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Project: WeaponiZed


V1H

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On 23/07/2021 at 09:42, Silverthorn said:

Awesome choice with the wing, it's one of my favourites! :in_love:

I reckon it'll be the only one in Europe and probably only a handful in US/Japan.😬

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On 22/07/2021 at 15:52, V1H said:

3) Upgrading my PCV system with a vacuum pump to improve performance and reduce blow-by of my current 'vent-to-atmosphere' style. It'll operate like this:

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But the main driver for this upgrade is my hope in combating the Borg Warner Turbos' significant oil leak into the intake charge pipes. I believe the oil drain stalls or is insufficient with my current VTA-style crankcase pressure.

After lengthy research on PCV evacuation I decided I want an electric vane-style pump (which are almost always brake booster pumps unless you pay real racecar money) I need to make sure the pump is not running constantly. Therefore I sourced via Summit Racing the CVR 12V Electric Vacuum Pump [#VP655] and CVR Vacuum Reservoir [#VPR700], along with a bunch of AN-10 fittings, check valves and vacuum hoses. But I will get into more detail when I am there.

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I installed said PCV vacuum pump upgrade and all is working as intended. I will have to cover 100 to 300 miles to see whether this helped reduce my Turbo oil consumption/leak. With very limited space availability on my Z I mounted the pump and reservoir behind the front bumper, next to the FMIC, and the 2 directional check valves by the bottom of the radiator fans. The hose plumbing uses over half a dozen AN-10 fittings (read, "very expensive" for what they are). My custom PVC setup cost me now a whopping £1188 in total.. ouch 🙄

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Update

After ~250 miles of driving to JapFest Silverstone and to work, I checked my turbo oil traps and both, passenger and driver side, are virtually empty! I would normally have accumulated about 20 ml and 80 ml in the passenger and driver side trap, respectively. This strongly suggests to me that my formerly VTA-PCV setup (vent-to-atmosphere) caused my excessive turbo oil leakage and with crank case vacuum now available at idle and load conditions, this issue seems fixed ☺️

 

Edited by V1H
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From a long time I've been wanting to get a car fire extinguisher, you never know, Youtube is full of burnt-down builds. So I bought from Amazon a Firexo 500ml Extinguisher (good for all fires A, B, C, D, E, F, that is, incl. LiFePO4 battery!) and a Kap Industries fire extinguisher bracket through Tegiwa Imports. I like the extinguisher is NOT SIMPLY RED and my mounting location in front of the passenger seat hides it almost entirely yet is in direct reach in an emergency.

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Edited by V1H
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On 22/07/2021 at 15:52, V1H said:

1) Final Infotainment upgrade with a DAB+ Radio adapter, since the 370Z FM radio reception sucks balls 😅

This will be the Pure Highway 400 V2 EU/UK [#151603]

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I now installed the DAB+ and found 67 stations right away. There is the occasional drop out when driving around town but radio reception is better than the factory FM radio.

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I'm not yet decided on the mounting location of the wireless Display unit (battery operated). An alternative might be the door panel:

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The DAB+ antenna is attached inside the windscreen, virtually invisible with my sun stripe hiding the receiver unit. The power cable is routed to the nearest cigarette lighter socket and uses the included 5V adapter. A magnetic grounding cable slides in between the roof liner to bare roof metal. A third cable is for optional audio Line-In to the factory radio.

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The Highway 400 can be piggy backed by either hook-up to an unused FM frequency or via said Aux-in/Line-In. I opted for the latter (quality is said to be better). That is, feeding the audio signal via the Z's USB/iPod port in the centre console. In below image, the black audio jack is routed to here straight from the Antenna/Receiver on the windscreen. (The white audio jack is the Line-In cable from my Android Infotainment Unit, but it becomes obsolete now with the Highway 400. The short Audio jack-to-USB adapter came with my Android Infotainment Unit, which might otherwise have to be purchased, e.g. this but cheaper)

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I can also play any music from my smart phone via the Highway 400, when in BT  Mode, and I used the Pure Go App initially to notify me about an Antenna Firmware update. I needed to use a Windows Laptop to upload this update, though.

