GoHashiri Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Hi all, For those that missed my introductory post, I'm a new Z owner based in Japan. I'll be using this thread as a kind of photo blog with updates on my build in Japan. The aim is to build the car up to (light) track-spec over here before shipping the car back at an undetermined point in the future . I picked up the car back in December but, due to work commitments, have only been able to begin working on it as of the last month. The car is in an average state, it has 135k Km's and is relatively rust-free. The work that has been conducted so far has been mostly maintenance related, however, i managed to get some coilovers (Tanabe Sustec Pro 5) on earlier this month and have had a few blips up the mountain - touge, for the weebs amongst us. Below are a couple pics of the car and my buddy's 86 - his being a tad more track-spec than mine.. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Umster Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 Following this with massive interest! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) Last weekend i headed to the local circuit with some friends. I wasn't really keen on participating due to the dire condition of my tires. Seeing as the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, on the way home i took the scenic route up to Mt Ena and then down to the Yahagi dam. The latter area is popular with sports cars and bikes thanks to the technical roads which run up the side of the mountain and around the dam. Picked up a new exhaust and some tires this week and am shopping for wheels at the moment. I'm undecided whether to go with a 10" or 10.5" rear; I'm thinking 9.5" +15 front and 10" +25 rear, then use spacers to push it out a bit if necessary. Edited July 12, 2020 by GoHashiri wrong offset 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted May 3, 2020 Author Share Posted May 3, 2020 Finally got the wheels and new tyres mounted - had a mare of a job rolling the arches. There was a patch of rust in the corner where the fender meets the bumper which cracked the paint most of the way around the arch. I'll need to get a body shop to fix this up shortly. Still haven't got the new exhaust mounted as the stock one needs to have the bolts cut off at the Y pipe. Wheels: TE37SL - 18x9.5, +22 (F); 18x10, +20 (r). Tyres are Hankook V12 Evo2 255/40, 275/40. Headed about 3hrs out of town this weekend to the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail: 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 I've actually had this exhaust on for a couple of months now: Fujitsubo Power Getter. I'll try and get some videos of the sound at some point, the thing is pretty quiet up to 3k - only marginally louder than stock at idle, +2db iirc 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Really love your zed in that photo^ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Definitley need a sound clip of that exhaust Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luigi350z Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 4 hours ago, GoHashiri said: Lovely pic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) On 13/06/2020 at 20:17, Ian said: Definitley need a sound clip of that exhaust I'm sure my mate has a mic for his camera so I'll try and get a few drive-bys with that down at the docks. Edited July 12, 2020 by GoHashiri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 4 hours ago, HEADPHONES said: Really love your zed in that photo^ 1 hour ago, Luigi350z said: Lovely pic! Cheers guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 13, 2020 Author Share Posted June 13, 2020 I should probably update here that the car has been suffering from low oil pressure, about 5ish psi at idle. Tested with a mechanical gauge, and if i look hard enough, I can find tiny copper- lookin' shards in the old oil. Being the uninformed and impulsive buyer I was and not knowing KPa conversions, I bought what was essentially a time bomb. However, the car was relatively cheap and I factored in having to perform major repairs/getting ripped-off into the purchase - being a non-Japanese speaker and all that. I've tacked-on about 4,000 miles since buying the car and have been collating quotes for a replacement engine (enjin koukan in Japanese - a phrase I have so prematurely had to learn), to which I have 3 quotes for labour, ranging from £700 - £1,500. Used engines are dead cheap here as well, they're all floating in the range of £350 - £700, some with warranty, others without. The car seems to be a chronic oil burner also at about 1l/1,000 miles. I'm on the fence as to whether to run the car until it bangs a rod through the crankcase or whether to just switch it out and rebuild the old motor slowly in my spare time. We'll see; I have a few hundred mile road trip next weekend through the Kiso mountains. Wish me luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Sorry to hear of the oil pressure issues, might have a stuck open PCV. Fresh oil change to 5w40 and fit a magnetic sump plug and drop the oil after another 500 miles to see what nasties its picked up. Loving these pictures, that last one looks indoors WOW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, davey_83 said: Sorry to hear of the oil pressure issues, might