g8jka - 2.0 Progress Journal - Time to say Goodbye
- Thread starter g8jka
- Start date
Hi Lee, what was the faff ? The oven or the dremmel ?
My headlights look really dated, I'm not sure doing this mod would change that or I'm best just to buy full aftermarket units which have the angel eyes in them. I know they're not bright white apparently but at least the 'black' styling of them may be better suited for the colour of my Z.
For me the faff was getting the glue to set, I think i was having issues becasue it was so cold in my garage. Getting them open was simple enough. I didnt need a dremel in the end. The outer halos fitted ok and the inners I removed 6 LED's.
I will send you the photo I took, dont want to clutter G8jka's thread.
Lee
I will send you the photo I took, dont want to clutter G8jka's thread.
Lee
My old dash cam was starting to play up a bit by staying on all the time and not recording properly so I treated the zed to a new one. This one has a front facing camera and a separate camera for the rear, both displayed on the small screen on the unit where the front camera is itself. I fancied one that can record footage both and rear and at just over £30 I thought I would try one. I attached the front one just above the interior mirror so that it is out of the way but still accessible and the wires could be easily hidden. I routed the wires behind the panels for the back camera and mounted it facing the rear on the perspex wind deflector.
The quality is pretty good from both cameras although the rear one performs better at night time, but both are still acceptable and it all records to a micro SD card.
Poor picture but you can see both cameras here
The new camera means I now have a spare input to the dash monitor so I will be fitting a camera in the front grill soon to help when parking. I have also got rid of my rear number plate camera and installed a smaller one that fits into the bumper itself and I have put it right in the middle of the number plate lights so it looks a lot neater and looks more factory fitted than the previous one. This plugged into the old wiring and shows up on my dash monitor as before.
Got my coilovers fitted (forgot to take some pics) but I'm happy with them so far. The ride is a little harder and bouncier but it corners better now and I have gone slightly lower at the front than it was before. The rear is sitting similar to how it was on the eibachs even on the lowest setting so I may end up taking the adjusters out completely and maybe the spring pads to give me a bigger drop. We also fitted new meyle top mounts all round when doing the change. I have yet to try my summer wheels with the coilovers fitted but I hoping they fit as the front wheels sit very close to the coilovers now.
And finally my new angel eyes gave up recently :head: Found out that is was the control box, possibly due to water ingress as I fitted it next to the headlight but I have a spare one coming which will hopefully work and this time the wiring will be extended into the car so it can be fitted behind the dash and the lights can be control from inside the car.
The quality is pretty good from both cameras although the rear one performs better at night time, but both are still acceptable and it all records to a micro SD card.
Poor picture but you can see both cameras here
The new camera means I now have a spare input to the dash monitor so I will be fitting a camera in the front grill soon to help when parking. I have also got rid of my rear number plate camera and installed a smaller one that fits into the bumper itself and I have put it right in the middle of the number plate lights so it looks a lot neater and looks more factory fitted than the previous one. This plugged into the old wiring and shows up on my dash monitor as before.
Got my coilovers fitted (forgot to take some pics) but I'm happy with them so far. The ride is a little harder and bouncier but it corners better now and I have gone slightly lower at the front than it was before. The rear is sitting similar to how it was on the eibachs even on the lowest setting so I may end up taking the adjusters out completely and maybe the spring pads to give me a bigger drop. We also fitted new meyle top mounts all round when doing the change. I have yet to try my summer wheels with the coilovers fitted but I hoping they fit as the front wheels sit very close to the coilovers now.
And finally my new angel eyes gave up recently :head: Found out that is was the control box, possibly due to water ingress as I fitted it next to the headlight but I have a spare one coming which will hopefully work and this time the wiring will be extended into the car so it can be fitted behind the dash and the lights can be control from inside the car.
Good stuff......
Whats the story on the large moustache hanging from the rear view mirror?
Whats the story on the large moustache hanging from the rear view mirror?
Its and air freshener, never normally have anything hanging from the mirror but I liked that one!
I finally got around to spraying up my ///M vents and got them fitted this week. The ///M badge recess was already filled in when I bought them so all as I had to do was spray the inner part black (satin black) and the rest of the vent in titanium silver. Being silver its always pretty hard to get a decent colour match but I think they came out pretty well and are a good match with the rest of the car so I'm happy with them for the time being.
