Rook

I have searched but it's difficult to know what to search for, so haven't found anything other than people talking about the problem rather than fixing it. Has anybody see a solution for the water coming pouring into the car off the windscreen if a window's open? I have the window down pretty much all the time I'm driving, I like the fresh(ish) air, the soundtrack and not using the AC when it's hot. Drives me slightly mad when I have the window up, I don't care if it's the middle of winter; coat, gloves and hat on, window down. As I'm sure you've all figured out, if you do this any water on the windscreen will find its way onto your lap. I've seen a few people come up with ugly or ridiculous solutions, usually involving home made bits of rubber sticking out of the car, but has anyone seen a decent one? 'Don't put the window down' doesn't help, and wiping the windows before setting off doesn't help much if it's lightly raining or there's spray off the road (which somehow doesn't seem to come in through the window...

Well saying that, in discarding them for new ones. I've tightened the hell out of those (by hand) and so I've been forcing the top of the stud against the back off the head of the locking nut. Any kind of stress like that with the expansion and contraction these parts can experience, those nuts are probably severely weakened compared to new, I wouldn't be surprised if any tighter or any longer and the head of the nut could shear off. I'm in the market for some new wheel nuts haha. I have mismatched nuts of front and rear now, stock on the rear and some new (ugly) ones I bought to replace them on the front. All safe and secure now, the stock nuts have plenty of clearance, it's just the stock locking nuts that don't. Anyone got opinions on open ended ones? I quite like the look of them...

When you say respray you mean not just clear, the whole paint job? What on earth is that gunna cost? Thanks guys.

Oh balls.

On my rear bumper I have about a 6 square inch patch where my clear coat has peeled off, and I understand I need to lacquer and buff it. I'm happy attempting to buff it, I've done similar things with guitars in the past for flattening orange peel finishes, but that's really about it. Is this something I should be so confident attempting?

I found what it is! It turns out the locking wheel nut isn't long enough for the studs on my spacers, so it wasn't seated right. Slightly terrifying that I didn't notice that and have had a wheel but there purely for aesthetic value for the last few weeks, thankfully the wheels have been off a few times lately and I've retightened them as a matter of course. So instead of being embarrassed and not admitted that I done messed up, I'm gunna just use this as a friendly reminder to check the depth of your nuts and always make sure they're tight! Still a bit rattled to be honest, can only imagine what could have happened if I hadn't noticed before it was too late...

Both secure! Gaaaah! Haha. Thanks though

I'm pretty certain this isn't the axle clicking, as I've had this before and resolved it, and it made a different noise and under different conditions. With that in mind here's what I know. I've heard for ages when driving along the motorway near the barrier on the driver's side with the window down I could hear a quiet, perfectly regular tick tick tick tick tick. The ticking was quiet, metallic, continuous, and varied with speed only. Braking didn't affect it, depressing the clutch didn't affect it, wet or dry, hot or cold. The rears recently started making all manner of unpleasant scrapes and clicks, so I changed my rear discs and pads and the old ones were utterly destroyed. No more horrible scrapes and clicks. The tick remains. Today it suddenly got louder, and I can hear it even when going very slowly. Comes from both rears, sounds like someone dropping a ball bearing in a tin can, but higher pitch. Only thing that's changed between yesterday and today is that I put the rear spacers back on. Can't recreate with the car jacked up :/ Anyone any suggestions as to where to start?

Put this way. I had a squeak and a click (not that click) coming from my rear, Nissan when servicing decided it was my brakes and wanted £1500 'to repair'. Turns out my mate works there and I just needed new brakes and that's how much Nissan wanted to change all four discs and sets of pads. I changed my rears (fronts are fine, only a year old) last week myself for £168, and am also not a mechanic. Not saying they're wrong, but approach with caution.

I just fitted my Cobra Resonated this evening, it doesn't seem as loud as that! I have stock cats and Y pipe, did those two make a bigger difference to volume or do I just need to spend more time in car parks?

