Adrian_CNC

I think I'm getting excited too - I did a full hunter wheel alignment, changed the boot lid struts as they tried to knock me out the other day and fixed the boot pop so I don't start swearing every time I try to open the boot.

Trying to think of mods that I could justify by going on this trip.

I had a go at fixing my boot pop today.

First changed the struts as the old ones tried to kill me this winter - no change to boot pop.

Then followed this guide and moved the latch all the way down (moved about 2mm maybe) - again didn't fix the boot pop.

Okay, time to remove the boot weight, after 15 mins of fighting with the plastic clips that hold the whole panel I managed to remove it without marking the edges too much by using some plastic bike tyre levers and a little plastic wedge/gap opener that I got with a phone mount.

Guess what ... still didn't fix the bloody boot pop.

Penny trick - last resort, I wanted to avoid it after reading that it can cause the lid to bend, crack the paint, etc.

I've put a single penny under each boot spring but to make sure they don't wear through the rubber tube I've cut a "gasket" from a foam padded double sided 1mm thick tape (like the ones you use for fixing a reg plate to a bumper) and stuck that onto a penny.

Made them slightly larger than the penny itself so that it covers the edges and pushed it into the rubber spring cover.

Put the stops back together and voila - it did the trick, I can open the boot with one hand finally.

Such a small thing but it did get on my nerves so I'm happy it's finally sorted.

Irn bru+1

Shaun RS +1

Tomborehamuk +1

Coldel +1

Ollydykins

Dougtosh +1

Adrian_CNC +1

Great guide, I wish it existed when I fitted mine.

My 2p - a small cable tie is probably safer than tape for securing the plugs together if they do not clip (which seems to be the norm).

I love this mod, makes Z feel noticeably faster and less lazy, especially when you floor it in 2nd.

Just booked all hotel stays for this trip seeing there were not many rooms left in some hotels.

Based on the amount of people who confirmed their attendance on the list pasted below I assumed people are still welcome to join.

Booked a B&B near Kyle Hotel (walking distance) for the first night as I didn't like the reviews for Kyle, the rest off Irn Bru's list - Northern Sands and Imperial.

Can't wait for this, missus just realized she'll have to spend 6+ hours a day in my decatted Z and she's not sharing my enthusiasm any more, I believe she's analysing earplug reviews on amazon as I'm writing this post.

I haven't been very active on this forum lately so I don't know anybody and vice versa so a quick introduction - I'm 28yo and apart from cars I'm into photography, hope to take some cool group shots on this trip.

And here's my Z:

1: Irn Bru +1 - all booked

2: Irn Bru's son +1- all booked

3: Chirag1988 +1 all booked

4: Coldel all booked

5: TomBorehamUK +1 Booked

6: ap427 +1 all booked

7: dougtosh +1 all booked

8: Adrian_CNC +1 all booked

Hate to sound like a stuck record but

Michelin pilot super sports are an amazing tyre any weather

Love mine and Wear so well also

I second that, the grip in the wet is actually annoying to me sometimes because it makes any spontaneous roundabout sliding difficult.

I kinda laughed at all the praise they get before getting the car with them on, wondering where all those MPSS fanboys came from but they just are bloody impressive!

Ive only just seen this thread and caught up with it. Im going to speak to my girlfriend tonight and see if she fancies it. I would obviously sort my own accomodation out but I have fancied doing a trip like this for a while so this would be ideal! Im in Bradford/Leeds area so im 5 hours from Edinburgh, which isnt too bad.

 

If thats okay with you guys?

Did you end up booking?

I just found this thread and I'm really interested too, I'm from Leeds/Bradford area like yourself, if I do go I'd probably drive to Dumbarton after work on Thursday so get there 10-11pm and get up later than the rest the next morning since it's right next to the meeting point in Balloch.

Hi mate, couple of guys have pulled out so your more than welcome to join us. List of hotels is in the previous posts.....get booking

Irn Bru, am I right thinking nothing changed since last week and people are still welcome to join?

I checked the hotels you listed and luckily they all still have some rooms left.

I'd be going +1, mentioned the idea to Mrs and the only thing she's worried about is will there be other women to talk to about something else than cars.

Thanks for all the replies guys!

I was worried about trackdays in particular because of the unusually high temperature and a mix of 5 different metals which expand at different rates - wheels, spacers, 2 stud types and alloys...

Like most Z owners I like some B-road blasts from time to time but I don't think I ever got near track day temperatures.

