datmoo

A stone stuck in the tread? A wheel weight hitting a suspension arm?

Open all the windows and do some hard cornering (not so fast that you can't hear from wind noise) to load up the wheels and suspension on each side to try and isolate which corner the noise is coming from.

One of my favourite twin rear mount setups And with too much right foot

Twin rear mounts? I remember seeing a pic somewhere......... http://scottyscustoms.com.au/

Dump pipe was brand new but the decat front pipe came off Alek's (Fishingfreak) car which had a wideband bung already welded in which was a bit of a bonus. Was good to do the experiment of no cat vs cat though.

I like it but it's going to be a bit of a stretch to flick the switch when you are driving.

So i've been driving around for about 2 weeks now with my new dump and front pipe and could not be happier with the result. The extra response and power is awesome and now really compliments the brake cut mod and Transgo shift kit. Extra growl from the Nismo is nice too. I drove around for the first few days without doing an ecu reset (13.5L/100km) and then did the ecu reset, pedal and idle relearn and am getting 12L/100km around town. Now I'm no tree hugging hippy but I decided to do the right thing and put a Magnaflow 200 cell cat in (no noticeable difference). Felt a bit bad cutting up Scotty's beautiful work. Thought about driving around like this. Getting it lined up. Milk crates, is there anything they can't do? Tacked and then welded in. Not pretty but still learning to use my lift TIG. Also got myself a 12" thermo fan in preparation for HDI front mount and then I'll be looking at an Innovate Motorsports SCG-1 wideband and boost controller.

Good spotting by your son. I can see it now, behind the cute blonde!

"if the car is not serviced regularly" is the important part. Stock turbos can last 200,000+ km (185,000 on mine), only need to drill out when you go high flow.

350z bonnet strut kit, fits M35 http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOOD-BONNET-STRUT-SHOCK-ABSORBER-BLACK-DAMPER-NISSAN-350Z-/181873752620?

Hey guys (and gals), took a chance on this Takashi 350z bonnet strut kit on ebay. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOOD-BONNET-STRUT-SHOCK-ABSORBER-BLACK-DAMPER-NISSAN-350Z-/181873752620? Made in Taiwan but local (Melbourne) supplier. $57 delivered. Had to swap the hood brackets left to right and needs a longer bolt and a nut for the fender bracket (the kit has short bolts and no nuts, maybe 350z has factory threaded holes?) Opens to stock height, Dolphin one looks like the fender bracket is longer so opens a bit more. Remains to be seen how long these "cheaper" struts last.

Big bump on my head and most swearing from walking into the hoist arm! My shed is not high enough to lift to maximum height and I'm 6"2" but better than not having a hoist.

My other two girls, not sure which ones cost me more!

