RP1421

As discussed in the previous post, the bushes in the 110 needed replacing. I took this opportunity to replace the castor bushes, the front lower control arm, lower the car and get the alignment dialled in with new tyres. I took it down to Alignment Motorsports on the GC to get this work done and also get more out of the Shockworks as I felt like I wasn't getting the full use out of them. To cut a very long story short, it ended up being the case the passenger side castor arm wouldn't accept the brand new bush as the sleeve had worn badly enough to the point you could push the new bush in by hand and completely through. Trying a pair of TRD bushes didn't fix the issue either (I had originally gone with Hardrace bushes). We needed to urgently source another castor arm, and thankfully this was sourced and the guys at the shop worked on my car until 7pm on a Saturday to get everything done. The car rides a lot nicer now with the suspension dialled in properly. Lowered the car a little as well to suit the lower profile front tyres, and just bring the car down generally. Eternally thankful for the guys down at the shop to get the car sorted, we both pulled big favours from our contacts to get it done on the Saturday. Also plugged in the new Stedi foglights into the S15, and even from a quick test in the garage I'm keen to see how they look out on the road. I had some concerns about the length of the LED body and whether it'd fit in the foglight housing but it's fine. I've got a small window coming up next month where I'll likely get a little paint work done on the 110 to remove the rear wing, add a boot wing and roof wing, get the side skirt fixed up and colour match the little panel on the tail lights so that I can install some badges that I've kept in storage. I'm also tempted to put in a new pair of headlights on the 110. Until then, here's some more pictures from Easter this year.

A few small updates since the previous post and lessons. I decided to do a little interior light upgrade on the 110. I quite like the iilumo items, even if they're a bit of a premium over other brands. You'll also note the Stedi Fogs, that will go into the S15 fog lights as I needed to match the bulbs since I got the new ones earlier. I hope they fit as the body is quite a bit longer than your normal bulb. Annoyingly, I managed to trip the fuse, which normally wouldn't be an issue until I located the fuse. I can't say I've ever come across this. I had lucked out that someone nearby had a spare, but oddly enough Toyota dealerships seem to keep this in stock. I ordered some to keep in my stash and as luck would have it, someone else nearby tripped the same fuse so I passed on the favour. I also did a little service on the 110 ahead of some additional work coming up. It's been annoying that Goleby's stopped carrying this particular HKS filter for the 110, so now I need to keep them on order from Japan. I also took the opportunity to install a bash plate and number plate riser. The plate riser is such a cheap but nice fix to help really tidy up the car. I'm tempted to now also replace my headlights, on this car. Both items were from Project Aero. I also needed to replace the rear tyres on the 110, and after trying to get it aligned learnt that I need to replace some bushes in the front end, so that's next. Closing out this update with a nicer picture as always!

The aero bar adds a lot of aggression to the look. I think the stock bar looks pretty good too, though it definitely needs a lip to make it look its best. I always wanted to get the Abflug lip for it, until I scored the Aero bar.

It's been a little over a decade since I bought the S15. As I did on my socials, I'll share some of my favorite pictures from over the years further below. If you haven't realised, pretty much all the pictures in my posts are ones I've taken. In terms of updates, I don't have pictures, but I acquired a near-perfect pair of fog lights from a friend of mine, so those got swapped in for the pair I already had. As for the JZX110, I just got it back from being fixed. A few weeks back, I was on the highway when I suddenly drove over something with very little time to react. It was probably the size of a soccer ball, but it went under the car and banged into the underside pretty loudly. I pulled over and realized the fluid leaking was fuel, and of course, it was right near my exhaust. This required replacing the fuel tank. If you happen to be in the same predicament, thankfully this car shares a fuel tank with the JZS171, IS200, and IS300, so it wasn't too painful to replace. Enjoy some pictures as mentioned above, including the carnage from the fuel tank and a bonus picture I came across which shows how ridiculously shiny the Bugels are on the 110. So many more pictures I could share of the S15 but this will do for today, enjoy.

I'd argue the F50 kit I got is very good value. For ~2k I got the calipers (refurbed condition), adapters, pads, brake lines, rotors, and top hats. I think you'd be pretty hard to get Evo/GTR/350z brembos + the additional hardware for similar money. Used market for a pair of front calipers alone I've seen tend to run anywhere from $1500-2000 depending on condition. That said, something like a GTR or 350z brembo is a lot easier to adapt to the Silvia.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had some trouble with the Silvia's brakes dragging back in 2023. I managed to sort it out then, but the same problem came back to bite me late last year. Just take a look at the picture – I had a feeling the handbrake was acting up again, and I was right. Anyway, I'd been wanting to upgrade to bigger brakes for a while. Not that the Silvia's brakes were bad, but it was more of a "want" than a "need", you know? It was funny, though – at the time, I couldn't find any Evo Brembos, 350Z Brembos, or GTR Brembos for a decent price (of course, tons of them popped up online after I already bought my kit!). I ended up going with an F50 Brembo kit, which came with adapters, brake lines, 330mm rotors, and top hats. The F50 Brembo caliper was used in a few other cars too, like the FPV. I also decided this was the perfect opportunity to ditch the Silvia's ridiculous rear brakes and that awful handbrake (some of you were definitely right about that!). I picked up some R33 calipers and all the necessary bits – rear drums, backing plates, and new hardware to refurbish the calipers. Of course, it wouldn't be a project without a few hiccups. Turns out the brake master cylinder was playing up and basically (to put it simply) keeping the brakes engaged. I had it overhauled, and after some adjustments, everything was working again. The whole process took a while, as you can imagine. To top it off, the front right wheel bearings were shot and needed replacing too. This is a rare occasion where I'm posting an update while it's all still fresh! These pictures were taken just this afternoon.

Update time! The JZX110 had some maintenance needing to be done, so a lot of the seals with replaced to fix some oil leaks. Also used this opportunity to whack on a front mount that I'd bought some time ago. I also finally got the rear lip painted and fitted. I then got the exhaust done. It's just a catback for now. Custom made 3" stainless with a turn down. I could have a tip coming out, but it will require cutting the rear lip and possibly the bumper itself. So far I do like and it's made the car a little more zippy. Close out with some nice pictures of the cars and a sneak peek of what's next.

Good news (relative to the last post)! The S15 still lives! The cause was found to be a loose oil line fitting on my filter relocation. ECU did it's job, fingers crossed no major damage. Having it driven it, seems to run and drive just fine. Got lucky this time, touch wood. Wheels are on the 110! Had to play around a little with heights, rolling guards and adjusting the overall geometry without having to fork out big money for adjustable arms. I've got it somewhere reasonable, I think at least that balances daily driving. I do a decent bit of driving in this car to and from work, on mostly okay Brisbane roads. I think once I get the rear lip put on, it should "balance" the look of the car. Ordered some centre caps to finish off the look. In the few weeks of driving, it's definitely an effort to keep these wheels clean (even with a ceramic coat applied). Pictures, of course.

Good news and bad news for this post. Returning from a cars and coffee event, whilst cruising at ~60km/h, the S15 went into limp mode. To cut a long story short, for reasons still unknown, I lost all oil pressure. Pulled the car over and all the oil was dumped onto the bash plate. I've checked visually to date, but can't figure out where/how it occurred. Suffice to say, losing all your oil is likely going to be a major failure of some description. Update on this topic once I've got things pulled apart and diagnosed the cause. In better news, I received my new coilovers and wheels for the JZX110. I opted to purchase from Shockworks and had them built to focus on comfort above all else, 20/14kg spring rates. The wheels came out incredible, and I'm glad I went the way I did. I opted to go with gold hardware, which will tie in with some gold accents on the car. I ended up replacing all the lips, as they were in various states needing some love and I ended sizing up the rears half an inch. Details: Leon Hardirrit Bugels - 19x8.5 +25 & 19x10 +26 After 2.5 years of going through various vendors, extremely glad to finish these. The plan is to have these on before the end of the year. I do need to find some tyres to suit. Happy to take some recommendations! Michelin PilotSports seem overkill for this car (for the moment at least). Picture about 1hr before all my oil said goodbye

I'm sure I'd posted this in a previous post, but I'd purchased a rear bumper for the 110. It's been sitting in my storage, whilst I've focused on all the stuff you've seen in the content since. In talks with another owner, we ended up trading parts, so he got the rear bar and I got an OEM rear lip. I always prefer OEM stuff and this should (hopefully) not cost as much to paint and fit. I might actually end up putting an exhaust on this car finally (which will require making a cutout) Whilst not the most interesting update, useful to post this for future JZX110 owners. I updated the failing bonnet struts. Repco RGS14695 is what you need + 4 x 10mm ball stud WITH 14mm long M8 thread + 4 x M8 washers. Don't even bother trying to lever the stock arms off the balljoints, especially when the ball studs cost you <$15 for 4 (work smarter, not harder). Also shoutout to Costco for having some useful kit. This light is $50 and has been pretty solid Rechargeable via USB C Has hooks on either end Has magnets on both ends with swivelling ends (see picture) Centre body can rotate Plenty bright! Luceco 10W LED Rechargeable Inspection Light Racked up some miles on the 110 over the past few weeks. I've dropped off the centres to be reunited with the barrels, new lips and hardware. Very excited to have these complete in the next few weeks.

Nick, hit him up via Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nickthefourdoorfreak

My new wheel centres have arrived back from chrome. I've been waiting to have these done for nearly three years! After going through multiple vendors, I found the right person who had them done in under two months and for nearly half the price of others. Now to get these built, throw some tyres on and add some upgraded coilovers.

I wound them in. Many many years ago, when I first did the brakes, I wasted a lot of time trying to compress them in (silly me didn't read the service manual). This time around, it seems I didn't line up the notch properly (not sure how because I did keep this in mind specifically).

I forgot to add this to my previous post, but it may serve useful as a separate guide. I don't believe they are compatible with Skylines, so the following applies to S15s (sorry). My washer pumps started shooting a fairly weak stream. Turns out that the Nissan Patrol pumps are compatible with Silvias. See the image for part number and for a side-by-side. Can be purchased for ~$60 off eBay or similar. Removing the pumps were a pretty basic affair, though the hoses tended to want to not come loose. I couldn't be bothered removing the front bar so my leverage was limited, I resorted to cutting the hose off (plenty of slack in the line anyway). Do note however I did have to swap out the brown tab on the old connector, as the new pumps I received, had the open slot on the other side. So don't throw away your old pump immediately, as you may need to swap in the tabs from the old to the new, to match the plug. Next step is to find a washer nozzle that provides a better spray pattern. I did find this in relation to an R33 with a fluidic nozzle upgrade, but the fitment looks not great. Honda seems to have made some too (P/N 76810-TK8-A01), which I might try to obtain and try. http://www.r33gt-r.com/2013/04/another-modern-upgrade-fluidic.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR3e0_1DTDtPNV3UrnbGHZKGlidzjDQNV33rLBKeFr-Hx8bzOZZHelkIi7o

Update time! The 110 had its diff upgrade done, alongside diff bushes (from Serialnine). Diffs from the 86 swap right in and since installing the diff, the car feels much better to drive. I also threw in a new set of brake pads (from Intima) at the same time. I should also have a rear lip on the way soon, which will need paint but this will mean I can start getting towards an exhaust made for the car. As a sidenote, I'm not sure if many users here have seen these new type of fire extinguishers. I won't bother rewording what is already a great explanation, but the space saving is quite significant. Though these cost more than a traditional bottle, the space is important to me and you also don't have the messy powder to clean up (in the worst case event). Added a picture to show the size difference. Around April of this year, I also made the decision to make an upgrade to the S15s engine management system. I chose to go with a Link G4X plug and play unit, with all the associated sensors. This would do away with the Apexi PowerFC + HKS EVC combination and bring the car into 2023. Additionally, I saw the availability of some new trigger kits, and I thought what better time to add this. The 5-0 ignite unit is great unit and works with the factory wiring perfectly. Again, I won't reword the sales pitch I got the car back recently from the tuner and suffice to say, the car feels great and more lively. The entire package feels really responsive and everything works really well. I didn't make any more power, but for those interested, I made 230kw at 19psi. Which is two psi than the previous setup on the PowerFC. Added some pictures of the added parts I should also have my wheel faces for the 110 back shortly, they're finally done! The chrome job looks fantastic but I haven't got them in hand to take nicer pictures yet. As always, closing out with a nice picture.