DTA (UK)

Hi Lee, Splitfires are NOTORIOUSLY difficult to get hold of despite being listed on quite a few websites. I tend to order them every once in a while and always have to wait at least 6~8 weeks before they are delivered. They are only manufactured to order and in extremely small quantities. As for RHDJapan - haven't dealt with them so can't comment on their customer service. Cheers! Dan

As I regularly import S2 PTU's for one of my resellers I will be more than happy to sort this for you. Price for 1-5 units: £140 Price for 6-10 units: £135 Postage will be £5.85 via Royal Mail Special Delivery FYI: RRP on these is normally in the region of £150~£160 plus postage. As has been said in a previous post - GB's have a tendency not to go to completion because people pull out for all sorts of reasons at the last minute. Therefore, it is now my policy to require a 25% non-refundable deposit paid up front when you register your interest. This can be paid via paypal (easiest) or credit/debit card. Until this deposit has been received your name will not appear on the list. The remainder needs to be paid on or before the end date of the GB. This is the only way to ensure that everybody has an equal chance of participating in a GB. If you pull out you loose your deposit but the GB continues. Let me know if you want me to start a new GB thread in the Group Buy section. Cheers! Dan

My parents live in Dubai and I have visited many times in the past (both pleasure and business (pre-DTAMotorsport days). Dubai is one of the most liberal islamic countries in the region and you'll not find a single incedent of "hatred" towards westeners. Don't openly drink alcohol (which is only available in hotels) and be respectful of their traditions and you'll be fine. My wife and I love it so much out there that we're seriously thinking of moving out there in the not-too-distant future. End of May will be very hot - expect daytime temps of around 45C and evening temps in the high 30C's. Not too humid yet, though - that comes later in June/July/August. Enjoy your time there - I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Hi Steve, How's life? If you are going to locate an indicator bulb inside the headlight housing make sure you use and ULTRA BRIGHT orange LED bulb. If you don't, you won't be able to see it blink when the headlights (ie dip beams) are on. I can get LED bulbs (501 fitment like the side repeaters on the front wing) rated at 1W which is currently the brightest you can go. Let me know when you're in a position to sort out the first payment for your order and I'll get the ball rolling. Best wishes for 2008! Dan

LOL! :) Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm not really worried, more wondering what can be done to contest these things. Rich666 - glad you got the HIDs mate, drive safely! Happy Christmas everyone! Dan

Yes, I know ... this has been covered umpteen times before but this is slightly different (isn't it always ... LOL) I was driving through Solihull this morning (on Monkspath Road to be precise) which is littered with Gatsos. I was approaching a Gatso (ie it was facing me) and as I passed it the bloody thing flashed twice! Now, this particular Gatso is used for traffic going in the opposite direction to which I was travelling. There was no car in front of me, none behind me and none going the opposite way so it was not flashing anyone else. I've done some googling and found that Gatsos are only used to photograph the REAR of vehicles. Truvelo cams are used to photograph the FRONT with an infra red flash so as not to blind the driver. In this instance it was DEFINITELY a Gatso camera (yellow box on a pole with two rectangular apertures at the front). My guess is the Gatso in question was malfunctioning and triggered in error (either that or a very fast bird crossed through the radar beam ;) ) However, should this not be the case, how do I go about contesting the penalty? I mean, it flashed in my face, thereby obviously blinding me and I was going in the opposite direction. Can I request a "calibration" report and contest on that? I'm not too worried as I don't think anything will come of it so will wait the next 14 days with bated breath and take it from there. BTW - I was doing 35 in a 30mph zone, slowing down for a Gatso on MY side of the road! Cheerio! Dan

Hi Kesh, I've got the spark plugs in stock. If ordered and paid for today can probably still get it to you before Xmas but more likely just after (ie Thursday 27th). You won't find these anywhere else in the UK - to the best of my knowledge). £55 + £5 (special delivery) = £60 (delivered) incl. Paypal fee (3%) = £61.80 (send payment to payments@dta-motorsport.co.uk) Phone me on 07044 016586 for payment via credit/debit card Cheers! Dan

Sure Andy - will do when I get back to the office later this afternoon. Cheers! Dan

