rory

If your air con is on then the idle will increase to 950 rpm. Switching the rear-window demister on has an effect too, if I remember correctly! Did you check this?

OK, I have a question this time: Why do intercoolers cost so much more than raditators / oil coolers? Are they fundamentally so different so as to justify being so much more? Just one of the many random things running through my head this afternoon. :confused:

Where did you buy that bodykit? I want one! :hyper:

Since I have the afternoon here at work with nothing to do, I'll attempt to explain this according to my understanding. First to clear a few misunderstandings: The revs shouldn't rise (significantly) until after the gearbox has kicked down. If this is happening you probably have a gearbox problem, or are maybe misunderstanding what is happening. The revs will rise because you are in a lower gear than you were previously, the same occurs of course when you change down a gear (or two!) in a manual. You are right in that in a manual you down shift first then accelerate whereas as auto can't read your mind and will only down shift once you've pressed the accelerator. However, a healthy auto should be able to change gear much quicker than the turbos would take to spool. Therefore i would suggest that there is more apparent lag on an automatic because you are waiting first for the gearbox to respond to the throttle input, and then for the turbos to spool before you really start accelerating. A good manual driver will already be in gear so will only have to wait for the turbos. However, if the manual driver is not fully on the ball, then the opposite can be true. An automatic will change gear much quicker than any driver could so if the manual driver also had to allow time to change because he wasn't already in the best gear, then overall, the automatic would be ready to go in less time. To add confusion however, the automatic cars have smaller turbos that have less lag than the manual cars so not only does the manual lose boost when changing gear, it also takes longer to build it back up. Also, the automatics accelerate quicker to 60 mph for various reasons. The easiest to understand is that the automatics although having less power, and more transmission loss, have more under curve area for torque. Secondly, the automatic cars don't lose boost between gearshifts and can also shift more quickly. And finally, and most difficult to understand is that the torque converter acts as a 'slipping clutch' at lower rpms. This allows the engine to spin faster than it really should for the given gear ratio. The higher the engine speed the more power there is and therefore more acceleration. That is why automatic gearboxes typically have fewer gears than a manual. Of course you can achieve the same with a manual car by slipping the clutch, but you will cause damage. Overall, I would suggest that the manual cars have much better 'in-gear' acceleration but lose out when measured 'through the gears'. If you see what i mean! The internal mechanics of automatic and manual gearboxes is very different, and very difficult to explain. Have a look here and search on gearbox for a graphical demonstration of the two: http://www.howstuffworks.com/ Hope this helps a little!

They are stock, aren't they? :confused:

Should also be 'startable' in N so you don't have to come to a complete stop before restarting.

If you're looking to save weight I believe the stock aluminium one is the lightest!

I need to do this soon too. Is it legal to use the same switch as the front fog lights? Ie. so that when you press the switch, front and rear fogs all come on? I never use the front fogs unless it's foggy! I don't want to have an ugly switch and 'tell-tale' on my dashboard.

I think that link is about sychronising the fuel injection systems rather than the gearbox.

My J-spec reads from -7 to +7 in units of x100 mmHg, also known as "torr" There's a pressure conversion chart here: http://xtronics.com/reference/convert.htm 7 x100 mmHg = 13.538 psi Class dismissed :dance:

Hi. Thanks for your input. I fitted the filter to my car last night and can report back that the installation is easy and the supplied support brackets hold everything firmly in place. I disconnected the battery during installation to reset the ECU. After re-starting the car instantly settled to a normal, smooth idle, so I have no concerns there. As for the running lean, I'm still not convinced that there is really no issue. But, I'd now agree with you that the risk is relatively low and one that is acceptable for most people with everyday usage patterns. If anyone ever gets the chance to experiment a bit on a rolling road, maybe with different makes of filter, and with positioning tape on the cone to adjust how the air flows over the MAF then I'd be very interested to see the results. It'd also be interesting to see how the A/F ratio changes once the ECU has been given a week or two to fine tune itself. I appreciate the fact that in the link I posted the car's tuners fitted the filter and then took the A/F readings without giving the car any time to find its feet (wheels). Anway, enough, this thread's gone on long enough so I'll shut up now. :x: Thanks a lot to everyone who's contributed or followed.

