russtic

Or it could be the speed sensor - the plastic cog wears out it's teeth after a while. A very common problem with Zeds, and fairly cheap to replace. Sensor informs the speed-sensitive power-steering, explaining the lumpiness. Good luck, Russ.

I had this problem too - cured it by havingh all four wheels rebalanced. Turned out to be one of my rears. Well worth 50 quid (or the equivalent dollars) to check this first! Bon Chance Russ.

I've got the PIAA superwhite bulbs fitted. I can't say I noticed much difference, though I did take out a pair of 100W bulbs to do so. Much prefer not to overload my wiring! Russ.

I had an S14a auto before I upgraded to the 300ZX. They're really nice cars. A little placky inside but well put together and not too slow. Fuel economy is better than the Z but for me at least, not significantly so. I reckon you could definitely get a good FSH S14a with about 60k for your budget. During the 2 years I had it the only problems I had were unfortunate punctures. Mechanically it never let me down. It has loooong doors though, so expect some scrapes along the edges! One MOT failed the emissions test so I had an expensive (800 notes) zorst replacement. Apart from that, pretty cheap to run. Pure prejudice (and the JD Power Top Gear customer satisfaction surveys) tells me to steer clear of Alfas! Good luck, Russ.

This is quite a well known problem with these cars - worn brake discs have to be the prime suspect. Russ.

Wow, took me a while to read - clearly some unhappiness there. Still, looks like the vote is to keep the committee as is, which is fine by me - at least it's democratic! So it looks like you're no longer a committee member Mark. How come? Russ.

Uy, it get's worse! I thought it was a gripping thread, but it's starting to wear now. We'd better tread carefully. But seriously - one tyre or two?! Russ.

It doesn't reach any cords - just pure black rubber. Quite a bite out of the side-wall though! :(

OK - thanks folks. Just confirms what I've been thinking. So does anyone have a problem with me changing just that side? Should I do 'em in pairs or is that unnecessary?

All, Shamefully, I kerbed the nearside wheel turning right over a mini-roundabout yesterday. The Alloy looks OK (scratched but not buckled), but the kerb seems to have put a bit of a tear into the sidewall of my tyre. The tear is a V-shape, in the direction of the turning wheel, starting from where it meets the (stock) alloy, and has basically peeled back some of the rubber. The thing that concerns me is the depth of it. I reckon it's probably 3-4mm deep (into the rubber) at the lowest point (it slopes inward over about an inch and a half). This is a Toyo Proxes T1S tyre with not much wear at all. I'm basically worried about a possible blow-out where the tyre-wall has been weakened. So, my question is - should I bite the bullet and fit a new tyre? If so, do you think I should change both fronts? They've done about 5k quite gently and still have plenty of tread. It would serve me right, wouldn't it?! Please let me know, Russ.

Hi all, I reluctantly voted no. I'd be happier voting for a question that was more like "Do you want the opportunity to vote for or against the current committee?" The current question is phrased so as to make us feel like we're ousting the current committee, and I don't think that's right. It could just as easily be phrased "Do you want to give up the normal democratic process and let the committee do what they like?" Which is equally partisan. Anyway - I definitely want the committee to be answerable to the subscribers, as I'm sure we all do, so in all likelihood I'm just delaying the re-election a bit, but I'd rather do it that way! Anything other than a "no" vote here is effectively a straight re-election. I'm unhappy with the handling of the j.e.f.f. affair, and I'd like the opportunity to vote for someone who might be a bit more transparent about committee decisions. Otherwise, I'm absolutely delighted with the club and the actions of the committee. You folks have a tough and often thankless task (you notice I'm not rushing to become a committee member), and you do it really well. Thanks! Russ.

Thanks! That'd be great. I'm in Wood Green/Bounds Green - just behind Alexandra Palace. Cheers, Russ.

Folks, Can anyone tell me where I can get hold of a (very specific) length of rubber hose? The small hose that feeds my (stock) boost gauge has split. It's connected to a pipe coming from the passenger side of the engine bay, and fits into the underside of a small black box on the driver's side towards the windscreen. It's only a small pipe, but without it my boost gauge just sits in the middle. It's split and been cut so many times that it just won't reach any more, and I need a new one. I tried Halfords and Homebase with no luck. I'm about to try AndyZ. Any other suggestions? Mike Feeney? Lemme know, Russ.

