Blue car progress

[cisco]

Kinda getting there. Just had really no time lately with work. I need a less busy/stressful job soon!

But..

Well all tuned as per previous thread.
Today went in to fix up some really bad resonance that the car has at both exactly 3000rpm and 4000rpm. Absolutely terrible, must be something pretty not right, but no idea what.

Paid $28 for YET ANOTHER one-day rego permit, went to the exhaust shop. I'd had a booking all week.

He couldn't find anything wrong with the exhaust, but then told me the muffler only had 2" inlet and outlets and that it *could* be the muffler. So all day for that advice, he only got to my car at 4:50pm and then had to close shop at 5pm and hadn't done anything. So drive back home waste of $28 rego permit.

Plan: Putting the whiteline springs and konis on the blue car for a while. Coil overs beautiful but occasionally the steering alignment sticks in one particular direction after you've made a tight turn, only resets itself the next time you make a tight turn in the opposite direction. VERY annoying for a road car. Sometimes it hardly ever happens, but occasionally it does, and really rubbed salt into the wound when that happened today after the exhaust guy didn't touch my car.

So let's get down to smooth factory reliable basics like the Fairmont. Never had a single whinge about the whiteline and koni combo, its not as firm and responsive as the coil overs, but it doesn't have the steering sticking issue. So put those back in, go for rego SOON.

Have ordered some factory LX hubs which won't have any obvious ABS sensor holes. This will hopefully aid in passing rego inspection. If they ping me, then I will just go for broke and re-install the ABS purely to pass rego. This will involve having a brake shop make up 2 new lines for me because 2 had to be destroyed when the ABS was removed because they were impossible to remove. What a biatch - really hope they don't notice, there won't be much evidence left after these front hubs go on.

Because the car is still vibrating, it seems to push the car over the 90Db limit at those points, so I will also re-install the blocker plate in the exhaust to drop 5Db off the car's volume. Then remove again after it passes, its only *JUST* under/on the 90Db limit, so just saves me making more trips from them failing me from something so stupid and minor.

Apart from that, car going really well. Engine particularly driving just lovely. Would be nice to have it all fixed up and registered well before winter comes. I just don't seem to get any time to pay attention to everything all in a single week and get it over with.

Might take a solid 1-2 weeks annual leave soon and FOCUS to complete the project.

 

[CMF_Sean]

Sounds good mate!

Just remember though, you've got some free labour over my way if you need it

Sean

 

[CMF_jaxx]

Rego permit? is that the equivalent DVLA (uk). Is it a pass which allows you to drive it daily instead of insuring and registering it for the full year?

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Cisco I thought you reregistered it after the last rebuild? Did you let it slip again? Mate I would have payed it in full even if I was not using it just to avoid going over the pits yet again.

 

[cisco]

Yeah I would have too Micra King.

VERY TOUCHY SUBJECT.

Read other threads for an update.

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

Ah just read that post. That really sucks and why I would never trust the RTA. Make sure you wind the boost right down for the test or the old guy doing the test might crap his pants while crashing into a tree

 

[cisco]

They don't actually drive the car!

Last time (as you said), I had the car put over the pits at the same place I have to go to now.

Once they read the engineer's cert, they hardly did anything else apart from check headlight illumination and exhaust Db. Didn't even look inside the interior, didn't get under the car.

And made me drive over the 10cm high rails to make sure not too low.

Apart from that, they only got underneath the car when I had to go back because it failed from the exhaust being too loud! Then they shone a torch up the tail pipe to see if I'd put a sock up there or something. bahah!

 

[cisco]

Ok I've done some thinking.

Decision: Re-install ABS. I just can't be bothered to ever have my insurance void if I had a crash. Otherwise there's no point, its too risky.

I'll re-install the whole ABS setup, have it in there all legit and then I can drive straight over the pits and look them in there eye confidently. Then also no worries about insurance. Too bad about the extra weight. Its a modern safety feature, I'll just leave it in there and shut up for now.

 

[cisco]

Steps to get rego:
- Re-install ABS myself. 2 of the metal lines were destroyed from me removing it all, so will just source those from Nissan brand new or either a wreck. Then re-install myself at home.
- Put in factory Nissan headlights.
- Install exhaust blocker plate.