Very good points. As a point in case, I have run DTA-Motorsport for three years now and Smithy's Place for the past 6 months. On both counts I face competition from US suppliers, eBay cowboys and UK-based businesses. The squeeze on profits (and hence my ability to draw an income and support a mortgage, family and put food on the table) has come to such a point that on most items I am close to taking a loss. This can not continue and at various points throughout the past three years I have come extremely close to shutting the business down and doing something else. I can't condone competition, it is how a free market economy works; I can't compete with US suppliers as their "wholesale" costs are a lot less than over here; I can't (and won't) compete with eBay. So at the end of the day I need to shift a very large volume of products in order to make a little money to live off. Given the fact that the UK market is in fact very small and consists mainly of young buyers who generally do not have the financial resources to pay UK prices (no offense intended to any one out there reading this), I have to spend a lot of time, effort and money to try and sell a few parts. I try to remain as competitive as I possibly can whilst still maintaining a balance on profit (all businesses want to make a profit) but it is becoming increasingly difficult to do this. If Z1 come onboard as a trader - which is their right and I do not have a problem with that - then it is very likely that I will not be able to continue running my businesses beyond the next few months. Yes, I provide good customer service, I am a UK-based company so you have a "local" point of contact, and I provide warranties on ALL our products which is often not the case when buying direct from the US, Asia or eBay. But all that comes at a price, which invariably has to be built into the price of our products. And this makes a UK-based company more expensive to buy from than direct from the US (for example). I apologise for going on a bit and sounding as if I'm feeling sorry for myself. This is not the case. I really enjoy running the two businesses, I'm a Z32 enthusiast at heart but business is business. I simply can not compete with US suppliers on price but I can compete with quality of service and speed of delivery. And I sincerely hope that this is what keeps UK customers buying from UK companies. Rant over ... :( Dan

Expensive? Try getting this kit from your Nissan dealer here in the UK, or from a dealer in Europe and then see which is more expensive. You MUST add shipping cost to any Z1 quoted price, on top of that add 22% import duty & vat and around £15~£20 handling fee for the agent (usually DHL or FedEx). At the moment practically EVERY consignment entering the country is charged by Customs & Excise so don't think "I might get lucky". You may but it is far more likely that you may not.

Good luck with trying to get in touch with Goodridge and getting them to sort this out in a reasonable time frame. I know for a fact that they are extremely under staffed at the moment (there is even talk of the company shutting up shop in the not too distant future) and after nearly three years of trying to get them to change their designs they apparently still can't get it right. I have worked with them to change their existing design (ie, the hose you've got) to one which will actualy fit all Z32's. This entailed getting the end fittings correct, supplying the various adapters in the kit and also fitting the appropriate line locators on the fabricated hoses. From looking at your picture I can see that (a) the end fittings are incorrect, (b) you make no mention of any adapters supplied with the lines and © there are no line locators on the hoses - well done Goodridge! :rant: As I have now given up hope that they will ever get it right I am working with another company, who is licensed by Goodridge to make their hoses, to have a kit manufactured which will fit all Z32's. It'll be a kit that runs from the inner arch directly to the caliper and has the appropriate line locators. This is a legal requirement and some MOT stations have been known to fail cars who have brake lines without the line locators. I am currently at the stage where I'm trying to collect sample brake lines (stock Nissan lines) which clearly show what end fittings are required and what size the line locators are. Once this has been collected it should be a matter of days until I can commercially sell these hoses. These will then be the ONLY "Goodridge" hoses available in the UK which are legal and fit EVERY Z32. I have invested far too much time and effort in trying to set this up to give up now so stay tuned! ETA - first few weeks of January 2008. Dan

Apart from the above comments I'd also like to add that you will probably find that your engine will run considerably hotter with a chromed plenum. I'm sure Rob (dunk300zx) will correct me on the figures but anything you chrome will radiate upto 65% less heat - meaning more heat stays inside the plenum. In itself not so much of a problem but in stock (ie, unchromed form) it already gets extremely hot. Slightly related - if you compare the heat output of two identical radiators, one left untreated and the other chromed, you will find that the chromed radiator radiates far less heat. It'll look nicer and trendier on your livingroom wall but you'll end up spending more ££ trying to heat the place! You are probably better off getting the plenum polished professionally. Just my 2P worth.

Even later but not any less sincere: !! HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL !! ATB. Dan

Much better to have friends/customers who own these cars. I have been asked to drive a customer's Gallardo SE to a few meets this past year (while he drives his Murcielago or Enzo). Next year he's taking delivery of a new LP640 Roadster - I'm keeping my fingers crossed to be allowed to drive that! Funny thing is that he won't let his wife touch any of his cars but will happily let me follow him down country lanes scaring ramblers and wildlife! :) And before anyone says he's a greedy sod, he's worked extremely hard for his money and although he is very "well off" he is also one of the most generous people I know. Alternatively, check out 6th Gear Experience (http://www.6thgearexperience.com). It is run by two friends of mine (and fellow Lamborghini Club UK members) Simon George (of EVO fastfleet fame) and Andy Cummings. For those of you who follow Simon's escapades with his new white LP640 - you can run their Gallardo, Murcielago and LP640 on a per-lap basis (I think it's about £50/lap) or book in for their "experience" packages. They also have Ferrari's and Aston Martin's in their lineup.

