DTA (UK)

The place I use for socketing ECUs is a well know national automotive electronics repair company. They have a custom installation onto which they hook up an ECU and they can then check it for faults, weak circuitry, etc. I pay a lot of money for the service because it is (a) professionally done and (b) carries a guarantee. I will alway try and get a customer to have their ECU socketed by a firm local to them for several reasons, (a) it prevents shipping the ECU around the country which could get lost or damaged while in transit, (b) you have a local place to get back to if things go wrong and © it is quite a hassle for me to get this organised as I need to take the ECU to the repair centre which is about 45 miles from where I'm based (I will then need to make another trip to collect it). I may find an alternative place for people to send their ECU's to which works out cheaper. Mind, it won't carry a guarantee then.

I need to order in the chip - takes about a week. Once I've got it in stock I'll request you to send me your ECU, etc. Turn around from that stage is another week (ie 7 days, not 5). In all honesty, you'd be a lot better (financially) off getting your ECU socketed locally by a friendly electronics repair shop. The cost should be no more than about £20 versus at least £90 (incl. postage) if you have me do it. I outsource the socketing and do not make any money on that - I charge whatever I get charged for the socketing.

Yes they do pass the MOT. In fact, at my last MOT the tester commented that my Zed ran cleaner than quite a few new cars! Not bad for a 16 year old car! Next MOT is this Friday - fingers crossed all goes well. Don't think there should be any problems though ... (famous last words before heaps of money pours from my wallet ...)

No, £65 for chip and socket (if required), £5 Special Delivery. If your ECU isn't socketed yet you'll need to get that organised locally (any electronics repair shop will do the job for you). This would be much cheaper than sending me your ECU (£10 via Special Delivery), me outsourcing the socketing (£70), me sending you back your ECU (another £10 via Special Delivery). JDM NA AUTO is no problem.

We [DTA-Motorsport] have designed a performance chip for the NA. It is tuned for UK/Euro fuel (ie 95-98RON) and optimises torque in the low/mid range. In addition there is a good "kick up the backside" once you enter VTEC range. Competitively priced at £65 and available for auto and manual transmissions. On a separate note, it's not "healthy" to advance the timing by 4 degrees. I would strongly suggest you reset it to 15 degrees BTDC before "chipping" the car. Which ever chip you decide to go for will expect standard timing. HTH Dan

Was driving back from Solihull this afternoon through the countryside (to avoid massive queues on the motorways) and as I was passing through the small village of Ullenhall I saw a Veyron coming out through a massive gate of an even bigger private propperty. Don't know which I was more impressed with - the house or car! The house is a recent development and appears to be worth at least £5 million judging by the size of the building(s) and the amount of land (the property also has a helipad - how decadent is that!?) Nice village this - quite a few millionaires reside there and subsequently there are quite a few nice exotics to be seen. But the Veyron definitely takes the cake! What a car! So, the current tally of extreme supercars in my "local" vicinity include a Veyron, two Enzo's, about four Murcielago's (incl. one roadster) and a very noisy F40. Happy Easter to one and all! Dan

It depends who pays for it. If it's Lambo Manchester then they get a trade price and charge the customer whatever they see fit, if it's through the owners club then it's a fixed £250 plus installation. I realise that I could probably treble the price depending on who I sell it to but that would be ripping people off and that's not right.

Yep, it's the Diablos. I've been busy installing quite a few HID kits for Lambo Manchester and the owners club! They're not exactly the same as the dip beam bulb is H1 in the Diablos and not H3 as in the ZX. Dan

Hi Dab1, Our A'PEXi kits come with full fitting instructions (in English rather than Japanese) and it also details how to strip out the original airbox. Got A'PEXi's in stock at the moment. Regards, Dan

I've just started looking into this as well. We're in a "weak" reception area and despite the fact I can get a decent freeview signal for most channels (not TMF, the hits, etc) with the use of a signal booster, it still isn't great. So, I contacted our local aerial expert in the village and this 70 year old grandfather comes out with is Transit van and ladder(s). Goes up on the roof (I nearly shat myself as it has been VERY windy lately) and comes down with the typical "things aren't looking good" look on his weathered face. Turns out the antenna is about 17 years old and not suited to receive digital signals (despite the fact it's pointing in the right direction). His suggestion (and he said this with a completely straight face): Ultra wideband aerial 4-way signal booster New coaxial cable to each point in the house Total cost, including fitting: £485 + VAT!!!!!! At that point I fell over, shat myself and nearly kicked his boney arse off my property! Thieving barsteward! I've now done some further research and have found all the equipment I need for just over £85 and I'll borrow my neighbour's roof ladder and do the job myself. Anyone have a spare parachute for when I get blown off the roof? Dan

Sorry, forgot to answer you original question. In the standard non-99-spec guise, all bulbs at the rear are clear - it's the coloured filters that determine the colour. HTH Dan

The only way you're going to be 100% sure is by taking one of the original indicator bulbs out and having a look at the base. Nissan used two different bulb holders throughout the production of the Z32. Type 1: both pins are exactly 180 degrees opposite each other Type 2: pins are slightly off-set from each other (ie not exactly 180 degrees) If you are clearing your lights I would suggest getting some silvertec bulbs. These have a silver coating (and therefore do not show through the cleared reflector) but flash amber. I sell these bulbs and have them in stock should you require them. If you are also clearing the brake light bit then you can get silvertec bulbs for that as well. However, these need to have be of the two filament variety (1 for brakes, 1 for running light) and need to be red when switched on. Again, I can get these for you eventhough they are currently not in stock. Let me know if I can help. Dan

Also, at the time when the Z32 was first brought out the top of the range autoboxes capable of handling this kind of power were only 3 speeds. I think the latest Lexus LS will have a 8 speed autobox ... how technology progresses!