I know there are a lot of different dump pipes running around out there but thought I would do a write up on my install of Scotty's dump and front pipe with lots of pics for those who have not done this before. Thanks go to Scotty for all his tips and tricks. First put your car up on stands (or a hoist if you are lucky). Make sure your exhaust is cold and spray the crap out of your dump pipe nuts, o2 bung, front pipe bolts, gearbox mount bolts, dump support bracket bolts and attessa line mounts with you favourite brand of penetrating lubricant . Go to bed. Wake up bright and early and go and spray all of the above again. Go and have a coffee, breakfast, read the paper and have a dump (pun intended). Next lift your bonnet and remove the plastic engine cover (if you haven't already). Disconnect the o2 plug and feed it down to the dump (green plug on the right). Get back under the car and remove the front pipe (I had to cut mine even after soaking overnight). Support the front of the mid pipe with some wire or rope around the tail shaft. Undo the first three attessa line mounts so it doesn't get bent when you drop the gearbox (you could probably get away with just the first one). No need to disconnect the tail shaft or shifter linkage. Leave the dump support bracket attached for now. Then you want to drop the gearbox so take the weight on a transmission stand and undo the four gearbox mount bolts and let the gearbox down (it will only go so far as it will rest on the steering rack). If you do not have a transmission stand then rig up something dodgy to rest it on and raise your hoist. I take no responsibility for people using milk crates as transmission stands . Next, chose your weapons! I used a cut down 22mm spanner for the o2 sensor, a 500mm 1/2" drive extension, 1/2" to 3/8" adaptor, 3/8" universal joint (a ball style universal will not give enough angle) and a 3/8" 14mm socket (a cut down 6 point deep socket is recommended but I got away with a standard multi point one). I then used the 22m spanner and breaker bar with a bit of steel tube on the end to leaver against the dump support bracket to remove the o2 sensor. Now you can remove the dump support bracket. Now comes the dump nuts. Surprisingly mine were not too tight and I actually used a 1/2" drive universal and socket on all the nuts apart from the top left one closest to the firewall which needs the 3/8" universal and socket. Inspect the turbo and gasket (i reused mine). Stock turbo still looking good, spinning freely with little play. A bit of a comparison and pics of new vs old showing the very restrictive factory dump. Old front pipe about 6kg, new 4.5kg. Old dump 4.5kg, new 1.75kg. So with my Nismo exhaust that is a total weight saving of about 14-15kg over stock. Next you will need to cut down the bottom two turbo studs by about 15mm, enough so the new dump sits flush (remember you can always cut off more). Shove a rag or something in the turbo to keep the crap out. I also ended up cutting about 10mm off the top three studs so I could get the dump on with the o2 sensor in as with Scotty's dump the o2 sensor is offset and you can do up all the bolts with it in place (put some anti seize on for easier removal next time). Clean up the threads with a 10mm x 1.25mm die. To attach the new dump you can use the factory nuts for the top three studs but will need lower profile nuts for the bottom two. Put a bit of anti seize on the studs. A bit tricky to get the bottom two on especially with exhaust wrap so you sort of have to get the dump away from the turbo face, put the nuts in place and then you can get a few threads on and pull the dump against the turbo. Dump in! After that comes the dump support bracket, worth the effort to take some strain off the turbo. I drilled out the spot welds and ground down the factory dump heat shield to remove and get better access to the bracket. Then I cut through the dump flange to remove the spot welds holding the bracket, cut off the rusted studs and nuts and cleaned it up. I also had to elongate the holes on my gasket to fit the factory bracket. Now you can attach the factory bracket, raise and bolt up your transmission (or lower your hoist trying not to crush your milk crate ), bolt your front pipe back on and do up the attessa brackets. Push the o2 plug and lead back up so you can plug it in from the top and then give her a test run checking for leaks when the exhaust is both cold and hot. Step back and admire your work. To cat, or not to cat, that is the question.

Exhaust wrapped my dump in preparation for fitment tomorrow and had enough left over to do my SR 1600 dump as well.

I have a black facia and top pocket for sale but you will also need double din ac controls if you have the bose stereo. http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/456651-wtb-stagea-m35-centre-dash/ ac control: http://page18.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w124726174 I cut and dremeled my facia and just used the ac circuit board (I have the fawn/grey colour) A few pics to give you an idea of what I did.

My fuel consumption went up to about 13.5L/100km around town after doing the Transgo shift kit install (stock exhaust, cheap air filter) Is now down to about 12.5 around town after installing the Blitz panel filter and Nismo mid pipe and muffler. Interested to see how much difference the dump and front pipe make.

Gave the Stag a wash and touched up a few chips and scratches today. Also changed my fuel filter and drive belts which were on their last legs. Nothing says JDM like finding some yen under the back seat. I'll be tackling the dump/front pipe next weekend (not enough time today and going to Shepparton swap meet tomorrow to buy more crap that I probably don't need)

A few projects for the weekend (thanks again Scotty).

So what do you mean by "could have just been retarded and used EBC pads for street use"?

After replacing my roo damaged front quarter I also imported a complete door (the old one had kangaroo tail bone dints all along it) So out with the old and in with the new using my one man door installer thingamabob I think that tint might be a bit darker than factory so a swap was in order Lots of room to work, no small access holes here Bose vs Panasonic speaker (slightly different loom too) Machined discs and some EBC reds (PN: DP3775C for those playing at home) and some touch up paint for a few chips My 5 year old daughter cleaning the hub faces (PROUD DAD )

New floor mats: http://www.japaneseimportspares.com.au/nissanstageam35/ Door handle cap: http://jp-carparts.com/nissan/part_detail.php?maker=nissan&type=153&cartype=7&fig=809∂=80942AL500&page=1&img=809A%20001

I got something like this : http://www.importmonster.com.au/view?url=http://page4.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/d171758945&thumb=http://auctions.c.yimg.jp/images.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/image/bi240/users/4/6/1/9/powergroup1220-thumb-1438957926778544.jpg&title=M35%202DIN Ended up costing just under $300 shipped. Use the ac controller and then make a bit back on the rest of the facia. BTW I have a black dual din facia with pocket for sale if anyone is interested (no ac control obviously) http://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/456651-wtb-stagea-m35-centre-dash/

Fitted, old vs new Tucks up nicely, the factory one used to scrape sometimes backing out my driveway. 3kg lighter 7kg lighter Cracked the front pipe trying to undo the bolts so tacked it back up until I get my dump and front pipe from Scotty. Sounds good, time to take it for a spin......