DTA (UK)

Hi Andy, I can help source the parts you're after. I (DTA-Motorsport UK) are the sole official reseller of Powertrix parts in the UK and we also supply all the Energy Suspension bushing kits. For suspension parts take a look at http://www.smithys-place.co.uk/susp.php - this is a company run by us as well. Regards, Dan

It's not a simple job if you've got coal shovels for hands but it isn't impossible. The stock airbox is held in place by 6 bolts. If you are ditching the air box in favour of a cone filter then you may as well use a hacksaw to get the box out ... makes getting to the bolts that much easier ;)

Making the crank pulley lighter and smaller reduces the drag on the crank thereby releasing a few more HP's. However, installing a so-called Under-Drive crank pulley will run the water pump slower which could be detrimental to engine cooling under extreme load (ie, track) conditions. To counter that you can purchase a so-called Over-Drive water pump pulley which will return the rotational speed of the water pump back to normal when used in conjunction with an under-drive crank pulley. If you're interested in purchasing any lightened pulleys please let me know as I sell the lot: Unorthodox lightened under-drive crank pulley H.I. overdrive water pump pulley Unorthodox lightened pulley set (4-pcs) Also sell STOCK sized but LIGHTENED crank pulley HTH Dan

Hi, Just wanted to let everyone who has offered advice know that the problem seems to have been resolved. As suggested, I cleared the CMOS by removing the battery overnight. Popped it back in this morning, was able to get into the BIOS to reset the boot sequence, etc, hit F10 to save & exit and apart from a random messages stating "new CPU installed" the PC started up without a problem. I've restarted it a number of times now and apart from it booting a little bit slower (the part before you get to the XP splash screen is significantly slower) everything seems fine. Have immediately backed up all vital data! ;) So, a BIG thank you to everyone who kindly offered their advise! Much appreciated. I am soooooo relieved that all my data is still intact! Will be looking for an automated backup/imaging solution now. I still don't know what caused the problem in the first place and it is making me nervous thinking it could go again at some point. Suppose it's like owning a 300ZX - you never quite know whether it will start up in the morning or what might go wrong with it during the trip ... ;) Will need to save more pennies to build a new PC me thinks. This system is now 5 years old so could do with an upgrade. Still, it's been working just fine up till now. Thanks again! Dan

ChrisC: Thanks for the feedback - I may give you a call if nothing else works ... There are no beeps to speak of. JeffTT: Thanks for the info! Hope you're enjoying your days off! SkylineDave: Thanks for the info! If a CMOS reset doesn't help then I'll try your method - seems very logical. By the way, your Eibachs arrived this afternoon, I'll try to get them out the door tomorrow but will let you know. Thanks guys - much appreciate your help! Dan

Superb suggestions chaps! Will give it all a try later and report back. In the event it is a corrupted HDD, are there any methods I can use to retrieve the data? Also, a few more questions whilst I'm here: 1. What is the difference between SATA and SATA-II? I'm assuming the latter is the newer version. Question is whether the newer drives are compatible with the old MoBo and connectors? 2. RAID: if I want to ensure against data loss on one HDD I think that a RAID setup is the way forward. Can you suggest which setup is best (in respect of speed and security)? 3. Does anyone have a cheaper source for an official version of Win XP-pro other than say ebuyer or overclockers? I'd like an official version with which I can use the auto update function. The version of XP I've had on the PC was aparently "bootlegged" by the company that installed it as it refuses to validate when trying to download official MS patches, etc. Many thanks for your feedback! Dan

You'll be fine with just one cone filter as there is no benefit to having twin filters until your modifications reach 550bhp+. At that stage you're advised to set up each bank of cylinders with its own airfilter & air flow meter - this in turn will require a custom engine management system. HTH Dan

Hi Anthony & Ste, I've already PM'd Ste about this but will put down the info here as well. The ConZult diagnostic software should run fine on Vista - this has been tested and passed. Unfortunately I have no access to my PC at the moment (see other thread in Non-Z related chat ref: PC crash) so can e-mail out any drivers, etc. Having said that, if you bought the equipment directly from me you will have received a large CDR with all the diagnostic software on it and also a small CDR that came with the USB-> Serial converter. The small CDR will contain the drivers for both XP and Vista. ConZult has been tested and is fully functional on Win98, ME, 2000, XP and Vista. Once I'm back up and running I will be able to help more. Apologies for the inconvenience. Regards, Dan

