Y33 Test Drive - 1998 Model

[OwnerCS]

This week I took a 98 Y33 for a test drive. It was a black on black 98 base model with 135,000 miles. A local used car dealer listed it for $3,495.

This Y33 drives like a big luxury sedan. It reminds of a Merc Benz.. While I know different, it feels like a larger car than the G50.

This particular Y33 was originally purchased at Bob Moore Infiniti in OKC like my G50. I think the car has been owned and operated in the OklaArkLaTex area.

So now I understand a little more about the Y33 platform.

[paranoidjack]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm....did you LIKE IT????

[OwnerCS]

I did like it.. Maybe someday...

[BadQ45t]

For $3,500 bucks, geezzz, that is like free. See what else that buys you out there. If this is a clean copy and your really interesting in buying a car I don't know what more you think $3,500 will get you.......................

[OwnerCS]

It would be nice to have.. LOL - I'm at 5 cars now and no place to park another one around here.

[maxnix]

1999-2001 are the sweet versions.

[BadQ45t]

I know they had a few improvements, but given their age if you can find a clean copy of a 98' for 3,500 I wouldn't be holding out for a 00'.

[3Q Jay]

As Brian does, i own both fgy33 and g50. they are very different cars. for around town driving, the fgy33 can't be beat. the slightly shorter gearing and low end tune make it a nice everyday cruiser. i still prefer the g50 out on the open road.

[BadQ45t]

I have 4 cars, too much insurance and I can only garage 2 of them.....I would love a 94' and a M56 too at some point if I can buy the lot next door to me and build an extra 4 car garage!!!

[maxnix]

As Brian does, i own both fgy33 and g50. they are very different cars. for around town driving, the fgy33 can't be beat. the slightly shorter gearing and low end tune make it a nice everyday cruiser. i still prefer the g50 out on the open road.

As do I. But around town, the FGY33 is difficult to top. And it is not bad on the interstate either.

[qship96]

explain how the q41 is better than the q45 around town? makes zero sense to me as both are similar in size, and the 45 is more powerful and handles better?

[BadQ45t]

Sorry to tell you but my 97' is a little more powerful than your 96'. I drove them back to back in 2000, both around 40k and very well maintained, the 97' felt a little quicker. Handling wise, I might agree, but after KYB SR Specials and lowering springs don't make much difference.

But the big reason I am glad I went with the 97' over the 96' is reliability, the 97' was by far more reliable than any 1st gen.

[qship96]

sorry, I dont buy that the q41 is more powerful than ANY g50.......I have raced more than a few in my 13 years and always came out winning, both from a stoplight and on the highways starting at high speeds{ 50-70mph}
You might want to search for an old post from rsiwicki who went to the track with a friend in a totally stock properly running 96q and look at the times for 1/4 mile and such.......you might be surprised to find out the true capabilities of a properly operating 4.5 liter obd2 96 q drivetrain. Show me numbers that match or beat that with any stock q41 please.



The Q41 is just all around less of a car.....a disappointment and blemish on Infinitis status and credibility as a performance luxury car manufacturer.... a huge step........................................... backwards.


I dont buy the reliability angle either after MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE having over 260,000 miles of a** time behind the wheel, and over 280,000 total miles on the vehicle.............how many miles are on your Q again ???????

[paranoidjack]

^^^Haterrrrrr! Save it for a Kia, qship. The Q41 is a nice car. Something to be said for at least having a car that doesn't look 20 years old on the inside or outside....

Blemish on their status? Driven a j30/g20?!?! Actually the j30 isn't that bad, but the g20?

[3Q Jay]

I have no doubt that either the obd1 g50 or the obd2 g50 will pull on the fgy33 from 50-70.
qship doesn't want to divulge a secret (can't blame him really)---although the obd2 in my96 deleted the variable valve timing, the cams are different (yes it's true). obd2 cams for vh45de have low end tune--so a 96 will be faster off the line (all else equal) than a 94-95.

[Infinitiguy19]

So are you saying a 1990 Q45 with 1996 VH45DE intake cams would be unstoppable?

[qship96]

^^^Haterrrrrr! Save it for a Kia, qship. The Q41 is a nice car. Something to be said for at least having a car that doesn't look 20 years old on the inside or outside....

Blemish on their status? Driven a j30/g20?!?! Actually the j30 isn't that bad, but the g20?

