First off, I love this f-ing car! Second, I have no idea what I'm doing(most of the time)

Here the short of it:
Looking to buy a car for about a month, test drove some new bmws, acuras, and the g35. I loved the bmws but the cost was just too much. I settled on a '07 AT sedan at my local dealer. When I got to the dealer, with the car I had in mind picked out already, the sales guy pointed my attention to a recent addition to their used lineup. Black '05 sedan 6mt, with a pre installed Stillen intake and exhaust with 7k miles on it for $25k. I was interested to say the least. After working him down to $23k I signed on the dotted line! After all this was more than $10k less than the new auto i was ready to buy. I took a risk on buying it without Carfaxing it but it worked out okay as the record was clean when i got home and checked.

On to the questions:
So the car sounds great but I'm having a hell of a time driving this 330hp+???(the dealer said) manual trans car when ive never driven a stick before.
First off I very afraid that im going to ruin the clutch. I try no to "ride" it but on stand still take off i seem to stall out or "jerk" the car to get it going. Im not used to that much power. How concerned should I be about this? Tips or trick to help me keep this car in good condition(tranny wise)?

Other big question is warranty:
Is the Stillen exhaust/intake void the warranty? It has two year and about 40k miles left till it runs out but im wondering if i blew out the clutch or blew the engine(ect) infiniti would tell me it was my fault for having the upgrades?


Last one :
Best mods? I was thinking of adding a "strut bar" to increase stability. Also possibly some lowering springs to bring the ride height down. Any other good mods to do that are cheap?

I hope i can get the hang of driving this car. Its amazing. Thanks!

 

First off....welcome to the forums....

I would in the future post sedan questions in that forum...

I believe your car has 298hp...rev up engine its called...

I don't believe they can void your warranty for mods unless they can prove the mod is what/may have caused the failure......If they sold you the car with those mods, they would have to honor the warranty, or change it back to stock for you for free.....I don't think this is a problem.

As far as driving stick....patience....You will get the feel for it in no time...Getting used to releasing the clutch is something that comes with practice..........The Manual trans in theses cars have had some problems you will see several threads regarding transmission grinding/syncro problems.

use good judgement and you will find it becomes easier each time you try...

Good luck with your car...welcome again.

The sedan forum is very informative in all areas concerning your car....If you don't know...just ask, someone will always ring in....

 

So, just factor in your first clutch to the purchase price

When I learned to drive, some days it would be an old 3 speed manual, other days newer 3 speed auto. Now THAT is confusing when you are learning to drive. Don't know if I was the cause of the throwout bearing going out or not, it WAS a 14 year old car, and I wasn't the only one driving it

It has been long enough that if I bought a manual, it would almost be like learning new again. Too bad my dealership doesn't make them available as loaners, I would like to give one a try to see if I could consider it for my next car.

 

i love driving MT.
welcome, and good choice.
i wish my sedan came with stillen intake and exhaust pre-installed

 

The rev-ups are having some oil consumption problems. I suggest you check the oil frequently and notify the dealer if you see any abnormal oil consumption.

 

What is rev-ups?

Mods? What do you guys think of sway bars and some lowering spings? They seem cheap and not hard to install! And from what i understand they improve the handling! Thanks for the responses!

BTW: I m getting the hang of the maunual! I almost hit a little girl in the target parking lot as i was leaving from buying some floor mats for the car!!!! Phew! Patience is right!

 

The rev-up VQ is the engine that you have. The G35 originally came with a 280hp engine with a 6500rpm redline. This engine was revised to 298hp in 2005 for the manual only and the redline was upped to 7100 rpm (the rev-up). This engine has been somewhat problematic in the 2006 iteration with oil consumption. However, a small number of 2005 versions seem to be affected.

 

so explain exactly what they did to the engine to make it "rev up" at 298hp.

 

Welcome to the family. Now you are privy to all the secrets of life. Enjoy.