Newbie Advice Please 350Gt

[reverseworm]

Hi everyone,

Im a first time poster looking from some advice from the people that should know.

After the recent hail storms in Melbourne Im looking for a new daily driver. My forester turbo is a write off and I after considering a number of options I have come down to 3 or 4 options - V35 is one of them.

I am looking for a comfortable yet reasonably quick and entertaining car to drive every day, that isnt like everything else on the road. I could never bring myself to buying a falcon or commodore.

The cars that are on the list are:

V35 6spd coupe

WRX

Mazda 6 MPS (or maybe even 3 MPS)

Golf GTI

At the moment I think perhaps the rex might be the best bang for buck, but have always liked the look of the skyline. Have never driven one, so I will need to do that to help make the decision. The only things I am concerned about with the 350 is the need to change the audio system over (as I understand it) as well as fuel economy, insurance and servicing. I work on the road so I do a lot of metro and country kilometres.

Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Looking to spend high teens to low 20's.

Thanks guys

Andrew

[sonicii]

Don't know much about the GTI, so I can't help there. If I were going the Mazda route, I would go with the 3 MPS. the 6 is bigger and heavier, it does have AWD, but that also robs some power, the 6 is also probably the poorest of your list when it comes to fuel economy.

The WRX is a great car, unfortunately there are too many losers out there who drive them or, or drive a 'plane jane' impreza dressed up to look like a WRX, so they come with a bad rep.. insurance is also likely to be very high. There is a lot of them around, so they don't really fit in with your 'unique vehicle' criteria.

I would go with the V35, but I am biased.. You don't 'need' to replace the stereo, but if it fails, the cost of repair can make replacement a viable option. with your overall budget, you will probably be looking at an early '00 coupe. Possibly a 2003, but depending on KM, you may get a newer model. Unfortunately it is the early models that had the most problems with the stereo. Factory stereo repair is often in the $600 area. Fitting an aftermarket Head unit involves replacing the existing fascia and AC controls, which you are looking around $300-$400 before you even factor in the head unit. If you buy a car with the Bose audio system, add a bit more to that figure.

I replaced my head unit with one from an Infiniti G35 (US equivalent of the V35), it plays back MP3 CDs, and doesn't need a band expander to make the radio work here. You can pick one of these up for around $200 on the US forums, and they are a straight swap. But they will be 2nd hand, so there are no guarantees..

Insurance will be high, but that is typical of any import. General servicing shouldn't be excessive. But if anything fails, parts can be $$$$. You can import parts from USA for reasonable prices, but you need to be willing to wait for postage..

As for fuel economy.. somehow the VQ35 engine has received a bad rap in this area and I am not sure why? My 350gt 6sp sedan achieves around 12L/100km in the city. My wife drives a J31 maxima which also runs a VQ35 and it gets about 13L/100km, all city driving with a lot of short trips. Considering my parents 4cyl camry achieves about 15L/100km in the same conditions, and my Brother-in-Law's 3.0 SIDI commodore gets about 14.7L/100km. I would say fuel economy is quite good. If you are doing a mix of city and highway driving, you should be seeing figures around 10L/100km.

[Yin_Sun]

I have to agree with Greg. As long as you stay under 3000revs the fuel economy of the V35 is quite good. But do take note as soon as you start smashing gears the car knows you want to drive fast and changes how it guzzles fuel accordingly. I was in your place once, my other options were the Mazda RX8 or the EVO. It's a close call. I suggest doing some trial runs and see what feels best. The V35 runs real smooth but has a real heavy clutch. I would guess the WRX is on par with the EVO and has rock hard suspension, is super fast, but is owned by every man and his dog + fakes. As for the Mazdas, well they are common cars. Hope that helps.

Manuel

Edited December 27, 2011 by Yin_Sun

[projectx]

V35 is by far the best option.

The rest are just fast versions of normal cars.

WRX - boring

MPS3 - very fast but front wheel drive. You feel nervous every time you put your foot down because it feels like the front end is going to rip off. They tend to brake engine mounts too.

MPS6 - boring - same engine as the 3 but a lot heavier.

GTI - Never tried one. But at the end of the day its just another hatch back - boring.

[interfooler]

The V35 is the only car in your list of options that suits the criteria for "isn't like everything else on the road".

[vee35]

As for fuel economy.. somehow the VQ35 engine has received a bad rap in this area and I am not sure why? My 350gt 6sp sedan achieves around 12L/100km in the city. My wife drives a J31 maxima which also runs a VQ35 and it gets about 13L/100km, all city driving with a lot of short trips.

