soviet_merlin

I wonder if there is much to tell without knowing where the bolts where bought from. If it comes from Amazon or similar all bets are off. Can't trust them. And I fear not everybody knows that. Wasn't it @TurboTapin who ended up with the fake fuel lines recently? The submersible ones which very much weren't submersible at all. It kind of applies to everything nowadays. Doesn't matter if it's hardware or electronics. The fancy camera might have internals swapped out for cheap knockoffs. The hard drive will report a certain size but not actually be able to write it all. Shit like that. A bit depressing but the reality is you really have to be weary of where and how you buy stuff

It sounds like by avoiding maintenance you may be doing more damage than a hypothetical guy in a workshop taking it for a spin. Not sure if you are just being paranoid or things are actually that bad in the US. Find a reputable shop not run by dickheads. Look for people that take pride in their work. Stick around for the day if you have to

I went to a local car aircon workshop: https://aceautoelectrical.com.au/ Took all of 30 minutes to get in, check, regas and leave again. Might be a bit of a drive for you But I presume any shop specialising in aircon should do. And I guess they'd be able to confirm whether the compressor is stuffed or not.

I don't think anyone did. But it still made me consider. For me personally it wasn't clear whether the AC experience in my car was shit because it is an old system, or because it wasn't maintained. Looks like it may have just been the latter. I see some more modern setup being sold as an upgrade and I wonder whether it would make it drive like AC in a modern car. Where you don't really hear it or notice it. But maybe that's asking for too much as well. Haha, stick it in a Nissan Cube and you end up with a driveable fridge I'm not doubting your experience. Just thought it was interesting to hear the AC technician's thoughts on it.

I went and got the aircon regassed in the Stagea today and asked the guy about the upgrade to the Toyota Echo compressor. He was saying it is likely not going to be as good. It is newer but smaller and not going to pump as strongly. And it would be better to try and get a new OEM compressor. He was saying that the improvements people are seeing may be more likely due to regassing the system. I thought it was interesting to hear. Going by the sticker the system in my car was last checked in 2015. Gas was at 50% which is apparently beyond terrible. Under 80% is where efficiency already falls apart. Anyways, with fresh gas the AC is now bloody freezing. I think it may be working a bit less hard as well. I need to drive it a bit more to try it properly. Previously on hill starts it would utterly bog down the car. I'm hoping this is a bit better now. The frenchies kit looks great, but $1400 for the compressor upgrade alone makes it a bit of commitment. Very much so compared to a $150 regas.

Yeah, nah, nothing personal about it. It's a somewhat common pattern for phishing websites. I don't know if they actually take money, but at the very least they are collecting full name + address + credit card details from victims. It's minimum effort, so one can search for parts of the copy on the website and find others. For example there's gemnomads.com, which is a real jewellery business. But there's also a scam .shop version with the very same template that was used to duplicate theskylineshed.

I did not need to see this! With summer quickly approaching... Did you just get the compressor with the bracket or the full kit with fan and everything? In what way is different to the old OEM one?

It's a scam. It has all the telltale signs: - The "business" doesn't have a physical address or really any kind of information listed - It's using a generic online store website template - The prices are ridiculously reduced. To good to be true cheap - Everything is in stock and can be ordered in any possible combination I've seen a few of these for other products as well. Things like sunglasses for example. I'd say stay away from it! And maybe reach out to the real theskylineshed and let them know this exists. I doubt there is much they can do about it, but still. I don't know if they would actually take your money if you ordered something. Or whether it is just for collecting credit card details to scam otherwise. I'm not game or stupid enough to try it.

How much of a difference would it make having it? I have a paper copy of the S2 Stagea (1998) wiring diagrams. I could try and take some photos if there's a section you want. Not sure how well it would work with the 25 meter foldouts. Table of contents:

In case you haven't come across it, there's also https://nissan.epc-data.com/ Go by VIN or drill down into your specific model and year and it'll have references for pretty much all the OEM parts. In very similar diagrams. Linked against amayama as well for ordering. Though they can be a bit slow and can be better to search around to get the parts locally.

Fully agree with what you are saying @The Bogan! I just think it's funny because you build your cars to such a high standard whilst denying at each step that it'll go any further. I think the questions have to be "Can I afford it?" and "Does this bring me joy?". More so than being financially sensible, which really, most of us here aren't. At least when it comes to cars.

