Cs2000's Zed Journey

[cs2000]

Hey all,

 

Never really felt the need to do one of these, but due to some recent personal changes, there will be some cash spent on the Z, so thought id document it all both for others to use as inspiration, for me as a reminder of what I've done and maybe for any future buyers to have a record of the car!

 

Before spending the day looking at the lovely rear end of Bulletmagnets Z, I was quite happy in my Toyota Celica. But staring at that all day, I fell in love with it! Around 2 weeks later I asked to meet for a look around his car, just for ideas, and he was gracious enough to let me take it for a spin. Damn you! that 5 minute drive cost me £6500 about 4 weeks later...

 

After a search of only a week or so i purchased on Jan 11th 2013 was an almost standard 2004 silver GT model. I originally wanted kuro black or azure blue, but these colours seem to hold a large premium over anything other than silver, so Yep, nothing special.

 

 

 

 

The previous owner had just three mods. Gloss black vinyl roof, Pop Charger style intake and a Powerflow exhaust. All were very subtle and are as of this post,. actually still on the car! As you can tell, by the time I took the photos, I had already fitted the new model rear LED lights and a stubby, and so it begins. I swear, the stubby aerial is the gateway drug to Zeditus...

 

So a little while on, I had the roof re-wrapped by RT-Customs, the old one looked fine from a distance, but was scratched up close, and didn't quite go to the edges in places.

 

I then did bits and bobs such as replacing the standard HID's with 6000K ones for a slightly whiter light, changing all the standard bulbs to LED's wherever practical, but that was about it, until about 10 days ago...

 

Next post to see more...

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000

[davey_83]

Bonus of led rear lamps too.

 

August last year you were so lucky that hose didn't let go on you on the road!!!

Edited April 1, 2016 by davey_83

[cs2000]

Back in November, me and the Mrs separated. Yeah boo hoo etc etc etc. On the plus side, I meant the house we had needed to be sold, which would release some cash. Some of this is going on a new house, some is going on the Z SO onto the splurge...

 

First to fall victim was the OEM stereo. I have used this install to re-write the stereo install guide on the forum, but the model I chose was a Pioneer SPH DA-120 Appradio, mostly because it supports Apple's CarPlay system.

 

Next, Chris @ Tarmac Sportz was contacted with a nice shopping list which was refined over time, and today, the first of the bits have showed up!

 

This lovely lot greeted me when I got home!

 

The large package (which was larger than I had expected!) contained a lovely shiny Invidia N1 Catback exhaust system!

 

 

 

 

This box had been opened, I presume by Chris to check it wasn't dented when he received it, but he also tucked something else in there A set of the much loved Berks HFC's

 

Upon opening the box, this US sized license plate holder was placed on the top which made me laugh! Totally useless for us, but a funny thing to have I thought.

 

Next, in the smaller of the two boxes, were a set of the Tarmac Sportz CF Mirror covers

 

A Tarmac Sports CF Slam Panel

 

And lastly a Motordyne plenum spacer which I didn't take a picture of

 

I was then told another package had arrived, this was covered in BC logos, so it was fairly obvious what this is

 

So that it. Tomorrow I will be fitting the Carbon bits and the plenum spacer. More parts will be arriving next week and probably the week after, and there is a remap booked at Abbey too at the end of the month.

 

More updates to come tomorrow when things have been fitted and as and when more goodies arrive!

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
i

[BobbyZ]

Happy modding I reckon that exhaust and cat combo will be fairly, erm, 'audible'

[Tom-89]

Back in November, me and the Mrs separated. Yeah boo hoo etc etc etc.

 

 

best attitude! done the same recently and all the money spent on other halfs can now be spent on more important stuff like toys.

[Mopedmark]

some nice parts

[gsexr]

[cs2000]

Back in November, me and the Mrs separated. Yeah boo hoo etc etc etc.

best attitude! done the same recently and all the money spent on other halfs can now be spent on more important stuff like toys.

Haha, couldn't agree more. Got no time to waste on people who don't want me around.

 

 

Happy modding I reckon that exhaust and cat combo will be fairly, erm, 'audible'

Haha, we shall see. I have the gopro ready for some audio capture The run back from Abbey Motorsport will take me back through the Dartford tunnel :D

[BobbyZ]

Nice will be interested to see what you think - AFAIK no one here has an N1. I considered it before I got my Ark, but chickened out

[BulletMagnet]

Didn't know you were staring at my rear end all day, let alone fell in love with it

 

Good on ya pal, now Zeditus can take full effect.

Last thing you got from me was the Nismo gear knob if i remember correctly

[cs2000]

Correct mate, still in there, I love it!

