Z-Car » Cars

USA Spec PA15 – INFI iPhone/iPod interface for Infiniti G35x

gsmith — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:09:38 +0000

I have a 2005 Infiniti G35x and have been wishing for years that the car had come with an AUX plug, or iPhone/iPod interface for almost the whole six years that I have owned it. Several years back when looking for a solution, I found an interface that claimed to work, however it required the removal of the dash. This was not an exercise that I was interested in undertaking, nor paying for. Removing the dash did not look like an easy task, not as simple as in many cars.

Fast forward a couple years… A couple weeks ago I get my yearly XM radio renewal (another topic I will discuss in future post) and decided I needed to get my iPhone talking to my Infiniti pronto. I quickly found out that several vendors now sold Infiniti/Nissan to iPhone/iPod interfaces. Interestingly, USA-Spec was touting an interface that connected between the cars existing XM Radio and the in-dash stereo. And, on the G35x sedan, the XM Radio was conveniently mounted in the trunk. This unit also works with many other Nissan and Infiniti cars, but please take a look at the manual here to insure compatibility with your auto.

So, I purchased the unit from Amazon, and got it two days later (thank you Mr Prime). In preparation, I cleaned out my trunk and did some searching for the XM tuner. After popping the trunk, you will find a trim panel across the top of trunk. Carefully remove several of the plastic pop-rivets using a blunt knife and lower the trim panel, it will still be attached to the piece that covers the rear-seats. On the upper right-hand side you will find the XM tuner mounted in a rack on the bottom with the connecter located on the right side. This connecter is removed and the connecter from the PA 15 – INFI is mounted in-between the two.

I simply snaked the control unit cable under the rear seats and up along the drive tunnel. You can be ultra-clean and run under the carpets, or go ghetto and just thread it out the ski pole opening. Once everything is connected, connect your iPhone and run through the simple setup instructions in the manual. This will allow you to choose via playlist, artist, or song. In addition you can run in direct mode, the cool part of this is it allows you to access any audio application on your iPhone, including Pandora! Lastly, there is also an Aux interface that allows you to plug in any device that can connect via a 3.5mm AUX jack.

While the manual does a pretty good job walking through all the options, walking through playlists/artist/songs can be a bit tedious if you have large song collection, but a little bit of practice will help. The audio quality is very good, the integration is surprisingly good considering USA Spec has basically just hacked the system to make your iThing look like a XM tuner or CD Changer.

In the end, USA Spec has a real winner. As mentioned, I found the sound quality to be excellent, and installation was a breeze. If you run into any issues, just leave me a message here and I will try to help out.

Infiniti G35x – The ABS, VDC, AWS, and SLIP Lights all on

gsmith — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 19:09:35 +0000

The other morning I get into my Infiniti G35x and as I head out the driveway, I notice that my ABS, VDC, AWD, and SLIP lights are all illuminated. This is not a good situation, as luck would have it, the areas first snow storm was expected later that day. The car drove normally during my 35 mile commute, however I was able to determine that yes, the car was only in RWD mode, and the traction control was not operating. After searching on the web, I found a couple suggestions, including low brake fluid. As I drove over to the local auto parts store at lunch, I was pretty sure that was not going to be the issue. As I pulled into the parking lot, I suddenly remembered that I had run over some twigs in the road the night before. Thinking maybe something got stuck in the wheel, I turned the front wheel all the way to lock.

Imagine my surprise to see the left wheel wheel filled with a black plastic fencing material that had wrapped thousands of times around the front drive shaft. Clearly this was the issue, either it was causing the wheel sensor to not work, or it had ripped out the wiring to the wheel sensor. After jacking up the front end and removing the left wheel, I spent the next 30 minutes cutting and unwrapping a very large amount of plastic fencing from around the drive shaft. I noticed that the front wheel sensor is a press-fit into the wheel hub where it extends out close to the ring around the wheel hub that is used to measure wheel speed. The sensor had been pushed out, which increased the distance from the hub ring enough so that it would not function.

The Infiniti’s ECU uses the wheel speed sensor to determine if a wheel is locked up or spinning at a different rate from the other wheels. This is what allows it to control the ABS (anti-lock brakes) and VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control – Traction Control). The ECU is also smart enough to disengage the all-wheel drive if these systems are not functioning properly.

Once I pushed back the sensor, the ECU again realized that it was receiving signals from the wheel sensor, and all the warning lights went out. So, if you have all of these warning lights illuminate at one time, and you know your brake fluid is topped off, check your wheel sensors. They may have been dislodged, the wiring damaged, or they may simply have failed. A quick inspection could save you thousands of dollars in repair bills. In the following diagram, item 8 is the wheel speed sensor.