Thing is, the J and G were never meant to be the FLAGSHIP of a luxury brand...........the Q WAS.

Actually both the J and the G were excellent in their respective MARKET SEGMENTS , the Q41....laughable compared to the competition of the time, more like a plush buick at best.. Infiniti threw in the towel with the q41 and gave up on trying to compete with the best of Lexus.BMW and all the othere who had flagship models leading their brands offerings.......sad,but oh so true

[qship96]

So are you saying a 1990 Q45 with 1996 VH45DE intake cams would be unstoppable?

incompatable as the earlier used variable valve timing.

The obd2 provides much more intelligent control over the engine operating systems than obd1 ever could, making up for some of the slight loss in high rpm power of the earlier variable valve design

[paranoidjack]

^^^Haterrrrrr! Save it for a Kia, qship. The Q41 is a nice car. Something to be said for at least having a car that doesn't look 20 years old on the inside or outside....

Blemish on their status? Driven a j30/g20?!?! Actually the j30 isn't that bad, but the g20?

Thing is, the J and G were never meant to be the FLAGSHIP of a luxury brand...........the Q WAS.

Actually both the J and the G were excellent in their respective MARKET SEGMENTS , the Q41....laughable compared to the competition of the time, more like a plush buick at best.. Infiniti threw in the towel with the q41 and gave up on trying to compete with the best of Lexus.BMW and all the othere who had flagship models leading their brands offerings.......sad,but oh so true

The J was a failure all around. I owned one for 4 years - it sucked. The whole car was an afterthought.

As for the competion, I disagree. The 2000 740il? Heavy, sloppy steering, and ridiculously expensive to service. I realize service cost and reliability are not a huge concern for those that buy new 60-100k cars, but time spent in the garage is time spent in the garage. Not to mention if you are over 6', the HUGE 740 is still cramped for the driver...ridiculous.

Lexus? GS400 is fast but bland inside and out. LS400 is bland but high quality trim and nice attention to detail, however an uninspired design in my opinion. Solid transmission and good engine, worthy competitor, but I would never say it blows the doors off of the Q41...they are in the same league without a doubt. What's left? 2000 RL? Talk about a boring Honda Accord. Rare for a reason.

Turn of the century domestics? Lincoln LS? HAH, talk about a piece. Cadillac? DeVille? Catera? No need to go there.

The cars of the time of the Q41 are not as far ahead of it as you are saying, people that get into my 10 year old car are still impressed by the fit and finish. The engine, while not a VH45, is still not to be laughed at. My car's transmission is solid at 201k. That is impressive.

[Infinitiguy19]

Why was the G20 and J30 brought into this? They are both great car I bet (No experience with them just what I have heard)

Why not put a VH45DE in a FGY33? But that's like BMW making a front wheel drive car (Anti-Christ to them). But seriously the FGY33 looks great and the JDM variant came with All Wheel Drive. But the G50 rides like no other for such a big car. I should know as I have driven some vehicles which some people can't really drive...

[NightRiderQ45]

[/quote]Thing is, the J and G were never meant to be the FLAGSHIP of a luxury brand...........the Q WAS.

Actually both the J and the G were excellent in their respective MARKET SEGMENTS , the Q41....laughable compared to the competition of the time, more like a plush buick at best.. Infiniti threw in the towel with the q41 and gave up on trying to compete with the best of Lexus.BMW and all the othere who had flagship models leading their brands offerings.......sad,but oh so true[/quote]

The J was a failure all around. I owned one for 4 years - it sucked. The whole car was an afterthought.

As for the competion, I disagree. The 2000 740il? Heavy, sloppy steering, and ridiculously expensive to service. I realize service cost and reliability are not a huge concern for those that buy new 60-100k cars, but time spent in the garage is time spent in the garage. Not to mention if you are over 6', the HUGE 740 is still cramped for the driver...ridiculous.

Lexus? GS400 is fast but bland inside and out. LS400 is bland but high quality trim and nice attention to detail, however an uninspired design in my opinion. Solid transmission and good engine, worthy competitor, but I would never say it blows the doors off of the Q41...they are in the same league without a doubt. What's left? 2000 RL? Talk about a boring Honda Accord. Rare for a reason.

Turn of the century domestics? Lincoln LS? HAH, talk about a piece. Cadillac? DeVille? Catera? No need to go there.

