Old member, New (to me) Z

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Hi all. I recently traded in my base 1.6L 2009 versa sedan and picked up a silver 2006 350z with 45,000 miles on it. They advertised it as base, but it has traction control, cruise control, and that homelink thing in the rear view mirror that I noticed so far so I was wondering if it's actually the Enthusiast model? Anwyho on to the good stuff!






It's lowered on some type of springs. The spoiler was put on a couple of years ago does anyone know what it is? I think it's an oem one but I'm not sure. The car pulls to the left a bit so I'm going to get it aligned friday. I got such an amazing deal on this car I couldn't pass it up.

P.s. old car in signature. Will update that eventually :]

EDIT: The CEL is on. I assume there's a test pipe installed as I get a hissing noise exactly like the one post5717540.html?hilit=noise#p5717540. Can't wait to get it on a lift to see what's under there.

[370Z/28]

Beautiful car! Love the color and the rims. I'm kinda new to the Z scene so I can't help you much. I see somebody debadged that car like I did mine. I did that first chance I got to do a good detail. Too much crap on such a small rearend.

My .02 (if you care), I would replace those license plate frames with plain black ones.

[BusyBadger]

They advertised it as base, but it has traction control, cruise control, and that homelink thing in the rear view mirror that I noticed so far so I was wondering if it's actually the Enthusiast model? Anwyho on to the good stuff!

Welcome to the Z Zone!

Here's a "flowchart" that I worked up a while back to help members figure out which model Z they had if they were unsure.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Beautiful car! Love the color and the rims. I'm kinda new to the Z scene so I can't help you much. I see somebody debadged that car like I did mine. I did that first chance I got to do a good detail. Too much crap on such a small rearend.

My .02 (if you care), I would replace those license plate frames with plain black ones.

Yeah the color is my favorite especially after owning a black car which never stays clean. The dealer license plates came off right after the pictures .

Welcome to the Z Zone!

Here's a "flowchart" that I worked up a while back to help members figure out which model Z they had if they were unsure.

Thank you. Where is the VDC button located? The owners manual said lower left of the instrument panel where the TCS switch is. There's a black tab there that I thought was an empty space for the convertibles soft top.

I took my car to the local auto hobby shop on base and put it on a lift. I took some pictures of the exhaust system and the springs to see if anyone can see that they have been modded as I believe they have. After that I replaced the hatch shocks with some aftermarket ones someone had bought lying in the trunk because the hatch wouldn't stay up. They however didn't buy new brackets so I had to grind away the old ones to release them from the shock haha .





I'm guessing either eibach or progress lowering springs as those are silver. Or they might be stock I don't know.





I think these are test pipes? They have a whistling sound after I let off the throttle and my CEL is on. Any help would be appreciated .

Edit: Also I took it to get aligned and the guy who works there asked what was wrong with it. I told him it pulls the to left and he said it was probably the wheels and that I may need a camber kit. While I had the car on the lift I looked at the wheels and the insides were slightly more worn then the outsides which is normal if you lower a car but the back right wheel seemed to have more camber then the left one (more angled). The back left wheel on the inside was a little more worn than the inside of the right wheel also. I was wondering if the camber of the right wheel being greater would cause the car to pull left.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Just ordered a JWT pop charger and a Greddy Ti-C single out exhaust :]. Can't wait to get those installed.

[BusyBadger]

The owners manual said lower left of the instrument panel where the TCS switch is.

Yes, you either have TCS or VDC not both. VDC performs all the functions of TCS as well as doing some things that TCS doesn't do. If you don't have either you must have a Base model. It is possible the previous owner bought a Homelink mirror and put it on a Base model.

They have a whistling sound after I let off the throttle and my CEL is on. Any help would be appreciated

TiTek CEL Fixer

Also I took it to get aligned and the guy who works there asked what was wrong with it. I told him it pulls the to left and he said it was probably the wheels and that I may need a camber kit. While I had the car on the lift I looked at the wheels and the insides were slightly more worn then the outsides which is normal if you lower a car but the back right wheel seemed to have more camber then the left one (more angled). The back left wheel on the inside was a little more worn than the inside of the right wheel also. I was wondering if the camber of the right wheel being greater would cause the car to pull left.

