2009 Nissan 370Z Touring: Gas Station Engineering

This isn't a Renault thing- Honda's been doing this for ages, and they do it across the lineup, for their bloated boat Accord to their Krap-E-Car Fit.

The 370z is a sports car not a Buick- Nissan's decision probably had to do with making it as light as possible.

I don't think this is such a bother. If an owner was really put out with the tires on their car, they would go out and get new ones.

And If you want a quiet car, you should have bought an Infiniti G37 Coupe....or a used Buick Riviera Supercharged.

Come people. There's "Honda" noisy and there is "turn the radio up" noisy. I haven't been in a car like that for years. Even my light weight Miata gives me very little reason to complain about tire noise.

I really want to get my hands on a 370Z so I can see if these editors are onto something or if they're just used to wafting around in luxury cars and they don't know how to live with a sports car.

clarkma5 - Owning a 370Z I can attest that some surfaces are loud. Not having multiple cars to choose from (but driving a different rental each week on business) I do notice a difference. The difference I notice is the awesome acceleration and handling relative to the spongy rental cars. Only once did I notice that my passenger and I were raising our voices to communicate. That being said, I've never maxed out the volume on the stereo to overcome the noise.

What is the "fix coming down the production line"?

Looks like IL is running out of content as they're just regurgitating previously noted concerns. The best portion of the previous thread is quoted below the link. Apparently the editors don't read the replies.

http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2009/08/2009-nissan-370z-tire-noise.html

"is there really nothing else to write about other than the tire noise?

besides the tire noise is not that bad at all IMHO.
i dont know. maybe the editors drive around in different cars every week/day... going in and out of luxury sedans and sports cars..

but how do you think nissan made the car lose all that weight? when the car is quiet .. you guys complain the car is too heavy. when they take out some insulation and make it lighter you guys complain that its too noisy.

could the editors please stop complaining about the tire noise.. its getting old"

It looks like the comments are noted by two different editors. I would think/hope that IL is not a borg collective, so independent thought is encouraged. And said independent thought could be shared among editors for a vehicle that rides on hard, thin tires, and is attached to a tight, low-travelling suspension system and set atop crappy roads in and around LA, which leads me to believe that glaring annoyances are, in fact, able to be griped about by multiple people.

Actually the last Z was plagued with tire noise/wear problems as well. Seems that when you design a car that offers an incredible amount of handling that there is an offset in tire wear. Seriously! I say this in obvious sarcasm because it is funny how people want the handling with no negative side effects in wear (read: $$$ and comfort). It is sad that manufacturers overlook this fact when they put this cars out for public consumption. To that end I do agree that, while a potentially short life span should be expected, tires on this type of car should be able to become worn down without sounding like it is a monster truck going down the road! Car and tire manufacturers need to be better at matching real world needs to the overall package. For the record: This is not just a Nissan problem. I've seen it at Mercedes, BMW and Acura as well and am sure that other performance oriented manufacturers run into it as well.

I think the editors should honestly describe any complaints they might have with any of the long term cars.

That said, I think it's slightly unfair to say Nissan "cheaped out" with this car. The bigger issue is WHERE the money is spent.

I agree with yellowmiata. My 370 IS noisy on some road surfaces but fine on others. Now--I also drive a Jeep and a Tahoe with MudTerrains so to me, the Z is actually kind of quiet and luxurious. And lets not talk about the camper on a Ford 450 chassis with the V10 and dualies! I would have bought something different if I wanted quiet and refined. It accelerates quickly, corners like a banshee and is just very fun to drive. Fantastic value for the money. I have had more expensive cars that are not nearly as fun.
And again, as yellowmiata asked, what IS the fix in the pipeline-don't think I need it, just curious.

I'm really curious what information this writer has on a supposed fix for this oft-complained about problem.

+1, what insider information does MJ have? Fix?

I haven't noticed insulation being a problem in other Nissan vehicles - so as Dan Edmunds said, maybe it is just a generation thing.

The "fix" is probably as before on the last Z. Bridgestone will allegedly change something in the tire's design to better curb "cupping" and Nissan will pull back on the alignment specs a bit so as not to be so edgy. In the real world this will amount to very little difference in overall driving dynamics to Joe Schmoe wannabe racer as he has no idea what his little ole Z can really do anyway. That's kind of my point (above). Nissan is pretty good in that they offer "track" models and such. There is no excuse in an owner complaing about any wear or noise issues if they select such a package. Base and touring models should be more forgiving in regards to wear and comfort.

I'm not sure why it's suddenly anathema to complain about loud interior noise levels on the 370z. Yes, I get it, it's a sports car. That doesn't mean it should sound like a big rig inside the car.

In this case, I think the problem is simply a lack of sound insulation over the rear wheel wells. It sounds like there isn't ANY sound insulation at all, allowing the sound of pebbles striking the wheel wells, picked up by the meaty tires, to invade the cabin. As well, at higher speeds these tires seem to generate a lot of noise, none of which is prevented from assaulting the driver.

