# Hello GTROC



## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

*Hello GTROC - R35 Review/Commentary*

​As the title says - Hello All

This is my third 'first post', and as cleethorps so rightly stated, I ought to have introduced myself and my car!

Adnan from WLMG in Mill Hill sold me my Gunmetal Grey MY2010 with just shy of 8 miles on the clock. He was thoroughly accommodating and helpful so +1 to WLMG MH so far - Nice showroom and decent staff. The morning I collected my GTR just so happened to coincide with the evening that my mrs and new born son were discharged from the hospital! Needless to say, I was waiting eagerly to see if my Primo Viaggio would fit through the front seat! With the seat (barely) fitting in, I enjoyed one of the happiest drives of my life, all by it probably the slowest too. I cannot express in words the joy of picking up my first born child coupled with the excitement of driving my GTR for the first time but I'll just say that I was grinning like a Cheshire cat all the way home! 

I completed the first 300 odd miles with my wife and son in the car, driving at a snail’s pace, however once those under the belts I explained to the mrs that I would have to leave them at home as I would be enjoying a more spirited, all by it steadily progressive drive in the car. Each time 200 miles went onto the odometer I raised the maximum revs by about 1000, until I hit the magical 1200 and had my first taste of full throttle in the R35. F*** ME shes quick!

Following the battle of the first 300 – don’t go over 3500 – I decided to have the car professionally detailed by James at Auto Finesse, based in Essex. James is exceptionally thorough and had the car looking like how the paint shop ought to have finished her in the first place. After she was washed, for the first time in her life I might add, I was informed that the paint on her was a sham with swirl marks and scratches all over, and thus began her two day restoration. 0.3 microns of the top coat were removed to polish away the marks, then a ceramic sealant was applied, along with a coating of wax. The finished product is stunning and a testament to James’ meticulous detail. The sealant allows water to bead so beautifully on her; I can only imagine the level of protection that it will give over the winter months. Pictures will soon follow once I’ve pestered James for them.

First week home with my newborn and we get woken up in the middle of the night to my son crying like there's no tomorrow. We tried feeding him, burping him, changing his nappy, and we also checked his temperature. Vitals normal, he seemed fine short for the crying, and as nothing we had tried seemed to give my son relief, naturally as overly worried first time parents, we made the decision to make the 280 mile round trip to the only 24 hour walk in centre (for inconsequential emergencies) in the South, in Loughborough. My first motorway cruise in the car, and the GTR's unbelievable handling became apparent; driving through torrential rain on a dark stretch of the M1, I cruised over an audacious puddle that would have prompted both RWD GT2 and Z4MC into a hair raising nail biting ballet. Had the car behind me not nearly lost total control, changing the angle of his headlights enough for me to presume he was going for some late night off roading, coupled with the soothing sound of water splashing on my arches and a slight twitch to the right I would have never noticed that the Nile delta had relocated to a few miles north of Milton Keynes. After a 130 mile drive through, much to my annoyance, what the BBC didn't class as tropical downpour at three in the morning, my jaw almost hit the floor when the good doctor informed us that my son simply had bad wind, otherwise known as Colic! Time for the drive home now, and having started off with nearly a full tank of the good stuff, I was surprised on arrival at home that the meter displayed just over a quarter; I started to think that this really could be the one of the most multipurpose cars with the fewest compromises. All by it, 20mpgs isn't exactly VW blumotion figures, but for a close to 500bhp 3.8l, it isn't half bad!

Having covered 300 more than the required 1200 miles, and with my optimisation booked in for a week from then, I decided that I wanted to have the engine and transmission oils and filters changed as I was concerned about the possibility of aluminium filings present in my oil from the final honing of the piston and chamber. I was quoted £670 +VAT by WLMG MH for the oil changes, so short of being mugged, I decided to pay Severn Valley Motorsport a visit and walked away with more than half of what the dealer would have taken off me. Having looked at the colour of the oils, I was satisfied that this was money well spent, hopefully saving my cylinders a few scratches over the 6000 miles till the next Nissan insane 'recommended' service interval.

With new oil in the VR38DETT I really started to explore the full potential of this beast. So last evening I made the most of what’s left of my paternity leave and enjoyed a break from changing nappies and took her out on a 200 mile spirited drive. The level of confidence that this car instils in the driver to depress the throttle further at the exit of the apex even on a damp roundabout is phenomenal, mind blowing even, with the transmission and VDC in R mode, she simply takes everything I and the road can throw at her in her rather large strides. 

