Damn it! Now what am I going to do?

So as indicated in this previous post, the rear camera feature on this overly complicated and slow-functioned rear view mirror did not seem to be working properly.

Since I am fairly sure it is not a camera issue - how could that break? I figured maybe it was a connection issue, so of course I opened the trunk and looked around near the rear lights where I had wired it up. And then I guess I pulled a bit too hard on the rear trunk trim in trying to remove it, because....

SNAP!!!

Of course I immediately contacted Ochiai-san at Omori Factory, but he checked and unfortunately this part is no longer in stock and no longer available. Bummer.

So this means I will have to hunt around on Yahoo Auctions to find a used trunk liner piece. Or maybe, I can research how to put the ABS plastic back together enough to recreate the one piece "hinge" feature... Any ideas, anyone???

Some Minor Clean Up

The other day when posting about the work I had done at Nismo Omori Factory,  when I wrote about the new door latch (green arrow), I noticed that the residue from an old oil change reminder sticker was ugly.  And to be honest, not sure why I never removed it before!

Photo from my previous post.

Of course, the existence of such sticker residue causes me angst, and so I immediately ordered a product which apparently is made just for sticker removal - in the past I had used whatever I had lying around to remove stickers - brake cleaner, rubbing alcohol, Simple Green, you name it - but this time I wanted easy street.

I found this 3M Cleaner "Seal Remover", "strong type."

So here are the two former stickers that I was not successful at removal - can't remember what I used to try  to remove them:

So I just sprayed on the 3M stuff, and let it sit for a few minutes...

Wow, could not believe how easy this was

Same for the Motul oil change sticker:

Talk about effortless - a super thin crispy sticker - oh and it smelled good too! Like lemon...

Ta da! Super clean, just the way I like it!

Excuse my knee, I was taking the photo at an angle

But sure I am not going to devote a whole post to this. No. In fact, I had long been annoyed by another small detail:

While I would love to blame this on 90s Nissan quality, unfortunately this came about because of this:

A repair attempt

So long time readers will know that when I embarked on my leather dash project, I purchased a 33 dash sight unseen from a friend in the UK, who then sent it over to Cesar, the master craftsman in Mexico who did the leather work (check out this video he made to memorialize his work!). This repaired tab was either in the dash at purchase, or maybe Cesar had fixed up in an attempt to make the vent fit into the leather covered dash. In any case, every time I saw how the driver's side vent was not completely flat, it distressed me, and no amount of pushing down seemed to fix it for long.

Using a file to try to sand it down...

So while I tried to use a file to sand the tab down to the level of the others, it just wasn't working. So, I quickly found and bought on Yahoo Auctions a replacement set, since these vents are no longer available new:

It arrived quickly, although wow that is a lot of wrapping...

For just two vents

These look to be in great shape, and of course I made sure the tab in question was intact.

Not knowing what kind of car they had been in previously, I decided to wash the replacement right side vent.

And of course use some cotton swabs to clean the dust and dirt that had accumulated in the corners.

Upon replacement, I found:

Why? Very frustrating, it should fit perfectly!!?

I quickly figured out why, however. Take a look at the left side vent that I removed from my car (top) compared to the one I got on Yahoo Auctions (bottom):

Yep, the bottom one has the tab broken off.

So I decided to see which fit better. I removed the original left side vent (being very careful around the sunlight sensor) and then washed it and the replacement vent, including the use of the cotton swabs.

That is when I discovered, that the replacement vent had a slight scratch: 

Which meant that, even though color-wise and fit looked like this:

Using my original vent looks like this, even though it appears to my eye that there is a slight color variation (and admittedly I had to push down hard on the replacement vent to make it flat):

So what would you do? Well for now I have decided to try to see if I can find another pair on Yahoo Auction that not only is structurally perfect, but also the same consistent color. Or, maybe I will get someone to carbonize these vents to match the other carbon upgrades in the interior. I found it easy enough to pull these out so replacement will be easy whenever it happens. Meanwhile I will continue to use the vents I found on Yahoo Auctions, because the fit is better, even with that small scratch.