I get vibrations, you can particularly feel it if you touch the gearstick, in 3rd or above if you let the revs wind down between 4k and 3k rpm. I always assumed it was just a quirk, but I'd be interested to know if this is what you have or it if anyone else knows what it is hha.

Got round to this today! Left myself 6 hours (you never know) but finished in less than 2. The hardest part by far is getting the bloody calipers free, those two bolts... Surprisingly they weren't as bad as I expected, but I've had some bad bolt experiences lately and have come to expect them to break, strip or just do absolutely nothing, but none of those were the case here - a breaker bar and my right leg were plenty sufficient. I'll be doing the fronts myself too - I definitely recommend people who think they're up for it having a go.

Very helpful, very easy, and great price. 2 rear brembo discs and a set of pads. Couldn't be easier, thanks Ewen.

Aaaah I always wondered what that brrrrrrrp noise was on the first cold start. The more you know.

Rust is a good point... Mine too is at least half motorway mileage, seems to have been well maintained up to this point. Who knows, maybe I will just turbocharge it haha. I agree though, mostly, if a car works I don't know why you wouldn't mod it - particularly simple stuff - just because it had some mileage on it. Was just curious to see if that was a *thing*, that people actually think like that.

Is a question asked to me when talking about modifying my 108k Z. In your opinions, when does a car go past the point at which it's worth modding? For me, with the exception of forced induction, I don't think there is one really. I plan on lowering, changing my exhaust - soon - and hopefully putting some 19" Rotas on at some point. The whole time the car's running it's money well spent IMO! I wouldn't turbocharge my engine now - all that money on new pistons etc on an engine that's aged in all minor of other ways seems a bit daft, but if I were gunna spend the kinda money it takes to turbocharge I'd probably be able to chop my Z in for a younger one anyway...

All 3 Z's I've driven have had a pretty long travel in the brake pedal, I assumed it was normal - watching...

As far as I'm concerned, any fast and furious fanatic who can spend 125k on memorabilia could have spent 150k on it, so it's clearly just in the complete wrong price bracket. I'd have said 40-50k, which is great condition heavily modded R34 money - same kinda person that would buy either IMO.

Thanks for the comments. I'm still feeling a little over-confident at the moment. Need to re-read the guide and probably pick up a few extra tools this weekend, but I'm gunna have a crack at it, I think! Speaking of which, Ewen at Clark's given me a great price, I just forgot to pay, so must do so in the morning!

As I said in the other thread, my favourite (and pretty much only) negative comment from a random kid in a petrol station whose 'mate has the 2l version' and he 'told me what [he] told [his] mate: shoulda got a GTR'. Yeah, should spent 10x what I did for a completely different kinda car hahahaha. Oh and people at my work think it's appropriate to comment reasonably regularly about how much my car must cost me to run. If it were genuine interest it wouldn't bother me, but it seems more the sort of 'alright for some' attitude; which is bull.

Can't believe you're having any trouble with 7k to spend. Honestly, I'd spend 6-6.5k, get a facelift with 80-90k on it, worry about miles less and service a little more, then save some pennies for a potential new clutch, brakes or tyres. If it turns out you don't need em (I needed tyres) there's a new exhaust paid for!

Case in point, and guess what, it's exactly 100 miles from me... http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201602161098872 Not mine or affiliated with me etc etc.

...not suggesting Coventry is 'up north' in that, by the way ha.

It was up at 7k, I went along and did the standard thing of carrying cash and poking holes, basically. 'Hmmm, it's gunna need new tyres soon, hmmmm those discs look worn' (yeah, I'm that guy). I do find that the best deals always seem to be bloody miles away too. It doesn't matter where you are, there's always a great car 100 miles away haha. I live in Farnborough and went up to Coventry to buy mine, about 2.5 hours each way. Was a very weird transaction tbh, but that's a story for another day. Where are you based? They seem to be cheaper in Wales and up north.

I agree with zeezee- just how much quicker you can go than our cars now has obviously increased, but the Z's still quicker than easily 95% of the other cars on the road. Last I checked, just because 'hyper cars' these days are breaking the 3 second mark in 0-60 times doesn't mean they're putting V8's in fiestas hahaha.