The wife's twin-turbo boost-barge JZZ30

[Branno]

I much prefer the vertex

[juvenile]

Vertex with Veilside wing(a must) not a fan of spoilers on bootlids but that is different

[Hiro]

Yeah the Vertex front end definitely is better than the Veilside, but the big problem I have with it (along with all other facelift bodykits for the Soarer, and even the stock kit) is that it flares out at the base (not that evident in the photos), which looks a bit odd around the wheels. The Veilside is designed for the pre-facelift and keeps the nice smooth rounded lines at the rear. Also, the Vertex kit is waay more common and we're after that little bit different look.

So far best combination appears to be stock front bar (with painted lip), Vertex sideskirts and Veilside rear bar + wing.

[jeffy]

Ooh coolio, thanks for taking my suggestion On the vertex kit :3

[Hiro]

Set of Lews split dumps (with seperate wastegate piping) bought, should hopefully be getting them + adjustable cam gears installed before dyno day in Jan/Feb, along with BFI should be looking at ~220kw at the wheels with any luck

[Hiro]

Well, I thought that it was such a lovely day this morning that I'd go outside and stare at the engine bay of the Snoarer for a little while...

Yep, all looks normal there

Woops, I was carrying this small section of pipe and some other stuff and I just slipped...is that supposed to go there?

Ahh much better now

Om nom nom nom.....

[JDM-GTFour]

Thats a real nice job you did there. That aluminium cover is perfect. :)

[Hiro]

Hate to say it but it's not my craftsmanship...

[Hiro]

Oooh, shiny...

Beginning of bonus-money spending, will be doing the dumps in the next few weeks, hopefully in time for dyno day (if not, then drag night in August)

[Hiro]

Lews dumps got installed yesterday, big improvement in performance especially the top end, exhaust is less muffled too. Real test will be Toymods dyno day next week though.

However on a sour note, took it in for a wheel alignment only to be told the right rear had 4deg neg camber and 20mm toe-in, hopefully it is just a bent suspension arm and not anything chassis-related...

[Hiro]

Time for a bit of an update, nothing really much has happened of the last couple of months except for fault-fixing, here are the anti-Cliff Notes presented in fairy-tale form:

A long long time ago in a land far far away, a skilled blacksmith and his faithful apprentice warned the princess of the castle that the diff was starting to leak in the faithful steed, and that they should look at replacing the seals. Figuring that this would be a good idea since the diff was a bit overdue for a service anyway, the prince went online and bought some genuine KAAZ LSD oil, and then managed to get a set of diff seals from the kingdom of Amayama. Seeing as how the kingdom was short of time and money, these sat in the boot for a few months waiting for an opportune moment to be installed. Then suddenly one day an evil gremlin snuck out during the night and begat mischief on the steed, and from that day on the steering wheel sat about an eighth-turn to the left when the lion was travelling straight, as well as some devilish sideways action mid-corner. Figuring it was also time for a wheel alignment, the princess booked it in with the “wizards” at Bob Jane for a wheel alignment and wheel rotation. The magic wizards then proceeded to tell the princess that the right rear wheel had eleventy billion degrees of toe-in and so much negative camber that it was on as much of a lean as an Adidas-wearing 180SX driver’s front seat. In their infinite experience and wisdom they explained that they couldn’t carry out the wheel alignment, and that the rear suspension and/or chassis was most likely twisted into the shape of a pretzel.

Disheartened by this news, the brave princess and her stately prince returned to the castle with their heads down. After much deliberation and inspection, no discernable damage could be discovered, so a second opinion was sought from the local sorcerers of suspension, a place of apparent repute and masters in dark arts of understeed dynamics and geometry. When it was apparent that some work was to happen on the rear end of the steed, it was decided that the diff should be serviced at the same time, as well as the seals replaced. Almost immediately the sorcerers confirmed our suspicions that the chassis was indeed straight and true, and that the true damage lay in the bushes, which were worn from the years of supporting the powerful and burly steed. Since no bushes could be found to replace the worn ones in short time, the alignment was adjusted to the maximum extents allowable, which was just enough to allow the steed to track straight and no longer bolt for the hills under even the slightest provocation mid-corner. Whilst disappointed that the problem had not been fixed at the source, the prince and princess were nonetheless relieved that the steed could again be ridden in confidence.

