MattG

I got my Blueflame exhaust fitted last week that I bought from a member on here. It was brand new and they hadn't got around to fitting before deciding to sell the Z. They must have bought it a few months back as mine has the silencer in the mid pipe. I'm not that surprised that they decided to remove the mid pipe silencer, the exhaust really isn't that much louder than stock. It's adds a bit more bass below 3000rpm and screams a bit more above that but the engine is still the main source of noise. I'd say it's how the 350Z should have sounded from the factory as it's sportier but even the most picky of people could live with it. I think personally that the mid pipe silencer should be an option as I'd imagine that some people will find it to be ideal with that in place, especially if they plan to pair it with some HFCs or a decat pipe. There's plenty of other options out there if people want screaming loud. I didn't want anything really noisy or that would drone on the motorway but for me personally it is a tad too quiet. So I'm using it as an excuse to get a couple of Ultimate Racing ceramic high flow cats from Adam at Z1 Auto! If it's still not how I want it after that then I might speak to Blueflame about getting my mid pipe swapped to see how that changes things.

I did a couple of dyno runs at TDI North with my 53 plate last week which I'll get posted up in the other thread as soon as get chance. First run was stock apart from a Blueflame cat back exhaust and it made 284BHP IIRC. Swapped out the airbox for an 06+ airbox and it made 291BHP with a torque increase too. The same Cosworth panel filter was used for both tests. Just goes to show the 06+ intake is a big improvement over the pre 06 one, despite the small physical difference between them. I'd imagine the Blueflame has given me some extra too but I didn't get a dyno prior to fitting that unfortunately.

No worries. January is usually a slow time for the car industry (everyone is skint!) so it might not be a bad time to snap up a bargain.

I think what you're looking for is possible but as you've seen you'll have to pounce very quickly. I had pretty much the same criteria as you when I was looking earlier this year. I booked the first week in Jan off work and got up early every morning and hit Autotrader, PistonHeads and the Nissan web site. I was starting to think I was out of luck but then on the Thursday morning a car cropped up at a Nissan dealer 30 miles away that was perfect. I was there by 10am and got the following: 53 Plate GT Pack in Gunmetal with Alezan leather Rays Alloys 54,000 miles Manual FNSH The car was in great condition and I got them to throw in a new set of mats, 6 months tax, 12 months MOT, 12 months warranty and a P3 service. All for £10,490. I'm convinced that if I'd not been off work and had to wait until weekend to go it would have been gone so you have to be ready to strike as soon as something appears! From my experience the £10K mark is the tipping point for a decent UK GT with reasonable miles and as soon as cars get within that zone they sell very quickly. It might be worth making some cheeky offers for cars up for £11K too and see how you get on. I have to say I'm impressed with how the car has kept it's value. I reckon I could resell it for pretty much what I paid for it nearly a year ago!

Wow, that's about half what I've been getting quoted! I'll chat to you more about it via PM when the time comes.

That is excellent service, nice one Ben! Do you guys offer collection of wheels then? I've been thinking of ways to get my Rays to you that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg but I'm not coming up with much at the moment. Was even thinking of a few days away in Devon with the missus!

No problem, cheers Anna. Can't wait to get it fitted!

Normally that bodykit would be waaay to much for me but with that colour scheme it looks amazing. You'd definitely pull over if you saw that in your rear view mirror!

No worries Gaz, all part of the fun of modifying!

I've ordered a Shine kit from Envy as they seemed to be the best of the replicas. That said they are a little over hyped and won't necessarily be a 100% fit. I know that the Nismo side skirts don't meet the door sill properly (i.e. you have to open the door to see it) but due to the flexible hybrid FRP nature of Shine parts a decent bodyshop can heat it up and bend it so it fits properly. Clarkie34 on this forum had this probabem but his bodyshop managed to get them to fit properly. Also some people on My350z.com have said their Shine kit needed quite a lot of prep work to get a decent finish. Whether they are just being tightwads or perfectionists I don't know as others have had no such problems. It could just be their bodyshops have been looking for an excuse to up the cost of the job. One thing to bear in mind with the Shine copies is that due to their flexibility they are much less likely to crack when you accidently catch the kit on a curb or speed bump. Plenty of people have managed to crack their genuine Nismo kits like this as they are made of the traditional rigid FRP. With regard to the delivery times I would expect the Shine kit to take just as long, if not longer, unless Envy have them in stock ready to go. I ordered my Shine kit over three months ago and there's still no sign of it.

