The Max

Ah, for disabling the output to the rams. Gotcha. Have not had much time to myself to work on it. Haven't even touched the infotainment system I've been working on since last year. Been too busy building much more complex systems for broadcasters. It'll just have to be a reset for now.

A smooth shifting auto means that there's a little more slippage going from one gear to the next. That would concern me a little if it shifted more firmly beforehand.

Firstly, nitrous is the most potentially destructive of forced induction options. I've wound up with bores being eggshaped by the time the motor reached 150,000kms (started using nitrous at around the 138,000km mark). That shouldn't happen with a VG30DE at that amount of kms. I have had those same bores show microscopic fractures because of the thermal shock that nitrous introduces to a system. It's a cast iron block. Imagine doing that to an alloy block. Secondly, if you cop a roadside inspection and that bottle is physically connected to the hose, enjoy the massive fine on behalf of the EPA. It will hurt you, a lot. Those risks were worth taking in the early 2000s but times have changed. It was fun to say that I had nitrous in a Maxima once upon a time but I wouldn't go through it again for any vehicle. Thirdly, using a supercharger or turbo is a better option because of its relative consistency. Cruising speeds on the highway add a little boost depending on your configuration and that just makes efficient power readily available. A better breathing engine is simply a better engine. Basically, it's available across a wider range of your accelerator pedal, as opposed to nitrous strictly being usable at wide open throttle only. If anyone were to ask me if they should install nitrous in their street car, I would respond with a flat "no."

What software option?

Thankfully, your vehicle is old enough to be easy enough for that kind of task. I'll leave it to dudes who have done it to say what needs doing (or you can find plenty of forum threads through Google that would explain how).

Radio sucks balls anyway.

Loose heat shield?

Batteries are not rocket science. You get what fits in the space provided (I run an Optima yellow top, seven years old and still kicking on strong). Before going to the extremes of computers and whatnot, has your mechanic actually checked the wiring and relevant fuses with a proper meter? I seriously doubt it, which is why I question your mechanic's electrical knowledge. I say find a real auto electrician to work out what's going on before you spend thousands for nothing.

Go to Adrian's Auto Centre at 100 Parramatta Rd Croydon. The workshop access is in the lane behind the car dealership. He's the guy I go to when it's not something I can do in my own driveway. No, he doesn't charge dealership prices and definitely runs an honest workshop.

Your mechanic is (figuratively) a rapist. Find someone either honest or who actually knows how to fix cars with the right amount of effort and parts.

I dare say it's probably more the fact that panelbeaters prefer to deal with local sources so that they have the required local support to resolve any issues that may arise. According to my guy, when it comes to import vehicles, the dealers (such as Suttons and Parramatta Motor Group here in NSW) treat us as second class citizens. Without a friend working there (of which my acquaintance and my repairer's friend has retired), it's a tough battle to get them to be semi-helpful even with the part numbers handed to them. I deal with Partsouq for most of what I need anyway. They're cheaper and faster than the local boys but then again, what I save in cash is because of the lack of local support. For example, I bought what I thought was the replacement ashtray assembly for my vehicle with the woodgrain finish, based on the part number I found in the database pertaining to my VIN. Either the previous owner changed the trim himself, database was wrong or the guys at Partsouq needed to be told what trim it needed to be because I received a brushed aluminium one instead of woodgrain. Obviously too expensive to ship back but I can just switch the lid with my original one.

Not necessarily. Depends on the agreement you come to with the repairer. With my guy, I suggested to him that I take it back home after the assessment until he had all the bits ready to repair. He appreciated it because it freed up a space in his busy workshop and all the while, my car was safe at home.

See if a loan car is an option. I have two cars so it didn't present any problems for me.

I would leave everything in place. It's not ideal but when it happened to me, I just used some really fat cable ties to keep the bonnet tied down onto the rams as I drove over to my guy. The rams are a single-use item, so you can't compress them back down to allow the bonnet to close completely. It is what it is. If you mess with anything that has deployed, that gives the insurance an excuse to screw you over. Don't give them any ammunition for excuses. Let them see what happened and why. Leave it to your repairer to put things back to normal after that.

Definitely the same process. The modules are still Bosch, albeit perhaps somewhat different programming and/or EEPROM IC used but it wouldn't be significantly different and the Tachsoft guys seem to support a wide range of modules. If you have the hardware, it's easy to fix within the space of 30 minutes. I might reverse engineer the code in mine to see if there's a software method of switching this module off, as I think it's the biggest load of horseshit, in my opinion. Failing that, a couple of resistors and disconnecting the rams will certainly do the trick as well.