have a stuck open PCV. Fresh oil change to 5w40 and fit a magnetic sump plug and drop the oil after another 500 miles to see what nasties its picked up. Loving these pictures, that last one looks indoors WOW I actually replaced the PCV valve about 2k miles age as an attempt to quell the oil consumption - it's not that, but a good shout nonetheless, it didn't occur to me it may be that. Another thought is it could be the galley gaskets - not common on the DE for sure, but maybe. I've read around and it has happened. Used 10/15w-40 oil (can't remember the winter spec) already actually in another attempt to get the pressure up. Put a Greddy magnetic plug in at the same time also. At this stage, I'm actually just grateful of how cheap the used engines are here. Cheers for the comment. Yeah it's indoors in a market street, they open up to cars at night. Edited June 15, 2020 by GoHashiri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Covering all bases I see, that's good. Have you took out the spark plugs, to see if a cam cover gasket has failed? This is also common for the DE's Did you have wind deflectors? they looked good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted June 15, 2020 Author Share Posted June 15, 2020 It does have a very minor leak at the plug tube on cylinder 6. I was on the verge of replacing it until I started investigating the oil pressure more. Can that be a cause of significant oil pressure loss? Yeah, the wind deflectors were actually really useful, particularly when it was raining. It just annoyed me how it disrupted the line of the car at some angles. Oh, and now I've got a bloody water leak on the passenger side door above the mirror. Just picked up some absolute beauty JDM seats - should have them fitted in a week or so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 Sorry all, it's been a while since I've posted here. Whilst I've been waiting for my engine to grenade itself (it's still working fine with its 5psi oil pressure btw), I've picked up a few things. I managed to get my mits on a beautiful set of Recaro SR3s in Le Mans confetti. TBH, I'm finding them a bit annoying, particularly on longer drives. The bolsters are a bit better, the height is basically the same as stock if not a smidge higher. I also ran my first grip day recently, whilst I was waiting for the track to open up for the drift sessions. One thing that held me back was the fear of my lugnuts breaking and sending me into one of the many nearby trees. I was running on halfords-equivalent nuts, so I bit the bullet and picked up some RAYS nuts. Also dropped the car another CM as I felt it was a bit high and installed a switch for the VDC. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted July 12, 2020 Author Share Posted July 12, 2020 Also, here's a couple of videos from a recent blast at Mikawa Motorland: Grip: Drift: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da.murf Posted July 12, 2020 Share Posted July 12, 2020 Those are my dream seats right there lol. If you ever think of selling them Please keep me in mind lol. car looking great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted July 13, 2020 Author Share Posted July 13, 2020 18 hours ago, da.murf said: Those are my dream seats right there lol. If you ever think of selling them Please keep me in mind lol. car looking great!! Will do, particularly when I'm back in the UK. These things are tough to find in good condition - makes me worried about using them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
da.murf Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 5 hours ago, GoHashiri said: Will do, particularly when I'm back in the UK. These things are tough to find in good condition - makes me worried about using them! thanks. As mentioned, my dream seats lol!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted July 13, 2020 Share Posted July 13, 2020 Awesome videos, that looks like a great little circuit!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 14 hours ago, marzman said: Awesome videos, that looks like a great little circuit!! Mikawa is a banger, being open pretty much every day for free practice you can easily secure a quiet track - trees are the danger though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 5 hours ago, GoHashiri said: Mikawa is a banger, being open pretty much every day for free practice you can easily secure a quiet track - trees are the danger though free as in, you dont pay for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoHashiri Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 6 hours ago, marzman said: free as in, you dont pay for it? I meant free to select what type of driving you want to do. Costs are: JPY 2,500 (£19-ish) for 1 hour drift JPY 4,500 (£32-ish) for 1 hour grip It's pretty much the going rate at any of the smaller tracks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 18 hours ago, GoHashiri said: I meant free to select what type of driving you want to do. Costs are: JPY 2,500 (£19-ish) for 1 hour drift JPY 4,500 (£32-ish) for 1 hour grip It's pretty much the going rate at any of the smaller tracks Wow, might as well be free at that price! I'd be there every week i think! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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