DTA (UK)

I had a (genuine) F355 spider back in the early 00's when living in Marbella. Biggest mistake of my life to sell that car when I left :headvswal. Used it daily and never really had a problem with it. It's a bit nervewracking to leave it parked in a carpark or on the street but you soon learn to cope. Running costs were on a par with a (then) £100k car but as it had just had a major service before I bought it I didn't have any major costs other than one set of rear tires and Tubi exhaust (it had to be done ...) It had been my plan to get back into one this year but as business hasn't been what it should have been that plan is now shelved for another year. Don't whatever you do buy a modded MR2 Ferrari - you'll be kidding yourself with something that vaguely resembles the real deal but sounds and drives like a Nova. Stick with the 300.

Hi Dan, Thanks for the payment - all received. Your bulbs have been packaged and will be sent out this afternoon. FYI - you were sold 9006 bulbs which is what US-spec Zeds have! Regards, Dan

That's excellent! Many happy miles! Regards, Dan

The bulbs are £25 each so £50 plus £5.85 postage (via Special Delivery). Payment can be made via paypal (paypal@dta-motorsport.co.uk) or if you prefer I can also take credit/debit card payments over the phone (call me on 0845 4744382). Before you make payment - take a look at the attached picture and make sure that the connectors on your bulbs match the "universal" connectors on the left in the picture. Regards, Dan

Sure - I normally only stock 6000K bulbs but can get 5000K and 8000K bulbs by special request. The latter is really too blue/purple to be effective and I certainly wouldn't go to 10,000K or even 12,000K (as advertised frequently on eBay). Heres a handy rule: 6000K is the equivalent of daylight (ie, brilliant white with a hint of blue), it also produces the highest lumens (ie, light projected onto the street). If you go any higher you are increasing the colour temperature but decreasing the lumens. So, the ideal compromise is 6000K bulbs. Anything over that attracts unwanted attention from the boys in blue and VOSA at MOT time (IMHO).

The main reason why the expansion tank leaks is because it is made up of two parts (the tank and a filler neck) which are only loosly slotted into each other. If the coolant level in the expansion tank gets too high it usually leaks past the joint where the tank meets the filler neck. If your radiator is filled up and the engine is cold there should be about 600ml of coolant in the expansion tank. Any more and you're likely to see it leaking out once the engine is hot at the end of a run. Any less and you could potentially end up with an airlock in the system as the radiator tries to suck up more coolant into the system and only gets air. HTH Dan

Thought I ought to chime in here [as the official UK Powertrix reseller]. I've watched this thread develop from "I need some help adjusting my tension rods" to "don't buy Powertrix parts because they're crap" ... (ok, perhaps not in so many words but still ...) I would like to ensure EVERYONE who reads this now and in the future that Powertrix parts are 100% top quality parts. Each and every part has been individually designed, engineered and tested to breaking point. Out of litterally thousands of parts sold (both in the US and world wide) the incidences of parts breaking or not fitting can be counted on one hand. It is very unfortunate that Silverbullet had the experience he did; However, that is only one incident out of thousands and in my opinion it is not right to keep bringing it up as being indicative of poor quality or craftmanship throughout the range of Powertrix products. The reason they are more affordable is because (a) they are manufactured and purchased in bulk and (b) Powertrix operates a very comptitive pricing strategy. Price, in this case, is not indicative of quality (or lack there of). By comparison, I have been selling HID kits for over two and a half years. During that period I have had to replace about a dozen sets of bulbs and/or ballasts. This represents about a 1.5% defective rate. Does that mean our kits are of poor quality? Certainly not. I conceed that you can't compare the effect of a broken HID kit to a broken suspension part but the principle behind it is the same. I therefore want to ensure all existing and future Powertrix customers that the products are absolutely safe to use, of impecable quality and superb craftmanship ( ... hows that for a lesson in superlatives ... ;)) Since taking over Smithy's Place a year and a half ago I have sold dozens of Powertix parts and not a single one has been defective or unfit for purpose. If ever there is a problem I would ensure that it is dealt with efficiently and effectively and that the customer is happy with the outcome. If anyone has any concerns about the Powertrix parts please feel free to get in touch with me either via e-mail, phone or pm. All the best, Dan

Yes, the problem is that the grounding the headlight housing does nothing for HID bulbs which tend to have plastic bulb holders (for lack of a better word). You'll find that if you earth one of the spade connectors coming off the bulb you'll solve your problem. I can't remember whether it is the red or black wire - these seem to be interchangeable amongst different bulb manufacturers ... Try one and if that doesn't work try earthing the other. Don't worry if you earth the wrong one first - the bulb just won't light up. HTH Dan

