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July 2013 - MiniGT (P11)

Printed From: Nissan Primera Owners Club
Category: General Open Forums - NO TRADING!
Forum Name: 2013 Archive
Forum Discription: Winners from 2013
URL: http://www.npoc.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=66453
Printed Date: 28 Mar 2024 at 10:20am


Topic: July 2013 - MiniGT (P11)
Posted By: NPOC_COTM
Subject: July 2013 - MiniGT (P11)
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 1:50am

Congratulations on winning July 2013 COTM James! Both yourself and your Nissan Primera P11 GT, are a very worthy entry in the NPOC Hall Of Fame!! How does it feel bagging this exclusive award and the awesome COTM trophy as well?

It feels really good. To be honest I probably don’t post as much information about my car as I should, I never thought myself or the car had really been noticed. So I am really happy to be picked.


Before we talk cars, modifications and mechanics, we’d love to find out about you the owner. Please tell us about yourself and what you get up to, away from the NPOC.

My name is James, I am 31 and I live in Worcestershire with my wife Hannah and my 2 dogs.

I have my own solar panel business that I have built up over the last 3 years. However I am now looking to go back to doing what I love and hopefully open a garage in or around Worcester

If you don’t find me in the garage tinkering with cars or engines, or watching the F1 on TV you will find me on the riverbank fishing.

How did you find the NPOC forums and are we any good? Would you happily recommend the club to other Nissan Primera owners?

I found the NPOC forum years ago, I can’t remember how exactly but I was probably searching the Internet for some kind of problem and came across the NPOC. I would definitely recommend the club to other Primera owners. There is a wealth of knowledge on here and everyone is very friendly.

What keeps you coming back to the forums every day?

Probably like a lot of us I am a member of various car forums and the NPOC is without doubt the friendliest one of them all. On a lot of the other forums you will get people making harsh comments or just generally not being very helpful. People are more interested in making themselves or their car appear better than everyone else. But the members on here are not like that and just seem very friendly.

What got you into a Nissan Primera to start with, was it on the list of cars to own, or a chance encounter?

It was actually a chance encounter. I was at a car action about 10 years ago and saw a resplendent GT SE Saloon going through. I wasn’t even really aware of the GT before this. When I got home I goggled the car, read the reviews and bought a GT hatch the following week.

Do you have a history with the Nissan Primera brand, or is this your first time?

I have had Primeras on and off for the last 10 years. Often having different cars in between, but I kept coming back to a Primera.

Would you say you are a car modifier, or just passionate about keeping the Primera on the road and using the opportunity to replace failed factory parts with upgrades?

I am not a serial car modifier but I do like to keep my cars in tip top health. If I can replace something with an upgraded part all the better.


Any previous cars, you have thrown a lot of love and money at, in making it “your own”?

Not really. Most of my other cars have been fairly standard. I have always kept them in good condition but the only car I have really modified extensively is my current Primera.

On to the modifications, now would be a great time to tell us all about your gorgeous Nissan Primera P11 GT! So please list your full spec and all modifications, inside and out:

OK, I’ll probably forget something but here goes: -

Engine

K&N Panel filter in standard air box.

Custom 61mm cold air feed to air box from front fog light.

SS Exhaust manifold with 2.5” downpipe.

SCE copper exhaust gaskets.

2.25” Stainless Steel exhaust system with 3.5” Slash cut Tip.

2.5” Decat.

Timing advanced to 17 degrees.

Unorthodox racing under drive Lightweight Pulleys, (crank and water pump) with new shorter drive belts.

Nismo FPR.

Drivetrain

Fidenza lightweight flywheel.

Modified Clutch cable bracket (needed due to the fidenza flywheel).

New Exedy 3 piece clutch kit.

Uprated Energy Suspension gearshift stabilizer bush.

Silkolene Sync5 gearbox oil.

Suspension.

BC Racing 30 way adjustable coilover suspension, with track spec springs.

Cusco front negative camber arms.

Energy Suspension sway bar poly bushes (red).

Energy Suspension  sway bar droplink poly bushes (red).

Energy Suspension Rear trailing arm poly bushes (red).

Hard Race rear lateral arm link bushes.

Brakes

Goodridge Braided brake lines.

Dot 5.1 brake fluid.

Z32 Brake upgrade, 4 pot alloy calipers.

Re-drilled Z32 brake discs.

EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads.

Wheels and Tyres

16” Team dynamics Pro race lightweight alloys with Avon ZV5 tyres.

Standards 16” Enkie wheels with silverstone 595 tarmac rally tyres for track days.

15” standard alloys for winter use.

Other

HID Headlights.

Deep Pile floor mats, with Primera embroidery.

LED sidelights.

Polished fuse box covers and PAS cover.

Aero flat wiper blades.

Sony CD MP3 headunit.

What’s the most enjoyable change you’ve made so far?

That’s a tough one. Probably the BC Coilovers, they transform it on the track.

Any horror stories of something you thought was going to be an awesome idea but just didn’t work when it went onto the car and can now be found in a bin somewhere LOL??

The first set of HID lights I fitted lasted about 5 mins, and to be honest the current ones are playing up a bit so these may be binned as well. I think I might just go back to the standard lights.

If I gave £500 right now and told you it had to be spent on the car, what would you buy?

Either Nistune or a Quaife LSD.

If money was no object and you could do anything you wanted to your Nissan Primera P11 GT, what would you do?

A full on 99 spec BTCC build.

Do you carry out most of the repair work / upgrades yourself and is there anything you wouldn’t take on and out of 1 – 5, what rated spanner monkey do you consider yourself to be?

With the right tools/facilities there is nothing I wont take on. I have been involved in cars engines and engineering since I was a child. If there is something I don’t know how to do I will try to find out. So I suppose I would have to give myself 5 spanners.

Do you currently have any plans for further modifications to your Primera?

I am thinking about turning it into a full racecar and entering some form of competitive motorsport next year.

Time for the quick fire question round!

What makes you smile? 
My wife, my dogs and my car.


What makes you sad? 
Not being able to see friends and family as much as I would like.

Tell us something we don't know about you.


Your favourite colour? 
Silver.

Your lucky number? 
12.

What will it say on your gravestone?
Don’t really care, I will be dead.

Your favourite drink (any)? 
Belgian beer. Duval or Tripel Karmeliet.

Your sub £10K second hand dream car would be? 
BMW E46 M3.

If you could steal the keys to someone else’s car (on NPOC) for 1 day, which car would you steal and why? 

One of the VE engined cars. So probably "Japsniper" or "Sprint"s, so I could take it on track and drive it like I stole it.

As you have revealed above already, your GT will soon be transforming into a much more serious, track orientated car (yay!).. I was wondering whether it was still going to be “road legal”, so you could drive it anywhere and at anytime, if not, what’s going to be your daily?

It is fairly track oriented as it is now. But the plan is to take it off the road soon to convert it into a racecar for next season. I doubt it will remain road legal though. I have a car trailer for transporting to and from events.

I will say though that I haven’t 100% decided to do this yet. It’s going to be a hard decision as there will be no going back, and it would be a bit of a shame as it is such a sorted road/track spec car as it is now.

I have got my work van so I wouldn’t technically need another daily. Not sure if I would get one or not though.

You're another member, who has so avoided joining us at a club meet. Any reasons why? We don’t bite (well not that hard) you know.

No not really. I don’t know why but I have never really showcased my car or myself very much. I just never seem to have the time these days.

Can you see yourself owning this car for a long time, or will it’s time sadly come and you’ll be driving something completely different?

I did half-heartedly try and sell it a little while ago but I didn’t really put much effort into it, as I didn’t really want to sell it. Providing I have the space I would like to keep it forever.

NPOC for life (regardless of what car you own and drive) or leg it when you change car?

I would love to say for life. But in all honestly I would probably leg it if I didn’t have a Nissan Primera anymore. But hopefully this will never happen. Even if I did sell up I will probably just end up getting another one at some point down the line. So you will never really get rid of me.

Sum up in a few words, why everyone should own a Nissan Primera??

They just do everything you need a car to do. They are great fun to drive but are still comfy and very practical. I can’t think of any other car on the market at the same price I would rather own and drive. They just seem to get into your soul, that’s why I have had 5 different Primeras over the years.


 

Tell Carlos Ghosn why he needs to bring back the Nissan Primera brand:

I’m not actually sure that would be a good idea. I think it might end up being a bit of a disappointment in the end. I just don’t think they would capture the magic of the P10 or P11 ever again.

From 2013 onwards in every COTM feature, my final question to all winners is going to be this one... If you could change 1 thing about the NPOC Forums, what would it be and why (and don’t be shy)?

I wouldn’t change much. It is definitely one of the best car forums on the web. But perhaps add the ability to agree or disagree with a post.

You often get people asking for advice and if someone replies with an answer it would be nice to have the ability to agree or disagree with that answer. It might give the person asking the question some reassurance that the info is correct or perhaps incorrect.

Many thanks for telling us all about yourself and your Nissan Primera P11 GT James, you have a cracking car and watching it evolve, is going to be interesting! Congratulations once again for winning Car Of The Month for July 2013! Please end this feature, in your own words and feel free to thank anyone who’s made this one possible.

Thank you very much for picking me and my car for the feature, it has been a real pleasure telling you about my car and myself. There isn’t really any one person I need to thank but rather the club as a whole. In the early days when I needed advice on anything Primera I always managed to find the answer on the NPOC. The club is a great resource and I hope it lives forever.


Congratulations once again to James!

July 2013 COTM - MiniGT

Written by essNchill



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