Now you may say "it's not a problem for me" or "turn up the radio, dude", but some of us think a car with such little sound insulation is a BAD thing and speaks of cheapness and lack of attention to detail. Perhaps Nissan did fail to put adequate sound absorption material in the Z because they wanted to save weight and not because they wanted to save a few bucks. But from almost every review I've read and from quite a few Z owners, they didn't get the balance right. I would bet that a lot of Z drivers would sacrifice a bit of weight for a bit of quiet.

No, I'm not asking for the Z interior to have the low level of sound that you would find in a luxury automobile. But neither should it be Beethoven's Fifth in the cabin.

I thought it was widely understood that Nissan opted to shave weight in the 370Z any way they could. Less sound deadening was not "cheaping out", it was saving unecessary weight in a SPORTS CAR. Some of these IL blogs are retarded.....

One editor thinks or feels something and posts about it.
Then comes another and posts the same idea.
And maybe another one later does the same thing.
Do I find that annoying or the like?
Of course not, that shows that the issue isnt just a one man problem, that is notorious for other people with their different mindsets and all, so it becomes a more worthy data.

Agree with the above comment. The fact that numerous people have commented on the road/tire noise means it's widely noticeable.

Yes, majin_ssj_eric, we understand that less sound insulation may have been put in the car in order to save weight. But Nissan could also save weight by not putting any doors on the car. Or maybe by deleting the emergency brake. Those are absurd examples, of course, but the point remains the same: saving weight is all well and good, but there can be such a thing as too much "dieting" for a car. I think this may be one of those times.

Hey, jakoye, have you ever driven a 370Z? Just wondering. There's a high level of subjectivity here about the noise levels; some people find it acceptable, while others, like a few of the IL blog writers, can't stand it. I think that some time behind the wheel would help you decide - for yourself - if it was really Nissan cheaping out or purposefully done.
I drive with the radio off all the time to listen to the car, so I actually appreciate the ability to hear the road music clearly. I've only owned two-door sports cars so I guess I've been conditioned to accept, or rather enjoy, all the noise that comes with such cars. I think most people switching from a 'luxury' car to any sports car (frequently) will likely complain about high NVH levels.

"tire roar gets so overwhelming that the radio volume needs to go up to maximum" --
This means that it isn't as bad as it seems. Jordan is prone to this sort of ridiculous hype.

No, I have never driven a 370z. I did own a 300z back in the day and there was no excessive interior noise that I remember (now leaking fuel injectors and a troublesome transmission... there was plenty of that!).

The fact is, there have been PLENTY of reviewers and 370z owners who have complained about the high noise level in the 370z interior, mostly complaints about the noise of road debris striking the rear wheel wells. It seems like this is the biggest problem area and one that I hope will be addressed in whatever mid-cycle updates happen to the 370z in the next couple years, because I'm definitely interested in buying one.

I understand that when you own a car, one that you enjoy driving and have formed a "bond" with, the natural tendency is to defend it against any and all criticism. But I think that vitriol is misplaced in this instance. I am sure that the Edmunds testers, along with other car reviewers who have commented on this issue of the 370z, drive plenty of other 2-seat sports cars like the Z. And the commonality of their criticism seems to indicate that there's actually an issue here.

Of course they've also commented on the Z's pleasing torque response, transmission, improved interior, superb handling and overall good looks. So it's not all sturm und drang for the Z, japcola!

I can certainly agree on your notion of ownership and the degree of 'protectionism' that comes with such; however, I'm not defending it, so much as so, proposing that perhaps the level of subjectivity related to the road 'noise' is being overlooked.

Prior to purschasing, I also read many reviews of the 370Z and noted the oft-repeated, 'iffy at high revs engine sound', 'tire/road noise', and 'blind spots'. But when it was test drive time, I could only fault the car with nasty blindspots, which is an issue that I've since resolved (though this can be a deal breaker for a lot of people, especially those without experience with proper mirror set ups).

I also used to own a 300ZX (1991, 2+2; also had issues with the injectors, among leaky T-Tops, etc; main reason I looked into the 370Z), and the noise in that was much, MUCH louder than the 370Z.

That's funny, japcola. I also had the leaky T-tops. I had forgotten about that!

Even with that bad experience, I am definitely looking at the Z as my next car. I don't think there's any sports car that can compete with its overall qualities, especially at its price range.

Enjoy your Z. I hope to join you in the ranks of ownership in the future.

Hey jakoye, I don't think its fair for people to be discouraged from owning, or at the very least driving, a 370Z because of 'this' or 'that' as reported by whomever. If you could live with a 300ZX, the 370Z will be cake walk... I actually wish I still had my old 300ZX sometimes. The design was an instant 'love it' for me, unlike the 370Z, which had to grow on me, and the overall experience of the 300ZX was in one word: awesome.

Damn, I can't believe I nearly missed this topic. My Dad's 370Z has the Yokohama Advan's that are OEM here in Australia? Is that the same as what you guys have?

Recently we did a tire change on the 350Z from the OEM Bridgestone Potenza. We changed to these Goodyear F1 Eagle GS-D3s and WOW they're good. Cost us $1200 AUD, but still it makes a big difference. I noticed immediately how good they were when it came to steering and road noise is impressive! The Bridgestones sucked BAD in comparison.