If you need suspension parts for a Z (or a 240SX) the first place to check should be SPL Parts.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Yes, you either have TCS or VDC not both. VDC performs all the functions of TCS as well as doing some things that TCS doesn't do. If you don't have either you must have a Base model. It is possible the previous owner bought a Homelink mirror and put it on a Base model.


TiTek CEL Fixer


If you need suspension parts for a Z (or a 240SX) the first place to check should be SPL Parts.

I have the TCS button which would explain why there is no VDC button lol so that's cool. I just got back from O'Reillys with 2 packs of spark plug non foulers so I'm gonna try that fix tomorrow. Also picked up a chilton's book. It looks like I need the rear camber links. Hopefully that will fix it.

[BusyBadger]

NICO's FSM Compilation

EDIT: Just noticed where you live. My boss used to live on Oahu and my on-going dialogue with him is that my career goal is to be a kama'aina.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

NICO's FSM Compilation

EDIT: Just noticed where you live. My boss used to live on Oahu and my on-going dialogue with him is that my career goal is to be a kama'aina.

Yeah my nickname is Kama'aina Brian. On a downer note, I'm starting to wonder whether my car has been in an accident. The carfax showed it was clean but I found a receipt for bodywork done. They replaced the front bumper, both side skirts, and repaired the rear right quarter panel.

That happened last december so I'm hoping they just replaced the front bumper and side skirts because they were beat up and he backed into something which is why they repaired and blended the rear quarter panel before he sold the car. I saw no damage done to any suspension parts and the frame is completely straight. Something to think about I suppose.

Still deciding on what rear links to buy. The guy at the alignment place said he could install them for 85 and do an alignment for 89 afterwards which should fix it ("as long as it wasn't in an accident" (maybe he planted that seed in my head :p)).

Edit: Purchased a K2 Motor rear camber kit 135$ shipped. Didn't need anything crazy because I won't be lowering it anymore than it is and these can change camber + or - 4 degrees and toe + or - 3 degrees. In a week it'll be like christmas! Now to find out which rear tires I should buy.

[dasoupdude]

Welcome to the Z world! Those G wheels look great on there

In a week it'll be like christmas! Now to find out which rear tires I should buy.

POTENZA RE-11

[Ace2cool]

Welcome to the Z world! Those G wheels look great on there

In a week it'll be like christmas! Now to find out which rear tires I should buy.

POTENZA RE-11

+2142655692378

RE-11's are awesome!

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Welcome to the Z world! Those G wheels look great on there

POTENZA RE-11

Thanks I like them too. Eventually I'd like to paint them matte black or a darker grey.

Did the Help! spark plug non fouler thing today for my test pipes and the CEL went off . We'll see how long it stays that way lol.

[dasoupdude]

Wow, i had the plug foulers from the first day I got the test pipes (like years ago) and I still haven't put them in yet.

Well since recently getting the osiris tune theres a setting that enables you to uncheck the CEL light (among other things) with the software.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Yeah my days off I have to be active all the time lol. I went to the hobby shop and almost burned the place down using the drill press but it eventually worked out :p. It seems my engine is idling better now.

Next mod will be whichever comes in the mail first . Hopefully it's the rear camber links so I can fix my rear wheels and hopefully that will fix it and she will stop pulling left.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Oh boy my JWT pop charger came in today. I will be putting that on my next day off which is wednesday. My exhaust and rear camber links are also coming in on the 19th which is 5 days early :0!

I have an audio related question. I have an Alpine CDE-9845 deck installed in my car and I pulled it out to see what kind of aux port it had and I just saw 2 red and 2 white RCA hook ups 2 of which were used going to the back speakers behind the seat (i assume) and two were empty. I headed to best buy and bought an RCA aux cable for my iphone but when I plugged it in it wouldn't work. Anyone know if I was doing something wrong? The last alpine deck I had in my old car just had a spot for a regular 3.5mm aux cable.

