I've finally started to make a bit of a difference to the performance and reliability of my Nissan NX, but loaning it to my girlfriend indicated I might need to change priorities.
Being used to a more modern car, she came back complaining about the lack of braking, and insinuating that my performance car is some kind of 'deathtrap'.
Having had a look on the expert 100NX Club forum, it appears that larger front discs may be a good answer, as well as replacing and maintaining the standard set-up. The larger AV22F calipers from a Nissan Sunny GTI/GTIR, Almera GTI and Primera SRi should do the job.
I'm just compiling the parts, and I'll let you know how I get on. Setp-by-step instructions are on the club forum, but you need to be a registered member. Hopefully I'll be able to get some pictures as I try to follow them.
Saturday 27 September 2008
Sunday 21 September 2008
Keep your bootlid up with 100NX boot struts on a budget
There are several parts which can fail and lead to irritation more than rear danger on the Nissan 100 NX.
Two of these parts are the boot struts which can begin to struggle to raise the boot and standard parcel shelf after 10 years - let alone if you've put a bigger pair of speakers in the shelf!
Well, it turns out you can get a re-gassed pair of genuine Nissan tailgate struts from 100nx.co.uk for less than the price of one new part from Nissan (look under Parts for Sale on the site). Get a pair for £50 plus £7.50 postage and packing (presumably just in the UK). Plus a £20 surcharge that you'll get returned if you send your old struts (so they have more to refurbish and keep the supply going).
Two of these parts are the boot struts which can begin to struggle to raise the boot and standard parcel shelf after 10 years - let alone if you've put a bigger pair of speakers in the shelf!
Well, it turns out you can get a re-gassed pair of genuine Nissan tailgate struts from 100nx.co.uk for less than the price of one new part from Nissan (look under Parts for Sale on the site). Get a pair for £50 plus £7.50 postage and packing (presumably just in the UK). Plus a £20 surcharge that you'll get returned if you send your old struts (so they have more to refurbish and keep the supply going).
Sunday 7 September 2008
Put the spark back with a Distribution Cap for £6
I'm slowly starting to make some changes to the car, and narrow down the causes of it stuttering at about 3-4,000rpm.
Although one of the likely causes is the carb, it makes sense to check and overhaul some of the other possibly reasons. And with new HT leads, and the spark plugs checked, next on the list was the distributor.
It looks as if the original Nissan distributor was still in place 15 years later, and it was definitely starting to show it's age! And being a weekend, the nearby Nissan dealership parts department was obviously shut by the time we'd got to the stage of needing a replacement.
So it was off to the local 'motor factors', and stockists of an almost infinite supply of anything and everything. I was expecting quite a large bill, but after comparing catalogues and specifications on a range of distributor caps, and putting them next to the original (Top Tip: Remember to take original parts with you if possible - makes it a lot easier to find a similar alternative!), we settled on what we thought was the right part.
It cost a whopping £6!
And since fitting it, the problem hasn't vanished completely, but it's a lot, lot better. The car starts more easily, picks up from low revs in a much better manner, and has only stuttered in really cold and damp weather.
And that's for a total cost of £6. In fact, the car really doesn't owe me that much in spares so far. I should really have kept a closer record, but it roughly stands at a jubilee clip (And an RAC call out), a distributor cap,four exhaust mounts and fitting (£24), a Haynes manual, and lots of cleaning products!
So £30 for spares and labour, about £14 for the manual, and some shampoo. Not too shabby!
If you've got a 1.6 carb Nissan 100 NX, the most 'cost effective' distributor cap, and the one that I have, comes from Commercial Ignition, Catalogue Number XD243.
Although one of the likely causes is the carb, it makes sense to check and overhaul some of the other possibly reasons. And with new HT leads, and the spark plugs checked, next on the list was the distributor.
It looks as if the original Nissan distributor was still in place 15 years later, and it was definitely starting to show it's age! And being a weekend, the nearby Nissan dealership parts department was obviously shut by the time we'd got to the stage of needing a replacement.
So it was off to the local 'motor factors', and stockists of an almost infinite supply of anything and everything. I was expecting quite a large bill, but after comparing catalogues and specifications on a range of distributor caps, and putting them next to the original (Top Tip: Remember to take original parts with you if possible - makes it a lot easier to find a similar alternative!), we settled on what we thought was the right part.
It cost a whopping £6!
And since fitting it, the problem hasn't vanished completely, but it's a lot, lot better. The car starts more easily, picks up from low revs in a much better manner, and has only stuttered in really cold and damp weather.
And that's for a total cost of £6. In fact, the car really doesn't owe me that much in spares so far. I should really have kept a closer record, but it roughly stands at a jubilee clip (And an RAC call out), a distributor cap,four exhaust mounts and fitting (£24), a Haynes manual, and lots of cleaning products!
So £30 for spares and labour, about £14 for the manual, and some shampoo. Not too shabby!
If you've got a 1.6 carb Nissan 100 NX, the most 'cost effective' distributor cap, and the one that I have, comes from Commercial Ignition, Catalogue Number XD243.
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