downhilldave

Wow! I can't believe (in a very positive sense) what you've done with my old Zed - just brilliant! Just one request: please don't let that performance go to waste - it's just pining for a few track days! Well done Dave

It wasn't the plan when I bought it (only 11 months ago) but this afternoon I watched the new owner of my Z drive away in it... :crying: I've had great fun in it and I've loved it to pieces but I just wasn't using it enough. It seemed cruel to keep it cooped up so it's gone to what's almost certainly a good home. It doesn't owe me anything and I'm pleased to say that it's a better car now in certain areas than when I bought it - so honours are even. My wife can't believe it, considering the Z to be the most comfortable car she's ever sat in, but in the end life is about difficult decisions. Many thanks to the forum as a whole - it's been a great source of information, and to the individuals who have taken the time to answer my posts when I asked for advice. Thanks must also go to Jeff (and Linda) for his help and guidance. I can't bring myself to just cancel my membership so thought I'd bow out with a parting post. Cheers Dave P.S. For old time's sake I've added a couple of the last photos I took of the beast, two days ago. No idea why...

Thanks Gary! I'm praying it's a connector or something, rather than an injector itself. Fingers crossed...

Hey! Thanks Steams - that's answered that, then! I was looking for a neat elegant solution but it's just a question of whipping off the clip however you can. Luckily I won't have to spend too much time on "hunt the clip" as by that stage I'll be fitting a new connector anyway! Thanks very much for a rapid response :thumbup: Dave P.S. I see you have TWO Z's. How much do you spend on therapy each month??? :wacko:

Hi! Looking for an answer to something that seems embarrassingly simple - how to unclip the injector connectors? I'm in the early stages of trying to locate the cause of a single-cylinder misfire and I've bought 6 new injector and coil pack connectors and leads , plus new plugs and other goodies not connected with the misfire. Started OK today but in the process of changing the plugs and wiggling connectors in the vain hope that I could a simple answer I took a look at one of the new injector connectors so I'd understand how to remove the existing ones. Nothing complicated - just the usual metal clip, but it looks as if you need 3 hands to remove the connector! Presumably a small screwdriver in each recess at the sides to release the clip and then pull off the connector with your 3rd hand...! I've searched all through the relevant threads and everyone just talks about what they've found/done after removing the connector. I'm not that dozy or mechanically inept but I'm a bit stumped! Is there a trick? Or a handy tool? I feel stupid asking... :blushing: I'm bracing myself for some stick here but can anyone help please?? Dave

Thanks Russ That's a good tip - I'll be ordering them tonight. And thanks again for your comments. As I said, I would agree with you - I'd love to be able to end the weekend, admiring 30 beautifully neat, professional, strong soldered joints under the Z's bonnet. But short of reading up/watching YouTube videos, researching the best of everything to buy and taking a couple of weeks after work or at the weekend to practice on odd bits of wire, it ain't going to happen! Sadly... Perhaps I'm being limp-wristed but I also don't want to run the car with at least one cylinder not firing the few miles to a guy who's worked on the car before. It would just pain me to make the thing limp along. Of course, if I can make it run by, say, cleaning a connector or something then that's a whole new ball-game. I'd rather have someone do the wiring to the highest standard if possible. But thanks again for your help. Fingers crossed... Cheers Dave

Well; thanks for the interest, Russ. Sounds like you've had a ton of experience with soldering - I've had none! I've run through the whole solder vs crimp thing in my head and I've read a load of the stuff on this forum. The key bit for me in your reply is "Crimp connectors are fine if you can't solder". Guess what? I can't solder! No doubt I could teach myself but it seems to me that a poorly executed solder is going to give more problems in the end than a well-crimped joint. I can see that to a perfectionist a beautifully soldered joint is a thing of pride but I'm not sure I can see how a robustly-crimped, heat shrunk joint will be problematic sat on the top of an engine. Haven't I read on here that soldered joints can fail? Perhaps not. Anyhow; I'm not an accomplished solderer (?) so I'm stuck with at least trying crimping. I don't want this thread to turn into a crimp vs solder debate - I just want an answer to the question. Failing which I'll just measure the wires anyway. And thanks again, Russ, for your comments. Deep down I probably agree with you but I'm stuck with my own level of (in)competence. Cheers Dave

