axmea?'s not-much-of-a-build thread - more like a photo log

[axmea?]

NST Pulleys arrived a few weeks back and finally have the time to install this Thursday at Amplified Motorsport.


[IMG]
DSCN4829 by axmea?, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]
DSCN4826 by axmea?, on Flickr[/IMG]

[paperboy42190]

damn your Z looks amazing!

Ever considered painting the headlights? Blackhoused headlights on a white car looks great

[Zbrah]

Pulleys installed yet Raf? interested in hearing your impression with them since I keep going back and forth with this mod

[axmea?]

Originally Posted by Zbrah

Pulleys installed yet Raf? interested in hearing your impression with them since I keep going back and forth with this mod

Interesting story behind the install but it is done. The car runs great. Car revs a whole lot better, although the 3rd and 4th gears are my favorite, 2nd gear pulls are fun. Strangely, my mileage dropped by .2 mi. per gallon.

Originally Posted by paperboy42190

damn your Z looks amazing!

Ever considered painting the headlights? Blackhoused headlights on a white car looks great

Thanks for the compliment. I've thought about it but I am not sure yet. Not sure of the combination I like plus have plans to do something else first. I will let you know.

[Zbrah]

Please Pm me about the install, and i thought one of the benefits of the pulleys is assisting in gas mileage unless you are red lining it al the time now lol

[axmea?]

Originally Posted by Zbrah

Please Pm me about the install, and i thought one of the benefits of the pulleys is assisting in gas mileage unless you are red lining it al the time now lol

Here's what happened. Are you ready?

This was Thursday last week. NST pulley install gone bad. Took 20 minutes to get the car up on their lift. This should have been a signal for me to say stop, I'm leaving. But I was there before. As for the installation itself, the battery terminal was not undone, shorted when the minion tech's wrench grounded and zapped a hole on the oil filter cooler. Coolant leaked out. Stupid minion tech error. He said he thought about it but did not say anything. I heard from the lead tech that the owner wanted to weld the hole shut. Tech said no not a good idea and asked to get a part instead (thanks Naoki). No parts to be found in short notice. Special order item. No dealer had it in stock. They decided to bypass the oil cooler so I can get home -- a temporary solution. Fine I can come back Saturday to install the replacement oil cooler. When they were done with the pulley install, the car would not start. Key light went on! They checked the fuses and did not find anything. They seriously thought the incident triggered the steering lock issue. Car sat overnight. Oil cooler replacement arrived late Friday. They eventually discovered the fuse that kept the car from starting. They missed it the first time they went over all fuses. They had to replace the fuse assembly to get car started. Glad to find it was not the steering lock issue. It should not be affecting later model Z's. Since the cooler was replaced, they replaced the oil and filter and began bleeding late in the day. I just had my oil changed the past weekend with Amsoil Synth and Amsoil filter. They used Eneos and K&N. Not a fan of K&N but oh well. It is what it is. They could not work on bleeding the car again until late Saturday (tech had an appointment and can work late afternoon on Saturday). Car was finished late Saturday. I was picked up Sunday AM to by the tech to pick up the car.

What normally took 1 hour at the most to complete took 2.5 days because they failed to protect the car by taking off the terminals from the battery, replacement parts took time, tech could not work early Sat AM due to a prior commitment. Oil cooler and the starter fuse assembly took a long time to find. They tried their best to get it fixed. Started with one error. The pulleys were done quickly. Had it not been for grounding out and zapping a hole on the cooler, it would have been fine and zero issues. Again, they did their best to figure it out.

Because of the trouble, they did not charge me for the install. I know they really felt terrible about what happened. I got upset and very disappointed with the installation but figured no sense in yelling and screaming at them. They did their best under the circumstance. It was inconvenient but you deal with it. No Z from from Thursday night thru Sunday morning. In the end, the car runs great! Love it. I wish I could dyno but did not want the spend the money on it. I'll wait 'til 2014 to get a tune done. I don't think it needs it right at this moment but I know it will benefit from it.

[paperboy42190]

at least you got a free install haha

[BeemaaZ]

Originally Posted by paperboy42190

at least you got a free install haha

Kudos for your patience, Rafael. What matters is you are happy with the result!

[axmea?]

Here's my write up on my suspension. Installed Powertrix Coilovers last Sept. Swift springs on the front. The rear Swifts just arrived and taking the car there this Friday early AM install just before work.

The very few and far between Powertrix coilover review -- picture heavy

[TerribleONE]

Very nice man. Subd. Lets hit a meet sometime!

[axmea?]

Sure will! We should drive out to Cerritos in January (the 4th).

[axmea?]

I really like the Fujimura kit. Chop work courtesy of cooltoy. Still deciding on whether to paint the bottom or not.

unpainted --


painted --


Compare to the existing set up ---

[IMG]
DSCN4976 by axmea?, on Flickr[/IMG]

[DatsunFTW]

both look very very good, but in my opinion I would go for the white on the bottom. It looks just right for me. Whichever way you go, it will look awesome!

[axmea?]

^^ Both you and jlo370 said the same thing. It'll be a tough one.

[jlo370z]

Originally Posted by axmea?

^^ Both you and jlo370 said the same thing. It'll be a tough one.

add a third to this , showed my wife and she says go with the white