DTA (UK)

Hi guys, As we (DTA) are looking to expand selling our high performance chips it makes sense for me to have a programmer here in the UK. To that end I'm looking for advise from anyone who uses one and also on where I can get my mits on a programmer for a reasonable sum of ££. The Maplin kits are too expensive at £150. It will need the capability of burning 27C256 eproms and data verification. Preferably running off an XP machine via USB power and parallel interface. I've looked at ebay and can see a lot of "Willem" kits but all are located in the Far East and I need one a soon as possible. Any and all feedback is much appreciated. All the best, Danny

IMHO Tein coilovers are the best you can get albeit v. expensive. Dropping the car 40~60mm will cause you more problems than it's worth (speed bumps, pavements, rubbish left on the road). Another "negative" of dropping it that much is that the camber will be way off and difficult to adjust to that level. I would suggest you drop the car no more than 30mm and go for bigger wheels to fill the arches. 18" max if you value the ride quality, 19" if you don't ... ;) HTH Dan

I've done this and, as stated previously, it was a bitch of a job. I had the original brackets "redesigned" to accept 6x9's and still ended up denting the plastic covering (nice white mark :headvswal ). Plus you need to push the wheel arch down to fit most speaker magnets (means bashing it with a hammer until the speaker fits) The other thing to take into consideration from a "sound staging" point of view is that the rear speakers should only provide "fill in". 6x9's are not good for that purpose as they will be overpowering. It is much more important to have decent speakers in the front (I've got 6.5" round component speakers in the doors with the tweeters mounted on the top of the door card next to where the mirrors are). Get the balance right and you won't even need speakers at the rear. So, it can be done [6x9's in the rear that is] but be prepared for some hard work. Good luck, Dan

Yep, Timpson can cut these (cost me around £3.50 when I had one cut for a customer (summer last year)). Dan

I've looked into this a couple of years ago and come to the conclusion that there aren't any "mass produced" mirrors for our Zeds with indicators build in. There are a couple of one-off's floating around in Japan that I have seen. Most of them function as side lights but could be easily adapted to function as indicators. If only I could remember who had them over there ... What I have found are strips of LED's which can be stuck onto the mirror casing and connected to the indicators (with a bit of fantasy and modding). Now, this sounds a lot worse (the sticking on bit) than it actually is in reality and I'll look around for some pics. Again, these are available in Japan ASAIK. Dan

LOL! You should be able to fetch a small fortune for such a young, well trained model ...

Hi Leigh! Remember our phone conversation a few months ago regarding said topic? I've looked into getting this TVR paint for my own car but the complete respray cost was going to come in at around £5k! And that's with knowing someone at TVR! It was mentioned that you'd be best off ordering excess paint for subsequent "touch ups" as it would be next to impossible to blend a flip paint from a different batch number in to existing work. In my personal opinion you should stick to a subtle flip (if that's the way you want to go). You want the car to look different but stock at the same time so going for something brash would defeat the purpose. Plus, you'd have to live with it ... Lucie may never forgive you! ;) I need to speak with you regarding something unrelated - will call you later today. All the best! Dan

Steve, As I import a lot of stuff from Japan, on average you're looking at having to pay about 22%~24% of the total cost (ie declared value plus transportation costs). I have had occassions where the box "slipped" through but you can't count on that happening. If you're having trouble importing stuff from Japan yourself then let me know. The company I deal with over there could potentially help us source it for you. HTH Dan

What model year and spec is the wife ... ;) Any modifications to declare? [if my mrs reads this ... don't worry honey, not looking to trade you in ... just checking out the competition ... LOL!]

No idea about the stud patern etc of the 8 series BMW's but here's the info for a Z: PCD = 5x 114.3 Offset = +35 ... 42mm Centre bore = 66mm Good luck! Cheers, Dan

As above, reg: M740***, Uk-spec, aftermarket alloys. Either you never see one or I see three in the space of 10 minutes (your's was the only one I had the time to catch the reg of as I was parked up. Anyone on here?

Sorry to hear about your problems. Not too dissimilar from my own first breakdown experience about three weeks after I had bought mine (many moons ago)+! I had a busted radiator which required recoring. Basically, rad dumps all/most coolant, therefore no heat in the cabin as the heater matrix is fed with warm coolant. Engine overheats due to lack of coolant and as temp increases the timing is altered which ultimately culminates in a seriously detting engine (the tapping you heard). My suggestion is to have the car looked at by specialists (not Nissan). One thing I always suggest new owners is to get the cambelt, ancillary belts, water pump and thermostat changed as soon as possible after you buy the car. With a bit of luck you won't have damaged either the head gasket or the pistons due to this ordeal. Good luck. Oh, and one more thing for everybody else reading this post: This isn't me nor did I sell this car ... ;) CheerZ! Dan

If, indeed, you are refering to our ConZult diagnostic software then the quick answer is No - it cannot be shared as a condition of the End User License Agreement (EULA). You can purchase a full ConZult kit from me or through our European HQ. If you have built your own DIY interface using one of the schematics available from certain websites then our standard diagnostic software will not work on it (safety feature). You can however purchase a "software-only" version through us which has been specifically designed to work with the DIY interfaces. Please note though that we will only provide support on the software and not the DIY hardware. If you need any more information please feel free to e-mail me on info@dta-motorsport.co.uk. Kind regards, Dan

And get yourself a decent induction kit and splash guard! I've got A'PEXi's for £85 + a fiver postage. New stock arriving next week. Cheers! Dan

