Is there a difference between the 97 J30 and the 97.5 J30?

[alexhho]

I just purchased a 97 J30 and while doing some reading here on Edmunds.com, I came across a lot of people claiming specifically that their J30s are the 1997.5 model. Just wanted to know what the differences are, if there's any.

[Mayhem_J30]

Interesting. I've yet to ever hear about a late production or change in production for the last year or for any year.

[diamondj30]

i have a 97 j30 it is different than the 97 1/2.they changed the radio.and both have one piece gauge cluster.thats all i know.

[Mayhem_J30]

i have a 97 j30 it is different than the 97 1/2.they changed the radio.and both have one piece gauge cluster.thats all i know.

HE LIVES

[alexhho]

That's it!?! Why would Infinity want to release another model of the same year and just changed only the radio unit? Thanks guys. Anyone else?

[diamondj30]

wow,i feel alive again.i have been sidetracked lately.hello all.hey criss,can you say"apex"

[Mayhem_J30]

wow,i feel alive again.i have been sidetracked lately.hello all.hey criss,can you say"apex"

apex ?? the software?

yeah, it seem real odd to change parts like that on the last year just for a radio gauge cluster. was it still a bose?

[VimyJ]

The differences between the model years are minor. The early Js had some pin striping and splash guards that were dropped by 95. By 95 there were two additional tweeters added to the stereo system and the HICAS steering was eliminated on the touring model. I read somewhere that the 97 model had an extra couple of doodads that prevented the easy flooding that would occur after a quick start and stop cycle of the engine (i.e. moving the car in the driveway). Also, more of the gremlins had been ironed out in every proceeding year.

[diamondj30]

apex,what your going to hit hard when you put those sway bars on.hehe

[VimyJ]

I remembered a couple of other things that changed over the too short production run. When the HICAS system was discontinued adjustable driver side lumbar supprt and an automatic dimming rear view mirror were added.

Imagine what this car would be like now if they had continued developement. This car was probably meant to compete against the BMW 5 series. The J30 was too luxurious for its own good. It's simply more sumptuous outside and in. It also sure didn't (doesn't) look like German sports sedan either. However, the drive train, suspension and brakes are in the same league. A mechanic friend of mine remarked how similar the J30 suspension was to BMW.

The Japanese are great reverse engineers. Take Steinway pianos for instance. They are the gold standard for pianos. Yamaha copied the Steinway instruments and came up with a piano that can clearly call the Steinway its model. They are different instruments to be sure but Yamaha is now a standard like Steinway. Yamaha took that same tack for all its other musical instruments when designing clarinets, flutes, trombones, trumpets, etc. They are now renouned for these instruments. All are very high in quality. No other company makes this diversity of world class instruments like Yamaha.

The J30 recieved a great deal of appearance input from a California design studio. Ironic that the American touch hampered the sales of the car even if the design was ahead of its time. Man, it would be cool to have the new 3.5L in the J30. I wonder if that would be possible. Hmmmm.... Naw, the way these 3.0L engines last I'll never have need of one.

[alexhho]

Thanks for your inputs, VimyJ. I wasn't aware that my 97J30 had automatic dimmer mirrors. That's good news. Take care.

[Mayhem_J30]

i wish i had the 6-speaker system. the lack of presence from the highs gets me sometimes. it's mostly all mid if your in the drivers seat and all mid bass in the back seat. some tweeters in the upper door would have helped that all out a lot. it's still a good stock system for an aging car. definately top class for the time.autodimming mirrors....shucks. only if nissan would have shoved a bigger v6 or a small v8 or the TT... oh well too late now.

[alexhho]

Mayhem. Your 93' J30 had autodimming mirrors? I thought the guy above said they are only available on the 97 and 97.5 models? If your "sucks," and it was the 93 model, did Infinity improve them for the later models?

[VimyJ]

The auto dimming mirror appeared in the 95 model year. I think the word used was "shucks" not sucks. As for the V8, it did appear in Japan where the J was known as the Leopard. Very apropos, IMHO. Apparently this 8 was smaller than the Q's 4.5L and was not one of Nissan's better engines. One nice surprise I got happened on a frosty night. Heated mirrors! Yeah, Baby!

[Mayhem_J30]

Mayhem. Your 93' J30 had autodimming mirrors? I thought the guy above said they are only available on the 97 and 97.5 models? If your "sucks," and it was the 93 model, did Infinity improve them for the later models?

no autodimmers here.vimyJ is right. for the weight of the car a more powerfull motor should have been put in it for stateside, but I'm sure price and emissions had a lot to do with it.

[VimyJ]

no autodimmers here.vimyJ is right. for the weight of the car a more powerfull motor should have been put in it for stateside, but I'm sure price and emissions had a lot to do with it.

It would have been cool to offer a 6 and an 8. The 3.0L is not a slow poke by any means but when you feel the way this car handles you just want the power that the chasis can obviously handle. The torque comes on slowly with this motor peaking at 4800 rpm. If you manually control the transmission and keep the rpms up, the throttle response and power are great. Rember, this is a high reving engine in the 300zx veine. I remember looking at a table of stats about Nissan engines. The J's 3.0L appeared in a lot of different vehicles. Even in the Pathfinder. They all had different tunings or valves (2 or4 valve per), different cams, varialbe or non variable valves), etc.

