jonst205

I'm tempted by one but I still think the Stillen is a bit too 'unsubtle' for me. However I don't think there is a more subtle splitter available? If the Stillen has a slightly smaller 'bib' then it'd be perfect (for me).

I think so, as all LSD's will have an amount of slack before it locks. May be okay while you still have a clicky axle issue.

Sorry dude but I think you've had no replies as you need to be more specific - do you mean the wheel rotated 1/2" or do you mean the wheel (when lifted) could be moved 1/2"? If the latter, it's pretty serious.

Thanks, I'm up in the wilds of lincolnshire unfortunately, and don't currently have a spare set of wheels to go the courier route. I'll ask around and get some prices as there's a few places on the local industrial estate doing it. I'd rather a good job, and mine need some tidying of lip grindage on top. Any tips paint vs powder coating? AFAIK powder coating is more durable but you can lose some of the detailing on the rays text etc.

Thanks for the replies, I'm slightly overwhelmed! The photochop by leeroy is exactly what I was thinking - bronze and not gold, though gold on the kitted S2000 looks very nice, I'm not sure it would suit a Z. The question is, what colour do I specify to a refurbers or do they have colour charts I can refer to? Very much appreciate the input on this thread, great stuff. Jon

Hi all, shortly will be getting my Rays refurbed and was thinking of going for a dark bronze colour (a la TE37's). I'm sure I'm not the first one to do this, so if anyone has already done it I'd love to see some pics and, if possible, what paint colour/code you used. My car is GM. Cheers, Jon

I haven't had a set to look at yet but my warning was more from the knowledge that if the lines aren't located properly then can come undone by themselves - not good! I always go with a fair bit more torque too, while obviously not overdoing it. Just to add that when I searched I found Zmanalex suggested the order should be NSR - OSF - OSR - NSF - so I will bow to his wisdom of all things 350. Jon

I would do them in the same order though logically I can't see it making a massive difference. If you clamp the hose next to the main hard line connection, get everything ready with the replacement line then you should be able to swap over with a minimum of mess. Cap left on while changing the lines (a bit of vacuum to lose less fluid), cap off while bleeding. Make sure you there is always fluid in the MC otherwise you can quickly kill it. Worth noting the concerns regarding aftermarket lines, you have to be extra extra careful with them.

What order should I do this all in? Pads last Do I need to drain the system before swapping the lines? You don't have to as you'll get less air in the system, but it does make it a messy job. A wise investment is a few plastic g-clamps which you can use on the old (and new) brake lines to minimise fluid loss. I have read that the bleed nipples can round off. How do I prevent this happening? Douse the nipples in WD40 a few days before you do the job. Use a 6-sided socket to crack them open. If it starts to round, stop & think again! When bleeding do I pump the peddle till the fluid changes colour, how do I get the air out from the new hose ensuring there is no air in the system. Either the traditional way with a friend pumping the pedal for you, some clear hose and a jar of brake fluid, or invest in an EZ-bleed. If you have brembo's remember you have two nipples per caliper (do in the inside one first). If using an EZ-bleed you can get a t-piece and connect both nipples at once. I'm going to be doing this at home so no ramp, is there any issue with doing it one corner at a time? Not at all, just work from furthest away from the MC first (NSR/OSR/NSF/OSF).

Need to get it onto a ramp and check for fluid leaks onto the exhaust - transmission fluid can give a sweet smell when burnt too.

I haven't been in there yet, but good to know they're helpful for when I do go in

Cheers for that link, the DW internal drives look great. The Rays wheels have quite tight recesses for external drives, I know I have chipped mine in a cpl of places despite being extremely careful.

Excessive toe-in will also wear the insides more quickly, which is a relatively easy thing to fix - the 10mm extra width would have exacerbated this. There is no camber adjustment on the front, they should be fine from the factory when not lowered. If the camber is checked and is out of whack, it means there is something worn or bent.

Just as a follow-up to this post. I replaced my steering track rods and tie rod ends this weekend, only took about an hour a side taking it very steady. The originals actually weren't in 'that' bad a shape, maybe a little wear in the N/S track rod, and both tie rod ball joints were a bit more wiggly than you would prefer. However the track rods were complete seized to the tie rods after 8 years of not being touched. Perhaps an oxy torch would have got them moving? I chopped them in half with an angle-grinder in order to remove and re-use the protective boots. Anyway, replacing them at least means adjustments can be made easily for some time to come. I set the replacement units at the same length as the originals and then had the car aligned today. The fronts had massive amounts of toe-in, not from me replacing them, but obviously for some time in the past judging from tyre wear. This was what was causing the front end to feel unstable, more so than any wear in the steering components. Hope this helps someone with the same issues. Cheers, Jon

I feel for you, WTF don't they have a power bleed system, you know, being a professional garage and all. Clutch systems always take a fair bit of bleeding. Your methodology for manual bleeding is just a little out, you open the nipple then depress the clutch fully before closing the nipple, then let the pedal back up. You might have meant to write that anyway.

'06 airbox/velocity stack and high-flow filter (cosworth/apexi/k&n etc).

It's quite interesting in that all the many cars I've had, the least I've felt the need to add spacers to is the Z! It looks absolutely fine without! All you're doing is screwing up the geometry that Nissan spent $m perfecting for our roads! Most odd.

By the way I'm just down the road in Louth, we could probably do it between us...

Looks great, can I be cheeky and ask how much? Going to look at getting my Rays done in the next month or two and there seems to be a lot of variability in pricing.

Unfortunately it looks like you're completely correct. The only good news is that at least RBF600 won't damage your braking system! I'm guessing he was just absent-minded about it holding a bottle of brake fluid... I would just ask for a refund and chalk it up to experience. If you take it back who knows what they'll c0ck up next time.

Doh! That is superb thanks - the are the ones pictured. Interestingly they are fitted to different cars in alternative directions in their gallery! I think I will go with them sweeping toward the rear. They look superb but they are so heavy it's unreal. I'm sure they are heavier than ST205 jobbies.

Hi all, I've picked up some Kinetix grooved & dimpled discs. However I've never been quite sure - which direction should the grooves run - towards the rear of the car I assume? Cheers, Jon

Yeah I think it's fairly common as the original parts are not that hard-wearing, especially if a previous owner touched the kerbs a lot while parking Search ebay for 350 tie rod / track rod and you'll get what you need. Alternatively if you'd rather go OEM definitely Tein also do uprated versions.

I'm about to replace them all on my Z to try and cure the imprecise front-end - I went for the cheap option via ebay, quality looks good IMHO, at least OE standard

Hi, I need a drivers door hinge, preferably in gunmetal to save me painting one up, but will consider other colours. Both the top and bottom hinges look to be the same, with the top hinge taking the brunt of the wear. Therefore if you have an unworn bottom hinge kicking around that I can give you a few bob for, that would be perfect. This is to solve a slight door 'sag' which appears to be fairly common, nor surprising given the weight of the doors! Have already Cheers, Jon