Hodaka

A few days later, the reverse camera I ordered from eBay showed up. I bought it from a seller called "chenwenjiaoeb09" and it cost £13.50. Here's what came in the box: I followed parts of this guide and stripped the boot and installed the camera. The only thing I did differently is to run the wires down the centre of the car, rather than along the door. This was just because I had experience taking that section apart. Again, apologies as I didn't really take many pictures. Stripped boot The bits in the office Bad photo, but the reverse camera in action I've since had the camera installed for over 1/2 a year and have had no issues at all, other than the clip on the camera snapping off 2 weeks ago. I plan to try and fix it, and failing that will just order another one considering it's cost!

If you are actually reading this (if you are, wow! ), you'll know that I wasn't initially keen on the 350z. One reason for this was the interior - I especially disliked the centre console area. I decided I'd try and do something about it to the best of my ability. So I ordered the following: Nismo knob from eBay - Seller called "japex_trading" Gear knob & handbrake gaiter from eBay - Seller called "j-f-customs" Gloss black vinyl from Vinyl Warehouse Second hand Pioneer AppRadio 2 - From "ebsop" on here Stereo harness for the above with steering wheel controls I followed this guide and proceeded to remove the centre console. I also removed the area surrounding the handbrake (I don't know what it's called) using another guide, which I have lost. It was pretty easy though other than disconnecting the cable underneath... After opening her up, I found a mess of wires that one of the previous owners had added for an ancient aftermarket GPS: So I went ahead and removed everything I can, including the bluetooth adapter: I wanted to wrap the plastics, but didn't want the bubbly texture that's on them, so proceeded to sand down the surfaces. I'm 100% sure I did something wrong here, as it took me 8 hours or so to do... After the top layer was sanded off, I was left with a felt-like material: I wiped it down with IPA and used 3M Primer 94 along the edges, then used a heat gun to stick on the vinyl. I'm afraid I didn't take many pictures as I didn't have the intention of writing it up, so that's about it for this one. I also had a load of guides I used, but I've lost all of them Anyway few hours later, I had installed and put everything back together. I do intend to do something about that centre cubby "button", and also need to remove the wrap from the ash tray. Before After I don't have any space to work at home, so all of this was done in the office car park. I started after work on Friday, and by the time I was finished it was 2pm on Saturday. I was absolutely knackered! Good thing the wife was away at a conference, else I would have been in a world of trouble!

I spent the following few months browsing the forums and looking for the next thing to do. I ended up getting myself the following: JWT Pop Charger from Tarmac Sportz RDX Stubby Aerial from Tarmac Sportz Aluminium Vent Trims from Asad So first on was the aerial. If you've spent any time on these forums, you'll know this is pretty much a mandatory mod. Everyone on here loves a short one! The old aerial took a little persuasion to remove but it was done! The first mod that I actually did anything. So proud of myself Before After Next up was the pop charger. I found this guide on my350z, which came in very handy! The only issue I faced was screwing in the heatshield to the air duct. The air duct plastic is very soft, so I ended up holding the drill bit in between my fingers and drilling the hole that way. Needless to say, it was a pain! I only bothered screwing in 1 screw, much like the OP in the guide. I took the car for a drive after fitting the pop charger and it made a noticeable change to the noise inside the cabin. Much deeper/throatier than before, which sounded great! Also loved the hiss it makes!

Months went by owning the zed, and I was really enjoying it... a lot. I then discovered a magical place with a wealth of information and inspirational projects/pictures. Here's a link in case you're interested, I highly recommend it - http://www.350z-uk.com/ I started visiting the forums more and more, and became a member in February 2015. Reading other peoples' posts made me really want to modify my own car, but having no experience/knowledge about anything car-related always held me back. In March however (didn't take long), I decided to take the plunge and get the roof wrapped in gloss black, and add tints to the windows. A simple mod, but I absolutely loved the way it transformed the look of the car. The company I used was called Dino Tints and I believe it was around £250 for the roof wrap and tints all around. The work was carried out in a day. They can come to you, but the weather looked grim on the day I had the work done so they collected/dropped off the car. I was hooked.

Soo... I've finally decided to stop being lazy and actually start a build thread! I guess I'll start with a bit of background about myself to put it into context. I got my driving license in 2012, and bought myself a 04 plate BMW Z4 3.0i roadster. It was a great car, but I'm a bit of an impulse buyer and didn't really do my homework beforehand. I got the SMG version, which caused nothing but issues during the entire duration of my ownership. Apparently the SMG is well known to be problematic, especially at the mileage I bought it at. In retrospect, I probably should have sussed that the previous owner didn't really care about his car as well. For example he used water instead of windscreen wash. Anyhow thousands of pounds of repairs later, the car started popped into neutral randomly when shifting, had loud clunks etc... The mechanic I used said that the part he suspected could only be bought from BMW as part of a larger assembly, and the parts alone would be around £3,500. I don't think he was BSing me, as he had been advising me to sell it for quite a while, and even on this occasion he said his personal opinion is to call it a day. So I did, and the search for my next car began. When looking for my first car, I had also looked (online) at the 350z. Don't kill me, but I wasn't actually that big a fan of it. Saying that, I saw a listing come up nearby, so I decided to go take a look. Good thing I did - as I fell in love with it as soon as I saw! Impulses kicked in again, and I had bought it a week later (July 2014). Really need to learn to control my impulses! The zed I bought was an 04 plate with about 58,000 miles on the clock. As far as I'm aware, the car was completely stock, which was how I planned to keep it. And that sums up the beginnings of my journey with my zed. Just a quick note - It's been a while since I've done some of these mods, but I will try to provide as much information where possible and/or provide links to threads/pages I found useful. I'm still clueless about cars, but I have definitely gained a wealth of knowledge on here and it's my hope that some of my word vomit will help others

