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I of course have my FSM going.
I have to say this Nissan FSM is not as good as the Honda Helms Manual. It looks the same, but the content is not as refined.
Wait a second... I just tried to paste and it did not work... is this thing hot-linking?
I HATE hot linking because 5 years from now all the damn pictures break
I all my previous pics were hot-linked. I thought the GUI was taking a Copy-n-Paste.
OK
Good to know
* I do not condone hotlinking on a technical forum
I... will find a way to directly uplink my pics. This is why I am practicing down here.
* Compress your pictures
* Host them local on the server
* Size them to optimal rendering (900ish)
Sigh... My WordPress will take a CTRL-V and post a screen shot or image directly off the clipboard. I have gotten lazy. Hate manually uploading pictures.
* Forum renders a bit clutter'y on the phone due to the ads - will have to remember that
* Forum renders nicely on a Windows PC laptop
* Forum has helpful moderators (I presume they are employed but do not know)
I like this forum
I have a long list of refined changes for the G37x, down to parts links.
* The more extreme mods, might want to search 370z instead of G37x
* Remember you have more stuff up front in a G37x so plan accordingly
* Remember that the real limit will end up being the Tranny
While I wait for my pics to un-compress
* The rear sway bar, any update will be a big improvement
* The G37x rides high and swings like a boat
I have decided to first try swapping out the springs and rear sway bar. The front sway bar looks huge to me, I am not going to bother with it.
>>>
I will start threads for each upgrade I make. I do not seek extreme, but rather Best Value. I am going to start by
* Lowering the car about an inch
* Replacing the rear sway bar
* Getting control over the Engine and Transmission
I dont like loud exhaust and I do not pick intakes until I know my mode of Forced Induction.
Ah - there we go!
On this forum, what I do is:
* Keep my pictures inline
* Press the image button
* Paste what I want into Paint first
* Paste in the pop-up window
Now I can do it without navigating the file structure.
I am just getting used to the Forum Interface here.
uh...
I think part of the reason I got my car is a Rattling Sound that it had. Turns out after inspection that it was the factory cat rattling around. When I got the car home I popped the driver side wheel and listened around why running the engine at different RPM.
* Get a stick
* Wedge it between the seat and the throttle
* Listen
Cars make many sounds. Those that are off-beat or continue during deceleration... can be identified.
Anyhow
A rattle-cat is no problem for me. I will be replacing with a pair of nice, new, high flow cats. Just as soon as I bang off all this rust.
An old car is like a good pair of shoes. You have to work with it and see how it shines up.
I do not care so much about aesthetics. ... I mean I do... but not nearly as much as mechanics. Machines are beautiful things and it is a good thing to know how to work with them. Much is learned (and saved) by doing your own work. We are here at a DIY forum. . . so that is what we will do.
We will learn to care for and repair our Automobile!
Gotta have some way to scan codes if you are going to be a Shade Tree Mechanic.
Gotta have good, solid, spark if you want to light off Air Fuel mixtures
I went thru a process to come up with that particular code scanner. I work on a lot of different cars and that thing works fine. All of them will work fine for diagnosing the most common problems:
* Gas cap was left loose
* Car needs Plugs, Wires, Cap, Rotor (a tuneup)
* Alternator has gone bad (tho a DMM can tell you that)
* The dreaded "Random Misfire" (see above, just do a tuneup)
I... tune engines myself so this tool will go to the wayside once I settle on my Engine Management. At present it is looking like UpRev, but... I... tried to reverse engineer some of their tune files and was quite disturbed to see that people can Lock and Encrypt their files. SIGH...
I take particularly great pride is WORKING WITH WHAT YOU GOT.
I dont like it when people flash $5k in tools to do a $50 job. I do a job with what is on hand.
* Rusty tools
* Wrong tools
* Get the job done!
Above I used a $5 jack that I got from the fleaMarket, an old pair of rusty channel locks, and whatever else I could find to get the old oil filter off. It is ok to roach the old oil filter, but not the new. I bought a new one that had the hex welded on to the end so I could tighten it with a wrench. I own 5 oil wrenches. . . but can never find them.
