The Max

I'm sorry I didn't read this earlier. Otherwise, I would've suggested the Directed Electronics range of alarms, be it the top of the line Viper or otherwise Python for the more budget conscious, as they can be interfaced with the CAN bus of our vehicles and will therefore know when you've locked/unlocked the car legitimately if you continue to use the factory remote/key fob. Not to mention the ability to (albeit illegally) remote start your vehicle to get the cabin to that nice comfortable temperature in the summer and winter is a really nice thing to have.

Calls at that hour? Damn dude, I feel for you. Takes me back to times when I got similar kinds of phone calls at all sorts of hours many a moon ago.

Yeah, that repairer's quote sounds alarm bells for me.

...and no, it's not OK to repair those panels. They'll never be anywhere near as good as replacement panels and most repairers wouldn't waste their time trying to get it to the same result as a new panel. It costs more money and with filler, etc, it's still a crap job that no respectable repairer would put their name to.

1) What Junkie said. 2) I trust you've taken this as a valuable lesson in the importance of insurance despite all our hopes of never having to use it

They "heal" themselves because there's the possibility it's a capacitor that's dried out or a component (or solder joint) that gradually warms up and comes good as well. Hopefully it is a loose connection and you can determine that by jiggling cables but it's probably going to be a bit more complex than that considering (without tampering) those connections are pretty solid.

Can't say I agree with the idling thing being bad either but then again, about five minutes is all the vehicle needs to be entirely ready as I described.

Not saying that you're wrong but I do disagree with that. I use remote start for two reasons: 1) So I can drive off with a car that's warmed up and ready to go 2) For the creature comfort of stepping in a car whose leather won't burn or freeze me Sure, first world problems and all that but it's those little luxuries that make it worthwhile. It helped that I installed it myself. If all you really want to do is remove the dill pickle on the a-pillar, I can't think of any good reason why it would affect the vehicle upon simply disconnecting and removing that ugly thing. A-pillar pops off quite easily and hopefully the device is connectorised so that you can easily disconnect it without having to cut into any cabling. I dare say that device is purely the antenna/receiver unit.

That's an ugly looking dill pickle. I concealed my antenna behind that A-pillar cover and the blue LED still manages to shine through it. No idea who makes that one.

I'd much prefer any questions to be directed here in case I possibly get something wrong. Then someone else can jump in to correct me. Keeps the information accurate that way. Whether it's an HKS kit or not, you are modifying the vehicle significantly as you are increasing the power output of the engine significantly as well. This means your vehicle must still be within all ADR and safety standards, hence why engineers will look at the weight of the vehicle against the final power output of the vehicle against the braking system of the vehicle at the very least. They care a lot about how fast that vehicle can stop when needed. Yes, you need to notify your insurance of it and it does need to be registered with the RMS as a modified vehicle accordingly, if you want to guarantee no issues with your insurance nor the highway cops. That said, my last project was not engineered but was still covered by an unnamed insurer known for their understanding of motoring enthusiasts and all was well at the bitter end. So there you have it ... the legal and the personal explanations.

My best advice would be that you consult with an engineer first. Then, ask the performance shop these questions as they're not under any legal obligation to have your vehicle engineered. There are a lot of cowboys out there, so you need to be careful and ask all the questions. The alternative is you ask them what their plans for the turbo kit are so that you can consult an engineer and have him determine if that would be deemed legal by design. From personal experience with previous projects, the key factors engineers will look for: Plumbing is solid and leak-free No dangerous protrusions Blow-off valves recirculate output air back into the intake and not the atmosphere Air intake filters are enclosed, not just sitting out there naked Braking system meets the power output of the vehicle and if not, has been upgraded Speedometer is accurate Emissions comply accordingly (always can be fudged with a "testing" tune as opposed to a balls-out performance tune) Other things like chassis modifications, etc, would not apply in bolting on a turbo kit. That's usually more for those doing engine transplants where the engine is totally different to what the car was built for.

How shite. I wonder if it was a lack of interest in the project or they later morphed it into another site and word never got out? Either way, sucks balls. Well spotted.

Bummer. It's easy to keep the A/C from engaging accidentally in a worst case scenario anyway ... just unplug the electrical connector which engages the clutch. At any rate, not the best outcome but shit happens with these money pits called cars.

And by calipers, I mean vernier calipers for measuring, not the brake calipers.

Well, I give up with all this weirdness. Looks like the only way to be 100% sure will be to go old school and whip out the calipers dude. Measure twice, cut once. Good luck!

Shit's getting weirder by the day. GFXman, you're typing KV36-xxxxxxxx, as per the Nissan build plate, not the VIN from the Australian compliance sticker, right? They add a whole bunch of stuff in front which isn't a Nissan thing.

OK, let's take the guesswork out of this. Don't give out your chassis number in public but go to this site: http://nissan.epc-data.com/ Where it says "Enter full frame number", punch in your vehicle's complete chassis number/VIN. For example, KV36-xxxxxx Then click on "Chassis and Transmission", followed by "Front axle (chassis)" and later "Rear axle (chassis)". Click on the rotor part and it will reveal the part number. If those part numbers equate to the 320mm discs, then the previous owner of your vehicle did a basic performance upgrade. If those part numbers do indeed equate to 330mm discs front and rear (of varying thickness though, I believe), then we know the JDM spec is definitely different to the USDM spec. Maybe excess stock of the old stuff before rolling on to the newer stuff in the later model vehicles? Edit: What I'm curious about though is the specific manufacture details of your vehicle, which this site will reveal. That will confirm what type your sedan is, as in if it's a P, S, SP, etc as well as the manufacturing date. For example, my CKV36 shows up with: Frame / Series CKV36 / CV36 body C (coupe ) engine VQ37VHR (VQ37VHR type engine ) drive 2WD/4WAS (2 wheel drive with HICAS(4WAS) ) Production month 12.2008 grade 370GTSP (370GT TYPE SP) transmission 7AT (7-speed automatic transmission ) Interior color G Body color QAA Spec code COLD2, GLSSW, NAVI9 Tell us what you find with yours, as you've got me curious now. Again, don't reveal your VIN to us, don't even copy the URL, which will have the VIN in there.

Which is why you use the manuals as a guideline and then physically check the vehicle yourself for any differences. I've used the 2010 Coupe FSM for brakes, pulling apart the interior to upgrade the stereo, wiring diagrams, disconnecting harnesses between doors and main vehicle body. The only things I found different was the orientation of some of the harnesses because of the whole LHD/RHD thing, wire colours and a non-functioning pin 29 on the BCM which my alarm would've used for locking/unlocking the doors instead of the relay board I had to manufacture. Mechanically, with the exception of obvious LHD/RHD components (as in the steering mechanism), I wouldn't expect any other differences and would have 90% confidence in the manual, only being 100% confident once I've physically confirmed the specs before going shopping. Brakes is one of those things where it definitely would not make sense to maintain a number of different varieties between regions, unless the Japanese wanted to be greedy and give themselves a completely unique system. Doing so would hurt their profits as it's yet another component they need to have someone do the tooling and manufacturing for. The more commonality they can have, the better it is for the manufacturer. Plus, you also need to take into consideration design changes alone cost time and in turn, money. They're not going to have a design team slaving away on AutoCAD to create several variants of the one vehicle when just a few will do. Cost vs benefit and all that. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is, by all means, I encourage you to be wary but if you measure twice and cut once, you'll find just how much of a good friend that USDM FSM is. It hasn't failed me yet and I even did it for my old J30 Maxima when I was buying performance bits from the US for it, despite it being an Aussie model.

Screw that! I've always been a firm believer in people helping themselves and if they do end up slipping in their own shit, then I'll step in to help out, knowing that they tried. This is why, I might be a search-Nazi when people ask the same question over and over again but I do practise what I preach.

It's just a matter of doing the homework. I've given up on trying to track down the older DBA catalogues I thought I had on file. Here's what I've found in the 2010 G37 Sedan workshop manual http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/G37/Sedan/2010/BR.pdf (Nov 2009 revision of the manual itself): Front Caliper 2 Piston and Rear Caliper 1 Piston type:Front rotor outer diameter - 320mm x 28mm Rear rotor outer diameter - 308mm x 16mm Front Caliper 4 Piston and Rear Caliper 2 Piston type (in other words, the sports model):Front rotor outer diameter - 355 x 32mm Rear rotor outer diameter - 350 x 20mm Again, it's worth taking the time to take a wheel off and measure it for yourself to confirm or get your mechanic to measure it up for you while he's at it but it's safe to say that if your mechanic said they don't fit, the discs you got in were too big.

But you got given 330mm or the 320mm proved to be too small for your vehicle?

You are right. The 330mm discs were for the older beasts whereas the 2009 sedan got the 320mm instead. The only theory why I suspect 330mm might still be an indicator is because in the US, the base model coupe had the larger 330mm discs in their 2009 model but the sedan still got the 320mm. That's not to say that their years lined up with the JDM spec though. Unless I got the wrong information, I found that my 2009 model, though built in Dec 2008, was released as a 2010 model in the US. Problem is, I'm trying to look up the current DBA catalogue for further confirmation of numbers but they've severely trimmed down the Infiniti options and there's not as much detail as there used to be. It only lists the sports package, which is 355mm front and 350mm rear - that's what I have on my coupe. It's odd, given that DBA still list discs for the G35/V35 but cut down the G37/V36 to just the sports package size in their catalogue. Curious stuff.

Nah, my fast metabolism negates any issues that would otherwise require me to put down the fork.

What parts? Discs? Pads? Both? You didn't take a wheel off and take some measurements to double check? I always do that on the first purchase when it's something that's not as commonplace as a Fa(i)lcon or Bomb-o-dore. If there's one thing I learned as a student from my first boss in the broadcast business, it was "measure twice, cut once". Now you've learned the same.

From what I've seen in the past on similar issues, it's most likely the bearings. If it were clutch, the A/C would never engage and that pulley would continue to rotate freely. The fact it only seizes when the A/C is on means the clutch is engaging but the bearings are probably locked solid. But that's just a best educated guess. You'll find out when you get the report back from the A/C guy. Good luck!