Cement

Z3 and E46 have these items in common or is that E36 ? I have E46 items ...

I just looked at my spare tank seal / oring on the weekend and contemplated throwing it out 😬 Let me know if you need another hah. Make sure you get the 'long ass wand' set for the 3M cavity wax ... I went ham on mine in the end of the frame rails to get where the plates are welded in. Pretty sure this is the one I used: https://www.hardypackaging.co.nz/products/3m-cavity-wax-plus-applicator-wand-kit-08851?variant=14181165498429 When welding was there a breeze blowing perhaps ? Doesn't take too much sometimes to blow away the shielding gas at times which can create a mess.

I'd hit up a good commercial automotive paint supplier ... in Auckland I fully recommend Car Colours but that's not much use to you. Couple of things I learnt doing my rear end and under body: Use the most hard core commercial products you can get your hands on as a general rule (and the protective gear to go with it) Check expiry dates on things that have them (seal sealer for example) as some operators might try and move old stock via retail and save the good stuff for their commercial clients Careful if using 1k underseal and a 2k over the top. My 2k paint tried to eat the underseal and it did end up bleeding through a little I got a bunch of maybe 1" x 3" disposable rollers (and general thinners for cleanup) for painting the under body and wheel wells etc with 2k epoxy primer (bare metal areas) or 2k polyurethane paint. Worked a treat !! Can be fairly accurate if needed but covers an area great and no upside down brush running paint all over you etc. The underseal I used was average at best, would probably not even bother using again if all you're trying to do is get some texture. Around the RACP plates I'd probably just go large on the seam sealer and then maybe try and roll it a bit to texture it ? Some posts around this one from my build thread if of use:

Same for me recently, brand new cowl that had to come off for the glass to come out ... blasted all but maybe 3 of the clips. Luckily it was the super average hot staking that failed so I got the soldering iron and melted those wacky square pads back onto the cowl itself. The pokey parts were luckily still all attached to the little raft wotsits ... not using great words here but you'll know what I mean if you've seen one 😆

Sorry should have clarified it's intermittent and only when turning the wheel when stationary or moving very slowly as per the video ... assume high load on the hydraulic system.

So at low speed when exercising the power steering i get a strange groaning noise some times ... sounds kinda like a piston binding in a bore then releasing or maybe fluid bypassing or similar ? This is my nissan power steering pump and OEM rack so its a bit of a hybrid solution ... i need a flow restrictor on the pump as its pushing way too much fluid causing a very light feel also. Ideas ? Noise is at the 8s mark in the video.

Ta daaaaaaaa ...

I hope so !! Would have preferred a straight silver instead of the funky 'Glim Black' but can't wait to get them on. Hopefully traction improves Thankyou so much !! Glad it was an interesting read, never had so many notifications hah Might start another thread on the next side project of making custom gauge faces. This is so I can finally fix the RPM gauge (needs more numbers) and maybe add some other special herbs n spices. Have drawn out the outline so far but the question remains around how I will make to OEM quality on plastic etc 🤔

I've gone for a classic with JDM twist of course (and because they were cheaper than Apex !!) 😆 18x8.5 +38 in the front with 235/40 18x9.5 +38 in the back with 255/35 https://www.work-wheels.com.au/work/emotion-m8r

Wheels are finally on a ship and have left Japan, should be here at the end of the month all going well 🤞 Also re-jiggled my custom data display and it looks a lot more in theme with more subdued colours (when nothing is wrong). Really hard to capture properly in an image but you get the idea ... hopefully

Bahahahah love it, very well played sir 🤣

Just too cute, ordered the Nissan VQ set 😍 Get 10% off yours with code: OOPSIDITITAGAIN

I think this is the first ad I've intentionally clicked on in all of history !? Such a cool idea and look to be executed really well !! Got the BMW's covered: https://disagree.de/en/collections/kopfdichtungen-fur-bmw-motoren And us weirdo's with Nissan's: https://disagree.de/en/collections/kopfdichtungen-fur-japanische-motoren/products/miniatur-einer-kopfdichtung-fur-nissan-vq-30-35-37

I suspect I'm not alone in being amazed at the depth you are going to here !! Respect 👍

Looking forward to seeing the progress 👍

Got a board assembled and tested ok, hopefully the switches stay put !! Yet to actually validate the buttons are functional for ECU map changes, will do that tonight. Then i have to try and capture the Nissan CAN (?) signals for cruise control light illumination. LED illumination looks good compared to the radio button side :)

New boards and the switches arrived, incredible performance from both outfits ... boards ordered from China on Saturday 4pm and were manufactured and delivered on Wednesday, amazing. These switches are TINY ... might need to get some solder paste and try to reflow them (heat in a pan or similar ) but will have a hoon with some hand soldering first.

Have ordered some ultra small tactile switches to use instead of trying to get the button pads to work. They are only 0.3mm thick and less than 4mm across. New PCB's on the way to work with the new switches 👍 Link to the switches: https://sten-eswitch-13110800-production.s3.amazonaws.com/system/asset/product_line/data_sheet/236/TL3312.pdf

Got the roof finished bar the weather strips finally, see the other thread for more detail. Also had the windows tinted to keep the heat down in summer ... hopefully this makes a big difference.

So I finally got a good finish on the roof, and learnt how to polish something properly finally it seems !! Never really had the hang of it before it seems. I'll likely leave it like it is and then get it re-cleared after summer perhaps so I can be sure there is a good thickness for UV protection. Only thing left to do is reinstall the weather strips now, these will be glued in with polyurethane. It's pretty hard to get a good picture of it in the garage ... will try and get something more fancy in the future.

Got the missing resistor and everything measures perfectly as designed !! Pretty happy with that. Unfortunately something I didn't count on is the little rubber pads in the membrane being shitty conductors and throwing out all of the measurements 😕 So I'm pretty confident that in the car it would not function well at all ... will try and clean the pads but can't see it improving things hugely. Will then look to silver paints or other things i can add to the little membrane pads to give a better connection.

Was just looking at some VQ37 engine info on the net and noticed the E46 got a mention in the swaps area, what a funny surprise 🤣 Definitely had to do a double take there ... https://www.drifted.com/vq37vhr/

A beauty at the Birkenhead New World... Though @Sammo might have had a make over!!

Hey and welcome my E46 brother ... can't be of any help with your issues sorry but thought I'd say hi

The balance of the components arrived today from RS and I got a board assembled as much as I could. One of the resistors was in the correct bag but the part was of the wrong value So held up until thats resolved, and of course it was the one weird value which came from the UK. Have to drill a missing hole in the board before I can at least test fit it and check the LED brightness etc.