Drive through rego confidently. ETA 1-2 weeks - that's my goal.

 

[CMF_Polar]

cisco cant you just register it as a micra kit car / motorsport car? then you could have as much modifications as you like and not have to have factory parts fitted like abs. maybe you could speak to some people on rally forums to see what way you apporoach it. your rego seems to be the most painful process in the world.

 

[cisco]

Another decision. I think I'm sick of this short shifter.

Going to re-install the factory long throw shifter.

Also chasing up some 14" steel wheels with hub caps.

So soon going to look just like a subtly low micra with 14" hubcaps, factory steering wheel and shifter height and knob, with just a total monster lurking underneath the engine bay and the big brakes and handling and the nice interior and gauges and rear cargo tray - practical.

Think its what I need. Really want the car to have that factory on steroids kind of appeal. Not like some autosalon blue micra with racing wheels that everyone can see a mile off. Ahh a new factory on steroids approach, loving it.

Out in the garage now making it all happen.

 

[CMF_Sean]

Keep a hat in the car to throw over the guages when you don't want them seen (ie. when you pull up at the lights, when parked etc...)

Sean

 

[CMF_Sean]

NOW BACK TO THE GARAGE!

 

[cisco]

Awesome idea. hehehe.

 

[CMF_Tony]

Cisco when you get your 14ich steelies and wheelcovers why don't you stick some semi-slick/drag tyres on,that would be very subtle no one will even suspect a thing.

 

[cisco]

Was just thinking exactly the same!

Maybe some 15" steelies with Falken Azenis legal semi-slicks. Sounds like the go. Must have subtle looking hubcaps.

Allright. Konis and whiteline springs installed on blue monster's rear end.

Rear ABS sensor lines all 100% re-installed and hooked up.

Tomorrow night's agenda:
- Install front ABS sensor lines
- Install konis and whiteline springs on the front
- Install factory shifter

Tuesday night's agenda:
- Re-install ABS ECU
- Re-install ABS master cyl and as many lines as I have.
- Source remaining 2-3 lines

I can almost smell my new number plates.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Who could resist these sexy hubcaps?

http://images.carsales.com.au/private/760376.jpg

 

[CMF_Tony]

I think Cisco's going for subtle Yom,Not **** ugly.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Cisco: after tyre shopping today, go some 14" steelies which fit over the big brakes.

Much much much much much wider choice of tyres.

 

[cisco]

Go the 14s you reckon??

Any idea of which 14" steelies fit over the AD22VF brakes ?

 

[CMF_55bhp is more than enough]

whats going on cisco. your car is so nice, why ruin it by putting steelies on, wont your absolutly gorgoes rims be lighter than the steelies. please dont put your abs back on, are you absolutly sure that it will fail without it? how come your getting rid of the short shifter, doesnt it just enhance your car? please dont put the steel wheels back on, or at least go for some wella wheels that have been widened. like these

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=MSPORT&pcode=DMF544179

if you do put steels back on please dont get hubcaps, they just look really crap. Why do you want to ruin the look of your car.

when i read this i was kinda dissapointed, i mean to me your car is what i aspire to, but with all these changes im not so sure anymore, there is nothing wrong with making your car look tidy and if i didnt know your car i would jsut think it was a normal micra with a nice set of wheels on. i mean its perfect just know why ruin that?

 

[CMF_55bhp is more than enough]

oh and i would put up with the steering fault if i could have the coilovers. I know that it was gettin you down with tha lack of progress, i get the same way but this is the worst time to make descisions. i really do sympothise but if you do this i just think you would ruin what some consider ( Im one of them) the best micras/ sleeper cars in the entire world

 

[CMF_Yom]

If you can't find anything about 14" steelies, I know alot of Pug's (206 and 306) come with 15" steelies in a 4x100 stuf pattern.

 

[cisco]

Hehe thanks 55hp. Appreciate your concern. Funny stuff 'eh..

Well here's how I see it right at present:

Rims - You're probably right about the rims. I love my rims. Just really was keen on concealing the car a bit more.. Check out this photo, this is what I love about the cheap hub caps, they look so stealth!! But I might just leave the lightweight rims on, yeah I absolutely love them too - yeh they are light are make the car steer and respond nice because of that.

