Hands Up all the Aussies

[Mud]

Busy couple of days...
Front/Rear sway bars fitted out at Whiteline (Fulcrum). Turn in even more precise now - I have done a bit of testing on the softest dampening settings (closest I can get to stock) and it's much better. Will slowly retune it to a harder dampening to hit sweet spot for it (keeping in mind it's pretty much my daily at the moment).

First baseline dyno is done - AK Racing were surprised that the numbers were as high as they were. We were expecting 250-260kw at the bags. Peaked at 281kw/461nm on (Australian) 98 octane fuel. No other performance mods. Note both lines are pure baseline - no tuning whatsoever.

We did this baseline only to test a couple of different exhaust configurations. Rob Bliss Exhausts are working on a system now, but we are going to start with effectively a 3.5" axle back first. Once we run another baseline, I'll then take it for a catback (removing secondary cats), test again and finally I'll do turbo back and intakes before a final ramp and tune.
I included a pic of the exhaust setup from lunchtime. Haven't had a chance to go back yet, but I'll try to get more pics and a sound clip if I can fit it all in around work.

Any questions, ask away.
As always, happy to show and tell once it's all in too. All the service I've had from AK Racing and Rob Bliss has just been top notch so far. Can't recommend them highly enough!

Out fucking standing!

 

[Proto Z]

Out fucking standing!

Cheers mate!
I've had you in mind while I've been doing this shit.... Have to catch you at a meet soon to show you in the flesh.

 

[Mud]

Cheers mate!
I've had you in mind while I've been doing this shit.... Have to catch you at a meet soon to show you in the flesh.

Are you going to Cars and Coffee Coorparoo tomorrow?

 

[Proto Z]

Are you going to Cars and Coffee Coorparoo tomorrow?

Unlikely- might have the car back but it won't be finished...

 

[Proto Z]

Didn't get the valve on today, but had a play with a couple of different cans. This one (I'll get details) was the biggest, had an internal anti-drone chamber and was nice and quiet.

The idea is that if I can find the right tone but keep it really quiet, the valve will give me all the volume and performance I could want.

Going to dyno it like this (with valve added) on Tuesday next week. Then it'll go back to Rob Bliss Exhausts for cat delete and a final (tuned) dyno.

Apologies for the shitty sound clip, it was late and best I could get in a rush.

 

[peter]

Finally go to take a Blue manual out for a drive, got doctors clearance yesterday as haven't driven a car since surgery in October.
Local dealer gave me the keys and said take it out for a good drive. took it out for about 45mins, very impressed by acceleration, exhaust sound was fine for me, all gear changes smooth like my old 370Z, some minor suspension tweaks would be enough for me.
Only let down was the amount of carry over parts in the cabin from other Nissan cars, but once your driving it you soon forget about that, seats looks the same as 370Z but felt more comfortable than I remember.
This dealer was taking non refundable deposits with a wait time exceeding 12 months.

 

[West Aussie]

Finally go to take a Blue manual out for a drive, got doctors clearance yesterday as haven't driven a car since surgery in October.
Local dealer gave me the keys and said take it out for a good drive. took it out for about 45mins, very impressed by acceleration, exhaust sound was fine for me, all gear changes smooth like my old 370Z, some minor suspension tweaks would be enough for me.
Only let down was the amount of carry over parts in the cabin from other Nissan cars, but once your driving it you soon forget about that, seats looks the same as 370Z but felt more comfortable than I remember.
This dealer was taking non refundable deposits with a wait time exceeding 12 months.

Non refundable…how they getting away with that?
It’s actually against the law after a certain period of time

 

[morgand]

Non refundable…how they getting away with that?
It’s actually against the law after a certain period of time

Not sure about WA, however in the eastern states as long as they meet the delivery timelines they can legally keep the deposit.

Up until now dealers haven't cared and speculators knew this. The worm is turning, and I imagine some dealers are getting worried about stock levels in 12-18 months time. I imagine a lot of smart people are working out the best way to return volumes to normal....

 

[West Aussie]

Not sure about WA, however in the eastern states as long as they meet the delivery timelines they can legally keep the deposit.

Up until now dealers haven't cared and speculators knew this. The worm is turning, and I imagine some dealers are getting worried about stock levels in 12-18 months time. I imagine a lot of smart people are working out the best way to return volumes to normal....

