Things I've learned... FRONT

Things I've learned about the Front of my Z




EXTERIOR


LIGHTS

  • Our headlights have a type 9006 in the low beams and type 9005 in the high beams. I'm not sure what kind of plug the fog lights take. Lows are 55W, highs are 65W. Fogs are 35W H3s. You can replace them with 55W H3s, but the stock socket is slightly different from a normal H3. You can go to Radio Shack or Checker and buy a replacement socket for about $2 I guess. I haven't tried this yet. The fog light bulbs are apparently changed by removing the parking light panel and accessing them in that manner.

  • If one of your lights is going out, when you turn on your blinker, it will flash faster on that side. I tried to change my right front one, but one of the damn screws wouldn't come out. I finally got it out by wedging a standard screwdriver behind the head, and turning it at the same time. Tough... Be sure to buy the YELLOW 1157s, not clear. Otherwise you'll have a white blinker.
  • This could also go with INTERIOR, but many of us are annoyed by the fog lights turning off when you flip from the low beams to the high beams. This has a relatively simple fix. Do the following: Remove the two small screws from the bottom of the light control panel. (To the left of the steering wheel.) Then you can sort of pull out the panel. Coming out of the middle are lots of wires. One is GREEN with a YELLOW stripe. Scrape the insulation from part of it; as well as from one of the BLACK wires. If you connect the two with another small wire, then the fog lights will stay on when you flip to high beams. HOWEVER: at least in my case, the LOW BEAMS stayed on as well, so you had the following results:
    With the fog light switch OFF, high and low beams are independant.
    With the fog light switch ON, low beams and fogs work together, like normal.
    ALSO: with the switch ON, high beams work at the same time as the fog lights AND low beams. So ALL SIX are on. Very bright. Initially I was concerned of drawing too many amps through the cables, but several list members have assured me that they've been running this setup for some time without any problems.

    PAINT

  • The paint on the front of our Zs, like any vehicles, is suceptible (sp?) to rock chips so if you love your Z, try not to tailgate!

  • If you have a black Z, Ace Hardware gloss black spray paint is almost exactly the same color as the front airdam, and is useful for fixing scratches on the plastic and making them almost unnoticable. I don't know if this works for other colors too...

  • The paint on the front of our Zs is particularly suceptible to vandals' keys. So don't park like you own the lot, even if you do. Try to park in out of the way areas when possible.

    RIMS

  • I've found Castrol SuperClean to be the best rim cleaner for my alloy (non chrome) rims.
  • I've found Blue Coral Black Magic to be the best tire dressing.
  • I've found that the front rims get really dirty with brake dust over the course of a week. Apparently it's even worse when you put metal pads on. We'll see. I'm doing that next month. (2/98).



    INTERIOR


    DASHBOARD
    No comments... anyone?

    LIGHTS
  • Make the fog lights stay on when I go to high beams

    GUAGES
  • I once paid the dealer $60 to tell me there was a small hose disconnected when my boost guage wasn't working. It was a small hose that plugs into the Big Black Bar on the engine. (Left side.)
  • I have never seen the temperature guage leave the center after the vehicle was warmed up. Not cold, like at 30 degrees outside.. not hot, like when I was doing 140 for a few minutes... except for the week before my water pump failed. Then, when I stopped, the needle would go up; this would tell me that my coolant wasn't flowing as well as it might.
  • It's good to know where the tach should be for a certain speed in a certain gear; that way you'll be able to tell if something doesn't look right. (Okay, common sense, but then some people don't have it...)

    STEREO
  • The stock Bose stereo sounds very good, but it has some faults:
  • Bose speakers work differently than most; that is, they are 1/2 ohm speakers, and not 8 ohm, like normal. Furthermore, each speaker has it's own 10W amp behind it in the door. If a speaker blows (which I guess is not uncommon, but it hasn't happened to ME) then you either need to replace it with another Bose speaker, or you need to pull the Bose speakers on both sides (otherwise it would sound unbalanced) and put an amp under the driver's seat (or wherever) and use it to power replacement speakers. I have had Eclipse PointSource reccomended to me, but there are many good brands out there.
  • If you want to install a CD changer with the stock deck (like I did), then you will have to use an FM Modulator and tune the stereo to some frequency (88.3 for me) to listen to it. Unfortunately, it won't just plug in where the Sony/Clarion stock CD player did. You will also need a separate controller for it, as nobody makes a controller that just fits into the hole left by the stock player (should you choose to remove it).
  • The stock Sony/Clarion CD player has many faults that I guess are common amongst Zers. For example, mine doesn't like to eject. I can push the eject button lots, but it will just TRY to eject. On some days, if I'm lucky, it will eject when I ask it to. This is what lead me to buy a changer. Also, it doesn't always akgnowledge (sp?) that there is a CD inserted. This is also very frustrating. If you really want to install a CD player in that slot, I would 100% reccomend installing a different one and NOT the stock player.

    SHIFT KNOB
  • The boot around my shift knob is shedding it's simulated leather covering. I'm not sure what the cure is for this. I suppose I should ask an apholstry shop.

    FLOOR / PEDALS
  • The much talked about ECU is under the passenger floorboard. To access it, pull back the carpet and remove the plywood covering.
  • Cheap floor mats ($30) tend to shed and not last long. 8) Not like that's unexpected, though...