This reminds me. My brother had a Pathfinder in the early 90s for a while. He said that towing his 19' inboard/outboard over the Sierra Nevadas included a fair amount of second gear up the inclines.

[Mayhem_J30]

yeah, after 4000 it suddenly feels like a different motor was put in. Interesting how a couple grand in engine speed makes all the difference. I do the same with the manual gear selection. It's fun to go through the twisty hills in the back country in 2nd and 1st while cruising at 50-70 mph.

[VimyJ]

VG30-DET DOHC V6, 6 cylinder, twin cam, 24 valve, EFI, turbo Leopard (1990), 254 hp. Why, at least, wasn't this engine offered in NA? Nissan had/has a renouned in-line 6 cylinder engine in the Skyline which was/is only available in Japan and Australia, et al. Is is "endlessly upgradable to handle more and more power." Perhaps there was more support infrastructure in NA for the non turbo V6?

[diamondj30]

yea they could have did better to give us the 4.1 too.i put 436 gears in rear end it helps.it never kicks down on hills now.it stays in the power band better.shifts alot less on freeway and streets.it turns about 3000 rpm on freeway.makes the exhaust less noticable on freeway.

[Mayhem_J30]

yea they could have did better to give us the 4.1 too.i put 436 gears in rear end it helps.it never kicks down on hills now.it stays in the power band better.shifts alot less on freeway and streets.it turns about 3000 rpm on freeway.makes the exhaust less noticable on freeway.

good point. i noticed that on mine as well. from idle up to 3000 the exhaust drones through the cabin pretty bad, but at 3000 it is probably at it's quitest, excluding idle. shortly after that it hits the powerband then starts to scream a wee bit. hehe

[diamondj30]

gatta remember i use 15" glass packs on each side to take that drone out.mine dont drone.

[Mayhem_J30]

gatta remember i use 15" glass packs on each side to take that drone out.mine dont drone.

whatever. in Fred's words after driving my car "It makes me feel like a high school punk again." it wasn't exactly what i was going for, but it works.

[diamondj30]

wish i had one then,instaed i had a 69 eldorado.

[alexhho]

You guys really know your J30. VIMJ and Mayhem. After reading through the board before I purchased my J30 97 this past Monday, I also realized that my driver-side window "binds" when it goes up, with scratch marks on it. I was just wondering how technique sensitive is it to replace the window's regulator, as many have claimed is the culprit? What kind of tools do I need? Also, I was wondering how much tire pressure should I put in the Michellin's tires? The sticker on the sidedoor panel, surprisingly, doesn't state this, and the owner's manual only tell's me not to exceed the MAX psi, which is 44 for my tires. Isn't 44psi way too high for this type of passenger car? Thank you for all the replies, guys.

[VimyJ]

The factory reccomended inflation pressures are located under the lid of the center storage compartment. I find those pressures to soft and generally run about 33-34 psi on my POS Goodyear Eagle HPs.

[alexhho]

Thanks for the tire info, VimgJ. I have Michellin tires on mine, but will have to replace them soon. People have suggested that the Yokohama tires run a lot more quietly. Is this true? I can't see any other tires run more quietly than the ones I have now. Take care.

[Mayhem_J30]

Thanks for the tire info, VimgJ. I have Michellin tires on mine, but will have to replace them soon. People have suggested that the Yokohama tires run a lot more quietly. Is this true? I can't see any other tires run more quietly than the ones I have now. Take care.

I've never had a set of yokohama's on any car i've owned. But I'm going to stay faithful to the Michelin PIlots I'm running now. They're soooo much better and quiter then the Firestones that were on it when I got it. I think the tirerack has a rating for road noise. It's a great way to compare tires. I believe your window problem is being addresed in another thread.

[alexhho]

I've never had a set of yokohama's on any car i've owned. But I'm going to stay faithful to the Michelin PIlots I'm running now. They're soooo much better and quiter then the Firestones that were on it when I got it. I think the tirerack has a rating for road noise. It's a great way to compare tires. I believe your window problem is being addresed in another thread. [/QUOTE]

Thanks Mayhem. Yeah! I can't imagine anything quieter than the Michelin Pilots. I'll check with tirerack and compare those with the Yokohamas. As for the window problem my J30 is experiencing, I'm getting really conflicting advice. A lot of posts I have read suggested that it's the window's regulator and not the motor, while on the other board a Mod name Professor_Mike said that it's probably the motor and that I should lubricate the run channels with silicone. I don't know what run channels are nor what silicone is, but I am in the process of finding those out. And my personal believe falls inline with Professor_Mike, that it's the motor that's binding my driver-side window since there are two distinctive columns of scratches there. Thanks and take care.

[VimyJ]

Your problem could be the motor but most of the problems seem to be with the regulator. Professor Mike does know his stuff, though. I was wish I could help you but so far (kock wood) I haven't had a problem. I hope its your regulator because they're a great deal cheaper.

[alexhho]

Your problem could be the motor but most of the problems seem to be with the regulator. Professor Mike does know his stuff, though. I was wish I could help you but so far (kock wood) I haven't had a problem. I hope its your regulator because they're a great deal cheaper.

Thanks, VimgJ. You've been most helpful. Take care.