I have to agree with Greg. As long as you stay under 3000revs the fuel economy of the V35 is quite good. But do take note as soon as you start smashing gears the car knows you want to drive fast and changes how it guzzles fuel accordingly.

Now I know something is wrong! On highway cycle, my screen can show numbers below 9L/100km, however, no matter how gentle I drive around in the city and suburbs, that can go up to 24L/100km; and I normally do drive trying to see if I can stave off the economy figure. I think over 20L/100km is the norm for most driving.

[sonicii]

Ouch.. sounds like there is something wrong there.. I wouldn't expect those sort of figures even if I was brutal with it around the city. the 12L/100km figure I get is with a bit of spirited driving. When I first got the car I was fairly gentle with it while getting used to the clutch position and such, and was seeing figures of 11L/100km in the city. With an auto, I wouldn't be surprised to see figures of 13 or 14L/100km, but 20+ is not right.

I haven't done any decent highway runs to see what that is like yet. But my wife's J31 gets about 8-8.5L/100km on the highway.

[PN-Mad]

1325074101[/url]' post='6167735']

Now I know something is wrong! On highway cycle, my screen can show numbers below 9L/100km, however, no matter how gentle I drive around in the city and suburbs, that can go up to 24L/100km; and I normally do drive trying to see if I can stave off the economy figure. I think over 20L/100km is the norm for most driving.

Thats no good mate. Have you actually checked your conspumption by measuring what you pout into it, not just the trip computer? just do a simple zero of the trip meter when you fill up, and take note of how much it takes to fill it up next time.Causes of bad consumption could be bad o2 sensors, or a idle problem. You could reset the ecu and see if that makes a difference.

[sonicii]

I was thinking possibly a MAF too? As under cruise conditions the ECU will pay less attention to the MAF output and more attention to the O2 Sensors. During city driving it almost ignores the O2 sensors.

[PN-Mad]

A clean MAF is always good, but if the MAF was bad, the car wouldn't rev beyond 3000rpm or so anyway.

[sonicii]

^^ I thought that was only if the MAF had failed, not if it is dirty (or oily) and giving an incorrect output?

[scarf]

I came from a highly modded 2004 wrx. Great car, but the gearbox's are the weak link.

They are fairly plain looking in the inside and a bit tin-like.

Regarding their performance - unless you launch a wrx from 6000rpm, it wont get near the skyline from a start. They just bog down and go nowhere quick. Unless you want the gearbox to break, you won't end up doing many high rpm launches. Once in gear and rolling they do go very well once above 3500rpm (thats with the 2L, and maybe 500rpm less with the 2.5L).

Regarding fuel economy- the wrx drinks fuel just as much as the 350gt.

If you want to mod the car, I'd go the wrx, as it ends up being much cheaper. If you are keeping them stock, then the 350gt.

[vee35]

Thats no good mate. Have you actually checked your conspumption by measuring what you pout into it, not just the trip computer? just do a simple zero of the trip meter when you fill up, and take note of how much it takes to fill it up next time.Causes of bad consumption could be bad o2 sensors, or a idle problem. You could reset the ecu and see if that makes a difference.

By chance, the other day I was running about just under half and then the next time I looked at the guage, the fuel had dropped to almost empty after a few Klm's! I wasn't going to risk it, so I pulled into a gas station and checked how much fuel it took to fill the tank up, and it only could take 30 liters the guage / sensor is clearly somehow playing up. And I noticed yesterday, it appeared to be falling faster than I expected. When I last filled it up, I thought the same thing with the trip meter. After I filled it up and drove home (on the freeway), the trip meter was at 90km and the economy screen on the cars screen was showing an estimate over 510km from memory. However, the fuel guage is now at about 60% after only 150km.

I was thinking possibly a MAF too? As under cruise conditions the ECU will pay less attention to the MAF output and more attention to the O2 Sensors. During city driving it almost ignores the O2 sensors.

A clean MAF is always good, but if the MAF was bad, the car wouldn't rev beyond 3000rpm or so anyway.

My car idles well, and is smooth revving all the way up to 6000, no issues. One of the reasons I chose my car over others in the lot, was because it felt it had more "get up and go"; which I realised could of been caused by a ECU reboot triggered by a flat battery in the lot. But I guess it couldn't hurt. My last car simply required disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, its the same on these cars I would guess?

