Evenin’ all! My import ‘96TT would originally have had the later electric HICAS, but when I took her to Jimmer for her first check-up one of the first things he pointed out was the lock-out bar the previous owner had fitted. From that and the lowered suspension I suspect she might have drifted in her younger days.

Anyway I’ve recently wondered exactly what might have been removed when deleting electric HICAS, and whether it might be practical to re-instate the system. But I have no idea what the electric set-up involved. Clearly the PAS hydraulics to the rear will be absent, and replaced with some form of actuators, but does anyone have access to a diagram or description of what components made up the system? That might enable me to determine whether the whole thing has been stripped out, or if most of it is still there but disconnected. I do know that if I re-insert a fuse into the HICAS slot in the fuse box I don’t get a warning light, but I haven’t checked whether somebody has just removed the bulb!

Any information gratefully received, including if anybody out there HAS working electric HICAS and can say “it’s amazing, do it”, “it’s a terrible idea, forget it”, or “great idea but you’ll never find the parts”.

Thanks in advance!

These are the pages from the '96 FSM for the Electric HICAS. It is likely that just the Actuator was removed (to fit the lock out bar) leaving

the rest of the system intact.

ST 38-81.pdf

An example of the Actutator:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-300ZX-Turbo-Rear-Hicas-Active-Power-Steering-Rack-Gear-Box-Z32-5570540P00-/232556594661

That’s exactly what I was looking for! Thanks Andrew, I’ll have a shufty and see if I can locate the control unit and wiring. 

My zed is a 96 and I can confirm it's a one piece actuator that just unplugs. 

 

Unless the previous owner snipped the cables it should just be a matter of plugging it back in. 

 

Although for it to work properly the sensor in the steering wheel still needs to be operational too. 

Managed to find time to crawl underneath today, and found the (hopefully) attached image. Looks like all the connectors are still there, so hopefully it’s plug and play!

That said, a) I don’t have the facilities to raise the car enough for the amount of spanner-wielding this would need, and b) it’s going to need Conzult to make sure it’s calibrated, so I might see if Jimmer is up for doing the actual plugging and playing post-lockdown ?

Thanks for the help chaps!

 

Do you like how the HICAS system feels/drives? 
The reason why so many deleted this system, not just from the Z32 but the R chassis models it was also fitted to, it wasn’t about drifting. 

I removed mine because it felt like the back end was drifting out when turning.

 

Wasn't a good feeling if your not used to it.

28 minutes ago, JaiKai said:

I removed mine because it felt like the back end was drifting out when turning.

 

Wasn't a good feeling if your not used to it.

Personally I felt it felt like an old leaf sprung car, how the body weight shifts over the spring on the horizontal before the back goes out. Very disconcerting. 

5 hours ago, Stephen said:

Do you like how the HICAS system feels/drives? 
The reason why so many deleted this system, not just from the Z32 but the R chassis models it was also fitted to, it wasn’t about drifting. 

Personally found the later electronic system much more natural to drive than the earlier hydraulic system. What they did to the calibration I’m not sure, but it’s deffinately a better system

Take your word for it Nick, mine had the early (being an 89) hydraulic system. 

I used to have a 1990 Zed with the hydraulic system and always enjoyed it, but to be honest it’s so long since that car shuffled off this mortal coil (2003) I can’t really compare it with how the current car drives. I’m working on the theory that Nissan engineers probably knew what they were doing. If I end up hating it (unlikely I suspect) I can always pull the fuse, and I do own a lockout bar :)

So as not to leave a story unfinished, just a quick update to say all is now installed and working. Jimmer (top bloke among top blokes) had a good rack from a ‘95 car, and after confirming all the electronics were there he’s swapped it in and worked all the alignment and calibration magic. Just on the drive back from Powerzed I think I can feel it’s dialled out some of the initial understeer on quick direction changes, but need a few more miles to really get the feel of what’s different. Certainly feels nice and planted though. Thanks again to all for the help and advice, and as usual a hearty recommendation for Jimmer.

Deleted post, my mistake.

Glad you’ve got it sorted ?.

Edited May 1, 20214 yr by phutumsch