Its come to my attention over time thats parts for our cars are hard source and expensive. Availability of quality kit is poor from within the uk and oem parts are dropping off the availability list like flys. Being an entusiast club part of our responsibility is to ensure the marque is represented and preserved. A serious prerequiset to this is availability of parts. Most other cars have many pattern parts available, and aftermarket stuff, we simply dont. I do not wish to pick on anyone but compare our z part retailers to those in the us or oz, zcentre is tiny, its not even affilated with the owners club! Not to mrntion the price. Getting onto the twinz range, that cannot be sorted.

It's a sad state that the 3rd? Biggest ownership worldwide cannot produce a sustainable and progress range of parts, that we have to make international orders to a country on the otherside of the world to get things of decent quality, and price. I applaud companies like sfs for making good parts for us, but I think its high time we started brain storming a better way that the current reliance on the us.

So how do we move forward? How do we push the z32 out of this stagnent position of poor parts, high prices and poor availability. Theres enough.of us at the end of the day. How do we move the club away from the screen and into an owners club, are we the offical uk zxclub? Is there even one? I know this sounds like a rant but I want to still own my z in 20 years time

Its high time the z comunity raised its profile.

9.Strength in numbers, working closer with other clubs, I'm not going to go into forum politics and the other zclubs, what im getting at here is closer links with skylineownersclub, sxoc etc and the other Nissan brands, this sort of harks back to the earlier point of knowing what fits, if group buys are organised in co-op with other clubs those numbers drag down the prices.

 

10.Simply be more positive and proactive, how often do new member join only to be told oh, your engines about to blow up and it will cost the earth and its a pig to work on. Maybe it will, maybe its not that clear cut, all too often we jump to the worst case scenario round here. Why do we tell everyone that if you up the power it will doe within weeks, across the pond many are running bigger turbos etc on stock block quite sustainably. In honesty aswel, how hard is a zed to work on? yes its tight in there, but its basic push, bang, pop stuff. Yes gremlins lurk in the electric's but that's nothing weird for a 20 year old car, once you pull all the intercooler piping off its a lot more spacious under there than it looks, if a monkey can do it(me) so can you...

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Off you go then lol....

Lastly lets restructure the rep system, simplify it, writting a reason is long winded, a simple like button like facebook style would make people use it more, were all guilty of not using it properly. I also think x points should equal a level. Lastly the engine trans type should be displayed on the left of your post under your namenavatar, stops you having to ask is it na or tt etc before answering a question.

I can see that you are really frustrated lol, but everything in your 10 point bulletin has an easy answer and most have been covered on numerous occasions and before i personally answer each one ( to my knowledge) i will give others a chance to air their views.

 

"I really hope you realise that I'm not trying to stir the pot or put down the previous work done" And no not at all :thumbup1:

Im sure as a group we can improve things slightly, like I say there only some suggestions I have thought up, others hopefully will express there ideas, we need to provide a more modern image and show the vg isnt a basket case but a serious contender to an rb or jz even in stock guise.

and it goes dead....

and it goes dead....

 

I commend this man on his attempt to get the zed scene moving in the right direction. I would like to think some of the things listed are possible all it takes is effort however due to my personal circumstances i cannot actively take part in events but i can support with sound zed technical advise and have spannered under a few bonnets already to help a fellow zedder.

 

That is all i will say as ill let others deal with the politics. I just spotted though you cant see anymore at the bottom who has viewed this thread just the current viewers.

I can see cos its my post and let me tell you there's a hell of a lot of people of that list that have said squat.

and it goes dead....

 

ffs lets digest the thread and all the posts...just because your bouncing off the walls atm and a lot arnt does,nt mean no ones intrested...calm down,calm down:biggrin:

Sorry I forgot some need time to find there specs.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

:p

Sorry I forgot some need time to find there specs.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

:p

 

:rofl::rofl::rofl: ile put 3 laughing heads to this as atm ime eating fish and pasta and cant be fvkn botherd

Pace make good quality smic's for the z32

 

http://www.paceproducts.co.uk/public_html/php/products_info.php?parent=4&productID=car/nissan300zx

 

 

3" pipework and I'm sure if you asked them they'd make up the 3" piping as long as you supplied a template for them to work from or just speak to someone like JP

 

 

http://www.jpexhausts.co.uk/

 

 

Coil pack pigtails, never had to look to be honest but all parts that I've needed I've picked up secondhand on this forum.

