Hello everyone I am new member but I've read every page of this post. First of all I'm sorry that you guys are going through all this. Secondly, I am writing for some advice. I am currently in the market for a car and I have narrowed down my search down to either a 06/07 G35 coupe 6MT or a 2008.5 Mazdaspeed3. Granted they offer different experiences but I am a big fan of both. I was wondering what you guys would advise, I would prefer the G35 but after finding this thread I starting to have my doubts. I've already been snubbed by the dealer in Orlando. On my first and so far only visit I was left waiting for 45 minutes and was never helped. They finally told me we are closing in 10 minutes do you want to leave your name and number. The only other dealer near me is in Jacksonville. I love the car and would not mind as much the whole exchange procedure but I am concerned as to how the dealers are going to treat me with this situation. All my friends are telling me just to buy the mazda because its new so I would really appreciate any advice you guys could provide me since you are living on the other side of the fence. Thank you I truly appreciate it.

 

Hi Graphyte... Welcome... I know nothing about the Mazda so I'm no help there... But I can say a few things about the G35... First, let me share that I owned 3 different Honda Preludes (5-speed manual) from 1983 till 2006... Loved those cars but Honda stopped making them so it was off to find a new and similar type of car... I'm 56 and not interested in applying tons of mods to a car but my, tons of folks who buy G35's apparently love to do just that... Plus, lots of folks race them at the track... But that's not me... I just like a fun, sporty 2-door coupe with a manual transmission to get from here to there... And the G35 is certainly that... For me, there's tons of positives and a couple of significant negatives...

First the two negatives... The first you're reading about in this post... Others I'm sure can tell you more than me but apparently when Infiniti took their 280 Horsepower VQ35DE engine and pushed it up to 298 horsepower (that's where it landed on the 06 6MT like I have) they also ran into a problem with oil consumption... Again, others can tell you more but if you're read all 22 pages of this thread, you know a lot... My specific car got 1800-2000 miles per quart when it was new... As it broke in, it got better to the point where now, at 21,800 miles, it gets a pretty consistent 2650 miles per quart... Nothing to write home about but nor is it in the place that qualifies for a replacement engine... It seems to be a hit or miss sort of thing... Some do well on oil... Some don't... If I was to buy a used one of these cars, I would certainly want to do whatever it took to find out how many miles per quart the particular car gets... If you buy it from an individual, make sure they can provide good records of oil consumption. And be sure to get one that is still under warranty so if the oil consumption does turn out to be a problem, like if someone doesn't share honestly with you when you buy it, that you still have some recourse... The powertrain warranty on my car is 48 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first...

My other complaint is the tires... I researched both tires and this engine oil deal before I bought the car (sounds like you're doing similar research) but I don't think I realized the oil consumption deal was quite as big a deal as it turned out to be... On to tires... The G35 6MT comes with Sport Tuned Suspension (at least in 06) and that means you have 19" wheels with slightly bigger tires (245/40) on the rear versus the front (225/40)... These UHP (Ultra High Performance) style tires have very hard sidewalls and very soft tread compound... The upside is that this car handles like a dream... My Preludes were grand in the handling department... This G35 is a bigger car and handles even better... Super handling... The downside is that the ride is hard. On smooth pavement it is fine... But any time you hit a pothole on the freeway (which I do a lot out here on the lousy California freeways, state is nearly bankrupt so infrastructure is falling apart), you will feel it... And the soft tread compound makes the tires not last long... The rear tires go first (and you can't rotate due to size difference) and I was told that is because, being a rear wheel drive car, that even though I don't "peel out" perse, still every time I accelerate from a stop light or whatever, because the tread compound is so soft (why you get such good grip) you leave a little bit of it behind on the road each time...

I just replaced the rear tires last week at 21,700 miles... I was told that was pretty good for rears on this car... And to replace them is pricey... I just bought two Kumho's at $190 per tire and those are about the cheapest tires you can buy... At the other end of the spectrum are Michelin Pilot Sports at about $360 per tire (plus mount and balance) so a set of four of those babies would put you at about $1600 out the door... Four Kumhos would be more like $900 out the door...

So there you go... My negatives...

For the positives, I've already mentioned the handling... It's a champ in the handling department... On the power end, it's got plenty and then some... If I downshift into 5th gear on the freeway I can accelerate away from any trouble in no time, in 5th gear!!!... Fifth gear in this car feels about like 3rd gear in my wife's Accura... Good torque, good horsepower... I get 20 miles per gallon around town and maybe 27 out on the highway but again, it's not designed as an economy car...

And when I was 18, having nice sounding "glasspack" mufflers was every boy's dream.. Now at 56, this car has the sweetest tuned note out of the tailpipes... When I am walking through a parking lot or whatever and hear this "certain sound" I look up and always see a G35 rolling down some nearby road... Once you've heard that sound a few times you will always know when a G35 comes by... I kid you not... Sweet sound... Easy to drive, good instrument layout, lots of interior features, bluetooth phone enabled, a must now out in California and it works very well... And if you're interested in doing lots of customization, I can't help you there but tons of other folks here can... I enjoy reading posts where guys talk about stuff that I don't have a clue what they're even talking about... Lots of mods available, that much i do know...