I don't think it will be an issue but I suppose the ultimate solution would be: Lights off: flash = main beam Lights on: flash = fog lights This is now getting way over my head - best leave it to the experts ... ;) Dan

Hi Neil, I'll definitely have a go with my trusty multimeter this weekend. I would definitely like to take you up on your suggestion of doing both our Zeds at the same time. I'm in no hurry at all. I've noticed that when the lights are not in use, pulling on the stalk only activates the main beam - so day time "flashing" is not a problem. However, as soon as the lights are on, flashing the main beam turns the dip beam (=HIDs) temporarily off. So, there must be a switch inline somewhere which will need to be by-passed. If I'm not mistaken it'll mean running a new wire to the fogs in any case. Perhaps I'm making it too difficult by over analysing ... think I'll give this a rest until the weekend. Thanks again for your help/thoughts on this. Regards, Dan

Hi Neil, That's the same diagram I've been trying to decifer! As my car is JDM I don't have the dip/dim unit nor does it have day light running lights (I think the diagram refers to US/Canadian spec 300's). It also doesn't make any reference to the fog lights which I don't think the US/Can cars had anyway. I may get a chance at the weekend to have a look at the actual wiring in the car and see what goes where ... will keep you informed. Thanks again for your help. Dan

Hi Neil! Thanks so much for that explanation - much appreciated. I will have a look at the service manual for a wiring diagram and see if I can make any heads or tails of it. If not I'll e-mail it over to you for a look-see. I'm glad my thought's weren't as off-the-wall as I had thought! ;) Regards, Dan

This is a message for Ian King (aka Flairman) or anyone who knows how to get in touch with him. Ian - Your speedo rings have been ready for dispatch for a week now. Please get in touch with me to arrange for payment to be made. I've PM'd and e-mailed you last week but have received no response. Please get in touch. Look forward to hearing from you. Regards, Dan

I'm not all that well versed in all things electric so I thought I'd post this here before tempting fate and destroying the car's leccy system ;) As I now HID's in my Z I was wondering if the JDM fog lights can be wired up to flash rather than the high beams. The easy way is of course to just press the fog light button on the console but I'd like it to flash when pulling on the indicator stalk. This would leave the high beam to come on only when pushing the indicator stalk forward. So in summary: Turn light on: HID's in dip beam Pull on indicator stalk: flash fog lights Push on indicator stalk: HID's in high beam I'm sure someone could come up with the appropriate switch, diagram for this set up. Thanks in advance for your help. Regards, Dan

This is a message for Paul Davidson of Edinburgh or anyone who knows how to get in touch with him. Paul - I sent out your speedo rings last week to the address as supplied on you paypal payment. However, they've been returned with the message "address incomplete, addressee unknown" I've e-mailed you last week but haven't had a response. Can you please get in touch with me to arrange for a different (or updated) address. Many thanks, Dan

Please note that I do not have first hand experience with the products/services of this company. However, I have three customers who have purchased bumpers, side skirts, etc from them and each one has had problems with fitments ranging from skirts not being long enough to excessively big gaps between bumpers and body panels. All products needed extensive work in a body shop to make fit. This is going back about a year now so perhaps they've adjusted their molds. HTH Dan

General HID note: HID's should operate just like normal headlights - ie, they shouldn't be flickering on/off. If they do then there is a fault (could be ballast, could be wiring loom, etc). This upgrade is definitely worth spending the time and money on. However, I would advise anyone switching to HID's to take their existing headlights apart, clean them thoroughly (ie behind the lens as well as the glass) and only then put in the HID's. If you're running HID's behind dirty headlight lens/glass you will cut the effective light output considerably, cause glare to oncoming traffic and basically not gain as much as you would otherwise. Whilst the unit is stripped also replace the alignment wheels as it is very likely you'll need to realign the headlights once the HID's are in. There are various kits available (both through flea-bay and normal retailers) but you do get what you pay for. Some cheap kits have ballasts and igniters separately from the bulb, others incorporate the igniters in the ballast unit. The HID kits I sell are currently rated as one of the best available after market. I'm currently supplying them to Saab franchise dealers and as of mid April will also be the main supplier to Lamborghini UK and the Lamborghini owners club :) The X5 kits aren't the cheapest ones out there but they are truly plug-n-play and the installation is completely reversible in minutes. No alterations are required. Hope the above info is useful for someone. Dan

Did I read that right? The calipers require 380mm discs? Isn't that a bit too big for a Z? Biggest I've seen on a Z was 365mm using Porsche 993 Turbo calipers. Dan

The last paragraph in the response above is exactly what's been put up ... Besides, if a vehicle's speed is tagged to its number plate and progress tracked, how is that different from SPECCS?