GoHashiri

Cheers guys

I'm sure my mate has a mic for his camera so I'll try and get a few drive-bys with that down at the docks.

I've actually had this exhaust on for a couple of months now: Fujitsubo Power Getter. I'll try and get some videos of the sound at some point, the thing is pretty quiet up to 3k - only marginally louder than stock at idle, +2db iirc

Performed the mechanical oil gauge test today and it more or less read the same as the internal gauge reading. The gauge wasn't confirmed as good but the oil that came from the sending unit hole produced a few metal particles, some silver, some copper. There's still no odd noises from the car but I'm pricing in a replacement engine now. I know the better route is a rebuild but seeing as engines over here are £300 - £500, it seems the more financially viable route. I'll probably drive it till it goes, will update here on how many miles i get out of it. Is there anything I should be thinking about replacing whilst the engine is out? headers perhaps...

Appreciated ZMANALEX - I thought the cracking was on removal. I have a 1/4 drive torque wrench at hand. Presumably you just nip the pressure gauge adaptor in there and run the car?

Hi all, i was trying my hardest to refrain from posting another low oil pressure thread but after scouring the internet, both this forum, the US forum and even reddit. I have turned up basically nothing. Now I know I'm going to be pointed in the direction of installing a mechanical gauge but here's to hoping someone has experience the same issue as me. Removing the old oil sensor seems to be a daunting task also, given the bugger seems to crack the housing so easily. Vehicle specs: 2002 JDM Fairlady Z VQ35DE 85k-ish miles Oil service history within spec - although this doesn't mean jack considering the real problems come from not maintaining the level. No notable noises from engine. Since owning the car I've had a problem where hot idle is basically at around 5-10psi - probably closer to the 5 mark. Throughout the rev range it's fine, it moves in sync with engine speed and is about 60psi at 3k. After doing some digging before, I kind of wrote off the possibility of it beng the oil galleys and put it down to a whack sensor. However, during a drift event on the weekend - slow skidpan practise at 1st/2nd gear - things got really hot and the PS fluid was boiling over. The oil ended up thinning out to the point where the pressure reading was 0 and the pressure light came on. Obviously i cr*ped my pants, came off track and let things cool down. I checked the oil (of course) and it was fine, so proceded to chuck 200ml in there anyway. Basically, this whole escapade has gotten me concerned about bearing wear and subsequently failure. I'm going to install a magnetic drain plug next weekend and run some thicker oil to see whether this has any impact on the idle pressure. This way, the following oil change - if i make it to that - should tell a story. What i experienced seems somewhat similar to: Along with what this guy is talking about on reddit: reddit dot com/r/350z/comments/6foudu/0_psi_at_idle/ So what I'm trying to figure out is if anyone has experienced this issue before? I'm getting in touch with my garage next week to get pricing on an engine swap - I'm gonna guestimate it's about £1,000, whilst engines - forunately plentiful - are around £500. A piccy from the event because everyone loves pictures.

It's an awful experience for sure. I had a mate in Japan get royally screwed on his RB26 build, it wasn't identical to this but it was of a similar nature; the company sold the aftermarket parts he gave them and reused worn old parts - it never worked in the end. He's now building an SR20 instead. A very costly experience. Well anyhow, I'm glad it has all worked out for you in the end!

I hope it serves you well for years to come. Did you ever get any detail on what the first mechanics screwed up? Perhaps it would be good knowledge for others here.

Good work! It's nice to hear it worked out in the end. May i ask, what kind of state it was in for the rod bearing to go? What was the history like? I know it's pot luck on these things. Having owned an RX8 previously, I was always paranoid of the engine blowing but it actually seems like more of a mare with the Z.

Finally got the wheels and new tyres mounted - had a mare of a job rolling the arches. There was a patch of rust in the corner where the fender meets the bumper which cracked the paint most of the way around the arch. I'll need to get a body shop to fix this up shortly. Still haven't got the new exhaust mounted as the stock one needs to have the bolts cut off at the Y pipe. Wheels: TE37SL - 18x9.5, +22 (F); 18x10, +20 (r). Tyres are Hankook V12 Evo2 255/40, 275/40. Headed about 3hrs out of town this weekend to the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail:

Last weekend i headed to the local circuit with some friends. I wasn't really keen on participating due to the dire condition of my tires. Seeing as the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, on the way home i took the scenic route up to Mt Ena and then down to the Yahagi dam. The latter area is popular with sports cars and bikes thanks to the technical roads which run up the side of the mountain and around the dam. Picked up a new exhaust and some tires this week and am shopping for wheels at the moment. I'm undecided whether to go with a 10" or 10.5" rear; I'm thinking 9.5" +15 front and 10" +25 rear, then use spacers to push it out a bit if necessary.

