Spong

As long as you have the Google Toolbar installed and setup to translate Jap to English,(or something similar), I've found this site to be invaluable for the various spec levels and options available for M35's from 2001 through to 2007. http://www.goo-net.com/catalog/NISSAN/STAG....html#grd200110

Seller states it's an AR-X in the title. I thought the AR-X had flared plastic wheel arches, 18" wheels and higher ride height. That one doesn't. I see it's listed as an RS-250 Four further down.

It wouldn't be this dealer here perhaps? I've always thought this guy had no idea what he was selling i.e. NEON V6, 350Z interior, Active Yaw, DVD ROM that plays CD's etc etc.

That may explain why my 2006 S2 M35 250RX FOUR doesn't have a fluid reservoir behind the storage locker in the boot of the drivers side. I wondered where it might be now. With an electromagnetic clutch, I guess that makes it redundant?

Electronic Developments do 2x different versions from memory, the basic PB1000 and the better PB2000, so that may expalin the price differences you were quoted. Ideally, and I can vouch from experience as a Radio technician, you'll get the best result if you place a band expander on both of the incoming aerials. The way these diversity aerial systems work, both aerials are continually monitored for signal level, quality and multipath, and the best signal is selected by the radio's input stages. With a good diversity aerial system, dropouts and distortion are far less likely to occur as you drive around hilly and built up areas. Once you drop back to only one band expander on one aerial, you lose the advanatge the original system provided. Back when I bought my original PB1000 band expanders from Electronic Developments about 7 years ago, this is what the owner/engineer recommended, and it's still recommended on their site somewhere. I'm not sure what the PB2000 consists of. Maybe it has 2x expanders inside the single enclosure?

A belated welcome James. Sorry I've been head down and tail up this week. Interesting about how your tailpipes are cleaner with Gull 98. I think I read somewhere recently that about the only problems Gull biofuel causes is damage to fuel lines and fuel pumps in older cars, i.e. older than ours. I may give it a go also. Just a pity Gull aren't closer to us. I've got the n/a 2.5L VQ25DD also, and was going to strip down the plenum and intake later in the year as I saw quite a carbon build up after the throttle valve when I checked a short time back. I'm at 87Km at the moment.

Hi Pat and welcome. Well done for showing such good taste in your choice of ride. You should find lots of useful info here.

I was going to say it sounds like the remote has a flat battery, or it isn't working, or maybe you have in incompatible remote, but I see you're sorted now.

Two thumbs up from me. Looks way better than the 16's for sure. What make are those wheels, and what sized tyres did you go with? Stupid me, I should have read the whole thread up to here. I see what they are now. Really makes a huge difference for sure. Do they stick out past the guards?

Thanks Mike. You wouldn't know how wide we can go with M35 and standard rims do you? I'm keen to go a little larger in total diameter over my 215/65/16's as my speedo reads at least 10% high. I was thinking of going to 225/55/17 which I figure will bring it a little closer to the ideal for me.

Actually, the Hankooks I've been running on the Cefiro for about the last 10-15,000k are Ventus Prime K105. I find them extremely quiet, good handling, and hard wearing, and far better than anything else I've used over the years. I've been very happy with them after having them recommended to me by my tyre guy. The Bridgestone Turanzas we had on our '97 Stagea were unbelievably short lived for some reason (nearly worn out in 25,000km light use. My tyre dealer agreed and replaced them for Good year NCT5's at a very good discount). I haven't formed an opinion on the Bridgestone B390's we got on our M35 yet since we've only done about 2500km them so far.

Good to hear you got sorted with the paint. I've fitted the 17" rims with the worn 215/50/17 tyres temporarily to my Cefiro, just to see how they go and look. There is a really good tyre calculator at http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp?item=Wheel-Tire which allows you to enter details of your original rims, widths, offsets and tyres and see what happens if you change to a larger rims. One problem with a lot of cars today is that their speedos read high, in fact both of my Nissans read around 10% high with their standard tyres and rims, as checked against my Navman GPS and the street mounted speed displays. Moving to the 17" rims with 50 profile tyres increases the diameter by 6mm and improves the accuracy of my speedo as I've proven today. I think they look far better than the originals, so next time I need new tyres, I'll probably get some new ones for these rims. I've also got another set of identical rims for the Stagea and will probably go with 225/55/17 to make the most of them. There's more to it than meets the eye, and that calculator gives all the info you'd need. Luckily, all the wheels I'm using have a 45mm offset, so are interchangeable between the two cars, but moving up in wheel size requires a drop in profile, otherwise the diameter gets too high. The Hankook K415's I normally have on the Cefiro are extremely quiet, and I'd like to get the same type when I upgrade, as the 17" Goodyear LS2000's sound like a freight train, and have interesting handling in the wet Photo on left is original stock 16" rims taken in 2003. Second photo with V35/M35 17" rims today, and very dirty car. What do you guys like best?

VIN number printed on your windscreen (from the first photo), when entered into FAST tells us your car was manufactured June 2002, Exterior Colour code: KYO and interior is G (grey). Motor is VQ25DET, 4WD, 5 speed auto, Model type is 250TRSFV Model: TLGNRSNM35UDA-A-- I recently upgraded from a '97 n/a Stagea 25X to a 2006 RX250 FOUR n/a and haven't been disappointed in any way. It's a far more modern and refined car. Quite a bit higher driving position, better economy and handling. A very worthy successor to the old model, although looks don't appeal to everyone. I always thought the old Stagea was one of the best looking wagons on the road.

I knew the tyres were basically worn out (they're pretty marginal for a WOF), and in fact they're 215/50/17 so lower profile than standard for the Stag, which uses 215/55/17. Interesting thing is I'm going to fit them to my 1998 Cefiro temporarily, which has 215/55/16's and they'll be very close to the same diameter according to the online calculators I've used. That way I can see whether the look and handling justifies buying a new set of 17" tyres for the Cefiro. Luckily the wheel pitch is close also, so should be a good fit. I may get a photo up if I get a chance. Yes, all the V35's and M35's at car City had higher mileages. I think Aussie and JDM gets most of the low km cars.

Great to hear you're happy with it Loh. Hope you can get some more photos of your car up here soon. I picked up my set of 17" Stagea wheels I bought on Trademe yesterday, and it turned out to be Car City in Papatoetoe. www.carcity.co.nz They had about 5x M35's and a couple of V35's in their yard, and they really like them. They seem to like upgrading to 18" or 19" wheels on many of the cars they sell.

In order to read those links, I had to join that forum which I did. In the limited time I had available to read the posts, it appears they actually published 3x workshop manuals for that model, and even bent over backwards to provide the information the VR4 people wanted. Considering they're the only company I'm aware of translating JDM manuals, it's not like they competing for this area. If it was so easy, they'd be a bunch of companies doing it. I bought a couple of their owners manuals a while back, and thought they were good value, when you consider the very small market they have for these. If they could sell truckloads of each model, sure they could afford to translate every page, but it all boils down to economics. I look forward to the JPNZ M35 manual. Negative feedback from 2008 is not going to help getting this published for those who want it.

I thought Michael McCarthy of JPNZ may like to reply to this, so I emailed him and pointed him in this direction. His reply to me is posted with his authority, below. "It is the same old thing as with everything like this you can't keep everybody happy. This person has never contacted us and the club never got us to translate. Our site receives requests and once we have enough we publish a manual if we decide the people making request are actual people wanting one and we decide there will be a need in the market. This is our publication and we decide how far to go. We don't aim to translate every page of the manual, we aim to make a manual to suit the guy who wants to repair his own vehicle and the workshop who needs more info, somewhere between a Haynes type manual and the full on workshop manual. Most manuals out of Japan are NZ $600 and about 1000 pages. It is impossible for us to translate and publish 1000 pages for $150 and most people don't ever need everything it would only be the mechanical engineer studying the topic that would. Even Nissan when they published a manual in English for the R34 it was only 200 pages and the Japanese is near 1000 pages. Please also remember we have been in business for 14 years and now publish 260 owners manuals and sell to all the major car makers and have done for years and also have published about 8 workshop manuals with no bad feedback from customers. We have never had to give a refund. I'm not sure what it is with people on the chat groups but they like to say things to make themselves look good but they are behind a computer not talking to someone face to face and what this person said was a load of rubbish. He probably never even brought one. Regards Michael McCarthy (Director)"

I'm pretty certain you won't find that paint at Super Cheap or Repco. They tend to have a very poor selection in my experience. Car Colors of North Shore: http://www.carcolors.co.nz/ are close to me, and I've bought factory Nissan colours in a can from them in the past, and they've been very good. I think an aersol spray can was around $25 to $35 from memory and all you need is the Nissan paint code, or drive your car in and they will match it and put it in a can, or a small touch-up bottle while you wait. They supply the panel beating trade and the walk in public. I was going to get a touchup bottle from them when I got my Stag, but ended up getting one on Ebay for around NZ$8 including freight, as I had so long to wait for my car to arrive.

Hey, look what I bought on Trademe today. Is this a good price or what - $152 for a set of mint Stagea 17" alloys? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=304633743 Crazy really, when I have another identical set sitting on the shelf waiting to install on my Stag to replace some sad 16's. Looks like I may have some nice wheels for my Cefiro too now. BTW, if anyone is interested in connecting an Ipod or similar direct to your V35/M35 factory stereo, this cable being sold on Trademe for $30 looks a good option. However, using this you'll disconnect the factory TV tuner losing audio from the aux input of the TV tuner, so it's not for everyone. See: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=304795862

Can't answer all these questions, but when I leave my navigation DVD in the drive, the Japanese girl talks to me almost all the time if I have the screen up, and particularly at the fuel usage screen. I'm not sure, but I think there maybe a destination set in the navigator that she's still trying to get me too, and I don't know how to reset it. One thing I can say, she's got a lot more patience than I have. When I remove the DVD, she's silenced forever, all navigation/maps etc disappear, all navigation menus are greyed out, and only the TV/Service/Fuel/Bluetooth menus etc operate. BTW, your car looks fantastic. Really love the colour too! I'd take a look at your air filter. That's one item that your dealer may not have bothered with, as they aren't as easy to remove and inspect as some cars. I bet some mechanics just leave them alone.

Heh Loh, just wondering what colour your V35 is. In the photo it looks blue, but probably lighter than mine which is colour code B21 (from the VIN plate under the bonnet). Actually, if you'd like to give me your chassis number, I can put it through FAST and give you some basic details on your car. I have discs for most JDM Nissans up to 2009. The chassis no. for my Stag for example is NM35-550652 While on the subject, if you go to www.carjam.co.nz and enter your number plate, it comes back with some quite interesting info on any car in NZ, like when each WOF was done, kms at the time, WOF and reg expiry etc, estimated auction value etc. If you pay some money, you'll get more details on history etc. I found some of my old cars there, and found some that had been scrapped. Even found my old 1974 Honda 500-4. Mike, the Stag with the cargo net is being auctioned on behalf of a wholesale importer who sells cars through Turners. It's possible Turners could put you in contact with the importer. I was tempted, but I think I maybe able to modify the one I still have from my S1 Stag. I know what you mean about the wheels. I haven't seen any I like better than the stock 17" ones. I'll be storing mine until I wear my 16" tyres out, which could be quite a while. Maybe I should take up drifting?

I'm very envious of you mate. I think if I owned that car, I'd immediately feel 20 years younger. I bet the Atenza would feel like a shopping trolley now... Looking forward to seeing some more pics when you get a chance.

Hey Chad bob, have you Photoshoped your reg plate out of the picture? I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think the M35, like the older WGC34 have aged very well.

No, not looking for another Stag, but may look at updating my 1998 Cefiro to something smaller, then my wife can use it, and I can take the Stag as my usual driver. Only problem is the Cefiro is still a great car, with only 70,000km and the smooth VQ25DE motor. When I imported it 7 years ago, it only had 15,000km and still had that "new car" smell. I'm reluctant to change it.

Oh Mike, I should have waited until you upgraded your wheels and bought yours off you! My RX250 Four has the fugly 16" wheels with awful 65 profile tyres, and I bought a set of factory 17" rims like yours to fit when I need new tyres. At least they were cheap. BTW, I was looking at cars for auction at Turners, Rosedale Rd yesterday and saw this 2003 Stag 250RS http://www.turners.co.nz/Vehicles/Pages/Ca...px?RefID=780977 It's one of the few I've seen with the cargo barrier net supplied. I wonder if they'd sell it separately? It's quite a tidy car except for a few supermarket scrapes. Your neighbour shows impeccable taste. I took a friend out in ours today, and he's now seriously considering a S2 RX350.