magicgreg Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Hi, Firstly I apologise for the amount of questions that are about to be asked, I've searched about and found a few good previous threads but thought I'd try and get all of the answers in one here. Basically I am in the process of looking to buy a new motor, I have narrowed my search down to either a 350Z or a Monaro VXR with the LS2 engine in it. With regards to the Z I have from £19-24K available to spend, obviously I am looking to buy as new as possible with as few miles on the clock as possible, whilst spending as little cash as possible, bit of a contradiction there but you know what I mean. I'd be looking to buy a GT model, maybe a GT4, if someone could point out the benefits of either that would be good....... Now the questions What can I expect for my money? I'd be looking to buy from a reputable dealer just for peace of mind, I live in the North East in Cleveland, can anyone recommend a local dealer? With the age and model of the Z what should I be looking out for? Main issues, faults etc Has anyone got the service breakdown of a 350Z? How often is a service and how much? Is there an extended warranty package available after the 3 year manufacturer is up? How much is it to fill the tank in a Z and how many miles can you get from a tank with varied driving? With regards to modifications, what seems to be the most popular upgrades? I'd be looking to upgrade in the areas of an exhaust system, induction, carbon fibre bonnet, a rear wing and some aftermarket alloys. If anyone can provide some suggestions of what mods seem best in those areas that would be great, also any pics, vids or sound clips would be welcomed. When upping the power of a Z, what seems to be the most safe and popular modifications? Also the cost of such modifications including the list above would be handy, just to get an idea. Also what local tuners of 350Zs are available in the North East? Any comments on standards and reputations would be good. If upgrading the stereo what is required other than an ISO adapter and the correct facia adapter to install a double din aftermarket stereo, something like the Kenwood DDX-7029? Again anyone that wants to put up some pics of their motors are welcome to do so. Thanks in advance to anyone that responds to the rather large amounts of questions I have asked there. Kind Regards Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 mate. Sounds like you have a very reasonable budget. Should have no problem getting a good GT for that. For engine upgrades, mods you sound as though you are near BigPhil so it may be worth popping over to see him. ( Again Phil!!!). Servicing work out to APPROXIMATELY every 12 months depending on mileage. There are plenty of threads explaining P1, P2 srevices etc. Filling a Zed is about £65-70 which should get you about 350 miles. Upgrades and mods, lots and varied. The US dollar helps here. PM Adam for many of your needs. To me a Nismo Zorst is essential and reasonable. Enjoy the site mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Thanks for the reply martinmac. I know a little about the P1, P2 and P3 service schedule, it seems pretty reasonable to be honest. Have to get familiar with everything on this forum and the people/garages that are essential to know. I'm going to go down to a dealer on sunday to have a chat. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Best of luck, many of the questions you have may be covered in the introductions section recently, lot of new people recently so it may be worth trawling through these rather than the more obvious places. The best is to come... Enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Hi Greg and You may be able to get an 06MY model for the upper end of your budget. This will give you the benefit of the 296bhp engine which is the same as the GT4, but with the newer interior, lights and front bumper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 Oh right, cheers Trev! I'll bear that in mind when I'm at the dealers. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Hi Mate , if you have a good search on here you'll get the answers to all your questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Right, done a morning's worth of searching, trawling through hundreds of threads and have so far found: The service schedule and costs - P1, P2, P1, P3, P1 etc The main faults - Clicking axle and notchy 4th and 6th gear changes The most popular insurance companies seem to be: Adrian Flux, A-Plan, Bell, Admiral or from Elephant. The fuel consumption seems to level out at around the 22mpg mark, £60/70 gives anywhere between 350-400 miles depending upon driving style. If anyone can answer any of my questions that are still unanswered it would be much appreciated, going through all these threads take some time Thanks in advance. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 A bit more info for you in answer to some of your questions. Extended warranties are available but I'm not sure of the cost. Also the original RAC breakdown/recovery which is only for 12 months is extendable (mine cost £144 to extend for 2 years). If the car has a Bose system check the CD player for skipping. Earlier cars also had an appetite for front tyres, so check for uneven wear. Big Phil is up North and can probably advise on tuning establishments in your area. Possibly also Dan. May be worth sending them a pm. Enjoy your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 4, 2007 Author Share Posted August 4, 2007 Thanks again Trev! Yeah, I just got some info on the extended warranty issue, looking around the £500 mark for an extended 2 years, which to be fair isn't too bad. I'll be looking into the RAC cover as well, thanks for that. It seems that bigphil is the man to contact, I'll have to do that soon, I'm sure he will be glad to hear from me when I bombard him with questions. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janz70 Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Alright Greg, I'm just up the road, (literally) I live in Stokton. I'm currently importing a Zed from Japan, so I'm a bit new to this as well. Im using Bonsaicars but Ive heard nothing but good report about JM imports, which would have the added benifit of landing the car at Newcastle as opposed to the other end of the country(Southampton) for Bonsai. For your budget you'll have no problem getting an almost new imported Zed (Fairlady). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Chris W is just up the road as well in Washington Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undecided Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Is there an extended warranty package available after the 3 year manufacturer is up? I'm new here myself but while trying to get an idea of running costs for the 350z I rang my local dealer (nissan lincoln) and asked them, they said they couldn't help me and told me to ring Nissan Assure (08707527000) The prices they quoted were... 1 year extended warranty £409 up to 60,000 miles 2 year extended warranty £659 up to 60,000 miles 2 year extended warranty £1379 up to 80,000 miles Has anyone got the service breakdown of a 350Z? How often is a service and how much? Nissan Lincoln gave me the following costs for the services (no idea if they're good prices or not)... P1 £182.46 inc vat P2 £252.26 inc vat P3 £282.70 inc vat Service interval - 1 year / 9000 miles hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigphil Posted August 4, 2007 Share Posted August 4, 2007 Thanks again Trev! Yeah, I just got some info on the extended warranty issue, looking around the £500 mark for an extended 2 years, which to be fair isn't too bad. I'll be looking into the RAC cover as well, thanks for that. It seems that bigphil is the man to contact, I'll have to do that soon, I'm sure he will be glad to hear from me when I bombard him with questions. G Anytime you want a chat Greg give me a call 07714457051, be happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 Thanks again for all of your replies lads! bigphil, I'll be giving you a call when the time comes to start modifying the Z, I'm not exactly sure what all of the most popular parts are yet but I'd be interested in an exhaust system with some hi-flow cats, induction system and some cosmetic alterations in the form of a rear wing and maybe a carbon fibre bonnet. So far the Nismo exhaust seems to be the most popular but I do like the sound of the Apexi N1 and the Blitz Nur Spec Touring and the Obayashi (Styleking K). I've also heard quite a bit about the Plenum Spacer and the Popcharger. I'm guessing with any of the above exhaust/induction combos you won't go far wrong? Off to a dealer today anyway to have a talk and see what the score is, if anyone on here had upto the £24k mark, what model/year Z would you be going for? Thanks again G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Check out the possible group buy for Nismo exhaust being discussed at the moment, would save you some money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 Check out the possible group buy for Nismo exhaust being discussed at the moment, would save you some money. Cheers Martin, I'd probably be up for that if its the cheapest a system can be sourced for. Thing is when you look in the group buy section or the for sale section you get about another 10 ideas of what you want to do with your car, its a disease! I've done it with every car I've owned, looks like the Z will be no different. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Oh yes Zorst is well worth it though, saves a fortune on CDs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 I've been trying to find some clips of a Z with a Nismo exhaust and then a Z with the hi-flow cats and the Nismo to try and hear the difference but haven't found anything yet. I think this would be the way I'd go though so that the system benefits the most, just as long as its not mentally loud then all should be good. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Should be someone in your area with Nismo Zorst, its difficult to tell on youtube etc, needs to be heard in the flesh in my opinion. Without going into performance etc, it sounds awesome but you can still keep it sounding subtle if you need. At "motorway" speed with the roof down its a background noise and doesnt sound too loud. Best thing would be to get to a meet. Works out around £750 "ISH" less group buy discount. Can pop over to Scotch corner sometime next week if you want to have a listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicgreg Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 I know what you mean about listening to sound/video clips, they never really give a true representation of the sound created. The price isn't astronomical to be fair, I've been looking at systems for Monaro's before I came here and you can pay £2000 for a system there no problems. So if its anything under £750 then I'd accept it, do many ststems come up for sale second hand on this forum? Very generous of you to offer, I may take you up on it once I've definitely decided on getting a Z. Cheers G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Up your way last month for a weekend and the Z loves those roads, you are very lucky. I have great roads where I live but wall to wall tourists which is very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 My zed with the nismo: Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tere Posted August 5, 2007 Share Posted August 5, 2007 Here's a Borla dual clip -- pre-supercharger days... http://zchickz.com/borla-z1.mpg And Borla dual clip with supercharger and NISMO headers (7 psi, no BOV)... In final segment (3+ minutes in the video, the left - right S sweeper is at 130mph); all 4 segments hit more than 100mph... And what you don't hear is just as I clicked the camera off, my radar detector went bonkers -- I was virtually sitting on top of a cop! http://zchickz.com/tere-zrun3.mpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xStric9x Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Should be someone in your area with Nismo Zorst, its difficult to tell on youtube etc, needs to be heard in the flesh in my opinion. Without going into performance etc, it sounds awesome but you can still keep it sounding subtle if you need. At "motorway" speed with the roof down its a background noise and doesnt sound too loud. Best thing would be to get to a meet. Works out around £750 "ISH" less group buy discount. Can pop over to Scotch corner sometime next week if you want to have a listen. Wasn't a background noise for me though, i had the full force of your nismo and yes they do sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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