powdermonkey1978

could just be the brush pack in the alternator with the zener diode arrangement in, used to replace loads of them in my last job , 9 times out of 10 with alternators its the brush pack that fails... failing that next port of call would be the fuse and relay , then i would consider an alternator, but would be a good idea to charge the battery up to full and take it to a garage to drop test it for you . might be worth finding what the ampage draw upon the battery is when ignition is fully of also and if there is something drawing your precious volts disconnecting the offending items one by one... electrical gremlins can be a nightmare and take time to sort out properly, but just stick with it, you can bet your life on it if it isnt the alternator it will only be a 5 min job IF you knew what it were .... all diagnosis im afraid ..

dave ya lab rat , had a funny feeling you would post ... top info for the lads on the forum.... got that manta fired up and moved yet? see ya at work pal in a few weeks when im back from belgium! festival time , roll on the rock werchter

just a question to those people in the know , what do you guys reckon a full respray in oil based would cost? because this water based paint on mine is a joke, got the car in jan in really good condition and now the front bumper and bonnet are really starting to take a pummeling.. loads of small stone chips... imho it really lets this car down , can see a lot of zeds rotting away if not cared for, over the years... this is a step back in time over what was already available...

i disagree a freind of mine has one of these and he has nothing but gremlins play with it at night , spent loads a cash on it, and had loads of DIFFERENT problems ranging from internal electric controls to engine management, and then there is the problem of the alfa dealer around here (midlands) being a complete numpty....

secondhand bmw m3 ? ? old skyline ? ? if you dont mind the retro look of some of the old mercs and the running costs they do have some old beastys if you can find em rx 8 looks a safe bet though pal......... monero !!!! think there about the same price range now seen one in the midland autotrader the other day, plenty of room for the kiddy wink,

sometimes thinking outloud just sounds wrong, see we could be thinking that you were being all petrol headed and dreaming of a split screen like most of us were, but who knows it could be the last time you watched supermarket sweep with dale winton, or the graham norton show ? who knows joking aside, the prices for a good splitscreen is obscene !! cant believe just how sought after they are, it was only a few years back you could pick one up for chips, now its more like a right leg...

my fog light has been wired in here pal , if it isnt red and doest say self destruct i think you should be fine to press and find out lol ...

my new glass was made by pilkington . and the glass company was autoglass... surley if you were to phone up a nissan garage parts department and gave them your chassis number , they would be able to get the info for you of a chassis build data sheet ?

mine didnt have a tint, the screen they will prob supply will be the new type anyways with the extra bit of sunshade between the sunvisors to stop the suns glare coming through the gap, no need for the seal strip to be replaced the screen is bonded in place, the strip on the top acts more as a water defector pal. and the screen should come pre fitted with the attachment already bonded on for the rear view mirror, ..

faken ze 512 is a good tyre for the money , hadto wait 2 days to get a pair for mine though, pity now there just sitting in the shed spare set of winter wheels...

heres a link to a ROUGH guide on which way to adjust pressures to change the handling of the car to suit http://www.racetyre.co.nz/setup.html and here is a guide to working out a standard setup pressure - near the bottom http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible_pg2.html hope that helps a little pal....

How new? any tyres can be slippy when very new. Personally I love the potenzas (even in the wet) as do a few others on here but the majority seem not to favour them. I would never run them at 26psi though as one poster suggested, you will take the shoulders off inside a lap. I ran them at 46psi (yes forty six, maufacturer limit for them is 51, knock off 10% = 46psi) and had no problems and predictable handling but I do drive thm *very* hard. Where abouts are you? I in the south/southeast you would be hard pushed to get better value for money than a day with Andy Walsh at http://www.carlimits.com well mine lasted 700 miles of fairly hard driving , so may last a few laps i would say hey track use would be different agreed, do you not find the tyres skitish at such a high pressure , or are you running non standard suspension to compensate...

lol not to disasimilar to be honest , and no way is the z's windowscreen is that strong ... was about the same amount of damage , albeit with a bit of a fatter bird... minus 100 or so mph....

when you say low tyre pressure, i think stew is refering to about 26psi being low, because on the tyres you have , they grip very well when set at 26psi but are very very snappy and tyre life is vastly reduced, as i found out not recommended really except prob for track days.....

lol the pheasant was full of glass so thought better of eating roadkill besides there wasnt that much left of it, i suppose if i had of wanted to eat the gutting and plucking had already been half done lol....