In the series one system the computer also has four fan speeds available to choose between. It's just that the only manual options are high (full speed) and low (slowest speed). If you want a write up on how to 'upgrade' the series one controller to a series two then see the link below: http//www14.synapse.ne.jp The page is really in Japanese but it's been put through an automatic translation site, so applogies about the dodgy English. It should be clear enough though.

Or when it's really hot! It's 37 C here today and when you press the auto button the fans come on full. The air con is very powerful when it's working propely; mine can bring the temperatures down to about 24 C in about 2 minutes. This car was designed for Japanese summers remember!

The eco-mode button switches off the compressor for the air-con to save fuel, so the air will never get any cooler than it is outside. When you press it at idle you'll notice the engine speed drop because it no longer has to turn the compressor.

Try the auto-box diagnostics. That should tell you if you're having ECU or sensor problems. If it reports back OK then your problem is most likely mechanical. http://www.twinturbo.net/ttnettech/autodiag/autodiag.html

I bought the filter this morning and had a look at the instruction manual. I scanned the page that gives details of the recommended settings for the AFC. Here's the link: http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/misc/Apexi6-AFCPage.gif At 4000 rpm, full throttle it requires a 14 percent fuelling increase :eek: That's more than just slightly lean without it. Here's the complete manual if anyone's interested: Apexi1-Frontpage.gif Apexi2-Parts.gif Apexi3-Airboxremoval.gif Apexi4-Install.gif Apexi5-replacementfilters.gif Apexi6-AFCPage.gif Apexi7-Contactdetails.gif

Hi. Sorry for the delay getting back. As always, Im very happy to answer any questions about Japan, just please start a new thread otherwise everything gets too confusing for everyone involved. Cheers! Rory

and I expect that is when the service was due, not when it was completed - that's how is works with my garage here in Japan, they put a sticker on to remind me when next to service it. Turbo's should be inaudable, except perhaps for the sound of 'whooshing' air when boosting. Any mechanical noises are bad.

Currently at heisei-16 so that's three years ago!

One of the reasons I started this thread is that in the back of my mind I remembered seeing a webpage of a performance tuner who had recently 'done' a 300ZX. I remember them finding this running lean problem after installing the A'pexi. I thought I'd lost the link to the page but I've just found it again. If you're sceptical please have a look: http://www.importtuner.com/tech/0403it_300zx/ Also, whilst trying to find it again I also stumbled across this link that does a very good test of quality of filtration and power increase for the following filters: A'pexi HKS Blitz K&N It's very interesting! Anyway, thank you everyone for your help and advice with this post.

That's fine as long as it's a J-spec car ;) But even if that's the case, the Z-Centre's upgrade seems quite a modest one. It only brings the J-spec car up to the UK car level of cooling. Does this upgrade provide enough cooling to really protect the auto box from overheating? What other options have people found?

I also just realised I'm spelling A'pexi wrong - me stupid. :o

I'm going to post the same question onto http://www.twinturbo.net I'll put the thread into the technical forum with a similar title so anyone interested can follow the story. I guess there are more people out there with access to Air / Fuel meters.

I've also found the recommendation in English here: http://www.takakaira.com/

Hi. Thanks for your input. Yes, you're right. I'd only looked at the filter for the Z, looking at the other cars' fitments I'd agree with you. However, it doesn't detract from the fact that there is something specific about these Nissans which, according to Apex'i requires the use of the AFC. Maybe something to do with the design of the MAF, or possible just that during testing Apex'i found these cars to have problems with mixture. It'd be interesting to know what exactly, but I doubt we ever will! It's also interesting that on the US Apex'i website there is no such recommendation. It's exclusive to the Japanese site. I'm cetainly not trying to give these products a bad name, the reason I'm started this tread is that I'm not prepared to accept any of the other brands (that don't require AFCs). Apex'i make the best filters and I want one, but, I also love my car more than I love the power. If you know what I mean. Cheers!