Toyota SDK8

gsmith — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:03:55 +0000

I have a 1984 Toyota SDK8 that I bought a number of years ago. It is a great skid loader, but because they are no longer imported into the US, it is a real pain to find any info. I am going to start posting all of the information I have about it on this page, hopefully some other folks will add any information that they may have. Right now I am focused on getting the starter turning over reliably, it usually only turns over about once every four or five tries.

My bucket attachment is also all mangled up, I am curious if anyone has replaced their’s with a BobCat Quick Tach attachment plate?

Repair manual which covers the inspection, adjustment and repair procedures for the overhaul of the engine, chassis and materials handling system of the Toyota Skid Steer Loader 2SGK6, 2SDK6, 2SDK7, and 2SDK8.

Fuel Filter Napa 3386

Oil Filter Napa 1521
Hydraulic Napa 51551

Fan Belt Mitsubishi 99523-11 52

Motor for SDK8 is a Toyota 2J diesel. Diesel Forklift truck CPCD80-2,80-2J,TOYOTA 2J ENGIN D B 4CY, 2.5 LTR

Go here to find some mini-skid steers.

Pictures

Lotus Elise – Emergency Unlock

gsmith — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:08:19 +0000

If you lock the doors with the Remote FOB, it is not possible to unlock the doors with the standard key

Good thread on Subject

Lotus Elise and Pretty Girls, perfect combo!

gsmith — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:47:28 +0000

Everybody agrees that pretty girls and a great car go together perfectly. Especially a Lotus. Need more proof? Pick your favorite and tell me why at the bottom, if you make it that far!

Lotus Posters Available Here

Texas Girls Love The Lotus

Fast and the Freakish with a Lotus Elise

A Girl and Her Lotus

When it Rains it Pours, Girl with an Umbrella

Japanese Lotus Elise

Hood Riding Lotus Girls

Rachel’s Elise with Tattoos

Lovely Elise

Rachel’s Lotus Elise

Teresa with No Top Lotus Elise

Triple X’s Lotus Elise

School Girl Lotus Elise

Matching Blue Bikini and Lotus Elise

Bikini Lotus Gurl

English Girls Love Racing Lotus Exige

Too Pretty Lotus Girl

Keeping the Lotus Clean

A matching set, love the orange….

Harness Girl!

Lotus Bikini Wash

Girl on Lotus Elise hood

The Fast and the Furious meet Lotus

Wake-Up Call

Matching Orange Lotus and Panties

Lingerie in the Lotus, nice fishnets

People staring at the pretty orange Lotus

Harness Girl!

Pretty Blonde with her Lotus Evora

Perfect Symbol for the perfect car

German Racing Lotus Elise

Green Flag = Go for It!

Topless Lotus Elise

Perfect Shot

Team Lotus!

Yellow Vinyl

Lotus Elise Camel

3? I say at least an 8, Lotus Elise = 10
v
White Boots and Such

Looking In! Peeping Elise

Hawaiian Tropic Babes with Lotus Elise

Lotus Elise Hawaiian Tropic Girls

Lotus Elise Nice Legs

Lotus Elise Hooter Girls

Lotus Lust Red Dress and Elise

Stepping out of Lotus Elise

Elise Hot on Top

Teresa Topless with Lotus Elise

Mad Wife with Lotus Else

Wife Pushes Lotus Elise

Relaxing in Bikini with Lotus Elise

Virgin White Lotus Elise with Girl

Fast Girls Like Lotus Shorty

Not sure how a BMW Girl got in here

Blue Shirt with Black Lotus Elise

Lotus Elise Hooters Girl

High Fashion Lotus Elise Model

Pretty Julia Allison in Front of Date’s Lotus Elise

Another Harness Girl sneaks into Lotus Pictures

Hooter Girls on Orange Lotus Elise

Pretty Bikini Lotus Elise Girl

Bikini, Sweat Pants, Lotus Elise = Pretty

Cute English Girl with Lotus

Harness Girl with Roll Cage – No Lotus

Cute Girl Sitting in Lotus Elise

Julia Allison in Front of Pretty Lotus Elise

Pretty Blue Bikini with Silver Lotus Elise

Girl in Crazy Clothes with Lotus Elise

Pretty girl in Mini Skirt in front of a Red Lotus – Yokohama

Nice pair of Jean in front of this Lotus – Careful, don’t pop a tire!

Pretty Japanese Girl on older Blue Elise Heritage Type 79

Ran out of Gas…

Young girl in a Bikini

Maggie Grace Faster with gun and Lotus Elise

Girls in Orange Top and Elise

Pretty Girl on older Blue Elise

Infiniti G35x Coupe/Sedan Owners Manual

gsmith — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:56:33 +0000

2006 Infiniti G35x Owner’s Manual