DTA (UK)

Thanks for the info guys. John - how's it going chap? Long time no hear/see! When abouts will Leon be back? I'm not in a hurry as this is the last aspect of the "project" - must first get the engine and suspension organised. Andy - The car is pretty loud as it is at the moment - especially between 2500~3500 rpm (heavy drone). As it's an AUTO it spends a lot of time in that rpm range. Hence wanting to quiet it down a little Mark - I've thought of doing that and will ask Leon about it as well when I speak to him. I see Luke (ZCentre) does these types of test pipes as well. Cheerio guys! Dan

Hi, Unfortunately, my car recently developed a head gasket failure so I've taken it off-the-road for the winter. Guess it's as good a time to start the various projects I've had planned for a while. Apart for the obvious engine rebuild I am also looking into the exhaust side of things. My car is a MY1990 JDM Twin Turbo and has the original catalytic converters still in place (but with custome cat-back free flow exhaust). I don't particularly want to go down the route of decat pipes (would make the car far too loud) but was wondering if anyone had fitted so-called "sport" cats (also referred to as "hi-flow" cats)? Does anyone have a good known source for these? As always, any and all information is greatly appreciated! :) Dan

Not a problem fitting them just the fact that they project a circle of light onto the diffusers rather than light up the entire diffuser. If you don't mind that then there shouldn't be a problem!

These are what are known as "extreme white" and will give off a crisp white light with a slight blue tint to it. Not as blue as some headlights you see but they are very white (if that makes sense). Basically, they are rated at 4500K so not quite 6000K which is a little more blue. Unfortunately I can only get H3 bulbs with the bluer tint - but then you'd have to do a conversion to fit them in your JDM headlights. Not difficult though. Regards, Dan

Got these in stock - £12/pair Call me on 07044 016586 to arrange further if still required. Thanks, Dan

Those hoses are not there to heat the air rather the butterfly connecting points. I think this was probably an over-engineered product liability issue when the car was designed. The reason being, and there have been documented cases of this happening, that the throttle body remained open when trying to decelerate. Granted, this happened after a long run in icy conditions with the cruise control on but you wouldn't want that to happen now would you?! A quick jab on the accelerator cured it and all was fine but I can see why Nissan decided to warm the butterfly joints.

Tom - Don't use vacuum tubing as that will corrode within a few months due to coolant eating away at it. Use 4-ply silicone tubing instead. Let me know what the internal diameter of the silicone needs to be and what length and I'll see if I've got anything in stock. If not I can order it for you - few days delivery time. [EDIT:] If you are refering to the generic water by-pass under the plenum I would just get the rubber hoses from Mr Nissan - only costs a few quid (much cheaper than the silicone alternative anyway). Dan

Correct. My pulley kits (both stock-sized and U/D) come with new belts. Regards, Dan

EXACTLY! The only reason I'm doing both under-drive and stock size pulleys is that some people don't want to go down the route of an under-drive crank pulley whereas others insist on it. In my opinion there is no real need for an under-drive crank pulley if you can install a lightened stock-sized crank pulley. It's all about saving weight and although size does come into the equation it's effect is far smaller than the effect of the weight saving. HTH Dan

As Steve says - try to wear latex gloves (the variety without talcum powder is best) and avoid touching the glass of the bulb. The theory is, if the glass is touched by your finger some oils are left on the glass. Once the bulb is ignited and shining brightly, the oil residue will form a "hot spot" on the glass which will eventually break the glass due to a different expansion/contraction rate compared to the surrounding glass. The same should apply for all bulbs, HID or not. As for the bulbs touching other parts on their way into the headlights - try and avoid it but it is less serious than leaving a finger print on the glass. HTH Dan

I wouldn't risk buying something as critical as a clutch off ebay. I'm not saying everything is crap but you get what you pay for (generally). Have a look at our RPS clutches - these are tried and tested and generally considered to be excellent value for money. Smithy's Place Usually available in 10 days. Dan

Or if you want to have a full diagnostic kit why not go for a ConZult system? This is a PC (laptop) based diagnostic kit which provides real-time sensor feedback, full diagnostic capabilities (of the engine, HICAS, Automatic Transmission, Airbag and Aircon systems) as well as workshop features such as idle & TPS setting, Timing & A/F ratio manipulation, and so much more. This kit is used by both enthusiasts and workshops all over the world and is generally considered to be the market leader. Cost: £245 delivered Might sound expensive but believe you me it more than pays for itself. If you want more information please let me know. I have one system coming into stock in the next week or so. All the best, Dan

