KrazyKong

Hey all. Does anyone have one of the rollers that comes with the Dynamat kits? I've been looking for one at Bunnings etc. and the best I can find is some crappy foam paint roller. If anyone has one, I would be grateful if I could borrow it. Once done, I can mail it back no problems.

I wish we had it. Would be so helpful in finding the cheaper prices. Right now it use to be Tuesday would be the cheap day for petrol, then it extended into Wednesdays and would be put up in price later that night. Thus I get my petrol every Wednesday evening. But lately over the past month or so, that price has stayed on until Thursday and even some gas stations, Friday. Thus it's a bit all over the place right now as some in this area still up their prices up on Wednesday, others Friday night. I don't know why FuelWatch was canned, but I was looking forward to being able to login and see prices on a daily basis. Just means we are more informed. And as far as staying away from certain service stations, I don't like going to the one off gas station companies. I don't know why but feel safer going to companies I've heard of before. But maybe I've watched too much Today Tonight or ACA, but I have been many stories about dodgy gas stations who sell 91 as 98, or the fuel with lots of water in it. That could even happen with a Shell/Caltex/BP/Mobil as well.

What a horrid website that is. Went there to have a look and ended up just clicking the back button and getting out of there.

With all the dramas BP is going through overseas with oil spills, it got me wondering about petrol for our cars. I was told sometime back that BP was the only company who guaranteed their petrol to be 98 Octane. So does that mean Shell or Caltex don't? Is their 98 octane inferior? I was happy to be using BP and still am, but have noticed with the petrol prices staying lower for most of the week that for where I live, BP is the most expensive. So are other folks using 98 octane from non BP service stations? What's the scoop?

Would I be wise to have something with a rust inhibiter in the coolant? I'm not sure if mine has any. I don't mind changing out the coolant every 30k, and in fact I don't think it's too bad an idea. Going on how bad various parts were coroding until I discovered them, changing the coolant more frequently I think is a smart move. All I'm concerned about is, will I get better protection with more expensive coolants, or are you only paying for a long lifespan.

Here's a question... does it matter than I put in some $5 cheap coolant that needs replacing after 30,000kms? I know it's not as good as the Nulon long life stuff, but I have no problem in draining it near the 30,000kms and refilling. After my flushing the coolant has remained free from any scunge or rust coloured stuff. So it's been a success for sure. Just wondered really what's the difference between the various grades of coolant other than how many kms they last.

Troy, checkout this post here http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...t&p=5237667 It's helped my car out quite a bit, but the rattles also come from other places in the car. Now I only used some cheap utility blanket material. No doubt if you used Dynamat or something along those lines, you might get an ever better result. But I'm happy with how mine turned out, plus I now have a nice boot lining for my boot lid as well

I ran Penrite HPR10 which is 10-50 with 80k on the clock. Was terrible in my car and felt too thick both at cold and hot temperatures. Then switched to GW Sougi S6000 and it felt perfect. Not all weights are the same from brand to brand, and what ingredients are used also plays a part. So it all comes down to what you want to spend. Nulon regardless of their claims is only a semi synthetic. If I were to ever try Penrite again, I might be tempted to try their 10w40 Everyday Synthetic oil. But there are better options out there. For the price you are so much better off trying to locate some Sougi from a GW distributor. Otherwise you could try using Motul 4100 Turbolight which is a 10w40 semi synthetic oil. A lot of people use that with great results. If you don't have hours of time, then read the last 30 odd pages of this thread and you'll be so much more the wiser. You'll not only find out things you wanted to know, but also understand things you weren't yet at the point of even knowing to ask.

By extra you mean an extra $75 lol. The main problem with 300V is it doesn't come in a 5L bottle, but a 4L. Thus you have to then fork out an additional $60 for the 2L on top of the nearly $100 for the 4L. You can't go wrong with Sougi either, but the 300V is you're prepared to pay the $$ is a top choice.

My top 5 oils regardless of money... 1) Redline 2) Motul 300V 3) Royal Purple 4) GW Sougi S 6000 5) Motul 8100

Fixed pictures from the original post.

That would be awesome to see. Any guides and tips on how to fix something with the tacho can help us all with our own issues. I found the link to the UK Skyline forum about trying to repair a dodgy tacho. http://www.skylineowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56319 It sounds a little complicated, so I'll leave this as a last resort and try just cleaning the contacts and seeing if that helps things.