Having covered 1800 miles as of tonight I would like to say first and foremost that I love my GTR and have told her that I will love her unconditionally if she'll get one, some decent breaks, two, a beautiful sounding exhaust, and lastly some well engineered power upgrades. Even a car as uncompromising as the GTR is not without its faults. Every car I have driven has had its own small peculiar faults or shortcomings, I understand that this is always the case when compromises have to be made in the RnD stages, but where the GTR is concerned, I do not believe that its fundamental faults ought to be here in the first place. Moreover, I'm beginning to question if these issues are mechanical defects rather than simply quirks of the beast.

1 - Between 1250 and 1500rpm in neutral or park, I can feel a vibration through the pedal as well as in the cabin of the car. At idle, whilst standing outside of the car, I can hear the propshaft rattle in the midsection of the car. Having read a post on here regarding the faulty bell housing on the propshaft I am wondering if this is the case for my car. However, surely for this problem to occur at 1800miles, with me never snapping on or off the throttle, instead rolling my foot, Nissan ought to be sent back to GCSE engineering classes!

2 - This car seems to like being in 2nd, so normally I wouldn't have the opportunity to report that both first and second are slow to engage, however this is the case both on a flat surface and is further exacerbated when on a slight incline. 

3, although linked to 2 - When downshifting from fifth to fourth, at the ton on a gentle bend into an epically long breaking zone for a roundabout, I would normally toe and heal to maintain the car's balance; However, when attempting to recreate this feeling of security in the GTR I was instead greeted with the car's weight being shifted to the front left followed shortly my her arse stepping out of line to the right. I hope the clutch relearn and setting of the clutch capacity solves this danger. 

4 - I read in the manual that the diff sometimes locks when it’s cold, causing wheel slip on tight corners, however on my GTR this still happens after a 4am spirited drive at which point the rear differential could not possible be remotely cold. 

5 - Insignificant to the other problems that I have identified, however still annoying, is that the button on the gear stick, when shifting out of park when the car is hot, does not properly disengage the safety mechanism. Note that it is fine going into reverse and into park, however not out of park when the GR6 is hot, and also works perfectly when the car is cold started.

6 - The hill assist system simply does not work. In fact I am beginning to wonder if it has actually been installed as following a spirited drive on wet roads, whilst waiting at the lights on a hill with my foot on the break, my Z4MC with her hill assist would stick her AP breaks and disks together giving a slight jolt and a rusted break pad to disk noise when pulling off. My GTR does nothing so undramatic, and instead rolls backwards, and also slips her clutch.

7 - Lastly, even less significant than 5 or 6, however much more annoying, is the squeak that is coming from the rear right quarter of my car, either from the brakes or the dampers. I also thought for a minute that it may be the exhaust mounts but what with the rain of late, I am loathed to drive with my window down and head sticking out in order to attempt to pinpoint the exact location of this elusive squeak. 

I’ll be informing WLMG MH about these faults and will report back if there is any improvement following my optimisation tomorrow. 

Here’s some food for thought, I’m liking the sound of a quadcharged R35. Does anyone have any information regarding this link? I think this was in late 2008 so with a year and a bit I hope it’s already tried, tested and been brought to out shores.

youtube.co m/watch?v=1aSR5Vd4eRM

Once again, hello GTROC!

Kind regards
Sean

Oh yes, and with regards to BOOSTED, you really are a miserable bugger! 
:GrowUp:


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## w8pmc (Sep 16, 2010)

ColicCalm said:


> ​As the title says - Hello All
> 
> This is my third 'first post', and as cleethorps so rightly stated, I ought to have introduced myself and my car!
> 
> ...


A most enjoyable read & congrats on both your new arrivals.

Hoping i don't encounter the problems you appear to have spotted in your car but i'm still at 770 miles so a few hundred more until the 1st Opt service which is already booked in.

Perhaps worth checking if your car has the recent TCM Software update i've read about, as i believe this cures some of the clunks etc. (could be wrong).

Agree the car is epic & hope you get sorted. I don't miss those sleepless nights.


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## TAZZMAXX (Mar 9, 2010)

ColicCalm said:


> ​Oh yes, and with regards to BOOSTED, you really are a miserable bugger!
> :GrowUp:


I think you may live to regret saying that!