Just qualifying a few of my statements with pictures. I never say that I did a job that I did not do. I always take pictures of a job... and most importantly... I always take a ton of mental notes. I have one of those brains that does not let go of details. I can tell you exactly how it felt breaking torque on the 4 fasteners that tie the throttle body to the plastic intake manifold.
Made me nervous as hell :-)
I buy all sorts of things and review them. I do it on another site and I never get paid. I just find what works, what sucks, and best Value. For instance above... I can tell you that the COURSE brushes really are far to COURSE for cleaning bolts. Not useful for this job.
I can tell you that the fancy brush kit was useful, but... very low quality. If you stress the brushes they take a set fast... so... start small, work your way up, and only use the hand tool. If you put those on the drill they will go flat in a second.
Fine tho - they were cheap. Good brushes are expensive for a reason*
...
Anti seize
It is important with todays cars. There are many mixed-metal reactions which can ... eh... electrochemically weld your fasteners into place. The metals literally react off each other, so... be smart. Try not to dry-jam any bolts into place. A bolt will hold if it is properly torqued. Even if you oil a bolt... if it is properly torqued... it will hold. You can go figure it out for yourself. What you will find over time is:
* Keep your fasteners in good shape
* Dont over torque (or keep it reasonable)
* NEVER EVER EVER under torque
I have a calibrated arm and I do not use a torque wrench. I have one...
I have a few. That one was SUPER CHEAP and it works pleny fine for the lug nuts. I put around 85ft-lb on mine.
I HATE it when the tire shop puts like 160ft-lbs on my damn nuts. I mostly use the torque wrench to back them off and see how **** of a job they did. I... never go to a shop... other than for tires.
See?
Junk tools
You can get a job done with whatever you can put together.
* That socket is too wide, rubs on the wheel
* That impact wrench is under-duty for any wheel work, I use it just for spinning things off
* That jack is not safe, I back it with a stand... AND THOSE DO FAIL!!!
So... I usually lay the wheel under the frame next to where I am working*
That wont fail
What I am doing above is not... advisable... but I am a big PB-Blaster guy. If a bolt wont come off you can handle it in 2 ways
* Increase your leverage and force it off
* Use chemicals and be a bit more patient
When it comes to heat cycled bolts, you... will need all the help you can get. I use PB-Blaster to penetrate and lubricate particularly nasty bolts. I will go around and shoot them a day or a week before I am going to take them off. Maybe hit them 2-3 times. Let the vibrations of the car work the penetrating fluid down into the threads.
TORQUE is FRICTION
Think of it that way. It is technically more complicated, but... dynamic friction.
If you are trying to get past STICTION ... you want LUBRICATION
Stiction is the increased force it takes to break something into motion. I am not using the term correctly here, but the idea is sound. ... Just ... use lube dude. She will thank you.
Nothing is more valuable to you than the FSM
The Factory Service Manual
* You will buy it or get it somehow
* You will read it until you understand it
* You will figure out what the torque numbers mean
* You will live and die by doing a SAFE job that is RELIABLE
.... As you can see above (or below) it is best to space your prose out with pictures. Just find a way to make it easy and add lots of pics. If you want readership, you need P I C S.
Best Quote:
"Pics or it didn't happen"
Pics are the international language of love. Share the love.
Youtube is great
I... fear that one day all the youtube will go to PAID and we will lose that content. This is why I still document in the Old Way.
:-)
I have of course been doing my research. I have put superchargers on high RPM engines before. Heat Soak is the #1 issue, then being able to tune. CARB is important where I live, and ... being able to edit your files is also important. My understanding is that the Stillen Vortech kit comes with a locked tune. I dont appreciate that. I hope I am wrong.
I tune all sorts of things. It is important to be able to tune and it takes a long time to get a good, reliable, baseline. Long before big numbers... comes a long journey of getting something to a point of reliability and refinement. I dont turn up the power until I have all the basics correct.
