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Hey guys, I'm the new owner of a used '08 G35S. Red on black, 140k miles, 6 speed car. Seems to have a "no frills" package as there's no nav or reverse camera, but it's still seems to be a nice car for the money.
I needed a new DD since my 03 accord was dying out with 303k on the clock, plus it was a coupe with a 4 cylinder automatic which made it NO fun to drive. I was originally looking for another 97-99 BMW M3 sedan like my current project car, but finding one in the condition I liked for the right money was ridiculous, especially when I'd rather spend most of that money finishing my race car project. A few friends of mine have G's or 350z's and recommended I look at them and I found this one locally with a one owner, no accidents car fax so I pulled the trigger.
I'm pretty car savvy, but this is a new platform for me so I wanted to see what was normal and what wasn't with what I've noticed with the car so far.
- Dash has cracks in it, I've seen that it is an issue with other G's. I'm assuming dash replacement is the only remedy?
- Tach lights sometimes flicker, go out, and come back on. Is it possible to replace the bulbs or is a full instrument cluster replacement necessary?
- Car has what sounds like a flywheel rattle noise in 1st gear when engaging the clutch, but I don't hear it in any other gears, maybe only in 2nd gear slightly. Is this a normal occurrence with this car? I've already been recommended the Z1 motorsports clutch, flywheel, and external slave package from my friends, and if that's what I need I'll pull the trigger
- 5th gear grinds when shifting gears at speed, but not when gently engaging. Only driving aggressively. Would changing the trans fluid help, or is a trans replacement necessary? Are these transmissions rebuildable?
- Going to do a full service on it, is there anything in particular I should pay attention to? I already have an EVAP purge solenoid on order, from browsing I see that can go bad and I don't have the exact maintenance history of the car.
I really can't complain for the price I paid for the car, but I'm a perfectionist and would like to bring this car back to 100% as I have with all my previous cars (except the accord coupe, no saving that since my wife previously drove it into the ground before me lol).
I'm gonna go peruse the stickies section now like a good noob lol. Any info/help is greatly appreciated!
It's possible you have a performance clutch, they can be noisy (mine is) while engaging but quiet once fully engaged. I would have the transmission fluid changed to see if that helps your 5th gear engagement.
As for the dash, you can replace it but you can also DIY repair just about any dash, my trick has been to remove and fully support the dash on a workbench, shave down ridges on the cracks so it's flush, use a piece of aluminum foil on a good section of the dash to create the same pattern, cut it into strips about 1" wider than the crack, fill the crack with hot glue (sticks and a hot glue gun) and place the foil over the glue working your way down the crack. Once it's dry peel off the foil and paint, repaired a LOT of dashboards in classics this way, just be careful when reinstalling that you don't flex the dash too much. Wear leather gloves though or you will burn your fingers
It's possible you have a performance clutch, they can be noisy (mine is) while engaging but quiet once fully engaged. I would have the transmission fluid changed to see if that helps your 5th gear engagement.
As for the dash, you can replace it but you can also DIY repair just about any dash, my trick has been to remove and fully support the dash on a workbench, shave down ridges on the cracks so it's flush, use a piece of aluminum foil on a good section of the dash to create the same pattern, cut it into strips about 1" wider than the crack, fill the crack with hot glue (sticks and a hot glue gun) and place the foil over the glue working your way down the crack. Once it's dry peel off the foil and paint, repaired a LOT of dashboards in classics this way, just be careful when reinstalling that you don't flex the dash too much. Wear leather gloves though or you will burn your fingers
I'm changing the fluid today, I'll see how that goes. Is there a way to check what clutch is in it without removing the trans? Is there a flywheel window or something I can look through possibly?
I don't think I have enough time to carry out that dash repair with work and a 17 month old lol, I might have to live with it as is for now since I'm already trying to complete another car in my garage
The more I drive, the more I like it. I think it was a good choice for a daily driver, especially with these long open FL highways. I can pass without shifting out of 5th or 6th pretty much with ease, and the car is pretty stable on stock suspension even at 140k miles. The driving characteristics almost...ALMOST remind me of a BMW E39 M5 which is one of the best sedans I've ever driven. Can't complain for the price, I'll keep tweaking/fixing it and hope it lasts.
Yeah the vehicle definitely has a good ride feel to it. Even better if you put some money into the suspension, depending on which way you go it can be sporty and firm yet still comfortable on the highway or a total corner shredding monster. You're not going to be able to tell what clutch and flywheel are installed just by peeking through the window where the starter engages unfortunately but TBH unless it sounds REALLY BAD I wouldn't be too concerned about it unless it's louder than this video:
If you want a band-aid for the dash you could always order a cover for it... typically I hate the fuzzy carpet on the dash but it's better than cracks and there are a couple synthetic options that MIGHT look decent, especially if you have the black dash it would help blend in a bit since color matching black is easy.