 

 

Out of interest would you guys be interested in CNC'd VG parts? Literally everything from custom plenum designs, pulleys and manifolds to 5 axis CNC'd engine blocks. It's a conversation that I've had a few times with my mate Brad. He owns a company called Mikina and supplies a lot of machined parts to the F1 teams.

 

If anybody wanted to check out what he can produce and the quality of it, feel free to stop by my place and I'll show you some of the parts that he's made for me over the last 12 months.

 

I'll take a billet engine block :)

I may be able to arrange annual/quarterly dyno days at the college....... I'd have to enquire about insurance etc but it may be a way to get Zeds in one place, one dyno etc........

 

Sure some of my students would happily help out with setting up etc.....

 

Can't promise anything but I've been thinking about it for a while really.....

 

I'm not in work till next week (Easter :p ) but I also have my first set of masters exams coming up ( :s ) so wont be able to progress this for a couple of weeks......

 

I'll try though :)

I'll take a billet engine block :)

 

 

It's something that Brad and I have discussed on a few ocassions now and he's not dismissed the idea, he's certainly got the hardware to do it. I reckon we need to sit down and have a chat over a brew mate

I'm only going to comment on the points that interest me and I know something about :laugh:

 

Right this is my 10 suggestions, feel free to amend, delete, add to, modify, comment on any or all. I will also try and explain why I think these are good ideas, I've only come up with these in the last few hours and I'm not the second coming so forgive me if there not what you would think or are unworkable, they are in no order of importance or process.

 

3.Embrace the evolvement of club members par taking in racing, a kind of sponsorship if you like, if the car is publicly raced for example totb, time attack, professional competitive drifting, if they display a 300zx owners club sticker(obviously it would need to be of a reasonable size), they're membership is free for that 12 month period, or something similar.

This is a good idea. Not specifically the free membership, but backing & involvement from the club for more motorsport-oriented endeavours. TOTB is looming, Time Attack has already begun and there's a Zed in BDC.

 

4.Movement away from being known simply as www.300zx.co.uk, that's not a club name its a website. proper affiliation should be sought from Nissan to become the official uk 300zx owners club and be renamed THE 300ZX OWNERS CLUB or similar, z32 whatever would be decided as best. This is an owners club not just a chat room, I think some have forgotten that and don't participate in meets. I know its not hard these days but to make it to one show a year really isn't that big a commitment, I know money is an issue but if you can afford a fuel tank of fuel to drive around and play in your car you can afford it to drive to a show or meet, prioritise and think ahead.

 

I think it is quite important to be known as the 300zx Owners Club, ties in nicely with other Nissan clubs: SXOC, GTROC etc.

 

5.Coverage in top Uk Japanese magazines such as banzai and Japanese performance, covering a rolling road day or the like showing a range of z32's this would necessitate some of the big hitters turning up to it, recent coverage has shown the car as a money pig, thinking back to madmaxe's car, it quite clearly explained the car cost 70k to build, that puts people off, and there are many many many cars on here that didn't cost a 10th of that. Internationally there are 100's of cars that are running 500+ bhp on less than 10ks expenditure.

 

Definitely, we need to increase exposure of the car & promote it as a modifier's wet dream. If you know what you're doing, you can get a very nice fast road car for not a great deal of outlay. Other than certain things costing double as there's twice as many of them, it's not that bad at all. Twin T28s with an engine pull, intercooler, injectors, dual intakes or larger MAF plus mapping. That's all that is required above & beyond the usual upgrades (exhaust, filters etc) for 500bhp on a healthy engine. Of course you upgrade the brakes & other items if required.

 

9.Strength in numbers, working closer with other clubs, I'm not going to go into forum politics and the other zclubs, what im getting at here is closer links with skylineownersclub, sxoc etc and the other Nissan brands, this sort of harks back to the earlier point of knowing what fits, if group buys are organised in co-op with other clubs those numbers drag down the prices.

