I'm brand spanking new here. Just bought my '09 G37 Journey Edition about a month ago (upgraded from an '04 G35 that I put 115,000 miles on) and I'm looking to do a few things. My previous G35 went through brakes very fast (new set of rotors/pads every 2 years) and it was getting to the point where I needed a new set and a lot of the electronics were failing on me, so I upgraded =D. I could not be more happy with this car. It turns heads (including my own). Whenever I pass a reflective building, I always stare at my car and I'm sure I'm not the only G owner that does this.

Anyway... down to business:

1. Tint. I can't remember (it's been forever) what tint I had on my previous G, but I believe it was around 35%. You could easily see in during the day if it was sunny out. I'd like something darker that prevents people from seeing anything but a shadow of a driver... but I also don't want to have to roll down the windows at night to drive. Does 20% sound about right? I don't give a f*ck about the laws and all that sh*t, so you need not advise on that. I just have anxiety and my car is sort of my comfort zone. Plus, sometimes I pretend I'm batman.

2. Exhaust. I love downshifting quickly to hear the growl of the engine, but seeing as how I'm a 23 year old (my parents didn't buy me either cars, I'm an entrepreneur and I've been working my butt off since I was a kid), I'd like something with a bit more growl to it. Can anyone recommend an exhaust kit? What do most people use?

3. Brakes. There was a serious issue with the brakes in the '04-'05 G35's. I'd go through them so damn fast and after just a week of driving I'd have to scrub off the caked on brake dust from my rims. Has this been fixed? I know a lot of it depends on how I drive, and I'm not expecting this new fresh pair to last TOO long since I drive like I'm about to crap my pants and the nearest reststop is 50 miles away, but with conservative driving, would you say they last a reasonable amount of time?

4. Gas. My dad is a dipsh*t and from time to time I let him borrow my car. I always put Premium in and have no problem with this, but I'm worried that his frugal dumba*s may have put regular in (he won't admit it). What's the worst case scenario? Just engine knocking? I gave him and my mom (I come from a poor family so they love the sh*t out of borrowing it to go to their friends parties) a lecture about putting in Premium, but I know he would try to sneak regular in to save a buck or two. Regardless, he's always been a car lover deep down, but had to sacrifice for minivans since I have 4 sisters, so I really like letting him get to borrow the G-baby.

Thanks for any info you can provide! I've really enjoyed reading your posts and I'm pumped as hell to be a part of this community. Rev on!

 

20% is probably perfect for what you're describing. A lot of people on the forum get 20%.

Search around on the forum on exhausts, popular ones are Fast Intentions and HKS.

Brakes, not too big on this one. I'm sure someone else can answer.

Gas, premium is the way to go. I don't think the occasional regular will hurt anything, but don't make it a habit.

Finally, welcome to the forum! Search around to get answers and ideas. There's a ton of knowledge here.

 

Welcome to the site.
Brakes seem to be better in the 2nd gen Gs, R1 performance gets pretty good reviews as far as a decent rotor & pad for the money.
I love my TopSpeed exhaust, not sure of your budget but these are a Y back setup for about $400, they haven't been out very long ( a couple months) so not much info on them, I think you'll love the "growl" but here's a couple threads~
https://www.myg37.com/forums/g37-sed...the-sedan.html
Top Speed exhaust - G35Driver

 

I had an 04 G35, too, and the brakes wore out way too fast. Infiniti admitted the problem and replaced mine twice at no cost to me.

I've got 17,000 miles on my 11 G37 and no brake issues yet. Way less brake dust than the 04, that's for sure.

 

1. I like 35% tint, but if you want to go darker without getting too ghetto, you can go 20%.
2. Exhaust. There are many. Do some research and pick the one you like. Fast Intentions, ARK, Stillen, Invidia, HKS, Greddy.
3. Not too familiar with brakes.
4. Occasional regular gas won't hurt anything. The only thing regular gas really does is decreases performance a bit...and that's even marginal and most people can't even tell the difference unless you race the crap out of your car. Your MPG might go down a bit too.

 

Awesome - thanks for the answers. Looks like I'll be getting the 20% done by a shop that had some good reviews near my house. Judging by the area, I could probably buy some drugs after (haha, jk).

Dude - awesome post! Thanks. I was hoping for some soundbites / videos to help me along with my decision. Money isn't really an issue, I just want to have a big **** eating grin on my face every time I start my car up =D

AH! If I had known they replaced them for free! Wow, that information could have saved me at least $6,000. I'm now more of a 'do-it-yourselfer' since my business has become more structured thus requiring less work, so I plan to do the rotors/pad replacements myself from now on.

Yeah, just gave my G-baby a bath yesterday by hand and noticed almost no brake dust in the entire month of ownership. It made me smile. I remember having to scrub off the caked on brake dust and that was no fun at all.

 

as for #4, give dad a full tank and tell him not to fill it. You probably owe him at least that much through the years. You'll be happier and so will he.

 

this man respects his elders. respect.

 

brakes are much improved as far as wear is concerned. i also had an '04 6MT sedan that devoured brakes. 2 brake jobs done under warranty until the 3yr/36k restriction. my '09 shows very good wear tendencies, however with my sport BBK brakes i do have the warping/shudder problem. this has also been fixed (twice) under warranty but keeps returning. i'm not sure what i'll do about it now, but i do have another appointment booked at the dealer to have another look.

as for fuel, don't worry about the occasional fill up on regular, your car won't die. stick to premium as much as possible for max performance and mileage, but don't sweat it.

 

Thank you. So where would we all be without our elders? They paved the way for you and me. Forget all this popular nonsense about things being better in the old days and the next generation being less well off than the previous. Your parents brought you into this world of Iphones, Google etc. .... be grateful

On the lighter side...they wiped your butt so get ready to return the favor.

 

I was raised by my parents to always fill the car up according to how far I drove. For example, if I drove an hour to see my girlfriend in IL in high school, I had to fill up old bessy (1994 Plymouth Voyager) with around $15-20 worth of gas. My dad did the calculations of how much gas it cost and would check before and after. He not only enforced that rule on me, but he also always fills my car up if he uses it (I could tell him all day to not worry about it, but he still would, the man is stubborn as hell).

 

I wish the friends who get free rides in my car had parents like yours =[ ^