Hi mate! This is not directly advise on how to make one or where to obtain said splitter but I've got a customer who's recently had a front splitter made for his NSX. The splitter ran from the front of the bumper to between the front wheels thereby also creating a smooth and enclosed area under the front of the car. What he did was made the template from a thin sheet of aluminium (easy to cut and bend) and made sure all the bolt holes lined up and everything was in the right location. He then took it to a place that did fibre glass mouldings and had a prototype made up. After making the necessary modifications a mould was made and the final product made up in reinforced carbon fibre. The whole process took about two months and cost a small fortune but he's got a unique product. Beware that the price of CF has risen dramatically this past year and to construct a splitter and undertray in this material is likely to cost a fortune. Sorry I can't be more helpful but at least it's something to think about. ATB Dan

Thank you all very much for your feedback - much appreciated. I am still looking into this but at the moment the 0845 option seems to be the most cost effective for me. Yes, you can get revenue kick-back from these numbers but that only applies when the inbound call volume exceeds some arbitrary number (which is usually quite high). The companies I've looked at will not divert the call to my mobile without costing an arm/leg/kidney so I need to do some more research. Many thanks again! Dan

Hi Steve! I'm still here, alive and kicking but bogged down with a lot of tax return issues at the moment. My apologies for not responding to your e-mail sooner - I did receive both of them. Your quote will be ready shortly and will send it to you asap. Again, my apologies - I know you're in a rush to order the parts now. Cheers! Dan

Hello all, I am in the process of reviewing the various overhead costs I have with my 3 businesses. One of the areas I often hear customers complain about is the fact that I currently don't have either a Freefone or Local Rate contact number. I am interested in getting this organised for the business but want to know your honest opinion about: (a) your perceptions of a company based on their contact number (ie professionalism, size, etc) (b) your perceptions of cost to YOU (the caller) for dialing 0800 and 0845 numbers © if you had a choice, would you rather call a company with an 0800 number or with an 0845 number? Bear in mind that although 0800 numbers are free when dialed from a landline, there are charges made when dialed from a mobile network. Similarly, an 0845 number costs the caller 4p (peak) and 1p (off-peak/weekend). Again, when dialed from a mobile network these costs may vary. From my (business) perspective, it doesn't really make that much difference whether I opt for an 0800 or 0845 number. The setup and monthly service costs are practically identical. I don't make any revenue off either number. Thank you very much for your time and feedback. Please don't forget to participate in the above poll. All the best, Dan

Like I said before - contact Eric at DTA-Motorsport in The Netherlands. You won't find anyone with more knowledge on all things ZX related than he.

The above belt is for a UK-spec twin turbo. As your mate's car is a JDM car you'll need a 4PK1010 or 4PK1013. I've got those in stock - £8 incl. delivery. As for the Nissan garage - they would only have had the UK-spec information which, in their defense, is correct. Regards, Dan

US/Canadian spec cars: 92~93 Octane UK/Euro spec cars: 95 Octane Japanese spec cars: 98 Octane This is often confused with RON ratings which, depending on the way it is calculated, will result in a higher number (ie 98 Octane ~ 100RON).

Speak to Eric by contacting him through LINK - he can help get you a chip specifically tuned for your car (he is based in The Netherlands). HTH Dan

With NA's it is not so much about "gaining" bhp as it is increasing the midrange torque to make your car more responsive. Our DTA (NA) chips have been custom developed with exactly this as the goal and we've had quite a few very happy customers! If I may make a suggestion, when you are in a position to do so you should think about changing the stock exhaust for a more freely flowing aftermarket exhaust (Mongoose for example). You have already freed up the "breathing" of the engine with the A'PEXi induction kit but presumably still have the restrictive exhaust system. At the time when you change the exhaust it would also be a good time to have a chip - you will get the most benifit from the upgrades that way. Our chips are £65 and are custom developed to match your car and modifications. HTH Dan

If you get Nismo 555's make sure (a) they fit your fuel rail (early models are different from later models) (b) you fit new upper and lower O-rings to the injectors prior to installation © if they are second hand take them to be cleaned, bench flowed and tested before installation As for the chip, our DTA Performance Chip is £65 plus £5 delivery (you'll need to sort out the socketing of your ECU or we can have it done for £30) I don't know what AndyP (Stevenage) or John Dixon (Kidderminster) charge for their chips. HTH Dan

Not much - purely the software was updated. You're not likely to find an ALC-I in good working order as they were very unreliable. HKS stopped making the ALC-II about a year ago so you're likely to only find a second hand unit. They are better than the first generation units but due to the nature of their operation (ie maintain line pressure during upshifts) it is likely to cause excessive wear on your autobox. As yours hasn't done that many miles you'll probably be ok for a while but ALC's have been linked to premature autobox failures.