A change of car

[z32bolt]

Hi guys, 

some of you may know me from previous events at japfest and simply Japanese but the long and the short of it is I’ve pretty much decided to sell my Z32 300zx. Of the short list of replacements is a 370z, particularly a black edition or Nismo.
 

I haven’t actually driven a 370z yet but I’m assuming the driving experience between a normal and the edition versions will be pretty similar, similar enough that test driving a normal one would give me a good indication wether I like it or not. Il end up modifying it anyways. The primary reason why I fancy an edition car is that i plan to own it long term, I’ve had my 300 for 14 years. 
 

I would potentially be open to swapping as apposed to buying but I think find the right 370z and some one who is after a more vintage Fairlady is low. Automatic 370s seem to be significantly cheaper, is there a reason for this? 
 

[GranTurismoEra]

Automatics are less desired and cost more to service the gearbox. I have no regrets after driving manual in the city for 10 years. Each to their own. But as much as I liked the Nismos they became a chore to drive in traffic or slow moving traffic. 

[GranTurismoEra]

The GT Edition had more camber and a slightly different suspension to base. Some owners would have changed their setup after all this time. 

[z32bolt]

1 hour ago, GranTurismoEra said:

The GT Edition had more camber and a slightly different suspension to base. Some owners would have changed their setup after all this time. 

My current Fairlady has completely aftermarket suspension, only the lower arms are stock. I probably wouldn’t go as far but things like height and camber would be changed to my preference anyway. 

[Adrian@TORQEN]

18 hours ago, GranTurismoEra said:

Automatics are less desired and cost more to service the gearbox.

 

Source of this please?

[GranTurismoEra]

3 hours ago, Adrian@TORQEN said:

 

Source of this please?

 

Compared to the manual the automatic requires more oil i think around 9 litres. fluids alone will cost around £150 to £200+ depending on what you use. Then the labour required is about 2 to 3 hours. Indie garages now charge dealership prices citing Covid and cost of survival......I was quoted £500 compared to the manual gearbox oil change which needs less than half the amount of oil (about 3 litres or so). It would probably be around £250 to change that. When you chuck in the diff looking at around £700 excluding standard service.

 

I was going to do it if i was keeping the car. 

[Eddie_r32]

25 minutes ago, GranTurismoEra said:

 

Compared to the manual the automatic requires more oil i think around 9 litres. fluids alone will cost around £150 to £200+ depending on what you use. Then the labour required is about 2 to 3 hours. Indie garages now charge dealership prices citing Covid and cost of survival......I was quoted £500 compared to the manual gearbox oil change which needs less than half the amount of oil (about 3 litres or so). It would probably be around £250 to change that. When you chuck in the diff looking at around £700 excluding standard service.

 

I was going to do it if i was keeping the car. 

You do it want to know what I have spent on sorting out clutch slave issues on my car, actually I don't want to know what I've spent on them, auto would of been much cheaper!

[GranTurismoEra]

8 minutes ago, Eddie_r32 said:

You do it want to know what I have spent on sorting out clutch slave issues on my car, actually I don't want to know what I've spent on them, auto would of been much cheaper!

 

I doubt it, as the auto can have issues as well with lag, shifting when cold and with clutch slip etc which would require an Auto Tranny Specialist to look at. if constantly raced or pushed they develop wear as well. A used unit is around £1500+, brand new porbably almost double. They are reliable if not abused and looked after. I dont think theyre necessarily made to take constant abuse. Whereas a manual with uprated clutch and cylinder would be more durable. Just depends.

 

 

[Adrian@TORQEN]

1 hour ago, GranTurismoEra said:

 

Compared to the manual the automatic requires more oil i think around 9 litres. fluids alone will cost around £150 to £200+ depending on what you use. Then the labour required is about 2 to 3 hours. Indie garages now charge dealership prices citing Covid and cost of survival......I was quoted £500 compared to the manual gearbox oil change which needs less than half the amount of oil (about 3 litres or so). It would probably be around £250 to change that. When you chuck in the diff looking at around £700 excluding standard service.

 

I was going to do it if i was keeping the car. 

Will check the service manual in the morning, but from what I remember, unless you need to take the 7AT box apart, the oil is lifetime, doesn’t require to change it.

 

The gearbox is not sluggish, you can however adjust the torque tables and make it change gears slightly faster, UpRev and EcuTek both have this. 
 

