Hairsy

Just wondering how that post translates across the Atlantic !

ALL THE ABOVE ON THIS THREAD AND THERE'S MORE ON OTHER THREADS ! Exactly how many times are you planning to ask the same question ? Aaaarrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhh !!!!!!!!

From my own experience and those of friends, NA chips on any car have only a small benefit. Certainly less than is claimed by the suppliers. Never known anyone have a custom mapped chip - that might be better if you've already got intake & exhaust and possibly some head work. Insurers hate chips whether it's turbo or not. You would probably find you're better off buying a UK turbo and keeping it standard. Dave

Nelson, I'm not sure if you're trying to get a rise out of me but it's not going to happen. Just for clarity though, this is what I was referring to : "Of course, if all of the Firemen were imigants they would get £40k pa. And they wouldnt even have to speak English." This statement is untrue and racist in my opinion and I find it offensive. If you disagree then so be it. No further discussion necessary - we can just disagree. Dave

You could try removing your breather kit but I've heard that's a bit dodgy ;)

What driving position do you use ?!?!

When you say "Too right", you're presumably referring to the political comment and not the blatant untruth, the blatant racism, or the spelling of the word 'immigrant' ! You've gone out of your way to state that you are not racist and your post could be mis-read. Dave

My suggestions of things to look into would be : Performance - boost upgrade or chip Handling - uprated shocks Brakes - Decent pads (I recommend the ones SE does - can't remember the make but someone will remember) All round fun - traction control Controversy - a skyline or , if you can't afford it, some 300zx.co.uk stickers ;) Dave

Anyone got any work they need doing that's quick & easy and worth £7K ?

I think you'll find that if the drivers door motor isn't working then none of the locks will operate. The alarm operates the drivers door and that then triggers the rest. Bob will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong. Dave

Yeah, fat bloke's doing a piece on my car on Top Gear this Sunday. He said it's more rewarding to drive than a Skyline and would p!ss all over a 300zx !

I'm not sure what the cost would be. If you call SE Nissan then Peter can probably give you a price. If you're not aware, there are mixed experiences in terms of customer service from SE. I suggest you do a search if you want more info. I had quite a few other mods at the time including exhaust, intake, de-catted, boost at 14 psi. Power was around 380 bhp at the wheels. Don't forget that every car is different due to maching tolerances at manufacture, how they've been looked after, etc. If you took two stock cars they would have different bhp figures. If you did the same mods to both, they would go up by different amounts. Best not to get too bogged down in formulas - as I said, find someone you trust and chat to them. Dave

No, this is a custom chip - the contents of your current chip are copied onto a laptop. The laptop is then plugged into your ECU while the car is on a rolling road. The laptop is used to update the chip values while the power and fuel mixture is monitored. The optimum values are found and then a degree of safety is incorporated by 'backing off' values. We then took the car on the road and a few values were changed slightly (a rolling road is not a precise similarity of reality, particularly in relation to intercooler effectiveness). Finally a new chip is programmed from the laptop and put in the ECU. Not a DIY job ! You can buy off the shelf chips which are cheaper and represent good value but they won't be optimum for your setup. Dave

Oh don't call me Sir - it'll go to my head ! I had the ECU reprogrammed to optimise fuelling and ignition timing. Basically a custom chip. Dave

You can't work out power from boost. In most Zs, 1.4 bar = 0 bhp as the engine has blown up. And when I had my ECU optimised, my bhp increased by ~50 without any change in boost. Decent exhaust & intake would give you in the order of 20 bhp. Don't expect more even if manufacturers tell you otherwise. You need to look at the full package of mods as they inter-react. If you don't feel experience then my advice would be to find someone who you trust and go and have a chat with them.

Quanity of fuel flow shouldn't really be an issue on 'domestic' fuel pumps for injection systems. The actual quantities of fuel are tiny in all cases. The important thing is that the pressure supplied needs to be in a range which the regulator can deal with i.e. above the pressure required by the injectors but not so high that the regulator explodes. The only other issue is the length & internal diameter of the fuel pipe from the pump to the regulator as long lengths and small diameters will be harder work. Sorry - just bored at work !

If you can, I'd suggest you go for a 9.5" instead of 10" rear with a 265 35 18. I had 10" with that tyre and there was no tyre overhang at all and it was SO easy to curb them. That and the fact that I'm a bit of a lazy / crappy parker. I'd certainly go for a 9.5" if I was doing it again. Dave P.S. I would go for a premium tyre. What's the point of getting loads of wheel and then putting crappy rubber on it. Quality AND quantity

I arrived at my wedding in a Micra !

Just one thing to say ... Septics !!!

Thanks everyone for the comments. Does anyone have any experience of the steering wheel feedback setups ? Do any of them feel anything close to realistix so that you can judge whether you're about to fall off the track because you're going too quickly ?

Whoops

Stops your fuel drying out ! :D I believe it's purpose is to smooth out the pulses which the fuel pump gives. The quantity of fuel delivered is calculated by the amount of time the injector is open and the quantity of fuel which the injector supplies per second. The fuel pump actually pumps in pulses and without the dampener, the amount of fuel delivered per injector opening would be unpredictable. Not sure I've explained that very well. Someone else could do better I'm sure. Dave

If I ever managed to convince Mrs Hairsy that a games console was a much better idea than a set of curtains, does anyone have any recommendations ? I'm not hugely into games although I'd love a realistic driving game. I'd want to be able to use a steering wheel - I know they come with 'feedback' but are they actually any good ? Do they give you a feel for the speed you're doing ? I'm fairly bad at games so wouldn't want something that involves hundreds of hours to master because the games are so complex. I'd welcome all suggestions. Cheers Dave

There's a couple of Fiat 126s with Rover V8s in them - seen them at Northweald. They'll slaughter a Z I expect. Oh, and I think they're autos !

I think it's a Kia Pride