 

Definitely! Not just Nissans either, but all similar marques. 300zx vs Supra Shootouts! 300zx vs FD etc. Take it back to the 90s where it was 300zx vs Supra vs RX7 vs GTO vs NSX vs Skyline GTR. More involvement with other clubs would be great. When we get all these cars together, the Z32 will do well.

 

10.Simply be more positive and proactive, how often do new member join only to be told oh, your engines about to blow up and it will cost the earth and its a pig to work on. Maybe it will, maybe its not that clear cut, all too often we jump to the worst case scenario round here. Why do we tell everyone that if you up the power it will doe within weeks, across the pond many are running bigger turbos etc on stock block quite sustainably. In honesty aswel, how hard is a zed to work on? yes its tight in there, but its basic push, bang, pop stuff. Yes gremlins lurk in the electric's but that's nothing weird for a 20 year old car, once you pull all the intercooler piping off its a lot more spacious under there than it looks, if a monkey can do it(me) so can you...

 

I think that's all changing now. At least I hope that view is changing now....

 

One way I justify the difficulty of working on Zeds (both to myself & others) is the fact they have genuine 90's supercar performance coupled with good reliability (seriously, how many of you have owned a turbocharged Fiat?), good refinement & unbelievable potential.

 

 

We need owners that are willing to make it to events other than JAE, those willing to push their car on track, up the strip, on the dyno etc. They're more likely to do that with more recognition being given. It was disappointing not to see any other members at Cadwell showing their support.

 

Mixing it with the Skylines & Supras will take some time & planning, they've had years of proper tuning behind them. Bear in mind that a Supra & Skyline are truly revered by all, two of the greatest cars ever made. Even the FD with its quirky little engine gets the love :laugh: The frustrating thing is knowing full well the Z32 should be up there with them, just as it is over the pond. It's a UK-specific phenomenon when it comes to the Zed's reputation & overall lack of understanding.

 

Im sure as a group we can improve things slightly, like I say there only some suggestions I have thought up, others hopefully will express there ideas, we need to provide a more modern image and show the vg isnt a basket case but a serious contender to an rb or jz even in stock guise.

 

According to Nissan back in the day, it's the best engine they ever created. If we shout it loud enough people might listen. When the cars are out there getting the times & numbers, people will really take note. Forged crank & rods as standard with a mappable ECU and torque that matches the power. Yes please!! When I hear people stating the engine is only good for 380-400bhp before grenading itself, I just put palm to face

 

Massive respect to you for taking the time to post the suggestions, I think this is a very important thread. Having been around the Jap car scene for a long time now, moving the marque forward is long past due.

Just confirmed attendance to USC this year...... Anyone else going? :)

Cheers for the support guys, a xerious question though, and not a personal attack but reos doing thier job, seems no meets have been organised in an age. I know the weather doesnt help but some areas havent had a meet for over a year is that correct? What can we as members do to help you?

Invite you all to Blackpool? Now the nights are lighter our brand new prom would be a good back drop for a mass zed attack! :)

Just a few point after reading all the posts. As a club we want to move forward and are in constant discussions in the Committee rooms on doing what we can to improve and evolve.

For the past several days we have been in talks with Jaffa, Bob and Slick Pete in supporting them more in the racing and this will include all other racing zeds so watch this space.

 

JaiKai is constantly improving the site.

 

We have very good relations with Zclub with joint meets and inter forum help

 

The club making and holding spare parts I think is a no starter as we are not big enough to cope.

 

300zx.co.uk is a well known and loved name it would be a shame to mess with it.

 

But all positive views are welcome and will be listened to but remember we all do this in our spare time and finding time is so very hard to come by but I still think we do a very good job on keeping the forum/club evolving.:yes:

OK, this has expanded tremendously from the original question about "How do we push the z32 out of this stagnent position of poor parts, high prices and poor availability." but it is your thread after all. Here's my £0.02p worth and while I'm not very active these days, I used to organise a few events and turn up at those I could and helped pressure Nissan to drop their infamous parts-look-up-charge of £25 (that tells you exactly how keen Nissan were on imports - i.e. not at all).

 

1. Make it free and open for non members to sell z32s with the forum.

> been debated at lengths for years. There's a specific forum here http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?27-Club-and-website-suggestions so why not try that.