Haha fair enough! I would have been in the same boat + it would have taken me ages too. Luckily I have a friend who's pretty good at these things to help out if/when needed

Haha, well noticed! The missing fog light was a mistake on my part. We're actually in discussion on the other thread right now but setting it up so that you have the brighter red light as the brake light / fog light. Flyboy has suggested using some diodes in series, you could set it up so that it acts as a fog light when that's turned on, else it functions normally as a brake light. Hopefully I'm explaining that ok?

God... such scumbags... I really feel for the owner...

Gosh, love it! Just to clarify I do understand you correctly, is the below image correct? I don't really know much about selecting components - what diode would you recommend? Once I get around to it, I'll take some pics etc... assuming you don't get clarification from Flyboy/someone else before then. I'll be doing this after I get my replacement OS unit though, so will be a few weeks.

Same here, can't wait for the pillar covers

How strange... As you've disassembled & reassembled many times yourself, I assume you've already checked the connections as well. I'm out of ideas but I hope you get to the bottom of it. I know how super annoying small things like this can be!

and congrats on your purchase Love the colour Chris @ Tarmac does them for £17.50 - http://www.tarmacsportz.co.uk/GB/RDX_STUBBY_ANTENNA_/RDX_39151_.aspx

I agree with Davey - if you haven't already done so, try replacing the battery. I had a very similar issue to you - sometimes it worked fine from 20m away, sometimes I'd have to spam press it while standing next to the car (moving my arms around as I have no idea where the receiver is) etc... Changed the battery and now it works as it should. Threw me off for a while as I expected a more steady decline in performance, rather than it being intermittent.

Just a quick update. Car Lab got back to me this morning and said they'll be sending over a new offside unit to replace the one that's faulty Now just need the courier company not to drop it / step on it / use it as a seat etc... on it's way over

I got the smoked set And yep, was a mistake on my part. I plan to rewire them once I move into my new house.

I've sent them some pics and a video. They emailed me today saying they're investigating and will get back to me within 24-48 hours, so once I hear back I'll let you guys know. Definitely seems like a dodgy housing to me. The water's still in there in fact (it hasn't evaporated). The lights looks absolutely awesome, so as long as this gets sorted I'll be very chuffed. Will let you guys know once I know more.

Looks really good! Would look even better with some wheel shine

Sounds good about the fog light. I plan to have a go as well, but after we exchange/complete/move in to our new house. Finally get a garage! A bit small and old, but can't complain! Quick update regarding Car Lab support. I emailed them yesterday night and they've replied. We've only just started the back and forth, but from their response they definitely seem to be helpful so looking good so far. Again, will update you guys as things progress, as customer support is obviously important in case things like this happen.

That.... is a very good point! I feel stupid for not thinking of that! Just noticed an issue with my offside light today, where it looks like there's water getting into the housing. Thought it was a crack initially, but I had taken some pics of it an hour apart (at bottom of this post) and I noticed it's moved upwards, so I'm pretty sure it's water (it's been raining all day). The line runs all the way across the width of the light. Hopefully you can make it out in the pics. I'll contact Car Lab and see what they say - will update you guys once I hear from them. I really do love the look of the lights, so hopefully this will be resolved without any issues. Fingers crossed! 10:15pm before leaving my parents house 11:15pm after I arrived home

Looks like he already has rays on his zed

Erm, subtle and cheap upgrade #1 for me would be, stubby aerial

Happy New Year! Hope you had a great birthday too!

For anyone wondering, before / after pics: And video of them working: It doesn't appear to have fog lights, so looks like you'll have to sort that separately as long as I understand the below correctly? Personally, that's something I'm more than willing to sort as these do look great! Thanks Tuck again for sorting *EDIT* As per Apex's suggestion in post #49, a way of sorting the fog light "issue" is to tap the blue brake wire into the fog lights instead. Makes a lot of sense!

Just fitted these today, and love them! Now need to get facelift rear brake lights! Oh and noticed they have dual reverse lights and are missing the fog light, so I'll need to sort something out before the next MOT. No biggie. *EDIT* Regarding the above comment about the fog light, Apex suggested something which makes a lot of sense, which is to hook up the brake lights (blue wire) to the fog light. That way you don't lose the fog light functionality. If noone else fits it this way before I get around to it, I'll update you guys with which wire you need to tap into (I have no idea right now). Before / after pics: Video of them working: Got that installed, the rear brake lights tinted very slightly, bumper tucked, spacers fitted (20/25mm) and even had time to wash the car. Today has been a productive day

Thanks for posting the guide. Should definitely help me out when I get around to installing! Strangely the initial bumper removal link didn't work. Maybe this one will? http://www.350z-tech..._Bumper_Removal Oh, and I'd love to see an end product shot as well if you don't mind