Also the pics show how the car sits now on coilovers. The front is now a lot lower than it was when I had the eibachs fitted, yet the back is similar although I would like to go slightly lower but I will need to fit the springs without the adjusters. It seems to handle quite a bit better than it did with the eibachs despite being a bit firmer but I like the way it drives.
And I managed to fix my angel eyes by changing the control box as it had obviously got water in and given up. Fitted a new one and extended the wire so it is now fitted under the dash to stop it from getting wet.
Next up is to fit new front discs and pads along with a pair of new calipers as one is slightly sticky. I think I will probably change the rear discs and pads at the same time and the rear calipers and carriers both front and rear will be sandblasted ready for a colour change.
Also the pics show how the car sits now on coilovers. The front is now a lot lower than it was when I had the eibachs fitted, yet the back is similar although I would like to go slightly lower but I will need to fit the springs without the adjusters. It seems to handle quite a bit better than it did with the eibachs despite being a bit firmer but I like the way it drives.
And I managed to fix my angel eyes by changing the control box as it had obviously got water in and given up. Fitted a new one and extended the wire so it is now fitted under the dash to stop it from getting wet.
Next up is to fit new front discs and pads along with a pair of new calipers as one is slightly sticky. I think I will probably change the rear discs and pads at the same time and the rear calipers and carriers both front and rear will be sandblasted ready for a colour change.
Now the weather has changed I've got my winter wheels and hardtop back on ready for the next few month winter motoring. Also I managed to source a brand new aerodynamics rear bumper which I've been after for ages, still needs to be sprayed as its only primed at the moment (probably after christmas), but the trial fit went well and showed that all the original fixings from the standard bumper fit so the swap is pretty straight forward. When its been sprayed I'll renew all the plastic clips so its nice and fresh.
Something in the engine bay has been making some horrible noises recently so we took the belt off and ran the car for a few seconds to see if the noise would go and it did. So the first culprit we checked was the water pump by spinning it and straight away we could diagnose where the noise is coming from and also it could be moved showing quite a lot of play in it. I don't know if its ever been changed so its lasted well covering almost 135,000 miles but a new one with a metal impeller has already been purchased. Also its a good excuse to get fresh anti freeze in and a new thermostat and housing can be installed whilst were at it, hopefully this weekend.
And finally my favourite picture taken of my zed at Santa Pod about to go down the strip back in September
Something in the engine bay has been making some horrible noises recently so we took the belt off and ran the car for a few seconds to see if the noise would go and it did. So the first culprit we checked was the water pump by spinning it and straight away we could diagnose where the noise is coming from and also it could be moved showing quite a lot of play in it. I don't know if its ever been changed so its lasted well covering almost 135,000 miles but a new one with a metal impeller has already been purchased. Also its a good excuse to get fresh anti freeze in and a new thermostat and housing can be installed whilst were at it, hopefully this weekend.
And finally my favourite picture taken of my zed at Santa Pod about to go down the strip back in September
So this year hasn't been the best so far as I was in hospital from the start of January with a very serious illness, only being discharged a couple of week ago despite not being back to full fitness. Fortunately the zed was not neglected and spent the duration tucked away in Gookah's garage, apart from a surprise trip out to the body shop to get the aero rear bumper sprayed. They have done a fantastic job and the colour match is spot on but I only got to see a few pictures of it so couldn't wait to get it back to see the real thing. The zed has been sorned now for a month but Gookah returned it to me last weekend (on trade plates 
) and I'm very happy with how it looks.
It's still in full winter mode as I am unable to drive for the near future and is tucked back up in the garage. I have a couple of new tyres ready to be fitted to the fronts of my summer wheels, a new dashcam as the old one has given up, some better SMD angel eyes and few other goodies to fit as soon as I am well and able again. I can't wait to get back in my zed and get the roof down and wind in my hair.
) and I'm very happy with how it looks.
It's still in full winter mode as I am unable to drive for the near future and is tucked back up in the garage. I have a couple of new tyres ready to be fitted to the fronts of my summer wheels, a new dashcam as the old one has given up, some better SMD angel eyes and few other goodies to fit as soon as I am well and able again. I can't wait to get back in my zed and get the roof down and wind in my hair.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2011
- Points
- 190
Sorry to hear about your illness, but your car looks amazing, best wishes
Welcome back and hope you get back to full fitness soon. I thought your car looked outstanding before the aero spoiler went on - the addition enhances the back end nicely - good job!
