davey_83 Posted September 5, 2022 Share Posted September 5, 2022 Got yah, I'd have been tempted to slacken off a unions to the rack and drain from lower down. Check the amount that's come out and then top up with fresh. Possibly 2/3 available however extra risk in something going wrong too sadly. Nice work pal and at least you can feel the difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 (edited) Decided to run a can of BG 44K Platinum (£22.50 from Amazon) through the system. It's nearly a 16-year-old car so I thought why not. I've listed my current fuel stats (tracked with Fuelio) below and I'll compare them once I've travelled a similar distance. This testing wouldn't find itself in a peer-reviewed journal but no harm in it. Current fuel stats: AVG: 24.62MPG over 2,657 miles BEST: 30.15MPG (over a full tank) Edited September 8, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) Cleaned the MAF sensor today just for the sheer fun of it (apparently they should be cleaned every 50,000 miles). There was actually a tiny bit of muck which I managed to very satisfyingly blast out. I did another PSF reservoir change. For anyone else thinking about doing it, you'll need roughly 225ml worth of PSF to fill up the reservoir to just under the cold maximum. Edited October 6, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted September 24, 2022 Author Share Posted September 24, 2022 (edited) Time for a bit of leather care. The photos don't do the difference justice (due to image size restrictions). Leather Cleaner: Gliptone Liquid Leather Cleaner Leather Care: Autoglym Leather Care Balm Brush: SONAX - Leather & Upholstery Brush Applied both products using a clean microfibre. I agitated the leather cleaner using the brush. Seat Before After Bolster Before After Headrest Before During After (it was slightly wet when I took the photo, no cause for alarm) Edited September 25, 2022 by polaris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Your bolster wear looks identical to what I had. For a few pounds and about 20 mins work you can get it 95% perfect....... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted September 25, 2022 Author Share Posted September 25, 2022 (edited) 14 minutes ago, HEADPHONES said: Your bolster wear looks identical to what I had. For a few pounds and about 20 mins work you can get it 95% perfect....... I see what you mean - the wear is nearly identical. I'll definitely get it sorted. It's now on the list! Thanks for the recommendation. Edited September 25, 2022 by polaris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted September 29, 2022 Author Share Posted September 29, 2022 (edited) New bonnet struts and a little engine bay detail. Need to figure out a way to get the plenum nice and clean. Bonnet Struts Engine Bay Before Engine Bay After Edited September 29, 2022 by polaris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 (edited) A new day, a new challenge. With the sage advice of @HEADPHONES in hand, I embarked on the perilous journey of touching up the worn leather on the driver side seat. To do this, I bought Angelus Acrylic Finisher Matte and Angelus Acrylic Flat Black Leather Paint. What I did: 1. One application of acetone using a q-tip/cotton bud 2. Two coats of Flat Black using the built-in brush 3. One coat of Finisher using a random airfix brush Unfortunately, I didn't get the result I was after. The 'Flat Black' is just too black and contrasts heavily against the dull aged seat leather. Applying the Acrylic Finisher didn't do much help and it actually made matters worse by leaving a light sheen around the painted areas. I don't have any photos but I'm not leaving it here. I've just bought proper preparer & deglazer (to replace the acetone), paint duller and a set of leather brushes. Hopefully this will sort it out. Seat after applying acetone Original seat bolster condition Edited October 17, 2022 by polaris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) As you can see in the photo below, the new paint didn't blend in nicely with the existing seat leather. Although you can't really notice it unless you catch it in the light, I knew it was there and I couldn't leave it like that. The 'preparer & deglazer' worked brilliantly and removed all the previous paint I'd applied beforehand (not pictured) but this basically brought me back to square one as the original damage is now visible again 😐 Paint issue The next day Edited November 6, 2022 by polaris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hansburger Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Great work with the seats! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 (edited) Just doing the finishing touches. Painting bolster After one coat of Matte Acrylic Edited October 17, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) Very good effort and considering these pictures are from just a few inches away looks decent. I would just suggest for the next time working with rolled back edges thus not to have a hard blend line for the colour match. Bonnet struts have been fitted upside down as you want the body of the damper upside down, so the oil is always providing lubricant for the ram seal. Edited October 19, 2022 by davey_83 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEADPHONES Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 Sorry to hear the paint match was so far out. Possibly wasn't as noticeable on mine due to my paint only needing doing upto the orange stitching which breaks and masks the transition between factory and touch up paint 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) 11 hours ago, davey_83 said: Very decent effort and considering these pictures are from just a few inches away looks decent. I would just suggest for the next time working with rolled back edges this not to have a hard blend line for the colour match. Bonnet struts have been fitted upside down as you want the body of the damper upside down, so the oil is always providing lubricant for the ram seal. Thanks, it's definitely not perfect. Didn't know rolling back the edges of tape helps with blending in paint, good tip! I'm hoping that over time the new paint will dull a little and blend in nicely. Good catch on the bonnet dampers, in my world my car drives strictly on the ceiling 😂 Edited October 18, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted October 