VTA BOVs - pah! Begone with you (pair)

Another of those things the car had when I got it was a pair of Vent to Atmosphere (VTA) Blow off Valves (BOVs) and I don't really like them. There is the argument that on a car equipped with AFM there is always unmetered air going into the engine when you release the throttle. While this is maybe true the fact that these valves 'dump to atmosphere' when you shut the throttle means there is no fuel being injected either so it kinda isn't a problem. However that's not the issue i have with them. The issue I have with them is not only do they dump air when lifting off the throttle after being WOT, the darned things sound like they are dumping on part throttle as well almost to the point of leaking when not hard on the gas. Anyways, managed to find myself a pair of OEM BOVs complete with the mounting bracket so I figured not many moving parts, 30yo or not they should work. I did buy new rubber hoses for them ha, OEM from Japan no less. I forgot to get the top hose but mine was ok to re-use and saved a bit of faffing around with the top one.

So how does it feel and sound after the changeover. Wonderful, so far. Nice and quiet though you can still hear some intake roar when on the power but no phsssssssssst when driving part throttle, no PHSSST when lifting off under heavish throttle loads. It does actually feel slightly smoother on gear changes as well, feels like it doesn't stumble / pause like it did before as the recirc works and likely the OEM units shut faster and stay closed more than the HKS units. Try and give them a bit of clean and then see if anyone wants them

Front indicators

Been a long time since i added to this blog and a few things have been done. Let us start with last years light update

So yes one of the Nissan clear indicators has had a crack in it since before i bought it and while it's not like the car gets driven in the rain, or power washed to death it did look a big naff. I would have gone to the OEM amber but they are kerching if you find them and even the Figaro units (which Nissan used) aren't exactly common on the ground either. I did however find that many R33 owners have used crystal clear style front units which are available at a reasonable price and should match near enough the clear wing mounted units. So, first issue was getting the lights out which could have been a total nightmare but in fact the single fixing screw per indicator unit came out no bother on both side. Much happiness.

Below is the first choice i bought next to the cracked OEM unit

then I managed to source a pair of clear front from the Figaro

choices were middle OEM Nisssan Figaro (which is the source of these lights anyway) or go crystal clear with the amber being less noticeable until actually in use. Anyhow, I made a choice, tada

and then finally fitted back onto the car once i was happy the alignment was equalish on both sides. Looks nice enough I think and always the option to go back to the Nissan units should I want to.

I quite like the end result but you'll have to excuse all the white space in the post, it seems that is how google likes to do the formatting. Time to revists my long forgotten HTML coding skillz.........

Dashboard change

 so the car came with the Nismo 320kph dash which looks pretty good but I had been told at purchase time that it was not converted to read in mph ie both speed and odometer read in kilometres. Obviously within er 100yrds of driving the car I knew that was not the case for the speedo (Phone GPS on Google Maps) and then quickly realised the odometer was also reading in miles. Now this might not seem like a problem but have a look at the sweep the needle needs to take to hit 30mph or 60mph..  

so yeah thats not a large sweep eh? It's not quite 1degree of movement equals speeding ticket but it does require a certain amount of looking to confirm the speed or look at the phone to check the GPS speed. Bit of a faff tbh but to be honest the speedo is accurate even if the resolution is somewhat narrow. I've hummed and hawed about getting the OEM dash display fitted and then getting the odometer reset to match the current reading if for no other reason than continuity of the MOT readings. So back in July and armed with the GTR.co.uk dash removal guide and a freshly bought though 2nd hand 28yr old dash display I got stuck in. 

The guide says it's not critical to remove the upper steering wheel shroud to get the dash off but it certainly helps. First issue hit, I cannot get the screws out from the shroud and apparently there are six! of them. No wonder Nissan was broke in the 90's eh?

This is what I was fighting with

and then this one

and this one!

I could not get these things out, well I got three of the six out but I was struggling with the rest and thought well it's not required to remove the shroud so I'll push on with it attached and the steering wheel in the lowest position... 

So following the guide I removed the ashtray, gearstick knob, the gearstick surround yada yada got the dash trim loose in my hands and then fought to remove the cable connectors from the blocks. Not having the strongest fingers in the land it was a bit of struggle but I managed it. Then the issue teasing the trim over the shroud which I'd been unable to remove at stage one. I did eventually manage to get the trim over the shroud but I knew that a problem needing resolved for putting it all back together otherwise the shroud would most likely be marked.

Then the dash display itself was unscrewed and as I'm going round the fixing points I am noticing quite a selection in the screw heads which made me wonder what was lurking in the shroud. Anyways, more fighting with cable connectors and booyah the display was out and then I saw it.

