sonicii

D2R is the type of HID light used by the manufacturer for low beam. if you car was properly complied after import, the HIDs would have been removed and replaced with halogen lamps. looks like the low beam reflector has falled off on yours, but I can't really see the actual lamp properly. The High beam and fog lamp section is a halogen lamp from the factory. the easiest way to tell if you have HIDs is to watch them when you turn them on, they generally take a few seconds to reach full brightness and tend to be a bit bluish until they have properly warmed up. Halogens are generally at at full brightness almost immedeatly (less than 1 second).

it isn't a matter of aiming, it is an issue of the shape of the light pattern. RHD headlights have a light pattern that 'kicks up' on the left to properly light the left side of the road. LHD light pattern kicks up on the right.. straight into the face of oncomming drivers.. if you tried to adjust a LHD head light low enough to stop it blinding oncomming drivers, the main light pattern would be so low that you wouldn't be able to see much more than 2 M in front of your car! I have head stories of people dismantling the projector headlight and removing part of the reflector to make the light pattern flat, which I imagine would then be legal. no idea if you can do this with G35 headlights though. You can be defected for using LHD headlights here. besides the inconsiderate issue.

I think the cut off for repairs is more than 20% in most cases.. I have know people with $30,000 cars which needed $12,000 of repairs after an accident and the insurance company repaired it. From what I understood (but could be wrong) the cut off is 20% less than the value of the car. so if the car is insured for $10,000 and repairs will be more than $8,000, then it's a write off. it doesn't make much financial sense for an insurance company to pay out $10,000 for a write off, when they could have paid $2,500 in repairs. To the OP, if you don't have comprenhensive insurance, then you might not have much to go on if you get a 'low ball' figure. all I can suggest is ring a few insurance companies and find out how much they would insure your car for (if it wasn't damaged), companies like shannons or just cars (to mention a few). You can then go back to the insurance company making the low offer and ask them to increse it based on the figures you get. Maybe have a look on car sales and see how much a similar car is selling for.. this might help your case too. However, if they feel they can justify their figure, I don't like your chances of getting it incresed.. especially since you aren't one of their customers. You could try going to your 3rd party insurance company and see if there is anything they can do from their side (assuming you mean 3rd party property, not 3rd party compulsory included in your rego). But I doubt there is much they can do either.

Most insurance companies will have a set value for the car, if you have comprehensive insurance, it should be listed on the policy.. if you don't have comprehensive insurance and you are relying on the insurance of the 'at fault' vehicle.. it could get a bit tricky if that company doesn't insure imports, as they may not have a listed market value. - in this case you might want to try calling a few insurance companies who do insure imports and ask what value they would insure it for.. that way you have some ammunition if you feel it gets undervalued.

There are a few reputable importers around, have a search on the forums, there have been a few posts on the topic. KM and vehicle history are very difficult to confirm with imports.. certainly get it checked by a good mechanic, ask them to check for accident history and signs the KM are incorrect. Tell tail signs of fake KM are wear on brake disc rotors, wear on drivers seat, steering wheel, pedals, carpets, etc. at 17,000km there should be very little wear on any of these items. If the brake rotors are lipped on the edge, you can be sure the KM are wrong. A good mechanic or panel beater will be able to check for major accident repairs. That said, if it is a fresh import 17,000km is not unbelievable.. most people in the large japaneese cities don't drive on a daily basis...

Ahh.. you have a coupe.. sucks the sedans get a sub and the coupe doesn't... Have a look at a few?? Lol.. because they are so common and all.. I think I have seen one in the flesh while it was driving in the other direction. Kind of shuts down your 'there was never a sub in any V35. Don't know where you got that from?' comment though.. Anyway.. glad you are happy with the setup!

the single 8in speaker in the center of the parcel shelf is considered a sub.. the non-bose systems did not have this, they only have the door speakers. If you have a bose system an don't have the sub in the parcel shelf.. someone has removed it at some stage.. You should also have a small amp under the parcel shelf toward the left side, if you have a true bose system. A quick search on the forum should yeild plenty of information.

Some parts are the same as the 350Z, the newer 350Z runs the same VQ35HR engine, but there are plenty of other parts which are unique to the V36. Normal servicing should be fine. You can run into issues if you have faults that need repair.. even some Nissan dealers will refuse to plug in their consult tool to check error codes. But if you can find a good dealer or mechanic that is familiar with the skylines, you should be fine. Running costs have been good for me, but I do my own servicing and mechanical work, fuel economy is good - 11.5 to 12.5L/100km in the city, average 8L/100km on the highway. The auto may be a little worse in the city. Insurance is about $750 per year, but that's mainly because I'm old (37) and have a clean accident and license history. I have heard figures of over $2k for young drivers or bad history. hope that is the type of info you are after.

if he has a Bose system.. he does have a sub.. unless he has removed it??

