nate247

Hi Clarkie and thanks for the welcome. I was basically thinking of a slightly cheaper / average double din unit (so as not to attract thieves) and have all the toys (i.e Sat Nav) covered up. I have seen a couple of people here who have fitted a very similar non OEM Sat Nav (thats sort of been made up of bits from Ebay) which looks interesting as its supposed to be a lot better than the Nissan one. Im still a tad confused though as to what to do. Just think if you have anything flash on show and no garage the car in overnight, your asking for trouble really and a £1k stereo isn't likely to last long. As I say, still mulling it all over though...

What a small world... would be good to see you about...! What color car you driving buddy so I know who to look out for... I went to school at Hanham High (a good 10 years ago now), showing my age :-( lol If they live near the Common it must be near Gay's Road or Riverside Way, something like that? Lived in Hanham / Kingswood since the age of 4 so know every knook and cranny. Used to play football on the fields there... oh the memories are just all flooding back...!

I can't stop... thats the problem :-(

I live in Hanham / Longwell Green (which is about 15 mins from the City Centre). Its easy to take the place for granted sometimes but the council have been investing nearly a billion on the City itself this past few years and it really is a great place to live these days. Then again I am biased having lived only within Bristol...

Thanks Paul and thanks again to all of you guys for the Hi's and Hello's. By far and away the biggest welcome of any forum have received. What a great community you have here. Never been to a car meet before in my life but already feel compelled to come to one to meet a few of you after just one day on here ;-) lol Thanks again and sorry if any of my questions are a bit repetative of old threads here. Its such a big forum I am trying to read as many threads before bedtime as I can...

Thanks Stew. I actually had the same idea and have harrassed Paul on a thread regards to his lights. Hope he doesn't mind me taking his thread off on a slight tangent. I know buying from a dealer is going to be stupidly dear, but didn't imagine that expensive. Looking at what Paul T does, it looks as though he has to unseal the unit anyway (i.e remove the len's) so even if I perhaps buy a set of normal lights from fleebay (just for the lens), i'm hoping it will be a huge amount cheaper to do than what I have been quoted. Failing that how are candles as a replacement for Xenon headlights?

Thanks buddy... don't want to hijack the thread here either (sorry Paul), but would love some advice via PM as to what to do. I'd ideally like to keep the stock Xenon's if possible (much more of a boring OEM man myself). However, I could be tempted in to putting a few daytime running lights in to them too (Audi style). I know you either love them or hate them, but I am with the former. Think they look great and really like what your able to with the lights Paul. Be great to hear any advice. Regards, Nathan.

As a completely random question, do you happen to be able to restore cracked headlight lens's on 350Z's. I have just purchased one and the headlights are completely cracked (both lens's) and Nissan want me to buy two new headlight assemblies. Not sure if its possible to source just the lens's to put on. Its Xenon's I have also... Sorry if its a spazzy question, but new to the forum and still finding my feet. Many thanks, Nathan

Pap... so its a whole assembly replacement in which case and they were right saying £1k per light then :-( Mines a non-UK car as well by the looks of things to make matters worse (think they are harder to source arn't they)? Oddly it looks like the car is a Jap model but sourced by a UK Nissan dealer from registration.

Just had the a huge shock from my local Nissan dealer. Apparently these headlights that have cracks / splits on them are going to cost £1000 each to replace. Is that right? Basically they look as though somebody has sat on them or something and cracked the lens's on the headlights (which are Xenon's). I'd take some photo's but its a bit dark unfortunately. One only has about 3 splits, the other has multiple splits. I presume from what I have been told its a completely sealed unit and you cannot just replace the lens? Why do car manufacturers do that??? :-( Is there any such thing as headlight lens restoration?

Thanks again for the welcome guys... Completely off topic, Sarnie, just noticed your profile picture... Who the heck is she and where can I see more ;-) lol Well I am still doing lots of reading around the forum and trying to figure out the best way to sort the stereo etc. Is there anywhere on the net that you guys recommend as being the cheapest for car stereo's (to save me looking) or should I just have a google to see whats about? Many thanks, Nathan.

Hi guys... New to the forum, but would love to attend a Bristol meet if you have one planned soon. All the best, Nathan.

Thanks so much for the welcome people... Great to see so many friendly comments. Forgot to mention earlier that I paid £10'250 for the car (so hopefully not too bad). Regards to brakes, I have noticed they are a bit weaker than what I would have expected, so perhaps an upgrade in that department is needed? Also RE the Sat Nav, having been on the site until 2.00am (Woops), I did read that in general the feeling is its not that great (the OEM one that is). So perhaps there is something similar that will fit within that space and look similar to the OEM stuff? RE a head unit, I currently have the original stereo out of the car and a single din converter in there (so think all conversion leads etc are in place). Just want a setup that isn't likely to fall fowl of prying eyes and does what I need it to do (i.e hands free, get music from iPhone + sat nav), also for as little as possible. Not much I know ;-) lol

Thanks again xStric9x, you've been a great help and an awesome first contact ;-) RE the car, im much more of a "keep it original" sort of guy, so the Mod's were of little interest to me anyway. As long as it reaches 60mph in about 5.8 secs and carries on sounding as good, im happy with that. There are a couple of things I would like to do to the car to make it look much more like a UK spec car (i.e the things you have described) but im sooo over exited at the minute I think I need to stop behaving like a kid at Christmas, get some sleep and then have a good think about what to do tomorrow. Think stereo, bluetooth and sat nav are first on the list. Would then like to get the headlights sorted as they look a bit cruddy all cracked and stuff. Then if there is anyway to retro fit some of the things a UK spec GT car would have (i.e stering wheel controls etc) I would definately like to do it... Will let you get off to bed (as I am) and hopefully arrive to a few more welcomes and advice tomorrow. Thanks again xStric9x... Nathan P.S. Just spotted the upgraded brakes thingy you posted. Are they the ones on your car as mine look nothing like that :-(

Im from down south... Bristol... which is just below you I guess. Better add that to my profile actually. Not sure how / why I didn't when registering... Your right about the noise the car makes though. Very infectious One last question I do have for anyone in the know is about headlights. The lens's on this car are cracking (i.e the plastic). Is this replacable and is it a common issue on the 350Z?

Thanks xStric9x... Seems like a thriving community here, just reading through the I.C.E forum as we speak to see if I can answer my own question as I know it can be a tad annoying repeating already discussed topics. Basically i'd love something like the O.E.M Sat Nav in that top cubby hole and then perhaps a funky (iPhone compatible) double din head unit where the Bose stereo is. Its a bit tatty the OEM unit in the car as it had been taken out previously and perhaps not stored in the best of places. So whatever happens I have to do something. Thanks for the welcome though and will continue with the bedtime reading now ;-) lol

Hi people, Great forum... just thought I would say hi and drop by to what will most likely be my most visited web site from now onwards :-) lol Just purchased this little number http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/747605.htm Haven't had much time to thrash it about yet. Having come from a BMW M Roadster, its the height of luxury for me and seems a very usable (whilst very quick) everyday car. I do have one or two questions, which I am trying to search for (and will continue too) buit if anyone feels in the mood, I am looking at upgrading the Hi-Fi (as its only the standard one with tape and CD), but was thinking / wondering if its were possible to retrofit the standard Nissan Sat Nav and perhaps latest double din head unit (if that is any better). I know some people on forums such as this could have already done something similar (or perhaps even have stuff for sale). But any advice would be fantastic as I am desperate to get something sorted as I am lost without my gadgets :-) lol So anyway, a big hello and look forward to getting to know you all... All the best, Nathan