Can someone tell me the size/gauge of the wires for both the injector and coil packs please? I've had what seems like the inevitable "working perfectly last time I used the Z - now it's missing on one cylinder" experience and I've decided to take the plunge in recognition of the fact that I'm dealing with a 21-year old car. If one of whatever-it-is has gone wrong, there's another five waiting in the wings... Yep; I wouldn't mind betting it's just a corroded connection or brittle wire somewhere but I've gone overboard and ordered a Series 2 PTU; 6 coil pack plug/looms; 6 injector plug/looms and 6 new spark plugs. Together with a replacement hose set for when I have to remove the balance bar. Oh, and a new set of red intercooler hoses - completely unnecessary but who can resist shiny bright-coloured things?? :rolleyes: Overkill? Probably - but that'll teach it to go wrong on me! :lol: Soldering is not one of my skills so I'm planning to wire in the new stuff with heat-shrink crimp butt connectors - for which I must obviously use the correct size . I know I can go down to the stricken beast and measure the wires myself but I bet there's someone here who knows the sizes off the top of their head. So can anyone help, please? Cheers Dave

Hey! Thanks for the kind comments. Yeah; the surface of the autoroute east of Brussels is pretty noisy - it gets on your nerves, and quite notable in the Z, although having done the trip so many times it's sort of like part of the furniture! Overall I'd say Belgium's road surfaces are gradually getting up to 20th century quality - just a shame we're in the 21st! It's a toss-up though. Coming back in torrential rain on just about my least favourite continental motorway - the stretch south from Bruges to Calais - the surface was so slick it looked like glass and it was virtually impossible to se the road markings. Aquaplaned a couple of brief moments but I'd say the grip is better than it would appear. Cheers Dave

Ha! Yeah - no probs at all, thanks. The brakes held up perfectly all day. Cheers Dave

Yep; I agree - it's marvellous! Funnily enough, I've not had much problem with Eau Rouge, once you know what you're meant to be doing. Although poor Stefan Bellof paid the price... But the real sting in the tail (assuming you've got through Eau Rouge) is Raidillon at the top. If you're at all off line there you're going to need care when you apply welly-loads of power to get you up the Kemmel straight to Les Combes. But to be honest it's all reasonably straightforward (although deserving of care) compared with the Nordschleife. Now THAT is a circuit and a half... Recommended in any vehicle you can get your hands on. It doesn't need to be fast - the laps in which I learned the most about the Ring were done in a Peugeot 308 diesel estate. Honestly! If you start off knowing you ain't going to be fast what 's the alternative? Yep - THINK your way around! I still remember the lessons learned in those laps.

Yep - agreed! I'd had years of nice cosy comfy front-wheel drive cars and within a few weeks of buying the Z I'd had the back out coming off a dry roundabout, racing a Golf GTi (of course...). That was when I realised it was time to wise up and start driving with my head again. The need to be sharp and intuitive driving the Z has made even driving to work far more rewarding and involving. And for anyone who really wants to wring out their Z, I'd recommend a track day. I've just come back from a Spa trackday (see separate thread) and it's done wonders for my understanding of the car. Car and driver progress down the road more as a cohesive pairing now, rather than as a powerful demanding beast with a nevously-grinning idiot hanging on and hoping! So sad to see what was obviously a lovely car trashed like this. One down; I wonder how many more there are left in the UK? You can go weeks without seeing one. Come to think of it, I haven't noticed another one since I bought mine in June - and normally for weeks after you've bought a new car the whole world and his dog seems to own one! Commiserations to Paul C. I agree with his girlfriend - perhaps it would have been better not to have known... :no:

Hi! Just thought I'd share my euphoria after getting back from Belgium. Since buying my Z in June I haven't really driven it much in the wet and was finding it a bit frustrating on the public roads - it just seems to attract tossers in Corsas with wide wheels and black windows who want to impress their spotty mates/girlfriends. So when an open-pitlane trackday at Spa came up I seized the opportunity with both hands. The wife wanted to come too so the trip was expanded to a couple of nights in the Ardennes followed by an inevitable couple of nights in Bruges. I'd done a full day at Spa in my previous car (V6 Peugeot 406 Coupe) and loved the place. Not difficult to learn but very tricky and it can punish you. But oddly I was almost hoping it would be wet - it seemed safer to explore the wet handling of the Z on a track than find out the hard way on a slippery roundabout. Beware of what you wish for - it was wet all day until about an hour from the end!! The almost instant verdict was that a wet Spa, 400+ bhp and normal road tyres was not going to make for a relaxing day! BIG moments at Raidillon, Des Fagnes and the Bus Stop kept me honest but were collected OK. (More than can be said for a black McLaren which went in front-first but also did a rear corner...) The front end was fine everywhere and Brembo floating discs plus AP 6-pots looked after me on big brakes into Pouhon, Rivage and the Bus Stop but the rears tyres just didn't stand a chance with anything less than very gentle power application - especially at Raidillon. I fiddled with rear tyre pressures to try to reduce oversteer but I'm not sure the heat being generated in the wet was sufficient to warm the tyres up to restore the stability lost by reducing the pressures. But as a learning experience it was wonderful!! My love affair with the car just increased with each lap - it just never let me down. If I'd had a set of track-day wets on it would have been flying! As it was I still had the chance to realise that the power the thing has is just biblical - it was faster in acceleration and a straight line than plenty of Porsche 911s and Boxsters and even showed a clean pair of heels to two race-prepped BMW 3s. I left the circuit having learned masses about the car - it almost seemed pointless doing too many damp/dry-ish laps at the end of the day because flogging around wasn't going to teach me much more. So I was a happy lad who tucked into a few well-earned beers that night - but in a way even better was to come. The trip from Malmedy to Bruges the next day was just 2.5 hours of heavy-ish rain and the car was wonderful - everything worked as it should do without any of the feared leaks from targa roof seals/window rubbers, etc. Next day was sightseeing with the Z tucked up snugly in an underground car park but the trip to Calais on Sunday was just incessant torrential rain - traffic was down to about 40mph in places. And the Z just sailed merrily though the lot! By the time we got back to Milton Keynes the red car had firmly sealed its place in my wife's and my hearts and completely vindicated the expenditure on what, to be honest, isn't the most "sensible" car on the planet! Comfortable, civilized when it needed to be, reasonably economic (27 mpg), exciting when required, a feeling of security - and a head-turner everywhere. Just brilliant - thank God I've got it! :hyper: My real track heart is at the Nürburgring, however, and next year... I'm interested to see that there might be a Z trip to the 'Ring. I'm up for that! :clap: I've added some pics in case anyone's interested. Cheers Dave

Count me in provisionally!! I've done over 100 laps of the Nordschleife (but not in the Z yet) and about 10 of the GP circuit - a lap of the 'Ring is one of the greatest treats you can have behind the wheel. To anyone who's thinking of it the advice must be DO IT!! You won't regret it. Just come back from a Spa trackday (I'll be doing a separate post on that) and am now very up for the 'Ring - but not this year now. Can't think of anything more enjoyable (with my clothes on) then going with some other Zs. Probably the shape of the weekend will depend on the opening times - it may be that, say, a Friday departure coming back on Monday may give more track time. It's dreadful having to leave a fully-open 'Ring early to get a ferry. On the other hand it can get very busy on a Sunday. Quite often I didn't have Sunday breakfast so I could be first out on track when it opened at 8 am - just had the track to myself. Brilliant! A few times a mate and I got a Saturday morning ferry; got to the Ring in time to see out the end of the Saturday session; did Sunday morning at the Ring and then caught a 6pm ferry home on Sunday. Absolutely knackering and not recommended... Let's keep our fingers crossed that a few people decide to have a go in 2014. Could be a gas! Dave

Hi! Thanks to everyone for the interest. It turned out to be a problem with the wheel refurbishing I'd had done. The wheels are 2-piece, each with 52 bolts around the rim. On the front right, 14 of them were only finger tight! Trouble is the car was in a garage for a couple of days before they found the cause. Still; they only charged me £96 for all the time they'd spent - which the wheel refurb company have agreed to reimburse. I've driven the Z around in a spirited fashion since and all seems OK so hopefully that's that panic over. Could have been a lot worse... A week tomorrow I'm at Spa - can't wait! :clap: Cheers Dave

Yeah; thanks. I'm having it picked up this morning so I imagine I'll soon find out! Drove it up and down the street again just now - sort of relieved to hear that it doesn't sound like a metallic clonk, more like a bad rubbing on one spot that once speed picks up sounds more "solid". No idea - but yep; praying it's something like the propshaft bearing rather than the gearbox. Somehow it doesn't sound like the gearbox. I'll report back once I get a diagnosis... Cheers

Well; I'll certainly take a look tomorrow. Thanks. But if I'm honest it doesn't sound that "thin" - it's more like an extended rub which at any speed (10 mph plus) sounds more like a knock. But thanks for your interest.

Yeah thanks; that's my sorta feeling - but why only when the thing's going forward? And it'll make the noise at less than walking speed, just easing forward rolling down the drive... Most odd. God; I'm praying...

Thanks for that, but when the front was jacked up both wheels spun freely with no noise or bearing grumble/movement. It's more "mechanical" sounding and I reckon comes more from the centre of the car. Most odd - driving to work: no problem at all. Driving home: problem!

Oh; so helpful; so funny... :asshole:

Bloody thing! Two days after parting with £400 to have the wheels diamond cut and lacquered it looks like the Z may have decided to kick me in the nuts... The thing's suddenly developed a mystery noise from underneath, sounds like engine bay area - a kind of rubbing/knocking that only happens only when going forwards, in or out of gear. It's road speed dependent and it's not the wheels/bearings, etc. Nothing's caught between the pads and discs and all the wheel nuts are on tight. In short I've exhausted all the cheap items of wishful thinking. Dreading that it might be gearbox... :scared: And it means losing a day or two's work getting it wherever it needs to go, etc... Thank God that I don't live next door to a scrapyard! :cursing: Any ideas, anyone??

Hey! Thanks very much - accepted!!:thumbup: I'll pm you tomorrow to arrange payment and sort out address, etc. Great stuff!! Dave

Hey! Thanks very much - accepted!!:thumbup: I'll pm you tomorrow to arrange payment and sort out address, etc. Great stuff!! Dave

Hi! I had helpful responses to my last request for advice (thanks guys) but made the mistake of burying a second topic in my post. Seemed a good idea to make it a topic all on its own! I'm OK with my brake set-up generally (floating Brembo discs and AP 6-pots with Ferodo DS2500 at the front; grooved discs with standard Nissan calipers at the back; braided lines and Dot5.1 fluid) but the pads on the back are completely anonymous and look standard. What do people use on the back for fast road/occasional trackday use? The Ferodo website is completely silent on Z32 rear pads. I've think read I've read that the rear calipers are the same as the Skyline or something but obviously there's no room for getting it wrong with brakes. I could probably email Ferodo but it seemed a good idea to get the benefit of members' experience. Cheers (again) Dave

Hi Guys Thanks for the useful comments. Like Hub280ZX I won't be using any trick tyres and part of the day will be used to find out all about the Z's handling - I figured it's better to find out at Spa with run-offs the size of Wales rather than find out the hard way on the public roads this winter. Not that I'm expecting my self-discipline to last all day... :w00t: So I've decided against the new sump idea - the car will do precious little on the track compared to my last car so I'll just take a gamble. Should be OK I reckon... And yeah - Spa is a fantastic track. This'll be my 2nd time driving there and I'm really looking forward to it. But it's not my favourite - although it's close. For the sheer WOW factor nothing beats the Nordschleife for me - once I'd driven there everything else just seemed a bit, well, short!! So thanks again. Anyone have any suggestions for fast road/trackday pads for a standard ZX rear caliper. please?