From A to Zed

Hi all, Just a quick update on some work that Ross that has carried out (to a very peasing standard) on my 350z. In short I've become very good at buying parts lately but never finding the time to fit them, hence the trip to Japex Performance! List of chores; Fit a motodyne plenum spacer - thanks Sarah (chilli red) for the swift delivery and forum discount. Fit one pair of resonated Megan Racing test pipes - thanks to zmanalex for a top service as always. Fit one ESR Y pipe + new gaskets all round. (alex again) Fit braided goodridge hoses (alex strikes again) Replace brake fluid with motul fluid Replace spark plugs Replace gearbox oil Supply & fit new drop links As well as carrying out the above work for a very reasonable sum of money, Ross also painted my plenum for free which I thought was a really nice touch and it finishes off my engine bay a treat. Ross also noticed that some plonker (me) had failed to replace the safety pins when replacing the pads and also remedied this for free. In summary I am very pleased with everyone I have dealt with and I highly recommend Ross and the guys at Japex for your servicing and tuning needs. Naturally the car sounds awesome (but not too OTT on idle or part throttle) and the plenum spacer has certainly made the car feel more eager. My next stop will be Abbey If someone could imbed the pictures for me that would be splendid http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... rformance/ Thanks for reading, any q's fire away. Matt

I can't say I'm a fan

Hi mate, I personally wouldn't bother trying to bypass the amp(s). You actually have two amps; one in the boot to power the 4 speakers and one in the enclosure behind to sub (to power the sub). If you remove the ashtray and 2 screws at the back of the centre consol it's very easy to lift the whole centre consol and run two RCA's, a constant live from the battery and a remote live to a new amp to the enclosures behind the seats. I have mounted my old but trusty Alpine V12 4 channel in the glove box behind the passenger seat. There are lots of holes from the original loom so no need to cut / hack any of the trim to do so. You are spoilt for choice in terms of places to earth to the amp. Myself and many others have simply disconnected the rear speakers and spent more on door speakers. I am running a pair of focals in the doors and a sub in the back; powered by a 4 channel amp bridging channels 3&4 for the sub. The door speaker cable is a pig of the job - the worst part of the install IMO. IRRC the bottom half of the door / footwell loom connectors are blank pins so you can drill through there and run your cable into the door that way. I actually used a current meter and clipped the original speaker wire either side of the connector so I’ve use about 4 inches of Nissan speaker wire in my whole set up. If you take your time you can do it in a weekend. I am not sure I would trust those thin Nissan cables to power a 'real' amp. Sound quality issues aside you could end up causing a fire, I have seen thin cables smoke and get very hot when used to power systems beyond their capabilities. I am not saying my way is best (far from it) just giving you a few pointers Matt

Honestly not much... 1). wish I joined the forum sooner to learn about the skipping Bose etc. 2). wish I held off 2 years as I paid top dollar for my 2004 GT. I've never owned a car for so long; every time I sit in it (without turning the key) it feels special. I can't think of another car right now that I would prefer for a similar price. It would take a 996 GT3 to tempt me away... And saving v hard for a house… The GT3 is a dream at the moment! Keep enjoying chaps Matt

a cup of tea would nice

I'm not one to normally post in the OT section but I thought you would all like this! It's not graphic, pretty harmless really. Enjoy

I've dropped a few bolts down there and lit up the garage with foul language on a few occasions! Matt

Hi jamakalbi, Tread carefully with your speakers buddy, if you take a look at the back of the factory speakers you will notice that the baskets are quite shallow and the magnets are very narrow in diameter. My Focals were a royal PITA to mount... The baskets and magnets were of similar depth to factory speakers but the magnet was far wider and as such fouled the window. I had to mate several speaker rings together and they finally cleared the window without touching the door card. If you want to avoid frustration on the day I would suggest buying several rings of different depths so you can play around the mounting depth. I also believe Kenwood make some shallow mount speakers too so that might be worth considering. Good luck! Matt

Nice one, wheels look nice by the way

I think that's best path Mike, I'll drop them both a PM. Have you had a chance to use the Gilmour yet? Cheers, Matt

As is says on the tin. Someone got a bit carried away with brute force Cheers, Matt

Hi Guy, I hope you've managed to find the site ok it was nice to meet you this afternoon. Drop a message in the intro section to say Hi. Cheers, Matt

Thanks for chipping in guys And yes the Fiat is one hideous machine! She settled on a late Galaxy TDI in the end despite the lack of boot room. Matt.

Hi all, For sale is my Gilmore Foam Master Gun. It has the brass fittings and the all important adaptor to mate it with any hozelock or similar system. Reason for sale; I have recently bought a pressure washer and joined a group buy (thanks Tim @ Envy) to buy a compatible lance. http://s484.photobucket.com/albums/rr20 ... oam%20Gun/ I bought this from Stew for forty pounds last April so I will accept 35 pounds and I'll pay the postage (royal mail signed for - mainland Britain only). Do a Google search and you will see that retail price is about fifty pounds. I do not have the original box or instructions but it's very simple to use. This is great step to add to your wash, reducing the risk of those dreaded swirl marks. Any q's fire away. Cheers, Matt

Poor old chap... What is wrong with people these days? Matt.

Probably not too shabby so long as you dont leave it full of water Convert the tank to hold fuel and you could do some mamoth road trips I'm sorry guys but you’re just not using your imagination! We need to fill it with beer and take it to Le Mans as a support vehicle!

Sorry, I am in a daft mood today; http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/662199.htm

Hi guys, I need help looking for a hideous car! A friend of mine has four young children and as such needs a car/van with a minimum of seven seats. All of the children are young (one is still a baby) so she also needs good boot space and storage for the buggy etc. Most of the modern MPV’s sacrifice the boot when the rear seats are in use and are therefore not suitable. I must be clear on this; she needs 7 seats and a permanent boot. Performance is irrelevant, this is a workhorse. Ideally she wants a diesel, no greater than 4 years old and under £15k. Her previous car was a Pug 806 which bit the dust in the snow. I can only think of the Mercedes Viano… I did suggest the following but it’s apparently too big… Some people are so picky. http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1219997.htm Thanks, Matt

Ok cool, good luck with the bodywork mate. Matt

Hi Kris, I have a set of standard rear Nissan splash guards in the garage. I bought them from JDM and they're still in the box unused. From JDM's site; http://www.jdmperformance.co.uk/item_a. ... eNumber=97 Nissan OEM Rear Splash Guards Item number 58277 Help reduce dirt spray on lower body panels while helping to prevent nicks and scratches caused by road debris under all weather conditions. Color matched to your exterior. Contoured to match wheel openings.Price is for a pair. Suitable for 350z. Comes in black plastic, ready for painting. Price : £ 62.50 (including VAT) I will pay the postage for 40 quid all in - assuming you are mainland U.K.? Drop me a PM if interested. Cheers, Matt

Chris, You can't sell it, I haven't been for a ride yet What are you up to on Sunday mate? Drop me a note at work. Cheers, Matt

Cheers Bacon, it is indeed a good space. When I get a cheapo kettle and Ipod dock sorted I mightgo AWOL for whole weekends

Thanks for all for comments guys! Good luck with DA mate, the sensation is horrible at first - like a massive trip to the dentist! You soon get into the groove though. I would also highly recommend the halogen lights, I got my ones from B&Q for £24.95 each Matt

No, not the warmest!