Strudul

Fortunately I don't spend much time stroking my car, so aesthetics, easiness, and price are the most important things

Wanting to change the colour of some stuff while I have free time over Christmas. Thinking of DIYing the roof, front reflectors, and rims (RAYS) black. It seems that vinyl is cheaper than Plasti Dip in the UK, and will give a nice glossy finish, but it's not quite as easy to apply for awkward shapes. I think for the roof and reflectors it will be just as easy to wrap them and will look much better, but I've got some concerns about the rims. There's a lot of holes and curves to try fill and I'm not sure I'll be able to do a decent job. Any tried wrapping their RAYS? Had a search and couldn't find anything. Or should I just Plasti Dip them? As for wrapping, am I right in thinking it's best to go with Avery Supreme? Any advice / suggestions welcome. Cheers

Usually around 60

I'm reluctant to completely drain and refill the oil when I'm gonna be getting the car serviced in the few weeks. I'll definitely be monitoring it regularly after that though. I'm rather hesitant to keep adding more oil in case I am over filling it and just failing to get a reading. I've heard of dipsticks being bent and not going where they should.

Not that I can see

Yup. - Put in a litre - Oil reading was waaay over high (even after taking multiple measurements, wiping after each) - Went for a drive and then left it over night - Checked it in the morning and it said it was empty

I know there are loads of threads on this and I've spent ages reading through them, but none of them seem to address my issue specifically and there doesn't seem to be a solution given anywhere... I keep trying to get an oil level reading, but can't get anything whatsoever. It's not that it's inconsistent, or hard to read like most people seem to report, it just shows that there is absolutely nothing in there. I always check the oil after leaving it to settle overnight somewhere flat, but there is nothing on the dipstick apart from the odd splodge, but no obvious smear or line. I check multiple times, wiping it down after every attempt, but to no avail. I've topped it up a few times, totalling 2 litres in about 1700 miles. If I try check it after topping up there is oil all over the dipstick, way above the high marker, but as soon as I leave it overnight, it all seems to disappear. It's due a service soon, so I don't want to empty and refill the oil to make sure it has enough when it's gonna get done during the service anyway. However I'm concerned that if I keep adding more until I get a reading I will end up overfilling it. As far as I can tell I don't have an oil leak, so all I can think of is that my stick is not going into the oil properly? If it helps, I might make a video demonstrating the problem... Any suggestions? Cheers

I didn't try anything, i left it up to the garage. Based on past experience they don't see very competent, so I doubt they used any Molyslip.

You can buy them for £30-40, but I think it will get in the way and be inconvenient. I've watched and it just - the extra length is a problem and you have to kinda grab it from the side and push it around, whereas with a normal knob I just rest my hand on top, tilt it, and push. That being said a samurai should carry at least 2 swords, so I can always do both. It's all I had on me at the time That's why I don't wanna do any permanent changes, but instead make it something that I can slide on / off. Deep down they are actually just envious.

A little bit I guess, but not particularly. It does seem to be quite inconsistent, it doesn't get progressively better or worse, it's just... for lack of a better word... random

Finally got around to making some progress with this, though not anything exciting. Did some measuring, and it looks like I should have enough room to avoid any issues with clipping the centre console / gear stick. My main concern would be the extra length of the gear stick causing it to be inconvenient to use and not strong enough when pulled on. (Gear stick is fully down) (Gearstick is in 2nd)

Quick question related to this, as far as 2nd is concerned, it almost feels as if it doesn't want to engage because I'm pushing too far left. I'm not pushing left with any excessive force (i think), but i can not pull down and engage 2nd, no matter how hard I try, unless I stop pushing left and let the stick come right a tad. Anyone got a similar issue or can think of a reason?

I'll let someone else with more experience cover the first bit £6k should get you a decent DE, though I wouldn't expect "low" mileage. From what I read, it sounds like the engine will happily do 200k+ if well maintained, but you're gonna have to replace other stuff along the way (tranny / gearbox stuff). As for insurance, that sounds pretty good. I'm paying ~£942 at 22 with a licence held for <2 years and no NCB with Admiral with a Multi Car discount.

Looks like an Eclipse with a Ravage kit

Arches are sexy, but that front doesn't quite sit right with me.

Considering that if I rev match or double de-clutch it goes in smoothly, I think you've gotta be right with synchros. Surely any other issue would still be present regardless of the above?

Those look ideal. Thanks for the help.

This one?

Just noticed my front right parking light has gone (number 3). I believe it's the 501 bulb I need, any recommendations on a replacement? I've found some cheap LED ones on ebay or there's the basic halfords bulbs. Cheers

So I had an update from the garage confirming the work they carried out. - The Workshop Foreman and the Senior Technician who carried out the repairs both confirm that they had no synchromesh issues with the gearbox that they would consider a requirement to replace any parts at the time of their road testing over a considerable distance. - The gearbox was inspected by both a specialist and the RAC after it was stripped. - The gear box oil has been replaced. So, a couple more questions: - Is there any chance it could be anything else that wouldn't be obvious during an inspection? Surely if the synchros are worn there should be metal particles in the oil and obvious wear on the synchros? If the problem is the gear itself, again, shouldn't there be obvious wear? - Could it possibly be driver error? I don't see how this could be the case though, since I don't have issues in other gears. Any ideas? Cheers

Think they used the official Nissan stuff (saw a bottle of it). Pretty sure it's a Rev Up... My understanding is an 07 350Z can only be a HR or a RevUp DE. Since the redline is 7k and it doesn't have the bonnet bulge of an HR, I'm assuming it's a RevUp DE?

Thanks for replies. Made some edits in bold.

Having some issues when trying to shift gears... It's hard to engage 1st, 2nd, and 6th Gears. The others are perfect, have zero problems and are very smooth. With the clutch fully released, trying to select the above mentioned gears requires significant extra force, unless I wait a few seconds before trying to select the gear (allowing the revs to drop to idle). 6th gear is especially bad and makes an unhealthy grinding sound if I don't wait for the rpm to drop. Once the gear is selected I can bring the clutch up normally and it is fine. The issue is not present when the car is stationary - I can freely select any gear with the clutch down with no issues whatsoever. Apparently a specialist has had the gearbox apart while diagnosing another issue I had and found no problems.. Have they missed something and it is in fact worn synchros? Or can anyone think of any other potential causes? Transmission fluid will have been changed when they put the gearbox back together, so that shouldn't be the issue?? It's an 07, but it's a DE, do I assume that it doesn't have the lastest CD009 tranny? Anyone know which one it does have? Cheers ~Strudul

Itching to do something and can't wait to get my Z back. The blue thing is a spin turn knob or "drift button". When you have it installed the handbrake won't lock when you pull it up, allowing you to just yank it to do mad skidz. You don't have to hold the button, so when you let go it'll just drop back down. In order to lock it in place (for parking etc), you push the knob out.

Thanks for the replies... I did consider that, however my Z is in for repairs atm, so I can't test it myself and it's surprisingly hard to find pictures with the handbrake off. I think the handbrake doesn't go far enough down to the point it would hit the centre console (depending on the thickness of the handle). Though coldel makes a good point about the tsuba (hand guard, or "circular part at the base"), so I may have to forgo that bit. Also, katana handles tend to have a slight curve to them, so If I have the curve going upwards, it will give me more room. Basing that assumption off this image, which looks like a released handbrake to me: As for clashing with the gearstick, I think even in 1st / 2nd, the handbrake will be offset far enough to the side and maybe not even be long enough to cause an issue.