Damaged in less than a week.. new record???

[Foo56]

As title says, less than a week ownership of a great example of a 2008 350z in pearl white and... I the back end and ended up sideways in to a central reservation... First RWD car, was testing with out traction control on and the below is the result.

 

To say I'm gutted is an under statement. But with my tail thoroughly between my legs, I'm hoping to get some advice on here if possible?

 

I know they don't sell the rear quarter panels as bolt on and so I'll need to get it cut out if I get second hand... I can't find one second hand (unless I get modded arches, which I don't want to do)!

 

I know it's hard to tell from the pictures, and I'm pretty sure it won't be.. But, I wonder if this is repairable with out replacing panels? I feel like the door arch could be knocked back, filled and painted but it's the inside of the panel that I think may be problematic. I don't want to cut corners here, I want it done right to do justice to the car!

 

Front arch is just a bit scuffed and just needs painting. The door is only bent right at the end, not sure if that's repairable? The whole side needs a spray.. so worried about getting a good paint match too!

 

I feel like a prize **** but just want to get it sorted ASAP so any advice or pointing in the direction of parts is massively appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Ryan

 

[Redsky]

That sucks so much :/ Sorry it went down like that. My best advice would be talk to a local body shop and see if they are willing to attempt the work or not or maybe talk to the traders on here about options for a new panel or maybe they have their own go to guys for body work. Zmanalex springs to mind, seems to be the go to guy for almost anything Z related  .

[Kev]

That is not going to be a cheap fix unless it's bodged. Ive seen cars written off for less. 

 

[ZMANALEX]

Pre owned rust free doors, wings and quarter panels are all in stock.

However it will not come to that as your panels including the quarter panel is repairable.

Looks like a straight forward repair, so head down to a good panel and paint shop for a chat and an estimate.

The last thing you want to be doing is replacing the quarter panel, trust me.

[Foo56]

Nice one, that's reassuring tbh - Appreciate the quick response. I'll be straight to the body shop in the morning!!

 

So gutted.. Was a big, open and empty road and thought I finally had a chance to open it up! Turning traction control off was my first mistake :/

[AMT]

A lesson learned! Keep the traction on lol. Gutted for you mate, I've dinged mine on the rear bumper and its annoying as hell when you do it... hope you get it sorted soon and for a decent price! Don't let it put you off! lol

[Ekona]

For the idiots that come on here playing Billy Big Balls and they're the next Ken Block etc, how very refreshing to see someone come on here and just open right up and admit they tried something new, got it wrong, and want a bit of honest help. Ryan, I genuinely doff my cap to thee sir.

 

Please don't be afraid of switching the TCS off in the future, you've made a mistake and tbh there but for the grace of god goes me when I had my first RWD car and I started playing with moving the back around. I'll never forget it, 90deg right hander, warm summer evening, waaaaay too much throttle and the damn thing pirouetted on me. I've no idea how I saved it, far more luck than skill as I had zero idea of what I was doing. Could easy have been me posting up on a forum with tail between legs.

 

SuperStu is organising some driver training days at Millbrook, well worth looking into. Or any trackday really, with a bit of coaching on the day, will massively help confidence. Stick with it, playing with RWD cars is one of life's many pleasures and no-one gets it right first time.

[Willsy1980]

Ouch !!

Everyone screws up at some point, one of life's little treats. Stick with it and learn from the mistake

On the plus side, you may get some if not most of that out with a puller, will 100% need paint but shouldn't need a new Q panel. Any damage to the wheel/s or alignment ?

 

Not half as bad as this, pricey example but same theory:

 

Edited August 4, 2017 by Willsy1980

[Foo56]

Rear wheel has but if a flat spot and damaged, front has a tiny scuff.

 

aligment on front is spot on but back is slightly out - costing £120 probably which seems steep to fix it but they let me get under the car and check it all. All but the W brace look fine so I'll need to get that sorted too!

 

if anyone's selling a single 18" rays gt let me know!!

[reeceybeaney]

Hope you get it sorted mate! The Z is my first rwd car too and I have had nightmares of this happening to me

As the guys said though, you'll get around it as a decent bodyshop will sort you out! 

Good luck, carry on enjoying the Z!

[ZMANALEX]

1 hour ago, Foo56 said:

 

 

if anyone's selling a single 18" rays gt let me know!!

 

In stock and good to go same/next day. 

Just drop me a PM if I can help further.

Alex. 

[AMT]

I remember the first time I switched mine off, felt a bit twitchy and lighter going through corners.. might have just been me but thats how it felt. Then the next time I found an emtpy car park, put the boot in and it swung round... very suprising when you feel the weight of the thing lol

[Rob350]

8 hours ago, Foo56 said:

if anyone's selling a single 18" rays gt let me know!!

 

I'll have the other rear gt ray alloy if someone wants to sell a pair of rears

[Exec]

Pearl white is a right pain in the ass to colour match. Your looking at a whole side being  painted. But you knew that. 

