tpv01

thanks for your help guys. As I say fan cutting in fine (doesnt it run all the time anyway?) so not the problem, I will check the rad cap when i go back to the car but the mayonaise means head gasket failure doesnt it?!?!?! No smoke. Dont know about coolant levels in water. I would think the SPA temp gauge fairly accurate but will check the connections. What is the usual temperatures i should be expecting for the following? Start driving from cold: ? Normal temp (moderate driving): ? Normal temp (hard driving): ? Maximum temp (hard driving followed by traffic on hot day): ? Safe turn off temp: ? It is running rich so high idle, high exhaust temp, etc so would this explain it? I know oil temperature is what i need to be concerned about but oil temp > water temp.

Fan is deffinetly cutting in but not cooling at idle. The water temp creeps up from the normal of about 75-80C. It is running quite rich so it is quite a high idle so i suppose it may be understandable but what can i do if i dont want to fry my turbo seals?

If i join the club how long does the membership last before I would have to renew? Is it a full calender year or until end of current calander or financial year?

I have just bought a zed from forum user Derek aka Flying Machine. I have gt a few routine questions for you guys that I have already come across. 1. Temperature 1The car has a spa temperature gauge fitted and I am unsure how long I should leave the car heating up before starting my journey. 40-45C seems reasonable and obviously not ragging it until heated up more to 70-80C. 2. Temperature 2. What temperature is it safe to turn the ignition off after a journey. Just by taking it easy and coasting lots towards the end of the journey to push lots of air into the radiator manages to get it down to about 91C but if I leave it idling for 1 or 2 minutes at the end of my journey the temperature just steadily climbs to 100+C instead of cooling down. Is this right or do i just need to leave it even longer? Is there anything simple that can be done to improve the cooling down efficiency? 3. Tyre pressure. What should the tyre pressure be when running 225-40-ZR-18 tyres? 4. headlight/windscreen washers. One is working but not spraying the headlights and the other is not working at all - probably blocked. There is also not spray coming out of the windscreen washers - also probably a blockage. Is there a way of redirecting the headlight washers? How do i remove the windscreen washer sprayers and headlight sprayers to give them a good cleaning? I am really enjoying the car although taking it really easy for the moment as previously owned a 2.2 FWD honda prelude and know this car could quite easily break me. Thanks for the help Tom

it wont be being driven it will be sitting on my parents drive rusting away. It will just purely be the cheapest shed i can find that is cheapest as possible to insure to build up my no claims.

what is the cheapest car to insure that i could get from a auction that i can insure to build up my NCB while im on a classic insurance policy? Fiesta, 2CV, metro?

tried all that and there is no explanation for it. watch out guys when you come to your renewals as you might get a nasty shock. I heard a news story a couple of weeks ago that norwich union (quote you happy - my ass!) are increasing their premiums and expect all their competitors to do the same. Their excuse was it is was getting unprofitable(!) and it would particularly affect young male drivers. It looks like it has started. Can anyone recommend any other companies that may be more sensibly priced. I have already tried; Adrian Flux (wouldnt quote me), money supermarket, bell, broadsure direct.....just want to get a quote that will allow me to afford my dream car!

I have been looking at insurance quotes for the past couple of months for my first zed and couldn't believe how cheap it was. I was getting quotes of £400-500 for a 25yr old, 1yr NCB, kept in Bournemouth which is one off the best rated areas insurance wise. However, now i think I have found the zed i want and getting ready to buy i have just checked again and the quotes have doubled! what is going on! someone warned me that this was going to happen but i brushed it off, but i believe they have actually reclassified it now. I cant do classic insurance as it will be my main car and will be doing about 10k miles a year.

Interesting point you have there my west country friend. So in theory if a car is running smokeless with no cat it is the best test whether the seals and leaking, then wack the cats back in before the seals do go (depending on your whole opinion on the decatt debate). However, are there any other earlier warning signs that show that the seals maybe on their way out before they start leaking oil into the exhaust gas.

After reading a number of positive and negative accounts of decatting on the following threads; http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=74882&highlight=decall http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=73579&highlight=decatt I thought the way i would use to distingiush if decatting will cause me problems is........... ........Have you had problems with smoke due to turbo seal failure or turbo failure after NOT decatting. ie are these problems naturally occurring or have other causes other than decatting. The other question I have is......if you have a car which has been decatted and is not showing signs of seal leakage (symptoms: smoke??) if you reinstall the cat will everything be fine and dandy and the turbos will last as long as they would if never decatted.

How easy is it to refit air con if it has been removed. I guess it depends what has be removed and what has been retained but assuming the pipework has remained is it a case of refitting the compressor and condensor and recharging and relubing the system? Does anything need to be removed to get at the condesor /compressor? Are air con systems usually removed purely for weight saving reasons or is the space in the engine bay used for other mods?

Thinking of getting a 300zx auto but i know I will eventually want a manual conversion on it. I have seen that the zen garage are advertising the job for £400 labour. Is that just the labour charge? +VAT? do they supply the gearbox also? how much does this cost? and how long does the job take? I have emailed them asking the same things but no reply yet. Just wondering if anyone on here knows the details

Say you want to accelerate quickly from either a standing start or slower speed so want to stay in boost over a range of gear would you more likely acheive that in a manual or automatic. This is for a unmodded 300zx. Basically what i am asking is; can you change gear fast enough in manual to stay in the boost region, with out breaking the gear stick off? Or, can the auto box be relied upon to consistently change up (not kick down) at a suitable rev range to stay in boost when the accelerator is heavily depressed, and does this depend on the setting (power mode, overdrive)?

can i modify my question slightly. how much would you expect to pay for a whole boot lid (spoiler, rear windscreen, rear wiper,etc) in good condition? tried searching but no luck. Is it an easy job to replace a boot lid or very difficult as heavy, awkward and hard to line up. is there different boot lid sizes for different models, SWB/LWB, Jap/UK etc?