 

2.Speak to companies like stillen, ams, twinz etc etc and see if we can form some sort of co-operation that would allow us to buy directly

from them at retail price, this would reduce shipping, taxation, third party profit etc etc. It would also extend their market as they

currently have no uk distributors.

> Go on then. When there was a small argy on the ZClub a while back, I did just that and got a ZClub discount on those parts (and they

weren't even parts for the Z32, I was just seeing if I could help the club.) Some of these brands already have UK distributors (eg MJP is Stillen distributor) so check your facts before contacting them or you'll look a nidiot.

 

3.Embrace the evolvement of club members par taking in racing,

> Hmmm, might be a bit contentious, there's a lot more ways of promoting the club as well as racing, should we hand out free membership to those guys as well? If not, why not.

 

4.Movement away from being known simply as http://www.300zx.co.uk,

> We are the 300ZX Owners' Club and always have been. Helps to check the info published by the Club you join http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?139916-300ZX-CO-UK-Club-Overview

 

5.Coverage in top Uk Japanese magazines such as banzai and Japanese performance,

> OK, again go on then. Many club members have done just that. http://www.300zxtt.co.uk/z1mediaindex.htm oh, and have I ever mentioned my Zed was officially faster than J Clarkson?

 

6.Investment by the club into pattern parts,

> A new tool to press out just one body panel can cost well over £100,000 or more. Bit out of our league. Plus we don't have a Parts or Technical officer. If you think we should, suggest it in the Club suggestions thread. The ZClub have one, it's Mike of MJP and he started running the club parts operation until it became his separate-but-allied-business.

 

7.Sticky thread, listing a comprehensive and guff free list of parts available from other models than can be used.

> there's a lot of info here in various threads so if you wanted to suggest / organise another FAQ thread here http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?43-FAQ-Storage-Area I'm sure the club would be happy In addition, Mike, Jeff and many others are happy to advise their known alternates for hard-to-get items.

 

8.The implementation of a z32 census, obviously not mandatory, but it would be good to at least have a list of how many there are and where they are, Many do not want to be part of an internet forum, but many would attach themselves to a register saying they own one.

> suggested a number of times before (I'd even volunteer again http://www.300zxtt.co.uk/archdvla2000.htm ) but seen by most as a potential villain's charter. You can understand why. Fair enough.

 

9.Strength in numbers, working closer with other clubs, I'm not going to go into forum politics and the other zclubs, what im getting at here is closer links with skylineownersclub, sxoc etc and the other Nissan brands,

> Be better to get better co-op with Z32 and ZClubs: what do we have to offer to Skyline and SXOC who will naturally be concentrating on their own stuff.

 

10.Simply be more positive and proactive,

> very true. Remember that not everyone wants to aftermarket their cars. There is an awful lot of received wisdom here and a very set POV that modding cars is the only reason for having a Zed. Using a spell checker and not posting guesses and actually sticking to the point in threads might help.

 

A little bit of effort in looking through these forums, using them properly and reading the Club info would pay back in spades.

 

Your enthusiasm is to be applauded - and one of the reason I wanted to answer in depth, you deserve it.

I've actually forgotten what thread I'm replying to now! :D

Some good points been made and some real passion for the marque being shown. Not sure how useful it would be but i work for a major motor factors in Scotland which has a large number of suppliers for most parts, Now if we had a list or something of general parts ( wear and tear items etc ) then i can get hold of them for much less then Nissan O.E prices and pass that saving. Sadly we only deal in standard aftermarket parts but may be of use!?! If this is of use i will start on a list ( could also start a seperate parts thread ) i understand we have traders that supply most of the parts i could get hold off but i would be willing to pay the fees if thats whats need to help out!!

 

On raising the profile of the Z32, i am currently selling mine purely as i plan on building a track/race car for use most likely in a local race series at Knockhill and possibly TOTB ( probs next year depending on how things go ). They are vastly underrated car which is unjust in my eyes and when it comes to tuning my track car i will be contacting NOZ as he seems to be the only one pushing the boundries it seems!!

Just a few point after reading all the posts. As a club we want to move forward and are in constant discussions in the Committee rooms on doing what we can to improve and evolve.

For the past several days we have been in talks with Jaffa, Bob and Slick Pete in supporting them more in the racing and this will include all other racing zeds so watch this space.