Funnily enough I messaged Tarmac when I started this topic asking whether he thinks his spacers are safe for track use is and his reply is "I wouldn't recommend spacers for track use no."

But seeing they have been put through their paces before I think I'll take the risk.

Hi, has anybody running Tarmac Sportz spacers used them on track?

I'm planning to go on a track day and I reminded myself about some horror stories I read previously about unbranded wheel spacers cracking/falling apart...

I had my spacers on for about a year now and they've been faultless but taking them on track if they haven't been used in that way before seems a bit risky to me.

Any feedback from other people running these would be appreciated (pic of spacers I have below).

Has anybody running these spacers from Tarmac gone to a track day?

I bought a set in this group buy and they have been faultless however after reading some horror stories about unbranded spacers cracking/falling apart I am a bit anxious about using them on track.

Any feedback about using these in extreme conditions would be appreciated.

I installed mine a couple of weeks ago and I struggled with the d1spec plug that clips into the plug that goes to the ecu (the one with orange rubber gasket inside).

I removed the white plastic bit from d1spec plug and I removed the orange gasket from the ecu plug and still no matter how hard I pushed it wouldn't lock on the clip.

I ended up wrapping a cable tie around the 2 plugs (with the white plastic bit and rubber gasket in place) to make sure they don't disconnect and it worked a treat.

Other than that it is a doddle.

I'd be up for a Leeds meet too!

There is a Buttertubs Pass drive organised by Skyline Family end of this month (Sunday 26th) which I'm planning to attend, we could make a little 350Z convoy if anyone's up for it?

https://www.facebook.com/events/924066144278291/

I'd be interested in joining as well, May sounds good to me!

I took my ZED for a little photoshoot last night, managed to get some really nice pics I think but I'll let you guys be the judges.

..............................................

 

the pipe using flaring tools and connectors which all decent garages have.

 

Did you lot read that??

 

That means the Zed Shed is a decent garage as we have a brake pipe flaring tool

All decent lasses shave their legs, not all lasses that shave their legs are decent though....

I had exactly the same problem with corroded rear brake pipes on my 350 and it has been fixed in a much simpler way.

I've been told that the brake pipes are well protected from rust and it's just the last few inches that rot away on our cars because they're exposed so instead of replacing the whole pipe (which is a pretty big job as apparently you have to take the fuel tank, prop shaft and exhaust off to do it) they could have just cut the rotten bit off and extended the pipe using flaring tools and connectors which all decent garages have.

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like the car ... and boobs!

I've forgotten about one more pic which I haven't shared on here - the scary Zed!

Mods are starting to come along nicely so I think it's time I start my own thread.

I got a bit bored of FWD so after 18 months of driving and modding my latest car - CTR EP3 I decided to try RWD/AWD.

This is my EP3 in all her glory before sale, still miss that car a bit - 244 bhp pulling just over 1200kg while screaming at 8000 rpm was a very pleasant experience.

I had quite a few cars in mind: S15 spec R, M3 e46, 125i coupe, 123d coupe, z4 3.0si coupe, impreza sti ppp bugeye/hawkeye, audi s3 and of course 350z which won eventually.

I've bought the car in July this year, 200 mile trip up to Edinburgh to view her and luckily the car was pretty much as described.

8 hours in the car, best day of my Mrs' life!

First pic on the way back, happy me and MY Z.

Car was a standard GT apart from EBC USR discs + EBC RedStuff pads, whiteline adjustable drop links and white front bumper reflectors.

As it turned out later it also had Japspeed Y-pipe and Japspeed K2 exhaust, not the best but still an added bonus.

I can never keep away from modding a car for longer than a few days, first off was the gear knob - original was a bit worn so to get me started I bought a cheap and cheerful Razo copy gearknob.

Next up was the head unit, criteria were: touch screen, good quality, fast and MP3 playback from a flash drive. Second USB input on a nice long cable and detachable front panel was an added bonus - I went for SONY XAV602BT.

I was very happy with the improved sound quality, I then fitted the included microphone for bluetooth and wired a reversing camera which was a painful job but worth it in the end.

Mrs then offered to test the camera lens with her curves, I think it passed!

I wanted to get rid of small paint bubbling on the edge of the bonnet and fix a little scuff on the front bumper so I booked the car for a front end respray.

Rays were bubbling as well so I decided to get them refurbed at the same time.

Took me a while to choose the colour but eventually I went for Porsche 7A1 Black Grey which I still love.

