Hey everyone, found this info out yesterday while browsing the the UK 300zx forums and thought Id share my discovery with you all because I found it somewhat interesting to know. Apparently in japan you can take your Z32 to the Nismo Omori Factory and pay a small fee (joking) and have Nismo technicians refresh your car and retune it to improve its performance and exterior with Nismo bolt on parts. Here is a photo gallery of the Nismo store/factory in Japan https://www.otakugarage.com.au/nismo-omori-factory/#iLightbox[gallery-2]/-1 The info I was able to find on the net about the refresh program stated, you basically go to Nismo and choose which options you want to buy to refresh you car, such as suspension upgrades, exterior options, engine mods etc etc and then Nismo will add those bolt on parts and retune the car. Each car that's worked on by Nismo get a ID plate affixed to the front of the engine. One of the Uk guys posted this photo of a tiny preview of a Z32 TT motor which has been refreshed by Nismo with a few bolt on parts including a Nismo oil cap and possibly chrome induction hard-pipes and you can see the Nismo ID plate riveted to the throttle cable cover. Unfortunately all the currently Nismo parts catalogs I could find on the net at this point in time, don't list many parts for a Z32 refresh and as you would expect everything is mainly listed for the Z33 and Z34 and tons of parts for the skyline's and other current Nissan models. http://www.nismo.co.jp/products/catalogue_2014/#page=1
That's pretty cool. I visited the Omori factory when I was in Japan over Easter and they had literally nothing in stock for Z32. It would be great to hear that attitudes are changing.
They've been doing refresh / resetting since the 2000s. Refresh is usually basic stuff like nismo suspension/subframe bushes and arms. General idea is to replace any rubber perishables with more hardy items. Intake piping certainly falls into that category since the stock rubber pipes are awful after they get old. Any owner in Japan with a Nissan can go in for a refresh. They even do boring cars like Tiidas etc. Resetting takes it a bit further and they will tweak the engine, suspension setup and brake pads / wheels etc.
I know its not a new thing to happen, i think the Z32 missed most of the cool currently Nismo options available to the Z33 and Z34 models, but i thought it was interesting to know that the Z32 does have a tuner certified option in Japan which is ID plated and recorded, similar to the Stillen, SR-71 and Tommy Kaira models.
Their roadworthy system is a lot tighter than ours. Since cars have to pass the pits yearly or every two years, if they find mods on your car you either fail or get it certified. The refresh is a far cry from SR71 or TK models. Realistically the plaque and accompanying paperwork is more to keep the bureaucrats happy since you now have polished intake pipes and some better quality bushes from the performance department of the manufacturer.
Ah i see makes sense, thanks for the info mike. By the way do you think they are worth the expense to replace the oem parts with nismo ones?
Bushes absolutely. It's probably the thing people overlook the most. I was one of them thinking it's just little rubber bits, as long as they're not leaking fluid who cares right? I was so wrong. Now have nismo bushes throughout the zed and it feels like a new car. I'd love to refresh the S13 as well but that's a cheap nasty car and I can't justify the expense since I plan to on sell it in a few years. It feels like a bucket of bolts since the bushes are all old and dry rotted.
Awesome i have already replaced the tension rod bushes but with this new info regarding the nismo refresh program and your recommendation ill try and replace as many of the old bushes as i can with nismo ones at some point in the future.
