Hertz Donut

Just sold the black PNM35, so we're back to a one-Stagea, one-Leaf family. It drove better than the silver one (had no options so was lighter, had hard bushes, lowered, better brakes and may have been shift-kitted) but since it didn't have a towbar or centre-rear 3-point seatbelt it was voted off the Island. It served me well though, I bought it because I was doing a 600km round trip every week for work last year, and the mileage allowance I was paid meant it was basically free, so anything I got when I sold it was a bonus. Now I just have to convince my wife we should use the proceed to fit new bushes, suspension, brakes and a shift kit to the silver car.

I've seen reports of taxis in the UK doing some 200,000 miles but I don't know if they've had replacement batteries or not. I'd be surprised/delighted if they hadn't.

Since we're using ours for the school runs etc we've had no issues at all with a ~120km max range. We're saving around $500/m on petrol compared to running around in one of the Stageas ($120/m power vs $620/m fuel). At this rate it'll pay for itself in 2 years and 9 months.

I never realised the monsoon shields were options, both mine have them and all the ones I've seen around have them too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it'll see off a staged Evo or anything, but the average 6 cylinder Falcodore pilot who thinks he'll give it a shove from idle at the lights in town and walk away with everyone suitably impressed by his massive appendage is in for a shock. I've owned quicker cars for sure, but from 0-50km/h it'll surprise a few people.

My wife drives it a lot more than me and she says she hasn't been beaten yet. And obviously she can tell when the other person is trying cos of the engine noise. It's bloody hilarious. We've also found that the Guessometer is pretty accurate since we live in a fairly flat area (drags not withstanding). @KiwiRS4T yep, got a 24kW version, I did a fair bit of research before we made the choice so read about the 30kW dramas. I never realised the Fairlane was actually real, that's brilliant. *Looks out window at Stageas...*

Just another quick threadjack: We ended up buying one ourselves, a 2013 X-spec with 11 bars and 43km on the clock. Seems to have been very well cared for (was a 4.5 auction grade) but we'll take care of that. Haven't even mentioned Leafs (Leaves?) to the mother-in-law yet. Heh. It's "peppier" than I thought it would be...

^Truth. I took mine to the wrecker a couple of weeks ago and engaged in some private road testing along the way. Smoking a 235/40R18 was ridiculously easy, even with 305,000km of abuse on the clock. Instantly regretted getting rid of it. PS: My new Leaf loses traction if I nail it from a standstill. What am I doing wrong? Not enough shopping bags in the boot?

Alex my son I think it would be best for someone in the Hawkes Bay region to fit a decent set of these on an M35, or maybe even a Leaf. I am willing to make that sacrifice, and I will require no payment for my service, because I love you like only a Jerk truly can. Mwah.

Noted: Thrash Leaf, always.

Thanks for the info and update. I've been reading up a bit more and chatting to my wife about this and we're quite likely going to to sell/trade one of the M35s and get one ourselves. She's an accountant (or was til I ruined her with kids) so can see the value in using one for doing the school/shopping runs since she'd rarely go over about 80km in a day. There's a couple of 24kW 2012 models locally that she's going to try out, I'm guessing the one for $16K is the better option given the better SOH? https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/nissan/auction-1544057932.htm?rsqid=9f4d2f9c513d4059b8b9db9022cd282c https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/nissan/auction-1544058197.htm?rsqid=9f4d2f9c513d4059b8b9db9022cd282c I also see rhdjapan has over 40% off Blitz ZZRs at the moment. Not that I'd mod it or anything...

ZOMBIE THREAD!! I'm lazy so not sure if you've still got this car, buuuuut... After 5 years what sort of issues are you seeing, if any? Your usage seems to be about as varied as anyone can expect. We're organising my in-laws' life for them now that they're getting on a bit and their '98 Subaru is a pile o' crap, so a new car is one of the items on the to-do list. I'm angling towards getting them to buy a Leaf for around town and convincing them that if they want to go on a road trip in a bigger car then just hire an ICE car for a week or so. I'd rather read it from a long-term owner than rely on comments sections on MSM sites from people who deny Australia exists. Thanks. Also, does it dose?

