Nissan RZ34...A future classic, or a byzantine modern mess?

[JWG]

My Dad was in his 40's back in the 1980/90's. Contrary to what many of you think, the 80's weren't "20 years ago...). He was doing okay at the time, but a divorce and some other things put a bit of stress on his finances, which isn't the point of this thread really, but I thought how cool would it have been, if he had bought a C4 ZR1, or a VR4, or a 300ZX TT and just kept it as a second car? He would be cruising around in that today, super cool!

So I got to thinking, why not do this with a RZ34 Nismo manual?

Then reality hit and I see it uses a "screen" for a dash cluster, it has a lot of other CAN BUS systems in play, and I wonder...is the RZ34 something you could even pretend to own for 20-30 years, or is it just disposable, unlike a 1980's Porsche, etc and doomed by our throw-away coulter and the desire to have a bunch of whiz-bang stuff we discard every buying cycle?

I know 350Z's are still running strong and in great shape, so it's not the engines or diffs or boxes, but my concern is the CAN BUS systems, the dash "screen", stuff that will deadline a modern car. Can this stuff be worked with/kept alive/does the Nissan architecture, electronically, allow for this? Or is the RZ34 something you need to just enjoy on lease and go buy that Classic 280 and forget about owning the modern Z for long?

I am especially interested in the opinions of people who have actually torn into this or similar cars to that level.

 

[takemorepills]

It's a future classic the day you buy it.

Although you're concerned about the tech, it's far less than other modern vehicles, and Nissan was one of the first to introduce it with the Infiniti Q45 back in the 90's.

I've done motor swaps on older Nissans with early CAN systems, integrating modern VQ35 CAN bus into the older car. Good news is that Nissan doesn't password protect the modules. On my Q60, people were hacking the screens to display the GTR settings.
There's companies offering upgraded screens for the Infiniti Q FM platforms and the Nissan Armada. Plug and play, no passwords.....

 

[JWG]

It's a future classic the day you buy it.

Although you're concerned about the tech, it's far less than other modern vehicles, and Nissan was one of the first to introduce it with the Infiniti Q45 back in the 90's.

I've done motor swaps on older Nissans with early CAN systems, integrating modern VQ35 CAN bus into the older car. Good news is that Nissan doesn't password protect the modules. On my Q60, people were hacking the screens to display the GTR settings.
There's companies offering upgraded screens for the Infiniti Q FM platforms and the Nissan Armada. Plug and play, no passwords.....

I have read that all the Nissan (RZ34 in this case) modules are "plug and play" and don't require any "handshake" or software integration like BMW, etc. do. For example, if my dash dies in 2047, and I go find another Nismo in the junk yard with a working dash module, I can just plug it in and it will function if it physically fits and is itself still working. Same for suspension modules etc. BMW, MB, etc. require integration or they won't "hand shake". Am I understanding correctly?

 

[takemorepills]

I have read that all the Nissan (RZ34 in this case) modules are "plug and play" and don't require any "handshake" or software integration like BMW, etc. do. For example, if my dash dies in 2047, and I go find another Nismo in the junk yard with a working dash module, I can just plug it in and it will function if it physically fits and is itself still working. Same for suspension modules etc. BMW, MB, etc. require integration or they won't "hand shake". Am I understanding correctly?

Yup.

The day may come that Nissan pulls that crap too, but the Z is still technically "ancient", and people are beginning to realize that's actually desired as they realize everyone else has gone too far off the deep end.

The new Sentra and Armada has gone full LCD widescreen dash, I don't know if Nissan implemented module hardware locks on those, all of the competitors with those screens do it.

Wanna really get your blood boiling? GM has begun manufacturing their trucks with door panels that are unserviceable. Bad power window switch? All new door panel. Bad interior door handle? All new door panel. And they come in a dozen different material/color combos. Once GM stops making the replacement door panels, owners will be SCREWED.

Nissan has been using the same interior parts in the Z over twenty years. Doesn't seem so janky in 2026, does it?

Speaking of the LCD cluster, Nissan was cheap and the cluster is the same across many models (Honda does this too) so physically the same.

On the Q60, the infotainment was related to the GTR, so Nissan loaded the model specific files into the screen ROM, you could hack into it and enable GTR model and you'd get the performance pages and startup animation from the GTR. I believe VW/Audi does the same thing. Their clusters are preloaded with Golf R, GTI, basic Golf, e-Golf, Taos, etc, and people will tinker with the file to bring up the wrong car, just for giggles. No harm to switch vehicle styles.

It makes it cheaper because the manufacturer is basically buying the same exact p/n from their screen vendor, they can quickly select the vehicle it's going into before installing it. It's just a selection since the software files for all applicable vehicles is just sitting in the memory.

 

[Zplz]

“… but the Z is still technically "ancient", and people are beginning to realize that's actually desired as they realize everyone else has gone too far off the deep end…” Indeed.

 

[haohmaru]

The 300ZX was advanced for it's time, used some unique tech and they are still kicking. So to @takemorepills points about all the cross use, recycled parts and "older tech" of the new Z, I think they have a long life ahead of them. They are relatively simple.

