2013 370Z Coupe
Discussion
After leaving the UK to move to Dubai I needed to find a car, moving here really is a head explosion of cars as you have most the stuff available back in Europe, followed by all the American cars and also a lot of Asian spec stuff we don't have in the UK. Personally I find it hard enough choosing a vehicle at the best of times to have so much more choice landed on me it was to put politely a nightmare.
One of the major worries with cars here is finding something that meets some form of safety standards (boring yes I know) which is a major concern with the genuine standard of driving being well shocking. My search revolved around a budget of roughly £20k for a new car, needed to be new for the warranty as its an everyday driver and the used car market here is how you would expect the old dodgy dealers of winding clocks back to be, really is a minefield. My search took me from the usual Golf Gti to Camaro/Mustang V6's to Dodge chargers and a long line of SUV type stuff, none of which really tickled my fancy. I will buy a Camaro ZL1 when I can find a used one that I can afford however (seriously miss a supercharged LS in my life!).
Anyways the 370Z came on the radar when Nissan worldwide lopped a chunk off the price to sell the things, sorry compete with the GT86 was the official line. I wandered into the Nissan dealer wanting either white or grey coupe, they only had Auto's in stock (yes I love a manual but I live in a city and off the highways its constant traffic lights and speed bumps) which suits driving here especially as an everyday car. The only colour available before the next shipment and in the lower spec (in my budget) was something called midnight blue. Having been shown pictures of the colour to what turned up were literally completely different, as a matter of fact I thought it was black when it was shown to me. Anyways 22.5k later I got this back in May:
This was taken a few days after I picked the car up after spending 6 hours trying to get the paintwork into something that was considered a reasonable condition. When I collected it the paint still had glue lines from transport stickers, minor scratches, swirl marks and genuinely looked extremely dull.
After 7 months and 12,000km's its been a good everyday car my pros and cons list below:
Pros - Good comfortable cruiser
Quite brisk when needs to be
Looks have grown on me
Reasonably economical
Good value for money
Paddle shifters are good to use and the box reacts quick to them
Cons - shockingly impractical
Auto box is a tad annoying with an over eager kick down
Engine above 5k rpm
Woolly handling when pushing on, front end feels like flexing a lot
Lack of a nice soundtrack, stock exhaust very very muted
Another couple of pics taken a bit more recently but at night in artificial light again after a clean:
Ive recently purchased a Flex Dual Action polisher and expanded my detailing kit, as its now winter here the car will be receiving a lot more attention on the cleaning side as its cool enough to do it! Will update with some better pictures next time I do a full clean.
Plans for the car? Well as its under warranty for the next 4 years not much unfortunately, when I can afford a second car to use as well then I will start tinkering a bit, few bits id like to do in no particular order or priority:
Replace stock HID bulbs with brighter/better versions.
Fit wheel spacers to rear wheels as they look too tucked into the bodywork.
Do something to stiffen the front end handling up, not sure what need to start researching.
Free up a bit of sound from the exhaust, but need to research heavily to prevent that raspy noise that can get with aftermarket exhausts.
Look into a better software/mapping for the auto box
Anyway I will update as I go along, be a long owners thread time wise as alterations to the car will be minimal for the near future, be more of a detailing thread in the interim! Thanks for looking.
One of the major worries with cars here is finding something that meets some form of safety standards (boring yes I know) which is a major concern with the genuine standard of driving being well shocking. My search revolved around a budget of roughly £20k for a new car, needed to be new for the warranty as its an everyday driver and the used car market here is how you would expect the old dodgy dealers of winding clocks back to be, really is a minefield. My search took me from the usual Golf Gti to Camaro/Mustang V6's to Dodge chargers and a long line of SUV type stuff, none of which really tickled my fancy. I will buy a Camaro ZL1 when I can find a used one that I can afford however (seriously miss a supercharged LS in my life!).
