Fairlady Z

The Z32 Fairlady Z

The fourth Fairlady Z went on sale on 10 July 1989, twenty years after the first. It was the first Japanese car rated at 280 PS: its VG30DETT is a 3.0-litre V6 with twin turbochargers and twin intercoolers, giving 280 PS at 6,400 rpm and 388 Nm at 3,600 rpm. A naturally aspirated VG30DE of 230 PS and 273 Nm was offered too. Gearboxes are a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, driving the rear wheels.

The Z32 came as a two-seater and as a longer 2by2, with or without a T-bar roof, and a convertible joined in August 1992. Underneath are multi-link suspension at both ends, aluminium opposed-piston brake calipers and, on the twin turbo, Super HICAS four-wheel steering. A facelift in October 1998 brought a new front, new tail lights and xenon headlights, and production for Japan ended in August 2000.

What Z32 owners upgrade

The Z32's V6 is packed tightly under the bonnet and runs hot, so cooling parts are a priority: uprated radiator caps and cooling panels that direct air to the radiator. Uprated brake discs and pads from Project Mu are the other staple on a car of over 1,500 kg.

Owners also buy oil filters from the oil and fuel range, pod and panel filters and air flow meters for the intake, and handling rods and bushes, including Ikeya Formula and Rigid Collar parts. Works Bell steering boss kits are a common interior change. HKS, Nismo, APEXi and GReddy are among the other names Z32 owners choose.

Genuine parts

Heat is behind most Z32 faults. Engine-bay wiring, the rubber vacuum and coolant hoses under the intake plenum, the twin turbo's turbo seals and the cam seals all age faster in it. The cambelt is a scheduled job and should be treated as due on a car without records. T-bar roof seals and blocked drains let water into the sills.

Hoses, seals and belts are in our genuine Nissan parts catalogue.

Wheels

The Z32 has five studs on a 5x114.3 bolt pattern, a 66.1 mm hub bore and M12 x 1.25 nuts, and its factory wheel is a 16x7.5 +45. See wheels that fit the Z32.