The Dreamer

Bit of a thread bump - but that picture is a ‘pass holder’ - you store your car park pass in there (or any credit card sized card - fuel card?). Certainly I keep my car park pass in it, so I’m not fumbling around looking for the darned thing when I’m trying to get out of the car park to go home! HTH

As my Z is my daily driver, I've just put her Winter tyres on. Goodyear Gen-1's on a set of 18's that I bought from a chap near Glasgow. First impressions are good. Far better than the cheapo Winters I used to run on my old Saab. Steering is a touch lighter than normal, but to be expected I guess with only 225s up front, compared to the 245s on the 19's. Wondering what others are using, if their Z's are going to be running all year round?

I thought the general consensus was that the stock system was better than any aftermarket - unless you're going FI. Heat soak is cited as a concern with most of the aftermarket kits, as they tend to be made from metal; and the stock system has few, if any, restrictions anyway. Best bang for the buck would be a pair of decent drop in air filters. Just going on what I've read.

As a new member, I’m just catching up on forum posts, so apologies for resurrecting an old thread. But, to find out your cars previous reg, go to the DVLA web-site to put your current number on retention, and the site will tell you, before you go through with it, what number will replace your private reg. In most cases, this will be the cars original plate. You could then ask Abbey/TDi/Horsham if they recognise it, and they may be able to give you further info on what mapping you have. HTH

Has anyone used a kit such as these to convert their indicators to DRLs? https://www.auto-lighting.co.uk/product-eng-6171-DRL-LED-Turn-Indicator-Bulbs-Upgrade-Conversion-KIT-W21W-7440-582-WHITE-YELLOW.html As our older Z's don't have DRLs, I drive around with my headlights on - but I'd much rather have something a little more subtle. It'd also mean that my Nav screen and other instruments would stay on full brightness, instead of dimming, despite it being broad daylight.

Thanks. Me too! My Invidia is here - just need to clear out the garage to have somewhere dry to fit it! A bigger task than it seemed at first glance, as the bottom garage needs clearing first, to be able to store my lads sailing gear - which is occupying the main garage, where I want to work. So basically, all the garages need clearing out and reshuffling - enough space for four or five cars, and how many cars do we actually have in a garage (any garage) - yep, none! Just a load of junk/sailing/DIY gear. A first world problem for sure, but it's still a problem!

Yep, I hadn't really expected much of a difference at all. While I understood the stock Cats weren't allowing the system to breathe as easily, I didn't realise that they were also attenuating the sound as much as they obviously do. Pleasantly surprised!

I don't have that setup Ben, but I've just posted a thread in this section, with a link to a YouTube video I've thrown together, showing the difference between a stock exhaust and one fitted with HFC's. The difference is quite marked, and may give you an idea of the increase in volume you're going to get when you fit HFC's, as well as that extra 'bark', as I call it.

So, looking at many YouTube videos, I often find it difficult to tell just how much louder one system is vs another. It seems, to me at least, that when people are shooting these videos, they are letting the camera's 'auto volume level' look after the recording, even when using external microphones. To me, this defeats the whole point of the video, as all sound will be biased towards an 'average' volume that the camera decides on. Anyway, as I start my journey towards having a full HFC/Invidia set up, I thought I'd record it. This is just the first step, as I had the HFC's installed yesterday, and I have to say that the extra 'bark' just this gives, was a surprise to me. I'm not a videographer, so excuse the poor quality - indeed the 'drive by's' are a bit of a non-event - but the cold start and pull away from standstill, show off the difference in both sound and volume quite well. The clips were shot on an Olympus LM-20, which is primarily an audio recorder, that just happens to be able to shoot a touch of video too (though in relatively poor quality compared to modern cameras). The levels were fixed, and identical for each clip, so the volume change between clips is accurate. I'll post an updated video when I install the Invidia.

Hi Asad, may I have two of these please? Many thanks, Phil

Thanks NE, we’re in the Hexham area, so my usual jaunt is up and down the A69, and surrounding feeder roads. There used to be a 350Z coupe in the centre of Hexham, but haven’t seen it for a few months now. We seem to be a rare breed up here!

Thanks for the welcomes everyone. I’m busy browsing through the forum(s), looking for tidbits of info - so haven’t just signed up and then disappeared! As for HFCs, my understanding is that they allow the car to breathe a little easier, though any power gains would be quite modest without a remap. I believe drop-in air filters should be a part of that equation too. I’ll start a thread to keep a record of what is being done to the car, it’ll be very modest compared to many, but some of it may be of interest, or help others. First step is to find a permanent live to tap into inside the cabin - looking around briefly, it seems the fuse box feed goes to sleep after a while - which isn’t very helpful!

Well that'll please the neighbours when I head off to work at 04:00am! I haven't got many pics at the moment - just a handful..... Did I mention we're a two 'Z' family? My elder lad has just started to drive (a year now), and has a 'Z' too! ...a CR-'Z'!

Hi guys (and gals), a little late to this particular party - I joined N-Sportz a few weeks ago, and have been busy picking people's brains there, but on searching around, I've found you guys as well! Which is awesome! Just like the chap a bit further down the page, I too have just entered the world of Z with an impulse purchase, in much the same way as I'm sure many of us have! I've never had a performance car of any kind - a couple of quick-ish cars in my youth (Renault 5 GT Turbo, and Dutton Phaeton kit car), but nothing properly fast! The 'loud' pedal is quite addictive isn't it?! Bought an 11 plate Roadster (ever since the Phaeton, I've always driven rag-tops - with the last 21 years in 3 Saabs of various specs). It looks like it was someone's weekend toy, as it had less than 20,000 miles on it when I picked it up. Speaking of the 'loud' pedal, it isn't really that loud, and certainly doesn't announce itself in the way I think it should - so HFC's get fitted next week, and then, with a little help from my lad, we'll fit an Invidia Gemini CB ourselves. I do feel though, like I may have just jumped into the 'deep end' before I can even swim! It has been mentioned that the combination of HFCs and Gemini 'may' be a touch loud! We shall see! Anyone else from the North East? Cheers, Phil