EDIT: After looking up the manual shortly after posting, I saw there was a tiny little aux port in the midst of all the traffic going on back there. The auxiliary works correctly now :].

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Got off work early so I headed over to the auto hobby shop with my pop charger. I'm probably one of their best customers... They were going to close in an hour and a half so I just decided to do a couple small mods because when I do a mod it can either go really well or take forever (took me 9 hours to put stock springs back on my versa ...). Decided to use the compartment above the radio as my temporary ipod aux hook-up location. Took some pictures of pieces I cut to make the wire fit. I really don't like it there because the radio can heat up and I think the aux cord might be resting on it.









Not the most exciting mod ever but yeah .

Next up was the bumper tuck! This took me longer then I anticipated but still finished with 15 minutes to spare before they closed. I used a jack with a piece of wood and gently pushed up the bumper in the middle and screwed 2 screws with washers on the outside of the bumper then removed the jack and put 2 more on the inside.





I haven't seen someone do it with the stock muffler so I took a picture if anyone was interested. I only did it because I'm putting my single out greddy ti-c exhaust on when it comes (2 more days!!) otherwise I would have left it because the stock exhaust is pretty beat up.

My next mechanical fix will be my parking break as it is incredibly weak. I believe the pads still have a lot of meat left on them so it probably just needs a little tightening up.

I love this car SOOO much.. It is my baby and I'm glad I get to share my modifications to her with other Z and Nissan enthusiasts .

Edit: Nm. Learning the fsm slowly but surely. Just like the tech data I use to fix c-17's :p.

[Ace2cool]

auto hobby shop

Are you military?

EDIT: Answered my own question.

Just like the tech data I use to fix c-17's :p.

What branch? I'm Aviation Electronics Technician Third Class Petty Officer of the United States Navy Aaron Parris. Most of the people here call me Ace or Aaron though. :p

Bumper tuck looks awesome. Never seen that before., but I don't really look at Z33's much :p

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

What branch? I'm Aviation Electronics Technician Third Class Petty Officer of the United States Navy Aaron Parris. Most of the people here call me Ace or Aaron though. :p

Bumper tuck looks awesome. Never seen that before., but I don't really look at Z33's much :p

Air force crew chief. Airman first class stationed at hickam afb, HI.

I really liked how it turned out. I remember a long time ago when I started reading these forums I saw a picture of a grey Z with a tucked bumper and a single out greddy exhaust. Ever since then I thought it was one of the sexiest rear ends of a car ever.

[Ace2cool]

I honestly like it much, MUCH more than the stock rear. And lucky you, getting HI orders..... :P

[kuhan]

Those look like Hotchkis lowering springs. Congrats on your new used car. I'm pretty sure that's Enthusiast model.

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

I honestly like it much, MUCH more than the stock rear. And lucky you, getting HI orders..... :P

Yeah I'm the first 3 level crew chief to ever be in an en-route location.

Those look like Hotchkis lowering springs. Congrats on your new used car. I'm pretty sure that's Enthusiast model.

Hmm indeed they do. Thanks this is my dream car I'm so glad I picked it up.

Off to install my pop charger .

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Installed my JWT pop charger. Took about an hour or so. There's a delicious roar now .

[They Call Me Whatshisname]

Oh boy I wonder what it could be!



Me and my friend had the old one removed and the new one installed in a little less than 2 hours with it on a lift. Soaked the bolts and rubber things down with some PB B'laster which helped. The ones holding the stock muffler were really tough to remove.

Only thing that didn't go right was the silencer which was held on by some nuts that were welded down for whatever reason. That took a while to get off. There is absolutely no drone on the highway I was amazed at how quiet it was until you got on it.

Later on I put on the rear camber links which took about an hour. Really easy to install glad I did it myself. After that I went and got it aligned. If you live on Oahu, go to Scotty's Alignment he does fantastic work.

However, it still pulls left :|.

The tires are directional so I can't rotate them to see if that's what's causing it. I'm going to schedule an appointment with the dealership to see if they can find what's wrong with it. It's either the tires or maybe the steering wheel is off I have no idea.