The cars of the time of the Q41 are not as far ahead of it as you are saying, people that get into my 10 year old car are still impressed by the fit and finish. The engine, while not a VH45, is still not to be laughed at. My car's transmission is solid at 201k. That is impressive.[/quote]

I Haven't logged into this site in awhile so I had to after reading this lol. This is speaking from someone who owned the 98...I loved my car and I was looking fwd to pushing it to 300k before it was totaled. I turned around and purchased my first love, a low mileage ('02 with 75k) GS300 and I'm sooo in love with it. The Infiniti (parts wise) were built to a higher standard than some of the Lexus GS parts and the car drove better on the interstate vs my GS3 but that's where it ends. The GS3 looks better on the outside and material inside are hands over heals over the FGY33 (97-98) models. The interior material used in the 98 was awful at best. Fake plastic woodgrain console bad leather seats vs read wood in the GS and better looking leather seats. The 98 leather wasn't as durable as the 1st gen and they didn't even use leather on the side panels of the seats, door armrest, or center console armrest! Like Ship said, they fell back on quality. Even a lot of the options that were available on the 1st gen, they cut out on my car (one touch sunroof, power headrest...) I don't know if the 99-01 models have this issue, but if you look at any high mileage 97-98, you will notice that they are peeling on the side of the seats because they used dressing instead of leather!

In all, I'm very happy with my GS3 and I get more compliments with my new baby vs my Q45.

[qship96]

Both the lexus GS and LS were much,much nicer cars than the Q41......sad,but true.Infiniti totally lost it by thinking they could rebadge a cima and fool everyone.

[BadQ45t]

No way the LS400 "blew the doors off". My bro has a 96' and they were very equal. Now a LS430 sure, but back to back there wasn't that big of a difference. They sold 10x more 97s BTW then they sold 96's...I don't think I was fooled. In fact the 96' body style was a matter of taste, the 97's has weather years far bettter for me. A one touch sun roof and electric head rests have never really been much of an issue. And long term with the LS by bro has had to replace the timing belt for a grand each time 3-4 times now.

As for "buick" ride, I do think it was too soft. Nothing a set of Tein springs and KYB SR Specials couldn't fix. I still get alot of compliments on my ride and with zero issues at 100k the reliability was beyond excellent.

As for why they did put the 4.5 liter into the 97', they were hitting the gas guzzler tax and needed to not have to cost the buyers that. The car was 600 pounds lighter so the 0-60 times were the same or slightly better then the 95 or 96 has been. If I could have found a cherry 94' that would have been okay, but driving the 96 and 97 in very new condition, the 97' outshined it in every way. The issues I see 96's having now too I am glad I got what I did.

[qship96]

Keep telling yourself that, and you might actually believe it yourself!

[trajanH]

Thing is, the J and G were never meant to be the FLAGSHIP of a luxury brand...........the Q WAS.



I Haven't logged into this site in awhile so I had to after reading this lol. This is speaking from someone who owned the 98...I loved my car and I was looking fwd to pushing it to 300k before it was totaled. I turned around and purchased my first love, a low mileage ('02 with 75k) GS300 and I'm sooo in love with it. The Infiniti (parts wise) were built to a higher standard than some of the Lexus GS parts and the car drove better on the interstate vs my GS3 but that's where it ends. The GS3 looks better on the outside and material inside are hands over heals over the FGY33 (97-98) models. The interior material used in the 98 was awful at best. Fake plastic woodgrain console bad leather seats vs read wood in the GS and better looking leather seats. The 98 leather wasn't as durable as the 1st gen and they didn't even use leather on the side panels of the seats, door armrest, or center console armrest! Like Ship said, they fell back on quality. Even a lot of the options that were available on the 1st gen, they cut out on my car (one touch sunroof, power headrest...) I don't know if the 99-01 models have this issue, but if you look at any high mileage 97-98, you will notice that they are peeling on the side of the seats because they used dressing instead of leather!

In all, I'm very happy with my GS3 and I get more compliments with my new baby vs my Q45.[/quote]


An O2 Lexus GS300 vs a 98 Q45 is not a fair comparison. Still, the Lexus cars just dont have the cool vibe of the FY33 Q45. My 97 q45 still looks great on the road. A 97 Lexus does not get the looks that i get in my ride. Recently i pulled into a parking lot next to an anniversary edition Q45 that was well maintained and the anniversary Q was getting compliments! The Lexus cars of the same era have to have a lot of added stuff to make a better impression in the style category.
I dont know what some of you are talking about but the well maintained Fy33 Q45's that i see here in So Cal are holding their style much better than the Lexus and other luxury cars of the same age. The game is over if you come across a JDM FY33 Q45.