Look forward to seeing how things go Matt. My tacho worked fine when I first bought the car. Went on holidays overseas for 3 weeks and the car wasn't driven. Was also last winter too, so I'm sure some days it god coldish. Got picked up at the airport in my car, and when I was driving it home realised in shock I was doing "9000rpm" when I wasn't. All I can conclude is the car was sitting for awhile in coldish weather. Since then it's never worked properly. But from time if I go over a bump, or tap the dash screen enough times, it will sync back up and work. But usually not for long. It'll then just keep climbing and climbing into the revs. Oh, one thing too, is after I first got my car, and auto electrician replaced the "D" for Drive bulb in my dash cluster. Made a right mess too, scratching all kinds of plastic, but I'm pretty sure he took the tacho gauge out at the time. So it's quite possible it was never put back properly, or he damaged something. Anyway, there's got to be a fix and I was thinking of taking mine apart, and giving it a spray. Then if that didn't fix anything, putting the soldering iron on anything that looks dry etc. Maybe just reheating something and letting the solder reset could fix things. It's clearing a fault with this model of car, so there's got to be a fix somewhere. I've got a link to an UK skyline forum where some guy is talking about resistors and replacing x y z. Will dig it up and maybe it'll make sense to someone here as I didn't understand it.

Can anyone take a picture of their genuine log books for those of us who don't have them, or do, but aren't sure what they look like

Yes, but our knowledge starts at a certain point. A question or statement being directed at me stating I should have known better than to use a 10w50 oil in my car... when at that point in time I didn't have all the info or knowledge about what to use is silly. I did do some research and ask, and made an attempt to find something compatible with my car. I thought based on the recommendations of the auto store, I had made a wise decision. However I hadn't yet found these forums. After finding them, I gained more knowledge and understanding of what oil my car would run best on, found a source for the oil and bought some. The outcome has been fantastic I must say, so my endeavor for the right oil paid dividends. I may not have known in the beginning what to use, but I still managed to find something proper in the end.

Wow monster reply indeed Not everyone is born with the knowledge to always know what to do, when to do it, and how. Thus with oil, I asked many in the auto stores and not knowing any better took their recommendation, which was at that time the Penrite HPR10 (10w50). But I knew within the first 2kms the 10w50 was the wrong oil for my car. Thus I toughed it out, got my 5000kms out of it, and drained it. Running the 10w40 Sougi ester oil, the car is a lot happier. And in between my Penrite 10w50 and the Sougi change, I spent quite a few months reading here and researching. I may not have known in the beginning when I first got my car what oil to use, but I feel I now know as I couldn't be happier with what's in the engine at present.

I have a bung tacho as well. Am used to it by now, but in a way am bummed about it. Clearly some design or manufacturing fault at play. Once in a blue moon it actually works, but then it goes back to it's "seeking" mode and will be sitting at 9000rpm when I'm actually at a stop light lol. Also my speedo has started acting strange. Sometimes it won't work at all and I'll have to whack the top of the dash cluster. With enough whacks it starts working good again. Am thinking I'll need to purchase some contact cleaner to try and clean both the gauges. Any one know a good brand of stuff to use?

I think that some guy isn't so clued in on this. 300V is one of the best oils out there, so if his engine supposedly blew using that, imagine the disaster if he'd been using Magnatec or some other crud. Most likely something else was occurring and the oil got the blame.

Awww man that's bad news after all. The problem Andrew has to realise is it's not so easy to just get everyone back on board if they do decide to make another batch. If the supply to the end users (old computer term lol), meaning our supply of being able to go buy some Sougi doesn't stop, then it doesn't matter if they havn't made any as we won't feel the effects. But if it stops what's going to happen is people will find alternatives and quite possibly won't come back to using Sougi. Thus it's a chicken vs the egg thing in that demand will decrease due to people not being able to buy it. Regardless of Syn X, I want to keep using Sougi. So if Motul ever make a 8100 in 10w40 that's probably my first choice to try that. Other than that, all I can do is save up and try to stockpile some of the stuff as I'm not sure what Andrew is thinking if demand changes to then persuade them to keep making it. I would think the fact alot of us have or are planning to go down and buy 4-5 bottles of the stuff, should be proof to keep it in production in the first place.

I guess you take the information present on here due to not knowing it yourself. Some had said have the car on a slope facing upwards, have a bottle with the end cut off in the top of the radiator to make sure the coolant was at the highest point. Then fill, bleed until coolant was freely flowing out, close, and fill the rest up. Having the car level, what difference would I have experienced? Plus after a few drives, whatever air is in there, is going to be forced out anyway right? So in the end, it should I would imagine all be the same.

Did another flush today of the radiator to get the flush treatment stuff out. I had done about 160kms with it in, so figured it had done enough cleaning and was a good time to drain it. I positioned the car down hill, undid the radiator plug and let her drain. Due to the angle, it looks like the block was draining as well which was nice. After letting it sit for awhile, I screwed the plug back in and started filling it up with new coolant. Once I had put in enough, I turned the car around to then be facing uphill. Unscrewed the bleeder screw, and had my plastic bottle with the bottom cut off to sit in the top of the radiator. Once the coolant was coming out of the bleeder valve without air, I closed it. Then I filled the radiator and also overflow bottle. I think I'm finally done with my radiator/engine flushing saga lol. All the hoses are clean, the rust and corrosion has been removed from the thermostat housing and the coolant is now free from that scungy rust colour paste. So the flush treatment has worked nicely, as well as all my previous tank water flushes. The best part is I no longer have to drive around with the heater on full blast to make sure my flush cycle is thorough lol.

