sonicii

besides the obvious difference (sedan/wagon), the 300gt uses a 3.0L direct injected engine, if you want to do some tuning/power increse down the track, you are probably best off to avoid this model, as aftermarket tuning options are very sparce. If you want to go with the V35, you would be better off looking for a 350gt, more power out of the box, and a lot more 'power up' options. The 2.5L M35 is obviously already turbo charged, so 'power up' options would be even easier than a 350gt. If you just want to do some mild tuning, the 350gt or the M35 will be suitable. Both will be fine as a daily, unless you go nuts with mods. So it probably comes down to 'do you want an AWD wagon, or a RWD sedan'??

I though the original tyres are 215/55-17? if so a 235/50-17 will be the closest overall diameter. A 235/45-17 tyre will put your speedo and odo out by about 4%

The factory AC controls are all integrated into the same single circuit board behind the facia. the double DIN AC controls only come with the double DIN facia units, either Metra kit of the Nissan kit. I believe there is someone who has cut the factory board, but had to wire up a 'birds nest' of cables to get it working. I believe the Metra kit is made in USA, but the Nissan kit is made in Japan, perhaps that is why the G35driver guys refer to it as a ‘JDM” unit. The Metra kit is cheaper, but have heard the fit and colour are poor. I guess you may be able to save some $$ by getting your factory facia professionally cut and buy the Metra kit just to get the AC controls.

^^ Agreed, 10W-X won't be a problem for almost anywhere in Aust. Personally I would still stick with 5W30, just because Nissan recommend this weight of oil for all temperature ranges, and just suggests heavier oil 'may' be used in warmer climates. Japan can get some quite hot summers, so it is not like they haven't allowed for warm climates with their recommendations.

Not exactly.. the 2nd number does specify the viscosity at 100degC, but the first number specifies the coldest pour point of the oil, basically the temperature the oil becomes so think, it can no longer be pumped. Generally the lower the pour point temperature the thinner the oil will be at 'cold engine startup' temperatures, but this isn't actually what the ?W is specifying.

Fuel gauges are normally hopelessly inaccurate, but not that bad. I usually get about 150km per 1/4 of tank as per the gauge, all city driving. I would definitly try checking your economy as per 'PN-Mad's instructions. An ECU reset is unlikely to make much difference. It can be cleared with Consult, but i am not sure if there is a manual procedure, or if just disconnecting the battery for 'x' period of time will do the trick.

This is where the engine number should be stamped.

^^ I thought that was only if the MAF had failed, not if it is dirty (or oily) and giving an incorrect output?

I was thinking possibly a MAF too? As under cruise conditions the ECU will pay less attention to the MAF output and more attention to the O2 Sensors. During city driving it almost ignores the O2 sensors.

I believe the engine number is stamped on the back of the engine, somewhere around the back of the right bank. I don't have any pics, and it is a bit hard to explain. The VIN is usually printed on the compliance plate/sticker, and possibly stamped in the engine bay somewhere. Mine is stamped into the right strut tower. I wouldn't expect the numbers on your rego form to be incorrect, but who knows?? Does the bank know it is an personal import? The VIN on an import is a number generated when it is complied, usually based on the existing chassis number

Ouch.. sounds like there is something wrong there.. I wouldn't expect those sort of figures even if I was brutal with it around the city. the 12L/100km figure I get is with a bit of spirited driving. When I first got the car I was fairly gentle with it while getting used to the clutch position and such, and was seeing figures of 11L/100km in the city. With an auto, I wouldn't be surprised to see figures of 13 or 14L/100km, but 20+ is not right. I haven't done any decent highway runs to see what that is like yet. But my wife's J31 gets about 8-8.5L/100km on the highway.

Does the boxster have a DSG? If so, then it is very unfair to compare it to any standard auto.. not just the V35 RE5.

Yep.. sounds like a scam to me.. only accept cash, a bank cheque or a direct deposit. And if they owner doesn't collect the car and hasn't signed the transfer of registration papers before arranging for the car to be collected, then remove the plates and de-register it before the sale!

I have always wondered about the effectivness of grounding kits. I put one on my old J30 maxima years ago, and it did absolutly nothing. At the time I figured it was just a money making scheme for those who were too lazy to clean their factory ground points, and since I always kept connectors and ground points clean, it didn't do anyting for me.