What I DID replace was the sunlight sensor, which I got from Trust Kikaku - see my last super short post! On both passenger side vents, the part seemed to be very very original - the paper sticker is faded yellow!

So I decided it would't hurt to buy a new sensor, before it becomes unavailable or out of stock so many other OEM parts seem to be doing these days.  Hence my previous post.  Although, the only thing it would affect would be the HVAC system, I think. Not sure I'd be able to tell the difference either.

Install was easy - there are clips on the side of the sensor, and you just push up and out.

Look at the difference? Even if the sensor is still working perfectly, the darkened clear plastic might be affecting its accuracy?

Anyway - on my next post I hope to have a very modern mod... stay tuned!

New(er) OEM Deck!

As you may recall from an earlier post, Nismo Omori Factory installed an OEM radio/cassette deck that I found on Yahoo Auctions to give the car an OEM look. They installed it but...

Unfortunately as you can see, the cassette deck wasn't working properly in that it would immediately spit out any cassette you tried to put in. This is important as anyone who's lived in Japan knows that Japanese AM and FM radio stations are terrible. Long on talk and short on music.  So generally speaking an alternative music source is essential, whether that be cassette, CD, MD or now, iPhone/Android/Bluetooth.

Here is the back story - I searched for but couldn't find my original Nissan deck that came with my car (which I had removed for a 1-DIN Pioneer Navi shortly after I bought the car in 2005!)

It was a nice compact 1-DIN unit...

With a retractable screen for the navigation system! (Before Google Maps, people!!)

So for this effort to go back to OEM I had actually initially found and bought 2 OEM radio/cassette decks on Yahoo Auctions - one came with the HVAC unit that I couldn't use either - and the second one I bought because it looked to me to be in better condition. Unfortunately, when Nismo tried to install it - it turns out it had connectors NOT in the 10 pin/6 pin arrangement found on the later 33s and 34s, but rather the 4pin/6pin/4pin arrangement found on the BNR32. Weird!

So I couldn't use this deck, even though it's apparently for the BCNR33... and super clean...going back on Yahoo Auctions I guess!

Yahoo Auction tip - make sure to check the connectors!

Just in case someone out there is in a Series 1 car and needs the correct OEM cassette deck parts number...

Anyway, even though the car's interior LOOKS OEM, if it doesn't FUNCTION like OEM, that bothers me... so as soon as I saw the video of the installed deck spitting out the cassette tape, I went ahead and found yet ANOTHER OEM deck on Yahoo Auctions...this one the seller had a 30 day guarantee that it would work (and the photos showed the proper 10 pin/6pin connectors)!

So right after I got the car home (and brake lamp fuse pulled) I disassembled the dash cluster and swapped out the defective deck with the replacement deck.

Take out the center console, remove steering wheel, remove the steering column covers and remove the dash fascia

About to remove the defective deck

Comparing the newly purchased deck (left) with the one I removed (right) - the one on the left even LOOKS cleaner/newer!!

Success! The newer deck plays tapes with no problem!

So why go to all this trouble? Because these used decks are cheap and I have a bunch of old cassette tapes still at home that I can still use in installing new speakers!  Also, before swapping out the front Morel Tempo Ultra 602 component door speakers (which Nismo Omori did not remove), I wanted to see how they sounded without their accompanying tweeters.  And from an audio source other than the radio.  And if possible replace one side with another (new) speaker of my own choosing, just to compare.

Note - of course I'm not after high fidelity/SQ at this time. Just returning to OEM-esque.

But how does it sound now? Not bad, right?

These mid range Morel woofer, being driven only off the OEM radio/cassette deck (2x 15W!) - actually sound pretty good with surprisingly good bass, except of course there is no treble without the separate tweeters. In conjunction with the old Pioneer coaxial 6.5 inch speakers in the rear deck, it sounds weird even if the sound is clean, because the sound stage is coming from behind and the personalities of the speakers are so different.