However, within only a matter of days it became apparent that the newly serviced rear-end of the steed was not behaving in a manner befit of a royal steed. Whilst she would track straight and true on a flat level road, there was an almighty clunk from the rear end in even the slightest of corners under power, and the kick that had previously been a mere annoyance had become wickedly vicious. Inexperienced in the mysterious workings of a 2-way differential, the prince hoped that this would calm over time as the freshly serviced diff was once again tamed. With the royal wedding fast approaching, the prince and princess could not afford the time nor money for the steed to be laid up in the blacksmiths, and from that moment on it was left in the stables as much as possible, only to see the open road when absolutely necessary and ridden with extreme care.

After the stress and turmoil of the royal wedding died down, the now king and queen decided that it was time to fix the steed’s evil ways once and for all. Having considered the possibility that the diff was beyond repair, and having a spare factory diff still in the box from the previous owner, the steed was stabled once again at the renowned Nova Auto Innovations blacksmiths shop where this tale began, with the prime intent of getting her re-registered for another 2 seasons, as well as finally getting to the bottom of the curse that was vexing the rear end. With much delight (and surprise) the skilled blacksmith and his faithful apprentice informed us instantly that the heart of the issue lay with the left rear wheel bearing, with a full ¼ inch of float which would explain the wicked kick and god-awful clunking, quite possibly caused by incorrect fitment when the diff was serviced. Despite having to wait over the long weekend for parts due to the peasant’s holiday, it was assured that the faithful steed would be prepared in time for the following Wednesday. And so, a quarter moon after she was first delivered to the stables, the mighty steed was returned to the king and queen fully cleared for registration and exorcised of her demon troubles. It was with much rejoicing that the queen gleefully accepted the return of her steed, and whilst she still has her foibles (the exhaust still scrapes on any bumps larger than a pebble, and the paint needs touch-up after a few unfortunate scrapes as well as a strange discolouration down her left flank) all of these were momentarily forgotten and left to be fixed another day.

Cliff Notes:

Diff leaked

Wheel alignment went funky, bushes were stuffed

Idiot 1 said the chassis was bent, got second opinion

Saviour 1 said the bushes were stuffed, fixed the diff

Saviour 1 possibly turns into Idiot 2 as rear end now kicks and clunks horribly

Left untouched due to expensive and stressful upcoming wedding

Post-wedding, re-regoed and rear end kick and clunk attributed to stuffed wheel bearing

Wheel bearing and hub replaced, now hauls **** once again.

[FRM05A]

LOL.... thoroughly enjoy the piece Hiro.

Congrats on the wedding.

[ChrisE2490]

Glad to hear the prince and the princess came through unscathed. Might need to raise the taxes on the kingdom for next time ;)

[trentmeyer23]

Story time...WOOT! Good to hear all the issues were fixed up mate.

[SecaBoy]

epic story was epic.

thanks for making my start to the day awesome! haha

[Hiro]

A couple of cuts on my hands, but the Snoarer now has a fully functioning, refurbished, non-bleeding HVAC LCD screen, complete with uber-cool blue button lights. Bit of a mission to fit it (had to split the unit in half so I could pair the new front screen unit with the old rear brains unit otherwise fan-speed didn't work and the dash air-temp display was blank) and in traditional fashion I ended up with one spare screw, but anyone who has ever owned a Z30 Soarer will know how good a new LCD unit is (as the stock ones always bleed)

[Defyant]

Jeesus I love the look of that Variable timing gear Very very sexy.

[Hiro]

Jeesus I love the look of that Variable timing gear Very very sexy.

Looking to get them fitted relatively soon as it's just ticked over 200,000km so timing belt will be coming up (yep that's right, a whole year after I bought them :P things move slow with my cars)

[Hiro]

So Cara's up in Townsville for the week so I've been having the pleasure of driving Lexi every day...decided I'd reward her with a bath and some happy snaps

[Hiro]

Here's a shot I took on the weekend at the TOCAU annual meet - it kinda highlights just how low the exhaust is sitting, and why it scrapes on any bump bigger than a strand of spaghetti

[trentmeyer23]

Needs MOAR low.

On another note, the title of this thread should be changed, it is a tad out of date.

[Kenshin X]

this thing... flies nuf said

[Hiro]

Needs MOAR low.

On another note, the title of this thread should be changed, it is a tad out of date.

Ahh, the power of moderator privileges...

To be fair though, with a wheelbase 2 suburbs long it doesn't really need moar lows, just sideskirts and a rear lip (and paint the front one).

[Hiro]

this thing... flies nuf said

It'll fly more when the cam-gears get installed...

[Kenshin X]

and paint it orange