EvoluZion3

While I was working on the speedo cluster last weekend I was giving the clocks a quick dust and accidentally moved the fuel gauge needle - the other three needles (i.e. temp, speed and revs) all drop down to rest but the fuel one seems static. I moved it back to where I thought it was before, but like a numpty I completely forgot to check when I started the car yesterday, so after work I filled it right up to the top with Shells' finest and the gauge appears to be reading ok (slightly above the 'F'). However my question is will the fuel gauge have re-sorted itself out when I started the engine or by moving it have I 'de-calibrated' it so it will now always be slightly under or over-reading?

wow - are you sure that's not BEFORE the crash!? :D

I did a few jobs around the dash area this morning. One of the chrome dial surround rings had fallen off, presumably due to the heat we've been having, so I had to dig all the way down to the cluster to reseat it (I managed to almost screw it in without using glue and surprisingly it's stuck in pretty solidly now). I also noticed that the stock temp gauge wouldn't rise past half way due to the heel of the needle brushing against its chrome surround so after a bit of very careful filing down (with a screwdriver) it now only just passes freely - although having said this I never use the stock gauge; I always refer to my aftermarket gauge. I swapped over the left-hand pod with a brand new one from ZCentre, because the two locating lugs which fix the hazard switch in place had broken in my old one and the hazard switch was a little loose and often wouldn't engage or disengage the hazards correctly. And finally I swapped in a carbon-fibre-look steering column surround.

Here's what Noel's sent through so far. Solid line appears to be RWHP before and after. I thought the dashed line would be torque but I can't match the line up to the numbers at the bottom. Max RWHP was 363.6

Just 360 degree thrust bearing mate.

Congrats. Shame about the weather :D

From the symptoms it sounds like an air leak - where is it on the pic?

That's what I initially thought Si but Noel's confirmed it's flywheel power. :/ Not as good as it would with 518bhp :D

Today I had my first chance at opening her up and seeing how she ran after the tune and I have to say that there is a noticeable improvement in how smoothly the engine runs and how much more evenly the power comes on. Beforehand, say in 3rd gear, when flooring it there'd be a bit of lag (not necessarily turbo lag), then the car would accellerate very well, then there'd be a brief flat spot, then accelleration again. Now the power feels more evenly spread and comes on earlier in the rev range, making it more driveable on the road. The car misfires less (if at all) and the strong smell of partially-burnt fuel has almost gone. Noel had told me she was running quite rich before the tune. I think the next things to look at are improving airflow to and from the engine [i wish I hadn't sold those AMSs now!]. Even though the BHP number is lower than I was hoping for, I had asked Noel not to push the maximum performance as I was looking for a bit of a trade-off with reliability too, so Noel has mapped for higher boost than the 18psi I am now running. Numbers aside, so far I am very pleased with the general improvement in actual performance on the road and I guess that's the main thing for a road car. Well done Noel :thumbup: My performance-related mods are here: 2990cc Engine rebuild Wiseco 87.5mm forged pistons Cometic head gasket DeatschWerks Highflow Pintleless 555cc injectors TurboNoz chip 360 degree ballbearing turbo rebuild AMS stage 4 3" Expansion split downpipes Labree 3" decats Labree 3" full exhaust system ApexI Powerflow intake GReddy Profec E-01 boost controller (running 18psi) JWT Flywheel Z1 Motorsport sidemount intercoolers Koyo radiator ApexI Super-AFC2 ApexI Twin-Chamber BOVs SGP lightweight underdrive crank pulley Manual cams Series 2 PTU NGK Spark plugs Plenum water bypass Hardpipe intake kit AIV removed EGR bypassed Hybrid T/T -> N/A Single-piece lightweight propshaft N/A R200 Differential RPS Organic Sport Clutch

I have K-Sport 8-pot front calipers with 330ml grooved discs - I don't really have the need to stand on the brakes much but they stop the car well enough and look good through the alloys.