Simple questions on changes made to the Zed design during its production. 1. Is series 2 from 93 onwards? 2. What are the differences from series 1 to 2? 3. Was there any further changes after series 2? 4. what does 99 spec mean? 5. when did Zed’s get airbags, and is it just one drivers side one? 5. I have seen some Zed’s with 2 point seatbelts in the back and some with 3 point belts. When did this change happen? Or is it a Jap/UK difference? If someone could colour in the gaps and give me a full potted history of changes made during the design life of the car and differences in Jap and UK models, that would be great.

sorry to hijack thread but was just wondering how much it costs to replace and respray a spoiler in a place like Z-Tech if you provide them with a replacement spoiler

can't for some reason. Suppose because im not a paid up member. could someone be kind enough to post up my email (tp_ventham@msn.com) in that section and ask him to contact me or if anyone has his contact details that would also do the job. Ta

Seen his threads on the traders section but cant find their address in Slough anywhere or anyway of contacting them or even posting on that part of the forum. any ideas?

I was just wondering what the bhp, top speed and 0-60mph are on a unmodded 300ZX TT? what is the difference between UK and JDM because of compression ratio and manual and auto? Also, what gains are made in the above with the easy mods of better induction, uprated exhust and chipping?

I have previously been considering buying a manual Zed but after being taken for a spin in Z man's car at the weekend i am coming round to the idea of owning my first automatic. It seems like the auto box has a number of settings, could someone try to explain to me the different functions and how they actually work and what impact this has. Are there any manual purists out there who can tempt me back...?

I am thinking about getting a 300ZX and wasn't aware there was variable valve timing available on 300ZX engines. On my current Honda Prelude VTEC, the VTEC variable valve timing makes a BIG difference to performance but i expect it is not as noticable on cars with turbos. From what i have heard the Honda VTEC system is the best variable valve timing system on the market and has never had any recorded failures so is the Nissan version anygood/worth having or does it cause problems and is more trouble than it is worth? Does the variable valve timing kick in at a certain rev point like the VTEC system? from what year does the engines have the VVT? how is this shown?

RE: 5. I wasn't aware there was variable valve timing available on 300ZX engines. On my current Honda Prelude VTEC, the VTEC variable valve timing makes a BIG difference to performance but i expect it is not as important on cars with turbos. From what i have heard the Honda VTEC system is the best variable valve timing system on the market and has never had any recorded failures so is the Nissan version anygood/worth having or does it cause problems and is more trouble than it is worth? Does the variable valve timing kick in at a certain rev point like the VTEC system? RE 6: don't get me wrong im not afriad of mods (esp. not helpful mods like turbo refurbs etc) but i dont esp. want something that has had alot of work done to it, like aftermarket front and rear spoilers because i like 9 out of 10 times i prefer the original design and I dont want it to feel like someone else's car so i can put my own mark on it. How much does it cost to refurb the tubs? RE g60cc: thanks alot for the offer. I am dead keen for someone to take me for a ride in 300zx TT but i am based in west london in the week and rarely get back to poole nowadays so is there anyone in the w.london area willing to take me for a buzz about one week night?

thanks again guys. no doubt once i dip my toe in if i take one for a test drive this weekend i will want to dive in head first. just to pick you up on a couple of the points; 4 I. is that less rust as they havent been exposed to UK road salt for 4 months of the year, or is there a different material/paint used? 5 I. what is termed as later model? I have seen lots from 90-93 but not much after that and from the buyers guide linked from here, 90-91 had lots of niggles. so a good condition 92-93 should be snapped up? I will be using the for sale section on this forum as my primary buying location, but if anyone happens to be reading this who has a; UK, TT, manual, LWB, T-bar, leathers, >92,

Thanks for all your replies to this thread and the below one where is was being daft and got the name wrong! http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=76513 I am well excited about getting a a 300zx now but have to wait for my NCB to increase but I may look at a couple this weekend and may even take a test drive. I have, however, got a few more questions about the cars; a. is abs standard on all models? b. do they have (remote) central locking as standard? c. on the LWB 2+2, how much space in the back is there for passengers? In my prelude there is a joke amount of leg room for rear passengers. d. how does the overall reliabilty of the cars compare to other cars you may be familair with? e. what similar spec/price/age car would you consider if 300zx's didn't exist? Thanks Tom

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am new to 300ZX and currently own a 2.2VTEC Honda Prelude which is a lot of fun but I am thinking of upgrading when I soon turn 25. I love the idea of a twin turbo engine and the power it must produce, I love the styling and the interior looks a lot more interesting than any modern BMW or Merc. I have many questions about buying the right 300ZX that hopefully you kind people can help me out with. Cheers. 1. Briefly, what are the different specs, models available. My brief research so far has led me to the 3.0L twin turbo and 3.0L non-turbo but is there such thing as a 4.5L TT or is it urban myth? 2. How does the Fairlady marque differ from the std or other marques? 3. what options packages are available? I have noticed that there a few examples on ebay with leather, is this very common? Are there any optional electrical packages on some and not others? 4. are all 300ZX imports? If not, do JDM and UKDM specs differ in any way? 5. over what period were 300ZX’s produced? Is it best to go for the newest/lowest milage example possible? 6. when are the major services due (belt’s etc)? 7. What are the common problems that occur on 300ZX when they reach this length of life? 8. I have noticed on ebay and Autotrader that most examples are automatics. I would prefer a manual. How rare are they and do they cost much more than autos? 9. do they have LSD’s? 10. Are they all convertible or the T-bar thing?