Two of them are mine. Love doing the Napier-Taupo run in them.

Erk, sorry, that should have said "I haven't had to do the rears..."

If the fronts are anything like a PNM35 ('04+) then you better have hands like a Geisha girl to get out one of the left-side strut top mount bolts. It sits under an A/C pipe so expect to use some inappropriate language. Other than that, pretty simple stuff. I had to do the rears but from pictures I've seen it'll be easier than the front. The stock springs are pretty stout and ate one of my spring compressors because I didn't get enough coils in between the jaws, so try to get as many coils as you can between them.

Both my PNM35s seem to be about the same fuel economy. Seeing 8.8l/100km on the (windy, hilly NZ) open road up to just over 12l/100km in stop/start traffic. Considering factory 50/70 economy rating is 12.5l/100km I'm quite happy with what I'm getting. I'm not babying them either.

I guess on the bright side, every Spring thaw must be like Christmas since you get to pull the wrapper off the GTR again. Driving the Civic would be like a reset button on your concept of a quick car. You could always pick up a G35X for some quick(ish), cheap(?) Winter thrills.

Hnnnnggggg. I should have quit before Googling. fml

That seat belt looks like one of the ones in my Commodore. Of course, the Commodore's 1996 vintage... I do love BMWs though, my first "want" car as a kid was a 635CSi, preferably in JPS racing colours. Maybe one day when the Alzheimers really kicks in I'll get one.

Can you put up a link to it when you do? Considering an exhaust for one of mine.

Welcome, looks good. Finally got the silver wagon back on the road, I had to suffer the shame of taking it to a mechanic to do some minor work as there's nowhere flat around here to jack up a car. I doubled down on the indignity by taking the black one in for oil and brake pads too. Never mind, both are back in A+ shape. I have some (possibly) news for PNM35 owners: 370Z Y-pipes are a bolt-in fit on PNM35s. 370Z cats do not fit due to stud offset. Info was gleaned from my quietly--spoken mechanic in a noisy workshop so don't sue me if there's a little bit of mucking around with the Y-pipe mounting, but judging by the labour charge on the bill it was straight forward. He was definite about the cats not fitting though. Sadly no noticeable change to performance or exhaust note other than the tinny rattling from the old Y-pipe being gone. The shields and flexis on the old one were mostly rotted away.. My feeling is that the 370Z and V36 Y-pipes are probably the same, I haven't gone hunting for part numbers.

Oh, and before anyone asks, no, the fuel gauge doesn't work, because when you run these cars too low on petrol the sender gets mucked up and the gauge stops reading properly. I know this because it's happened to both PNM35s we have. Sigh. Yes, I did miss all the clues, what a champ.

So, being the master mechanic I am, I got round to looking at this and fixed it this morning. I lay awake all night pondering what order to do things in and decided to employ Occam's Razor. Should anyone else experience this issue I have the answer, and fortunately it takes less than 5 minuets to fix. Solution is...don't believe your wife when she tells you she filled it up. Yup, it was out of petrol. fml.

Update: Got hold of a mate's scanner, all it showed was "emissions-related codes" so that suggests all sensors are fine. When I can be bothered I'll start checking relays and power to the fuel pump etc. Sigh. [edit] On the plus side he also dropped off a 370Z exhaust I bought for $50 last year that disappeared for a while. I'm hoping the Y-pipe and maybe the cats fit on the PNM35 without too much coaxing. I'll also do this when I can be bothered. Having 3 cars to choose from and nowhere to work on them has made me pretty slack.

I swapped out the MAF sensor the other day and it started easily enough but it was a little rough on idle. Once it had warmed up though the idle speed dropped to the point it stalled and wouldn't restart so I'm back to square one. Looks like it only restarted after unplugging the MAF because the engine had gone cold. I've decided it's high time I bought a scanner. Does a regular OBD2 scanner work on these? Like http://www.supercheapauto.co.nz/Product/Bosch-Auto-Scanner-OBD2-Can/411137 Thanks.