This problem has now been resolved! :) Thank you to all who offered their advise and assistance! :) Hi, My PC crashed in a big way first thing this morning (it must have wanted another day off this week). Symptoms are as follows: PC worked fine and shut down fine last night This morning I went to turn it on and the booting process stops pretty much directly after turning the PC on. The only thing that is displayed is the Asus (ie, motherboard) splash screen with the message "press DEL to run setup or TAB to view POST messages". Unfortunately the PC is unresponsive to (wired)keyboard inputs so I can't even get to the BIOS. The MoBo seems to get power as the LED is on. The HDD very briefly spins and then goes silent. I'm thinking either PSU/CPU or HDD problem. Configuration: ASUS MoBo, AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU, 2GB RAM, 2x SATA HDD, AGP Graphics card, etc. The system is about 5 years old but has run near enough flawlessly to date. If any PC guru might have an incling as to what might be causing this problem please give me a call on either 0845 4744-382 or if there is no answer there please phone me on my mobile 07876 684-354 (I may be out and about buying new PC parts). I will be able to use my wife's laptop to gain access to the forums but this will only be sporadic so a phone call would be much appreciated. Many thanks! dan

Right, to answer a few of your questions: Brake disc sizes: TT (all years): 280 x 30 mm NA ('89~'90): 280 x 26 mm NA ('91+): 280 x 30 mm (ie, same as TT discs) Calipers (all models): Front: 4-pot Rear: 2-pot * pre-'91+ NA calipers are specific to the 26mm discs Aluminium vs. Steel calipers: The calipers are identical in shape/size/function but the material was changed to promote heat dissipatation (sp?) The early style calipers were renowned to overheat and cause heat soak onto the disc which in turn warps them. Skyline (GT-R33) brake upgrade: This is probably the most common brake upgrade on the 300ZX. The disc used is 324 x 30 mm and the calipers are genuine Brembo items. To fit the kit you'll require caliper relocation brackets and it is also advisable to upgrade to stainless steel braided brake lines. If you are interested in upgrading to the Skyline kit then I can be of assistance to you. If you obtain the calipers then I can provide you with DBA discs, caliper relocation kit and fitting hardware and stainless steel braided lines. Cost wise you're looking at £296.00 for the discs, £80.00 for the caliper relocation kit and £25.00 for the brake lines (front only). I would also recommend you use either our Porterfield Carbon-Kevlar brake pads (£115.00) or Ferodo DS2500 pads (£128.00) I hope the above has answered some of your questions and not raise more! ;) If you want to discuss your requirements please feel free to contact me on 0845 4744-382 during office hours. All the best,

I can get any size in the Mikalor range of T-Bolts locally. Let me know exactly what you're after (best would be a list of outside diameters of what requires clamping) and I'll get you a decent quote. T-bolt clamps are excellent clamps BUT they are quite specific. By that I mean that the clamping range is only a few millimeters whereas jubilee clips often have a range of 20mm+ If you want to discuss your requirement by phone please give me a call on 0845 4744382 during office hours. Regards, Dan

That's right - they are always looking for improvements to the design! :) Last I checked Powertrix is also developing a new "Pro-competition" line of suspension parts. Should be even higher spec than their other parts!

Damien, Don't, whatever you do, take the car out for a "blast" as suggest above. You really don't want to be doing any damage by overloading the components. Could be a lazy/stuck valve, noisy hydraulic lifter or it could be one of the belts with bits coming off that are hitting other parts of the car. You really need to get it investigated by a specialist like Jeff @ ZedWorld. I wouldn't automatically assume you need to rebuild the engine - these engines can take a lot of abuse before going pop (and going pop is a lot less frequent than what you are lead to believe) ... If I were you I'd let the car warm up to normal operating temp (ie, half way mark on the stock dash gauge) and then try to locate where the tapping noise is coming from. Failing that take it to a specialist. Good luck.

Not the exact weight but having picked one up recently I estimate it to be around 60~70kgs ... In any case, they're bloody heavy! Nearly did my back in trying to move the blasted thing out of the garage ...

Smithy spent a lot of time and money researching and developing these hard pipe kits. It is not as easy as getting some pipes bent as you need to retain the diameter of the pipe. This means mandrel bending the pipes but that is a problem also because you can't mandrel bend the same pipe too close together (ie two bends within a certain length of pipe). If you do you'll split the pipe. Of course I'm talking about stainless steel here. Mild steel you'll need to cut and weld which will leave you with horrendous seams and potential for oxidation/rust. Also, two of the pipes are tapered, as in they're wider at one end than at the other. If I were you I'd not bother looking to manufacture these in various materials. We already do them in polished stainless, other manufacturers do them in aluminium (Injen) and mild steel (GReddy/HKS) and I also do them in full silicone. Trust me, there market is well and truly covered.

