A&Q about 350Z
Q:
1. All suspensions are the same....18in wheels arent harsh at all, the Z naturally rides a bit rough if you arent used to driving a sports car but i switched from 17's to 18's on the Z and didnt notice a difference.
2.Power-assisted brakes — 12.6" x 1.10"
vented front discs and 12.1" x 0.63" vented rear discs
vs.
Brembo® braking system
4-piston caliper with 12.8" x 1.18" vented front discs and 2-piston caliper with 12.7" x 0.87" vented rear discs
The stock brakes are pretty good for the street, the brembos will definiitly help with brake fade on the track though. But they arent available on every model so you have to take tha into account. You can always get aftermarket BBK's that are just as good .
3. what Zoom said....the problem was with the front tires and it was pretty much corrected after 04. its hit or miss with the 03's and 04's but a combination of a good alignment and better than OEM tires helps considerably.
4. The Z with snow tires can handle bad weather pretty well...I dont know if id go out in a full on blizzard but i saw a vid of a guy in New england who did just that and he was cruising at 40 on snow filled roads, so you should be in good shape with a set of blizzaks.
5. check www.my350Z.com, im sure theres something there
6. i cant really see that being the case, its possible though. The Z gets decent mileage depending on how you drive it of course. On the highway you can easily get 25-27mpg
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
Where on earth did you hear that they fixed the suspension / tire wear issues on the '04 models?!
I'm almost 100% positive that all 350Zs are identical in suspension components, even up through the '06 models. I was helping a friend redo his bushings all the way around the car and we inquired and all 350Zs have the same replacement part numbers, they haven't replaced any of the front suspension components since the car was introduced.
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1985 300ZX n/a
A:
If you check what I said again, you will see I said some '04's were still having the problem. Where did I hear that the problem was supposed to be fixed in '04 models?, ask anyone who bought one what the salesman told them. ?
Beats me if they changed anything on the suspension itself, or just changing the tread pattern. By checking the complaints on the tire issue, they dropped dramatically in 04, for example, consumer complaints about the tire issue from mycarstats.com: 03-134 complaints; 04-48 complaints; 05-3 complaints and knock on wood, '06-none. What ever they have done, I can tell you the ride has definately improved from my '03 Enthusiast. I would think part of this would be from the extra weight and 18" wheels.
'06 Silver Alloy 350Z Touring
A:
yes they have changed parts...very small changes but the 03's are not the same as the 06's. i dont feel like looking up what exactly was changed, but you can take my word for it
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03 CS Touring
VIN #189
A:
I've owned three of them now 04-06. The brakes on my Grand Touring Coupe are light years better than the standard ones on my 04 and 05.
I used to live in Syracuse NY. I can tell you first hand the car will run OK in the snow as long as we are talking a few inches, and have a good set of snow tires. If we are talking more than that, remember a sports car sits lower to the ground and several inches will be a big problem especially if you run over some of those big clunkers that fall off big trucks and land in the middle of the road.
2006 350Z Grand Touring Edition, Daytona Blue Metallic
A:
Thanks everyone for the information. So it sounds like the models are very similar after the base model with upgrades consisting of stereo, leather, wheels and tires.
A:
Hi Drumline,
I know the winters of Syracuse well and fortunately they clear the roads so well a low ride sports car can survive fairly well.
You mentioned the brakes being light years better than the 04 and 05. Do you know how they changed????? Also do they have a rear brake bias valve available aftermarket to prevent nose dive on hard braking. With this addition similar strength calipers are helpful.
A:
My only suggestion is to stay from the 03's. Buy new and get the standard brakes if you are using only as a daily driver.
'05 350ZR
Charleston SC