James Junior Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 Wez - all a matter of opinion I suppose. All of the aftermarket HFCs I tried were really loud. However, what is too loud for me, might be fine for you. To be fair I have been running the car for almost a year with various HFCs fitted so definitely liveable as a daily. Paul - as I plan to remove the Stillen front splitter I think the car might look a bit odd if I keep the side blades on. Will see how it looks when the saggy Stillen comes off. Thats the next job! I will post a few pics once this is done. cheers. Think I may give them a go then, I always got the feeling the v6 should shout a bit more than it does. I still have the Motordyne ARTs which have only been on a short while. PM me if you're interested matey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 9, 2016 Author Share Posted August 9, 2016 (edited) Hi guys, A few quick updates: Firslty I am now loving the sound of the car without the HFCs. It might be perhaps verging on 'too quiet', but as a daily it makes it so much more enjoyable. I feel like less of a hooligan and the car is much quieter when shooting down motorway slip roads or using a squirt of acceleration in town. Yes on the open road I now have to wind the windows down to hear much of an exhaust note, but a sacrifice I am happy to live with for daily usability. Given that the HFCs are now removed from the system and that my last Uprev map was designed to optimise performance in a set up including HFCs, I have now booked the car in with TDi North next week for a fresh map. I just want to ensure everything is running as it should, even though any gains will be absolutely marginal. Finally had a scary experience yesterday. Since getting back from the tour I was hearing a slight catching noise from the front right wheel arch with the window down. This continued for a few days and by the time i had arrived at my GF's on Sunday evening it had developed into a creak. Whilst I was in France we had hit a stretch of freshly tarmaced country road and this had led to lots of little sticky, tarry (I think I just made up a word there?!) chippings being stuck to the inside of the wheels which I had to pick loose. I checked the wheel and apart from this couldn't see anything awry so assumed there must be a stone lodged in the caliper somewhere. Took the car to a mates garage yesterday and he had a good look, before realising a wheel stud was missing! We fitted one of the spares from my boot and he tightened everything up, as all round the car a couple were a tad loose. The spacers are proper bolt on ones, but even so I can only assume that hard driving in the Alps had somehow loosened them off a touch. Doesn't really bear thinking about and has left me with butterflies in my stomach. I am off around Europe again and doing the Scottish highlands in September, so will be taking them off and going back to standard fitment for these trips just to be 100% safe. might then go back to the spacers for regular UK driving. Also having the black side blades and Stillen front lip removed, hopefully this week. The Stillen lip is now catching on every speed bump and doing my head in! Not sure what state this will leave the bumper in as the splitter is bonded and screwed on. It needs a repaint anyway s not too bothered. If it is a mess I will do the two tours in September first, then have it repainted and might consider some of the protective film you can get to put up the bumper, bonnet and wings to protect the fresh paintwork once she is mint again. As an aside I have now also fitted KW V3s to my MR2 Turbo which has also had new top mounts and a full geo alignment. First impressions were actually terrible - the car was only marginally better than it was with the Teins on B roads and rough tarmac. Then I had a light bulb moment and remembered that the rebound is adjustable at the top of the suspension struts. Got the little adjustor tool out and checked them all and sure enough, they were almost on the stiffest setting! Turned them right down to around 20% up from the softest setting and car immediately felt better. Not had chance to really test them properly, but going to Cobra in Sheffield on Friday so will have a good opprortunity to put them to the test over Snake Pass. Can't wait! Edited August 9, 2016 by James Junior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 One of the very reason i doubt id ever go hfc or resonated decats is the extra noise. I use my 350z daily and love the sports sound it has now (toyosport cat back). Ive had noisy exhaust for the last 8 yrs (4-2-1 stepped fully merged ASP header and decat) and for the other 95% of the time, oe cats suit me just fine. Well done on the adjustment to the MR2 also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) Quick update - at last the Z is booked in later this week to have the front splitter and side blades removed, then its time for another remap on Monday. Will report back with some pics once done. Have also added a Cobra exhaust to the MR2 Turbo. Feels like I am hemorrhaging money on cars at the moment... All good fun though. In the meantime here are some new pics of the MR2 taken on Sunday night after a few hours of detailing. I know its a bit off topic but figure we're all JDM fans here! Feel very fortunate to be able to choose between the keys of two such amazing cars every day: Edited August 16, 2016 by