Baz, In the last picture, the red vacuum hose is incorrectly installed. It should go from the fuel pressure regulater to a vacuum distribution box (aka vacuum gallery) located to the side and below the car battery (close to the inner wing). I apologise I can't be more specific than that as I haven't got a car here to check/photograph for you. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to show you exactly where it goes to. Also, looks like you've got an adjustable fuel pressure regulator. FYI - stock fuel pressure should be 43.4psi. You can check this by plumbing in a fuel pressure gauge and adjust the pressure regulator (with the bolt). You are indeed missing the fuel hard pipes and their associated rubber hoses. I would suggest you either get the spares from a breaker on this forum or opt for the stainless steel braided hoses from us (http://www.smithys-place.co.uk/engenh.php) These will do away with the hard pipes. If you are replacing any of the fuel hoses with rubber fuel hoses please ensure you buy the hi-pressure fuel hoses as normal fuel hoses won't cope with the pressure (43.4psi). Good luck with finishing the install! Dan

Quite right Pete & Vijay - my bad! :headvswal I've not taken a door card off in a few years so forgot about the B-pillar bolt ... That will be the reason why the window needs to be down! If not all the way then just far enough to get to the B-pillar bolt. I stand corrected! :) Regards,

I'm not sure I follow you ... It is indeed possible to remove the door cards with the windows up - the two have nothing to do with each other. The door cards are held in place by a number of screws and various poppers around the edge. Undo all of those, pull the bottom of the door card away from the door and then pull upwards. When the card is off you can then disconnect the switches. HTH

I deal with KSport direct and can confirm that the quality of their equipment is superb. For the Z32 you can get the following fitments: Front: 330mm/8-pot 356mm/8-pot Rear: 330mm/6-pot Kits include: calipers discs caliper mounting brackets & fitting hardware KSport brake pads You can upgrade the brake pads to Ferodo items at an additional cost. For more information please take a look at http://www.smithys-place.co.uk/brakes.php I would be more than happy to provide you with a quote. These kits seem to be quite popular at the moment - have sold three sets in the past month! Regards,

or http://www.interparcel.com Not always the cheapest but you do get quite a few options to choose from. HTH Dan

K-Sport and D2 are NOT the same company. However, they are made in the same factory hence the similarity. It seems that the general concensus is that the K-Sport equipment is of superior quality and I personally have never heard any negative reports about them. The D2 equipment - fairly new to the UK market - seems to be aimed at the more "universal" fitment market. At least with the K-Sport equipment you have the assurance that the calipers have been developed around actual BMC performance parameter (so the Nissan kit is not suitable for fitment on a Merc for example). Should you wish to go down the K-Sport route then let me know as I can currently get some very decent prices on their 356mm/8-pot and 330mm/6-pot kits. Regards,

Romaine - FYI: HKS discontinued the ALC-2 more that two years ago. These units are now impossible to obtain direct from HKS and anyone still showing them on their website will definitely be old stock. The only time the ALC function is noticeable is under WOT (Wide Open Throttle) where the shifts appear to be quicker by means of keeping the line pressure up (stock automatic ECU will drop the line pressure at the point of shifting to make it smoother). This increase in line pressure has "allegedly" caused a number of auto boxes to fail prematurely. This can not be substantiated but the ALC would seem the likely cause. I used to have one on my TT but took it off because (a) the shifts were quite abrupt and (b) the ALC affected the overrun as well which was annoying. Removed it after about 6 months and never looked back. HTH Dan

That's what a water spray system is for. The evaporating water droplets cool the fins of the IC more than just passing air could do thereby dropping the charge temperature further ... (and breathe ... ;))

And just to add to Jeff's info above, another MAJOR factor in IC efficiency is charge temperature. You can have an IC with a high flow rate but little surface area (ie, area of all the fins added together) and the result will be a very inefficient IC. The trick is to find an IC which produces the biggest charge temperature drop (you want the air that enters the engine to be as dense - ie, cold - as possible to aid in the combustion cycle). Generally, these IC's will have a high flow rate as well but remember that it is always going to be a trade-off. The bigger the pipe work/flow rate, the more likely you're going to experience turbo lag. Jeff is indeed correct when stating that manufacturers quote their IC figures based on ideal situations (ie, rolling road, perfect temp conditions). These figures generally do not hold up in real-life driving situations although the better the rolling road figures the more likely it is that the IC will fare well on the road. My 2p worth ;)

NO! Not those wires as these are the ones that plug onto the ballast. The one you need to earth is (usually) the black wire with the flat spade connector on it. This will come from the ballast (big grey plug) and end with a red & black wire with spade connectors on it. Plug the red one into the wiring loom connector (ie, little grey box) and earth the black one to the chassis. HTH Dan