Anyways the 370Z came on the radar when Nissan worldwide lopped a chunk off the price to sell the things, sorry compete with the GT86 was the official line. I wandered into the Nissan dealer wanting either white or grey coupe, they only had Auto's in stock (yes I love a manual but I live in a city and off the highways its constant traffic lights and speed bumps) which suits driving here especially as an everyday car. The only colour available before the next shipment and in the lower spec (in my budget) was something called midnight blue. Having been shown pictures of the colour to what turned up were literally completely different, as a matter of fact I thought it was black when it was shown to me. Anyways 22.5k later I got this back in May:
This was taken a few days after I picked the car up after spending 6 hours trying to get the paintwork into something that was considered a reasonable condition. When I collected it the paint still had glue lines from transport stickers, minor scratches, swirl marks and genuinely looked extremely dull.
After 7 months and 12,000km's its been a good everyday car my pros and cons list below:
Pros - Good comfortable cruiser
Quite brisk when needs to be
Looks have grown on me
Reasonably economical
Good value for money
Paddle shifters are good to use and the box reacts quick to them
Cons - shockingly impractical
Auto box is a tad annoying with an over eager kick down
Engine above 5k rpm
Woolly handling when pushing on, front end feels like flexing a lot
Lack of a nice soundtrack, stock exhaust very very muted
Another couple of pics taken a bit more recently but at night in artificial light again after a clean:
Ive recently purchased a Flex Dual Action polisher and expanded my detailing kit, as its now winter here the car will be receiving a lot more attention on the cleaning side as its cool enough to do it! Will update with some better pictures next time I do a full clean.
Plans for the car? Well as its under warranty for the next 4 years not much unfortunately, when I can afford a second car to use as well then I will start tinkering a bit, few bits id like to do in no particular order or priority:
Replace stock HID bulbs with brighter/better versions.
Fit wheel spacers to rear wheels as they look too tucked into the bodywork.
Do something to stiffen the front end handling up, not sure what need to start researching.
Free up a bit of sound from the exhaust, but need to research heavily to prevent that raspy noise that can get with aftermarket exhausts.
Look into a better software/mapping for the auto box
Anyway I will update as I go along, be a long owners thread time wise as alterations to the car will be minimal for the near future, be more of a detailing thread in the interim! Thanks for looking.
aspirated said:
I'm afraid PH rules state that if you move to the Middle East you must run a V8 
:big laugh:
What is the car scene like in Dubai?
Lol I will get a V8 as soon as I can realistically afford one, I promise!!!! :big laugh:What is the car scene like in Dubai?
Quite a vibrant community really especially in the winter months, only problem is everything happens on a Friday as its basically everyones day off but I work most Fridays so miss out.
mikeyb1987 said:
Nice car mate, but not a patch on your Monaro(s)
I like the colour too- I haven't seen any in that colour before
Many thanks, believe me if I could have afforded the Camaro ZL1 id have had one, in the future tho I shall return to an SC LS engine!! Nearest thing to what had back home, the Lumina coupes which are the non HSV monaro's here are all shagged from the climate, yet to see a good one!I like the colour too- I haven't seen any in that colour before
From a brief bit of research ive done I dont think that colour is available in Europe, certainly not in the UK. Still not that keen on it tbh, looks ok once waxed and sat in the sun but goes really dull quick, must be the sand.
young_bairn said:
Test drove a yellow edition 370z before I bought the elise. Agree with the lack of sound track inside the cabin. That was a big disappointment.
Yeah its a bit of a let down as the engine does have the potential to sound very good.Although the danger of changing the exhausts on these is the nasty rasp sound that alot seem to give.
Done some research into possibly changing the manifolds and or the downpipes to free up some sound nearer the front of the car so get some more volume inside but nothing offensive on the outside. Far too much choice in exhausts and combinations of however so difficult to choose!
Decided to do a full cleaning session on the car yesterday, got up early and have done a bit of guide below.