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## Fuggles (Jul 3, 2001)

wow, cool write up. Seems you like the car then


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## robsm (Jul 22, 2008)

Welcome Sean, nice intro, go full decat exhaust and you wont care about the rest


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## ROG350Z (Jun 15, 2008)

Hey Sean, Maybe see you at WLMG - Peter has been great in service thus far.

As for noises I have a really high pitched whine that doesn't sound like turbo which is driving me nuts along with a rattle in the steering column which is equally annoying - never mind still goes like stink and love her ;-)

My real concern is the real rattling like someone shaking lego in the rear quarter (I assume drive shafts meeting something) which is getting worse - might have to have that one looked at unless it is normal....anyone?


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

With 11 points on a long list of faults, WLMG HM has opted to keep my car in till tomorrow. Whilst not liking to be parted from my toy, credit to the dealer for being thorough. Peter is the GTR man in the service department, and so far all’s well. I’ll have to see how many out of the 11 problems are fixed before I sing their praises though as I have yet to speak with their head mechanic. 

@ w8pmc – Indeed, I too have read about the GR6 update, and today asked if it would be possible to have it installed on my car. I was told by Peter at WLMG MH that the fix is in its third stage of development and currently some cars will accept it, whereas others will not even allow it to be installed. I can only hope that mine does, however from what he said regarding Nissan, I think that it will not be long before an official update is released. 

@Fuggles – Yes, this car is as w8pmc stated, truly epic however I am hoping that either Nissan or some tasty mods will be able to fix her minor issues. Due to the length of my list of faults, WLMG have opted to keep my car in for an extra day in the hope that will be able to rectify the faults. 

On the off chance that it is the bell housing that is causing the propshaft to rattle, does anyone know if I can demand that Nissan strengthen the part or install a better alternative, rather than simply fitting the same one that has broken in under 2000 miles of use and will undoubtly break again in another 2000 miles. 

@robsm – Cheers for the welcomes, and that’s definitely on the books, however I’m looking for at least 100mm worth of diameter through my zorst, to allow for extra gas flow on a later build engine. I have yet to find a manufacturer with a 100mm pipe in stock, any ideas? I have a feeling that I will have to have this made. Also, do you know if the AP 2 is available in the country yet?

@ROG350Z – Peter told me that there was another ‘one’ in the garage yesterday – don’t suppose that that was your motor? The whining sound may well be the transmission, which whilst being normal, can be subdued by an oil change. I did mine, and now the GR6 is almost silent. Also, with less sound being produced by the GR6 then one can assume that the reason for this is such that a lower coefficient of friction is being achieved, meaning less wear and tear on the already fragile transmission.

- This may sound obvious, and is not intended to sound derogatory, but have you made sure that both of your steering column adjustment leavers are fully engaged. Short of that, if the rattle is always present, it could be the normal sound as the flywheel is connected directly to a central hub, and unlike a dualmass flywheel, in the GTR there is no dampening spring clutch to quieten things down. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth paying Nissan a visit.

- Does the rattle from the rear of the car happen constantly, or only when the car travels over of over a bump in the road? Try breaking gently as you traverse a joint in the road or a bump. Should the rattle not be present whilst doing so, I can only assume that the issue will be stemming from your rear brakes, and most probably will be down to the spring not providing pressure in your pad shoes, allowing the pads to rattle in the calliper, as they may not have been properly installed. This will be due to a careless mechanic bending the spring then mounting your pads and ought to take 5 minutes of Nissan’s time to fix.

Kind regards
Sean


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## ROG350Z (Jun 15, 2008)

ColicCalm said:


> @ROG350Z – Peter told me that there was another ‘one’ in the garage yesterday – don’t suppose that that was your motor? The whining sound may well be the transmission, which whilst being normal, can be subdued by an oil change. I did mine, and now the GR6 is almost silent. Also, with less sound being produced by the GR6 then one can assume that the reason for this is such that a lower coefficient of friction is being achieved, meaning less wear and tear on the already fragile transmission.
> 
> - This may sound obvious, and is not intended to sound derogatory, but have you made sure that both of your steering column adjustment leavers are fully engaged. Short of that, if the rattle is always present, it could be the normal sound as the flywheel is connected directly to a central hub, and unlike a dualmass flywheel, in the GTR there is no dampening spring clutch to quieten things down. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth paying Nissan a visit.
> 
> ...


