Refurbishment Options for 2002 Q45 @ 100,000

[dsbrooks]

I'm a happy owner and I'd like to treat my 2002 Q45 to a 100,000 mile "birthday" treat. A friend of mine recently spent $20,000 to have his Bentley refurbished, and it got me thinking of a similar (hopefully less expensive) option for my Q45.

Any ideas about what types of customizations, add-ons and preventative maintenance I should plan on NOW, to make the car last 100,000 more miles?

Of greatest interest:

1. Upgraded GPS with *touch screen*2. Bluetooth cellphone connectivity3. New front/rear bumpers4. Speed/performance/mileage options

[maxnix]

1. and 2. are not available before certain VIN numbers. 4. is a no go unless you want to spend more bucks than your friend on an Impul 5.4L engine, which will cost you more than $34K.

Check Marksports thread on his super charger project. Brembos for the front are available, but you are on your own for the rear.
Modified by maxnix at 7:14 AM 11/25/2009

[Q45tech]

About 50 rubber bushings plus the ususal diff, driveshaft, AT, and engine mounts.

Luckily the 2002 has the lowest diff multiplier [ratio] of the CIMA series so MPG is as good as it gets [at the expense of WOT acceleration]

3801 pounds with a 2.76 diff and 0.83 5th gear makes a 2.29 total ratio almost 7% [1.0>1.5 mpg] better than the early 90-96 Q45.

[mcrews]

Wow.......

Thank goodness some who actually owns one showed up!!!! 184,000 miles

edit: If it was me......I'd look for some 04 heated and cooled front seats!!!!

1. use the search button for my mcrews.....look for threads I've started on these topics

a. if u have 18in rims concider 255x45 instead of 245. (helps mileages)

b. Parrot Bluetooth CK3100 fits in the ashtray....very cool)

c. do EVERYTHING on the service log. should have done shocks and struts at 60-80k if not MUST DO!!!!!

d. I put 2005 headlamps on.......very cool

e. rear factory spoiler

f. body kits are 4-5k (dont let anybody tell you that you have to run 20s it's you car)

g. I have pursued some mpg mods. I just got 30.8 pmg on the road. and gdd nothing to the motor.pm me and I'll send you to another site.

h. q45tech is correct about the bushings.....as a maintanence item.

i. as u should know, the sound system is not pron to upgrading or ipodding.....but again there is a thread where you can hook up an ipod plug.

j. I have added a thin kenwood powered amp and sub. in the car very clean adds just a little extra thump.

k. some guys (vip) are adding aftermarket heads and screens.....I just have a garmin mounted right at the seam of the driver side airvent.

yeah, like maxnix said: "1. and 2. are not available before certain VIN numbers. 4. is a no go unless you want to spend more bucks than your friend on an Impul 5.4L engine, which will cost you more than $34K.I'm callin BS on the whole sentence
Modified by mcrews at 9:33 PM 11/26/2009

[marksport]

Is anyone interested in a 14" Big Brake kit? I might be able to replicate mine for less than what Brembo sells it for.

[maxnix]

yeah, like maxnix said: "1. and 2. are not available before certain VIN numbers. 4. is a no go unless you want to spend more bucks than your friend on an Impul 5.4L engine, which will cost you more than $34K.I'm callin BS on the whole sentence

Too bad you haven't read the TSB!

Too bad you don't know about the Impul 5.4L build and the Yen/Dollar exchange rate. Today, it might be more like $50K.

"Man's gotta know his limitations" - Dirty Harry

[Infinitiguy19]

Well if you want a bad a** engine then just drop a VH45DE in it, But modify the piss out it so it can compete with the 5.4 L. But both the 5.4 and 4.5 VH will violate the clean air act, Yes?

Mcrews I like how you go overboard with the little emotion icons.

[mcrews]

Too bad you haven't read the TSB!

Too bad you don't know about the Impul 5.4L build and the Yen/Dollar exchange rate. Today, it might be more like $50K.

"Man's gotta know his limitations" - Dirty Harry

Maxnix........you can't call your on BS You said: ........ 4. is a no go unless you want to spend more bucks than your friend on an Impul 5.4L engine, which will cost you more than $34K.

THen you said:......Too bad you don't know about the Impul 5.4L build and the Yen/Dollar exchange rate. Today, it might be more like $50K

what...did the price go up in 8 hours!

Loosen up!

[mcrews]

Luckily the 2002 has the lowest diff multiplier [ratio] of the CIMA series so MPG is as good as it gets [at the expense of WOT acceleration]

.