Don't know much about the GTI, so I can't help there. If I were going the Mazda route, I would go with the 3 MPS. the 6 is bigger and heavier, it does have AWD, but that also robs some power, the 6 is also probably the poorest of your list when it comes to fuel economy. The WRX is a great car, unfortunately there are too many losers out there who drive them or, or drive a 'plane jane' impreza dressed up to look like a WRX, so they come with a bad rep.. insurance is also likely to be very high. There is a lot of them around, so they don't really fit in with your 'unique vehicle' criteria. I would go with the V35, but I am biased.. You don't 'need' to replace the stereo, but if it fails, the cost of repair can make replacement a viable option. with your overall budget, you will probably be looking at an early '00 coupe. Possibly a 2003, but depending on KM, you may get a newer model. Unfortunately it is the early models that had the most problems with the stereo. Factory stereo repair is often in the $600 area. Fitting an aftermarket Head unit involves replacing the existing fascia and AC controls, which you are looking around $300-$400 before you even factor in the head unit. If you buy a car with the Bose audio system, add a bit more to that figure. I replaced my head unit with one from an Infiniti G35 (US equivalent of the V35), it plays back MP3 CDs, and doesn't need a band expander to make the radio work here. You can pick one of these up for around $200 on the US forums, and they are a straight swap. But they will be 2nd hand, so there are no guarantees.. Insurance will be high, but that is typical of any import. General servicing shouldn't be excessive. But if anything fails, parts can be $$$$. You can import parts from USA for reasonable prices, but you need to be willing to wait for postage.. As for fuel economy.. somehow the VQ35 engine has received a bad rap in this area and I am not sure why? My 350gt 6sp sedan achieves around 12L/100km in the city. My wife drives a J31 maxima which also runs a VQ35 and it gets about 13L/100km, all city driving with a lot of short trips. Considering my parents 4cyl camry achieves about 15L/100km in the same conditions, and my Brother-in-Law's 3.0 SIDI commodore gets about 14.7L/100km. I would say fuel economy is quite good. If you are doing a mix of city and highway driving, you should be seeing figures around 10L/100km.

^^ Ah ok.. that makes sense then. I guess they were also Manuals.. otherwise it would be fpkw?

I think it will be fine, since the stock V35 coupe 18s run 245/45 and 225/45 from factory and doesn't cause any problems with the TC or VDC. Also, I am a bit confused by your sig. how did you measure Front Wheel KiloWatts in 2 Rear wheel drive cars?

Nothing wrong with those temperatures, was the gauge sitting in the normal position when the probe was reading between 86-93? (normal for you which is above half?)

^^ Good advice. The majority of the population don't even know they exist, so if you are really keen to sell it, you should be trying to get it out there in everyone's face.. park it in a prominent position with sales signs on it (if you local council will let you do this!). I have to agree that no-one seems to know how much they are worth. Just a quick look on carsales will usually reveal several cars of a similar age/condition/features, with as much as a $15k price variation. As a reference, I brought my 2005 6MT 350GT sedan with 75,000km for $19k about 3 months ago on carsales, and it has been sitting on there for several months.

I'll second that.. Have a great Christmas everyone!

^^ if this is correct, the coupe 18s are all the same size??? only the 19s are different rim sizes front/rear.. looks like I am going to need to measure them, or remove them and check the sizes stamped on the back again.

It is good to get dyno measurements to backup the claims.. it is probably a mod I will look at doing down the track if I can get one for the right price, I am guessing the factory engine cover still fits with the 5/16 spacer?. I'm not really convinced on the z-tube yet.. I have read mixed reports.. and personaly experience tells me not to bother with drop in replacement air filters (K&N), unless you just like the convenience of a clean and reuse, rather than replace.

In Qld, if you are selling the car registered, both the seller and buyer must sign a completed 'transfer of registration' form, the seller must also supply a safety certificate (road worthy cert), and a receipt for payment. It is then the buyers responsibility to take these forms to Queensland Transport, pay the stamp duty and have the registration transferred into their name. If you are buying from interstate, there is no tranfer option, the registration must be cancelled in the sellers state and re-registered in the buyers state. The buyer will need to get a Queensland Safety inspection, and the seller needs to supply a receipt for payment and a registration certificate to prove it was registered in their name.

I haven't done this mod, so this comment will probably hold very little weight. But over the years I have learnt to become very skeptical of claims of easy mods that are 'all positives and no negatives'. If that is the case, Nissan would have made it that way in the first place. An easy mod that shows improvements in top end power is likely to have a down side. generally noise, loss of some low end torque or increse in fuel consumption. There are also a few mods around (not suggesting this is one of them), that only give 'pseudo power', meaning all they do is make more noise, which gives the psychological impression of more power. Even the VQ35 rev-up engine that the US G35 got in 2005 had an extra ~15KW of power, but lost 13Nm of torque.

It depends on the bank, if you are both with the same bank, then yes a transfer will be very quick (usually less than 15 minutes). However interbank transfers are often much slower, sometimes a coupe of days. This would be a safe option, but the seller will need to be willing to wait for the funds to arrive in your account. Even when transfering funds between the big banks, you are normally looking at 2 day processing time. I wouldn't stress too much, Bank cheques are a very common way of paying large sums of money. If you buy a car from an dealer or a auction house, a bank cheque is generally the prefered way of paying. I certainly would have no problems accepting a bank cheque as payment for a car. They also give the buyer a bit of flexability, they can turn up with the cheque, if the like the car, they hand it over, if they don't like it, they walk away with the cheque in their hand. I believe it is also quite difficult to cancel a bank cheque if you can't return the cheque to the bank. I would expect you would need to make some sort of police report or stat dec. stating that you lost or had the cheque stolen. Then when the person named on the cheque tried to bank it, you would have some explaining to do.. Banks put their name/reputation on bank cheques, so they don't want to get a bad rep from some dodgy buyer. Again, if you are worried about this, call the 'hume building society' with your concerns and check what their policy is.