Heres some before shots, got to love the combination of sand and heat in Dubai, it literally seems to bake to the surface of the car (and this is winter)
To give an idea of how the sand looks on the paint, the above is roughly 5 days without being washed and roughly 250km's worth of driving. Regardless of how you wash the car and then polish it either by hand or machine the paint retains a rough texture to it from the sand. Its very annoying and didn't ever have any sort of similar issue in the UK, would get some contaminants attaching to the paint but nothing on the scale of the sand here as it gets everywhere!
Later today will finish off my cleaning guide with pictures to go with and showing results that managed albeit with a camera phone (really should buy a decent camera!)
Heres some before shots, got to love the combination of sand and heat in Dubai, it literally seems to bake to the surface of the car (and this is winter)
To give an idea of how the sand looks on the paint, the above is roughly 5 days without being washed and roughly 250km's worth of driving. Regardless of how you wash the car and then polish it either by hand or machine the paint retains a rough texture to it from the sand. Its very annoying and didn't ever have any sort of similar issue in the UK, would get some contaminants attaching to the paint but nothing on the scale of the sand here as it gets everywhere!
Later today will finish off my cleaning guide with pictures to go with and showing results that managed albeit with a camera phone (really should buy a decent camera!)
Edited by After_Shock on Saturday 8th February 06:07
Onto the cleaning routine for the car, got up early to avoid as much of the sun as could however when I got to the cleaning bay which is normally in shade from 11am I found out its perfectly in the sun at 9am. Not ideal to wash a car but the sun was cool and shade was on its way!
To start the wheels needed a serious going over which was best to do first, I started off with a concentrated citrus de-grease shampoo:
Before starting to clean the wheels gave them a good blast off with the pressure hose, gets rid of as much brake dust and sand as possible:
Next up is soak the wheels 1 by 1 in a non acidic wheel cleaner, normally id use an Iron X style de contaminant liquid but I didn't have any with me so the wheel cleaner will have to do today, always keep this in a pump spray for ease of use:
Once this has soaked in for a minute or two then onto the washing itself, I use a microfibre sponge for the front surface of the wheels with them being a painted finish:
When the fronts have been done I then clean the inner wheel rim, backs of the spokes and the calipers using a normal sponge:
After doing this the water in the bucket is not a good colour!
Whilst the water is like this using a clean section of the sponge I used for inside the wheels I rub the tyres down and after wipe over the inner arches:
Once finished the tyres off the wheels are given a good blast off along with the inner arches to clear any remnants:
By time finished all 4 wheels off the shade was starting to get near:
To start the wheels needed a serious going over which was best to do first, I started off with a concentrated citrus de-grease shampoo:
Before starting to clean the wheels gave them a good blast off with the pressure hose, gets rid of as much brake dust and sand as possible:
Next up is soak the wheels 1 by 1 in a non acidic wheel cleaner, normally id use an Iron X style de contaminant liquid but I didn't have any with me so the wheel cleaner will have to do today, always keep this in a pump spray for ease of use:
Once this has soaked in for a minute or two then onto the washing itself, I use a microfibre sponge for the front surface of the wheels with them being a painted finish:
When the fronts have been done I then clean the inner wheel rim, backs of the spokes and the calipers using a normal sponge:
After doing this the water in the bucket is not a good colour!
Whilst the water is like this using a clean section of the sponge I used for inside the wheels I rub the tyres down and after wipe over the inner arches:
Once finished the tyres off the wheels are given a good blast off along with the inner arches to clear any remnants:
By time finished all 4 wheels off the shade was starting to get near:
Edited by After_Shock on Sunday 9th February 04:21
Onto washing the car bodywork itself, fortunately the shade was almost covering half of the car:
Id also left the bonnet up whilst doing the wheels as this obviously stays the hottest for longest after driving. Similar to the wheels I was using a citrus based wash for the paint but in a higher concentration, as im wanting to clay the car after the wash and its a while since its been washed properly the more can strip the paint of any contaminants the better:
For washing at the moment im using a microfibre wash mit which isn't my favourite option, prefer the lambswool wash mits but not come across one in the UAE yet:
Before starting to wash the car with the mit I hosed it down repeatedly from top to bottom to clean as much of the loose dirt off as possible:
Before washing the body I wiped down the door shuts with the same citrus wash and around the boot area, I do this before washing the rest of the car as when hosing it down these areas clear out as your washing:
Fortunately the water was still beading a little from the last time the car was waxed/sealed which is at least 2 months ago. Onto the washing itself, the more on the wash mit the better and the usual top to bottom method was used however I could only do half the car at the time due to the shade:
After id finished rinsing off I always use a drying towel on the cars now, used to use a wash leather but they take many more passes and don't leave the paint as clear as a drying towel:
The above was one pass using a decent drying towel and it almost completely cleared the roof of water on the half it was used on. After the car was dried off it looked half decent sat in the sun:
However the paint still had the trademark rough texture from the sand, so onto the next stage.......................
