SuperCircuit

I roughly got the idea of the condition or the work that is needed to be done to my Nissan Fairlady Z after the first check up. I also noticed the brand of the exhaust that is currently used by the 350Z and I think I know its location. So, I gave the place a call and booked a time to visit. I mentioned to the shop regarding my situation and they said they would take a look at the whole exhaust system. When I arrived, I realized that not only does Supercircuit makes exhaust systems, they are also the sales representative of bucket seats maker, Recaro. Straightaway I knew I am going to learn more about my 350Z and maybe more from this visit.

As usual the car was loaded on the ram and raised, so it could be inspected and I had to wait in the waiting room. After around 20 minutes, I was asked to look at the car together with the technician. The exhaust manifold could be their product but he is not so sure. The De-cat and Y-pipe is definitely from them. Meanwhile, the connecting pipe with the resonator and the titanium muffler is not from them. So, the first problem the technician noticed is the way the Y-pipe and connecting pipe is joined. It is being held together with engine gasket glue instead of the right way. I was told that, when it gets hot, the glue will evaporate into a poisonous gas and I asked is there anything I can do about it. He said he could clear the glue and reconnect the pipes using the proper way but it would be too difficult with the amount of glue and since it does not affect the car's performance, I should leave it as it is.

I complained that the sound of my exhaust is not consistent. Sometime there is a flapping sound. Sometime it is louder than usual. He found there was a leak located just after where the connecting pipe and muffler meets. Then, I was given a lesson in the difference between a titanium exhaust and a stainless steel exhaust. The main detail is the thickness of the material. The titanium used is much thinner than its steel counterpart and that is the reason why it leaks often. Also because of the thinner material, the sound of the exhaust is louder than steel. This could be the reason why many car owners prefer titanium pipes over steel pipes. Even many famous parts maker in Japan produce titanium mufflers and it was a huge trend back in the early 2000s. Having realized the cons of titanium pipes, Supercircuit stopped production of titanium parts since a few years ago. Now, the question is, can the leak be fixed ? Certainly, it is possible with a little bit of welding but there seems to have some difficulties. Titanium bits are expensive and requires a lot of it to weld a small hole. In summary, it will be expensive, requires some working hours and a lot of elbow grease. All which the technician is unwilling to do and told me there would not be a problem if I continue driving. Only the sound will not be consistent and will be loud. 

Now that the exhaust part is done, I wanted to ask the technician more about the Nismo seats in my 350Z and the Recaro SR6 I have in my room.  In my mind, I wanted to see if the Nismo seat bracket is compatible with the SR6. I prefer the SR6 due to my experience with my Toyota Celica because the seating position is much lower and sportier. The technician checked on the seats and told me he had good news and bad news. The good news is the seats are authentic Nismo seats and its value is around RM 10,000 per seat. While the bad news is the design of the chair is the seat is welded to the bracket and cannot be separated. So, if I really wanna put the SR6 in my 350Z, I would have to buy a bracket. However, since my goal is to make the seating position lower, the technician advised me not to use the SR6. He explained to me, the SR6's bottom cushion is 2 layered that makes the position higher. Meanwhile, the Nismo seat is based on Recaro's protoype design where the bottom cushion is only one layer and that is also why the bracket is welded together. The Nismo seat maybe lower but as it is, it is still pretty high. According to him, there is only one seat that could lower the 350Z's seating postion and that is the Recaro Sportster which is very expensive.

Recaro SR6 (left), Nismo Seat (Center), Recaro Sportster (Right)

The technician, although was very blunt and some might find him arrogant, once you show him you want to know more about cars, he could teach you a lot. I like him and really thank him for teaching me. On the side note, I found a cool function of the 350Z cluster meter. I noticed the word REV is located under the needle on the tachometer. I read the manual and found out it is actually a rev indicator where you can set a value to prevent over-revving. Just for fun, I set the value to 2300 rpm because that is where I usually shift gears and it would be cool to see the light come on. The light will blink at 2000 rpm and will stay till when it is 2300 rpm or higher. That is a really sporty feature.

Reverse Camera

The first time I reverse my Nissan Fairlady Z was the time I went to test drive it. There is 2 screens in the car, one is the original factory Japanese screen and the other one is a locally fitted touch screen player by Clarion. When I put the car in reverse gear, I expected any one of the screen would show me a reverse camera because I saw a camera sticking out just above the rear car registration plate. However, nothing shows up. I asked the seller and he told me, the camera is original Nissan spec and is linked up to the Japanese screen but unfortunately, maybe due to hot weather, the screen is all cracked up and you could not see properly. So, I had to get this fixed because I have been reversing and parking with difficulty. I have to park and get down from the car to look. That is extremely troublesome and not to mention, embarrassing as hell. It was on my top 3 to do things when I collected the car but due to time constraint, I did have the time to get it done. One Sunday morning after my basketball session, I went to a car accessory shop near my area to have it done. In the beginning I was planning to ask the shop to reroute the camera and link it to the Clarion touch screen. That would have been an easy and not so wasteful way.

Original Factory Japanese Screen

Clarion Touch Screen (Locally done)

At the shop I was told that the camera cable used in Japan is not the same as the one used in our region. In other words, I will need a new camera instead but I still insist on them checking whether I could still use the camera I have. They had no choice but to take a look and it proves to be not an easy task. In order to get to the camera, apparently the rear bumper has to be loosen. First, the rear bumper was loosen and the rear lights have to come out too. Upon looking at the rear lights, the right side light's plastic lock thing is broken and stuck on the car. The guys from the workshop still could not get to the camera and decided to try to reach from the boot. So, out come the covers in the boot and the cushions inside. Only then, did I realized there are these thick cushions in the boot and could these possibly be for sound proofing? It is really a lot of things to remove, all just to get to the camera. At the end, the camera is confirmed to be unable to use and I have no choice but to opt for a new camera to be installed. After physically installing the camera, the guys have to do some wiring work to link the new camera to the Clarion touch screen.

Have to loosen bumper

Plastic lock thing broken and stuck on the car

Plastic lock thing missing

Everything removed

It sounded like an easy task but it seems to be another hill to climb for the guys. None of them had experience with a 350Z. They were having a difficult time to remove the central console to get to the back of the Clarion touch screen. They try and removed a lot of the interior panel to the point where the car look so bare. Luckily, one of them was smart and actually Youtube for a guide to remove the central console. Then, things started to get done. After 2 hours, everything is done and the new camera was adjusted for the right view. I wanted to change the Clarion touch screen to something more fitting but after this ordeal, I have my second thoughts about it and decided to keep using the Clarion until it breaks. That way I do not have to go through this again and I get to save a couple hundred Ringgit. When it was done and I started the car, I realized that the 3 additional meters were not lighting up. Luckily, I did not drive straight away and was able to ask the guy. Turns out the guy forgot to reconnect one of the cables. So, he had to remove the central console again. I finally got a working reverse camera that will help me whenever I reverse. Just need some time to get used to the distance shown on screen.

3 additional meter