In my next post, I'll talk about how I removed the Morels from the doors... but then ran into some weird problems. I swear Worx is going to haunt me for as long as I own this car...

More Bad News from NISMO... But Progress...

Uchida-san still working to finish the interior this last week... note the temporary wheels the car is on...
More details (I hope) on why in an upcoming post!

So early Sunday morning, another text from Ochiai-san, with some "regretful" news.  It turns out that the wiring coming off the main body wiring harness for the cigarette lighter socket is gone!

Yep, another Worx decision apparently.  I asked why, seeing that in this photo I was sent the day before I was told the red wiring was ACC wiring, could they not simply tap into that?

The answer is simple - the red wiring is ACC wiring for audio items (and now repaired and ready to go to accept future accessories), but on the OEM harness the lighter socket wiring is on a separate circuit due to the current drain. So, we have two choices - we can run a lead to the battery (or fuse box) directly for the lighter socket, or we can try to find a new harness (what NISMO Omori Factory REALLY wants to do...).

Bad news #2 was, in investigating whether we could replace any of the wiring harnesses on the car in order to cleanly remove the alarm, Ochiai-san found out that all harnesses for my model year car were out of stock or out of production, meaning that even if I wanted to order new ones that would not be possible. I've been searching for used ones but two problems there - it doesn't guarantee modification hasn't occurred, and I'm now a bit cautious on ordering something that might work on Series 1 or 2 (zenki) cars but potentially not on Series 3 (kohki) cars.  This being Nismo, we have to get the parts numbers right! Maybe just wait for the Heritage Program?

In conclusion, for the time being and for this round of work, we will leave the alarm in (and hope it doesn't die),  and I won't be able to use the lighter socket to power any accessories like my cell phone. Oh well. Meanwhile, I will be discussing with Ochiai-san my options going forward to fix these problems. Sounds like I'll be bringing the car back to Nismo Omori Factory in the future for some more work...

On the other hand, good news the interior re-do is nearly done!

The other day Ochiai-san had sent me this video showing how they were installing vibration reducing panels (I guess like Dynamat) to the roof. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had read up on their CRS cars getting this treatment and I also wanted this on my car as part of the modernization aspect of the work.

In addition to these vibration suppressing panels, they are also using 3M Thinsulate between the roof and the headliner for sound and heat insulation.  

Installed, the interior roof now looks like this...thanks to Robson Leather again for the quick turnaround!

I need to find a black spotlamp and center lamp but otherwise this looks pretty good!

And the dashpanel looks like this.

WOW! Yeah, just need the ashtray now!
(And yes the shift boot is real leather, having swapped out the cheap plastic OEM one
for the custom one I had made by Cesar)

And so basically, while Nismo Omori Factory wasn't able to restore the interior to 100% OEM condition just yet, they were able to remove all the crap that Worx's Nakamura had installed and repair some of the damage he had caused.  As for the alarm removal, Ochiai-san is now working on finding an alarm shop that can assist in the removal.

So what next? Well, remember the temporary wheels on the car.... Stay tuned for details on that!

Finally!!!!

Got word from Ochiai-san...

Off to the specialist shop! What shop?Hopefully I'll have some photos to share soon. In the meantime, we have the 2019 Nismo Festival tomorrow... I'll be taking some R33 related photos of course! Check back soon!

Breathing Better, Revisited

So let's take a break from the repairs to the interior of my car.

A few weeks ago, fellow R33 GT-R owner, OCD clean freak and buddy Tom Smith messaged me to let me know that, not only had he been inspired to do a mod for his car from something he had seen on this blog, but he had actually taken measurements to prove that, indeed the mod had beneficial results!

Tom's gorgeous 33!

