DannyBoy

Box had new OEM oil and molyslip additive about 1000 miles ago, made a difference but the synchros are just too far gone for it to cure it completely. DB

I've found a few CD008 boxes in the UK for around the £500 mark with reasonable mileage on them, but the only CD009 boxes i've seen have been A) not in the UK and around the £900 mark. Bear in mind it's going to be many hundreds on top of that to fit as I think it's about a 4-5 hour job (someone may need to correct me on that). DB

My synchros are on the way out as well so i've been looking at options recently. I got a quote of £500-£600 for a basic refurb and synchro replacement including removing and refitting the gearbox. Personally I'm waiting on finding a later model gearbox for a while yet before I try a refurb. The problem is that the '03-'04 boxes are just poorly designed with inherently weak synchros so i'm not convinced that refurbing it is really going to make £600 worth of difference. I've been looking for a later box for a while now with not much luck, but if you can get one the CD009 boxes (2006 cars) are the best that will fit on the DE engine, but the CD008 (2005 cars) boxes are supposed to be significantly better as well, and are easier to find. hope that helps, DB

Nissan genuine oil + molyslip still notchy when cold but smooth as you will get once it warms up Not on mine anymore, 2nd and 3rd stay notchy no matter how warm the box gets But Taffyjason, i'd definitely try new oil + molyslip before anything drastic, as it did considerably improve mine for a while. just too little too late in my case i think. Here's a thought; does anyone know if you can fit the stronger syncros from the later boxes into an earlier box? Pretty sure someone is going to make me feel pretty stupid for suggesting such a thing, but you never know. DB

Ahh, had not thought of foreign ebays, thanks for those. I may still consider a refurb simply because I want to know how well it will work, and it's cheaper if it doesn't work. DB

Nothing interesting i'm afraid. The usual 2nd and 3rd gear synchro issues, but it's properly chronic now, despite fresh oil and molyslip. I might as well not use the clutch below 3rd as it crunches away like a trooper regardless, lol. DB

I've been here long enough to as a first port of call unfortunately he can't help with this one. taffyjason, I'm wondering exactly the same about the rebuild being able to correct what is basically just a crap design. I'm hoping someone on here will have had it done and be able to share the knowledge. DB

I'ts got to the stage now where my gearbox is basically ruining the car, so something has to be done. I've found a few second hand units kicking around but i can only find CD008 boxes, not the legendary CD009. The best quote i've had for one of these is £995 fitted. I also know of a very well respected gearbox refurb place near me who've quoted around £600 for removal, a strip-down and synchro replacement, and re-fitting. So i guess my question is, is the CD008 gearbox worth the hassle, as it won't be all that different from my 2004 (53 plate) box and has an unknown history. But on the other hand I really have no idea what to expect from a gearbox refurb either Can anyone offer any experiences or opinions on this because I really don't know what to do Thanks DB

Are you saying you're looking to pay around 4-5k for one? If so you may be disappointed in your options. You might get an ancient high mileage low spec import for 5k but prices for UK GT-pack cars in good nick are still over 6K generally. Good luck with your search DB

Bingo, and this is why I'm having to keep a 'new pistons' fund sitting around just in case, and realistically I'll probably go for a bottom-end rebuild before too much longer. It's just not nice not knowing what state the pistons are in The previous owner was very open about having run it on 95 for the last 6 months of his ownership, so it seems that despite the obvious warnings people see it as more of a recommendation than a necessity. DB Disclaimer: I didn't know 95 was THIS bad for the engine when I bought the car, or i would have walked away.

The external rattle is most likely exhaust related, get under it and have a look for loose brackets/heat shields. The trim in the Zed rattles, you more or less have to put up with it If you replace your headers, port your cylinder heads and your intake plenum/collector, replace the stock Y-pipe, fit a new cam, and replace the pistons to bump the compression you MIGHT just see 350bhp. By which time you could have bought three or four Vortech supercharger kits. I also have to agree with Waltzinblack, 314bhp on stock exhaust and plenum sounds like a bit of an optimistic dyno compared to other setups i've seen. DB

I've had qoutes around the £2k mark for a full leather retrim including door cards and dash ( the side bits not the centre console) as this is also something i'm considering. That was for full Nappa leather, in black in my case although i doubt colour will affect the price. DB

The 370 does. It blips the throttle on downshifts, so basically heel-toe brakes for you. However none of the above changes the fact that this guy knows absolutely nothing about this car. DB

Sold a corsa on AT in 3 hours The problem with PH is the speculative pricing because it's free (although maybe not any more if it's no longer free). It put me right off when I was looking for my Zed and I found mine on AT in the end. DB

My guess would be emissions testing. Berks HFCs only just pass the MOT emissions tests, so i wouldn't have thought a single race cat would make the grade. It would therefore make sense to either use the Berks which will (just) pass, or de-cat the whole lot and accept that you'll need a friendly MOT tester rather than go for a combo that isn't as free flowing as de-cats and still won't pass emissions. Just a guess though. DB

Example: my Berks HFCs sometimes put my CEL on when its cold because they don't work until right up to temp, so the car thinks the sensors in the exhaust are broken because they're showing it something it thinks is wrong. So I do the pedal dance (detailed elsewhere) to check that it is indeed due to the heated O2 sensors, and then if that's all it is, perform the reset to remove the light. DB

Jez at Horsham Developments got 307bhp out of mine with some breathing mods and an Uprev dyno tune, and that's more or less the best you'll get out of a DE engine from bolt-ons so I was pretty chuffed with that. H-Dev is probably closest to you as well. Definitely worth getting an Uprev done, it livens the engine up really nicely and just makes it feel more eager DB

My pioneer came with a fascia surround too, and it was in no way the right size for the Zed's dash. Having said that, neither was the one I bought from sextons, so you may just have to put up with a gap or make your own. Hope i'm wrong in your case, but that was my experience. DB

This is a good point, I used chips away to clean up my A3 before i sold it and they got the colour match spot on, despite it being the Mauritius Blue pearl effect which is similar to Azure in the 'pain-in-the-arse-to-colour-match' tables. They were pretty cheap too. DB

I've never noticed any popping on overrun but i know what you mean, in some videos you can hear it. I would say that i've yet to hear a single video that actually sounds like it does in real life, they never seem to do an exhaust note justice, mostly because they're all revving at a standstill with no load on the engine. Find someone near you with the combo on their car and have a listen in the flesh DB Edit: just noticed you're only about half an hour round the M25 from me, happy to oblige if you want to hear it for real.

Or you could switch it at MOT time Its a 10 minute job Yep, you could indeed, but I'd be more concerned about the insurance aspect. We all know that they'll use absolutely anything to get out of paying up and having an 'illegal mod' would be like birthday and christmas for an assessor. Say (god forbid) you hit a pedestrian and it's your fault, if the insurance voids your policy you could be liable for absolutely rediculous damages and legal fees. On the other hand you could swap it over at MOT time, never get pulled over and never have to make an insurance claim and it could all be fine. I just wanted to check that the OP knew that an aftermarket wheel was technically illegal etc. I'm not personally saying don't do it as i think you should be able to do whatever you like to your car as long as it only affects you, but i am saying that there may be consequences. DB

Hate to p1ss in your cornflakes mate, but the new MOT regs make it illegal to remove or de-activate a factory fitted airbag (like the one in the steering wheel). You might get away with it if you have a friendly MOT tester, but you'd still be at risk if a cop noticed it, and you can bet your arse that your insurance company would have a field day with any claim you might have to make on your 'unroadworthy' vehicle. Personally I think choices about your personal safety should be up to you, but the EU says otherwise DB

Cons: touch screens really are a stupid idea in a car, you really do have to look at the unit to hit the right thing, and for me the fitting just didn't work with the fascia i had, whether i fixed it to the dash or to the bulkhead first the fascia just wasn't the right shape. I expect that it was probably my fault though and a pro would have no trouble. Pros: Sound quality is a vast improvement over the bose. It looks very understated when fitted and the backlight colour can be set to the same amber as the rest of the lighting in the car, so looks almost OEM. Biggest bonus is its ability to take SD cards though, I have a 2gb in at the moment. A slight downside is that it can only handle 10 playlists on a card, but i just have my music grouped into genres so each playlist is a few hours long. I've never used the dvd part so can't give any feedback on that, but overall i think its a good piece of kit for the price. DB

I've got one, and no. like for like the volume is slightly quieter, but i like my tunes and i only ever take it up to 18 out of a possible 40. after 20 it just starts to hurt. DB