Wanted to start a thread for my newly imported zed, but it's really hard to think of a name :-P

 

Put the number plates on at the weekend so this is something of a rebirth for it! Swapped the wheels over from my old zed as the ones it came with had a terrible offset, needed 10mm spacers to get over the front stock calipers and thus only had 3 turns on the nuts.

 

Tried to take it for a drive, but the front right wheel was catching so badly I only made it to the end of the road and back! Was then too late to adjust anything. Bit surprised really as it doesn't look that low, might need to stiffen the dampers. So not a great maiden voyage :-P

 

 

 

Wheels are filthy bit didn't have time to clean them.

 

Plan on driving it around a little bit just to check everything is alright before starting some proper work!

Zeddy McZedface is clearly the only acceptable name for your car now...!!

Ha-ha suppose it is :clap:

Hi Chris are your wheel spacers hubcentric spacers? They should have bolts on the spacers for the wheel;s and the bolts on the hub are for the spacers.

 

Depends which ones you mean, yea the ones I swapped over from my old zed are, 22mm front and 5mm back, both H&R. The ones I took off are cheapo ones, not hubcentric, and not even the same both sides, one was 10mm, the other I think 7.5mm!

Depends which ones you mean, yea the ones I swapped over from my old zed are, 22mm front and 5mm back, both H&R. The ones I took off are cheapo ones, not hubcentric, and not even the same both sides, one was 10mm, the other I think 7.5mm!

 

The 10mm spacers which only gave 3 turns on the nut.

No they're the cheap ones, I'm not using them

Looks good mate what other parts are you removing from the black zed and putting on the white zed ?

Hi Chris are your wheel spacers hubcentric spacers? They should have bolts on the spacers for the wheel;s and the bolts on the hub are for the spacers.

 

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You can't get bolt-on huncentric spacers in 10mm, the smallest you can get is 15mm. You'll need hubcentric 10mm and longer studs. You should still be able to get more than 3 turns on the standard studs with only 10mm, so Chris, that makes no sense. Are you sure yours aren't 15mm?

Looks good mate what other parts are you removing from the black zed and putting on the white zed ?

 

Taking it's manual gearbox et al, clutch and flywheel is the big one as my white one is auto, but also one piece prop, 350z front brakes, exhaust, intercoolers, air filter and then a lot of other little bits and pieces, like my red nose badge :thumbup1: So nothing too major.

 

You can't get bolt-on huncentric spacers in 10mm, the smallest you can get is 15mm. You'll need hubcentric 10mm and longer studs. You should still be able to get more than 3 turns on the standard studs with only 10mm, so Chris, that makes no sense. Are you sure yours aren't 15mm?

 

I didn't bother measuring them as it became a moot point (see below), but I'm reasonably sure. Can check tonight though out of interest. Who says all wheels have the same mounting hole depth though, could that not be the difference?

 

They're only 16" wheels and don't fit over the 350z brakes on my black zed, not planning on swapping the brakes for a while so it'll have to stay on axle stands for now.

 

Must say though I was amazed at how hard you have to brake to get the auto to stop! Yes I'm used to the slightly bigger (though hardly massive) brakes on my black zed, but it really took me by surprise!

You can't get bolt-on huncentric spacers in 10mm, the smallest you can get is 15mm. You'll need hubcentric 10mm and longer studs. You should still be able to get more than 3 turns on the standard studs with only 10mm, so Chris, that makes no sense. Are you sure yours aren't 15mm?

 

That would depend on the mating surface material thickness of the wheel as they will all vary. Some wheels have an extra thick hub face to allow for multiple offsets by machining the face down.

Edited December 5, 20169 yr by Joely P

That would depend on the mating surface material thickness of the wheel as they will all vary. Some wheels have an extra thick hub face to allow for multiple offsets by machining the face down.

 

You have a valid point, yes!

Forgot to ask, any tips when bending the front arch liner tabs? I don't want the paint to crack. Is it ok to heat them up with a heat gun to try and soften the paint first? I certainly don't want to damage the external finish!

No one got any tips?

I wouldn't use heat but try and bend it by hand or as I did on my black Z when the front wheels were touching the bolts on the inner arch I filed them down slightly.

I did use heat in the end, worked a treat with no cracked paint. Used a heat gun to get the arch liner tabs just hot to the touch, only took about 15 seconds on the lowest setting, then bent them in a bit by hand.

 

Front right is still rubbing a bit over big bumps, but it's miles better and driveable now. No idea what is rubbing though, got a good amount of clearance now and have set the coilovers to be pretty stiff.

 

I also picked up a single recaro rail on eBay a few weeks ago so fitted my drivers seat. Not perfect condition but really not bad, the picture makes it look worse than in real life and only paid £200 for the pair. Certainly better than what I had and will do until my Mondo retrim!

 

 

The rail was attached to a third seat I got for £230 posted and have just sold the seat again for £185 posted so didn't cost me much! Will probably buy a passenger one new now

Took it to get undersealed today! No pictures unfortunately, but it now stinks :-P

 

Went to Ultimate in Egham, was a bit apprehensive as it's obviously difficult to tell if they've done a good job! But the guy said he'd been doing it for 11 years and does maybe 5 zeds a year, and explained why they were nice cars to do due to the underbody profile so gave me some confidence he knew what he was talking about! Dropped me off and picked me up from the station as well.