So to review - 9 years ago(!!) in April 2009, inspired by the underside ducting found on the R34 Z-tune's bonnet, I posted this mod on improving airflow into the car's airbox.  Basically, I took a cheap aluminum radiator panel, made some cuts and folded down to create a channel for air to better flow into the OEM airbox.  Here are some photos from that post.

You can see the lines upon where the cuts were made

Added foam to prevent air leakage

You can make out the ducting from behind the grill

At the time of my post, I reported that I had better throttle response, but I had no way of measuring actual engine response.

Tom, on the other hand, runs a Power FC commander which measures intake temperature.  And he made a proper version of this air inlet scoop, as shown below - sides welded shut and the entire thing beautifully powder-coated.

First, as you can see Tom had the sides welded shut

And then powder coated matte black

That looks absolutely FANTASTIC! OEM like!

Likewise you can see the scoop behind the grill.

So, back to the numbers. In ambient temperature of around 16 degrees Celsius, in order to remove any variables Tom drove on a dual carriageway and for about 3 miles at 115kph in 5th gear. He then recorded the temperatures as he passed under the same bridge so as to allow the car to stabilize the temperatures.  First pass, without the panel was 38 degrees C.  Second pass, WITH this modified panel fitted, was 33~34 degrees C.

Doing the math, that's about 10% cooler!!

He also found "what is immediately apparent is how much more crisp it is on throttle response" - and yep this is exactly what I recall too.  It's as if the engine finally has the correct amount of air going into it in the first place.

So I suspect those who remove the stock airbox have similar thoughts - they can sense the instant response - but remember as temperatures rise under the hood, my thinking is that this kind of fresh air scoop is the only way to get the best of both worlds - more air volume but cooler.

Thoughts?

Big thanks to Tom Smith for doing this and providing me with the photos and the numbers. I wonder if there are any other mods I did in the past that others can improve on. If so, PLEASE let me know!!

Quick Update: Kenwood Sound Cruising System, Pre-Wired!

A while back, I had done a blog post on the optional Kenwood Sound Cruising System that Nissan offered on several models of the R33, including the GT-R.

The brochure has passing reference to the Kenwood system as an option (red box)

One question I had, however, upon solving the mystery of the blanks on the interior A-pillars, however, was whether Nissan provided a specialized wiring harness for cars with this option.

what you get with the Kenwood system for the tweeters

My finger pointing to the cutout

I had previously looked very closely at wiring diagrams for the BCNR33, and they suggested that the wiring harness for ALL cars, indeed had leads going up into the A pillars, whether or not the car was equipped with the Kenwood system. My car did NOT come with this option.

The easy thing to do, of course, would be to pop open the A pillar cover and check for myself, but I was always too lazy to do so - until last weekend, when I was at Nissan Prince Shinagawa on another quest to find more parts for my car.

Once talking to the technicians there as to the Kenwood system, and inquiring whether that location was indeed the best place to place tweeters at, they immediately called over one of the mechanics who popped open the A pillar cover, and we found this (red arrow) terminal clip on both sides of the car:

Ignore the other wiring, that's for the aftermarket Navi... I think...

In my excitement I forgot to take a photo, but the BACKSIDE of the A pillar had a large "X" marking the spot behind the cut-out.

So, this is exciting - it suggests that ALL BCNR33s (and possibly other R33s) are pre-wired for tweeters in the A pillars.  Now I know the purists will say that, such OEM wiring is subpar and needs to be replaced with the latest hi-end oxygen free wire yada yada, but 1) this is a car, a very NOISY car, and 2) so long as the wires can carry a signal, why bother with extra cost when the wiring is already there??

Oh and also, many people will claim that it's not the brand of the wire, but the thickness of the copper gauge of the wire. In which case, I will have to choose my tweeters carefully I guess...the problem is that here in Japan, there aren't many shops that have speakers on hand to listen to, other than the name brand "average" aftermarket speakers like Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, etc...  Anyone have any recommendations? Would prefer separate components that can be heard over the drone of the exhaust (and yes I plan to get a separate amp for the front speakers too).