I don't think you need anything that small to be honest as there's plenty of room in the stock sub enclosure space for two reasonably sized amps. I've got two Genesis dual mono amps on a custom shelf comfortably fitted in the space where the stock sub was behind the drivers seat. With the grill on you wouldn't even know they were there. Unless you mean those two little VHS cassette sized cubbys behind the seats? That would take come serious doing! I only just got a 6 CD changer in one of mine! I think they amps would get pretty hot in that location too.

Sounds good. I know the Shine Nismo skirts aren't a great fit either so I suspect the original Nismo ones are probably a little off.

There's also these: Zee Bracket: http://www.zeebracket.com/ Stillen Bracket: http://www.mynismo.com/products/?id=3476&rsku=16026 The Zee brackets are widely available through ebay too for about £40 shipped.

Looks excellent! Smoothed rear spats are the only way to go. Is the kit an original Nismo or a replica? It's always handy to know which ones fit and which don't.

I'd like to add my thanks too. I've now had my Pioneer P88 RSII fitted using the sextons adapter and the steering wheel controls. Also fitted a CD changer and ipod controller for the Pioneer, two Genesis dual mono amps, a set of CDT Eurosport ES62i front component speakers in Wicked CAS door pods and a CDT Eurosport ES10SQ sub in a strut bar enclosure. Will get some pics up in a separate thread when I get chance. The Pioneer looks absolutely spot on in the Sextons single DIN fascia, much better than the stock bose unit and a perfect match for the interior. Also the ICT steering wheel controls have made ALL the buttons on the steering wheel perform a function which was an unexpected bonus. The track up/down and volume up/down work as expected but the two phone buttons also work too. The left one switches between sources on the headunit and the right one switches between radio stations in tuner mode and CDs in the changer in CD changer mode. It may also do something when the ipod is connected too, haven't tried that yet.

I don't get the impression Greekman is a 350z expert since he came on here asking for advice. What would give him that qualification? Surely he'd fit his own brakes if that was the case? The Nissan dealer on the other hand are 350z experts by definition! Did the disks come with instructions and were they given to the dealer? That point would be crucial IMO.

He didn't actually know they were fitted the wrong way though did he? Alex had to tell him. To be honest it shouldn't be up to him to spot what they've done wrong, the whole idea of handing it over to the garage is that you are relying on their specialist knowledge. It's not like he's been driving round on flat tyres or something really obvious. I think if the garage tried that defence in the small claims court the judge would eat them alive. A call to trading standards would be worthwhile now. Not to report them but to get advice on their liability. Their opinion means a lot more than ours.

I'd say it would be fair to ask for the cost of the DBA disks, the 2 sets of fitting costs and the cost of the replacement calipers. If you had a report from a garage saying they were fitted the wrong way wrong and that it caused the overheating then I would think you could quite easily win a small claims court case. Sometimes companies don't even turn up to those things and you win by default. Even if the court don't award the full damages I think they'll almost definitely award you some of it. It's dead easy, just filling in forms and a day off work (claim for lost earnings too if need be!). You don't need a solicitor, just proof in writing to back up your case. There is the track issue but all of the parts you had fitted are designed to be able to stand up to the sort of use, that's why you bought them in the first place! You might be able to get something in writing from Envy or DBA saying that none of their other customers have any issues. Or maybe even testimonials from people on here with those parts fitted. All of the above versus the dealership mumbling feeble excuses should definitely tip the verdict in your favour IMO.

Me too, 350z specific reviews seem thin on the ground at the moment, even in the US. Also there does seem to be the odd comment about them being "bouncy" on bad roads, and a few people have said they've had a noisy set so it would be good to get feedback on that. As far as spring rates go the standard rates are listed on page 1 of this thread. I think Adriank has gone for 12F/12R.

The clue is in the thread title: I think my car is finished. Deep down he never really believed it!

Thanks for the info, it's handy to know Shine pieces can be heated and bent to get a decent fit, definitely an advantage over FRP. Yours skirts look spot on in the pics now!

Looks fantastic, very striking but not too much. Are those the Shine Nismo skirts? I have a set coming soon so was wondering what they were like for fitment and prep etc. What wheels are you getting (or is it a secret for now! )?

Hi Alex, I take it the small ones are for non-Brembo fronts and rear and Brembo rear?

I've found I have more lateral grip since fitting 20mm spacers all round. The car seems more resistant to losing grip on mid corner bumper and ridges.

Stop being a wuss and get the 20mm ones! They'll look better and be easier to sell on when you decide to buy a new set of wheels in a few months time!