 

And yes. It's all your fault! Haha

 

I did some more work today, but didn't have time do a write up, will see what I can do tomorrow

[cs2000]

Hi again all. So ive been rather busy this weekend, and have the sore back to prove it! haha

 

So, firstly, was fitting the Tarmac Sportz CF items, namely the slam panel and mirror covers. The slam panel clips in using the OEM popper things, and the mirror covers come supplied with 3M tape, so nice and simple! Only got a photo of the slam panel for now however.

 

Next was fitting the Motordyne plenum spacer. This took about 45 mins in total and to be fair is pretty simple. You get all new bolts which are a touch longer than OEM to account for the extra thickness of the upper plenum with the spacer attached. The Motordyne instructions are very good telling you the torque values and the tightening order, so really cant fault it. As anyone who has taken off the plenum known, you end up taking off 4 vacuum hoses, and disconnecting the entire air intake, as well as the butterfly valves electrical plug.

 

Yep, its a rubbish photo, but what do you expect to see! haha

 

I also cleaned up the CF battery and brake fluid covers, kina getting a theme going here!

 

 

And them the problems started I have had the Pioneer headunit in the car for a little over a week now, but noticed on Saturday that if I turned the volume up past a certain setting, which wasn't excessively loud, the front passenger speaker distorted and crackled a lot. Using the fader controlled I sent all the sound to this speaker only, and it was fine?!?

 

I then did this to every speaker in the car and found that the rear drivers one was the culprit. Anytime this speaker was included on the fader, it would either crackle itself, or make another speaker crackle.

 

How do we rectify this? Well, a set of Vibe 6.5 inch component speakers for the front should do the job so says my man maths...

 

I installed these which to be honest is pretty easy. I ripped out the old bose speakers and used their frames as a spacer which stops the new speakers hitting on the window glass when it gets lowered. They sound pretty good but remember I'm not using an Amp on these, they're just wired in to the standard OEM setup using the high level stereo outputs so they're being driven at 50 watts. Theyre a touch quieter than the Bose speakers I suspect because of the lack of an amp, but you just nudge the volume up a tad more and its all fine again.

 

However my crackling audio problem persisted. SO what to do.... Well... how about a set of Vibe 6.5 inch Coaxial speakers for the rear deck...

 

Which leads us to this picture

 

I'm pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to do. Yes you need to take off the door kickplate trim, the entire side plastics where the seatbelts are, the glove box panel and the top, but it was all out within 10 mins withy no broken clips. Simply unbolt the old speakers and plug in the new ones and I'm please to say, the problem was STILL there

 

The last thing this could have been I thought was the wiring behind the stereo. I did busters mods to bypass the phono jacks so I wondered if my soldering was flaky or possibly in the wrong polarity, so I began taking the dash apart to get to the stereo. During this I tapped the volume buttons by accident and the volume rocketed up, but there was no crackle. what the hell!?! Anyway, I just put it back together and its now fine.

 

Ive absolutely no idea what caused the crackle. Ive spent a day, and £100 on speakers I don't actually need, but still, ive learnt a lot and the sound quality is a lot better, even if they're not amped.

 

I didn't take any pictures of the completed install as it all looks factory. Ive used all the OEM mounting positions and as much of the hardware as I could. Without taking off the door cards or rear deck plastics you wouldn't be able to tell visually that anything has changed.

 

As usual, more to come as/when, but I think the next mod will involve a bucket and some shampoo, the old girls a tad dirty at the moment...

 

On 01/04/2016 at 23:06, BobbyZ said:

Nice will be interested to see what you think - AFAIK no one here has an N1. I considered it before I got my Ark, but chickened out

You have me worried now! I have struggled to find anyone with one to be honest. Plenty of Gemini owners, but nobody with an N1 and Berks combo...

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for GoPro mounting positions to get decent audio of the exhaust but something interesting on the picture too?

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
Images

[Stutopia]

For the GoPro, I've tried a variety of options, none of which deliver decent, wind free sound with good exhaust noise and something interesting to watch. I'm getting an external mic with a dead cat to for the rear (out the wind) and then running a line up to the camera at the front.

[cs2000]

For the GoPro, I've tried a variety of options, none of which deliver decent, wind free sound with good exhaust noise and something interesting to watch. I'm getting an external mic with a dead cat to for the rear (out the wind) and then running a line up to the camera at the front.

Thanks for the comment. I have ordered a external mic and a dead cat mic so we shall see what happens. Id love to get some decent audio of the before and after as a reference for anyone thinking of the same setup, plus I intend to sell the powerflow system

[cs2000]

So, not really a mod, yet, but in preparation for the new wheels i wanted a TPMS system.

