G1en

Update time you sexy people... Let me start off by saying its been a month of ups and downs for me and the Zed, and like any good relationship we have both come off a little battered and bruised but have made up and are determined to make it work for the sake of the kids. So going back to start of May, and after Japfest I had another hillclimb round of which things didn't go the way i'd planned. You may have read on other threads about this but allow me fill you in. The weather had been predicting rain all week and sure enough the day before it rained and on the morning it was damp outside so I decided to take 2 spare wheels with the extreme wet tyres on as I could only fit 2 in the car along with everything else. My plan was if it was damp or light rain to put the wets on the rear as that's where I have most problems (traction off line and out of corners) If it was dry/dryish the nankangs would stay on. 2 practice runs in the morning were done in very nice conditions, things were looking good: Then whilst breaking for lunch the heavens opened and although it made my car stand out with some good bead action, I decided it was time to put the wets on: As it can take quite a while to wait for your timed run after being called in batches, lady luck was not on my side and out came that chinese man I didn't bargain for going by the name of FU King Sun. the track dried and let me tell you, having dry tyres on the front and wets on the back when its dry does not work, the back end losing traction and sliding all over resulting in a poo time of around 70 seconds. back to the paddock and on went the nankangs for the next run. But my weather God have another trick to play and on the way down to the start the heavens opened, I must have run over a cat on the way to the event as this was getting annoying. Because due to the number we were only getting 2 runs I had to push on ( I say had to, its not not formula 1 so I could have just took it easy and settled for 7th out of 15) but No, why do that when you can find out how crap semi-slicks are in the wet and smash into the tyre wall, that's much more fun right. So the day ended with me stuck under the car trying figure out what fluids were pissing out everywhere getting royally soaked because by now hurricane kick you in the bollocks had decided to turn up and have a laugh as well. I drove home steadily scattering gravel all over the roads and parked the Zed in the garage to take a good look at another day. Damage Assesment: Front Bumper needed: check Power steering Cooler needed: check Washer bottle, pipes needed: check More bumps and scrapes on the car: check Main Radiator front support needed: check Luckily the main radiators and oil cooler were ok, the undertray took a big hit as well but luckily being aluminium z-speed one it could be fettled back into some kind of shape. I managed to strip the front end down in the very limited space in the garage which meant I could do bits each night after work. Double bonus really as I get to learn more about the car and it gets me out of sitting through 2 hours of sh^t telly each night. stripped down I was faced with this: Anyhow, I've forgot to mention that I think the reason for coming off lie with the car and not my mastery behind the wheel, I was questioning my ability at one point but like any good F1 driver, if theres anyone else or any thing you can blame then do that as it must be there fault, right? So all the lights lit up on the dashboard and the wheels seemed to all lock up, I had no braking and no steering which when you combine the two it doesn't need dick dastardly to tell you, you may be in trouble. So I put out the SOS to the forum and decided to install one of @cs2000 fancy turn off assists chips. That way the possible sensors or driver aids at fault could not scupper my Hamilton like skills and if I did come off again, then I would know there was something else to pin the blame on. pic below of the unit, I could not get the connector out so had to unbolt the entire unit and do everything in situ: and managed to put the button in the spare slot I had next to the 2 buttons for the heated seats that don't work because I don't have heated seats. Over the last 2 weeks I had to purchase the new bits required to get the car back running and looking respectable, so like any man, I did my man maths and thought why not upgrade while we are at it. Just ask the wife, its unbelievable how cheap some aftermarket parts are, she couldn't believe that to get the car back to normal and for the amount of parcels I got delivered, they only came to £24.95 she said I must be mistaken, to which I had to agree, i'd got it slightly wrong, the parts were £20 and the postage was £4.95! New Main radiator support was purchased from Nissan, and new mishimoto power steering cooler and fluid from demon tweeks: looks the business next to the oil cooler, just had to fabricate a bracket out of some aluminium angle I had around: Bashed the undertray back into shape and did away with the washer bottle and hoses for the headlight washers, who uses them anyway, just bought a couple of plastic plugs and silicone them into where the hoses went in the main washer bottle. Cheap mod and saves weight yo. Then purchased a KBD Nismo V2 polyurethane bumper from a chap on ebay that had originally purchased it from tarmac sportz and never fitted it, it was still folded up in the box as per pics he sent me, I got it relatively cheap (£10 to the wife) and the extra weight was offset by the mod previous. The polyurethane bumpers are supposed to be virtually indestructible (I will probably at some point test this knowing me) The fitment I would say is okay, needs work if you have a show car, but perfectly acceptable if its a drift/race/trackday focussed car: After it was all back together, I gave the car a good clean ready for next hillclimb event and purchased a square type JDM number plate to finish off. Not had chance to finish bumber, may well get in wrapped in near future rather than painted. Fast forward to now, just finished another round of harewood hillclimb championship. Now I was getting De-Ja-Vu during the week as its been forecast showers/rain for Sunday all week but luckily on Saturday it changed to just afternoon so I took the decision to just go on the nankangs and leave the others at home. its was very cloudy on arrival but dry and fairly warm so things were looking ok, heading down for first practice but who turns up, yep, Suzy Showers, nooooooo, I was ready to go cry in a corner but it turned out it was just a brief shower and that set the tone for the day really, warm and humid with the occasion light shower, so onto times. I was conscious I had not really posted any time of note so far this year and in my eagerness to get into the top few positions on the leaderboard I probably overdrove the first run squeeling round every corner and the brakes seem to be "going off" there is plenty of meat left on them but I was having trouble slowing down and I was breaking in the same spots as previous, really pushing the pedal and it just was not stopping quick enough, not locking up either so something I will have to look at moving forward. anyway a 67 second time was posted to put me in 4th. onto run 2, similar conditions and dialled back slightly to record a 66 sec, upto 3rd. still having big trouble at a sharp 120deg right where you brake from 70 to next to nothing. For run 3 I increased the tyre pressures to 36 rear, 37 front. I had been reducing them all day to the point of around 32psi but thought what the hell, lets just try upping them as according to nankang, for 1400kg+ cars pressure should be 34-42. It must have made a difference as last run (albeit with a brief sunny spell as well) was a 65 second effort to get me into 2nd in class. It was by no means a clean run as you could tell from the video below, a few mistakes/corrections and I was coming off power slightly earlier than ideal due to fading brakes so it bodes well for future, its still amazes me how much better the nankangs are when the sun is out or its warm and how relatively poor they are when its cold. Best not finish without saying that @Kieran O'Quick once again took the win which normally is a given BUT earnt extra brownie points today as he had car issues all day, (fuel pump intermittent) sensors needed changing, had an OFF and hit a pear tree, tried to copy me in wrecking a bumper and generally spent more time under the car than in it), so well done and sitting currently 2nd in the championship. I am lying around 15th with all the issues but still hoping to get into top 10 come end of year with hopefully some warm sunny days to come. Times from today (my number was 115) It was basically a battle of JDM Vs the Germans Myself, Kieren (350z) and Andy (MR2 turbo) along with non JDM Terry in his Talbot Subeam vs various BMW M3s, Z3s, Z4s, Minis and Porsches And I have only just realised now that us 4 took the top 4 spots with all Zi Germans behind us And another trophy to finish the day which goes a little way to making up for the hours and money spent last month, onwards and upwards! Video to follow of final run, lots more time available! Thankyou and Goodnight.