I've had my front side lights (amber) and rear side lights (red) in situ for over three years now. Only every had one comment from an MOT mechanic. His mate was quick to point out that most new cars (like the Volvo S40 standing next to him) had them standard ... Problem solved ;) Of course the above is IMHO and the law might state otherwise. But aren't rules meant to be broken? Cheers mate! Danny

Don't take a risk with e-bay - check out Smithy's dual pop kit he's currently offering. It's a quality piece of stainless steel work and I can provide the two A'PEXi filters at a bargain price of £140 + £8 postage. Dan

Indeed I have these in stock at the moment! One front/rear set and about 4 rears. Front/Rear set: £140 + £8 p/p Rear only: £65 + £8 p/p Will do a deal on the set: £135 delivered! Last set in stock - new stock on order but won't arrive for another few weeks. Fitting the rear is exactly as stated above - you need to remove the trim and cut a hole. Fitting the front is much simpler. CheerZ! Dan

The Porsche brakes will need to be off a 993 bi-turbo and you will require a bracket to be made up to fit the caliper (I think Vijay may have Porsche brakes on his car ... could be wrong though.) This is a v. expensive route to take. Other than that, Skyline R34 brakes are a good alternative. I (meaning DTA-UK) will hopefully be able to offer these brakes and calipers at a competitive price in the coming weeks - I'm in the process of negotiating price and supply with a supplier. We'll be able to offer you either new discs, calipers and pad or used discs and calipers. Prices TBA soon. CheerZ, Dan

This may be an obvious statement but I can't reitterate it often enough ... Don's spend your hard-earned-cash on altering the performance until you are absolutely 100% sure that the engine (and other bits) are in top form and performing exactly as they were intended to perform. If you start modding "half baked" parts then you're asking for trouble - they will fail and when they do there is an increased likelyhood it's going to fail big stylee. Better first spend some money sorting out your engine, transmission and other bits before modding for power increases. Just my 2p worth ... CheerZ, Dan

Steve - I always recommend clients to reset the ECU after fitting an induction kit for two reasons: (1) it clears the error codes (2) it clears the "self-learn" parameters Reason (2) in particular is important. The ECU will set certain parameter (such as alpha readings) for each bank of the engine. These are constantly adjusted depending on your driving style, weather condition, road conditions, etc. After you've put an induction kit on there will be an increase in air intake which will conflict with the already "learned" settings. If you reset the ECU it will start with a clean slate and you'll get the best performance. Resetting the ECU can be done by leaving the battery disconnected for about an hour or so (any less won't guarantee a complete reset). I would however recommend you get Ryan to reset the ECU and the ECU is starting with a clean slate.clear the self-learn settings using his ConZult - that way you are guaranteed. I'm asuming he's not too far away from you. One suggestion, if I may, is that you turn the boost down to a more reasonable level - ie, 12~13psi. Ryan will be able to show you this on his ConZult but the stock injectors max out at 15psi and then become exponentially more inefficient after that. At 15psi and beyond, using stock injectors and an off-the-shelf perfomance chip, the engine will start running increasingly lean and I don't need to draw a picture of what that can do to your engine. Stock turbo's should be able to cope with 15psi - its the injectors which are the restricting factor. And not even an air/fuel meter is going to help you at that stage. HTH. Dan

Yes mate - I've PM'd you about that yesterday. You're on the list. Stock expected next week and the week thereafter. Cheers mate - PM received and I've responded about 20 mins ago. Speak soon. CheerZ, Dan

PM'd you back - thanks for the order! Dan

A'PEXi induction kit: £85 (+ £5.20 special delivery) Mongoose cat-back exhaust: £510 (delivered) - choice of two tip designs DTA-Motorsport Performance Chip: £65 (+ £5.20 special delivery) Boost controller: an electronic device which allows the user to set various levels of boost. The controller achieves this by manipulating the waste gate actuators. This is a safe way of increasing boost levels. An A'PEXi AVCR or Blitz SBC ID are examples of good boost controllers but cost several hundered pounds. You can also insert "boost jets" into the lines that feed the waste gate actuators. These are typically "mig" welding tips of various aperture which allows you to arbitrarily set the level of boost. This method is prone to "spiking" and is not recommended if you're interested in chasing serious boost increases. Having said that, DTA-Motorsport are exclusive dealers for custom made boost jets which have been professionally engineered to minimise the spiking effect. The apertures are custom drilled to the customer's requirement and the kit includes stainless steel hose clamps, the actual drill bit used to periodically clean the boostjets and fitting instructions. Price TBA but will be in the region of £36 + postage. Available in the next two weeks. Hope the above helps. CheerZ, Dan

£85 + £5.20 (Special Delivery) = £90.25 total (paypal = £94 including their fees). That's a saving of £15 over my previous retail price of £100 and a massive £45 saving over many of our competitors! New stock arriving next week and the week after. These kits come with English fitting instruction (drafted by myself), AFM gasket and fitting bolts. All you need is about 30 minutes of your time, a number 10 spanner and some Dutch courage ;) Let me know if anyone wants these! CheerZ, Dan

Be careful you are getting the correct kit, specifically for the Z32 as there are a lot of kits advertised in the US (through e-bay and elsewhere) that actually do not fit - as some of us on this forum have found out the hard way ... Also expect to add about 22% of the total value (incl. shipping costs) in import duty and vat before you have it ... If in doubt give me a shout (hey! that rhyms...) as I'm the official A'PEXi induction kit supplier to this forum. And I'm not too far from you either (I'm in Warwickshire near Redditch). Cheers, Dan