The only 7AT gearbox I ever heard to fail in all these years was mine while on a dyno of a tuner that didn’t have a clue what he was doing. The 370z just had a GReddy TwinTurbo fitted at the time and he didn’t have the latest update on UpRev for my particular ECU. It was only after I asked UpRev directly and send them my ECU details they added the option for the torque tables to be mapped. To cut the story short, nothing to do with the gearbox itself. 
 

The 7AT 370z are actually faster than 6MT as well. They are super reliable even if you push them to max on a NA car. If you build a twin turbo car for instance, you can upgrade the torque converter and the valve bodies and you can safely do 1000BHP on this gearbox.

[Eddie_r32]

22 hours ago, GranTurismoEra said:

 

I doubt it, as the auto can have issues as well with lag, shifting when cold and with clutch slip etc which would require an Auto Tranny Specialist to look at. if constantly raced or pushed they develop wear as well. A used unit is around £1500+, brand new porbably almost double. They are reliable if not abused and looked after. I dont think theyre necessarily made to take constant abuse. Whereas a manual with uprated clutch and cylinder would be more durable. Just depends.

 

 

Yea still cheaper than my spend and I'm guessing it wouldn't take a year to sort it out after failed parts from multiple companies ( it's had one new clutch and flywheel and 4, yes 4 clutch slaves

[GranTurismoEra]

1 minute ago, Eddie_r32 said:

Yea still cheaper than my spend and I'm guessing it wouldn't take a year to sort it out after failed parts from multiple companies ( it's had one new clutch and flywheel and 4, yes 4 clutch slaves

 

Yeah I saw on your video. Thats crazy though. Im glad i didnt face those issues with the Nismos. Although had a slipping clutch on the 5 month old 17 plate lol which Nissan didnt want to know. It was well documented online on the American forums...The mechanic was told to find any reason to dismiss me during the test drive. Then they moved to Exedy in 18. If there was nothing wrong why did they change to Exedy in 18 lol

 

Lol that's when i knew never deal with Nissan for after sales or warranty lol

[GranTurismoEra]

22 hours ago, Adrian@TORQEN said:

Will check the service manual in the morning, but from what I remember, unless you need to take the 7AT box apart, the oil is lifetime, doesn’t require to change it.

 

The gearbox is not sluggish, you can however adjust the torque tables and make it change gears slightly faster, UpRev and EcuTek both have this. 
 

The only 7AT gearbox I ever heard to fail in all these years was mine while on a dyno of a tuner that didn’t have a clue what he was doing. The 370z just had a GReddy TwinTurbo fitted at the time and he didn’t have the latest update on UpRev for my particular ECU. It was only after I asked UpRev directly and send them my ECU details they added the option for the torque tables to be mapped. To cut the story short, nothing to do with the gearbox itself. 
 

The 7AT 370z are actually faster than 6MT as well. They are super reliable even if you push them to max on a NA car. If you build a twin turbo car for instance, you can upgrade the torque converter and the valve bodies and you can safely do 1000BHP on this gearbox.

 

The car youre building now is a manual? Yeah Nissan say its a closed unit. Then again I dont trust Nissan lol...as many have improved the car from OEM. Its not necessary but I would say optional. Some Americans have gone as far as filled it 3 times and driven 5 miles between to fully flush the oil. Seems overkill. Other have changed it every 10k miles. The oil looks like black coffee apparently although not burnt at decent miles (50K) if never changed. The guys on the American Forums who have changed the oil around 30,000 Mile intervals say it improves the way it behaves. 

 

So looks like if youre handy with DiY youd be better off getting a 20 litre ATF and doing a refill running it a couple of miles and drain and fill just to clear the old oil. 

 

Some have failed in the states. But thats the same country having spoken to a guy that fried his engine in a near new Nismo doing burnouts and Nissan saw on Youtube and rejected the warranty claim. Lol. Good old Instagram days.

 

370z automatic transmission fluid change schedule - Nissan 370Z Forum (the370z.com)

Edited September 14, 2023 by GranTurismoEra

[Adrian@TORQEN]

 

It doesn't hurt to change the oil, but according to Nissan you don't need to. On a NA car I wouldn't bother under 100,000 miles. If you're building a FI car, you will need to upgrade the 7AT box anyway, therefore you can change the oil at the time. 