Ok - first of all do a search for "HID" & "main beam" and enough threads will come up with relevant information. But in the interest of keeping this thread factual let me try to explain what I meant. If you install HIDs in the dip-beams and you either wish to "flash" someone or switch to your main-beams then the way the solenoid works is that it turns the HID's off and the main-beams on. This is not too bad if you then drive with the main-beams on for some time before switching back to dip-beam. However, if you flash someone then it will turn the HID's off and on again within the space of a few seconds (at most). This switching on and of is detrimental to the lifespan of HID bulbs (not to mention the ballasts who need to provide massive voltage changes in a matter of seconds). There are a couple of solutions to this problem: (1) The easy solution: earth one of the HID bulbs to the chassis (the solenoid uses the earth to switch the mains on/of). This will ensure that when flashing or switching to main-beam the HID's remain on. (2) The more sophisticated solution: rewire the main-beam solenoid in the main fuse box in the engine bay. It would take a long time to explain how this is done but if you do a search for it you will find several references to it. I have run the HID's in my car using the first solution and have not had any problems in well over 2.5 years of having it that way. Ideally I'd like to rework it using the second solution but then my "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality kicks in ;) LOL. I hope the above is clear - if not please let me know and I'll give the explanation another go! Regards, Dan

Dannyzx - yes you can. I've got plenty of H3 HID bulbs (6000K) in stock if you need a pair. CK300Z - should've asked me mate - I stock H3C bulbs! Mooch - By the sound of it your current bulbs are H3C (you must have a Fairlady imported from Japan - right?) If you're installing a HID kit I would recommend you only install it in the dip-beam location (ie, the projector lens, not reflector which are your main-beam/brights). You are right about the turn-on time - it is approximately 2 seconds depending on the kit you buy. What I suggest you do is install a H3 HID kit in the dip-beam and upgrade your main-beam to one of our Xtreme White H1/55W bulbs (I also do a 100W variant if required). Then earth one of your HID bulbs to the chassis which will allow the HID bulbs to remain on when you use the main-beams/brights to flash. In all likelyhood you won't need to use your brights after installing the HID kit. I would be happy to provide you with a complete quote including shipping to South Africa. However, due to previous experiences of shipping to RSA I would only use DHL or UPS to guarantee you actually receive the goods! I hope the above makes sense. Look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Dan

No need - here I am! ;) What I would need to know is what the outside diameter is of the top radiator outlet. Is it a Koyo or Howe per chance? I would normally recommend our hard pipe kit which replaces the rubber radiator hoses with shiny stainless steel ones (with silicone couplers at either end - available in red/blue/black/yellow). As yours is an after market radiator I would need to see if that still fits. Alternatively I can do you a full silicone hose kit but again, if the water outlets are of a different size compared to stock I'd need to look into it. Cost wise you're looking at: Stainless Steel top hose only: £60.00 Stainless Steel top & lower hose kit: £140.00 Silicone top hose: £35.00 Silicone top and lower hose kit: £99.00 I don't have any full silicone kits in stock and would need to get them ordered in (can take upto 4 weeks). I would recommend you stay away from ordering any silicone parts off ebay as most of that comes from China and isn't true silicone so won't last very long. All our silicone parts are a minimum of 4-ply with 1-ply liners so very robust and won't collaps in under pressure. Incidentally, we also do stainless steel and full silicone boost pipes to match! ;) If you want to discuss this further you can call me on 0845 4744-382 or drop me a PM. Regards, Dan

Happy Birthday Isaac! I'll be drinking something strong to your health later today - suggest you do the same! ;) All the best mate, Dan

Sorry Spin Doctor - I haven't checked this thread for a few days so missed your earlier question. The only way you can check whether you've got an aftermarket chip is to open up the ECU and physically see if it is a stock Nissan chip (which is soldered into the main PCB) or an aftermarket chip (which will be in some sort of a socket). You may get lucky and if it is an aftermarket chip it'll actually say who it is by - however, experience tells me the majority don't put lables on their chips so it could therefore be anyones. We can supply you one of our performance chips (and also provide the ECU socketing service if required). Our chips are custom made to your exact specification based on what modifications you've made to the car. Prices are: DTA Performance Chip only: £65.00 + £5.28 postage (insured, next day) Socketing Service: £38.00 (includes return postage - 4 day turnaround) DTA Performance ECU: £280.00 (includes ECU and pre-mounted chip - on exchange basis, refundable core of £130 required) With regard to traction control - there are a number of options: RLTC6A: traction control with analogue controller = £628.62 RLTC6AL: as above but with Launch Control = £699.12 ** manual cars only ** RLTC6DIA: as RLTC6AL with digital controller = £816.62 The above prices are EXCLUSIVE of fitting charges. We strongly recommend you get the system installed professionally. On average it takes upto 5~6 hours to do the job. HTH Dan