[qship96]

I really like the style of the first generation GS300, one of the best looking sedans to ever come out of Japan, both inside and out. styled by an Italian If I recall correctly.......I even like its looks {but not the 6 cylinder powertrain} better than the 94-96Q,always have. A good friend had a brand new one back in the days, ans it was a wonderful automobile that was rather rarely seen on the roads,most opting for the cheesy ES300 or the flagship LS.

[maxnix]

explain how the q41 is better than the q45 around town? makes zero sense to me as both are similar in size, and the 45 is more powerful and handles better?

About a 10% economy boost, about 30% lower maintenance cost, cabin filter and HID, and my suspension is not OEM. The FGY33 is a little roomier inside also, and the AC works a little better and the Bose is a little better. Seats are slightly softer. Car is slightly shorter. Just a bunch of little things.

[maxnix]

I really like the style of the first generation GS300, one of the best looking sedans to ever come out of Japan, both inside and out. styled by an Italian If I recall correctly......

Giugiaro. Cast iron block with belt driven OHC.

[NightRiderQ45]

Thing is, the J and G were never meant to be the FLAGSHIP of a luxury brand...........the Q WAS.



I Haven't logged into this site in awhile so I had to after reading this lol. This is speaking from someone who owned the 98...I loved my car and I was looking fwd to pushing it to 300k before it was totaled. I turned around and purchased my first love, a low mileage ('02 with 75k) GS300 and I'm sooo in love with it. The Infiniti (parts wise) were built to a higher standard than some of the Lexus GS parts and the car drove better on the interstate vs my GS3 but that's where it ends. The GS3 looks better on the outside and material inside are hands over heals over the FGY33 (97-98) models. The interior material used in the 98 was awful at best. Fake plastic woodgrain console bad leather seats vs read wood in the GS and better looking leather seats. The 98 leather wasn't as durable as the 1st gen and they didn't even use leather on the side panels of the seats, door armrest, or center console armrest! Like Ship said, they fell back on quality. Even a lot of the options that were available on the 1st gen, they cut out on my car (one touch sunroof, power headrest...) I don't know if the 99-01 models have this issue, but if you look at any high mileage 97-98, you will notice that they are peeling on the side of the seats because they used dressing instead of leather!

In all, I'm very happy with my GS3 and I get more compliments with my new baby vs my Q45.

An O2 Lexus GS300 vs a 98 Q45 is not a fair comparison. Still, the Lexus cars just dont have the cool vibe of the FY33 Q45. My 97 q45 still looks great on the road. A 97 Lexus does not get the looks that i get in my ride. Recently i pulled into a parking lot next to an anniversary edition Q45 that was well maintained and the anniversary Q was getting compliments! The Lexus cars of the same era have to have a lot of added stuff to make a better impression in the style category.
I dont know what some of you are talking about but the well maintained Fy33 Q45's that i see here in So Cal are holding their style much better than the Lexus and other luxury cars of the same age. The game is over if you come across a JDM FY33 Q45.[/quote]

Honestly it is a fair comparasion because the 2GS 98-05 models all look the same. The only changes were head/tail lights and trimming in interior. The anniversary looks good, but I only like the 5 spoke wheels on it soooooo what are you talking about? I was complaining about the poor material used inside of the car...as I stated before I was in love with my car until it was totaled. The car drove great, the reliability was top notch...so most of your post I already agree with because I owned my car for many years. But lets be honest, compare the flag ship Lexus vs Q45 same mileage and let me know which car holds it value more.

The point I was trying to make is that you are suppose to improve from year to year right....the material used in the 96 was better than the cheap crap used in the 97-98.

[qship96]

Many dont realize {or choose to forget} that the original q45 was created by using nissans very best, top of the range model in its lineup.....for the 97-2006 models, they based the "q45" off of one of their cheaper JDM platforms {the Cima} in an effort to save $$$$$$........while the "original" vehicle the G50 was based on remained nissans top level platform in Japan for many years ........

maybe chevy should rebadge some camaros as corvettes and market them in japan.................. SAME THING......


The Q died in 1996.