Edited by V1H
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On 22/07/2021 at 15:52, V1H said:

2) 'inspired' by my 5yr old son who loves to drive in my Z but dislikes the noise when I accelereate, I am going to slightly tone down the noise with a pair of 3" straight-though silencers courtesy of Vibrant Performance Ultra Quiet S/S Resonator [#1142], which I got for a steal at Amazon US.

Quiet_1.jpg.6b6b9adc1057c0d0fe4c92d7229b2f85.jpg

 

Here we go, the silencers are in and I just fired her up in my garage.

Instant reaction: I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM !! 🥰

I havent measured dB before or after but my exhaust feels approx 30-40% quieter. It's still a loud cold-start but not obnoxiously loud anymore (and neighbours should thank me). Neo will also be pleased I hope when he sits in it next time.

 

Fitment is excellent in the driveshaft tunnel, when done right. I removed my Motordyne midpipes, cut them up myself and positioned the silencers exactly before I took them to a TIG welder. Else there might have been clearance issues.

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Original 3" midpipes

 

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Midpipes with Vibrant Ultra Quiet Silencers (before TIG welding). This mod adds 3.37 kg weight.

 

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Fitted back onto the car. Clearance all round.

Edited by V1H
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  • 2 months later...

New battery monitor

Got rid of my BM2 BLE Battery Monitor (Bluetooth), which only reads voltage and is clearly made for Lead Acid battery monitoring. Replaced it with a Victron Energy SmartShunt 500A (Bluetooth) [#SHU050150050] with optional temperature sensor [#ASS000100000] to better monitor my LiFePO4 battery.

 

The smart phone app now informs me about not just voltage but also current draw (in and out) and power consumption. But most importantly, counting those amps in real-time allows the app to account for actual Amp hours drawn from the battery, and thus, true State-of-Charge (SoC) reading. Deducing SoC from mere voltage reading is very inaccurate with Li-based batteries since they have very flat discharge curves across most of the SoC range.

 

I did however set up the App not with the batterie's nominal 30Ah capacity, but 13.6 Ah from a true measurement I made earlier. I have a suspicion high under-bonnet temps kills my LiFePO4, which is why I added a temp sensor. I will monitor the temps next time I drive. I read somewhere that LiFePO4 shouldn't see above 45°C, ideally max 30°C. 🤔

Or is it the 70+ Amps the stock alternator charges it with that it can't handle long term?  

Victron_2.jpg.5cf81b889d2055edd8205a2ceddf204a.jpg

 

Here a screenshot of the app. My Z draws 70mA (precision multimeter) in garage rest and the SmartShunt very accurately reads 0.07A, too. This is quite a feat given the shunt is built to pass 500 A at just 50 mV voltage drop (0.1 mOhm). It also displays the remaining time until my battery is empty. I set alarms to recharge before then 😉

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Here the actual capacity measurement of my (second) just half year-old PowerLite PS-30.

Victron_5.jpg.277793d23583d8d3e44d8ef256acdcec.jpg

Edited by V1H
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A massive thanks to @Adrian@TORQEN for sourcing me my new ultra rare Esprit GT Wing 262F from Japan! ❤️

The wing and stands are full carbon (3.2 kg) and drag angle is 3-way adjustable.

Frankly it looks baller 🤪

I still have to deal with the issue of patching up the stock mounting holes and respraying the hatch, some time later.

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On 26/11/2021 at 14:24, V1H said:

A massive thanks to @Adrian@TORQEN for sourcing me my new ultra rare Esprit GT Wing 262F from Japan! ❤️

The wing and stands are full carbon (3.2 kg) and drag angle is 3-way adjustable.

Frankly it looks baller 🤪

I still have to deal with the issue of patching up the stock mounting holes and respraying the hatch, some time later.

410176070_EspritWing(1).jpg.0227bc33e4bb1c3604ef185900f7f2fd.jpg

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Ohhh that wing looks very nice indeed ,great choice !

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On 22/12/2021 at 16:40, Adrian@TORQEN said:


😘 I know someone who could get another one, although Réné will hate he's not the only one in Europe anymore to have it on his zed. 🤣

:lol:  already questioned Coz about it :blush:

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On 29/08/2021 at 20:53, V1H said:

I now installed the DAB+ and found 67 stations right away. There is the occasional drop out when driving around town but radio reception is better than the factory FM radio.

