Aashenfox

Definitely helps! Thanks for that. Yeh I'm figuring 150 quid for oil and a battery is a small price to pay for the peace of mind. New wheels and tires will be coming at some point, so if the tires have a little flat spot it's not the end of the world. Roads are so bumpy here I probably won't be ableto tell.

That's the whole problem with the Z, gotta spend a 'lot' to get something 'better'. Good luck with the R, hot hatches are still great in their element!

Hiya all, given the ownership cycles of our cars, I don't suppose many of you will remember me, so here's a short refresher on my back story...Sorry for the essay. :D I'm a Brit living in Greece. Been through a number of sports cars in the past. Bought a 350z about 4 years ago following the theft of my rare BMW 335xi with 400hp <sniff>, the Z had been horribly abused by previous owners; suspension arms and springs cut for moar low, huge chinese wheels, mismatched tyres, LED disco in the dashboard, main key lost, only valet key, missing reservoir caps in the engine, wrong clutch plate had been fitted (worked but juddered like crazy), and more I can't remember... So I started a restoration job on it and have spent a few grand (if that sounds weird, remember in Greece, these cars are still worth 10-15 grand), and now it's basically brand new underneath, driftworks arms all around including camber, full coilovers, all bushings, sway bar links, got some stock wheels and new tires and a set of spacers and all was going ok. New complete clutch, and loads more. Fortunately, the engine, gearbox and chassis are good (no rust in Greece). Then at the end of the summer before last, the drivers window motor died. It already needed a driver's side door lock actuator, so I parked it up for some time to order the parts, then when they came I had other priorities. So the car has now been sitting about 15 months without even being started, it was running normally when I left it, with new oil, and about 1/4 of a tank of fuel. The battery was also new-ish when it was parked up. So that's the story so far. Now it's Greek 'MOT' has run out and it's time to get back on it. I have the motor (new) and another actuator (second hand) and a we're going ot fit those with a friend next weekend. The question is what to do with the oil, fuel and battery, and I'm looking for some pointers. 1) I know the fuel needs to come out, but is it likely to have damaged anything, or 'turned to varnish' as you so often hear about (I assume that's at best an exaggeration and at worst an old wives' tale). 2) The oil was literally recently changed when I stopped using it, it should be ok right? 3) Am I likely to need a new battery? 4) How should I get the existing fuel out? Coincidentally, the car has another common Z problem which is the fuel floater not registering certain ranges of tank state, so I've got a new (low mileage second hand) entire pump and floater unit, so we will be fitting that at the same time, which means we'll have direct access to the tank. Would it best to simply syphon it out through there? 5) Anything else I should look out for after the car being sat for so long in what is always a dry, indoor, low temperature variation environment? Thanks in advance guys and gals, feels good to be back, I have more plans for the car this year, including finishing off all this stuff, wrapping it and doing some interior stuff. :) It's a le mans sunset by the way ;)

Still in the box mate, can't tell you, but a vendor on here sells them, Chris at TarmacSportz, maybe he can help you out. When I fit mine it will be September-ish, cos I'm getting a new rear bumper, so I wouldn't hold your breath for my input, sorry bro. About the spacers, yeh, it was a visual thing, but it is also more common to have staggered spacers,. I also have the same spacers on the same wheels, so it's a gap I'm used to seeing. 20/25 and 25/30 being the favoured combos. Some do go 20/20, but those that do have a visually more sunken rear than us.

Just got some that look identical meself (LED rear fog/indicator), courtesy of tarmacsportz! Nice Zed, welcome! P.S. By the way, I could be wrong, but I reckon you've got 25mm spacers on the rear (if they are stockers painted black, which they look like).

wtf? I'm out...

