Just bought an 03 350Z and I need some help!

[BashaZ]

Hey guys,

Alright so i just picked up an 03 350Z Premium, I'm pretty sure its non Brembo, brakes looks way to small to be Brembo, and it needs a little bit of work. I'm pretty sure the guy before me replaced the original clutch, the clutch that is in there now is pretty stiff. But I noticed that the gears are not going in smoothly, and sometimes the 5th gear grinds. Reverse does not have any problems.What do you guys think that is?

I also think I should grab some new brakes for it....I figure maybe I should replace all the rotors and pads, maybe even the brake lines if I can get a good deal.

I'm not gonna be racing the car or anything like that, I just want to get good performance out of it as an everyday summer car.

The previous owner put it an Injen non cold air intake.

What do you think I should do about the clutch / gear situation, and the brake situation? I do not want to spend crazy amounts of money. Let me know what you think...

ThanksMatthew

[R350Zz33]

ive never herd of a premium 350z lol. and 5 gear grinds probably because of bad syncros. if you need braked get them if you dont need them why waste your money.

[BashaZ]

LOL, ya sorry...typo...Not Premium...PERFORMANCE.

And ya the brake pads are pretty low so I need to get them changed

[BashaZ]

What I'm asking for is suggestions on what companies to use....like i said, I don't wanna go nuts, but I still want good smooth performance out of it.

And another thing, The previous owner, from what i can see changed the front springs, they are green, so I'm going to make the assumption the are made by Tein. I'm pretty certain the front shocks and rears are all stock. The ride is extremely rough what kind of suspension do you guys recommend for a smoother ride

ThanksMatthew

[aris_unlimited]

.......there was a track edition

But it would have brembo brakes on it.

As for the 5th gear grinding Richie is right, bad synchros which means bad transmission. And since your out of warranty I would start looking into how to fix that problem.

[BashaZ]

it rarely grinds....it happened twice maybe out of put it into gear 30 times

[Watermelonwarrior]

How many miles do you have? I would recommend changing your transmission fluid to redline first and see if that makes the shifts smoother. For brakes I have the Hawk Hps Plus which are just about the same performance as stock except there is little to no brake dust.

[BashaZ]

How many miles do you have? I would recommend changing your transmission fluid to redline first and see if that makes the shifts smoother. For brakes I have the Hawk Hps Plus which are just about the same performance as stock except there is little to no brake dust.

Ya, Im going to head to my mechanic tomorrow and get all the fluids changed, oil, transmission, power steering...everything and get a tune up, just to start off with the car fresh. I've been actually driving the car all day today and it was running smoother than it did this morning....It might have been rough because it was really cold at 6am.

What do you think I should do about the rough ride im having with the suspension?

ThanksMatthew

[BashaZ]

How many miles do you have? I would recommend changing your transmission fluid to redline first and see if that makes the shifts smoother. For brakes I have the Hawk Hps Plus which are just about the same performance as stock except there is little to no brake dust.

The car has 88,000 KM.....which is about 55,000 Miles

[R350Zz33]

z's come from the factory with a pretty stiff ride when ever i go some where with my mom she dosent wanna take my car because the stiff ride hurts her back. so if you want a smoother ride maybe you should have brought a different car.

[BashaZ]

n

z's come from the factory with a pretty stiff ride when ever i go some where with my mom she dosent wanna take my car because the stiff ride hurts her back. so if you want a smoother ride maybe you should have brought a different car.

no no, well obviously I know the ride is naturally stiffer from the factory....but this is like above and beyond, Its no where near what the original was

[xjmxstac]

If it has aftermarket suspension, then change it back to stock. That's the ONLY way you'll get the ride back to factory specs.

[R350Zz33]

wouldn't the performance have stiffer socks too ? like the track ?

[Mr. Insurance]

You should do some research and find out exactly what model and mods you have on the car. That is something that is important and you might need to give the previous owner a call to find out. You can also do it by looking up the vin.

[BashaZ]

W

You should do some research and find out exactly what model and mods you have on the car. That is something that is important and you might need to give the previous owner a call to find out. You can also do it by looking up the vin.

Well, I bought the car repossessed so I'm assuming the previous owner would not want to talk to the guy who is driving his car. As for the vin, is there a site I can check?

