Ardesco

On 04/10/2022 at 09:46, Waifujitsu said:

 

Thanks for the reply! I have indeed been using manual entry where applicable and I've spoken to most of the companies over the phone. Wasted a few hours yesterday getting nowhere, so I was quite stressed.

 

However, Direct Line surprisingly have the Fairlady Z import as an option and I was able to get a quote via their website. It didn't even ask about the transmission. Price is okay considering the car and where I live, but I'm waiting for the other insurers to call me back this morning.

 

So I can at least breathe easily now that I've got one decent option saved. If it comes to it, I could do a year with Direct Line and then switch to a specialist after gaining experience with the car.

I wouldn't trust direct line, I used them many years ago when I first got my import and after insuring me for 2 years they told me on renewal that they didn't insure imports and I had told them it was a UK spec 350Z (I had been very clear it was a Fairlady Z and not a UK spec 350Z every time I talked to them) and if I had suffered an accident I would not have been covered.

Haven't gone back to them since as I just don't trust them any more.

Found the issue, it was one of the fuses hidden away in that hard to reach fuse box behind the battery (literally the last one I checked after pulling everything else out).

Decided it's time to get my JDM back on the road again after a few years of it just sitting around and I'm having some issues with the fog light.  There doesn't seem to be any power getting down to it so I pulled the switch out of the dash to see how it was wired up.  It looks like it has been wired into the TCS button wiring, one line into the black wire and one into a red/blue wire.  Anybody got any idea where these go?  There doesn't seem to be any voltage across the wires, but my TCS button seems to still be working (pressing it toggles the TCS light on the dashboard).  I've checked the fuses and they don't look blown.

Scratching my head a bit trying to work out what to do next, it used to work in the past so at some point there was clearly power across these wires.

I'm using Petronas SYNTIUM 5000 AV.

Done

JDM brakes have about the same stopping power as the brembos, they just fade a bit quicker. Unless you're on the track you really shouldn't notice the difference.

You will notice the difference when they seize up though like mine just have, only put in new EBC disks and pads about a month ago and now I'm looking at new callipers (will be a Torqen set as soon as I have the money together). Quite annoyed that they didn't go before I spent all that money on the new disks, ah well something to sell on I guess...

New panel air filter ordered yesterday and it's here today! Awesomely quick service

I'll be back for the callipers as soon as my bank balance allows it

1. tommoger

2. allaboutthepasty

3. Andy10v

4. SuperStu

5. matt3579

6. rippo350z

7. RichKitch

8. Bry

9. Bababongles

10. Djb92

11. sfield21

12. SlickRick

13. o_O_350_O_o

14. Steve_c123

15. Mr P

16. simonlap

17. Cyder

18. Niz

19. Rich260

20. Ardesco

Probably to the bumper...

Looks like AME just do race car work now so I'm stuck for somebody I can trust to work on my zed.

Anybody got any recommendations?

That's like the Z equivalent of a mankini...

Funniest I've heard is one of the kids at my sons school asking him if it was a BMW 350Z..

I got 6 points and a hefty fine for doing 68 down here (No roadworks when I was going down there):

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8926556,-1.1620436,3a,75y,203.53h,77.25t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSu01b8ANqz-_J7niAbo8Zw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

I was most annoyed as it used to be a national speed limit, but it's now changed to 40 (There is only one small repeater hidden in a bush) so I genuinely thought I was being sensible. They were stopping everybody who went past, they have now actually put the 40MPH sign up at the entrance to the road.

I got hauled into court and they weren't interested in anything I had to say and refused to look at the pictures showing that there was no speed limit sign at the entrance to the road, and that the only sign was hidden in a bush. I was told to be grateful that I kept my license and that they were going to be lenient with me because I needed to be able to drive for work.

What a horrific plate, if you remove the E, the 5 and the first K...

Look exactly the same as the ones posted on here in another thread, but that thread seems to have disappeared. They look good, but I don't see any reason for the rear brake lights, the Zed has enough brake lights already IMHO. I'd rather have all fog light.