James Junior 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 You're not helping my constant longing for another MR2 dude! looks awesome 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davectr Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 That MR2 is stunning mate 👠1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 Thanks guys. It is an incredible piece of kit and the condition is a credit to the former owner. It is also now much improved now its on KW V3s and sporting a nice Cobra exhaust instead of the old boomy Japspeed. I am starting to learn to really drive it now. I never could have driven the ones I had i my early twenties like this. They were simply too much car for me back then. Not saying I am Ayrton Senna, but mow with a bit more experience, a few more grey hairs and the benefit of some professioal tuition, I am really learning to hustle it along at a fair pace... so long as the roads are dry anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipar69 Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 (edited) Perhaps it depends on the individual set up but I don't find that HFCs make the car overly loud unless I want it to be - normal driving is absolutely fine unless you drop a grear and give the pedal a good prod. Then it does howl. The one really major difference I notice is cold start when I do cringe a bit at the volume. Edited August 17, 2016 by sipar69 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spatt Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 MR2 is cool man! You are very lucky to own both of these. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 20, 2016 Author Share Posted August 20, 2016 So the car is now sans skirts and splitter. I eventually decided just to go ahead and have them removed and the whole front bumper repainted. Here are a few pics post-op. She looks all naked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted August 20, 2016 Share Posted August 20, 2016 Do you know what ??? I like it looks classy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sipar69 Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Yep - still looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 Thanks guys. I must admit it has grown on me. Strangely it mkes the car look a touch wider at the front, but more compact overall. The lines are definitely cleaner with the blades and front lip gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Weird isn't it How we put these things on on say oh yes that's better And then say it when they come off lol 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 In other news, I spent a fun day with two Minis and a 911 Turbo blasting around the Peak District yesterday. My friend Adrian a.k.a. 'Junky' had pre-planned the routes and found loads of great roads that were - to my amazement - almost entirely devoid of traffic. As the lacquer still needed to cure on the Z's bumper, I had to take the MR2, which was pretty intense given how slippery the conditions were. They are not known for being very forgiving, especially in the wet, sharing a somewhat morbid nickname with contemporary 911 turbos that some of you may remember. I don't think Kirstie needs to know about that one... I had to be very careful with the throttle as any more than half boost was spinning the wheels up. The brakes meanwhile are still the standard Toyota stoppers circa 1994, which are a little lacking in the wet, forcing you to adjust your driving style to accomodate looooong stopping distances. These limitations actually made the drive more enjoyable though and taught me a lot about hustling the car along in the wet, doing my best to keep up with the FWD guys and Adrian's 911. I could never have driven the MR2 like that in those circumstances with such confidence before I had my performance driving lessons. Just goes to show the value of proper tuition... The Minis blew my mind - both were packing big turbo upgrades and packing some serious firepower, crackling and popping on every overrun. I had no idea the MIni guys were getting so much power out of them. Always fun learning about other car scenes and see what others are doing. Here are a few pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 Weird isn't it How we put these things on on say oh yes that's better And then say it when they come off lol I guess we all like a change every now and then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 22, 2016 Author Share Posted August 22, 2016 Back to the Z again, it spent an afternoon at TDI North today getting remapped to take into account that the HFCs have now been removed and she is running stock cats again. The chaps at TDI were really friendly and very enthusiastic about their work. I was only expecting marginal gains compared to the current position. More than anything I just wanted to know the car was running at optimum efficiency. As expected the gains were meagre - 9 bhp and barely any torque. Throttle response felt improved however, Reportedly the car was running very lean before the map and chucking a lot of extra fuel in at low revs, which has now been fixed. So might get a few more MPGs, not that that ever really bothers me. Paul installed five modes that are switchable via the cruise control switch, without interfering with the functionality of the cruise control itself. The first three are different stages of thottle response, fourth is valet mode