18, 2022 Author Share Posted October 18, 2022 (edited) On 18/10/2022 at 21:32, HEADPHONES said: Sorry to hear the paint match was so far out. Possibly wasn't as noticeable on mine due to my paint only needing doing upto the orange stitching which breaks and masks the transition between factory and touch up paint Not to worry mate, I'm quite meticulous when it comes to these sorts of things. Leather colour will also vary slightly from car-to-car/production run/manufacturing location so there's never truly a one-size-fits-all solution. Adding a drop or two (5-10%) of Angelus duller helped massively, really 'calmed' the black down and reduced some of that contrasting effect. Unfortunately, matching it perfectly is beyond my abilities. Edited December 4, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 (edited) Nice to be back. I've been quite busy during the blackout. All four wheels received a full refurbishment (in OEM Rays silver of course), ceramic coating and balancing. At the same time, I had the rear tyres replaced with a fresh pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 5. I also fitted H-Dev's intake plenum spacer kit. I'll likely get the UpRev map soon to follow this up. Additionally, I fitted a genuine Nismo shift knob and polished up the Miltek exhaust tips (pictures to be added soon). I didn't notice an increase in power after fitting the plenum spacer, but I did find accelerating to be a touch smoother. Placebo? Anyone else want to weigh in with their experience? I've read that an UpRev map is the key to unlocking its true potential, so I guess I need to get that booked in! Wheel refurbishment Somebody nicked my wheels Fitting H-Dev Plenum Spacer Edited November 7, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted November 10, 2022 Author Share Posted November 10, 2022 (edited) Welcome back to weekly throttle body cleaning. Cleaned using Liqui Moly 5111 Pro-Line Throttle Valve Cleaner and the aggressive use of a toothbrush. The carbon build-up came right off with a bit of elbow grease. Resetting the ECU was an absolute pain; I just couldn't get the timing right. This video saved me in the end. The after photos don't look much different so I'm going to pretend I've made a massive improvement 😎 The tools Before After Edited November 10, 2022 by polaris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) Looking forward to getting these fitted on the 14th. Berk High Flow Cats which will connect to a Miltek catback system. Bought from Tarmac Sportz late Monday and they arrived today. Excellent service. Anyone got any idea how much I'll get for my old cats? Edited December 7, 2022 by polaris 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben350 Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Think used cats on these cars can go for maybe about £500-700. Had my Tarmac HFC's fitted a month or so ago with a tune, but I'm keeping my originals in case i need to swap them on for an MOT. Quite a bit more noise with the HFC's and a nice burble at idle, glad I got them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted December 7, 2022 Author Share Posted December 7, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Ben350 said: Think used cats on these cars can go for maybe about £500-700. Had my Tarmac HFC's fitted a month or so ago with a tune, but I'm keeping my originals in case i need to swap them on for an MOT. Quite a bit more noise with the HFC's and a nice burble at idle, glad I got them. I'm happy with anything over £400 as I paid roughly £700 for these. Getting more than half my money back seems like a good deal to me! Yeah, I'm not aiming for anything really loud. Just looking to accentuate the sound of the Miltek system. I've heard that these can take a few hundred miles to 'bed in' so I'll report back with my findings! I'll try and record some 'before and after' clips on a cold-start and when warm for the interested parties out there. Edited December 7, 2022 by polaris 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hansburger Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 I've got the same ones on my Z. It makes a great difference compared to the original cats. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) Fitted a Nismo shift knob a while back. Finally got a Z1 Motorsports finisher so it now looks the part! Gripping the shift linkage to prevent it from rotating General disassembly New Nismo shift knob and Z1 Motorsports finisher Edited December 12, 2022 by polaris 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Shifter finisher is a must!!! Nice move, looks great. Also I can definitely recommend a oil catch can to help reduce oily mist entering the intake, ECU expects to see a mixture of air and fuel ideally. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polaris Posted December 12, 2022 Author Share Posted December 12, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, davey_83 said: Shifter finisher is a must!!! Nice move, looks great. Also I can definitely recommend a oil catch can to help reduce oily mist entering the intake, ECU expects to see a mixture of air and fuel ideally. Does look good but it's bloody cold to touch on a chilly day like this as its made of metal 😆 I'm not completely sold on an oil catch can. Some say it's the best thing since sliced bread, others think it's a complete waste of space. What's your opinion? Any recommendations? I've seen my MPG decrease slightly since I've fitted the plenum spacer, cleaned the throttle body and added a high-flow air filter. My limited knowledge is telling me it's running rich as the ECU is trying to keep a constant air-fuel ratio. More air = more fuel to compensate. I really need to get it mapped! Edited December 12, 2022 by polaris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Bare in mind all mpg will go down a margin in the autumn/winter months for obvious reasons. I've never seen anyone with a catch can plumbed in correctly say it's a waste of time. It helps reduce the amount of oily mist going into the intake, I mentioned it as yours seem to have a fair amount present. I've ran this one for a number of years with no issues, just upgraded the lines to better oil hoses. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07N2NZZTF?tag=picclick02-21&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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