It's not about shortening the physical gear change (ie, time it takes to throw it from one gear to the next), upgrading to 4.1 Leader gears in your diff changes the point at which the gearbox needs to change gears. Generally speaking, torque (ie pulling power) levels off the higher in the rev range you are. If you change gears at say 6500 rpm verses 6700 rpm then you'll have more torque available more quickly (if you catch my drift). If you are not into tracking your car or doing a lot of drag racing then perhaps Leader gears is not for you. If you wish your car to be more responsive to accelleration then by all means upgrade. Traction control can be added regardless of what diff gears you're running as it modulates the injector pulses and not the drive train. Incidentally, you may require a different chip in the ECU to make the most of the changes that the Leader gears make. On a side note, we [DTA-Motorsport (UK)] are resellers of Leader Gears as well as official distributors of RaceLogic traction control systems. ;) HTH Dan

Yes, Lymon (DTA-Motorsport in The Netherlands) have just taken delivery of what appears to be the only genuine 99-spec, race prepared Z32 in Europe. Haven't seen the pics yet myself but it is apparently a beautiful car in a gorgeous white colour (not pearl white). Don't know if he's selling or not but if you require more information please get in touch with me. If indeed he is selling then the car should be able to be imported into the UK next year (10-year rule).

Awwww ... thanks guys but stop it please ... you're making me blush! ;) All the best, Dan

Thanks Stu! It's a pleasure as always. Look forward to being of assistance to you again in the future. All the best, Dan

Fantastique!!! :):) Thanks for posting - made my otherwise dreary day a bit lighter! ;) Regards, Dan

Rubbish! If you want 500bhp, money no object go and get yourself a Gallardo. Much more fun than a 300 will every be and much more reliable at that kind of bhp as well. If you want a 500bhp GT then buy a BMW M6. Sorry for the sarcastic post but trying to get a Z up to 500bhp reliably will cost so much money you'll never see it back. Remember, these cars are all nearly 17 years old. If you put say £12k worth of parts and labour into it and three weeks down the road some chav rear-ends the car it'll be written off. Most you'll get from the insurance is market value (which currently hovers around £1.8k ~£2.8k for a decent Z) or agreed value if you bother to go down that route. I'll get my coat now ...

These cars (both in Italy and the UK) are used for promotional purposes only. The graphics are wraps and can be removed at any time. Having said that, back in the eighties the Dutch highway patrol used Porsche 911's on the motorways and I'm also aware of the German Polizei using porsches and even a couple of Ferrari's at the moment. Those were not for promotional purposes.

Steve, I've got the contact details of Europe's best AEM tuner. He travels around and does work in the UK. I'll sms you his details later. Regards, Dan PS - am really glad to hear you got the last few bits sorted. Best of luck with getting it all together and run in.

Yes, fuel line is under pressure so (a) remove the fuel pump relay (small fuse box in the engine just in front of the brake booster on driver side - it's the one closest to the engine), (b) release excess pressure in the fuel tank by undoing the petrol cap, © use plenty of kitchen towel or other type of rag underneath the fuel line you are undoing, (d) reasemble in reverse order and don't forget to plug the fuel pump relay back in and close the petrol cap! Job done! Although Powertrix lists their Carbing "style" strut braces on their site they aren't actually available yet. I believe they are about a month or so away from general release. I will be ordering a number of these as we are their UK authorised reseller. HTH Dan PS - your ECU turned up today, am now just awaiting delivery of the chip (which is also confirmed en-route) ;)

PRF6B-11C : TT stock - no modifications PRF6B-11B: TT with modifications There is no harm in running the -11B variant on a stock TT. This plug type has a slightly longer shroud which helps to prevent detonation at high engine loads. If anyone is interested, I've got one last set of -11B's left in stock @ £55.00. More are on order but these are very difficult to get in the UK. HTH Dan

Yep, my car is sorn'd at the moment and insured on a "laid up" policy. Only cost me about £80 for the year. HTH Dan

Paul, Your carbing strut brace looks to be the genuine article. It is only in the last two years that they started putting plaques and laser etchings on them. Before then they used stickers like the one on your brace. As for fitting it - don't worry about undoing the strut nuts, nothing will drop out of fall off. You may want to disconnect the fuel line at the filter to thread the line through the brace bracket for a neat finish (also better as if you leave it running over the top it can chaff and cause damage leading to a potential fuel leak). Cutting the throttle cable cover can be tricky. Best way to do this is to mark the area that requires cutting and then cut it using a rotary tool. Of course I sell carbon fibre throttle covers which already have the appropriate cutout! ;) HTH Dan