I thought it about time that the Z's setup was brought up to date (seeing as some of the settings are years old now) so I took her to Noel's for a tuning. Before: 359.9bhp, 399.6lbft After: 418.1bhp, 453lbft A relatively measly figure compared to some of Noel's recent successes, but a decent improvement all the same. I'm waiting for him to send over pics from the session and the dyno charts. He identified that both o2 sensors are lazy, and carried out a bit of plumbing work to tidy up the engine bay a little more. Nice to meet you Noel, and I'm sure you'll make a good MEO! :thumbup:

My first aftermarket filter was a Bomz Racing one (probably similar to the ebay special one you're on about Noel :D ) but I've been running an Apexi for ages now and am quite happy with it, although I've not had anything else to compare.

Congratulations Noel. Don't start too soon though will you ;)

awesome!! looks like he has good taste in cars.

thanks for the input folks. there's a bit more to this story, although I don't know if it's linked or not. basically, since I had my N/A diff conversion last June, the speedo has been very intermittent in that it'll show the correct speed (albeit I've only just had the correct gearbox speed sensor put in) for a while, then dip down to zero, then back up again, as if someone's constantly unplugging and plugging in the power. over the past month or so this has been getting worse almost to the point where speed fails to register at all. also recently the power steering started getting lazy and would intermittently not assist the steering. and a fourth thing is that, very occasionally, when under boost, there'd be a slow, loud ticking from behind the speedo cluster. this only just recently started happening too. I know one of the possible causes of both speedo and p/s failing is the speed sensor failing, however my TT sensor is in good condition, and the problem remained when Jeff swapped in a good N/A sensor (the correct sensor for my N/A diff). I know it sounds like there's probably no link between the Engine Cont fuse, the speedo, the steering, and the loud ticking under boost, however over the weekend just gone I went out and spent an hour just staring around the engine bay and making sure everything was securely fastened, and I also removed the rear light panels in the boot and looked around there (I've got brake light/rear fog conversion and illuminated rear panel) to make sure the wiring was in good order. Other than fiddling around with wiring I didn't do anything specific, however over the past three days, the speedo is perfectly fine, the power steering hasn't disappeared, the ticking has stopped and the fuse hasn't blown!!! Going by recent performance at least two of those things would have happened by now. I'm sure this is just a coincidence and that the symptoms will manifest themselves again soon, but I wondered if some combination of these four symptoms would ring a bell with anyone. Jeff suggested I try swapping out the speedo cluster with a known good one in case there was something going on mine, but I wondered if anyone had experienced anything like this before I give that a try...?

Great to have you back FunkySi! :thumbup: (nobody mention their dump valves in public!!) :x: :x: :rofl:

Agree with the above - send a final message to him, being polite, saying you really want the items to be delivered and sadly you'll have no choice but to open a dispute in an attempt to get your money back if they don't turn up. Put in a specific deadline as well, say a few days from now, so you're being 100% transparent and fair.

it's probably so cheap because it's only a SOHC (apparently!) :D gorgeous motor.

Wow, stumbled over this thread while searching for something else. It was a knackered thermostat in the end. After it was replaced (in '09 I think) she now usually runs 75 - 82c. :)

welcome to the club matey

congratulations Mark - I'm sure I'll be meeting you in the future at some point. Oh, and Jeff said I get 60% off all work done :shifty::shifty::shifty:

Very sad news :( - my first of many invoices from ZedWorld was from 2004 and if it wasn't for their knowledge and ability to diagnose and repair faults then I quite simply wouldn't be a Z owner today; I would have given up long ago. It's great to hear that the company is still going - the new owners have a very high standard to maintain ;) All the best for the future Jeff!

welcome back Al! :)

it looks like cake

Thanks Joely! I did as you said and the fire started just to the rear of the engine bay near the fuel filter. I've narrowed the short down to seven smouldering wires. :rofl: