350Z GT4 - Ultra Yellow
Discussion
Had the car up on a lift and what do you know? Turns out the bushes are pretty worn.
Naturally I sniggered about the vast opportunity for childish jokes about bush and how pricey it is, and began to ponder the OEM vs after-market route. I'd be interested to hear any recommendations people have. Once I've done some research I'll pop another post up with the final decision. I wonder if my warranty will cover this...?
As an aside, it's also eye-opening driving a powerful rwd car in the wet and cold. You really, really shouldn't take liberties, something I've forgotten whilst tooling about in an A4 TDi, but was forcibly reminded of when putting the power on before a camber change this morning. A dab of oppo, some useful, if unsubtle ESP and a spike in adrenaline served to wake me up on the way to work... Am not a helmsmith. Must pay more attention. Will not get away with it every time.
Naturally I sniggered about the vast opportunity for childish jokes about bush and how pricey it is, and began to ponder the OEM vs after-market route. I'd be interested to hear any recommendations people have. Once I've done some research I'll pop another post up with the final decision. I wonder if my warranty will cover this...?
As an aside, it's also eye-opening driving a powerful rwd car in the wet and cold. You really, really shouldn't take liberties, something I've forgotten whilst tooling about in an A4 TDi, but was forcibly reminded of when putting the power on before a camber change this morning. A dab of oppo, some useful, if unsubtle ESP and a spike in adrenaline served to wake me up on the way to work... Am not a helmsmith. Must pay more attention. Will not get away with it every time.
Edited by Smitters on Monday 18th March 12:23
Edited by Smitters on Saturday 12th October 21:11
scorchio said:
Hi mate the clicky rear end is caused by the cv couplings, nissan done a recall on them when the cars were brand new ( I am a ex nissan hi-tech when the Z was launched in the uk) , we could get them to do it constantly if you just slowly roll forward stop and reverse very slowly and hey presto they would click, they are very easy to change if you can handle a spanner. Being a original GT4 edition did you get the playstation that came with the car when it was brand new ?, its looking nice anyway mate and have never seen another one on the roads yet
I remember these coming out, but I didn't know that you got a Playsation 2 with it! Was it yellow too?Hi,
I had one of these and thought it was the best of all possible worlds - in terms of price, performance, looks, reliability and 'specialness factor'. Your's looks fantastic. Just make sure you drive it as often as possible and, if you're into this kind of thing, take it on some track days - as they are a real laugh - controllable enough to get nice and aggressive on the throttle coming out of bends.
I miss mine - always preferred the 350 to the 370, although both great, bang-for-buck cars
I had one of these and thought it was the best of all possible worlds - in terms of price, performance, looks, reliability and 'specialness factor'. Your's looks fantastic. Just make sure you drive it as often as possible and, if you're into this kind of thing, take it on some track days - as they are a real laugh - controllable enough to get nice and aggressive on the throttle coming out of bends.
I miss mine - always preferred the 350 to the 370, although both great, bang-for-buck cars
scorchio said:
Hi mate the clicky rear end is caused by the cv couplings, nissan done a recall on them when the cars were brand new ( I am a ex nissan hi-tech when the Z was launched in the uk) , we could get them to do it constantly if you just slowly roll forward stop and reverse very slowly and hey presto they would click, they are very easy to change if you can handle a spanner. Being a original GT4 edition did you get the playstation that came with the car when it was brand new ?, its looking nice anyway mate and have never seen another one on the roads yet
Sorry - should have responded at the time - my axle does indeed click. Quite surprised it wasn't sorted since this was a one owner car. Could you elaborate a little on the issue and solution if you have time? Naturally, the internet is full of advice, quick fixes, tales of woe and witchcraft. Ex-Nissan information would be great! Also, if I'm ever up your way, could I ask for road advice? I've got some mates in Aberdeen (and indeed, my old car - a lovely V reg Impreza) and occasionally roadtrip up to them.As for the Playstation, no such luck, though being of a certain age, I do have a PS2 and GT4. I remember the heady days of youth when I and my mates would hoon home from school during lunch, smash round the High Speed Ring in Gran Turismo on the PS1 and hoon back for afternoon registration, gabbling about Skylines vs Imprezas
550man said:
Hi,
I had one of these and thought it was the best of all possible worlds - in terms of price, performance, looks, reliability and 'specialness factor'. Your's looks fantastic. Just make sure you drive it as often as possible and, if you're into this kind of thing, take it on some track days - as they are a real laugh - controllable enough to get nice and aggressive on the throttle coming out of bends.
I miss mine - always preferred the 350 to the 370, although both great, bang-for-buck cars
Glad to hear a past owner saying such good things. I'm looking forward to getting the whole car mechanically sound - all fluids changed, well inspected and so on, and then I'll be looking to trackdays. Don't fancy a big recovery bill for a suspicious bang just yet, especially following the 996 Carrera thread.I had one of these and thought it was the best of all possible worlds - in terms of price, performance, looks, reliability and 'specialness factor'. Your's looks fantastic. Just make sure you drive it as often as possible and, if you're into this kind of thing, take it on some track days - as they are a real laugh - controllable enough to get nice and aggressive on the throttle coming out of bends.
I miss mine - always preferred the 350 to the 370, although both great, bang-for-buck cars
In the immediate future, I'm taking the car over to H-Dev for the bushes to be sorted. I've gone for Superpro poly bushes on H-Dev's advice as they're not significantly harsher or noisier than stock and anyway, Nissan only sell the arms complete, for £250 a side, plus fitting. Ouch! Hopefully that'll go smoothly and I'll ask they have a look around under the car and see if anything else looks imminent.
Edited by Smitters on Wednesday 12th March 11:29
My zed has been locked up for nigh on 6 months...it will be back in action in March and I can't wait.
Like you I have a few plans, exhaust, decats or berks, filters and an uprev, looking at a few dyno plots I'm hoping for another 20 bhp but it's the noise I'm really after....as well as the performance mods I'm hoping to go for the same nismo kit pictured in the thread someone added on page 1.
Much excited.
Like you I have a few plans, exhaust, decats or berks, filters and an uprev, looking at a few dyno plots I'm hoping for another 20 bhp but it's the noise I'm really after....as well as the performance mods I'm hoping to go for the same nismo kit pictured in the thread someone added on page 1.
Much excited.
Well, another day, another update. Down at Horsham Developments to fit the banana arm bushes and a full alignment set-up and got chatting about the brakes, which were at the top of the list of "to do" on the mechanical side of things.
One thing led to another and there was some counting on fingers and mentally adjusting to the idea of only eating baked beans until payday and hey presto, we're underway with fitting some new discs and pads. Should be a few years of stress-free stopping sorted then.
One thing led to another and there was some counting on fingers and mentally adjusting to the idea of only eating baked beans until payday and hey presto, we're underway with fitting some new discs and pads. Should be a few years of stress-free stopping sorted then.
Right - ten days in and a brief write-up on the bushes and brakes:
Bushes: I opted for SuperPro banana arm bushes, principally on the advice of Jez at Horsham. The fact that Nissan only sells the bushes when attached to the arms (!) isn't ideal (think £££), however I wasn't sure about going poly with the associated expectations of harsher ride and noisy feedback, but I'm really pleasantly surprised. It's made a massive difference to the steering feel, and also bolstered the suspension at the front without the expense of ride comfort. In short, exactly as Jez said it would be! Taught, controlled but without being harsh. If anything, it's highlighted how the rest of the car is dynamically - I can feel somewhat of a disconnect between the front and rear of the car, a slight lack of coherency between the turn in and the tail following, though I add that I've also got Bridgestones up front and Avons at the back, plus temperatures below ten degrees and greasy roads. New rears are fairly imminent, and in fact I'll do all corners at once if I can and see what effect that has, but I can see replacing all the bushes with SuperPro eventually, or at least a good bundle, depending on the handling effects. Jez set the alignment up too, though the bushes made such an impression it's hard to feel too much difference on the alignment front, plus I'm not sure it was miles out - it just needed checking to give a baseline on "my watch" so to speak.
Brakes: Lipped discs front and rear mean a full set. I opted for EBC plain discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads. There have been some questions over the lifespan of EBC discs, but they're not hugely pricey in comparison to others either, so it may be a get what you pay for scenario. Anyway, after bedding the pads in (and feeling very ill with it) the stopping is markedly better, with a firmer pedal and a stronger initial bite, though the old set-up was hardly shabby, despite it's age.
Otherwise I've been enjoying the car, especially now I've made room it the garage. It fits with a good couple of inches to spare end to end. Phew. Bring on the good weather please, so I can stop tiptoeing.
Bushes: I opted for SuperPro banana arm bushes, principally on the advice of Jez at Horsham. The fact that Nissan only sells the bushes when attached to the arms (!) isn't ideal (think £££), however I wasn't sure about going poly with the associated expectations of harsher ride and noisy feedback, but I'm really pleasantly surprised. It's made a massive difference to the steering feel, and also bolstered the suspension at the front without the expense of ride comfort. In short, exactly as Jez said it would be! Taught, controlled but without being harsh. If anything, it's highlighted how the rest of the car is dynamically - I can feel somewhat of a disconnect between the front and rear of the car, a slight lack of coherency between the turn in and the tail following, though I add that I've also got Bridgestones up front and Avons at the back, plus temperatures below ten degrees and greasy roads. New rears are fairly imminent, and in fact I'll do all corners at once if I can and see what effect that has, but I can see replacing all the bushes with SuperPro eventually, or at least a good bundle, depending on the handling effects. Jez set the alignment up too, though the bushes made such an impression it's hard to feel too much difference on the alignment front, plus I'm not sure it was miles out - it just needed checking to give a baseline on "my watch" so to speak.
Brakes: Lipped discs front and rear mean a full set. I opted for EBC plain discs and Ferodo DS2500 pads. There have been some questions over the lifespan of EBC discs, but they're not hugely pricey in comparison to others either, so it may be a get what you pay for scenario. Anyway, after bedding the pads in (and feeling very ill with it) the stopping is markedly better, with a firmer pedal and a stronger initial bite, though the old set-up was hardly shabby, despite it's age.
Otherwise I've been enjoying the car, especially now I've made room it the garage. It fits with a good couple of inches to spare end to end. Phew. Bring on the good weather please, so I can stop tiptoeing.
EBC discs? You could have got Pagid ones from Zedman for the same sort of price.
If your not at the club - http://www.350z-uk.com make sure you get over there for discounts and tonnes of advice.
Impressed with how well your car has polished up though mate. Looks VERY nice. Im just waiting for the wet weather at the weekend to pass and then mine will have the full claybar treatment once again!
If your not at the club - http://www.350z-uk.com make sure you get over there for discounts and tonnes of advice.
Impressed with how well your car has polished up though mate. Looks VERY nice. Im just waiting for the wet weather at the weekend to pass and then mine will have the full claybar treatment once again!
oj121 said:
EBC discs? You could have got Pagid ones from Zedman for the same sort of price.
If your not at the club - http://www.350z-uk.com make sure you get over there for discounts and tonnes of advice.
Impressed with how well your car has polished up though mate. Looks VERY nice. Im just waiting for the wet weather at the weekend to pass and then mine will have the full claybar treatment once again!
Cheers for the tip-offs. I have had a scan through 350z-uk, but usually when I'm advice hunting. To be honest, I didn't read any horror-story "made of cheese" type stuff about the EBCs, so I'll give them a go. I may be in the market for something fancier by the time they wear anyway, track-day addiction depending!If your not at the club - http://www.350z-uk.com make sure you get over there for discounts and tonnes of advice.
Impressed with how well your car has polished up though mate. Looks VERY nice. Im just waiting for the wet weather at the weekend to pass and then mine will have the full claybar treatment once again!
Edited by Smitters on Monday 18th March 12:20
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