ABS - This was the real killer decision for me. I have kind of "come around" a bit with my thinking on this too. Tomorrow, I'm ringing my engineer and asking him what he thinks. Could he perhaps engineer it because the brakes have also been upgraded in size at the same time, or what's the go etc. But I'm pretty sure he won't condone their removal. I might try to get through rego without putting the ABS back in, just to have a go, if they spot it, then I just put it back in to pass anyway.. Yeah the brakes feel so damn good with the bigger ABS booster but no ABS, real nice and powerful and responsive now. But then I also thought, I absolutely don't ever want to have a crash and be caught for having ABS removed.. That would mean VOID insurance, i.e. could make me go bankrupt.

Short shifter. I think I've changed my thoughts on these. Kind of gotten a bit sick of the tight feeling, and I had mine perfectly adjusted with washers and everything. The throw is nice and short, but it kind of makes everything stiff and a bit less accurate or smooth. Not sure, I finished re-installing the factory one tonight, set the gaitor up so it looks tops and covers the entire metal stick, and just now seem to prefer the smoother/easier shifting. So going to stick with this.. Sometimes I think the short shifter may have made me stuff up some gear changes because its a bit stiffer or something.

The coilovers absolutely transform the handling of the car. They are a league above the whiteline gear, and still so smooth and responsive on road. Just this inkling little steering problem drove me over the edge the other day.
Background: Major inconveniences one after the other. I'm in this deadlock where I need to fix stuffed up annoying things to pass rego, but without rego it costs so much time and money to take the car everywhere it needs to go to get the things fixed! DEADLOCK. So I keep paying for these stupid $28 one day rego permits. I organised one of those again last week, made a booking in advance at the exhaust shop. Then dropped it off there. He gets to it at 4:50pm 10 minutes before he shuts and tells me he's hungover and went to bed at 330am after a big night on the piss, and that he can't find the cause of the loud annoying resonances, and that he thinks its the engine. Then he proceeds to tell me that my rear muffler only has 2" inlet and exit holes, and he must have forgotten to tell me that last time when he welded on a 2" dump pipe incorrectly instead of 2.5". So I even did my power run and made that 143.7kw at the wheels all with a 2" tip diameter!! So now I know I need to replace my rear muffler and get a 2.5" hole one and also same diameter tip. After all that **** and him stuffing up, I jumped in the car, annoying that it still vibrates and went to turn and the steering got stuck to one side badly and did that terrible coil over thing. I absolutely cracked, it was like the last straw. Like "this crazy car with absolutely everything modified at once, and everything stuffs up at once - arfgh!!!" Just couldn't handle a badly vibrating car pulling hardly to one side. So frustrating.
So I said, I don't care what benefit these things give me, i.e. coilovers, if its going to detract from the refinement or quality of everyday driving, then I absolutely don't want it. The car is a daily driver slash street monster, not a track race car. It has to be smooth, it has to feel nice, it absolutely cannot vibrate and shake to pieces, it cannot have bad wheel alignments - I can't stand any of that. Hence the decision. I've previously disassembled the coilovers completely, and oiled the upper ball joints and belted them to try to free them up, but they aren't servicable - they are one-piece things that you can't open up. So for now in this difficult time of just wanting to drive the car and have it work and drive in a straight line, the coilovers are out. I will continue to talk with B-Crews who I bought them off and hope he can fix them for me or come up with a solution, because it isn't good enough. Hopefully that explains why I kinda promptly made the decision to pull them out for now. Absolutely will not sell them, because the handling is superb A1, no complaints, its like a super quality ride even for a street car over bumps. Better than I expected, and I aim to put them back in later.. Just can't handle that unrefined one million niggling problems after each other crap any more. Let's just fix one thing at a time and have a car that works. A game of steps!

That's about it. I'm trying to organise some time off work soon so I can focus 100% for a week on finalising everything and having the rego done. That's the goal. Then yeah I'll look at things like fixing the coilovers and putting them back on, and possibly removing the ABS again. You see, the government shopfront did a big muddle up with their advice which is the only reason I have to even do this stupid rego inspection now. So its been a major pain in the arse! Like micra-king said, if you have a modified car, rego is worth gold, you don't want to ever retire your number plates for anything. In future, even if the stupid lady at the counter tells me otherwise, I still won't believe her and I will NEVER cancel my rego! Even if they give me a "Re-Register without the need for an inspection" coupon that I can redeem, because guaranteed it will be a fake or they won't honour it. You always get caught out.