I can do you two better than that: Lightened Stock-sized pulleys: Same quality as Unorthodox 74% weight saving over stock weight (1.84KG vs 7.1kg per set of 4 pulleys!) Consists of: crank, water pump, alternator & power steering pulleys and new belts PRICE: £285 (delivered) Lightened Under-Drive pulleys: As above but featuring an UNDER-DRIVE crank pulley and OVER-DRIVE water pump pulley PRICE: £285 (delivered) These are coming into stock in the next week or so. Fabricated by a racing outfit, these pulleys are of top quality aero-grade aluminium and balanced to the same tolerances as Unorthodox pulleys. You will not be disappointed! All the best, Dan

HID's (no matter where you get them from) are a GREAT improvement over the stock halogen system. However - and I can not stress this point enough - after you install the HID kit GET THE HEADLIGHT ALIGNMENT CHECKED AND RESET IF NECESSARY. These lights are roughly 300% brighter than stock halogen bulbs and scattering of the light in the wrong direction WILL cause (temporary) blindness in oncoming drivers. Also, it is very important that both the inside and outside of the headlight glass is kept clean. Excessive dirt will cause the light to scatter which reduces the amount of light being projected onto the road. I have lost track of the amount of times I've been flashed by oncoming vehicles who obviously think I'm driving with my mains on (which I'm not). Fact is, despite the alignment of my headlights being spot-on the brightness still makes them appear like main beams.

Glad to hear you managed to fit them under the headlight panel. Did you receive the replacement ballast this morning? I will see what I can do about adding some extra length to the wiring looms. It may take a while for this to filter through to the kits though as the wiring looms are manufactured by the thousand.

I can highly recommend Wheels In Motion - they are very highly thought of amongst my Honda NSX, S2000 and Mazda MX5/RX8 customers. Haven't used them myself yet but will be taking the Mrs' MX5 over later next month for a complete suspension workout! Regards, Dan

I'm afraid suspension setups is one of the things I'm working on getting to grips with (now that I sell the parts). So, for the sake of not giving you wrong information I will defer comment on the above values to someone who knows what they are talking about. Sorry Tom - just don't want to get it wrong where it concerns something as important as the suspension. Can anyone else help Tom out please? Regards, Dan

Hi Tom, I really wouldn't bother going to that garage if I were you. Try and find a Motorsport outfit which is used to setting up cars for track use. You may be able to find one online or in the phonebook under "race alignment" etc. I have had the same problem over here - got a customer car with everything adjustable under the sun, had to take it to a specialist outfit to get the job done properly. Car handles like a dream now. Also, whilst you're at it get them to do a corner weight test and get the adjustments done. Did this to mine a fair few months ago and it made a heck of a difference to the handling just by adding various weights to the corners to bring the car back to it's original weight distribution. Good luck mate! Dan

We had one in our house in the US and South Korea. My parents are diplomats and that kind of threat/security measure comes with the job. Luckily never had to use it. The one in the US was pretty cool because it had wireless communication links with the outside as well as video feeds of certain parts of the house. The one in Korea was just a reinforced room in the centre of the house with a bloody great big metal door which locked on all four sides. Both had their own oxigen supplies which was recycled so you couldn't contaminate it from the outside.

This is a company I am currently in talks with to source their products but at a more "favourable " price of course. Remember, the price you see on their website does not include shipping to the UK, Import duty & VAT or a warranty (US only).

Wrong type - those are -11B's for tuned twin turbos. I can get the 11C's but they are a bit on the pricy side £72 per set of 6. Dan

Hello Damien and welcome to the Club - we are a crazy but mostly friendly bunch! In answer to your questions: HICAS light: this is more than likely due to a low fluid level. When cold the fluid triggers the switch, once warmed up the fluid expands in volume and the light goes out. Gurgling noice: this is quite common. The AIV valves get water-logged and as air is passing through it causes the gurgling noice. The water can be removed by drilling small holes in the bottom of the tube leading to the AIV valves or you can remove the system in its entirety. Do a search for these valves and a write up will appear. Fuel range: This entirely up to the style of driving, condition of the car and condition of the tires. I once managed a full 480 miles on a tank of petrol (something which unfortunately never happened again no matter how hard I tried). Under normal driving conditions (and assuming your car is in perfect working order) you should be able to average around 20mpg's. On the motorway it can increase to around 30mpg - so not too bad for a 3L twin turbo! Any further questions - feel free to ask! All the best, Dan

This is indeed something which has recently become available. If you are seriously interested I can approach the manufacturer and ask for a price. It is not something we normally carry in stock but as we will be stocking genuine 99-spec rear lights soon I might as well enquire about the LED version. Let me know. Regards, Dan

They won't go bust ... all they did was borrow additional funds from the BoE (who is making funds available to all other lenders as well). Given that the NR share price has fallen sharply today I would imagine a takeover bid will be likely in the not too distant future.

300 degree rail is the one to go for. FACT