I ran the Tein Street Basis on my old Lexus and found them fine - used them at Brands Hatch but found them a tad soft for track use. I only had them for around 20k miles so i can't speak about durability. They're a bit stiffer than stock and work better than the bottom-of-the-market generic brands. This is based on running cheap unbraded coilovers on an e46 3 series. Perhaps someone that's ran them on a Z can share their opinion too.

What's the mileage on this? I'd still be looking at the coils; try replacing one bank and then switch them around to see if it persists. Cheap coils can fail pretty quickly also. Had a quick search and maybe this'll be of use to you: Have you cleaned out the throttle body and performed the idle relearn procedure?

Update: Today i replaced 3 ignition coils, all spark plugs and RTV'd the leaky oil seal (plug #6 from the top). Upon checking the right-side valve cover a little more thoroughly i noticed the spark plug seal was coated lightly in oil - so both covers need to be replaced in the near future. I took the car for a 15km drive and it seems as though it's been cured; the idle is smoother, response is better and it seems to hold fine at cruising speeds. I'll need to go on a longer drive next weekend to really evaluate it - corona virus permitting. I'm reluctant to believe this could be cured from just plugs and coils, but please take a look at the plugs below to see what you think - they're not in the best shape for sure. I also ordered a MAF the other day thinking it might be this; so if anyone needs a MAF in the Aichi prefecture area HMU. I'll report back later to notify everyone of my findings.

Hi all, Just an update: Last week i changed the PCV valve to no avail - it likely needed doing anyway. Probably a better way to describe this issue is surging under light throttle, irrespective of gear. I can replicate it in neutral. Today i decided to inspect the ignition coils to look for oil, and, of course, there is oil in one of the passenger side wells - quite a bit at that. I know i need to replace the valve covers, but seeing as they're fairly expensive, i'm going to try sealing it up with RTV temporarily. I'll buy new ignition coils and plugs now. I have some questions to ask: Do the OEM Nissan ignition coils have any branding on them at all? Mine don't. Which makes me suspect they've been changed for cheap one's. Secondly, has anyone tried Hella ignition coils for these things? And shamefully: has anyone tried sealing a leakly plug well with RTV?

Hi all, For those that missed my introductory post, I'm a new Z owner based in Japan. I'll be using this thread as a kind of photo blog with updates on my build in Japan. The aim is to build the car up to (light) track-spec over here before shipping the car back at an undetermined point in the future . I picked up the car back in December but, due to work commitments, have only been able to begin working on it as of the last month. The car is in an average state, it has 135k Km's and is relatively rust-free. The work that has been conducted so far has been mostly maintenance related, however, i managed to get some coilovers (Tanabe Sustec Pro 5) on earlier this month and have had a few blips up the mountain - touge, for the weebs amongst us. Below are a couple pics of the car and my buddy's 86 - his being a tad more track-spec than mine..

Hi all, I've only recently bought my '02 350z (83,000 miles) and i have noticed that under light load (approx. 5-10% throttle) the car hesitates. It seems to happen throughout the rev-range irrespective of gear, although it is really only noticable between 1,800-2,500RPM - going higher typically requires a higher throttle application. There is no EML and this occurs regardless of engine temperature. It's very annoying when cruising. I have cleaned out the throttle body, gave the MAF a couple of squirts of electrical contact cleaner, then performed an ECU reset and idle relearn to no avail - however this seemed to fix the idle cutting-out problem. I have read of similar issues across the board from plugs to fuel dampers to cats, although this often isn't with a DE. I'm thinking it's possibly a sensor or ignition problem; has anyone experienced anything like this? My thoughts are: cam sensor, crank sensor, knock sensor, maf sensor, ignition coils. Being located in Japan with minimal language ability makes it difficult to source a mechanic's help.

The bolt is seized to the bush sleeve, unfortunately. The rubber is torn also from where it twisted with the bolt. I'll grab the 36mm (iirc) socket this weekend and have a crack at it. Cheers for the info. Getting the wishbone/control arm looks a pain also, with the mounts tucked so far back.