Thanks Sean - yep I have locked them as hard tight as I can - after inserting arm inside I think I have tracked it to the two cables inside left of the column!

Rattle is deffo not brakes - it sounds like badly fitting carbon bits to the - right in teh centre rear of the car. Not too bad but annoying and if it is normal then just adds character huh! Whining is more a turbo whistle - very high frequency and alters on throttle angle so definately engine/turbo based - gives me a headache and if no one else gets it then I will have it looked at. Only £4K til next service so not a huge headache - just drive faster and just ordering GTC Titan Y Pipe from Ben to drown it out! No comments Mr Yu - its stops there ;-)


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## Boosted (Jun 5, 2008)

Oh yeah, welcome to the forum :thumbsup:


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## Nigel-Power (Dec 16, 2009)

Welcome aboard to a very fast ride mate  and congrats, for the new baby and the new beast :chuckle:


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## SPEED MERCHANT (Jun 5, 2006)

Welcome to the GTROC fella & an epic thirdish post :chuckle:

Hopefully see you at some shows & events in the future :thumbsup:


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

Right, I picked up my car from WLMG yesterday and I am pleased to report that all bar one fault was fixed and also was pleasantly suppressed that my request to not wash the car did not fall on deaf ears!

The vibration that I can feel in the car when idling at 1250-1500rpm is still present, and although I was told that this is normal, I am quite sceptical. There is no play in the propshaft and the bell housing is intact and fully functional. Does anyone have this problem because I’m now baffled? Don’t tell me that it’s just the lightened flywheel doing its thing. 

On a less positive note, one precaution that I did not give the service department was to ensure that the front passenger seat was not moved any further back because I had left a baby seat in the back. I thought this was pretty obvious, however clearly not enough, and much to my annoyance when I picked the car up I noticed that my baby seat was floating in the air at a 45degree angle and the passenger seat was as far back as is physically possible. In retrospect, I ought to have made this clear although I really should not have had to - perhaps, next time I have to get one of those bleeding stamps in my W book I'll ask them to ensure that the car is not in gear when it is started or maybe not even bother going at all.

2000 miles and counting - well pleased with the GTR – now it’s time to look for some modifications! 

@ROG350Z - Lol, two cables eeh! Regarding your turbine sound, my turbo starts to become audiable close to 4000rpm, however is pretty much silent before then. Loving the supercharged sound, I also quite like the noise the turbos make - nonetheless, any worries ought to be alliaviated by your dealer. Good luck with the y-pipe, I too am looking at unleashing the beast!

Cheers for the welcome gents, SPEED MERCHANT just tell me when and where and I'll do my best. What with the winter almost here now, I'm guessing that there's not too much organised for the next few months, but I'll be a happy chappy if someone could put me right there!

Sean


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## ROG350Z (Jun 15, 2008)

ColicCalm said:


> @ROG350Z - Lol, two cables eeh! Regarding your turbine sound, my turbo starts to become audiable close to 4000rpm, however is pretty much silent before then. Loving the supercharged sound, I also quite like the noise the turbos make - nonetheless, any worries ought to be alliaviated by your dealer. Good luck with the y-pipe, I too am looking at unleashing the beast!
> Sean


Y Pipe arriving tomorrow (Speedy service from Mr Ben at GTC) and fitting by my local exhaust specialist who looked more than a little bit worried at the car but after a look underneath said it should be fine as only 8 bolts or so!

Yeah bloody cables - nearly broke my arm feeling round inside steering column! Hopefully the Y Pipe will drown out the whistle - not as bad as the £145 increase in insurance premium for Y Pipe....ouch

Welcome to forum BTW, GTROC and unleasing the beast!


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## SPEED MERCHANT (Jun 5, 2006)

ColicCalm said:


> SPEED MERCHANT just tell me when and where and I'll do my best. What with the winter almost here now, I'm guessing that there's not too much organised for the next few months, but I'll be a happy chappy if someone could put me right there!


Where abouts do you come from fella as we have a Halloween Party coming up & details of the Christmas Party as well!


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

from nothing..to the longest intro ever.... welcome to the forum..


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## bluediamond (Sep 6, 2010)

*welcome to the forum*

Hope you have got the car as you want it. 