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Sorry to hear that you've been unwell , here's hoping you're back to your best soon. The car's looking very good. You will have been missing it I know.
Tony.
Tony.
Glad you're back and can move on with no I'll effects! Don't worry about the hair, it's usually the folically challenged that are the biggest critics!! lol. JIM
So the zed has been back on the road now since June 1st and I've loved every minute of being back in it after so many months without it. I have done a few more things to it this year and a few at the end of last year.
I got a bit bored of the carbon fibre additions made to the interior and after seeing a couple of members brushed steel versions I decided it was time for a change. Not sure if I like it as much as the carbon fibre though so next time its out I think it could be getting changed.
Centre console
Steering wheel tabs
Door card inserts
Added some ///M pedals which I've had for 18 months (hope the ///M police don't get me)
August last year it had new discs, pads and handbrake shoes all round and 2 new front calipers. All calipers were changed from red to blue paint (forgot to update this!) and new locking bolts plus some smoked chrome bolt covers and new badges to replace the fading ones
I was never happy with the colour changing angel eyes purely because the white setting was always more blue than white, so I fitted a set of E36 SMD LED ones (trimmed to fit like the old ones) which look much better and are extremely bright
As the ///M badge was filled in on the side vents it always looked a bit bare, so I added some decals in the same colour as the calipers
A mod I have wanted for a while, was a stainless steel backbox, mainly for a better noise and a some nice looking tips. Had one fitted to the old system from a place called proflow at the cost of £140. I went for 2, 3" staggered tips to follow the lines of the bumper like the OEM pipes do. Sound wise it is not much louder than the standard system on idle or driving around town, but does rumble a lot more when you put your foot down. It also fits better against the aero bumper and the tips don't look lost anymore
Following Yaldens old mods to the rear with the aero bumper and US spec number plate holder, I managed to source one off another member and trimmed, sprayed and fitted it to allow me to run the short 5 digit plate. And I got my rear view camera put into the aero bumper
And it got a new oil and fuel filter plus fresh oil last Saturday (09/07/16) at 135108 miles, ready for Taffzees Welsh cruise on Sunday
Monday was time to get it looking nice and shiny again
If all goes to plan there will be a major update at the weekend with this little zeds future.
I got a bit bored of the carbon fibre additions made to the interior and after seeing a couple of members brushed steel versions I decided it was time for a change. Not sure if I like it as much as the carbon fibre though so next time its out I think it could be getting changed.
Centre console
Steering wheel tabs
Door card inserts
Added some ///M pedals which I've had for 18 months (hope the ///M police don't get me)
August last year it had new discs, pads and handbrake shoes all round and 2 new front calipers. All calipers were changed from red to blue paint (forgot to update this!) and new locking bolts plus some smoked chrome bolt covers and new badges to replace the fading ones
I was never happy with the colour changing angel eyes purely because the white setting was always more blue than white, so I fitted a set of E36 SMD LED ones (trimmed to fit like the old ones) which look much better and are extremely bright
As the ///M badge was filled in on the side vents it always looked a bit bare, so I added some decals in the same colour as the calipers
A mod I have wanted for a while, was a stainless steel backbox, mainly for a better noise and a some nice looking tips. Had one fitted to the old system from a place called proflow at the cost of £140. I went for 2, 3" staggered tips to follow the lines of the bumper like the OEM pipes do. Sound wise it is not much louder than the standard system on idle or driving around town, but does rumble a lot more when you put your foot down. It also fits better against the aero bumper and the tips don't look lost anymore
Following Yaldens old mods to the rear with the aero bumper and US spec number plate holder, I managed to source one off another member and trimmed, sprayed and fitted it to allow me to run the short 5 digit plate. And I got my rear view camera put into the aero bumper
And it got a new oil and fuel filter plus fresh oil last Saturday (09/07/16) at 135108 miles, ready for Taffzees Welsh cruise on Sunday
Monday was time to get it looking nice and shiny again
If all goes to plan there will be a major update at the weekend with this little zeds future.