Just found this forum today, and it's nice to see a good resource for these cars. I'm part of a number of car communities. I have an E36 M3, and an Integra GS-R as my DD. Not looking for a new car, but my brother is currently looking into the 1st gen G35 sedan as a replacement for his Lexus GS300. Being the car guy of the family, I figured i'd do some research for him. Something to keep in mind is that he doesn't DIY, and isn't even remotely interested in learning. Not sure if this car is a bad choice for that mindset or not (my M3, for instance, would be!).

So far, what i'm gathering from searches and FAQ's is that these cars actually have a pretty large amount of common issues. I'm trying to put together a list of things he should definitely check out pre-purchase.

Anyways...a few silly questions...

-Are *all* REVUP's 6MT, and *all* normal VQ35's 5AT? He wants to learn how to drive a stick (i'll undoubtedly be teaching him on my DD GS-R to start), but he isn't all that concerned with performance. Wondering if the less potent (read: cheaper) motor comes with a MT.

-I read the TSB for oil comsumption. But I didn't see where it said *what* the actual issue is. If he buys a car that's out of warranty, he would obviously not want to replace the entire motor. Is it an issue with the rings, or something in the head?

-Seems like a number of things changed for the '05+ cars. Are the differences enough to make it worth looking for one of these, as opposed to an '03 or '04?

Thanks in advance, sorry for the long initial post. There's a lot to take in, and even after a few hours of reading, i'm still a little lost as to what kind of advice I should be giving him. To be honest, reading about compression rod issues, clicking axles, terrible interior rattles, oil consumption to the point the motor needs replacement, terrible brake wear, defective transmission valve bodies, spark plug seal leaks, ect. have me wondering if this is the right car for a non-DIY'er. He's coming from a Toyota (the GS300) that's well over 100K and hasn't needed anything outside of consumables). Any input?

-Nick

 

Yes all rev-ups are 6mt and all 5at's are not rev-up, but not all 6mt's are rev-up. Rev-up was introduce in 2005 so the previous years are not rev-up. I believe that most of the changes for 05+ were mostly cosmetic (interior and exterior) so I would have him look at and sit in each and see which design he likes better. If you are looking at a coupe the major change (at least to me) would be the addition of projector headlights (I believe they were available on the 06 model). They can be easily added to earlier models, but you said he does not like to diy. Not sure about the oil issue, but I believe it mostly applies to the rev-up motor. Hope this helps and others chime in to help with more info.

 

I'll reiterate that the rev-up motor is only for the '05-'06 6mt and, supposedly, it is primarily this motor that has the oil consumption problem. If the extra hp doesn't matter to him, then he would do fine with an '03/'04. I've never read anything that explains the oil consumption but I'm curious as well.

As was also mentioned, most changes from 04 to 05 are cosmetic. The non-cosmetic changes are the rev-up motor (6mt) and larger brakes. The new brakes do not have any of the excessive wear/dust issues.

It seems like the major problems like the oil consumption or plug seal leaks are pretty rare, where as the more common problems are more of a nuisance (ie rattles, transmission valve bodies) and can just be lived with. I don't think this car is too much for a non-DIYer. If he does get an '03 or '04, you may want to help him find a better brake pad, but otherwise the car will be pretty much hands off.

When I was looking for my car, the site www.infinitihelp.com was very useful. It will give you a blurb about every model year and tell you of the changes.

One more thing worth mentioning, and maybe someone else can elaborate. All 6mt's 04+ have a limited slip, but i think in '03, the LSD only came with the sport package.

 

Thanks for the reply man. Yeah, he's definitely looking for a sedan. Good to know about the headlights.

Thanks Kevin. So it looks like he should just stay away from the REVUP, and find a normal VQ35 6MT. '03-'04 sport will have the LSD, and can be indicated by red shocks, if i'm understanding correctly. I'm sure he won't be driving the car hard enough to feel benefits of the LSD, but we do live in CT, so that may be of benefit in the winter.

Is the excessive brake wear on the earlier models due to the pads, or the caliper design? Can the later brake setup be retrofitted to the earlier cars? Just curious.

-Nick

 

Yes the larger rotors can be retrofitted, some on this forum have done just that (I believe Jeff92Se did). The brake wear is due to Infiniti specking rotors that were too small for the weight of the car. They used an aggressive pad to get around this, thus the dust and fast wear.

 

I haven't researched the brake issue that much but I believe its a combination of bad quality pads with an undersize brake. I think people have had luck with aftermarket pads (hawk rings a bell) but someone else will have to chime in about that. I think you could pretty easily put the later brake on.

Good Luck

 

Thanks Kevin...good to know it's at least possible. Can't be that difficult to swap the caliper and rotor setup out if the wear is really that bad.

-Nick

 

It's not. There are lots of places who make good aftermarket rotors and pads for all year sedans for reasonable prices.