If anyone has a BaseTune for a G37 with a Vortech Supercharger on basically a stock setup... I... would appreciate access to that. I am a very helpful guy in a lot of ways. I can solve riddles that others can not solve. I have been writing firmware, laying out PCB's, and tuning engines since W A Y _ B A C K. I can definitely do small jobs like helping you to spoof sensors etc.
I read hex like you read English... but I dont have a ton of time. What I want to do is evaluate whether the Vortech is something I want to get into. Step one is getting a base tune that is reasonable. I dont pull into a tuner shop with my hands in my pocket and no baseline. If I am at a Dyno then we are refining. I do all the rest on the street.
OK
I think I am comfortable with this interface. Above is an AMAZING mosfet. It can switch 200V with only 6.5mOhms of ON resistance. Mosfets are what control things like fuel injectors. There are many things we can do with a car if we understand the following things
* CAN (Controller Area Network)
* PCB Layout (making small circuits that play nice)
* IP67 (Ingress Protection - first is dust, second is liquid)
* Vibration
* Heat and Thermal Cycling
Anyhow
After we get things going in the right direction, time for some "Testing the Water"
* I to not recommend mentally masturbating too long on a given build
* I suggest buying the right stuff, right off the bat
* I suggest testing the water before buying the right stuff
So...
That is contradictory right?
* Start off buying the right stuff
* Buy some other stuff before buying the right stuff
:-)
What is missing from the equation is Order of Magnitude
* $1
* $10
* $100
* $1000
* $10,000
The "Right Stuff" I am looking at is going to cost me $10 grand. I always spend 10% "Exploratory Funds" before jumping into something that costs as much or more as the Vehicle. So... lets put some words to it:
* $1 Inspection, costs you nothing
* $10 Cleaning things up with solvents etc, cost of doing business
* $100 In this range we can try some springs, try a used Sway Bar
* $1000 Now we are talking kits - Nitrous Kit, Tranny Rebuild components
* $10,000 Now we are talking about doing the job right, with the right parts, so ...
Starting with Suspension
I am not at all familiar with how the basic setups feel. I can tell you that my car feels
* High up in the air
* Rotates on me during turns
* Weight shifting everywhere
* Bouncing
To remedy that, I want to do the following
* Lower my center of gravity
* Stiffen up my springs a little
* Make my rear sway bar actually work
Ok - spend a hundred dollars a few times, and see where we get. I dont need a $1,200 adjustable coilover kit yet... what I need to know is how small changes will affect the performance*
* Find your Compatibility Matrix
* Find other models that fit
* Find other models that dont fit
Get your Search Terms: Swift Springs Sport Springs Infiniti G37 X
First....
You just shop around to get a feel for
* Availability
* Price
* Response from Customers
Then - of course - you try to buy from whoever sponsors the forum that hosts your content (EH HEM) :-)
Buy where you buy. Buying is about
* Availability (avoid drop ship)
* Price (cheapest is not best)
* Shipping price and timing
* Customer Support
* Return for DOA etc
* Supporting small businesses
* Lots of stuff. . .
Vehicle: 2011 G37x
* Springs or coilovers
* Rear sway bar from almost anything else
* UpRev setup, Tuner
* Vortech or other Supercharger Kit that is CARB exempt
* Higher end spray kit, has to have everything (RPM window, throttle learn, bottle warmers, of course wet, fuel banjo adapter, solenoids, etc)
* High Flow cats, even used (mine are beyond roached)
* Headers (have done no research here - last thing I would worry about)
* An intake - whatever people really like - if I am going to change it, it better be worth it
* Steering wheel paddles
* Various odds and ends - I dont even know the car yet
* Spare bits - like a bucket of bolts and fasteners
* Replacement parts - for times where I cut holes thru the interior
* Maintenance parts that were not used (Brake shoes, cold plugs, air filters)
* Known good spare parts that go bad (Coil over plug modules, duh know, dont know the car yet)
Ok, we are going to sorty by best key word, blah blah blah, there is our keyword. %20 is how you represent a space in HTTP or HTTPS transfers. We are hitting against an API with a search request.