[sonicii]

By chance, the other day I was running about just under half and then the next time I looked at the guage, the fuel had dropped to almost empty after a few Klm's! I wasn't going to risk it, so I pulled into a gas station and checked how much fuel it took to fill the tank up, and it only could take 30 liters the guage / sensor is clearly somehow playing up. And I noticed yesterday, it appeared to be falling faster than I expected. When I last filled it up, I thought the same thing with the trip meter. After I filled it up and drove home (on the freeway), the trip meter was at 90km and the economy screen on the cars screen was showing an estimate over 510km from memory. However, the fuel guage is now at about 60% after only 150km.

Fuel gauges are normally hopelessly inaccurate, but not that bad. I usually get about 150km per 1/4 of tank as per the gauge, all city driving.

I would definitly try checking your economy as per 'PN-Mad's instructions.

My car idles well, and is smooth revving all the way up to 6000, no issues. One of the reasons I chose my car over others in the lot, was because it felt it had more "get up and go"; which I realised could of been caused by a ECU reboot triggered by a flat battery in the lot. But I guess it couldn't hurt. My last car simply required disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, its the same on these cars I would guess?

An ECU reset is unlikely to make much difference. It can be cleared with Consult, but i am not sure if there is a manual procedure, or if just disconnecting the battery for 'x' period of time will do the trick.

[T4NK]

Well i reset my ECU by leaving the battery disconnected for about 40min when installing my Ztube and pop charger and my fuel econ was FUBAR for about a month after that before it settled back down to about 10-12L/100km was up to 15-17km/100km running very ritch all good now tho

[PN-Mad]

By chance, the other day I was running about just under half and then the next time I looked at the guage, the fuel had dropped to almost empty after a few Klm's! I wasn't going to risk it, so I pulled into a gas station and checked how much fuel it took to fill the tank up, and it only could take 30 liters the guage / sensor is clearly somehow playing up. And I noticed yesterday, it appeared to be falling faster than I expected. When I last filled it up, I thought the same thing with the trip meter. After I filled it up and drove home (on the freeway), the trip meter was at 90km and the economy screen on the cars screen was showing an estimate over 510km from memory. However, the fuel guage is now at about 60% after only 150km.

My car idles well, and is smooth revving all the way up to 6000, no issues. One of the reasons I chose my car over others in the lot, was because it felt it had more "get up and go"; which I realised could of been caused by a ECU reboot triggered by a flat battery in the lot. But I guess it couldn't hurt. My last car simply required disconnecting the battery for a few minutes, its the same on these cars I would guess?

Fuel gauges are normally hopelessly inaccurate, but not that bad. I usually get about 150km per 1/4 of tank as per the gauge, all city driving.

I would definitly try checking your economy as per 'PN-Mad's instructions.

An ECU reset is unlikely to make much difference. It can be cleared with Consult, but i am not sure if there is a manual procedure, or if just disconnecting the battery for 'x' period of time will do the trick.

Your right, Fuel gauges are very inaccurate. This is caused by (trying to remember) a build up of gunk on the runners in the sender unit which is in the fuel tank. I'm sure if you search round the nets, there will be a DIY. But word of advice, if you give it a go, makesure the car has 3/4 of a tank of fuel OR LESS. Don't do it just after filling up. The trip computer works off the level of the tank too. So that will explain why you have a bad reading. Statrt a fresh- fill it, zero the odo, drive, re-fill and do calculations. I bet your right on the money.

ECU reset- Disconnecting the battery won't do a thing. It remembers the settings. You can leave it disconnected for a month of sundays, and it won't make a difference. Sonicii is correct, you can reset via consult, however there is also a manual method that has been mentioned a number of times. Its a combination of turning car on and pumping accl pedal. CEL will flash to acknowledge. Its also how you can check error codes. I'd recommend resetting ECU every time you do a major modification (exhaust/spacer etc) to let the ECU re-learn the parameters. The ECU is smarter than what most people expect. Do a search, something will come up for the exact procedure. You can also reset the idle if your idle is out of 650rpm + - 50

[scotty nm35]

Agreed, the 2 level senders in the tank run back to a fuel computer that calculates the amount left. it sometimes gets messed up as the fuel leaves a varnish on the contacts. Removing the senders when the tank is empty and cleaning them with ethanol works, converting to e85 helped mine. lol.

The ecu will definitely not reset without doing the reset procedure. All disconnecting the battery does is reset your stereo.