New Owner PA
 

Hello all, new owner of an '03 G35 coupe. Having owned 2 spec v's prior to this, I've got to say.. I worship the G haha.. It has been driven hard and put away wet. 130k on original everything. Stock except for an unknown brand exhaust previous owner installed. Clutch slips a little in 6th, sometimes in 5th. I'm beginning week 3 of nothing but TLC. Looking forward to getting acquainted here and beginning my mission of restoring this beautiful machine. I hope to learn how to use this forum properly, and discover & share any experience that may be helpful to G35 owners.

I know the clutch could potentially be a very big issue, and I over worry about everything so that doesn't help lol... I would definitely like to learn everything I can about replacing the clutch & flywheel, and if OEM is more reliable than an aftermarket version. I really don't know much when it comes to cars or clutches.. I can drive one, maintain it, and take good care of it.. that's pretty much it.. I do make sure to not do any hard shifting or driving, I've gotten better at avoiding it with age :cool:

I really am a VQ noob, but a long time G35 enthusiast. I'm happy to join G35Driver, and I look forward to learning anything anyone is willing to teach! Here are some pictures that were prior to returning all her Infiniti emblems :40:


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...f07ec627d2.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...5157a86094.jpg

Z-tube, Motordyne 5/16 plenum spacer, K&N filter (vortex airbox optional), nice exhaust (do your research - no eBay sh!t), osirus tune.

BC coils, whiteline endlinks, energy or whiteline bushings, spc cam bolts, quality adjustable control arms (front spc, eibach kinetix; rear: spc, eibach). Sway bars; eibach, Hotchkiss, whiteline, Cusco

Headlights: 06/7 projectors

Wheels: work, Ray's, ssr

Body panels: oem, or polyurethane quality brands

Dash kit: jdm

Gears: 3.5 (stock for coupe), 3.7, 3.9 or 4.11.

Thank you for the recommendations! I do want to get rid of the exhaust that is on it pronto, and not go cheap with the replacement. I'm unsure of what no-name brand the exhaust is, but as far as I can tell its the cheap spec-d ebay one.. I'll post it up if anyone would like to weigh in their guess haha..

I'm off to research what info you've given me. Thank you again! And regarding osirus tune for down the road, could you point me in the right direction? Where I live does not have much to offer regarding tuning anything. Time to start doing homework :)

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...9741712de7.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...1018309a87.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...aa9990a8e4.png
Driven hard & put away wet :/
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/g35driv...f7e09cade6.jpg

Exhaust looks like a HKS replica exhaust.

For tuning contact one of our users Seymore4, he offers an "e-tune" which basically means he makes a baseline tune, emails it to you, you flash the tune then go for a drive and log the data with the Uprev software, then email him back the results, he makes adjustments, mails you back the new tune, rinse/repeat until everything looks good.

Doesn't take long, does require a laptop, results are superb and he's a super good guy to work with. PM him and he can give you all the details about what this will entail.

I have the same exhaust as you. A Magnaflow X pipe and some real rear mufflers really make that cheap exhaust sound great!

Thank you for the info! Everyone here has been really helpful :) I’ve actually been reading up on Magnaflow & Motordyne, not sure which way to lean yet.. VQ’s deserve to roar though haha.

Do you remember what kind of exhaust it is? I have a buddy with an ‘04 5AT coupe that wants it after I swap it, I’m trying to encourage him to save for a better one, I hear drone in cabin is much louder with cheaper exhausts & automatic transmissions.

Also I got an update on the Infiniti dealership’s quote for OEM clutch & flywheel replacement.. with parts & labor they said $2600. I’ll most likely go with them since I live in the middle of nowhere, however there’s a 2nd Infiniti dealership about 60 miles away I’m going to check with first. All of the smaller shops that I’ve taken spec-v’s to in the past don’t think they can do it & I’m old now, chance is something I like to avoid lol. Thank you again for the Xpipe & muffler info!

I'm speaking strictly WELD IN Magnaflow X pipe and rear mufflers. Not a whole new exhaust.

There is a pretty nice motordyne TDX2 for sale on Facebook right now for $800 I would recommend if you want a full exhaust. No drone on manuals like yours.

As for that clutch replacement cost... my man... go to an independent mechanic. You are grossly overpaying at Infiniti service... go to A Nissan independent and pay like $1200-1500 at Most for a clutch and flywheel swap.

It's also recommended you do the clutch slave and MC Seals I believe (rebuild) at the same time.

To anyone interested in the quest of someone who purchased a 15+ year old car in 2019, I've got some updates. :icon17:

The magnitude of "Driven Hard, Put Away Wet" was a little bit greater than I expected... lol.. After a bit of a struggle, and a ton of research, I've got most of the major mishaps from the previous owner back at 100%. She still needs a few major overhauls, and some minor weekend projects as well. I'll admit it was much more than I expected, but I know a lot more now than I did 2 months ago & she is running solid AF! For now. I guess I can rest easy knowing the G's motor handled all the neglect surprisingly well for the past 16 years. Everything I could afford to fix that was starting to go/ already gone, turned out to be only a few days in the shop and a few weeks worth of weekend tinkering to repair & replace.

Its been 100 degrees and I got no A/C:

A new A/C motor and Evap drier did the trick.. 3 days in the shop and $1000 later... this one was a little bit beyond the "mechanically inclined" side and more toward the "mechanically certified" area.. had no choice but to eat it :icon43:

There was once an oil smell...:

Turned out both valve cover gaskets were moderately leaking oil, along with the oil coolers O-rings/seals. We replaced them all along with the intake and manifold gaskets.

Well, while it's in pieces...:

Decided to replace both belts, throw in a new set of NGK platinum plugs, and change the oil & filter along with a coolant flush. Not in that order but it did take me 4 days to bleed and burp the coolant system properly using only my spare time before and after work to bring her to operating temperature and repeat the process.

Okay so...Everything is put back together.. Everything looks right...:

Except for these control arms, they are showing signs of wear and slight play while she's up on the lift. Tie rods seen better days too. I unfortunately may overhaul the entire suspension system next before I can get into the clutch and flywheel.

For the future:

I'm still trying to decide on whether an OEM clutch and flywheel will be more reliable than an aftermarket OEM replacement.. I've heard mixed things everywhere so the jury is still out. If anyone would like to weigh in on this, or on some recommended suspension items I would be greatful! I don't wanna go bare bones cheap on anything, in the end I'd like reliability over performance, but both is not such a bad thing either lol.



I Apologize if this is the wrong place to post this, I haven't had much luck finding a spot on here where I can keep track of the restoration process so others may weigh in if they wish. I've used visitor messages on my page but am limited to the amount of text / not able to upload photo progress. If anyone knows the proper section where I should be posting something like this, or if this happens to be the right spot, let me know! I don't want to push more recent new owner's threads to the bottom every time I make progress and want to update. Thank you all :D