Birds has mentioned Syn X 3000 before. It's apparently pretty good oil. I think the chemist who told you it was better than S6000 doesn't know his own product. S6000 is also full of additives, or didn't he know that. Probably not by the sounds of things lol. I think Birds will chime in on what he thinks of this, but I doubt Syn X is "better" than Sougi. Anyway, Birds has mentioned GW (Andrew) was reconsidering the plan to cancel production of Sougi. I'm not sure if who you spoke with now has the most up to date news, or whether it's still in the "reconsidering" phase. You did the right thing in buying Sougi. It's a group 5 oil, and I don't care how many additives are in the Syn X, it's still group 3. Common sense tells you a company would not be putting in better additives into a lesser grade oil, that's cheaper and then saying it's as good if not better. It's not crap, I'm sure of that, but it's not better is what I'm trying to say. Very good chance the same additives in Syn X are also in Sougi, but more likely Sougi has better quality additives, and a greater volume of them vs Syn X.

I certainly haven't experienced a placebo affect. I know what oil I've put in previously, how the car ran, how it felt different than the original unknown oil in before that. I knew right away the Penrite HPR10 I used for my first oil change was the wrong stuff despite others saying "should" be ok. It wasn't, but I did 5000kms on it, then dumped it pronto. It was 10w50 which should then only be different when hot, but the cold weight differences vs Sougi were incredibly noticeable. Yet they are both 10w. Then I put in Sougi and all I can say from my own personal firsthand experience... I know how my car is reacting to this oil. It's not a placebo if it runs smoother, has less tapping noises, and revs freer. It's not a placebo if the oil pressure reaches running temperature quicker. What you've missed here siksII is that along with people stating their positive experiences with Sougi, hand in hand with this is the discussion about the correct weight oil for our Skylines. It's not just the fact Sougi is a true Ester based synthetic, but it's also from my own experience the best weight oil for my driving style, environment, weather patterns etc. And not one person here has said... yep I put in Sougi... it was shit... I'm going back to Magnatec! And to confirm what Birds was saying, absolutely we all know those knocks and sounds in our cars, if something is new or hmmm where is that tapping noise coming from etc. A UOA only tells you what's happening on a molecular level. Real world experience of driving the car, feeling how it's running is more important in my book. A UOA could tell us a 10w70 margarine oil is the best because it has no shear and maintains it's viscosity over time. A real world analysis of this would tell you within seconds, WTF did I just put in my engine!? First you need to find an oil that's the right weight, then based on what you want to spend whether it be mineral, poly or ester based. Only then once you've tried the oil out, driven the car and are happy with how it's performing is a UOA of any benefit. As it's the length of time you use an oil that then makes a UOA relevant. In this case, it would make a case if we ran Sougi for 10,000kms vs 5000kms or 7500kms. Then we could see the oil doesn't sheer until X kms, thus we can safely get 10,000kms out of it, or to be safe change it at 8000 or 9000 etc. An analysis of used oil is a waste of time without factoring how your car responds to using it in the first place.

So the thermostat opens by the heated coolant in the engine, so behind the thermostat is what I mean to say? If that's the case it doesn't matter if cold coolant would be flowing in right, as the heat trigger is coming from the block itself. Is that how things work? I'm experiencing one of this situations where I didn't pay that much attention to something, and now I'm wondering what is "normal" and what isn't lol. But right now it takes a little while for the heat gauge to get to half way. Idling or going round the block doesn't do it. The weather here also is getting colder, so it might just be it's taking longer to get up to heat. I took the car for 50km drive today up one of the valleys and when I stopped to check how hot the bottom hose was, it was certainly hotter. Really my only fear is that I've installed the thermostat wrong, or put too much sealant on. Basically just worrying I didn't do it right and now the car isn't running "properly". If the bottom hose is never meant to be as hot as the top hose, and that's considered normal then I'm probably all in the clear. Will need to monitor it more and see how it goes, but it's certainly not overheating by anymeans. If anything it's taking longer to get up to temperature. I still have the radiator flush treatment stuff in, so will drop it tomorrow and then replace with proper coolant. The bottle said it wouldn't hurt to run it for a bit, so that's just what I've done instead of the 20min idle routine.

I was idling yes, so there wasn't a load. Also the heater was on for a bit too. The gauge was sitting at halfway for quite awhile, but reading here I guess that's still not truly at full temperature. I'll have to take it for a drive then, and then feel the bottom hose. But it's weird it's not getting hot. Unless... unless the thermostat opens not by how hot the water is, but by it touching the inside metal of the block. If that's the case, then it doesn't matter if the hose isn't hot is it, as the thermostat is open and water is flowing in. That's what I'm worried about is that the thermostat isn't opening because no hot water is flowing in that area.