MattMe

Hmmm. I don't like threads like this, they anger me. The government screws us every way possible. It's worse now the newspapers are making us aware of a few more more ways they've been doing it without anyone knowing. The most frustrating thing is that it doesn't really matter who you vote for. They're all rich bastards in the first place, that's how they get into parliament (yes, even Labour). None of them have a grip on reality. It may seem like a simplistic view but I was watching the news where they show all the MP in the houses, shouting at each other, and it just made me think. How many of them are in there to actually listen to each other and to try and improce the situation? All they ever do is try and claw away at the opposition, who in turn only retaliate just as childishly. It's depressing to think these egotistical morons represent Britain. We can't do anything about it. Civil war anyone? Vote for who you like - they only sell you what you want to hear. The budget for the next four years has been planned this week anyway. Best bet is move somewhere else. Somewhere where they drive on the left so you can take your Zed.

'ahem' I might give that stuff a go then. I guess the thing to do first is remove what's causing the scratches in the first place. Any idea where to start, anybody? ahem - look at the T- cut stuff I posted up ! IT does work! In old money it would have been called Jewellers Rouge - a paste Jewellers use to polish the gemstones etc etc - ooh showing my age, Autoglym products for me are far too mild for most applications!

My pasanger side is quite badly scratched. I bought some Auto-Glym glass polish and I have to say I noticed no difference. Tried it on the windscreen too cos there's quite a lot of little marks, I guess from stone chips etc, only tiny ones mind, but absolutely no difference. I wasn't expeting miracles, but at least something! There must be a product to remove the deeper scratches?

For those of you who had rain today - I'm sorry, it's all my fault... I washed my car yesterday

Mine knocks over bumpy (read 'pot-holed') surfaces and I always thought it'd be the ball joints... So there's no real way of knowing what needs to be changed to resolve it? I imagine changing teh compression rod is a fairly big job considering how many suspension components there aare under there... I miss my Capri in times like this - Uprights, lower arm and ARB... Simple yet highly uneffective!

I bought a Pipercross. To me it doesn't appear to sound any different or make the car perform much differently, apart from being slightly smoother perhaps. Meh, it's bound to make me more attractive to the fairer gender when I boast about how my new air filter improves airflow by 'up to 30%' and then rev my engine and wheel spin out of the car park with my hand waving them goodbye as I drive into the sunset with exactly no performance increase to my car whatsoever. NEOWWWWWMMMMMMMMMM...

I'm interested in the gear knob... PM sent...

Are you a spy?

Cheers Alex. I thought after I posted that cam box probably meant rocker cover - so yes it does make more sense now. I've confused how the seal's gone though and that I have to buy a new rocker cover to fix it! Is it likely to cause damage if I left it a couple moths to repair? Is that another stupid question? Just I was planning on taking some of the engine to pieces in August anyway... suppose it depends how much oil I've got coming through... Damn cars!

I can't say I've noticed any difference whatsoever on mine, but a dyno might prove otherwise. Suppose 5bhp is about 1.5% in power - not much really...

Cheers Alex. Can you PM me prices please? I know this may sound stupid but I've never heard of a 'cam box' before Any details on how to do this please? And where's the oil coming from then - above the spark plug? I'm so confused now, thanks!

That's exactl why I posted it - I was amazed that the shape of the ring makes all that difference. It it does make that much difference then I'd definitely recommend just changing that rather than the whole airbox it would be much cheaper. As for why other companies haven't made anything better yet I think there are two reasons. One being that Nissan designed the engine and spent a fair few quid on it. Maybe even more than £4.50, some say. The second being that the stock air box creates a 'resevouir' of air behind the filter allowing the car to get the air instantly when you put your foot down, without having to slowly draw it through the filter. That and the box will be designed to make the best possible flow of air - hence why small changes like the ring make all the difference. Most after market CAI are purely for the noise, which is fine if that's what you're after. I'm not sure what the top-end CAI kits (like the sealed box Typhoon) are like in comparrison to the standard airbox. But I still find it hard to beleive that few mm and a slight change in shape can gain people more torque and BHP. But I do like it!

I changed my spark plugs yesterday, starting with cylinder six (back of the engine, passanger side) and found the plug covered in oil, and a lot of oil in there too. The rest were dry, as they should be, and the spark seemed to be tightened down as well as the rest. I'm concerned it might be something serious (even more serious than the temp gauge reading incorrectly) but not sure what could cause it. Is it possible the plug was damaged and allowed the oil to escape through the top half of the plug somehow? I'd like to check it again but it was a bit of an awkward job getting to it! I hope it's nothing serious

Am I too late? If I win I don't want it if it ways 'Bevis' on it. Nothing against you Bevis but I'll be bollocksed (new word?) if I'm driving around with my car saying Bevis on it! Stew - You can have Butthead on yours!