 

I'm sure there's someone out there that will blast me for this, but I can't resist a gadget!

 

Not wanting a cheapy-cheapy system i went for a middle of the road setup, namely the "CAREUD U912" system from eBay at a cost at the time of £77.99. It tells you tyre pressures aswell as temperatures which may be usefull for people tracking their car?? You get alerted to a pressure or temperature change below or above a certain level (which you set), any rapid change in pressure and a low battery in a sensor.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1x-U912-Car-Tyre-Tire-Pressure-Monitor-System-TPMS-with-Internal-Battery-Sensors-/262911913

—-2020 Edit—-

These appear to be available again from their “official” Aliexpress store.

https://aliexpress.com/item/32772765384.html

 

The seller says the system is specific for either Toyota, Mazda, Honda or Nissan, so when I paid I added a note asking for the Nissan one. Indeed it came in a nice box, with a product sticker detailing it was for a Nissan (top left barcode)

 

Now, a TPMS system is just a system of sensors and receivers, they aren't car specific, but from the instructions, I was able to figure out that the manufacturer specific kits are because of the little (what looks to be OLED) screen. it's designed to fit in an OEM blank button location. It's really tiny, for example, here it is next to an iPhone 4

 

And, surprise surprise, if you remove the centre console area, it fits PERFECTLY using the standard mounting clips of the blank button next to the heated seat switches, literally pop the old blank out, this clicks right in its place, talk about factory fit mods! This also gave me the perfect opportunity to move the drivers switch TO THE DAMN DRIVERS SIDE!!! (Seriously, what the hell were you smoking Mr Nissan... You gave the passenger both heated seat switches, and the handbrake...) Anyway, My OCD can now rest!

 

The screen needs 12V power. It comes with a 15amp fuse and an earth eyelet. I cut this off and wired a 12v cig lighter socket onto it that I had laying around just purely for ease of installation.

 

The sensors are internal so they can only be accessed during a tyre change, or like me when you fit new wheels and they come with metal valve stems.

 

 

All of the sensors are already paired to the control unit/screen, however if one ever develops a fault, of you swap rims around on axles, you can add new sensors, or reassign sensors to different rims, however from the factory each sensor is marked on the battery cover (as shown in the first photo above with either RL, RR, FL or FR. Just be sure to tell whoever does your tyre changes to respect this order when they reinstall the wheels.

 

To install them, you;

- Build the sensors as specified in the not-too-bad instructions.

- Unscrew the valve cap, metal collar and washer.

- Install the sensor on the inside of the rim and adjust its angle so the black part lays flat on the inside of the rim.

- Tighten up the valve stem with the included spanner so its angle in relation to the sensor is locked.

- Re-add the metal collar, this time from the outside of the wheel and tighten by hand, then the manual says to do one full rotation more with the spanner.

- Then add the tyre back to the rim, pump up to pressure and it should show on your screen.

 

Will add some photos of the screen actually on and working when i have the new wheels installed on the car.

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
Images

[davey_83]

You have your new strut brace spacer on wrong.........

[cs2000]

You have your new strut brace spacer on wrong.........

Hmm do I? May explain why it didn't fit too well, but its only temporary as my new Cusco one should be here tomorrow. So the little spacer rings actually go on top of the feet of the strut bar, then the bolts on top of that? Rather than underneath.

[davey_83]

The one spacer I can see is on top of the strut brace foot on the drivers side. The spacer should go on the stud and the strut bar on top, ie all spacers under the feet and strut bar adjuster re tighten.

 

I like your tpms install

[Stutopia]

TPMS is cool, let us know how it goes on the new wheels.

[cs2000]

The one spacer I can see is on top of the strut brace foot on the drivers side. The spacer should go on the stud and the strut bar on top, ie all spacers under the feet and strut bar adjuster re tighten.

 

I like your tpms install

Ahh yep I see it, well spotted As I said its temporary anyway, but thanks for noticing. I havnt even re-tightened (tensioned) the bar up to be honest. The Z is no longer my DD so it wont be moving again until at least the weekend.

 

TPMS is cool, let us know how it goes on the new wheels.

Will be sure to do an update when the new wheels arrive and ive used the system for a bit. I just love the fact it fits into an OEM button location.

Edited April 5, 2016 by cs2000

[cs2000]

Today i thought id tackle the common issue of the dirty looking Zed lights. This as im sure we alkl know is caused by UV damaging the plastic lenses over time, mine currently look like this.

