DTA (UK)

Hi Trinster, I can't help with a lower priced battery but I wanted to make you aware that the batteries in the Zeds have the positive and negative terminals reversed when compared to a lot of batteries. Our battery cables are very tight and won't allow you to hook up a battery that either has the terminals on the wrong side or even on the other side of the battery. Have a look at your current battery - the negative terminal will be closest to the wing of the car and be nearer the fire wall. Most batteries will have the negative terminal closer to the car engine and away from the firewall Just my 2p worth but I hope it's usefull. Regards,

Hi all, I'm in the process of finalising a new AT oil cooler kit which will hopefully come in under the cost currently advertised by the likes of ZCentre, Z1, etc, etc. However, the only thing I need to know and can't check on my own car is what the internal diameter is of the AT oil lines. If anyone knows can you please let me know - many thanks.

No worries Nick - I've just e-mailed you with the query. Look forward to hearing from you in due course (I'm in no rush so don't worry if you can respond tonight/tomorrow). Cheers! Dan

Nick - Can we take this off-line for the time being ... Need to ask you a couple of questions regarding the installation (seem to be missing a file or two ...) Drop me an e-mail on smithys@dta-motorsport.co.uk and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks! Dan

Nick, Got the e-mail and am downloading now ... Many thanks! Dan PS - Best remove the e-mail addy in your above post to prevent unnecessary spam, etc.

Hi, Thanks for that but sorry to say that I haven't received an e-mail from you - can you possibly resend it please? Many thanks! Dan

Very nice and VERY tempting but lack of funds won't let me stretch as far as a complete system rebuild - how ever much I'd like to - but perhaps if I save some more pennies ...

Andy - I think the bottle neck lies with the security software I run on the PC (Kaspersky Internet Suite and Paredo XoftSpySE). These tend to be quite intrusive everytime you access a new file. I've tried to optimise them but things are still a little on the slow side from time to time - hence my initial thought of upping the processor speed. Rob - XP throwing its toys out of the pram is kind of what i'm worried about. I would need to do an awful lot of backing up before I'd attempt this so hopefully things will be ok after any "repairs" (if required). Thanks again guys! Dan

Thanks for that info! I was in two minds as to whether to upgrade the mobo as well. Will need to look into it some more. I'm not really in a rush to do it as everything works. Cheers mate - will await your e-mail re Pinnacle. Dan

Hi guys, This is one for the more IT minded amongst us. I've been thinking of upgrading the CPU in my PC as prices have generally come down quite a bit. At the moment I'm running an ASUS A8V Deluxe KT8K800PRO MOBO with an AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (single core/Socket 939) CPU. The PC is reasonably fast but not great at multi-tasking when I've got more than 5 apps open at the same time (despite having 4GB RAM installed). According to some research I've done (online) about this particular MOBO I should be able to install an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ S939 CPU. Now this is where I will need some help. Apart from backing everything up in the event the worst happens, how do I go about setting the BIOS to the new CPU settings? Is it as simple as getting an updated firmware and hoping for the best or is there a certain procedure to follow? Am I likely to encounter any running problems after the upgrade? Sorry for the questions but the only times I've installed CPU's is at the build stage with absolutely no software on the HDD's (ie, nothing to lose). Any and all feedback gratefully received! Dan

Doubt it has anything to do with spark plugs as they were fine before the cambelt change (that's not to say it's a bad idea to change them for a fresh set ...) It is more likely down to either a bad connection on the ECU water temperature sender (ie the yellow connector on the water pipes at the front of the engine) or even a break in one of the wiring harnesses (could be the from the water temp sensor or even a coilpack/injector if they were disturbed during the cam belt change). I suggest you have a look at the yellow water temp connector and make sure it is (a) not corroded on the inside and (b) seated correctly. HTH Dan

Yes, silver coated bulbs that flash amber are perfectly road legal and will not fail an MOT. As for the front indicators - this is something you are going to have to look into yourself as Nissan used bulb holders which were available to them at the time of production. You can't tell from the build year or even chassis number whether the bulbs used are 382 or 581's. If you need any help with sourcing the silver coated bulbs then let me know as I carry them in stock. HTH Dan

That's an extremely generous offer mate - thank you very much! I owe you some drinks if/when we next meet up. E-mail me the link please. Thanks! Dan

Thank you for the offer - what version is it please?

Thanks Mark! You beat me to it! Took some time to dig up this old thread ... Cheerio! Dan

Thanks chaps! Regards, Dan

Hi all, I have just sent a load of old home cine films (Super8, etc) away to be transferred onto DVD. I'm not having any fancy editing or "enhancing" done during the transfer as I'd like to have an original "copy" so to speak. However, I can see value in trying to tie together footage of a few reels onto one DVD, for which I will require DVD editing software. I haven't done this before so am now researching what my options are. The DVD file will be in the "VOB" format and should be editable with software. I've had one recommendation so far for Adobe Premier Elements 4 but looking at the various reviews on the net it seems to be riddled with bugs, etc. Also, it costs anywhere between £60~£80. I'm budgeting around £40~£50 for this exercise. Any recommendations you can pass my way are most welcome - especially if you can let me know how much ££ and where from as well! Many thanks! Dan