Don't know how photobucket will carry on now. Nobody is going to use them. Unless they are reinventing themselves for some totally different purpose, I don't understand how this is a good business decision. I find it hard to believe that a lawyer couldn't argue that the damage they have done to existing internet content amounts to destruction of people's intellectual property (though I'm sure there is some fine print that is supposed to protect them, but we all know the fine print means nothing unless the judge agrees that it's appropriate, reasonable and consummate with the service provided). Not to mention they must be without a conscience. Several professional reviews of products for which I was paid thousands of dollars (total, not each!) are now ruined and I have no obligation to repair them for the people who I wrote them for (it was their decision to keep my photobucket links and not download for their own hosting) nor do I have the originals for most of those now. Even if not criminal, it's criminally stupid, cos I now hate them with an absolute passion for essentially ruining half the 'free hosted' internet. DIY guides are ruined, picture threads on every forum, it beggars belief. Sorry if this has all been said earlier, I didn't have time to read the thread entirely right now, I'll do so later.

I've got those pads on my wishlist too, seem like a bargain for a genuine 'jdm' product, I would wear them without hesitation, very prestigious brand.

By the way... http://www.planet-9.com/911-complaints/95429-beware-premature-failure-porsche-pccb-ceramic-brakes.html I'd say this supports my assertion that much more expensive discs (10 GRAND a set) also crack, and that cost is not an indicator of quality or longevity.

Yeh, I was going on anecdotes which most car enthusiasts have heard, if it's an urban legend, so be it, I assumed it was valid I've heard it so often. Anyway, as previous, picking up on a single debatable point, does not invalidate what I was saying. Horses for courses, those advocating spending 700 quid on a set of road discs are doing nobody except the manufacturers a favour.

An hour drive is an excuse to give her a run, get 'er down to CS.

Bloody hell, I'd forgotten how bad that was. I don't know if I'd have been happy to take the car back if I was Blackadder! Even with McLaren god level engineers telling me everything's fine. Hate insurance companies, mine stuffed me, and the funny thing is, people who have a lot of claims experience have told me I did quite well with my settlement. :O What show fixed that F40? I've been out of the UK too long, but I want to see it!

Thanks for being so condescending, that was really nice of you. I venture that there are more tread patterns than different types of metal used in brake disc manufacture, let alone rubber compounds, radial types, and everything else but that's not relevant anyway so let's not get bogged down in whether or not I like Ewen's analogy. My 5 year old knows what heat treatment is (probably?) what does that have to do with why the OP needs to spend double on some DBAs? Especially given that the stock discs on the Porsche 911s are well known for cracking and they're a grand a corner. Don't tell me they use cheap manufacturing methods or materials. Let me save you the trouble guys, what you want me to say is that the DBAs are better discs and will last longer and shed heat quicker (which is what a brake needs to do, nothing else is important except converting that kinetic energy to heat and then dissipating it as quickly as possible). Yes, I admit that, of course they are, things generally ARE more expensive for a reason. I have a base model, it has tiny tiny discs (I have brembos, just haven't decided what colour to do em yet, that's how unimportant they are in my upgrade plans), are the brakes rubbish? No. So let's be clear first of all that the Brembos are overkill for road use in the first place. Any brembo caliper sized disc is going to be effective enough at dissipating the heat generated by road (even fast road) use, so anything beyond that is cream. Now, if the OP had said "I've got deep pockets and I want to put something nice on my car, it's for fast road use", then I'd be right up there with you guys, saying get a nice set of stoptechs, DBAs, or even a BBK, but that isn't the case here. People who are in the bizz get a bit funny about their personal preferences and tend to think they know what's best for everybody because it's what they've found works best on the car. Most people don't need what works 'best' they just need what works. Edit: By the way, I don't cheap out on my brakes either, I just don't spend double when I don't need to.

I came here late, but I was going to say...no camera improvements, and none were needed. There's no reason an S7 owner should upgrade, unless you are being stalked by the fashion police.

I had no idea that those high frequency things worked on young humans. Thanks for the info. By the way though, they absolutely SHAFT the local wildlife too, so use those frequency emitter things with care. Poor bats and owls, etc.