 

Was £490 inc vat, he said the coating will last 10 years happily, but the rust inhibitor lasts 5, so up to me when to get it redone.

 

Said it was really nice underneath, and that there was really nothing to tell me about it because it was so clean, all the suspension and everything, so I'm pleased with that :-)

 

4 wheel alignment next because it's off, but need to decide whether I should raise it a little first. Was a 45 minute drive and I only heard the wheels catch lightly 2 or 3 times, but still. Worried about going over a big dip on the motorway, and it doesn't like speed bumps

Nice to see people investing in the protection and maintenance of the bits you can't see [emoji106] I'm always wary of these quick turnaround underseal jobs as I wonder what they're burying, especially when you turn up and it's dripping wet! I ended up doing mine myself and spent several months in the garage with the car up in the air on axle stands, but I think the next time I do it, il be able to do it much quicker and with the equipment the pros have, it's deffo a job worth doing.

I know what you mean, but I wasn't sure how good a job I would be able to do scrabbling around on the drive underneath it on axles. Wasn't confident I'd get all the cavities properly. This guys attention to detail was very good though, he noticed a rubber grommet in the door missing so he used his endoscope to look for it in the door in case it had been pushed in. The fact he had an endoscope says quite a lot as well! Said he used it to have a good look around :thumbup:

Took the 350z front Brembo's off my black zed to put on this weekend, but the seals have completely had it! Was considering getting them powder coated anyway as they look a bit manky, think this may have persuaded me as they need to come apart anyway.

 

I'm happy to rebuild them myself, does anyone know a decent place to do the powder coating? You here so many horror stories about getting them back full of grit that it's made me nervous. I got a quote from pro-calipers.co.uk for a full rebuild but £620 to do those and the stock rear calipers seems pretty excessive. They want £150 just for the front seals! Only $35 from Z1 or CZP.

Took the 350z front Brembo's off my black zed to put on this weekend, but the seals have completely had it! Was considering getting them powder coated anyway as they look a bit manky, think this may have persuaded me as they need to come apart anyway.

 

I'm happy to rebuild them myself, does anyone know a decent place to do the powder coating? You here so many horror stories about getting them back full of grit that it's made me nervous. I got a quote from pro-calipers.co.uk for a full rebuild but £620 to do those and the stock rear calipers seems pretty excessive. They want £150 just for the front seals! Only $35 from Z1 or CZP.

 

Ideally you want to take them to a place that does a chemical dip or soda blasting. Shot blasting is fine as long as they're properly cleaned out.

 

Get in touch with http://www.biggred.co.uk/ - I bought the seals from them and I think they were around £150 for all 4 corners (seals only). I'd also look at replacing your nipples with SS ones.

 

I rebuilt mine myself, fairly easy job to do (if you're not splitting the calipers). Just make sure you get some red-rubber grease to coat the pistons with before refitting.

Took the 350z front Brembo's off my black zed to put on this weekend, but the seals have completely had it! Was considering getting them powder coated anyway as they look a bit manky, think this may have persuaded me as they need to come apart anyway.

 

I'm happy to rebuild them myself, does anyone know a decent place to do the powder coating? You here so many horror stories about getting them back full of grit that it's made me nervous. I got a quote from pro-calipers.co.uk for a full rebuild but £620 to do those and the stock rear calipers seems pretty excessive. They want £150 just for the front seals! Only $35 from Z1 or CZP.

 

New seal kits are cheap enough on eBay and the dismantling and reassembly of things is pretty straightforward.

 

£150 for the front seals is steep... unless they're either going to split the calipers into their component halves and replace the internal seals or they're replacing the pistons as well!

 

The Brembos I currently have fitted cost me £100 to have dipped, blasted and painted in candy red. I applied the new decals and replaced all the seals and they're as good as new :thumbup1:

New seal kits are cheap enough on eBay and the dismantling and reassembly of things is pretty straightforward.

 

£150 for the front seals is steep... unless they're either going to split the calipers into their component halves and replace the internal seals or they're replacing the pistons as well!

 

The Brembos I currently have fitted cost me £100 to have dipped, blasted and painted in candy red. I applied the new decals and replaced all the seals and they're as good as new :thumbup1:

 

Oooooo that's more like it, where did you have them done?

 

Edit: Oh just realised you said painted rather than powdered. I'm not against painting, just wondering about powdering first

Get them powder coated. The finish is more durable and nicer.

Get them powder coated. The finish is more durable and nicer.

Pro calipers have said they'll do just the powder coating on all 4 for £320, should make the total cost around £400/450 once I do my own seals which is a bit more reasonable!

Think that's what mine cost roughly. I bought new nipples and dust caps too as well as lettering. I was lucky with my brakes. I managed to get front and rear discs, pads and calipers from an R33 GTR (Brembo) for about £350. I fully reconditioned them though and got new discs and Brembo sport pads, so the cost mounted up - all in was around £1200.