Id also left the bonnet up whilst doing the wheels as this obviously stays the hottest for longest after driving. Similar to the wheels I was using a citrus based wash for the paint but in a higher concentration, as im wanting to clay the car after the wash and its a while since its been washed properly the more can strip the paint of any contaminants the better:
For washing at the moment im using a microfibre wash mit which isn't my favourite option, prefer the lambswool wash mits but not come across one in the UAE yet:
Before starting to wash the car with the mit I hosed it down repeatedly from top to bottom to clean as much of the loose dirt off as possible:
Before washing the body I wiped down the door shuts with the same citrus wash and around the boot area, I do this before washing the rest of the car as when hosing it down these areas clear out as your washing:
Fortunately the water was still beading a little from the last time the car was waxed/sealed which is at least 2 months ago. Onto the washing itself, the more on the wash mit the better and the usual top to bottom method was used however I could only do half the car at the time due to the shade:
After id finished rinsing off I always use a drying towel on the cars now, used to use a wash leather but they take many more passes and don't leave the paint as clear as a drying towel:
The above was one pass using a decent drying towel and it almost completely cleared the roof of water on the half it was used on. After the car was dried off it looked half decent sat in the sun:
However the paint still had the trademark rough texture from the sand, so onto the next stage.......................
Car now moved inside, trying to do any extra cleaning outside is not easy with the amount of sand in the air, just seems to re-appear the second you clean it off!
Again bonnet up to allow to cool as much as possible (boot open to get stuff out!)
Next stage is something im not a fan of doing, clay barring the paint. Not that its particularly difficult its just one of those things that can easily go wrong, speaking from experience!
The clay itself and the lubrication for it:
Key is to use a lot of the lubricating spray to prevent any damage to the paint, this is really the only easy way to get all the contaminants off the paint surface, whilst doing this the lubricant liquid can see going a brown colour as its get the sand out.
Again top to bottom method, the lubricant runs down giving more protection to the paint the lower you get. When finished the clay bar is completely reshaped having been turned and re moulded several times:
The paint now looks like this:
Obviously needs to be re washed, for this wash I used a high gloss shampoo again in a concentrated amount:
Car naturally rinsed off heavily before starting to wash the paint again, fortunately the shade had moved enough to get the car in it completely, albeit sideways:
After the clay barring the paint had lost all of its beading ability from the previous wax/sealant:
Couple of pictures of the calipers after cleaning them earlier and being properly washed off:
After being washed and dried after the clay bar the paint displayed several areas of holograms, tried to get pics on the camera phone but not easy:
Can just say see the areas in the sun on the pics above.
Now for the fun bit...............
Again bonnet up to allow to cool as much as possible (boot open to get stuff out!)
Next stage is something im not a fan of doing, clay barring the paint. Not that its particularly difficult its just one of those things that can easily go wrong, speaking from experience!
The clay itself and the lubrication for it:
Key is to use a lot of the lubricating spray to prevent any damage to the paint, this is really the only easy way to get all the contaminants off the paint surface, whilst doing this the lubricant liquid can see going a brown colour as its get the sand out.