From a fellow uniformed person, i would say it will matter which clip goes in each connector as the ecu will send the signal down that specific route. Eg when the aircon is turned on it send signal down that wire to turn second fan on. As for one not working, this is a guess but maybe the fans only spin one way (possibly opposite to each other?) and either you have put them back together wrong way round or because the connectors are wrong its trying to spin them backwards? Just thinking outside the box. There are members that will know the issue, im sure you will get to bottom of it.

I will have the transmission mount, send me a pm with details and i will sort payment.

Welcome along

Yes, i do love the ultra yellow limited edition. Welcome

Welcome along

Just tell him your best mate also works for armada oil (what a coincidence) and he is going “offshore” tomorrow. You will give him the cash and have arranged for him to pass it on in a black briefcase. All you need is the Rig location and meet up time/point.

Welcome along

Not really the type of car you can clone and put false plates on.

Good info, seems strange how the recommended wheel width is the widest size in the “acceptable” range. Maybe the tread block works better with a bit of “stretch”? the sizes on offer are better for me with the 40 profile, it will raise the car back up little as it sits too low at the minute for normal use. To be fair, they are gonna be better than the AD08R as they are more a high performance road tyre than out and out track tyre. Looking forward to the review though as the nankang AR-1 i have are not at their best when cold or damp, the extreme wets are useless in the dry or warmth. In this country where we have 4 seasons in one day, these bad boys could be ideal, fingers crossed.