which prevents the revs from rising above 3k. Fifth is dead Z mode. With this enabled if you switch off the ignition and try to fire the engine again it just won't start until you disable it. This is intended for situations where the car is being left in any sort of scenario where security might be an issue. Airport car parks for example, so even if someone manages to break in, they'll never be able to pinch the car as it won't start. Unless of course they know what sequence of buttons to press to renable the ignition. The numbers on the dyno graph were significantly down on what it was mapped at by RS Tuning. At that time the power was an indicated 246bhp and torque was 300ft lbs at the crank. Today power was 328 bhp and 260 ft lbs at the crank, which is bang on manufacturers claimed figures I believe. I queried the difference as it seemed unlikely that a set of HFCs could be responsible for a 20 bhp and 40ft lbs gain/ loss! Paul said he had been having difficulty getting the car to put its power down properly in fourth gear, so had to map it in the higher gears, which allegedly gives lower readings but still leads to the same overall result. He said he was having difficulty even in fifth, but when he tried sixth the car was topping out at an indicated 170mph which he didn't feel very comfortable with! I didn't even think Zs were capable of that speed... Eventually he got the car to play ball in fifth and the final results are below. I would love to know pound for pound how it actually compares to the numbers prior to removing the HFCs, but will never know now! Regardless, figures are only really for pub bragging anyway. The car feels a touch less brawny without the HFCs but in reality there is no tangible difference, so I am sure the performance is there or thereabouts. That said, I am off to the Alps again in a fortnight and the car always feels slow as hell when you're chasing supercars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted August 22, 2016 Share Posted August 22, 2016 Lovely looking car buddy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 A few more high res pics from the last tour. Glenna and Vanessa were following me for a stretch in the Pyrenees in their Cayman GTS: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Been back to rumbling around in the Z this week as it resumes its daily duties commuting into Manchester. It makes a great daily, but after time spent in the ballistic MR2 it feels like a right pudding, heavy, slow and lacking feedback. That said I know that it can be a communicative car, it just needs to be wound up to higher speeds to get it talking. Fortunately I am off on another tour next week. This time we are doing the Alps then doubling back and striking north through France, finishing at the old Reims raceway before hopping back on the Channel Tunnel. This time around I will have Kirstie in the passenger seat, so the pace will definitely be wound back by a notch or two. The attendee list is as intimidating as ever: 1. Pete - tour car 2. Dan - tour car 3. James & Kirstie - Nissan 370Z 4. Tom & Jenna - Porsche 997 & Z3 Coupe 5. Brian & Barb - AM V12V roadster 6. Alex - something fun 7. Andy - Gold 12C 8. Stu - Exige Cup 9. Luca - Audi TTS 10. Andrew - Z4 35iS 11. Darren - 991 GT3 12. Sean - 997 GT3 13. Simon - 997 GT3 14. Mario - Cayman GTS 15. Arran - Cayman R 16. Tom - Audi R8 17. Richard - C63 18. Ted - Z4M 19. Adam - Golf R Estate 20. Kevin - Aventador SV Looking forward to more mountain roads and roaring down the home straight at Reims - another petrolhead bucket list item to tick off! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Bladdy HELL!! thats some convoy lad, next level #gumballstyle tbf 20mins in a sodi kart makes a Zed feel heavy and slow, but its not really. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattross1313 Posted August 25, 2016 Share Posted August 25, 2016 Looking forward to more mountain roads and roaring down the home straight at Reims - another petrolhead bucket list item to tick off! Indeed, been fortunate enough to go there a few times over the years. Definitely somewhere to visit if you are near by 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Junior Posted August 25, 2016 Author Share Posted August 25, 2016 Davey - there is usually some pretty serious motors in attendance! I really feel the lack of torque when in this sort of company, especially climbing steep mountain roads. Mattross - nice picture! Did you get a video flyby? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dynamic Turtle Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 That is one hell of a convoy... Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted August 26, 2016 Share Posted August 26, 2016 Thats good figures for stock cats , my old n/a car made 309hp with the stock cats and 345hp with decats. HFC typically make around 20hp on the 370z after mapping its not so much the flow as the additional timing that can be added with the smaller cats Also the 370z auto is geared for around 240mph in 7th gear , I did see one do that on a dyno but you couldnt do it on the road , I had Reggie on the rollers for a 5th gear run and the dyno rollers were screaming got to around 170mph but typically most places run them in 4th to about 130mph which is much more sensible imo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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