Mine is Pearl White... Love the color... And it really does have a Pearl luster to it... Mine does NOT have a trunk spoiler... On my last Prelude I had the spoiler and it added to the look... On this car, just my personal choice, I liked the look better without it so i bought one with the bare trunk... Oh, and one last thing, the best looking rear taillights on any car, ever, period... Again, just my personal opinion...

Just my two cents... And honest... Holler back if you have any questions...

bob...

Even including the oil situation, I've never had mine into the dealer for anything in a year and a half...

 

Shortened your quotes to only pertain to my responses...hope you don't mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

First, before I address that, my 06 6MT is totally stock, including the oil pan... And my dipstick is 24 mm L-H just like your's...

Okay that rules out an aftermarket pan.

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

...at some point they put in a mod that changed the length and/or width of the oil pan such that 24 mm's of depth change now corresponded to two quarts rather than one...

Sounds very possible and follows my previous mathematical theory as to possible reason how.<O</O

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

...You said this was mentioned on a 350Z forum "a long time ago" and maybe they made this change on 350Z's before they changed it on the G35's????...

Yes, revup's on the Z's were 2005 and 2006 with OC and with their TSB. Can't remember those members year of Z that reported. All year 350Z's post in that thread with questions, etc. Thread's been around for a long time.<O</O

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

...Now you, if I recall, recently got a new engine replacement and you stated it clearly was 1 quart L-H... And obviously that is a newer engine than mine... But perhaps newness isn't the only deciding factor... Maybe they just put out a slug of them at some time or whatever...

I confirmed with my original VQ that 1qt = L/H on stick and didn't mean my new also. My mistake on that. New one has only had complete 5qt oil changes and only confirm new one to be at F with 5qts w/filter, same as my old one as well. Next oil change, I will try the 3 and then 4 qt test and check level on stick each time. <O</O

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

...Maybe engines manufactured in one location versus some other???

Hmmm...interesting point and possible. Original factory VQ's came from Japan. First version revup replacements came from Tennessee plant pt# ending M1, where Altimas are assembled and other Nissan vehicles. Second revised revup version replacements pt# ending M9 and released May/June of 2007, came from Japan again. <O</O
<O</O

Quote:

Originally Posted by diitto

...V35 Skyline GT, ...What sort of miles/quart did your old engine have that prompted it to be deemed replaceable??? Or what number of mm's were you down and at what mile point??? I think you might have stated that in another post but repeat it if you would...

<O</OBottom-line: my old VQ since day one new, consumed 1qt/2300-2500mi. Long story on my self monitoring pre TSB days and with dealer OC testing levels with finally a TSB release, but finally qualified when I came back at 24mm down at ~2270mi I think.<O</O

 

graphyte - I have owned both cars. I've actually owned 2 Speed3s. Both of which were turds. The first one was a 07 it was in the shop before 1000 miles with engine codes wouldn't start smoked like a train. I usually work on all my own stuff. But since it was a new car I was going to let the dealer due all work. And it was for my GF at the time. By 4000 miles I traded it in. It was in the shop 5 different times, for problems from not starting, running rough, smoking out the exhaust. The car when I bought it had 230 miles on it that I'm sure the people that test drove it ragged on it. So I was suspecting that might of been it. Improper break in which the manual says to do. I enjoyed driving the car alot, but didn't like the problems.
It was the first model year of the car so I thought maybe that was it. I decided to try again and bought a brand new 08 with only 14 miles on it. Still had all the plastic and what not on the car. So I knew it wasn't driven like crazy from the start. I did the proper break in to a tie. Changed the oil at 1000 miles, and then every 3000 with synthetic from then on. From later reading I found out that the turbo on the MS3 had a seal that would fail. I was guessing thats what was wrong with the first one I had the 07. Supposedly that was fixed on the 08s. Well at around 13,000 miles I noticed that my car did smoke at prolonged idles. Which was the septum of a bad turbo seal. Now note I had a Cobb intake, cobb springs, and a Test pipe for the secondary cat. I chose not to do a full exhaust because that was supposedly the cause to a bad turbo seal. Improper back pressure. So took the intake and test pipe off and took it to the dealer because by 14,000 miles the smoking was getting to the point of embarrassing. So all that was physically modified on the car was the Cobb springs, nothing at all done to the rest of the car.
The dealer voided my warranty because they concluded that the car was modified which could be the cause for the smoking. The lowering springs. If you read the forums its mazda's way of getting out of fixing a known problem that the cars have. The dealer told me they would have to tear down the motor to find out what the problem was to the tune of $1850 just to take the motor apart, not to fix anything. So bottom line sold the car and traded it in for the 04 g35 sedan 6spd I have now.

I would say go with the g35 make sure the transmission is in good condition, I would say stay away from the speed3, or any turbo 4 cylinder for that matter. Just an opinion. any turbo or supercharged car adds another variable that could go wrong. NA power = good

Hope this helps alittle, once again this is just one experience, but thought I would share.