 

TC keeps you on the road, when otherwise, you wouldn't necessarily be on the road 

[Foo56]

15 hours ago, Exec said:

Pearl white is a right pain in the ass to colour match. Your looking at a whole side being  painted. But you knew that. 

 

TC keeps you on the road, when otherwise, you wouldn't necessarily be on the road 

 

Yea but as it's the whole side my guy should be able to fade it in nicely on the corners (I'm hoping!) - Taking it in on Wednesday to get sorted, I've used this guy before when someone smashed in to the side of my ST which was Deep Impact Blue (pearlescenty colour too) and he did a good job on that so, fingers crossed!

[monkeybrain1234]

It's not always because of traction control being off that means this would have been any better. 

 

On way to Coventry meet with other Z's I lost the back end after coming off a roundabout, it was wet but was not even giving it much throttle. Had to correct it 3 times and luckily managed to keep it on the road (just) and no car next to me. Traction control was on. 10% skill & 90% luck. 

 

For sure there was oil/diesel on the road which made it happen, so just saying it can be a multitude of factors that can result in such an event. 

 

Main thing is you are okay and it seems car is repairable from what others have said. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited August 17, 2017 by monkeybrain1234

[davey_83]

Gutted for you pal.

 

Back end swung out on me on the war to a car meet in Warwick. Was in a Convoy of Zeds and came on the throttle in 3rd at half pace. Never EVER thought it would have came out with so little steering angel but it did - traction control was on too.

[Foo56]

So, I've got the car back and the only sign there was any damage is the wheel (which I've not sorted yet) and the inside lip of the rear arch (which got mullered). That's getting sorted soon but other than that the paint match is spot on and it's looking and driving as normal.. Relief to have it back but that's £1k less I've got to spend on the mods I wanted but maybe I should have though of that before getting complacent/cocky and turning off traction control before I knew how to drive the thing! I'll be getting some training days for sure.. I did it on my motorbike before I started pushing that, not sure why I thought it wasn't neccesary on a 3.5 v6 rwd that I'd never driven before?! Lesson well and truly learned :/

 

Got some spacers on it now too, list of mods to do now are (after wheel repair/replacement):

Berks HFC

Xtreme clutch - From what I've read it improves the drive (opinions welcome!)

Invidia cat back... decision decisions!

Engine map

Dash lights (want to change them from the dull orange to a bright red to modernise it a bit).

 

I've also got some pearl white vinyl on order to do the centre console - Once all that's done I'll look at swapping out the HU/Sat Nav I think.. But got a holiday to pay for and my ST TDCi to sell first!

 

Cheers to all for the advice on this thread - Was in a pit of despair when I posted this, was a real relief to read some of the responses!

[Ekona]

Be careful with white vinyl inside: It can create some very nasty reflections in the sun which can dazzle you!

 

Clutch I wouldn't bother doing unless your one needs replacing, OR you're going to add a lightweight flywheel in at the same time. It's the flywheel that will make the biggest difference to how the car responds, and for the better.

[Foo56]

35 minutes ago, Ekona said:

Be careful with white vinyl inside: It can create some very nasty reflections in the sun which can dazzle you!

 

Clutch I wouldn't bother doing unless your one needs replacing, OR you're going to add a lightweight flywheel in at the same time. It's the flywheel that will make the biggest difference to how the car responds, and for the better.

Hadn't even considered that, thanks!

 

I was looking at: https://www.tarmacsportz.co.uk/xtreme-clutch-nissan-350z-z33-vq35hr-engine-370z-z34-vq37hr-engine-05-clutches.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2MPK7pr_1QIVb7XtCh3BdAWhEAYYASABEgIUsfD_BwE

 

Though I'm no mechanic or seasoned modder, other than what I've seen on google, youtube and these forums I have very little knowledge so unsure if it's worth going for the ceramic upgrades, just the lightweight fly or the whole kit or if I'm better to spend my money elsewhere?

 

My clutch is fine, I changed the bite point as per one of the guides on this forum which has made it much nicer to drive. It does rattle in neutral and when I turn the engine off already, a lightweight fly may add to that from what I've researched but worth it for the gains!

[Ekona]

They do include a lightweight flywheel (SMF: Single Mass Flywheel, same thing) so would be worth doing. I would only bother with the Stage 1 though, unless you are 100% sure of going FI down the line. If not, then stick with the most OEM-like option available. I ran the Exedy kit on my old car, and that saw plenty of track use too and it never left me feeling like I needed something stronger. In comparison, my old MR2 mk3 that I turbocharged was running an Ogura ceramic jobby that would take like a billion bhp: Now this meant you could happily flat-shift at WOT, but man it was an utter PITA on the road (although it was still something you could live with, if you were a narcissist like me). So no, I'd never go for something like that ever again.

 

Worth doing though

[scobie140]

Looks a good repair.

I've fitted the JWT clutch & lightened single mass fly wheel when I boosted my zed and I've got to say the clutch feels exactly like the OEM did. The lightened fly wheel did take a bit of getting used to though