Is the 97 J30 lower quality than the other years?

[Victor]

I seem to remember reading that Nissan lowered the quality of the 97 compared to the previous years to save money and lower the selling price. Is this true, and if so exactly what corners did they cut? I know the list price of the 97 was lower than the previous year.
Also, the 93 and 94 J30Ts had four wheel steering, and the other years didn't. Is there anything special about a 97 J30T other than the forged wheels and spoiler?
I want this info because I may buy another J30 or J30T for one of my kids and don't want to make a mistake.

[driverdriver]

The 1997 J30 was sold "decontented", meaning a lot of features found on J's in earlier years where not included. The decontenting depended on region, for example in Canada, none of the '97's came with heated seats. Nissan was very close to declaring bankruptcy in '97 and they needed to ring as much profit out of each sale as possible.

Only the '93 and '94 models came with HICAS 4 wheel steering. Nissan discontinued HICAS in the J simply because the "t" model with HICAS was a very slow seller.

[texml69]

but if you find a 93 or 94 T my advice would be to pick it up ( for the right price of course) i have a 93 T and man let me tell you the HICAS is the way to go those things will take turns way faster then a bmw or any ricer out there

[swimshark]

only thing freaky about the hicas is when your a** end out and its trying to correct and get the car back straight. reason a lot of 300zxTT owners delete it, but for the J30 it must be nice.

[driverdriver]

With the HICAS, the J handles like its literaly on rails.

[colincliff2]

I noticed the 97.5 model year cars have a big space filler in the front door panels. Instead of a full length door pocket with an accent light, it just has this big piece of plastic and a very short storage pocket. Does anybody know why this is?

[Gerardjg]

I noticed the 97.5 model year cars have a big space filler in the front door panels. Instead of a full length door pocket with an accent light, it just has this big piece of plastic and a very short storage pocket. Does anybody know why this is?

My 97 door panel is the same as mentioned above, I have a 95t and a 97 there are differences, the interior quality on the 97 is not as good as the 95. the 97 has 60k less miles then the 95, on the 97 all of the door seals are falling off, the carpet under the mats is thinner, the Bose is different and of lesser quality. The paint quality also appears to better on the 95. One good thing about the 97 I can change the oil filter from up top, on the 95 you can not even get your hands down to the filter.

[jdurrty]

Weird. Mine is a 97 and my door panels are the same. I would agree with you that all the interior parts are crap, but after 13 years of 120 degree summers, most interiors dont stand a chance. Heres my door panel:

[yodawill2000]

Looks pretty dang' good there jdurrty !!
I too deal with the hot a Hades days !
Dash is ,, well ,, uh ,, Unique !!
hehe

[colincliff2]

From what I have seen, the later 1997 models (I call them 1997.5's) have some unique features:
-Larger side bolsters on the front seat backs (I've sat in one, and they do provide better back support than the earlier seats)
-Those mysterious plastic fillers in the front door panels
-Faux wood window switch plates on the front passenger and both rear doors
-Newer style Bose head unit (display in center, large volume knob)

I think the early 97 cars look just like 96's, except for the power lumbar support on the driver's seat.

[Gerardjg]

My 97 door panel

[Victor]

From the picture it looks like the 97 door panel is exactly the same as the other years except they put some trim around the power window button and put a frame in the full length pocket to make it half length and filled the other half with a panel.
If the oil filter is in a different location does that mean they made other changes on the engine?

[Gerardjg]

The Oil filter is in the same location there is just more room on the 97 between the engine and the wheel well, also there is 1 vacuum operated solenoid on the 97 that is not on the 95. not sure what its for I only have the 95 manual. It is mounted on a bracket on the drivers side top of the wheel well.

I will try and get some pics of the 97 engine tomorrow.

[Gerardjg]

Pictures as promised

97 Engine bay red arrows pointing to 2 solenoids not on my 95





See how much room there is to reach down and change the oil filter .