You can see the topic with different rays colours I photoshopped before I made my mind up.

http://www.350z-uk.c...a-gunmetal-zed/

I also had the front budget tyres swapped to MPSS to match the rears (I now know why people rave about them so much - worth every penny!)

Then I had a service and some mods fitted:

P1 Oil Service (Nissan oil filter, sump plug crush washer and Motul 5W30 engine oil)

Nissan Diff oil

Nissan Gearbox oil + Molyslip

New Coolant

Braided clutch line + Motul RBF600 fluid

Hel braided brake lines + Motul RBF600 fluid

Ferodo DS2500 front pads (to replace RedStuffs which were pretty rubbish)

TopSpeed resonated decats

I also did flyboy revup airbox mod and fitted an HKS panel filter which seemed to release a few horses.

This is how the car sounds at the minute:

Zed had a special day recently - 33333 miles so I treated it to an RDX stubby aerial.

Yesterday I polished my headlights which were pretty hazed and fitted TS 20/25mm wheel spacers.

I used a drill polishing pad and chemical guys 321 laser buff that my mate gave me to try out, finished off with 2 coats of glass sealant to protect headlights from UV light.

The difference is massive and I'm very happy with the result.

Headlights before:

After:

Before (right) and after (left):

Wheel spacers, before:

After:

Coming up:

Wasso plenum spacer and a set of Denso Iridium spark plugs - already waiting to be fitted.

Facelift LED tail lights and Cree LED sidelights for the front

New plate (took off the 3/4 one after I found out it's a £100 fine if they stop you) as the full size one I got with the car is a bit tatty.

Plasti dipping the front lip

and more...

Few pics of the car (before the wheel spacers):

And the current spec list:

Engine & Exhaust

- HKS panel filter

- Velocity stack (flyboy airbox mod)

- Topspeed resonated decats

- Japspeed Y-pipe

- Japspeed K2 exhaust

- Braided clutch line

Suspension & Handling

- Whiteline adjustable drop links

Wheels, Tyres & Brakes

- Rays in Porsche 7A1 Black Grey

- Tarmac Sports 20/25mm wheel spacers

- Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (225 front, 245 rear)

- Ferodo DS2500 front pads

- EBC USR front discs

- HEL braided brake lines front and back

- Motul RBF600 brake fluid

Exterior

- White bumper reflectors

- RDX stubby aerial

- Reversing camera in license plate bulb housing

Interior

- Razo copy gearknob

- Sony XAV602BT headunit with steering control adapter

- Nissan boot divider, boot mat and cargo net

Looking for a reasonably priced set of facelift tail lights in very good condition.

Please PM me if you have a set for sale.

Any love for my Zed?

My worst average so far was 22mpg (short trips, average traffic), best 29, keeping steady 70 mph on motorway returns about 34-35mpg.

My Civic Type R used to return same mpg on the motorway and was much noisier and less comfy than the Zed. It did significantly better around town but Zed's engine noise compensates for that.

On a side note:

I've logged all my fill ups in aCar android app (very good app for keeping track of what you spend on the car, running costs, mpg, servicing, etc.) to compare the actual mpg with what the trip computer says (resetting avg. mpg after every fill up) and I was surprised to find that Zed's trip computer is very accurate - always within 0.2 mpg!

what I mean is don't go sticking a massive random sticker in a prime spot. If you want those stickers is get them smaller and put them in rear quarter. But that's just me and as we all say. Not our car it's yours

Your post sounded like if that was the only acceptable way to go, there is an awful lot of expensive, tastefully modified cars with one large sticker on the windscreen that sets the car off.

I started this topic to get the general opinion on 2 particular stickers, I know where most people stick theirs, I am familiar with all the popular sticker designs and I do realize everybody's got their own taste...

If you're going to put stickers on... At least have a purpose or theme.

Does that mean stickers should ideally form an introduction, abstract and summary to get your approval?

Okay, I think I get the general consensus - stickers on Zeds are a no-no.

Thanks for suggestions on other ideas but I don't like any of the popular stickers plus built not bought would be a bit of an overstatement on my car atm although I do have quite a few mods - I only mentioned the ones that are noticeable straight away.

Move over was the one that actually inspired me with the game over idea.

I've checked and MOT is not an issue as long as the sticker is outside the swept area.

Thanks for the opinions guys, I know it's each to their own but I really am on the fence with this idea so I want to know what others think.