I hope you dont mind but you seem like you'd enjoy it more if you worried about it less :nervous:

They honestly do make quite a few mechanical noises especially when your stationery but its really probably nothing to worry about.

I dont think drivetrain noises are any worse than for example a porsche GT3. Light flywheels and dry sump mills etc..


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## Naranja (Dec 4, 2008)

ROG350Z said:


> Hey Sean, Maybe see you at WLMG - Peter has been great in service thus far.
> 
> As for noises I have a really high pitched whine that doesn't sound like turbo which is driving me nuts along with a rattle in the steering column which is equally annoying - never mind still goes like stink and love her ;-)
> 
> My real concern is the real rattling like someone shaking lego in the rear quarter (I assume drive shafts meeting something) which is getting worse - might have to have that one looked at unless it is normal....anyone?


I've got a brilliant idea Rog: a pair of BOSE noise cancelling headphones....they really are good you know.


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

ROG350Z said:


> Y Pipe arriving tomorrow (Speedy service from Mr Ben at GTC) and fitting by my local exhaust specialist who looked more than a little bit worried at the car but after a look underneath said it should be fine as only 8 bolts or so!
> 
> Yeah bloody cables - nearly broke my arm feeling round inside steering column! Hopefully the Y Pipe will drown out the whistle - not as bad as the £145 increase in insurance premium for Y Pipe....ouch
> 
> Welcome to forum BTW, GTROC and unleasing the beast!


Cheers ROG. Could you let me know how loud the car is with the y-pipe? I'd love to get a full zorst, but I'm thinking my diplomacy skills will not be polished enough to persuade my Mrs that my gain in happiness with the R35 will be justified by the din she'll hear when cruising on the motorway. In fairness, she's put up with the motorway boom for a long time now as all my cars have had new pipes and manis, so I might let her off this time, until I can hold out no longer! In fairness, once the new car novelty wears off (currently, if I can help it I’ll only drive the GTR), I could claim this car for my personal use only and chauffer her around in the M5 instead, thus increasing my daily db allowance to 90 and above. 



SPEED MERCHANT said:


> Where abouts do you come from fella as we have a Halloween Party coming up & details of the Christmas Party as well!


I'm based in London and what with a newborn and all, I think that flying is out of the question for the next few months, so I'll definitely be spending Christmas in the country this year. You going to make us an invitation :clap:



bluediamond said:


> Hope you have got the car as you want it.
> 
> I hope you dont mind but you seem like you'd enjoy it more if you worried about it less :nervous:
> 
> ...


Bluediamond, no offence intended, and none taken mate! What you stated is a fair suggestion, but I am far from new to high powered motors. 

It’s not so much that I’m nervous, but more that I’ve got a decent understanding of the mechanics of a motor, and have had experience with a few too many heavily modified cars. As a result, naturally, I understand that every car is going to have its own sounds and persona, even more so when it has been modified; However what worries me is when I can hear sounds that I have not heard before, or when I have heard them prior to component failure. Apart from the exhaust note, and where mechanical sounds are concerned, the GT2 only makes more noise than the GTR when off the throttle, coming down from high revs, unlike the charged Z4m that is constantly whining (in a brutally nice sort of way).

Transmission sounds of the GR6 do not bother me other than that they indicate wear on the components, and this was compounded when I changed the box’s oil – since, the sounds are no longer present! However, my cause for concern is such that I can feel vibration when idling at 1250-1500rmp. Experience has taught me that vibration present is rarely good, and what with the car being completely oem, it could not possibly be the exhaust finding the resonating frequency of a component. Try it, and If 10 people on here have this vibration at 1250-1500rpm idle, I’ll concede - this vibration is normal, normal for the stock GTR - however regardless of what Nissan have assured me, like the gearbox, this is indicative of a fault that is present that ought to be perfected in order to get the most performance and longest life out of the car. 

As for the car as I’d like her - I’d like her to go faster, stop better and turn in sharper without that damn understeer – if I can, I’ll also have her sounding like thunder sent from the heavens! So what my plan is, is to modify the car in two stages. One, running stock internals and turbos and two, post internals. The issue that I am currently trying to work round is such that most of the modifications that are available for the stock turbos and internals will need to be swapped for bigger components once the engine is built. I don’t want to have a whole load of parts that will not match up with a stroked engine. So my thoughts are such to only change components in my first stage of modification that will later mate up with the built engine. For the time being, that leaves me with the following to go on in stage 1 – AP, downpipes, 100mm exhaust, 1000cc injectors, fuel pumps, 90mm intakes, intercooler, GR6 cooler, gearbox and clutch strengthen/uprate, adjustable bigger antiroll bars and if they’ll fit some strut braces, bigger (possibly carbon) breaks, and some better rubber. Stage two will follow once I’ve covered a good 15-20k miles on my shiny new, stock internals – Stroked 4.?l engine, pistons, rods, cams, polished and ported head, gas flowed inlet manifold, larger actuators, carbon roof and bonnet (if I can find one without all the vents).	



