sonicii

Well, I have placed an order for a new LuK DMF and Exedy clutch kit. Should be here in a couple of weeks, then I will have to arrange a time to fit it. Will post the results back here.

If you have a JDM V35, you do not have a rev-up engine.. they only were available on the 350Z or the USDM G35 I believe the rev-up engine had 220kw - 350Nm. Our non-rev-up has 206kw - 363Nm.

Not likely to be wheel weight. I would say worn or failed suspension components, causing the car to not corner as well as it should and the VDC system is detecting this as 'slip', or the ST angle adjustment for the VDC system is out.

Nah.. you don't want to take a car with great handling and destroy it by removing half the body rigidity. if you want a convertable, buy an MX5.

Excellent.. thanks for the info!

Thanks. Looks like just under $1k for a LuK DMF (OEM) and an exedy clutch kit (clutch plate, pressure plate and throwout bearing). I should be able to do the work myself, which should save quite a bit in labour. And a good excuse to buy myself a transmission jack. Does anyone know if it is worth doing the rear main seal on the engine or the transmission input seals while the transmission is out? or do these not give much trouble?

I don't think it is the timing chain. It only occurs intermittently and only when accelerating. I also wouldn't expect timing chain noise to go away when I put pressure on the clutch pedal. It is also silent at idle, where timing chain noise is usually most noticeable.

After all this time, this noise has started again, however, it now seems to happen under light throttle once the engine is fully warmed up, and only occasionally. I have found if I put some pressure on the clutch pedal (not enough to disengage it), the noise stops, so I think that is a fairly reasonable indicator that it is a clutch problem. The other weird thing is it seems to be louder if I am making a hard right turn while accelerating, which made me think 'engine mounts' for a while, but they appear all ok. Looking around now for a replacement DMF and clutch. I don't want to go with a single mass fly as this is my daily and I spend a lot of time under 2k RPM, and many with SMF say that it is quite noisy under 2K.

The US models do have both, I had just assumed the Canadian models are the same too. I have never seen a stock cluster showing only KM to 260/280km/h

It is hard to know what to think. My parents were told 40 years ago 'there is no way your kids will drive petrol powered cars as we will run out of oil before then'. Now some people are saying there is enough for another 1000 years. Not saying we shouldn't look for alternatives, but if we really do have a lot more untapped oil, then it is going to reduce the motivation to change.

It will be when when can stop the south Americans carving up huge chunks of the Amazon forest for farming solely to produce Ethanol! Which makes it a bit counterproductive. This will be the challenge.. with China currently buying large chunks of land in other countries so they can grow food. Where are we going to plant enough farms to produce 85 Million barrels of ethanol per day? Not trying to bag ethanol, but I don't think ethanol alone will ever come close to replacing oil.

There is a chassis number which I guess is 'international',but more digits are required for Australian records, so the government adds a bunch of numbers before the chassis number for the VIN as recorded on your Australian registration.

That is the model code. The VIN is the chassis number - PV35-500141. In Australia they add a bunch of digits to the front of that number for the VIN.. something like 600001. Check the compliance sticker, it should have a full Australian VIN. or if it was registered in VIC, I think they also stamp the full VIN into the body near one of the strut towers.

If the ECU were able to adjust, would the stock injectors be able to keep up with 33% increse in fuel demand?

Indeed!! Many people think octane or RON is some sort of fuel quality figure or fuel energy density figure.It is not, it is just an indication of the fuel's resistance to detonation. Both LPG and E85, have octane ratings above 100, but they return reduced fuel economy.

If only they did them in a 6sp manual!

Yes, i believe that is correct, it is just a 2nd map with a fairly heavy timing retard (and fuel mix richen). The FSM specifically says the knock sensor is a 'last resort safety device' and is not a tuning device, so when knock occurs the ECU just smashes back the timing to try to prevent damage, it was not intended to 'adjust' to low octane fuels. And the other false perception is the ECU uses the knock sensor to advance the timing for higher octane fuels. the only ECU I know that actually uses multiple knock sensors to 'tune' the timing is the newer WRX STI ECU.

According to the FSM, the ECU switches to a 'knock map' when it detects knocking. But I have never observed it or tried to trigger it.

You have been able to for quite some time I believe??

Of course. Ethanol has a lower energy density I have had 3 Nissans before the V35 and none of them benefited from running a higher octane fuel than they were made for. if the V35 is indeed made for 96RON, then my preference is not to go below that, which means 98 is the best option.

Not really a relevant comparison, higher octane fuel only has a higher resistance to detonation, if you aren't detonating on 95, then 98 will do nothing for you. I found no difference between 95 or 98 in regard to economy or performance, and I only run 98 now as I believe Japan's fuel is 96 and I prefer to er on the safe side.

Interesting.. wasn't aware of that.. what about the VQ30DD injectors? .. I thought someone would have made larger Di injectors. Either way, it is kind of a moot point I guess.

The problem isn't direct injection, the high static CR of this engine prevents forced induction on regular petrol without major engine modification.

how do you know you get better economy if you have run 98RON 'since day one'?

I ran 95 for a while when I first bought mine, I have since switched to 98 because it is only about 2cpl more than 95. I haven't noticed any difference in economy or performance. From memory, Japan has 96RON. E10 can be anywhere from about 91 to 96 RON depending on how long it has been sitting around.