 

The car we're building now it's a Nismo MK2 6MT, so manual, yes. 

 

To conclude, IMHO 370z with 7AT being undesirable and more costly to service it's just a myth. I love the gearbox, I had two with 7AT, one still here in the warehouse, next to the DEMO 370z in 6MT.   

[ilogikal1]

A quick scan of Auto Trader shows that all other things being equal, manual cars are still commanding a premium over autos, so the desirability point, at least generally, is clearly not "just a myth".

 

Whilst general trends are as irrelevant as other people's personal preferences or opinions, the fact does remain that the OP should be able to save a bit on initial outlay if they opt for an auto.

[GranTurismoEra]

On 13/09/2023 at 10:33, z32bolt said:

My current Fairlady has completely aftermarket suspension, only the lower arms are stock. I probably wouldn’t go as far but things like height and camber would be changed to my preference anyway. 

 

You should have bought mine. Although i started to develop a rattle around the passenger rear speaker area. Possibly a loose connection to the speaker or loose trim.....Early pre 2012 models suffered steering lock issues and oil gallery gasket. I did buy a spare steering lock but decided to just remove the fuse. 

 

370 has advantage of more grip in the back. More power and torque. The auto does 0-60 in 4.7 with best tires. Its more refined and very analogue. 

 

Its a classic auto although the sequential is the wrong way round. It picks up quick and theres no fuss. Its a fast car with lots of character. Dashing looks and suitable for people up to 6 foot 4 at most. You can recline the seats. 

 

Depending on your budget you should look at late 2012 onwards. Face lifts are from late 2013 onwards. They have come down a bit in price. 16k and up should get you a facelift. 

 

 

[z32bolt]

11 hours ago, GranTurismoEra said:

 

You should have bought mine. Although i started to develop a rattle around the passenger rear speaker area. Possibly a loose connection to the speaker or loose trim.....Early pre 2012 models suffered steering lock issues and oil gallery gasket. I did buy a spare steering lock but decided to just remove the fuse. 

 

370 has advantage of more grip in the back. More power and torque. The auto does 0-60 in 4.7 with best tires. Its more refined and very analogue. 

 

Its a classic auto although the sequential is the wrong way round. It picks up quick and theres no fuss. Its a fast car with lots of character. Dashing looks and suitable for people up to 6 foot 4 at most. You can recline the seats. 

 

Depending on your budget you should look at late 2012 onwards. Face lifts are from late 2013 onwards. They have come down a bit in price. 16k and up should get you a facelift. 

 

 

My 300zx is worth between £15-20k I suppose depending on who is looking for what and how long I’m prepared to wait for the right price etc etc. I recon I could get a decent 370z without adding any extra cash. For transparency the other car it’s between is a Corvette but I want the ZO6 model and it would require some additional cash. 

[Loadmaster]

On 15/09/2023 at 17:45, Adrian@TORQEN said:

 

It doesn't hurt to change the oil, but according to Nissan you don't need to. On a NA car I wouldn't bother under 100,000 miles. If you're building a FI car, you will need to upgrade the 7AT box anyway, therefore you can change the oil at the time. 

 

The car we're building now it's a Nismo MK2 6MT, so manual, yes. 

 

To conclude, IMHO 370z with 7AT being undesirable and more costly to service it's just a myth. I love the gearbox, I had two with 7AT, one still here in the warehouse, next to the DEMO 370z in 6MT.   

How about the frequency of oil changes for a manual box 370Z. Is that maintenance free as well?

[GranTurismoEra]

On 20/09/2023 at 21:49, Loadmaster said:

How about the frequency of oil changes for a manual box 370Z. Is that maintenance free as well?

 

Hmmm, id change that plus its less oil. Ive usually done it on my other cars every 30,000-40,000 miles. I still think Honda and VW both do the best feel manual boxes. So smooth...

Edited September 25, 2023 by GranTurismoEra

[Loadmaster]

On 25/09/2023 at 10:57, GranTurismoEra said:

 

Hmmm, id change that plus its less oil. Ive usually done it on my other cars every 30,000-40,000 miles. I still think Honda and VW both do the best feel manual boxes. So smooth...

Thanks, I think that's about right. My Z is on 25k miles at nearly six years of age, so something I'll get done at some point next year.