"......so MPG is as good as it gets............" this statement is factually incorrect.

Hwy EPA is 23mpg. I get 25mpg everyday on the road doing the posted limits. I recently got 30.8 on a 7 mile test.

Q45tech, we had a similar post on the M forum.

[seldomseen]

I say go for a complete JDM bodykit and maybe some new aftermarket wheels and get your Q up to date on any services you may have missed.

[qship96]

"......so MPG is as good as it gets............" this statement is factually incorrect.

Hwy EPA is 23mpg. I get 25mpg everyday on the road doing the posted limits. I recently got 30.8 on a 7 mile test.

Q45tech, we had a similar post on the M forum.

You obviously did not understand what Qtech meant......the 02Q, due to the differential gear ratio used, gets better MPG than the later {03+] versions which had a different gear ratio installed in order to improve acceleration numbers after multiple magazine tests reported much slower 0-60 times than Infiniti quoted upon the 02 release date.

[marksport]

You obviously did not understand what Qtech meant......the 02Q, due to the differential gear ratio used, gets better MPG than the later {03+] versions which had a different gear ratio installed in order to improve acceleration numbers after multiple magazine tests reported much slower 0-60 times than Infiniti quoted upon the 02 release date.

What about the last part of Qtech's post?

About 50 rubber bushings plus the ususal diff, driveshaft, AT, and engine mounts.

Luckily the 2002 has the lowest diff multiplier [ratio] of the CIMA series so MPG is as good as it gets [at the expense of WOT acceleration]

3801 pounds with a 2.76 diff and 0.83 5th gear makes a 2.29 total ratio almost 7% [1.0>1.5 mpg] better than the early 90-96 Q45.

[dsbrooks]

Yikes!

Thanks to all for the list...

Some further questions,

1. Re: electronics - WHAT VIN number prefix is too young to add/modify electronics?

And, related to this, do the electronics brackets have ISO standard connectors so that I could add in modifications? I saw a thread where some dealer in Southern California added a Kenwood or Pioneer GPS module in dash. I've also heard about other modifications adding a Parrot Bluetooth to Cellphone module in the ashtray.

2. I forgot to add in the most pressing thing: the rear sunshade is broken (stuck in the up position). Someone in another thread mentioned ITB01-065. Has anyone here made a successful claim for this repair? Dealer paid?

[elwesso]

[elwesso]

David,

Most of the above is a bunch of mumbo jumbo fluff, lets try and get to the issues

The first thing I would recommend to you is that replace any wear items and get your car 100% mechanically before you proceed. Have you done the 2002 Q45 accelerator pedal TSB? That should be the first thing you look into. Then think about replacing things like struts, bushings, and so on... A new set of struts and a fresh set of brakes and tires will make your car feel much better...

the best way to make sure your car will see 300k miles is to keep every drop of fluid in there fresh at all times. Replace the fluids before it has a chance to let the metal parts wear out.. metal parts are expensive...

Next, im not sure on the adaptability of the newer Q45 stuff like Ipod and GPS but it might be able to be done... My guess is it wouldnt be plug and play, but it could be done with some ingenuity and stuff.. i'd like to see it done!

Unfortunately, theres nothing that will give you speed, performance, and gas mileage with no other tradeoffs... I would get everyting 100% before you decide you want to go faster, and decide if you want to dedicate that kind of money at the expense of long term reliabilty (possibly)...

If theres a will, theres a way

[dsbrooks]

Speed/performance is fine (got the speeding ticket to prove it!).

Longevity is key and I will probably do struts/bushings as described earlier.

The other thing that's bothering me is the rear window shade. According to TSB ITB01-065A, this is a dealer-paid repair due to defect. At least that's how I'm reading it.

Anyone else have experience with this?

[silkysmoothyjud]

New wheels and tires, VIP fatties on the back! Get some lowering springs, spring compressors and some wire coat hangers (to help put the struts back on) and drop it. Slap a growling muffler on it. Give it a 8 shade flop reflective paint job with matching interior accents and mirror tinted windows. Wait for the sync system to go public and you can talk to your navi. Curtains. Radar cloaking device. Modified ECU?? Can you do that to that car? My 94 just smoked a mark 8 the other day...and I mean smoked it...NICO ECU....

[elwesso]

Thread is cleaned up gents... thanks for playing! Sorry David, some people apparently have enough free time that they feel the need to argue over the internet.