 

 

 

I'm using the "AutoGlym Headlight Restoration Complete Kit" which came from Halfords for about £24.99 iirc.

 

You need to start by applying a good 3-4 layers of automotive masking tape to the area around the lights as i have done above, so you don't damage your paintwork during the process. In my case, my Halfords sold this too, and it was blue. It has quite a low tack so doesn't leave any residue behind, and is water resistant.

 

Essentially, its just a nice simple 3 stage process which uses velcro backed sanding discs and your cordless drill. This is the results after using the coarsest grit wheel

 

Stage 2, not too much different, but much less 'scratchy'

 

And then you have to use a stage 3 sanding pad, which i forgot to take photos of but it feels about as rough as a sheet of A4 paper!

 

Lastly is a foam pad with some provided compound which works miracles!

 

Granted, up-close you can still see marks so when my DA machine arrives i will spend a lot longer re-doing the polishing stage, but the damage to the lens has been cleared.

 

You have now removed whatever was left of the factory UV coating, so you need to take extra care of the lights. In my case, i opted to buy the Gtechniq C1 and C2 Liquid Crystal Kit from Amazon for £39.99

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gtechniq-Liquid-Crystal-30ml-100ml/dp/B004JNTVM2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

 

 

I will be applying this in a few days. This, along with regular top-ups of wax and quick detailer should keep them crystal clear for a long while yet.

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
Images

[BulletMagnet]

I can vouch for the GTechniq stuff, used the C4 on the headlamps because they are plastic. However, did not wax or apply anything else after the C4, and they still look pristine.

Edited April 8, 2016 by BulletMagnet

[cs2000]

I applied the C1 and C2 today, so we shall see. I will have a look at the C4 stuff, thanks

 

Just a little update this time around. Like many people, i have a reverse camera on the Z, its the one most of us have from eBay, looks exactly like this;

 

 

This camera performed admirably in low light due to its CCD sensor (vs CMOS) but it does struggle (understandably!) in total darkness and its design means a lot of the number plate light gets blocked out, which has caused me to almost fail an MOT before until i showed the tester that the bulb was actually working. Plus, this camera has parking guidelines "hard coded" onto its image which annoy me for 2 reasons;

 

1 - My Pioneer head unit can digitally add them on.

2 - The guidelines are not correct due to the camera being mounted off-centre. The only one you can use is the red stop line, but the side lines are utter rubbish.

 

With my headunit being able to digitally add the lines, which i can then adjust to better suit its mounting location, i wanted a replacement, and after a lot of searching, i found this.

 

It looks very similar, but has two key advantages. Firstly, it has 4 small infra-red LED's. On my camera, these are actually black, not the yellow colour you see here. Secondly, the housing is mostly clear, meaning more number plate light gets out.

 

It uses the same connectors as the other camera, so the swap out was literally unplug 2 connectors, unclip old camera, plug in new connectors, clip in new camera...

 

The image quality so far is on par in the day but better at night, and the IR LED's whilst not any good for flooding an area, do help a lot with parking, which really is the main job of this camera! The angle of the lens does point it more towards the ground then the one it replaces however, but as a parking aid camera, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

 

The camera is available below, at a cost of £12.99 upon my purchase. I believe the seller does two different kinds, one with, and one without the guidelines, so id heavily advise you send him a message after you purchase stating which one you want. I specifically requested the one with no guidelines.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331749633571

 

 

So yes, IMO, a worthwhile upgrade to anyone who already has one of the other types of camera

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
Images

[cs2000]

Again, a few quick small-ish mods today.

 

Firstly, i finally caved into my partner who has a thing for custom number plates, so i am now the owner of this! Notice the little blue square to the left I know custom plates are often a marmite thing, but it made me smile when i stuck it on the car.

 

Next was another box from Chris over at Tarmac Sportz, firstly was a Cusco strut brace which looking at the markings came straight from Japan which surely adds about 13 BHP right??

 

The other goodie in the box was a Stillen air intake, in the box you get a huge K&N filter, a 'Velocity stack', a pack of screws etc and the heat shield/air duct.

 

 

Both were pretty easy to install and its unbelievable how lighter the Cusco brace is compared to the standard OEM one! Plus you don't have to tension the brace up so its easier to install and remove as necessary.

 

I am also aware i mounted the Stillen air duct wrong, but i've fixed that now

 

Please excuse the mess of white splatter everywhere, its spray from the polishing pad and polish from when i was doing my headlight refurb, this will be cleaned up during the cars upcoming detail (when i get some bloody time!)

 

More next time....

Edited February 26, 2022 by cs2000
Images

[davey_83]

Love all these updates, how does it feel with the cone filter now?