Seriously, don't temp me to but any more mods... I assume you're linking about some way to get more/colder air into the airbox I fitted? Good plan. I have questions/comments. where do you plan to mount the intake of this pipe? Why are you spending £25 on it? Any old stuff will do, surely? I know it's good in theory but do you think the airbox intake is starved of air where it is? (This coming from someone who fitted a whole new airbox for appoximately no benefit other than making me feel better!) Just my thoughts. I have talked with my brother about similar mods in the past. I'm tempted now...

...So much time... That's the only way I can explain why choosing the correct panel filter replacement would cause me so much pain. So I ordered a Blitz panel filter and it's out of stock from the supplier I used so I looked around a bit more. That wasn't a good idea. I saw Cosworth, seems like a simple replacement like the Blitz and HKS - more of a name thing than any real difference. Obviously this isn't a bad thing, it's not like they'll have significant impact on performance or noise or anything else. As fas as I can tell they're much of a muchness as my Mother would say before being reminded that 'muchness' isn't a word and she should consider that before saying such things in front of her highly suggestable children... Anyway, so then I looked at K&N and Pipercross. Seem the K&N is washable and the Pipercross has somespecial kind of foam construction and they're the same price as the Blistz etc. Seems like a plan to but one I can reuse eventually when it needs cleaning in a few years time. So I know there's a lot of personal opinion involved in this and I appreciate that, however I have no opinion as I haven't used any before. The Pipercross looks good to me, I like the impressive speak about the foam and like I said, I am highly suggestable... Are there any comparrisons between the different versions availble - does anyone have any experience of using more than one? Does one make more noise/power/last longer etc and are there any down-sides to any of this 'technology' the manufacturers fail to tell me about? Or should I just buy one and then moan it's wrong or post saying how much it's changed my life. Because it will. It will make thatt much difference. I don't think I've ever spent so long thinking about spark plugs and air filters and oil as I have this last month. I'm so boring.

Sent the wrong ones back and ordered some IKH16 - the 'tough' ones from Opie Oils yesterday. Note to self: Only order from trusted sellers in future...

Yep direct swap - took me ten mintues and I have fingers made of plastecine sasuages covered in mustard. 10mm spanner/socket is all that is needed. The newer box looks bigger in the picture but it's not. It's EXACTLY the same, apart from the metal ring... The metal ring as the photos were taken are looking into the engine, not the intake from behind the front bumper. You know what I mean. Don't you? I heard there's a 4-5bhp without remap and upto 10bhp on a remap with no other mods Dunno how true it is but I'm sure someone (Abbey??) posted up some stuff about it a while ago.

Was it silver? Did it contain 2 males just back from supporting a race team at Brandshatch so most likely driving like a loon?

Hey all, just thought I'd share my recent small mod on my 2004 UK GT after getting hold of a UK 2007 standard airbox. It turns out, as far as I can see anyway, that the actual airboxes are exactly the same. The only difference being the metal (venturi?) ring to the back of the box, where the induction pipe with MAF sits... I've attached pics to illustrate. Not noticed any difference to be fair, but for £40 thought I'd do it so when I get it tuned later in the year I can make the most of it. Boxes side by side: 2004 'metal ring': 2007 'metal ring' (notice more pronounced shape): Just thought I'd share

If you take a look at the MAF sensors which are located in the air intake pipe, just behind the airbox. You can see how easy they are to access and to swap out yourself. It really is only a matter of un-clipping the connector and unscrewing the old sensor from the mount, slide it out and drop the new one in. Think it might be a star-head screw, but it's worth investing in a screwdriver bit if you don't have one. O2 sensors a bit more difficult to get to (ie under the car) but almost as easy to change... Worth looking under the bonnet in any case... Don't pay the Nissan stealers! Best of luck however you go about it

It's not very nice to laugh at others' misfortune. I mean, the poor guy needs a new engine and you're laughing. Where's the love My Bose CD player started skipping and I had to had to buy a new gearbox to fix that. Now my gearbox crunches so I'm saving for some wheel spacers. I think it all started when I fitted the stubby...

Already requested a return through eBay but that can take days and I'm impatient goddamnit! Think I'll order through Envy anyway and hope I get my cash back for those... Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with eBay...

My gf's TT Quattro started behaving really badly last year, choking spluttering and performing really strangely - I thought she'd blown the turbo or something but before I got on Autotrader I looked on some TT forums and found the MAF sensor is quite a common fault on them - bought a new one for a few quid, hooked it up and the car's like new again, it's pretty quick atually - better than it was 20,000 miles ago! MAF sensors are evil. Or really good, depending on your view on things...

Fudging hell! I kinda agree it's justice but a little extreme to put your boot into someone's door - I'm sure given he had evidence (paint/dent in door) and a witness (yourself and McD's staff) he could quite easily have claimed through insurance... Blimey, wouldn't want to have crashed into the back of him, he'd probably have rented a tank and driven through my house...