 

[CMF_Toma]

Hehe those steelies make the car look so incredibly stock. Oh id love to see the look at the silly commodore drivers you beat off the lights with it *chuckle*

 

[CMF_55bhp is more than enough]

yeah i can completely understand about the coilovers now that would get on my nerves to. I bet the handling with jsut the coilovers on the back is awsome anyway. surely yu can tell your insurance company about removing the ABS wouldnt that make sure your insurance wasnt void? that exhaust guy sounds like a real knob. I hope he putting it right for free!

 

[CMF_Sean]

Only thing is cisco,

If you're already spinning in 3rd then you're going to need some A539's to slap onto those steelies!

Sean

 

[CMF_White Knight]

Gee Cisco its like reading a novel re Bluey but I am sure it will have a happy ending.
Yes I guess never ever derigester a car !!
Still my time is coming when I hit Perth. Over there you need to advise them of all mods before they will register/re register. Its a 10 pager document and covers every thing. My mods already done so it going to be fun!!
"Advice" received from them says if I can get "documentation" from the authorities in Tassie they will accept. Problem is no rules in Tassie about mods and vehicle inspection is based on just a common road worthy perfomed by approved outlets.
Keep at it Cisco, know the feeling very well and must admit had some sleepless nights wondering if Whitey would ever get there or was I just throwing money down a never ending pit.Bluey is an icon mate and you are so close.
If it gets to bad take a valium.Funny things always appear worse at night when lying in bed thinking about it.
FIRE IT UP!!!

 

[CMF_makes]

Hi Cisco, perhaps you could find a way to attach some detachable plastic hubcaps to your alloy wheels and have the best of both worlds...

Good luck with the Transport Dept. I would be very surprised if the inspector noticed the car ever had an ABS system. They just seem to focus on the basics like ride height, noise & emmissions.

 

[cisco]

Hehe yes all good comments.

Well some good news today. Seems I have done things in a bad order..

Rang the engineer today and made a booking. He said the ABS removal can be engineered, because the overall braking performance has actually been increased from the larger brakes! He's going to engineer the brakes as I have them now. WOOHOO!!! No ABS to be removed. He said the only thing was checking that mechanically if it can be removed, as on some setups, it can't. I said "no I've actually already removed it, and it works spot on" - hahahah.

He's also going to write up about the battery relocation, and the height adjustable Japanese suspension.

So then I will drive the car through rego inspection AS IS.

Turbo bag heat shield also arrived today, it looks tough.

Booked in for 1 day Friday week to have this extra engineer cert written up. Then straight off to rego afterwards.

 

[cisco]

Just did some quick analysis of the new power graph..

At 4000rpm the car is putting out 50kw at the wheels.

But at only 1000rpm more (5000rpm), its putting out 110kw at the wheels.

Conclusion: After 4000rpm is where its at.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Not my cup of tea in regards to power delivery but **** it must fly dude....

Nice to knwo you can get it enginnered because those metal brake lines you were going to have to get made up are hell expensive from what I have read.

 

[cisco]

Yeah agree, its not a power curve that you want your mum to drive to go and do the groceries in.. You're dead right.

But if you rev it up to 7800rpm and change gears, you are still well and truly within the power band when you hit the next gear, right in the middle of it afterburner ready to go straight away.

That 1000rpm between those two points is quite a handful time behind the wheel

ahh sorry for my whinging lately, but really glad to get some good news from the engineer lately. Just really want to come to some meets and kick back with some micra owners and enjoy the scene.

 

[CMF_55bhp is more than enough]

to be honest i would prefer a power delivery like that, it means you can drive off boost and still have some decent revs for everyday driving. then when you want to melt some road just wack your foot down.

 

[CMF_evade]

thats great cisco..it means you can rip awesome skids and not even try..hahah

plus if you really wanted to you could control it via a elec boost controller and set it up through the gears.

 

[CMF_Micra_King]

I love the hubcaps so much I think you should leave it like that forever. Hey and you wont be needing thoses mags anymore so ill do you a fav a buy them off you mate Haha nice try eh!