Heh, got mine done at the weekend - straight through, no problems, exactly like last year. :D Russ.

You'd be VERY lucky to find a UK car with 50K on the clock. UK manuals are as rare as hen's teeth as well. I'd say a UK car with this sort of mileage would be around 6-7 grand. A Jap import would be a lot cheaper. If you're going to keep the car for a couple of years only, then it'd probably work out cheaper to get the Japanese version and pay a little extra insurance. I doubt the premium for imports is 100% everywhere though! Good luck! Russ.

Al, When you turn the engine on, does the needle just sit right in the middle, or is it always hard to the left? If it's stuck in the middle, the first thing to check it whether the hose going to the unit is loose or disconnected. Looking into the open engine bay, the unit is on the driver's side edge, quite far back towards the windscreen. It's a black box probably around matchbox size. The pipe that goes into the *underside* of this unit is for the boost gauge. Check that a pipe exists and is OK. HTH Russ.

No, My Blaupunkt head unit surround won't fit either. Looks like some do and some don't. Russ.

Folks, When I travel at over 85mph I get vibrations from the front. They affect the steering wheel and make things in my rear view mirror go fuzzy. Clearly this is not a problem on normal public roads, but I could do without this on the track. I've recently had the prop shaft centre bearing replaced, which fixed the thrumming at 40 and 60mph through the seats, so I don't think it's that. I had the wheels balanced about 10 months ago, but I drive over 10 million speed humps a day. Do you think it's likely to be wheel balancing, even if the vibes only become noticeable at very high speeds? Any other thoughts? Cheers, Russ.

My wife is completely neutral on the matter. When I say neutral, I mean "couldn't give a f___". She's watched me pour money into a series of slightly ridiculous cars, and just shrugs her shoulders. When I excitedly emailed her to tell her that more condensation out of one exhaust side is fairly normal on a 300ZX when cold, she replied "Why are you telling me this". She likes to drive it though... Russ.

I have a deep anti-authoritarian streak so I'm naturally predisposed to dislike ID cards. At least with a mobile or a credit card you can choose when to be anonymous. I'm also a libertarian hippie who thinks that the government cannot give you rights, they can only take them away. I see ID cards as a further erosion of my right to privacy. Still, I'm cursed with a pragmatic, defeatist streak which leaves me thinking "Ah well, we're almost completely rolled over already. Why not just sit back, watch "I'm a Celebrity, Help Me Sell my Property", and let the state do whatever they like". I found this on the web - a nice description of the difference between secrecy and privacy: http://www.tanous.co.uk/blog/stories/2004/03/28/privacyVSecrecy.html Russ.

That's a funny looking 300. Looks to me like it's got smoked sidelights like a UK model, but there's a Z badge on the bonnet, not the Nissan hamburger. Hmmmm! Anyway take a look at this page (humble thanks to AndyP) to find out more about the model series changes: http://www.300zx.org.uk/model_variations.htm

I have a grey UK TT manual. Best colour, in my (partisan) view! Cheers, Russ.

Phil - I had this problem too. my thread I bought some new nozzles from Mike Feeney (check out the Traders section) for about 15 quid the pair (new). They were fine for a while but soon blocked up again. The problem was finally sorted (not by me), by unblocking the nozzles with an airline, and *importantly*, flushing out the hose(s) and water container for the washer fluid. Apparently you can get a lot of build up crap in there, and it'll just get squirted back up there to block the new nozzles. I probably never needed to change my nozzles in the first place. Never mind. Hope this helps, Russ.

Cool, thanks Rich, now my mind is at rest. A slap on the wrist for me for not consulting the search pages before. Cheers, Russ.

Folks, When I start my TT from cold, on a coldish day, I've noticed that I get quite a lot more condensation coming out of the offside exhaust pipes than the nearside ones. The engine sounds fine and it seems to be as strong as ever. There's no significant blowing from the zorst. There's no blue smoke and the condensation fumes go away after a bit. Should I be worried? Any ideas what might be wrong? Let me know what you think, Russ.