Hah, all good! I just wanted to say hello. Fair enough if the conditions aren't great. But as a spectator the more I get to see the cars on track the better. It was really good, but will probably come two days next year just to be able to see it all. I'm all for the new rev limiter! After the V10 Rodin Sintura, the high revving RBs like yours were the best sounding cars out that weekend.

I have to say I quite like how you take it one step at a time. Others would have the car sitting in a shed for two years until all the upgrades are in place. You keep the car in driving condition and incrementally make it better. Though I don't think anyone is doubting that it will end up with double the cylinders and or boosted. Regardless of how much you are denying it right now

I got one clip of the car from WTAC this year. It sounds amazing coming down the straight. Though the potato phone recording does not quite do it justice. VID_20240831_160153.mp4 It was nice to meet you in person @bcozican! I'm the guy in the explorer hat who came up during the pit walk on Saturday. Much appreciated that you went out again in the afternoon session. It's a shame not all the teams do. Hope it all worked out well for you and that you can make it again next year!

The sensible solution is probably to follow everyone else's advice and get something that just reads from CAN and can show anything. But, in similar style as Apexi there's also the Defi DIN gauge kit. They are still making them and releasing new colour schemes. Comes with its own sensors and runs independently from the ECU. https://www.defi-shop.com/products/din/summary_din/ https://www.nengun.com/defi/din-gauge-rhd I have those in my Stagea. Personally I like them because they are good quality clean looking analog gauges that look OEM at night. Reading coolant temp, oil temp + oil pressure. Shows at a glance whether the car is warm enough to boost it or getting too hot and need to let off a bit. Lessons learned with this: - The pressure sensor output can also be split off to an aftermarket ECU. Mine goes to both the gauges and the Haltech - Apparently can't do that for temperature sensors. From what I understand they use specific resistances for the signal and splitting off from it might mess with the readings.

Oh, I wasn't expecting it to be available new. I was thinking to check whether it's shared across different Nissans. Amayama usually mentions if the part is used in other cars. Might be easier to find a wrecked Skyline, 350z or whatever if it is also used there. Have you talked to Jack Phillips JDM to see if they have anything? https://jpjdm.com/shop/index.php With them it's worth asking as they don't list everything they have.

Yeah that's what the cynic in me was thinking as well. Scooped up by investment vultures and driven into the ground to squeeze out the last bit of profit before discarding the company.

Just a thought: have you looked up the part number on https://nissan.epc-data.com to see if it is shared with any other model? I know nothing about the ignition internals but if you can use one from a different car it might make the search a bit easier.

That looks like really good value for money. Plenty of power to start a Nissan Unimog Looks like Noco did well in the testing in the video as well. Only skipped through the video but he has some slides with results at the end.

I ended up getting the Projecta 1400A jump charger. Repco had it at 20% off and it came to $350. Also a set of jumper leads with surge protection just to be sure. It seems a solid piece of kit. Comes with a case, a USB-A to USB-C cord and a cigarette plug charger. No wall charger though. It shows the battery voltage when you connect it which is neat. So far it inspires confidence. Will report back on how it holds up when I actually get to use it one day.

All good, but thanks for the offer Christian! Not using it is the best case scenario. For me it's just something to have in the car for peace of mind.

Duncan! Why do you do this to me? I'm a sucker for buying good gear that is way more capable than my actual use case requires. You have the excuse of basically being a Nissan fleet manager Their slightly lower spec emergency charger looks really promising: https://www.projecta.com.au/products/IS1400/12v-1400a-prof--jmpstrtr I very much like that it shows the current car battery voltage when it's connected. And their rapid recharge mechanism to bring the jump starter power back up by leaving it connected for a while after jump starting the car. And they have a pretty detailed spec sheet with their chargers. Do I need a jump starter capable of starting 7l petrol and 5l diesel engines? Hell no. Do I want one? You bet I do. Am I going to spend $500 on a charger that best case I'm never actually going to use? It's very much starting to look like it. /edit: Looks like one can get this one for $350 at repco. So actually not too bad.

Thanks for the detailed review Jairek! Much appreciated. This has definitely proven itself on RBs then. Also quite affordable. I'll have a think about it. Though I'm leaning towards the one that Prank mentioned. It has a bit more oomph, longer battery life and is actually a bit smaller in size. Not that the latter comes as much of a concern in the wagon.

Yeah nah, mine is like this. It's really not very good. - It's round which makes it awkward to place in engine bay without rolling around - The charge doesn't hold for very long and need to recharge every few months Might work for self defense though as it has some serious heft to it. And I guess can use it as a torch and pretend it's a huge Maglite.