In WA they can not if the contract has been written over 12 months
After 12 month if the product hasn’t been delivered the customer has the right to refuse the contract and get their money back….my dealer told me this himself.
So must be different here .
I would never have signed if I didn’t think I could get my deposit back

 

[jpw]

Finally go to take a Blue manual out for a drive, got doctors clearance yesterday as haven't driven a car since surgery in October.
Local dealer gave me the keys and said take it out for a good drive. took it out for about 45mins, very impressed by acceleration, exhaust sound was fine for me, all gear changes smooth like my old 370Z, some minor suspension tweaks would be enough for me.
Only let down was the amount of carry over parts in the cabin from other Nissan cars, but once your driving it you soon forget about that, seats looks the same as 370Z but felt more comfortable than I remember.
This dealer was taking non refundable deposits with a wait time exceeding 12 months.

Hello Peter. Did you notice any rev hang on the upshifts? When I test drove a Z recently the revs would not drop quickly when changing up through the gears when accelerating quickly. Just wondering if this might have been specific to the car I tested - or whether it is just a characteristic of the car. I found it very annoying and made the shifts jerky. I have driven manual cars for years - but maybe I need to spend more time in the car. Come to think of it, the Z has a very high clutch bite point. Maybe I am hitting the throttle slightly before my left leg has fully leg go of the clutch, etc.

 

[West Aussie]

Hello Peter. Did you notice any rev hang on the upshifts? When I test drove a Z recently the revs would not drop quickly when changing up through the gears when accelerating quickly. Just wondering if this might have been specific to the car I tested - or whether it is just a characteristic of the car. I found it very annoying and made the shifts jerky. I have driven manual cars for years - but maybe I need to spend more time in the car. Come to think of it, the Z has a very high clutch bite point. Maybe I am hitting the throttle slightly before my left leg has fully leg go of the clutch, etc.

I’m not Peter, but I test drove a gun metal manual here in WA…didn’t find any issues with revs.
It took me a little bit to get use to the clutch, because the bite point was light years in difference to the i20, but I remember my Peugeot RCZ being close to the mark. As I haven’t driven a great manual gear box for a while it took me by surprise.
Once accustomed to that change I was fine.

But as to revs…no issue on my test drive, possibly an abnomally on the blue

 

[peter]

Hello Peter. Did you notice any rev hang on the upshifts? When I test drove a Z recently the revs would not drop quickly when changing up through the gears when accelerating quickly. Just wondering if this might have been specific to the car I tested - or whether it is just a characteristic of the car. I found it very annoying and made the shifts jerky. I have driven manual cars for years - but maybe I need to spend more time in the car. Come to think of it, the Z has a very high clutch bite point. Maybe I am hitting the throttle slightly before my left leg has fully leg go of the clutch, etc.

Hi, test drive was fine and did not notice any rev issues, the gear changes were all smooth , for me it felt like I was back in my 370Z, only a more modern version with heaps more power

 

[peter]

In WA they can not if the contract has been written over 12 months
After 12 month if the product hasn’t been delivered the customer has the right to refuse the contract and get their money back….my dealer told me this himself.
So must be different here .
I would never have signed if I didn’t think I could get my deposit back

Got a follow up call by dealer today to see how I liked the car and drive on the weekend and asked about deposit refunds he stated that if you placed on order in FEB 2023 and the car was not delivered by Mar 2024 you would get your deposit back.

 

[peter]

re car insurance
had a talk to a friend who is a smash repairer and he advises against Budget Direct, advised that if you damaged say one of your mirrors that they would go out of their way to find a second hand or non OEM part.

re washing
anyone thought about washing with a snow foam cannon and then drying off with a car air dryer, both would significantly reduce swirl marks. Two or three bucket method would be required when car got really dirty

 

[Proto Z]

Hello Peter. Did you notice any rev hang on the upshifts? When I test drove a Z recently the revs would not drop quickly when changing up through the gears when accelerating quickly. Just wondering if this might have been specific to the car I tested - or whether it is just a characteristic of the car. I found it very annoying and made the shifts jerky. I have driven manual cars for years - but maybe I need to spend more time in the car. Come to think of it, the Z has a very high clutch bite point. Maybe I am hitting the throttle slightly before my left leg has fully leg go of the clutch, etc.

I'll just inject myself here...
I haven't noticed what you are talking about. Closest I have come to that phenomenon is on downshift with rev matching on. It's my first manual with rev matching and it was a bit disconcerting at first, but now freaking love it!

If it is definitely on upshifting, I reckon it may have just been the bite point of the clutch. It did take me a solid week or so to get really comfortable with it. Now its harder to drive other manuals