I would be up for it, as long as the car is still in one (or poss two) piece.

Let me know how the tyres get on. If they perform from the off and are great in dry and wet they could be my next hillclimb tyre as they are on the 1b list. They get great reviews but supposedly start to go off after a few hard laps which won’t be an issue for me. @davey_83 with pressures i have found starting with the manufacturers recommended for the weight of the car is a great start and tweek slightly from there.

Unfortunately not as the HR version has holes either end for the twin intakes. I can get a mishimoto power steering rad for £60 new direct which is very reasonable so only worth getting used if its from same place/person as rad support, sorry Ian

Due to a minor indiscretion with a tyre wall i am looking for a front bumper (oem or aftermarket) main radiator support (big section that the rads sit behind and crash bar attaches to) and the power steering radiator/cooler. If anybody has anything going cheap before i buy new let me know. It is 350 HR model yes, i have tried Alex

I have just removed both jets from my bumper after recent crash. The jets/brackets are perfectly fine, depending what i do regarding new bumper i may not use them so will update here if they are available if you don't get sorted before.

Yeah, i will have to try that kit, stability control i could understand on a corner but going in a straight line? I just think its the abs as i cant recall it ever triggering and i can do some last minute braking, but when i leave it too late the rears seem to lock up first, if i am starting to turn this usually results in a 180/360 spin. If abs was working correctly i would understeer yes?

It all works fine when i re-start the car though, its just strange that its happened at the same place twice and only there. The track was slightly damp on both occasion as well. Do you know if abs is front wheels only? As on other occasions the rears seem to lock way before the fronts, this may be to do with the 2-way diff, CL6 pads on rear, little weight on rear or prob all 3. Think i need to pull the fuses and try it out or the abs module (if there is such a thing) may be faulty as it feels like instead of pulsing the brake pedal (releasing, reapply releasing) it applies then fails (light comes on) then cannot disengage.

This happens when i am braking full on in a straight line. The brakes seize and stay seized even when i release pedal. I dont know if the car has some sort of G meter that thinks i am in a crash or something as i have uprated brakes and semi slicks and this braking zone is uphill so im going from 65 to 25 in about 10mtrs. As you say i may be overloading the system. I would much rather do the braking myself anyway as abs very rarely kicks in which is why i think something or some sensor may be faulty. Which fuses do you pull for the ABS/TC/SC on the HR?

Right then, after the zed today binned me into the gravel and tyre wall for the second time i need to get to bottom of why its happening. When i slammed on the brakes at around 65mph (on rev limiter in 2nd) the abs light and car skidding light came on and the brakes lock up sending me straight on to certain death (ish) Traction control is always off as its during hillclimbing/sprints. Any ideas whats happening. When i restart the car all lights come on (TC, ABS, Skid car (SC?) and stay on then go off when i pull away.

Welcome along

Did you find out the what the issue is?

I too have a red neck and face. The sun literally came out for 5 minutes? great turnout by us again. Big thanks to everyone involved I must have missed the warning sign at the entrance “caution firing range” as i kept hearing gun shots all day???

