I finally got some time on Sat. to spend on my brand new 05 6mt. I've been itching all week to do some basic, no cost mods. Being a father of 15 month old triplets, I don't get much free time.

The first thing I did was adjust the clutch pedal. I don't know if all G's are the same, but my clutch seemed exceptionally high. It felt like an emergency break pedal where you really had to lift your foot up and didn't engage until at least halfway. Adjusting it sounded pretty easy reading the how-to threads in the G35 and 350z forums. My experience was a bit different and not so smooth but I achieved the goal. Now my clutch sits even with the brake and engages much lower to the floor. It still engages the same, just without all that freeplay in the clutch.

The next thing I did was take apart the air box to remove the resonators. It was a bit of a hassle getting everything out and back in the car. I removed the lower resonator box and a bowl shaped one clipped on the side of the airbox. The box should breath better but will be sucking up hot air from the engine compartment. I mainly wanted to increase the sound but could not tell any difference up to 4k revs (still breaking in motor). Oh well, I plan on getting a Stillen CAI in the near future.

My parents were watching the kids that night so my wife and I could get out of the house. My G wasn't that dirty but I washed it anyway for the night. I had one of those 5 gal. buckets for washing and accidently rubbed the metal handle against my G. Oh ****, first scratch! It was not too bad since it was low on the car and I buffed most of it out but still. That night, as I got about a mile from my house it started pouring down rain. Wouldn't you know, it never rained at my house. Oh well, I made the best of the situation and tested the car's handling in the wet with the VDC off. I scared my wife pretty good a few times there - lol.

 

The clutch is something I've bitched about since day 1. I might be aweek behind you on that one as I spent the weekend detailing the car finally. And I'll probably just go K&N + Z tube and not buy a different CAI. In fact I'll probably order them this week along with clear corners.

Sucks about the scratch. I think I'd cry. But you know it's not a race car until it's got a scratch

 

Congrats on the new ride, and the triplets btw.... . Sorry to hear of the minor scratch, but at least you did it, and now it's 'broken in'.

Enjoy the new ride....(when you can).
C.

 

The bad side of actually washing/waxing your own car is you really notice the little chips and scratches.

Second time this summer I've washed and waxed my 2004 in the driveway.

 

Let me know how the z-tube and k&n sounds. I've heard some people say the z tube does not make any difference in the 05's. I plan on doing it anyway because it can only help. Although, I am wondering if the $200 stillen airbox is worth it over a $40 k&n filter. It looks like it is sucking air in the exact same way as stock.

I might go with the clear corners as well since I've seen them as cheap as $30.

 

Just put on a Stillen intake yesterday and the sound is really growly at 2k rpm under load and then tapers off a little in the mid range but then starts to really come alive over 4-5k rpm. Only driven to the grocery store and back so far but will open her up tomorrow and see how the pick up feels. I would recommend it over a basic K&N. Also, the Stillen intake is using a K&N filter as well.

 

And this is how people burn their clutch disks...... If you don't feel like buying a new clutch, i suggest putting back the way it was. There needs to be 3/4" of free play before it starts engaging, and there also needs to be rought 1/2" of freeplay on the front of the peddle before it disengages. (trust me, ive burnt way too many disks in my lifetime lol)

 

I am sure he has it adjusted right.

 

Well, I've been driving it for over 4 months and it's perfectly fine. There is still plenty of free play around engagement but far less than it was stock. It still engages around halfway but since the pedal has been moved much closer to the floor, it's much easier to control the clutch.

 

There are exact specifications to the clutch peddle. Adjusting it other than factory specs on THESE cars are a no no. The only "right way" is the only way. Burning the disk isnt going to happen over night, but you can be sure that the lifespan will GREATLY be shortened.

Also good luck with the syncros. These cars have tranny issues as it is, and buy having the release point sooner than what it is will yield real harsh conditions for the syncros/tranny. Dont be surprised down the road when the car grinds when putting it into first, its GOING to happen, not my opinion.

my 2 cents.

 

I don't see how I am killing my trannie if the clutch is doing its job properly. In stock form, I could release the clutch pedal a great distance without the hint of the clutch engaging. It's obvious when the clutch starts engaging and obvious when it is fully enaged. The clutch still engages and feels exactly the same as it did stock. There is just less dead pedal after adjustment. You could move the clutch pedal further up from the floor but that isn't going to change anything either.

There is more than one way to fry a clutch. Just because you fried a few doesn't mean I will. As far as I know, there are no factory specs on the pedal position. I did plenty of research from the many other people who have done this to fully understand what I was doing. You are right in that if it is not adjusted right to where the clutch is not fully engaged, it will wear out quickly. However, as long as it fully engages and disengages, where's the problem? To simply state that if the car is modified in anyway other than stock, it's going to blow up, is ridiculous.

 

What's with the VDC off in the rain? Next time you may end up with a much larger scratch.
Maybe it's safer with a manual trans, but I would never turn off my VDC on a wet surface in my auto G! Your kids need to grow up with their original parents