IMG_0174.jpg.6f7bbf0cca24065e1c8ebc6a66671436.jpg

I wasn't quite happy with my latest infotainment upgrade, the Pure Highway 400 DAB+ Radio adapter. The reception was okay further afield but I had never signal on my home street, while my wife's BMW (with shark fin aerial) has great DAB+ reception at home

 

So I removed it all and started over. I now have an active roof-mounted whip style aerial (I also tested an Eightwood active shark fin style aerial, which wasn't great either) together with a DAB+ radio adapter that accepts an external antenna and has an AUX output as I wanted to again use the Z's iPod audio input (much cleaner than piggy-bagging the signal on a free FM frequency). More specifically I opted for:

  • AutoDAB GO+ with touchscreen control (I discarded the included glass-mount antenna)
  • Universal (Ebay) Roof-mount 12V-active amplified DAB+ FM radio aerial with SMB connector (I cut off the FM/AM coax cable as I didn't need it)

I cannot emphasise enough how much of a difference the roof-mounted antenna has made over the inside glass-mounted aerial!!!

Now I'm getting over 50 DAB+ stations on my driveway! BOOM!🤯

 

The installation was however considerably more involving but well worth it!

I needed to consult the workshop manual to get the headliner removed within half a day in preparation for drilling a hole through the roof. interior side panels, boot panels, seat belts, etc. has to first come off 🙃

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I found it best to use this type of drill when drilling large diameter holes into thin sheet metal. I need some 20-odd millimetre hole:

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With the new roof antenna on, the car loos almost like a race car with telemetry com's 😅

Make sure the rubber seal sits flush on the roof to be water-proof. And beware of the airbags and explosive charges around the roof area.

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The SMB coax from the aerial was routed straight across the roof to the AutoDAB GO+ while the 12V cable of the aerial I routed along the passenger side to a 12V IGN source I have in the foot well area. The AutoDAB's power cable I ran straight to the passenger A-pillar and spliced into said 12V cable, while a bolt on the A-pillar served as ground. The AUX output cable of the AutoDAB also runs to the left and down the A-pillar and then to the centre consolde cubby where the iPod input is (I simply reused the audio cable I had laid for the Pure Highway unit; just cut and re-soldered)

1244313936_DABaerial(6).jpg.e08d7f32415d1590f5c54594bf1bda5f.jpg

Edited by V1H
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The other thing I recently did, I replaced my 200-cell HFCs that came with my AAM TT kit. The fact that they don't pass emissions is a nuisance and sooner or later I wanted peace of mind (regulations get more stringent, or if it ever came to selling it some buyers might be put off)

 

I bought some quality 200-cell HFCs from HJS Emission Technology [#90 95 0085-HD] that actually comply with Euro 5 spec. I stumbled across it on a German BMW forum. The ppl there were actually concerned with passing emissions). Needless to say a pair of cats cost a small fortune (£1160). I had @Jez @ H-Dev install them for me and retune the car. The welding job was not quite as straight forward as I anticipated; the cats have also 3" in/out and the same length as my old ones but are slightly larger in diameter and were binding against the underbody. But H-Dev did a fab job, as usual🙂

I am now missing the original ceramic coating I had on my cats, other than that they just look a bit beefier:

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Fingers crossed for September when my MOT is due that the investment was worth it 🤞

Edited by V1H
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At the Torqen ft Tarmac Sports summer meet last month I marvelled at their latest Limited Edition products and couldn't resist getting each a

- Torqen x Patrick Galligan Limited Edition Handbrake (25 globally) [#TRQ-PG-HB]

- Torqen x CoolerWorx PRO Short Shifter - Limited Edition (25 globally) [#TRQ-CLRWX-370Z]

 

The OEM handbrake has been the last 'ugly' sight in my otherwise upgraded interior. And the short shifter just blew my mind when I tried first-hand the non-pro version of it and thought 'OMG, I gotta have that in my life!' 🤩 It shifts with unreal precision!

IMG_6726.jpg

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