Naranja said:


> I've got a brilliant idea Rog: a pair of BOSE noise cancelling headphones....they really are good you know.


When I was 17, I was riding a bored out to 70cc, two stroke 50cc Derby GPR. I was in convoy with my friend on an old VFR 400 travelling to our local cinema, along a typical one lane up one lane down London road in Finchley (for those who know, right outside of the old mental institution now Princess Park Manor apartments), when a black cabby pulled out from a side road, turning left directly into my friend. Being a few feet behind him, I slid my bike damaging my then recently painted fairings however, my friend sustaining the full impact of an accelerating black cab ended up on the other side of the road with a leg broken in two places, and a shattered hip. The road out of which the cabby was turning was a typical 90degree corner, not oblique, and I found it unbelievable that he had not heard us, least of all seeing two bikes traversing the road into which he was turning. Had he not had been listening to a f****** ipod :chairshot with both headphones in, even with that pratt not checking his right, he still would have at least heard us, then looked to see if it was clear. Moral of the story, NEVER DRIVE ANYWHERE WITH ANYTHING IN YOUR EARS, not even wax! 

On a lighter but nevertheless important note, I must start by stating that I mean no offence to any BOSE fans, however in my experience and as an avid audiophile, I have found that the products that BOSE manufacture for the home user are absolute crap and incredibly overpriced. They focus merely on treble and base, and make no attempt to recreate any audible midrange. Their professional kit is brilliant; however their home kits are marketed solely on the success of their professional systems, and not on the individual quality of the products that they will be selling to the end domestic user. 

On the note of headphones, IMOH SHURE make the best in the world, and where home audio systems are concerned, both B&O and B&W offer better products for similar prices to BOSE.

@boosted and cleethorps – thanks for the welcome, it didn’t take too much effort to win you two hard nosed gentleman over, pics will now follow! :bowdown1:

Kind regards
Sean


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

aren't b&o just reboxed philips.. their tv's are.


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

Nearly, B&os panels are made by Panasonic and if my memory serves me correct, these are pretty decent as they are from Panasonic's professional range. Where rebranding is concerned, it's fairly common to see this happen in the electronic industry as it's cheaper than each company solely manufacturing all of their own parts. Regardless of quality, and although B&O offer some cool functions with their TV's, I would never buy one myself as I do not feel that their innovation is worth the double price tag that they charge in comparison to the equivalent 'high street' branded tv. All things aside, their sound kit sounds pretty decent, but IMOH it doesn't come close to the B&W speakers which are IMOH the best. There's one car with their system installed, but I can’t remember which one it is. I would imagine that to sound truely epic!


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

*Detailed by [email protected] Finesse*

At last, I’ve gotten round to getting some pics up, so here goes... I took my car to James and his team at Auto Finesse near Bishops Stortford. They do an amazing job, and I highly recommend them to anyone who wants to give their cars a bit of TLC.

On arrival:

































First stage is the wash, and top of the list the wheels, with Smart wheels
a 4:1 (exact mix from our acudose system):
























Then on to the body work, foamed with AG Power max 3 to remove all the 
grime etc, rinsed, gaps & shuts brushed, re foamed and washed:
























Dried off and brought in doors we set about contamination removal with 
Dodo Juice grey clay and Born slippy:
















After close inspection of the paintwork it was apparent it needed some
machine work, swirling like this was on each and every panel:








The polishing combo was decided on after a few tests, 3M finishing pad 
and PGR-2 compound:
















Before:








After:








Before:








After:








Before:








After:








The bonnet was a bit worse and need to step the pad up to a polishing pad 
rather than just the finishing. Before:








After polishing:








After finishing:
















The boot lid had some quite deep RDS, needing so quite heavy correction 
a perfect chance to try out a new product i got my mits on, Menz fast gloss 
my summery after using it a few time is "fast cut plus move aside":
















After:








Gloss pillars before:








Gloss pillars after:








After correction the paint work was wiped down with a solvent based prep
solution to prepare it for the crystal ceramic coat (that needs perfectly 
clean paint to bond) :
























Mike followed round removing behind:








After the coating had cured the top coater was applied:








Interior detailed, glass coating applied, exhausts polished, tyers dressed,
glass cleaned:
































So 26 man hours in to a brand new car, leaves it looking like this:

















































































A banging job, and many thanks to James and Mike at Auto Finesse.