[R350Zz33]

carfax

[BashaZ]

carfax

I already have the carproof on the car, but that doesn`t tell me the details about the cars mechanical specifications.

[evildky]

in 03 only track models got the brembo brakes, and you can tell because they say brembo on the callipers in big black letters

the performance model was one step up from the base model IIRC

[BashaZ]

carfax

I already have the carproof on the car, but that doesn`t tell me the details about the cars mechanical specifications.

[BashaZ]

in 03 only track models got the brembo brakes, and you can tell because they say brembo on the callipers in big black letters

the performance model was one step up from the base model IIRC

Ya, I know that my car doesnt have brembos, on top of that, the previous owner removed the caliper covers.

It's not actually just 1 step above base, because the original owner must have paid for a lot of extras on the performance pack. Reason I say that is because I the Bose system, side curtain airbags and leather seats also.

[R350Zz33]

caliper covers ive never herd of such a thing unless you are talking about the plastic covers u can glue on ur calipers to give the appearance u have a bbk why dont you post pictures so we can tell u what you have

[Mr. Z33]

Ya, I know that my car doesnt have brembos, on top of that, the previous owner removed the caliper covers.

It's not actually just 1 step above base, because the original owner must have paid for a lot of extras on the performance pack. Reason I say that is because I the Bose system, side curtain airbags and leather seats also.

It sounds like you have the Touring like me. Mine has everything you mentioned and more. Especially if you have the bose system and side curtain airbags. One way you can also tell is if your car has 18 inch rims. If you have the original window sticker it says on their which one you have.

[R350Zz33]

i still wanna know what these caliper covers are he speaks of

[xjmxstac]

There is no such thing as factory caliper covers for the 350z. It's either you have brembos or not, end of story.

[carbon z]

I have an 03 touring edition. Some of the things different with mine is it has 17 in. stock wheels and no side air bags. Came with the Bose stereo, heated leather seats, heated mirrors, and TCS override switch.

[BashaZ]

I don't know why my posts keep getting repeated lol its a little annoying.... But no I am 99% sure they are not brembo...or any other big brake kit for that matter....My Ownership says Performance so I can only assume its Performance with Bose leather heated seats and mirrors, and Side curtain airbags...Unless they messed up when registering the car...

The original wheels were not on the car when I bought it....the previous owner put 18" ADR Black with chrome lip.

Anyways, the car is going into the shop Monday, and this is exactly what im getting done:Replacing all springs with Revised 2006 springsReplacing brake pads with Hawk HPSTranny Flush and replacing fluid with Redline transmission FluidChanging the Differential gear Lube to RedlineReplacing Power steering pump ( I break a sweat from turning if i'm not accelerating)Oil Change ( Any recommendations on the oil??)Clean Sparks plugs (They are Platinum)Replacing the filter on the Injen Short ram

Any thing else I should change or replace before driving the car on a regular basis!?!?! any thoughts?

[R350Zz33]

for an oil change i would recommend royal purple and a mobile one filter. The filter is $14 and the oil $8-$10a quart but its the best. you need 6 quarts

[1stoptuner]

It seems like you just drove the car and fell so in love with it that you bought it right away without inspecting it/asking the owner the details/mods he did to the car. ROFL But yes go get a tuneup on that puppy. Owner will eventually lie about it being tuned up before it was sold to you.

[Mr. Z33]

I have an 03 touring edition. Some of the things different with mine is it has 17 in. stock wheels and no side air bags. Came with the Bose stereo, heated leather seats, heated mirrors, and TCS override switch.

Yours really only has the 17 inch wheels? That is strange. Are you sure that yours is the touring? Thats also really strange that you dont have the side curtain air bags.

[BashaZ]

It seems like you just drove the car and fell so in love with it that you bought it right away without inspecting it/asking the owner the details/mods he did to the car. ROFL But yes go get a tuneup on that puppy. Owner will eventually lie about it being tuned up before it was sold to you.

I actually did not even get to drive it before I bought it. The previous owner had it repossessed and Repo Depo does not let you take it out of the showroom. I was allowed to start it up and feel the clutch but that`s about it....the sound of the motor was perfect and the clutch was in good condition.

I got a really good deal on it so I do not mind spending a little on fixing it. If I told you guys how much I paid you would get really upset LOL