scathing

Don't forget, this is a country where a lot of the Japanese manufacturers wouldn't sell their top-spec cars (i.e. turbos) because they were to worried about the warranty claims from a culture that seems to be allergic to servicing cars according to the schedule. Unless they're hardcore racing enthusiasts, mechanical sympathy doesn't seem to be in their lexicon. Agricultural gearboxes and understressed big-displacement NA engines in floppy chassis' have let them get away with a lot over the years. Exactly. The Evo IX had a 5000RPM rev limiter if the car was stationary, to stop full-bore launches. Apparently the fastest way to launch an Evo IX was to get the clutch to friction point so the car would roll, engage the clutch fully again to let the revs hit the limiter, and then dump it. I don't know how true this is since I found it on a forum, without even a third party news source let alone from a Nissan web site, but this is what I've been told is Nissan's official response to the saga: "The singular thing people need to remember is that using launch control does not void the warranty - The warranty clause regarding the operation of the vehicle with VDC turned off states that Nissan will not cover damage or failures of otherwise covered components, IF it can be determined that the use of launch control led or contributed to the failure. The act of using launch control (which requires turning off the VDC) will not automatically void the vehicle warranty. Simply put, the warranty outlines that failures or damage resulting from things such as misuse, accidents, non-factory modifications, etc. are not covered under the factory warranty. Further, the warranty states that VDC should only be turned off to help when rocking the vehicle when stuck in mud or snow. Nissan will not void the entire warranty on any of our cars based on one specific issue of one specific component or system, however, a part or system won’t be covered under warranty if Nissan determines that the failure was as a result of misuse, modifications, etc. (as mentioned above)." Call the GT-R dealership nearest you to confirm, and see if you can get it in writing.

Sway bars are the single best handling upgrade for the car. I'm not sure about the V35, but on the Z33 the ride/handling compromise for the coilovers is almost spot on for a daily driver that only occasionally gets tracked once you do the bars. Does your car come with the VLSD? If so, there's plenty to do before you upgrade it. Honestly, I didn't really need a new diff as the old one was still holding up OK. If I tried to slide, both wheels would light up. It was only around the tightest of hairpins that it would single peel. My next definite track day is Circuit Club's 5th Year Anniversary track day at Wakefield - but it will probably be really busy.

I've heard good things about Spinning Wheels from a mate.

Posted on 350Z-Tech. So far its me+1

Does fiddling around with the ECU count as "stock"?

I did have a look a couple of months ago. URL is here if you're interested. In QLD, the restriction is you cannot reduce your track and you cannot increase it by more than 26mm. There's no restrictions on diameter or width of the wheel, but there is a restriction on how much the diameter of the tyre changes by (+15mm to -26mm different from stock), and a tyre can only be 1.3x wider than the widest optional tyre the OEM offers. It can't be narrower than the narrowest optional tyre for the car either.

Fark, that sucks. I'd want that power back too - its not like we started with that much. I heard a Fuji catback on mxfly's Z33, and I really like that note it made. It had a distinct turbine-like sound to it, kind of like Holden V8s do. It sounded really good. I don't know what he was running north of the catback, since the car was being returned to stock for sale, but it wasn't particularly loud either.

Manual. The rest of my car works for my goal. The only change I make for track days are the rims/tyres. Its not too noisy, its not crazy stiff, I've got a stock interior, the pads don't need heat to work. As for the LSD, I haven't noticed much of a difference yet as I've not really opened the car up. When the rear breaks away its lost a lot of its progressiveness. It gets a lot more sideways a lot quicker, which was a bit interesting the first time it happened. When I gave the throttle a prod around a roundabout in the wet on Tuesday it didn't break traction where it would have with the OEM VLSD. I'll give it a couple of months of street driving, and at least 1-2 track days, before I make a final decision on whether I like it or not.

When details become concrete, I'll post it on 350Z-Tech.

Mark, my OEM 17" 350Z wheels clear my OEM Brembos. The Nankang NS2s also have plenty of meat on them. The wheels are horribly unbalanced and the car pulls to the left, but that's it.

Masturbating?

Repost

According to the VicRoads guidelines I linked to, the law states that the diameter of the tyre cannot change by more than 15mm from stock, and the rim cannot be more than 25mm wider. Its the same case in NSW and Qld. I haven't looked at other states. For the OP, as long as he can find a tyre with the appropriate profile, he can run 19's or 20's.

Where's the official documentation saying that they are they illegal on non R34 GT-R (or V35s)? I can't find anything on the VicRoads web site implying that a 19" diameter wheel is not permitted on R32s or R33/R34 RWDs, but I will admit that aside from that VicRoads VSI8 I linked to I didn't really look that hard. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but from the doco I can find there's nothing banning the 19's.

Hows about Z33s?