Ok - I have had a response from Stillen and after some negotiation I can offer the following price: Stillen Part No: 304700 - Adjustable Sway Bar Set Price: £230.00 The above price includes: - front/rear adjustable sway bars, sway bar bushes, drop-links - shipping to DTA-Motorsport address in the UK - import duty & VAT The above price is also based on shipping two sway bar kits in a box to reduce the shipping costs. If a set needs to be shipped (to the UK) on its own the above cost is increased by £50 per kit. So, in order to maximise our benefit we need to order these kits in twos (ie two full sway bar kits per order). The above price does NOT include shipping within the UK as this is going to be extortionately costly due to the size and weight. I will be picking these kits up myself from the shipping agent at the airport and am willing to (a) take these to say Japfest or ZO08 or (b) travel about 50 miles from our location in the midlands to meet up. If anyone would like to place an order please PM me or post in the DTA-Motorsport trade section where I have also posted this information. Regards, Dan

What brand pads did you use? As per a previous thread I replied to, brake performance is very much a function of disc and pad materials working well together. Some pads offer more friction than others and will therefore perform differently. Same story for disc materials - some are just better than others. As for the ABS - this is obviously related to brake performance. If your pad/disc combination isn't ideal then it'll never lock up the brakes and hence the ABS won't kick in. Alternatively, if you have a so-called "big brake" conversion done then this too will affect the way the ABS functions. Fresh brake fluid is always a good idea but if you say they were working well before changing the pads then I would start looking at the pads first. As said above, they will need to be bedded in before they function properly so give it some time and things may well improve. HTH

Si, First of all, AVO springs drop the car 30mm all round - I should know, I'm a reseller of AVO springs ... They are also 25% stiffer sprung than stock springs and are progressive just like Eibachs. Secondly, in my experience cars equipped with either AVO or Eibachs offer the best compromise between ride quality and performance. They are nowhere near as stiff as any TEIN or HKS springs I've experienced and generally provide a superb ride on our crappy British roads. Thirdly, I have a set of AVO springs in stock which are brand new and have never been fitted. RRP = £125 + p/p but I can let this set go for £100 + p/p. As they are quite heavy (and come in two boxes) postage will be around £20 via courier. I have AVO's fitted to my car with KYB-AGX adjustable struts - a perfect combination IMHO. I'm afraid I can't show you a pic as the car is off the road and currently has no wheels on (anti-theft measure ...;) LOL) HTH Dan

You do need to set the heater to max (ie 40C) as this will open the valves that let the coolant pass through the heater matrix (which is where most airlocks occur). I have always had success following this procedure: - park the car on an incline where the front of the car is HIGHER than the rear (or just jack up the front). - put heater on max (don't need to put the blowers to max though) - remove the rad cap and bleed screw and fill (via rad cap aperture) whilst engine is idling - keep filling until no more air bubbles apear at either the rad cap or bleed screw aperture. - put the bleed screw back in and then the rad cap - make sure the expansion tank has no more than 600ml coolant in it Job done! Keep checking the level of coolant for a few days and top up as/when required. If the level continually drops then start looking for coolant leaks.

Luke did come back from his holidays to a large amount of orders. If you placed your order between March 8th and March 24th then it is likely he is still trying to work his way through the back-log of orders. Best thing to do is to phone him and speak to him direct.

Hey Si, Depends on (a) where you get the car from - private/dealer, (b) where the car is located - near a port or in Idaho, and © how much of the work you're willing to do yourself. The easiest method is to buy from a dealer and have a export company do all the transport and paper work for you. They'll get the car transported to the port (which means you don't have to find short term insurance and tags - license plates) for the journey to the port) and also clear it once it is in the UK. This is obviously going to cost some money but there are plenty of companies out there who do this - so shop around. A Lambo customer of mine recently imported a new Corvette C6 Z06 from Texas. He went over there, sourced the car himself, drove it to the port (can't remember which one) and then flew back to the UK. On this side he had a company receive the car, do the paperwork, get it through the SVA and he had the car delivered to Edinburgh via enclosed transporter. If memory serves me the actual cost of the atlantic crossing was about £1100 for a 20-foot container. I'm not sure about what import duty/vat you need to pay on personal imports but it may be worth finding out the different rates they pay in Europe (ie Belgium, France or even Germany). Once a car has been taxed and registered in the EU it is very easy (and cheap) to export it to the UK. Not sure if any of the above is usefull information. I had a look at what it would cost to import a Z06 from the US and wasn't put off by the costs. It's only when it got to the UK that the costs shot up ... Bang goes that idea! Cheerio mate!

Definitely more white than blue. If you've seen a 6000K HID kit in operation it is identical in colour temp. See the attached pic for colour comparison between the HID kit ant Ultra Bright LED's. HTH

Be that as it may (that was their findings based on extreme use on track) I can confirm, as can many others, that the installation of the Stillen Anti-sway bars has GREATLY improved the handling characteristics of my TT. It has made the car corner significantly flatter; Because the bars are fully adjustable you can dial in as much or as little understeer as you want; And in my owm experience it has made the car far more controlable in oversteer situations. This seems to directly contradict the SPL statement but it is what I've found from personal experience. My car is set up to dial out as much understeer as possible and it has moved the point where the rear breaks out further up the scale. When it does break out it isn't sudden and the car is easier to reign in without causing it to snap and spin out of control. Of course this is also a function of the tyre condition as well as road condition and driver experience but in general the Stillen ARB's have greatly enhanced the car's performance.