Have a look and see if there is any feathering of the tyres and get your alignment checked. The zeds are low so you'll probably have to go to a specialist, the standard tyre garages won't be able to get their kit on the car (I know this from experience). Don't take it anywhere near somewhere like quick fit, they will try and bodge it and shoe horn their kit on when it doesn't fit.

When I first got mine the alignment was way out and I burned through a set of tyres before i realised what the problem was (they had got down to the metal on the inside but looked like new on the outside). I was suffering from the slip light coming on lots because I was driving on just the inside of the tyres and basically had no traction.

The car is good at working out if it's going to lose traction or not, if the light is coming on all the time you have a problem that needs to be fixed.

Switch for the petrol cap in under the steering wheel near your right knee.

Here you go, unique custom Z just for you every time:

http://bit.ly/1hctV4L

I was having problems with my disks (lots of vibration under heavy braking) and putting in a new set of EBC grooved brake disks has made the world of difference.

I was considering new callipers before, now it feels like I stop on a dime, wish I'd changed them ages ago. Based on how the brakes feel now I think that the original disks just weren't up to much.

I haven't noticed any seizing from my rear callipers though so your milage may vary.

Mine's a JDM (Manual, not auto).

I'm unlucky on the extra wires front (I didn't originally have the cabling for the heated seat switches/powered seats) but I do have this. Strange they would give you cabling for sport/snow mode but not anything else (unless auto's are much more common in Japan).

Nope, they are plugged in atm.

The thick power cable I have going into the cubby is a fused power lead from the battery. It's there in prep for a car PC if I ever get round to doing it. I've only procrastinated about it for 5 years so far...

Anybody know what this connector is for, it's right next to the hazard lights switch but doesn't have anything to plug into. I can't see how anything could get plugged into it, it's nicely clipped out of the way.

Anybody know what it's for?

Finally got round to doing it:

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/101053-putting-leather-powered-seats-in-a-jdm/

I've not wired up the heated seat switches yet though.

So I put the powered leather seats I bought in today.

First things first, roll down the windows and disconnect the battery to prevent accidental sparking . Then I started off by pulling out the seating disconnecting the existing wires that I do have.

I then had to start stripping more stuff out because I wanted to run the new wires under the carpet. I pulled out the centre console and put in the heated seat switch I got courtesy of zmanalex (I've not wired these in yet though). I pretty much pulled everything out that was in the seat area (I probably could have got away with doing less, but I got a bit carried away).

A bit of time on google told me that all I would need is a power and an earth to get the powered seats working (Big red wire is power, big black one is earth. No surprises here ).

I already have a nice thick power cable going into the cubby behind the drivers seat (where the sub would be on a UK car). So I used that as my power source. This means the seats are constantly powered and I can move them around when I don't have the key in the ignition, I could have tried tapping the 12v power from the rear power socket but decided against it. I have some wire in the store that you'd normally use for household sockets so I decided to use that. It's good quality wire even though it doesn't look very automotive. The earth wire is grounded to the chassis in two places to make sure it's a good earth (I'm a bit OCD).

I then pulled the wire out through the available holes and routed it under the carpet, pulling it out where the existing wires come out under the seats. I made sure I have enough slack for the wire to get dragged forwards and back when the seat is in motion and then joined it onto a couple of connectors (also supplied by zmanalex). I'm glad I got them because I haven't had to cut up any wires in the car, I've just joined my wires up to the connectors and plugged them straight in. I gave it a quick test to make sure it all worked.

Then I wrapped all the wires up nicely to make sure they can't connect with any metal floating around in the car and start sparking.

Once I had my wires in place I stuck all the trim back in (and gave it a quick clean).

Then finally I stuck the seats in and reconnected the battery..

Took me most of the day because I faffed a bit and took my time (and it was bloody hot) but it really wasn't that hard.

Very happy with the result.

Track your milage. Could be you are suffering from the fuel gauge being up 1/4 of the tank out as you drive.

I thought my MPG was dropping drastically until I clocked what was going on when I could only get 60 litres into the tank when refilling from empty