A speed signal converter and de-limiter... mmmmm this was not entirely un-expected but also wasn't entirely expected either. I shall explain. On JDM cars they are fitted with KPH dials and odometers and also speed limited to 180kph and on import to the UK these things are a small issue. The problem with some cars occurs when the speed signal from the gearbox to the speedo head is altered which can in some cars then affect the speed sensitive steering and on HICAS equipped cars, the HICAS itself. You see on most cars the gearbox signal goes to the speedo head first, then a conditioned signal goes from the speedo head to the ECU which is then fed to other systems. Steering assist, speed limiters, rear wheel steering. On Nissan cars with HICAS feeding a signal to the ECU which is 5/8 of the actual speed of the car has caused issues with stability and a really really floaty feeling at speed. You have an indicated 50mph on your converted speedo which feeds 50(kph) to the other parts of the car and it follows the programme as per OEM design. Problem is, the car is actually doing 80kph not 50kph as the input signal suggest and the car might give more assistance than you'd expect and or want!

So, the fact my Nismo fitted 320kph dials and odometer read in mph yet I've never experience said floatiness while changing lanes / going round corners at 60/70mph indicated gave me the impression the car had no converter fitted but had been modified at the speedo itself using the ADJ solder pads on the PCB. Clearly not the case. Anyways, out with the display after more fighting with the connectors. 

Taa daa

So, in with the OEM dash and just leave it resting on the trim and se how it looks. Looks just right IMHO

check the warning lights match the ones of the Nismo unit, they do bar the airbag light but I think that actually went out just after taking the photo. It certainly wasn't on when the engine was running

Time to fire it up!

Ah crapo! The ole dancing rev counter. So short version of the events that unfolded after this.
I contacted the seller of the dials and he was super cool about me getting this investigated with a potential fix and I actually did have someone lined up to do it who would also set the odometer to match my current clocks. So i took the display out and waited for a an appointment. Then i decided to check the speedo worked cause that's a known issue as well and yep you guessed it, the speedo didn't work. It did read correctly at speed as verified by the GPS / HUD app I used on the phone but the needle was very slow to respond, nowhere near OEM response time and when sitting at a junction it was still showing 30mph. Fark.

So after speaking to the tech I was going to use he said meh send it back if you can and obtain a new speedo from Nissan (which you can actually do). In hindsight I could've sent the display away to a company down south who would have not only fixed all the solder / resistors / capacitors but also put the odometer to match my current one however i did not find this company on the web until after I had already started the returns process. In the meantime I'd already plugged in my Nismo display just to make sure it still worked and read same as before - thankfully it did. Phew!

Next problem, that damned shroud above the steering wheel. I bought some new longer reach Phillips screwdriver bits and finally got the damned screws out. WTF - no wonder some wouldn't come out cause they were cutting a grove into the damned channel. What's that, three different screw types where there should only be one? Grrrr. I bought some Cap head screws and put three in to hold the shroud and then i actually bought some problem Phillips head screws for the job. Toying with replacing all screws / bolts I take out with Torx head units.

So while i had the dash out i figured might as well try and move the alarm LED to somewhere more obvious and er well lets say it wasn't the best job done but it works. Might as well use the previously butchered GTR coin slot cover for something.

I'm still not convinced I was right to return that display unit but car is back to where it was and more musing since. 

GTR boot lid struts replacement

 so yeah the boot struts in the GTR were long past their best and quite frankly damned dangerous! The trip to Applecross confirmed i really needed to do something about it cause the lid one again tried to de-capitate me haha. So, the struts (all 30yrs of existence of them) had long cried enough and because the boot latch sticks proud of the bottom edge of the boot, when that lid comes down it's really gonna hurt if your head is still in the boot, getting the sleeping bag as it was in the this case.

Now Nissan in their infinite wisdom chose to fit closed socket joints on one end of the socket with a welded bracket at the other end to secure them to the lid. Why oh why they did this is likely another reason why as a company they are struggling to keep going. Anyhow, to replace these struts involved 2 options

• remove the two entire strut and boot lid attachments and send off to get new struts attached
• buy replacement struts and then cut off the old ones with a Dremel and hope the bracket supplied actually works

However a problem with many replacement units in that they are a touch shorter than OEM fitment with the result the boot lid doesn't open as far as OEM. Might not be a problem in real world but doesn't seem like a good starting point to limit how far the lid opens and risk smacking ones head into said boot lock latch. So after much searching and procrastination I found Up Garage USA and their full height strut replacements. They also had a handy video for getting the bottom socket off the car without resorting to a cutting disc. Far safer for sure, just use plenty of lube and take your time.... A lesson for life maybe heh heh?

Anyhow, I actually did this mid May just didn't post it. 

Boot lid opening

I also replaced the petrol flap spring as i was having to open the flap using the end of a credit card, again didn't post it at the time

Fuel flap release

Haven't done much else, I did try replacement clocks for the dash but they didn't work so back to the current ones.