With 140k you probably have various bushings that need replaced, definitely get under it and look for ones that are cracked, as well as ball joints.
Also, yours isn't COMPLETELY bare-bones, you do have a sunroof and the 6MT sport package so... do you have the homelink rearview mirror (automatic chroma adjust) and heated seats by chance? I didn't think the sunroof was available on the 6MT unless you had the premium package?
The noise is definitely nowhere near that loud thankfully lol. Guess I'll live with that till I get the z1 package. I do have homelink in my rearview, heated seats and a sunroof in my 6 speed sedan. Looks like the sunroof and spoiler were individual options you could add on. Definitely don't have the navigation package, don't think I have the technology package either. Would've been nice to have those but I can live without em. After perusing the options, looks like it has the premium package and that's it.
So thanks to the tips and trick sticky, I was able to learn a lot about the functions of these cars. Kept me from panicking when I accidentally activated the "all windows down" feature lol. These cars were pretty well optioned!
After a couple weeks of ownership, I've come to the conclusion that I probably wouldn't have bought this car if I had to do it again. Not a G35S, but this specific car. I really like these cars but this particular one required more attention than I initially thought. Although it definitely continues to grow on me despite the annoyances I find.
So far I've:
-Full tune up service (fluids, plugs, belts, etc)
-Detail (which I'm finding wasn't the best, but it was cheap so I should've suspected that)
-Headlight wetsanding
-Removed the "INFINITI" from the trunk lid
-Tints
-Redone driver's seat upholstery, steering wheel, and driver's door pull/window switch area
After all this I still want to do so much more lol. The rest of the door pulls need to be redone also now that I look at them compared to the driver one. Cluster still flickering, flywheel still rattling. There's some sort of wind noise from what sounds like the rear passenger side over 75mph. Found a piece of the tail light plastic has cracked off near the trunk lid. Front bumper needs repainting. I'd like to modify the grill, suspension, and add a few performance modifications. etc etc. But this is supposed to be the car I just drive to work every day while finishing my race car LOL. What a slippery slope.
There are a few things I have noticed on my 30-mile-each-way commute that I like. The sound system is pretty stout. Bose did a good job with these cars, helps drown out the aforementioned wind noise lol. Ample passing torque in any gear is great, not used to that coming from an automatic 4 cylinder accord commuter car. Gas tank seems to be massive. Tomorrow is Friday and I'm not even at half a tank yet. I guess she can stay for now, and I'll keep trying to get her up to par little by little. Someone's got to save these manual cars, right?
Last edited by DaInfammus1; 08-17-2017 at 10:04 PM.
The wind noise is a SUPER easy fix, look up where the 3 bolts are to remove the door panel and the track adjustment. Door panel off, pinch a dollar bill in the front part of the window seal, make adjustment until it's pretty tight but you can still pull it out, then for the rear, then both a second time, followed up with a window motor recalibration (Google it, it's a 5 second job). Did it to both my windows when I bought mine, super quiet now. Took about an hour to do both doors because I kept looking at my phone for the directions.
The wind noise is a SUPER easy fix, look up where the 3 bolts are to remove the door panel and the track adjustment. Door panel off, pinch a dollar bill in the front part of the window seal, make adjustment until it's pretty tight but you can still pull it out, then for the rear, then both a second time, followed up with a window motor recalibration (Google it, it's a 5 second job). Did it to both my windows when I bought mine, super quiet now. Took about an hour to do both doors because I kept looking at my phone for the directions.
Page 15, Glass and Window (GW) section of the factory service manual. It doesn't say anything about the dollar bill trick, just to check for the window being parallel to the sash frame but the dollar trick has always worked for me in pretty much EVERY vehicle unless it's got a really deep sash and run seal. If the window seal is fine then it could be the door seal, check it first for proper fit and that it isn't sagging and not set into the retainer before replacing it. If it's torn AT ALL it's probably trash.
Page 15, Glass and Window (GW) section of the factory service manual. It doesn't say anything about the dollar bill trick, just to check for the window being parallel to the sash frame but the dollar trick has always worked for me in pretty much EVERY vehicle unless it's got a really deep sash and run seal. If the window seal is fine then it could be the door seal, check it first for proper fit and that it isn't sagging and not set into the retainer before replacing it. If it's torn AT ALL it's probably trash.
08-06-2017, 11:24 AM