Cheers! RWD FTW

Hi all, I recently purchased the Pro 5 coilovers with TEAS and have come a cropper on the install. I have installed 3 corners fine, but on the rear passanger side the lower strut bolt is seized to the bush (please see pics below). I realise the bush needs to be replaced. I'm going to pick-up a used pair of rear knuckles on the weekend and an wondering whether i'm going to have more luck replacing the entire knuckle or grinding the strut off and removing a used bush and installing it into my mounted knuckle. The fear is being unable to remove the rear axle nut which is at around 240nm. My question also is: can i remove the knuckle without removing the driveshaft? I'm doing this in the garage with hand tools. I'll need help with the TEAS install later but first things first.

I know, i know - you're totally right. It becomes especially acute as soon as you need something other than a ramen; say, getting my damn rear knuckle bushes replaced this week. 日本語は下手。でも、よく勉強する。For the rest of you, that basically says my Japanese is sh**e but i'm studying alot. Daikoku PA - that's the one. The Osaka ones, although less well known, usually see a good amount of action. Fortunately it is; late at night I frequently hear people tapping the limiters on the highway nearby. I would have loved to have seen it back in the early 2000's. 5,000 yen though - those were the days. N/A DE Silvias are around with 700k now (£5000) with or without a shaken (MOT). The white one is probably pushing above that, whilst the red one is around that mark - it only has modest mods. For this year it's probably going to be the following: Coilovers (the tanabe's i mentioned above), bushes, wheels and tires (Volks, Enkeis, Wedsports or Works in approx. 10j +15), catback, brake disks/pads, and sway bars. The rest will be maintenance and see what the financial situation is like. Next year: proper LSD (1.5 way), hydro handbrake, plenum spacer, high-flow cats and headers. TBH the latter is really dependent on whether the car will exceed the limitations for shaken. That goes for the arms and knuckles also - they most likely won't pass inspection so i'll have to assess what facilities i have at the time. Styling-wise: Nismo V2 kit and CF panels/lids but this is just dream talk - not a priority at all. Feel free to shoot me a message any time. I'm not sure how much help i can be seeing as my answer is typically: "put a V8 in it". Cheers pal. Absolutely! I should probably add some pics of the cars i had back in the UK while i'm here. I was the proud owner of two gutless machines: an RX8 and an IS200. First pic is at Castle Combe.

That's awesome; i was absolutely in the market for an S14/S13 N/A (DE) but it just so happened that the Z came up at a reasonable price. The Silvias are only appreciating in value these days. I'm going to be more or less doing the same things. I've made a couple of hashiriya friends (see pics below), both running S15's. The intention is to get the Z up to this kind of spec. Nowadays there's quite a few more foreigners in the racer scene helping keep it alive. You were lucky to be here during the peak of the culture. Currently on S4 E16 of Initial D. It takes a while to immerse yourself/figure out what the f*** is going on - but yes, it's absolutely amazing. I'm working in automotive engineering currently (ADAS development), although teaching english is definitely on the cards. A caveat of life here is corporate work culture; as i'm sure you know.

Cheers, i agree although i'm partial to the blue and black also. Abso-f***in-lutely. It's gorgeous pal. I woke up extra early this morning and blitzed down to the bay to catch sunrise. I've been surprised at the sheer quality of all the cars here - they're pristine. Plenty of pics to come. I'll start a build thread once I've got a few more parts installed - you'd cry at how cheap wheels are here. Cheers! I'm looking forward to modding it. Cleaned out the intake system and did the idle reset today - absolutely filthy. I need to swap out the PCV soon but haven't had the balls to go to the Nissan parts counter wih google translate yet.

Hi all, I'm a new Z owner based in Nagoya, Japan. Up until August last year i was based in the UK - originally a Somerset boy. After a while of figuring out how the hell i buy a car here i settled on a Z33. Originally i was shooting between Silvias, Skylines and Altezzas. The car is a bone-stock '02 with 134,000kms. It is poised to get the full JDM treatment; bit by bit and track by track I'll develop this thing into something worth keeping for the long term. It has a few issues i'm working on at the moment; but to be expected with an 18-ish year old car: the door droops a tad, the idle is inconsistent and light-throttle is hesitant - it seems to pull fine at WOT. In the immediate term - other than fixing those issues - the parts list is something like this: bushes and suspension (i picked up some tanabe's w/TEAS today), wheels/tires, brakes, exhaust, sway bars. So anyhow, see below for some piccys from today: