Duncan

that's damn brave. I don't think I would have put on the 2nd after 1 failed, and I sure wouldn't have put a 3rd on after the 3nd failed. How did they fail, how many laps in the session, what size, what camber and what pressure? +1. And you don't have to go home if it rains. And I don't think they are that much slower in a similar compund anyway, the new semis are pretty damn good That is the only way for a "road registered" rule to make any sense. We all know pretty much every car that turns up to a track day with a number plate is illegal, so why require the number plate bolted on? wierd rule, and it discourages people from giving it a go with a dedicated race car.

haha well I used to be sponsored by Fuchs so I may not be the best to answer that With a lightly used car like yours I think any reasonable oils are fine, and that includes Fuchs. If you are having a particular problem then you mught need a specific solution - but if all your fluids have been changed in the last 12 months I would not worry about anything except oil changes for years to come.

the redline heavyweight is fine for the rear and front diff, but not realy necessary for street use. I would just run any reasonable LSD oil in them both. Redline go to a lot of trouble to explain that their oil has "special" properties that mean it's SAE rating is misleading. FWIW, I also would not use redline in the gearbox unless you have noticed some crunching from the synchros. If the gearbox is fine just use a regular gearbox oil. The redline formula was changed in the last 2 years and it now breathes significantly from the box leading to lots of leaks/overflow/top ups even if the box is filled to the correct level. Also redline do not recommend it for gearboxes with synchros. For the transfer case and actuator, I personally would use Castrol Transmax Z, I have used it extensively without problems, and it is cheaper than the genuine nissan stuff. And finally...I probably wouldn't use nissan engine oil either - there are lots of better oils out there. Depending on klm on the motor, I'd be using 10w40 or 10w30 in any good fully synthetic oil.

don't bother buying used slicks mate....there is a reason the seller is not using them. I've bought cheap, new slicks from kumho and falken before, both were fine. Why not hit up John from fsport, remind him about sponsoring the SAU/renew days and see what he can do for you.

No you need the same diameter wheels front and rear. Anything more than about 3-5% difference and the 4wd will treat it as wheel spin

I'd pay 30-50% more for a vpsec 2 if I was looking to buy and keep. You can't beat the last of the line for a keeper. I've seen an excellent condition silver vspec2 on a yard for a while $30k. I would take it except I'm after white.

sorry nfi, but I have been told this by more than 1 good tuner. I assumed that acceleration and deceleration have difference forces on the bearings that matter during the first few klm. BTW, I should add, running in a motor is about getting the bearings seated correctly in the first very short time, and then about the piston rings bedding into the bores for the remainder. If you do a compression test before and after run in you will find a very large difference eg 130psi vs 180psi. The only other important thing is to change the oil nice and early so anything that was missed in the clean, and any ring and bearing run in material is gone. Here is an oil analysis I had done on run in oil:

are you two married yet?

I look for the longest hills I can and run up them at high gears at medium revs with medium throttle (make sure it's not too much load, pinging would be "a bad thing"). And when I say no boost, I mean as little as possible - turn off the boost controller and just run wastegate boost. A run to somewhere like bathurst up bell's line is perfect. Also, you should avoid engine braking on the way back down, it's not good for a motor running in. Alternatively, it is dead easy on a dyno because it creates the load you want - its much quicker that way but not everyone has one handy

on the bright side, there are FA Dot 5 fluids to accidentally buy

+1 Dot6 would have made much more sense....but that's not what happened. BTW Dot 5.1 is not always better than Dot 4 - some fluids are only Dot4 but have 600o+ boiling points

always run a motor in reasonably hard (ie about 50-70% load with little or no boost), up to about 70% of max revs. And never let the motor idle or run at the same revs for a long time. The days of doing 5000klm on 10% throttle are long gone. Tolerances on a modern motor are much tighter and more accurate, and everything is over very quick. Personally I: 1. Unplug the CAS, and crank on the starter until there is some oil pressure 2. Run the motor at idle until the thermostat opens. Check there are no water leaks. About 5 min. 3. Drive it to a dyno and run it in for 100klm, or do 200ish klm on the road. Run it at medium load with no boost, regularly varying revs. 4. Drop the oil and change the filter, this removes 90% of anything you missed in the cleaning. 5. Run another 1000-4000klm on mineral oil depending on if it's a race or street motor (change the race motor to synthetic earlier). 6. Compression test. Be happy about the results. Enjoy

yes, 20w50 mineral is exactly what I use

BTW just to clarify legality - all skyline xenons (to 34 at least, maybe 35 and 36 as well) are removed at compliance as they do not meet ADRs. If you have a skyline with them, they were refitted after compliance (or never removed )

What temp does your thermostat open? The skyline ones are high 70s (79?), so 84 would be a perfectly normal running temp. Remember, the motor needs to be warm as per nissan's design to work efficiently (particularly fuel) I wouldn't worry about the temps until they head past 100 under heavy use.

The sportscar rental guys on victoria rd have an r35 gtr, but not sure if they have a 370. Would be a fun machine to get around in.

No! Yes! Perfectly normal behaviour, not just in skylines but in pretty much every car. Generally the 2 lights (low and high) are not designed to work together.

excellent answer

is it a 34 gtt? Looks like some sort of boost controller to me. Is the boost the same as it was before the line broke? What mods does that engine bay have?

But does it pull soccer mums? In my experience 350z only attracts blokes

almight johnstons is absolutely classic. best thing out of NZ since bro town.

there is a trick, the 34 uses a pull clutch, you need to unclip the fork. There is an R pin you have to remove and then the fork will slide off. and don't forget you will have to put that bloddy pin back in on re-assembly

Well, I reckon do a dyno run with and without the alternator on the fan belt (remember to still run the water pump of course) and see what the maximum difference is. I'm all for improvements but I suspect this is too marginal to chase. One other item worth mentioning - I run an underdriven fan and alternator pulley which is another way of reducing the drag. I did it for increased cooling but it should mean less drag from the alternator as it turns 30% less

Not possible unfortunately....the drag is caused by the power required to turn the alternator, and the alternator would be turned no matter whether it was on or off. A/C (or my March's supercharger) have an electric clutch that disengages the pulley from the compressor which reduces the drag to almost nothing when turned off, big difference. you can of course run without an alternator if the car can run on battery power and be recharged in the pits

oh that sucks....someone who owned your car in the past didn't give a shit about it you definately want the same tyres on either side of the same axle....it might be expensive but I also always replace mine in pairs. The car must be consistent between left and right grip.