Japfest Silverstone & Prep Back home from another great Japfest day and first of all a big thank you to Andy and everyone involved in organising. Got to chat to lots of members as well as having a look round the usual mix of japans finest motoring icons. Sadly did not get the chance to watch any of the drifting as i stopped to help someone from the stand in a 350 who had broken down mid track session. Unfortunately we could not get him back running so had to call the AA. Hopefully he got home at a reasonable hour. I did get a poster signed by Bizz though (350 v8 drifter) for Masons bedroom, he might be 18 months old but never too young to start his petrolhead adventure. Anyways, rewind a week and I wanted to get the Zed looking its best for Japfest so booked in with the boss aka wife to let me have 4 hrs last Saturday and 4hrs yesterday to give the car some much needed TLC. If only I knew someone who sold detailing stuff locally.... but alas, i dont so had to take the strenuous 8mt walk to my wax and shine store aka utility room and raid that (again) I will quickly run through the process and products used. It was by no means a professional job but I am happy with the overall result from the time invested and it fit in well with all the other zeds on the stand today! Day 1: step 1 - spray wheels with carchem citrus degreaser diluted approx 1:10 and agitate with hogs hair brush including barrels of alloys then rinse. Wheels have already been coated in gtechniq C5 which makes cleaning much quicker and easy. Step 2 - using one of scotches finest brillo pads and some more citrus cleaner, scrub into tyres. Take note with this, if you get a “brown” lather then you will need to rinse and repeat until the suds are the normal white and most of the oils and dirt have been worked from the sidewalls. I only needed one pass as the tyres were relatively clean and had been previously coated. Step 3 - Fallout remover. You may think the wheels are now clean as i did but always remember to decontaminate them as you will be suprised how much fallout can build up. As i mainly use the car in anger now and the brakes take some abuse, i sprayed carchem revolt onto the wheels and left for a few minutes which resulted in this: Step 4 - Pre Rinse of car and blast off any chunks of dirt and get into the arches and give the underside a blast best as possible with karcher k4 i use. Step 5 - Snow Foam. I mixed some more citrus cleaner in with some dedicated carchem snowfoam into the lance as it would help both clean the car and strip it of previously applied wax/sealants. Then rinsed. Step 6 - 2 Bucket Wash. I used some random shampoo i had in the garage as i didn't need it to do anything other than lubricate for the wash mitt and it did have a lovely orange sent. Yes i know i need some grit guards, might even start selling them soon... Step 7 - Claying. As i had clayed the car twice in the previous 12 months i opted this time for Bilt Hambers “soft” clay which turned out to be a good choice as it was very cold and even the soft stuff took some working to make it plyable with the added benefit of not being too aggressive on the paintwork. Lubricated with some very watered down carchem clay lubricant. (You only actually need water with BH clays) but again the bubblegum scented clay lube won me over. Step 8 - DA Polisher. Then out came the DA for a one step polish on the Zed using a Lake Country Orange light cutting pad and Scholl S17 compound which is a good all rounder to give a moderate amount of cut and nice finish. If i had more time i would have used the S3 for the couple of deep marks and the S40 for the finishing but time is not my friend at this stage of my life so the one pass it had to be. One thing you can save time on when “correcting” paint is you dont have to buff off any claying residue as such, the polish sorts all that out: The paint came up quite well taking into account the polish is 3 years old and i was rushing. Reflection shot: So day one finished and car looking good: Day 2 step 9 - Clean Glass. Quick spray with carchem clarity glass cleaner and gtechniq mf5 glass cloth, then buffed with MF1 microfibre. Step 10 - Panel Wipe. Sprayed onto microfibres then every panel wiped so to remove all polishing residues and any other contaminants. Its at this stage you find out how good/bad your paintwork actually is. I still had minor marks and light scratches in a couple of spots but it was too late to start worrying now and overall i would say it was sitting at 7/10 Step 11 - Ceramic Coating. Now to do it “properly” you would do a base layer in one form of ceramic for scratch protection and a top layer in a different product for gloss/hydrophobicity. I did not have the time or patience for both so I used the gtechniq Exo V4 top coat which you can use on its own and gtechniq say do 2 coats if using it as a stand alone product, so i did, and it still has some anti swirl protection properties with it, just not as much as using a dedicated base layer ceramic. Another thing to note with these products is the car has to be dry when applying and kept dry for around 10-12 hours after. I checked apple weather which said 0% chance of rain yesterday, I then checked my eyes and the sky which was telling me something different. I decided to play it safe and move into the garage which had 3 drawbacks. I only had around a foot of space all way round the car, the lighting isnt the best and due to drawback 1 it meant i had to manipulate my body into positions it didnt want to go so my back and neck is killing me. My workspace below: Never the less, off we go and 10 mins after starting their is hailstones coming down outside, thank the lord of my eyeballs i ignored the iphone weather forecast. 1st coat done and this is the bottle: I had used slightly more than half but coat 2 goes on much faster as your not concentrating on making sure you get every last spot so it worked out i had the exact right amount in the 30ml bottle. Leave to fully cure overnight. Step 12 - Exhaust. Used some metal polish and a foam pad to clean up the back box and exhaust tips, something many people overlook as its mainly hidden beneath the car but it came up really well. Step 13 - Tyre Dressing. Some gtechniq T1 tyres dressing was applied with a sponge applicator then buffed with a microfibre. Gtechniq say to use one coat for a satin finish or 2 coates for a glossy wet look finish. Step 14 - turn up at a show and admire your own and everyone else's hard work and pride of joys.

I will meet you guys at LFE coming down from Leeds.

Welcome along