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

I can now see that my running a sponge over mine then letting it air dry can be improved upon. Before he jumps in and says it wasn't him(the p-o)..which I sure it wasn't..my car was covered with swirl marks when I got it, and I WILL ! purchase a polisher and selection of compounds for myself this christmas.


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

Detailing World - A world for detailers by detailers.

Have a look here - there's some good information on this detailing forum which will help you choose what to get and where to get it from. Just don't buy one of those grit guard buckets!


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## Mook (Mar 20, 2007)

Just WOW


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

Oddly enough she no longer looks like that after the last few 100 miles, so I'm contemplating if I can be bothered to attack her with a sponge and bucket now.


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## Mook (Mar 20, 2007)

I just washed my begrudgingly. It's a chore when your not in the mood

Then it rained. 

I'd leave it if I were you

Lol

Mook


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

I remember a couple of years ago cleaning my newish car on an overcast day..not noticing the sponge had a little bit of gravel in it when the car dried the bonnet looked like it had been scribbled on with a silver pen..how happy I was....cheers for that link some very useful stuff on there.


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

+1 Mook on being a chore when not in the mood. That's what my mrs has been telling me since the birth. 

Right - for a change, I've decided to go ahead and trust the BBCs weather forecast which states that there will not be a drop of rain until Wednesday, in the hope that my GTR will give me some loving. All things equal, I love that hand to hand contact that I get when washing my girls, so this should be an orgasmic although cold experience.


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

cleethorpes said:


> I remember a couple of years ago cleaning my newish car on an overcast day..not noticing the sponge had a little bit of gravel in it when the car dried the bonnet looked like it had been scribbled on with a silver pen..how happy I was....cheers for that link some very useful stuff on there.


Been there myself, though I'd go and try the local car wash after that point and they put more scratches on my motor than I did myself! A good read through there ought to have your technique down to a scratch free brilliant shine experience for you and yoru car to enjoy!

There are these stop scratch buckets that you can buy which stop grit from the dirty water going into your sponge. They're about 100 quid, and tbh you can replicate the same effect with a metal colander (£10) and bucket (£5). Stick the colander upside down in the bucket, and when you put the sponge in the bucket for whatever reason, make sure that you place it onto of the colander, which will keep the sponge off the bottom of the bucket, where all the grit is.


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## AlanN (Dec 10, 2007)

bluediamond said:


> Hope you have got the car as you want it.
> 
> I hope you dont mind but you seem like you'd enjoy it more if you worried about it less :nervous:
> 
> ...


Well said...I've got a GT3RS too and it makes far worse noises...don't worry! 

:wavey:


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## AlanN (Dec 10, 2007)

ColicCalm said:


> Oddly enough she no longer looks like that after the last few 100 miles, so I'm contemplating if I can be bothered to attack her with a sponge and bucket now.


Precisely why I had mine clear wrapped from new...my paintwork was pretty good so now I won't get paint chips and I can let the local hand car wash do their bit without worrying about them ruining the paint 

These amazing (and somewhat anal IMHO) detailing jobs are fantastic but if you intend to drive the car rather than keep it in a showcase what's the point?
Your paintwork is still vulnerable to the elements etc.
700-800 for a detail of this quality, the effect lasts for a week or so.
1500 for a clear wrap which will last at least 3 years.

????


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## David.Yu (Jun 28, 2001)

AlanN said:


> Precisely why I had mine clear wrapped from new...my paintwork was pretty good so now I won't get paint chips and I can let the local hand car wash do their bit without worrying about them ruining the paint
> 
> These amazing (and somewhat anal IMHO) detailing jobs are fantastic but if you intend to drive the car rather than keep it in a showcase what's the point?
> Your paintwork is still vulnerable to the elements etc.
> ...