 

JaiKai is constantly improving the site.

 

We have very good relations with Zclub with joint meets and inter forum help

 

The club making and holding spare parts I think is a no starter as we are not big enough to cope.

 

300zx.co.uk is a well known and loved name it would be a shame to mess with it.

 

But all positive views are welcome and will be listened to but remember we all do this in our spare time and finding time is so very hard to come by but I still think we do a very good job on keeping the forum/club evolving.:yes:

This is good news and positive progression.

Someone offering a reconditioning service for some of the standard Nissan Parts might be useful, most of us can change the part but not all have the means to push bushes and bearings out.

 

Paul

OK, this has expanded tremendously from the original question about "How do we push the z32 out of this stagnent position of poor parts, high prices and poor availability." but it is your thread after all. Here's my £0.02p worth and while I'm not very active these days, I used to organise a few events and turn up at those I could and helped pressure Nissan to drop their infamous parts-look-up-charge of £25 (that tells you exactly how keen Nissan were on imports - i.e. not at all).

 

4.Movement away from being known simply as www.300zx.co.uk,

> We are the 300ZX Owners' Club and always have been. Helps to check the info published by the Club you join http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?139916-300ZX-CO-UK-Club-Overview

 

 

That looks like '300zx.co.uk', not 'The 300zx Owners Club'

 

5.Coverage in top Uk Japanese magazines such as banzai and Japanese performance,

> OK, again go on then. Many club members have done just that. http://www.300zxtt.co.uk/z1mediaindex.htm oh, and have I ever mentioned my Zed was officially faster than J Clarkson?

 

Great, but that was a decade ago. Things have moved on and it needs to be happening now. The marque has stagnated and is at rock-bottom compared to the Supra & Skyline. This is the reason for the original issue in the first post. A couple of mag entries from the mid noughties is not going to cut it now

 

9.Strength in numbers, working closer with other clubs, I'm not going to go into forum politics and the other zclubs, what im getting at here is closer links with skylineownersclub, sxoc etc and the other Nissan brands,

> Be better to get better co-op with Z32 and ZClubs: what do we have to offer to Skyline and SXOC who will naturally be concentrating on their own stuff.

 

Lots can be gained by having ties to other Nissan clubs. Shared meets, track days, dyno days etc.

 

Is it even possible to work with the other Z forum? It's a banned site so a lot would have to be done I take it.

 

10.Simply be more positive and proactive,

> very true. Remember that not everyone wants to aftermarket their cars. There is an awful lot of received wisdom here and a very set POV that modding cars is the only reason for having a Zed. Using a spell checker and not posting guesses and actually sticking to the point in threads might help.

 

A little bit of effort in looking through these forums, using them properly and reading the Club info would pay back in spades.

 

That doesn't change the current state of the Zed market and how the marque is viewed by others one little bit though. Modifying cars is big business. Why else own a 20yr old turbocharged Japanese car if not to modify it? Same with RX7s, Supras and all the others mentioned. The moment they rolled off the production line, in-house tuners & well-known independent parties were releasing higher-powered versions. It's all part of owning one, Nissan knew it from day one, same deal with the R35 nowadays. The thing is, what a lot of people don't realise is that the Zed is a brilliant candidate for modifying, always has been & always will. It's just a matter of getting it on the same page (or even in the same book) as the Supra.

 

Your enthusiasm is to be applauded - and one of the reason I wanted to answer in depth, you deserve it.

 

Disclaimer: I can only comment with experience on the modifying/tuning side of things, as that is what I know about. The logistics of parts replication & supply, forum politics & other topics raised in this thread, I know nothing about. So if my posts sound very focused on one particular aspect of Zed ownership, that is because they are :laugh:

Edited April 8, 201312 yr by Noz

and it goes dead....

 

LOL - 41 minutes from your previous post..... Give us a chance to read and digest it mate!!!

 

I can see cos its my post and let me tell you there's a hell of a lot of people of that list that have said squat.

 

Yes - only the thread starter and mods/committee can see who has viewed a thread.....

 

.....And believe me, it's a good one!! As Gary says, "we're working on it" but we can only really progress things with input and feedback from the members. Just like this thread - so keep it coming guys.....

 

Richard:biggrin: