pull it. Is this a common or DIY fix or should I book in with Dr Nissan? I have no access to quality indies. I'm not sure if its related but for some time the drivers side window has been intermittent (including the lowering/raise when the door is opened), it could be cured with a few light slams. Even so, impressed by an 8yr old sports car in which the door handle breaks before the clutch! Just another 28,014 faults to go until it catches up with a TVR of similar age. Ian

My 04 55k mile car was last serviced at Nissan (major) about 3500miles ago. It may be paranoid imagination because a friend just burnt out his clutch but I am wondering if mine is near the end of its life. There's no noises and the clutch disengages at about 1.5-2inches from top over about an inch travel. I'm bunny hopping quite a bit in first at the minute...maybe clutch...maybe my crap driving because I'm trying to avoid any slippage....plus a bit of dusty road & skid control. No issues at all on the move, behaves beautifully. Am I worrying about nothing? Are there tell-tales to suggest the clutch is about to give out? I'm a careful clutcher anyway & you don't need to drop the clutch on a zed to make the magic happen. Thanks in advance

Hi, Sorry for my lack of techincal knowledge in what I'm about to say. Just got my car back from Nissan (Muscat, Oman) after a 80k service and repair of a puncture. When the tyre went i had to crawl at about 20mph for a mile to get to safety. I was in a straight line and when I got to the safe spot there was no degradation of the alloy or tyre. When I got to Nissan he glanced at the puncture and said "hmm probably a new wheel necessary".. 10 days later They told me that both of the front tryes had 'failed' the balancing and new alloys were needed (kerching $$). When I looked a bit further I was told that the wheels had passed the 'rotation test' but failed the 'alignment test' and made a hand gesture to indicate left/right lateral movement in the wheel. The figures he gave were: limit 1.5mm left front 1.83mm right front 4.20mm I hope this means something to someone. There was never a suggestion he was talking about suspension, it was all about the alloy. I drove the car away, there was no vibration up to 70mpg, the ride is immaculate (2 new potenza 001 at the front), there is no pull under braking (low to moderate), straight line steering seems fine. I'll do a double check on the wheel nuts later. I would be grateful for a bit of second opinion about this from the UK before I wang out 500 on alloys. Nissan here isn't like Nissan in the UK, sometimes you have to do their job for them or else you car will gather dust for weeks. Thanks in advance Ian

Hey, A request for advice about increasing my cars straight line performance. I have a well looked after '04 350, gulf car but same spec as UK (according to Nissan Dealer). It's stock except for a 'Trust' backbox(main dealer fitted). Last service was at 40k a few months ago and the car is fine. I'm sure its lost a few horses over the years and the 40-50c gulf temperatures aren't helping but I'd like to do some minor/moderate engine mods to get the power up. I would like it to come in at £1.5k or less and hopefully up the BHP by about 30 without losing any torque. Main constraint is the sand and dust here which make anything with less 'filtration' than a stock filter dodgy, main things in my favour are the absence of MOT, no emmission control (cat not req) and cheap fuel. I can get hold of most UK stock and fitting in a performance shop is achievable. I've read through the forum but my gulf circumstances make it a bit unusual - any suggestions welcome. I'm not an clutch/g'box abuser so I'm hoping not to have to upgrade across the board. Thanks Ian

Traction control on. I heard 'off' is a quick route to heaven. The tyres are Goodyear F1s at the moment (not sure of specific F1 type). I used to have them on an Esprit SE and they were sticky but didn't last long.

Hi all, Just got an '04 350Z in Oman - dodgy road surfaces, crazy driving and digital speed cameras every 1km along the roads but hey... Apparently the roads here are surfaced differently from the UK, mainly because the city gets 3 days of rainfall per year. I never drove a 350 in the UK but the traction out here is a nightmare. On a clean (no sand or dust) road in nice 30c heat I can't pull away in 1st or even second at anything other than a snails pace. Full throttle is only for 40mph+ and even then i get some wriggling of the tail. Does anyone have any recommendations for tyre brands, pressures or other thoughts (apart from 'go easy on the throttle' which is least preferred option).