Do you mean a full body clear wrap or just a Venture Shield for the forward facing panels?


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## *MAGIC* (Oct 21, 2009)

David.Yu said:


> Do you mean a full body clear wrap or just a Venture Shield for the forward facing panels?


Alan had a FULL CAR clear wrap done by ourselves 

Robbie


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## Varsity (Oct 24, 2009)

*MAGIC* said:


> Alan had a FULL CAR clear wrap done by ourselves
> 
> Robbie


As nice as mine?


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## *MAGIC* (Oct 21, 2009)

Varsity said:


> As nice as mine?


Yours does look the nuts in matte clear :clap:


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

In fairness, the detail was around the £400 mark and a ceramic sealant was applied to the car. This sealant will bond with the paintwork and in fact become part of the top coat. Asides from stone chips, it ought to stop anything from coming close to the paint, and will last at the very least for a year. 

I think that you are missing the point of the detail I had done - when cars leave the factory, their paint is rarely finished properly - short for Rolls Royces - and as a result, hair line scratches and swirl marks are present all over the car. For the sake of a few 100 quid, this can be rectified and thus the cars paint will be looking as it ought to when she left the factory. In taking out the scratches present in the top coat, then applying a ceramic sealant, such a detail should never have to be completed again short of taking my car to the local car wash, where they use wire brushes instead of sponges.

When it rains tonight, I’ll take a picture of water on the car. It beads so nicely, and is a good indication that the sealant is doing its job at keeping water and dirt away from the paint work. In order give her a quick wash, all I need to do is pressure wash her, and go for a drive to clear the water off; as very little sticks to the sealant, she’s pretty much spotless after doing so. 

Nevertheless, ceramic sealant will not stop the major stone chips so I too am looking at having my car wrapped as all of my others have ended up looking as if someone took a sand blaster to their fronts. However, once I have my car wrapped, I'll most likely have a ceramic sealant applied as doing so will most likely protect the wrap and also give it a beautiful shine; perhaps over the top, but will most definitely make me shile when I see her both gleem and protected from those damn boulders.


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## bluediamond (Sep 6, 2010)

*Agree with you on the detail Sean*

Its worth it very early on, gets the paint as good as it can be to begin with.
Wraps have come a long way in recent years. The orange peely armourfend with obvious edges is just a compromise.
Whats the point of putting something on the car that doesnt look good to stop it from, well, not looking good in a different way


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## cleethorpes (Sep 30, 2008)

ColicCalm said:


> In fairness, the detail was around the £400 mark and a ceramic sealant was applied to the car. This sealant will bond with the paintwork and in fact become part of the top coat. Asides from stone chips, it ought to stop anything from coming close to the paint, and will last at the very least for a year.
> 
> I think that you are missing the point of the detail I had done - when cars leave the factory, their paint is rarely finished properly - short for Rolls Royces - and as a result, hair line scratches and swirl marks are present all over the car. For the sake of a few 100 quid, this can be rectified and thus the cars paint will be looking as it ought to when she left the factory. In taking out the scratches present in the top coat, then applying a ceramic sealant, such a detail should never have to be completed again short of taking my car to the local car wash, where they use wire brushes instead of sponges.
> 
> ...


true, was watching an old top gear today with the "new" baby aston... swirly as hell...


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## ColicCalm (Oct 15, 2010)

Astons have relatively good paint work in comparison to most other cars. They're finished by hand if my memory serves me correct and have about 300microns of paint, vs the GTR which has about 120microns. 

The only cars that come truly finished are the Rollers - they have something like 300 man hours put into the painting and finishing process.


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## bluediamond (Sep 6, 2010)

*Ultimate Silver*

Is hand finished as well I think. Is there any difference in paint depths at all?
I can say that my car has not got any protection but at present after 15k has only 1 stone chip of any significance.

Some colours dont show chips up as badly but I wouldnt say the silver is particularly soft.


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## AL0481 (Dec 3, 2009)

Welcome!!! 

Always good to have another enthusiastic owner.

I am glad you had a good experience at WLMG and I agree Peter is very good however Adnan I found useless!! He never returned my calls and I thought his knowledge of the car was poor (didn't know the cost of the optional Ultimate Silver paint and didn't go and find out when I was at WLMG to pay a deposit)

Not to dwell on the negative, since my purchase I have been fortunate enough to encounter far fewer problems then other members and have had some epic drives at the same time.


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