Says who? I just checked the VicRoads web site (since the OP is based in Melbourne) and their Vehicle Standards Information Modification Guide, and I can't see anything banning them. Performance-wise, I'd say that the best diameter wheel is 1" bigger than the smallest that will fit over your stock brakes. If you've gone to a bigger brake kit then its the smallest rim that will fit over them. Assuming you're either comparing two cheap wheels or two expensive wheels, the smaller diameter one tends to weigh less (lower unsprung weight is good for ride and handling), have the mass more centred (lower rotational inertia means better acceleration) and cost less. If you buy decent tyres they'll have reinforced sidewalls, so the flex isn't going to make the car nautical. For street use, the extra compliance from sidewall flex will make the car less skittish and easier to drive fast through a bumpy corner (i.e. most of Australia). If you're going to go drifting (off street at a proper event, of course) then you'd be better off just popping tyres on your existing OEM wheels, especially if you're just starting off. 17" tyres are cheaper and quite easy to find used, which is a major consideration when you're smoking them up. Looks-wise, its in the eye of the beholder. Personally I reckon the rims on cankas' car are a tad too big (I believe that there's a proportion between rim, sidewall and tyre arch and his have a bit too much rim) especially in the rear. For some reason, I think Granthem's are spot on. It could be the fact that Granthem's car is lowered and sits more aggressively. Have a poke around the V35/Z33 forums. Since the OEM wheels are 18", there are plenty of quality "+1" sized wheels floating around on those cars.

I saw some pretty good gains with my catback on the Z33 just by itself, equal to when I did the extractors and cats and had my Unichip retuned to suit. The catback was a lot cheaper to do, though. The Popcharger is great for noise, but does sweet FA for power from what I could feel. You're better off with just a drop-in K&N filter, performance-wise.

Yeah, I've taken my car to a couple of random monkeys (Bob Jane, Beaurepaires, Matthews, etc, I won't name specific stores as per the forum rules) and, since I forgot to monitor them, I found them rattling on my previous set of Duraluminium nuts. They lasted about 3-4 changes before the nuts were unusable. Since I run staggered wheel/tyre sizes with directional tread, I have to strip/refit tyres when I rotate which meant they didn't last long. If I can't take my car to the guys named above, I'll actually put the stock nuts back on the car before I take it to the shop.

But not an unknown one. They made a choice, knowing the pros and cons. Weight reduction and stiff suspension is the mark of a track car. Sounds like a design objective to me. Only if you bought a later model. The original DC2R didn't have aircon, and the stereo was a no-cost option. It didn't go hardcore with a half cage and no rear seats, but with those front seats it was still as track focused as they felt they could make it while meeting the road car minimum requirements. Welcome to the world of FWD. Honda couldn't afford to re-engineer the car for RWD, but they made the best effort they could with the helical differential. Once again, a choice.

The two places whose work I've liked are: Tyrepower Hornsby. The guy who runs it, Sujith, is a car enthusiast and so he gives a shit. When I got my new TE37s I took them to him to get shod. He made sure his guy used cloth between the tools and the stems so they didn't get scratched, and hand tightened my RAYS Duraluminium nuts. I'll warn you now that he takes ages, but that's because he takes care. The other is Gordon Leven Tyres in Emu Plains. Its a fair hike, but they're the official suppliers for motorsport tyres for several brands and I was in the market for semi slicks. They took a lot of care not to scratch my LM GT4s, and also hand loosened/tightened the RAYS nuts without me even needing to tell them.

I just installed a Tomei Technical Trax 2-Way with a 3.9:1 final drive. I like the final drive. I'm not so sure about the high yaw clunking of the LSD itself, since my goal with the car was a streetable car that could be tracked. I'd really like a Quaife, but it's well out of my price range.

If you guys are OK with 350Zs coming, I could probably muster a couple of cars.

There's no front camber adjustment in the FM platform cars, so you'll need to buy camber arms.

I've been on a lot of cruises with SAU NSW in my 350Z, and never copped any grief. SAU tends to be quite friendly towards other types of cars. The fact that the Z33 shares its platform with the V35 means that you'll get quite a bit of knowledge sharing, and that shared lineage also helps with "friendliness". The R34 has rear seats and more boot space. If that's not necessary, the sound deadening and build quality (as well as the relative age) of the 350Z makes a better choice. If you're not really looking at doing mods, get the 350Z. With a torquey NA engine its more streetable, and its technically quicker stock for stock. The OEM suspension setup in the Z is also really good. Personally, for what you're describing, I'd get a V35 Skyline 350GT (or a V36 if you can afford it). Its got a softer setup than the 350Z, but that's not going to bother you if you're not a hoon and it'll suit your daily driver requirements. The platform is the same so most of the aftermarket parts for the Z33 will fit the V35 (the V36 has a smaller mod list since its so new, but if you're not a modder that's not a bad thing). The Skylines have rear seats so you can carry people. I reckon they look really classy, far more so than the Z33 or the R34. The build quality on cars destined for "Infiniti" badging tend to be better than plain-Jane Nissans.

Quote from a guy who went from a peaky S2000 to a torquey 350Z in regards to how the cars drive. Nuff said.