You are really looking at different cars for different markets, so it is going to be hard to compare... The big holden and ford V8s are going to give you more interior space, easy availability for parts, and considerably cheaper parts.. but they do come with the 'knuckle dragger' reputation.. especially the HSV.. Imports are always going to be more expensive for parts, and some will need to be shipped here. This may change a bit when Infiniti sell the G series cars here, but they are likely to be V37s and are coupes and convertables only, so I'm not sure which parts will be compatable with a V36. General service items are 'off the shelf' items here, so no issues there (oil, filters, fluids, etc.) The 350GT is probably going to struggle to keep up with the latest V8 offerings from ford and holden for outright acceleration. if this is a concern, the 370GT may help a bit there. That said, I would take the V36 anyday over the ford/holden options, superior quality, better ride and handling, nicer looking (understand this is personal choice). Fuel economy is going to be better in the V36 and any decent mechanic should be able to do normal servicing. Running costs should be better in the Nissan.. unless anything breaks.. which is probably less likely with the Nissan anyway.. (better on fuel, cheaper to register, probably not much difference in insurance, etc) Challenges can arise if you want to modify it.. especially in regards to adding a aftermarket stereo, alarm system, etc.. you really need to have someone who knows these cars doing the work or it will end up in tears.. No idea about the english conversions.. the S2 V35s haven't been done yet.. so I wouldn't hold my breath for the V36.

I had a look at the install instructions for the window closer module and there is no mention of any wiring to the window motors or buttons? only to the door lock position, the door lock motor, power and ground.. how does it close the windows?

Currently true.. all G37s will look that same as our V36.. but the 2007+ G35 is also the same as our V36.. and if the next series of skyline (V37), has a 3.7L engine, it will also be called a G37 in USA. So it could be potenitally misleading to make a direct G vs V comparson.

Almost.. G35 = V35 350GT and V36 350GT (sometimes called 2nd gen G35). G37 = V36 370GT. The Infiniti model numbers signify engine size... thus no G36 as there is no 3.6L version.. There is now an Infiniti G25.. as you can guess it is basically a V36 250GT.. Same applies for the rest of the Infiniti models.. eg. M37 is a 3.7L V6.. M56 is a 5.6L V8.. etc..

I believe the difference with the 'bose' version of the interface, is it reduces the level of the HU speaker outputs to suit the bose amp input. the non-bose interface does NOT bypass the bose amp

No G36 in the world.. they don't exist.

A diff issue did run through my mind when you mentioned the grinding when shifting to park ( output shaft still turning when selecting park), but figured a blown diff or broken axel wouldn't exactly be silent.. And usually occurs under brutal treatment.

Sounds like an internal gearbox issue to me.. was going to suggest a stripped spline on the torque converter or a pump failure.. but if that were the case. the Park pawl should still engage and stop the car moving. Did it make any noises (clunks or bangs), when it failed?

the G37 is the V36 370GT, the G35 covers our V35 and V36 350GT. The infiniti model numbers signify the engine size not the series.. the G25 is the V36 250GT. I think Brad is probably on the right track.. the AWD G35 will have some differences.. as far as I know the RWD G35 (up to 2006) suspension setup is the same as our V35.

I highly doubt the Maxima rear wheel bearing will be the same, other than the styling, the V35 doesn't share much with the Maxima... I believe the 350z bearings are the same.. you might want to confirm that before you buy them though.. there are quite a few ebay listings showing the 350z and G35 bearings as the same.

They are series 2 tail lights, and should be the same on any S2 V35 (250,300,350)..

That's a good point, you will need to get a S1 deck if you have a S1 V35. I believe the connectors are different between the S1 and S2. Also, as you know, the face panel is different, and you will probably need this from the G35 too. The S2 V35 doesn't play MP3s.. it does had a MD player, perhaps that is where the confusion has come from? That is the main reason I got the G35 HU, as I wanted MP3 playback. and it was cheaper than the Double DIN setup or the iPod I/F. I found mine on the G35driver 'for sale' section. They pop up on there every now and then.

You can get them fixed in Aust, but I believe the cost is significant. It would be worthwhile looking at the double DIN facia and an aftermarket head unit. If you want to keep a factory type unit, you could post it to the US for repair. Or you should be able to pick up a 2nd hand G35 head unit for less than $300. I picked up a bose G35 head unit for US$170. If you decide to go down this route, you have the obvious risk of it not working when it gets here.. If you go new or 2nd hand from USA, make sure you buy like for like (bose with navi with a G35 bose with navi), then it should be a simple swap. And the G35 HUs can play MP3 CDs. The hard part will be getting your CDs out of the old unit.. I believe it requires major surgery..

It could still be a wheel bearing.. just because you can't hear it make any noise when turning by hand, doesn't mean it isn't bad, if you could hear it when turning it by hand, it would be 'screaming' at 60km/h. If it is an exhaust issue, I would expect the noise to change depending what you do with the throttle. Still confused by your exhaust setup.. my 350 has a single pipe with a dual outlet final muffler.. keeping in mind the fuel tank is under the rear seats and therefore well before the final muffler, I am interested to see how yours is setup

Only the Coupe gets the dual exhaust (which is really just dual rear mufflers, not a full dual system)

The search button at the top can be helpful. http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/174442-v35-insurance/page__st__180__p__6366708__hl__insurance__fromsearch__1#entry6366708 Heaps of info in this thread on exactly this topic.. insurance premiums are very dependant on your age, driving history and which insurer you choose.