sounds like axle tramp to me, happens from standstill on mine , only when you give it the beans, that accounts for the banging noise, the feeling i get when i tweak the throttle around the bend to excite the traction control, is enter the bend at 80% max speed and tweak the throttle to get the back end to drift, then the traction control sets in and it winds the throttle right back for about 2 seconds and its normally quite a smooth feeling laterally, but there is quite a sharp deceleration when it kicks in, would deffo recommend a track day to explore the handling quirks of the z as has already been mentioned, you would gain more from a trackday with a trainer than modding the car for the same money, a lot of people over look this ........ as for tyres!, i run falken 452's now and there the best i have had yet, the old bridgestones were terrible in the wet.. also the z has an lsd so unless you want to damage the lsd always try to get two new tyres for the rear at the same time, or at least aim to get the rolling circumference of the two wheels as close as possible .....

well payback has been negotiated in the form of 9 rabbits of which 7 are in deep freeze and 2 are in my belly .......... looking back at the critter coming throuh the window there was nothing i could of done to avoid it, just plain and simple unlucky for me and the pheasant, only ever hit the odd sparrow and a crow or two over the 12 1/2 years i have been driving first time any damage has resulted from it, certainly brings it home upon what damage a small plump pheasant can do , imagine if it were a deer or a person, it would of been carnage.... certainly makes me think twice about my mortality behind the wheel ......

the guy is here just now ! didnt realize they have diferent screens now with different sunshade patterns, looks a lot better to be honest .... should be done within the hour ! driving again thank god!! ....

well what can i say , i am currently waiting for a windowscreen to be replaced after a fat a55 pheasant decided to hit it perfectly in the middle just below the rear view mirror, at around about 70 ish.... needless to say i got covered in glass and so did the pheasant, although i think it was not on its list of prioities at the time ! .... that happened sunday morning , did the usual thing check my insurer for the approved windowscreen repairer, and bobs your uncle i have to wait till today at 1 pm for a repair.. no stock nice speedy response there for an emergency repair company.... well the screen didnt come through, but i was surprised with how many shards of glass i got covered in , and also although i love the fact there are not many z's on the road, its a shame there is a 3 day turn around on a windowscreen due to not being a stocked item in the local area, .... needless to say tonight is payback the 4x4 is ready and roof removed, rimfire subs , and hmr round's stocks replenished, and shotgun cart bag is full to bursting. even the batteries are replaced in the nightvision gear..... the furry critters are getting some payback tonight..... i would take a piccy but its all covered in electrical tape and black bags , will try and get a few snaps just before its ripped out ...

was a shame the context of the series changed, it had an awesome following back then , and the sight of the old 850's hammering around always brought a giggle especially there team tactics with the blocking, and there was that famous crash of one of them that always gets shown on the old crash vids.....

does anyone remember the alfa,s in btcc in the 90's when there front bumper was outlawed for giving an unfair advantage ? They spent lots and lots of time testing in wind tunnel's and had a good advantage over fellow competitors . Think tarquini used to be the driver back then . Think it was also around the time of the volvo estates running in the series . . The good ol days hey :-) lol

i have a set of 912's and dont rate them that highly to be honest , but predictable compared to the bridgestones in the wet !!... running 452's now and only been on 5 days , but best tyres that i have tried to date for grip, and the added bonus of a lot of tyre noise dissapearing!.. car is a lot quieter now... just my personal experience, not had any of them on the track or anything, the only thing that matters to me is wet weather handling and the dodgy bits in between that and dry... the 452's do seem a bit grippier to be honest but cant say for deffo how much to be honest but it deffo feels a lot more snappy coming out a drift as though its really biting, wheras the 912's as like the stones in the dry didnt snap that much inless the tyre pressure was a lot lower say around 26psi , but even so running the 452's at 33psi and the feel seems a bit better on turn in and snap back on liftoff in mid-drift.... sorry no personal experience with the toyo's yet as such..

yup gotta agree, feel as though i got a bargin now, because the water marks under the clear coat are really easy to get rid off, had to do the same thing on my old ac snitzers on the bmw convertable, and they come up better than new after a bit of hard work with nitromores and brasso! also noticed a massive drop in road noise with the falken 452,s on ... and 19's dont feel crashy! over the bumps at all, with the knowledge in hand i would not give a second thought to putting 20's on now and still maintaining very good ride comfert .... next job uprated antiroll bar !! after the car pc i have been telling myself i must fit , but been far to lazy lately.....

a little off topic i know but im curious and admit i have very basic knowledge of detailing in terms of products ... i have a black car which im using the ultra deep shine finish (black label) autoglym to get rid of any swirls then sealing with the autoglym extra gloss protection.... how would the products you are mentioning compare to what im already doing.. it does look nice when its all been done but the wax finish only lasts a week in the weather were having and i would much rather have something a bit longer lasting and have a bit more protection from the elements... cheers , sorry for the noob question halfway down this thread, but dont ask and ya dont know ..an all that ...

well ladys and gentlemen here are the little beautys...