Go work on a pre OBD2 car with technical issues and see how "simple" they are to work on, lol. Thank god for forums.

 

[takemorepills]

Go work on a pre OBD2 car with technical issues and see how "simple" they are to work on, lol. Thank god for forums.

On my 1987 Prelude Si, it was put a paper clip in the under hood "test connector" then pull out the ashtray in the rear seat and count the blinks of the LED there was only a few codes available, and they were always misleading

 

[takemorepills]

Here's the Q45 ad for Nissan's first implementation of CAN bus

 

[haohmaru]

In 2056 some kid who isn't even born yet will buy a beat up 2023 Z and will be reading (or AI will be summarizing) these ancient texts trying to get it running again.

He'll bring it to classic car shows. Old timers will come around and talk about how much better cars were back then.

 

[takemorepills]

In 2056 some kid who isn't even born yet will buy a beat up 2023 Z and will be reading (or AI will be summarizing) these ancient texts trying to get it running again.

He'll bring it to classic car shows. Old timers will come around and talk about how much better cars were back then.

Not if Yellowstone pops off

 

[JWG]

Here's the Q45 ad for Nissan's first implementation of CAN bus

I did find this article, is it just AI Slop, or accurate?
https://www.go-parts.com/garage/body-control-module-nissan-z-2023-2025

 

[takemorepills]

I did find this article, is it just AI Slop, or accurate?
https://www.go-parts.com/garage/body-control-module-nissan-z-2023-2025

That's not AI slop. I actually read that magazine ad back in the 90's with my own eyes. I took the pic from an eBay listing.
https://ebay.io/m/HiJEGJ


The BCM in a Nissan needs to be programmed because of the anti-theft system. Up until recently, Nissan called this system NATS. When they went to push-to-start fobs, they may have stopped referring to it as NATS. I used to swap NATS powertrains into older Nissan chassis, I'd just make sure to get the original key, ECM, BCM and transponder from the same car.

The BCM in the FM chassis is at risk of failure for sunroof equipped cars like the G and Q cars, or a bad windshield install. Water can get into the BCM from a leak and short it out. Probably very unlikely in the Z since no sunroof. If you have the windshield replaced, and you're really worried about the BCM, you could always inspect it to make sure the new windshield doesn't leak, which is rare.

 

[JWG]

That's not AI slop. I actually read that magazine ad back in the 90's with my own eyes. I took the pic from an eBay listing.
https://ebay.io/m/HiJEGJ


The BCM in a Nissan needs to be programmed because of the anti-theft system. Up until recently, Nissan called this system NATS. When they went to push-to-start fobs, they may have stopped referring to it as NATS. I used to swap NATS powertrains into older Nissan chassis, I'd just make sure to get the original key, ECM, BCM and transponder from the same car.

The BCM in the FM chassis is at risk of failure for sunroof equipped cars like the G and Q cars, or a bad windshield install. Water can get into the BCM from a leak and short it out. Probably very unlikely in the Z since no sunroof. If you have the windshield replaced, and you're really worried about the BCM, you could always inspect it to make sure the new windshield doesn't leak, which is rare.

What else isn't plug/play?

 

[takemorepills]

What else isn't plug/play?

I don't own a Z yet. I did own it's bigger cousin Q60, and I own a fully loaded Titan Pro-4x, I'm mostly presuming that Nissan didn't invest anything into the electrical architecture of the recycled Z platform.

I have very in depth knowledge of the aforementioned Nissans, for example, the LED headlights on my Titan are relay driven, most manufacturers use the CAN directly to the LED headlights. Not Nissan (they did from 2016-2019 Titan, but for 2020+ Nissan went back to the old relay driven setup).

I've not seen anything from the owners of the new Z that would indicate the Z is any different than my other newer Nissan/Infiniti vehicles. For example, the rearview camera in many newer vehicles is on the CAN bus, but I've seen owners on this forum upgrade to a higher resolution camera. If it was a CAN bus camera they probably couldn't do that, and the cameras in my Titan are also not on the CAN bus. I'm just assuming Nissan has kept things as simple as possible.

 

[JWG]

I don't own a Z yet. I did own it's bigger cousin Q60, and I own a fully loaded Titan Pro-4x, I'm mostly presuming that Nissan didn't invest anything into the electrical architecture of the recycled Z platform.

I have very in depth knowledge of the aforementioned Nissans, for example, the LED headlights on my Titan are relay driven, most manufacturers use the CAN directly to the LED headlights. Not Nissan (they did from 2016-2019 Titan, but for 2020+ Nissan went back to the old relay driven setup).

I've not seen anything from the owners of the new Z that would indicate the Z is any different than my other newer Nissan/Infiniti vehicles. For example, the rearview camera in many newer vehicles is on the CAN bus, but I've seen owners on this forum upgrade to a higher resolution camera. If it was a CAN bus camera they probably couldn't do that, and the cameras in my Titan are also not on the CAN bus. I'm just assuming Nissan has kept things as simple as possible.

See, this is the kind of stuff that will be a big deal in time. Thanks!!!