Again top to bottom method, the lubricant runs down giving more protection to the paint the lower you get. When finished the clay bar is completely reshaped having been turned and re moulded several times:
The paint now looks like this:
Obviously needs to be re washed, for this wash I used a high gloss shampoo again in a concentrated amount:
Car naturally rinsed off heavily before starting to wash the paint again, fortunately the shade had moved enough to get the car in it completely, albeit sideways:
After the clay barring the paint had lost all of its beading ability from the previous wax/sealant:
Couple of pictures of the calipers after cleaning them earlier and being properly washed off:
After being washed and dried after the clay bar the paint displayed several areas of holograms, tried to get pics on the camera phone but not easy:
Can just say see the areas in the sun on the pics above.
Now for the fun bit...............
..................... the machine polishing. Need to select the correct size backing plate before starting on the paint:
Once got the correct backing plate on and the matching pad size need to prime the pad with a similar style spray to the clay lubricant:
To start with ive gone for a pad with a very slight cutting ability and also a polish again with a slight cutting ability in it:
4-5 drops of the polish on the pad and spread onto the paint with machine on speed 1, I only do 1 panel at a time or the bonnet half at a time:
After applying the polish at a low speed then run back over the applied area at a speed around 5 on the DA machine to buff off:
Whilst im doing the polishing I use the time to apply the tyre gel, only use the gel these days as its the only one I find doesn't fly off the tyre as you start driving as the sprays always seem to. Use an applicator pad to apply to the tyre itself, these applicators don't seem to last very long unfortunately:
After doing the car once with the pad it looks like below, the polish is a slight grey colour but the pad still seems to get dirt out of the paint even after its been clayed:
Next up is an optical finishing polish also using a finishing pad:
Above again applied using a slow speed a panel at a time and go back over at a speed of around 5 on the machine, before buffing off by hand with a high quality microfibre.
Almost the final stage, time to wax the paint, applied using an applicator pad:
Again removed by hand using a high quality microfibre.
Final stage is a sealant, the sealant can be used on anything pretty much so I do the full car almost, paint, lights, glass, exhausts etc. Apply to the paint using a similar style applicator pad to the wax:
This however I buff off with the machine using an ultrafine buffing pad and finish off with a microfibre by hand.
Now ive finished time to clean and re-pack the equipment, I always clean the cables off using a wet wipe as it keeps the inside of the carrying cases clean:
Time to get a few pics now its all finished......................
Once got the correct backing plate on and the matching pad size need to prime the pad with a similar style spray to the clay lubricant:
To start with ive gone for a pad with a very slight cutting ability and also a polish again with a slight cutting ability in it:
4-5 drops of the polish on the pad and spread onto the paint with machine on speed 1, I only do 1 panel at a time or the bonnet half at a time:
After applying the polish at a low speed then run back over the applied area at a speed around 5 on the DA machine to buff off:
Whilst im doing the polishing I use the time to apply the tyre gel, only use the gel these days as its the only one I find doesn't fly off the tyre as you start driving as the sprays always seem to. Use an applicator pad to apply to the tyre itself, these applicators don't seem to last very long unfortunately:
After doing the car once with the pad it looks like below, the polish is a slight grey colour but the pad still seems to get dirt out of the paint even after its been clayed:
Next up is an optical finishing polish also using a finishing pad:
Above again applied using a slow speed a panel at a time and go back over at a speed of around 5 on the machine, before buffing off by hand with a high quality microfibre.
Almost the final stage, time to wax the paint, applied using an applicator pad:
Again removed by hand using a high quality microfibre.
Final stage is a sealant, the sealant can be used on anything pretty much so I do the full car almost, paint, lights, glass, exhausts etc. Apply to the paint using a similar style applicator pad to the wax:
This however I buff off with the machine using an ultrafine buffing pad and finish off with a microfibre by hand.
Now ive finished time to clean and re-pack the equipment, I always clean the cables off using a wet wipe as it keeps the inside of the carrying cases clean:
Time to get a few pics now its all finished......................
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