 

What is a rev-up engine??? I've certainly heard the term but don't understand what it is... Is that what they got when they took a 280 hp engine and boosted it to 298 hp, at least in the 06 years?? Or is it something else??? And what did Nissan/Infiniti do to make it rev-up engine??? Did something go wrong in that process to create the oil consumption issue?? Clearly it appears that 6MT's have this problem more than 5AT's but still there seem to be a fair number of 5AT folks with an oil loss problem as well???

Do they (Infiniti) know why this engine burns more oil than anyone would like??? Have they fixed the problem beyond the 05-07 year range??? Meaning do 08 6MT's get (and I guess that would be a G37) get much better oil consumption, say greater than 3000 miles per quart or is it still an issue???

thanks... bob...

 

Revup = 298hp (300hp on 350Z's), redlines at 7K, believe different valve lash duration and different lower plenum collector.

It's been my opinion for years that they pushed this series VQ block too far.

Revup's found only in: 05-07 6mt coupes. 05-06 6mt sedans, 05-06 6mt 350Z's.

07 sedans and 07 6mt 350Z's have the new series next gen VQ block, aka VQ35HR. OC seems not an issue with that new designed engine. Same with G37's VQ37VVEL.

 

I would like to share my experience with this engine and get some feedback. I purchased an 06 coupe back in June not aware of the oil consumption issues. After finding this thread last week I decided to take my G to my local dealer and start the monitoring program. I picked it up today and after only 300 miles since the last oil change, the dealer said it was down 8mm. This is obviously extremely troubling to me since I just got the car. After looking over the TSB I see that 8mm would fall in the NOT good category if it had been 1000 miles since the last oil change. By my calculations it's on track to be down 24mm or more after 1000 miles. I'm opening a case with Infiniti consumer affairs tomorrow. I also plan on driving the car a lot more so I can have Infiniti document the OC issue while it's still under warranty. If anyone has advice on what other steps I should take at this point it will be greatly appreciated.

 

^ Sounds like you're on track as to the correct things to do so far. Get a case # when you file your complaint with Infiniti. File a complaint with the NHTSA as well.

Old thread of mine on the NHTSA:https://g35driver.com/forums/g-spot/...nsumption.html
I perhaps should update my first post as thread was pre TSB days, but it still stresses the importance of filing these as a defect even with a TSB in force.

 

I got an oil change a 15k, I am now at 17k and it appears that my oil level is half to slightly less than half full. That don't sound right...

So what does Infiniti do? Completely replace the entire engine?

Maybe I'll take it in tomorrow and have them check it out.

 

Diitto and GreenMonster138, Thank you very much for your advice! I truly appreciate it. I am going to Jacksonville's FL infiniti's dealer since the guys at Orlando don't seem to have a clue on what customer service is. Wish me luck! Is there anything I could look for to see if this vehicle has OC issues? The one I'm looking at is a 2007 with 13k miles it was a lease vehicle.

On another note.... has anyone had good service at any central Florida dealer? Im trying to find a good dealer so if I purchase this car I can have a reliable person to take care of things if I get an OC issue.

Thanks again everyone I really appreciate your input.

 

TSB says how testing is done and has chart determining whether you qualify or not.

TSB states replacement as a longblock. What doesn't come on longblock is swapped over from your old one.

 

Check the tailpipes and/or inside of them. If very black and sooty, that's visual indication of excessive OC.

 

I opened an OC case with Infiniti consumer affairs this morning. They contacted my local dealer while I was on the phone. The dealer stated that I would need to have 3-5 more oil level checks before they can install a new engine. I also filed a case with the NHTSA. The consumer affairs rep also let me know that the power train warranty on my car is for six years. This makes me feel a lil better about the time frame I have to show I have an OC issue. Does anyone know what version of the engine they're using as replacements? I've heard some say V2 and some V3.

 

^ Good to hear you filed with NHTSA

TSB does not require that many OC tests to confirm OC, unless you're VQ is a non-revup and they don't have to use TSB guidelines.

Far as I know, it's still the second version (V2) being used for replacements. Same part number (10102-AC7M9) being used since May/June of 2007 when V2's were released as replacements and stopped using the V1's (10102-AC7M1) First TSB in Feb 2008 shows 10102-AC7M9 for part # too.

Have read, personally heard from others in talking and round-about-way told by my Infiniti mechanic, they did another revision on these V2's with better valve seals on heads. So in a way, maybe that could be considered a V3, but have no idea when they started doing that on these with same part # used; probably never will. It was hinted that my V2 is one of those with the valve seal revisions, install date May 2008 but who knows

 

Thanks to everyone for all the great advice!! I bit the bullet last night and purchased a diamond graphite 07 mt6 Coupe. Best decision ever! I spoke to dealer about the OC issue and he confirmed that the vehicle had been inspected and did not have this issue. Also, following V35 Skyline GT's advice I checked both pipes and they were predominantly clean. I will still keep an eye on my oil just to make sure. Thanks again everyone!