More Bits n Pieces

More parts for the upcoming build. Me Nismo LSD complete with Nismo certificate and user manual. Ony in Japanese. For a relatively small component the LSD is really heavy.

Brand new Nissan final drive/ring gear/crown wheel bolts. You will need eight for the RS5F70A final drive. Picture here should give you an idea of what I am talking about.

Water coolant channel plugs for the QG. Otherwise known in the US as "freeze" plugs.

Coolant drain plug on engine block. I'm taking the precaution to replace parts where I can. Makes no sense to run into issues later or blow my engine due to a failure of a part costing a couple ringgit.

 

Titanium fasteners for my brake caliper adapter. Got these from Racebolts which is much cheaper than what I was quoted by Pro-Bolt.

Couldn't quite managed to carry me driveshafts home. My arms are still aching. More on this later.

Original Nissan aluminium faced brake and clutch pedal pads from a Z33 for that sporty look. If my research is correct these are plug and pray.

Why no accelerator pedal pad? Well this is not plug and play for our "ancient" throttle cable N16. Picture below of the Z33 electronic accelerator pedal assembly. Picture courtesy of Greg/G-Spec.

Here's how the pedal looks like together with accelerator pedal pad on a Nismo 380RS.

I frankly have no idea if this works on newer N16/B15/G10s with an electronic throttle. Of course all MYDM N16s are throttle cable only regardless of Pre-FL, FL1, FL2, FL2+. If I can't find any matching accelerator pedal pads these are probably going to be for sale while I get myself some Sparco pedals.

More ARP stuff

Got more ARP fasteners when I was in the US. Picture below of shiny ARP 300 series stainless steel stud kit for exhaust/turbo manifold. The stud kit is rated to 170K psi tensile strength. Supplied nut is 12-point.

Next is the ARP Pro Series bolt kit to secure flywheel to crankshaft. The QG18 crank/flywheel uses 6 bolts. Picture below of ARP vs stock.

ARP offer two styles of flywheel bolts: High Performance and Pro Series. Both are forged from aerospace grade alloy and heat treated prior to thread rolling and machining. Both feature an exclusive 12-point head design and larger than stock shank diameter for increased strength and improved flywheel register. The High Performance Series is rated at 180K psi tensile strength while the premium grade Pro Series, originally developed for Nascar competition has a 200K psi rating.

The Slowtra is very close to going in for its "oil change" job. Expect a dearth of articles then unless Toby and Chew Soon can take regular yummy pixs of the progress.

AIMing for the Icon

Was in the US a week back and collected my AIM MXL Strada Icon. I bought my MXL Strada from the good guys @ Apex Speed Technology. Look for Neel Vasavada or DJ Uithoven. The package arrived at my hotel even before I arrived. However upon opening the box I got a shock as I was sent the standrad MXL Strada rather than the MXL Strada Icon I ordered. Picture below of the "incorrect" MXL Strada. Pardon the lousy quality from my HTC Desire S. My camera ran out of batt and I forgot to bring the charger along with me. Bummer!

Apex Speed Tech owned up to the mistake and Neel even responded to my email late on Saturday night. Really truly excellent customer service. I was shipped the correct AIM MXL Strada Icon which arrived the day before I left. I then hand carried it back to Bolehland. Yes, personally hand carried. Can't trust it to be abused and damaged via checked in luggage. If you asking whether I came back with two AIM MXL Stradas the answer is No. I had first hand experience with a United States Postal Service post office and shipped back the unit to Apex Speed Tech. Picture below of what I brought back home.

Opening the box revealed a CD-ROM containing the interface software and the "manual" which is more a simple wiring diagram and brochure of other AIM products. You can download the actual user manual here.

The supplied wiring and connectors to ECU and to PC/laptop. Connection to PC is via USB.

The AIM MXL Strada Icon dash display itself. Notice the difference in the side warning LEDs compared to the regular MXL Strada.

Reverse "back" side showing the mounting bosses and RS-232 and CAN (Controller Area Network) connectors.

I paid slightly under RM4K for the whole kit including tax. Had to pay tax as I was in California which is subjected to sales tax. Sales tax in the US is enforced at the state level. Need to get a prepreg carbon plate to mount the dash display and have Toby install and wire-in everything once the Slowtra goes in for its oil change.