I've been lurking around the forums for a bit and finally decided to post...


I had no car during the first year of college and now my dad leaves me the old Infiniti we have. It's a 1996 Infiniti I30 and boy is it in bad shape. There are dents and scratches everywhere! Also, my dad basically drove the car into the ground racking up 108K miles...on a 1996 car!

Anyhow I can do cosmetic repairs later, my priority is to fix some of the more major problems. I was wondering if anyone could provide me with links or suggestions on what I want to do. Below is a following of what I want to do.


1) Alignment - The Alignment of the car is off. The car tends to pan to the right.

2) Rims - The current ones are chrome but the chrome is coming off? (Looks like the chrome is peeling.) Because of it, one of the tires go flat? (My dad says some of the chrome is poking out from the inside and needs to be filed down.) Since constantly filling the tire with air is a major drag, I was wondering if I could get some specs (Offset, size) on new replacement rims + tires.

3) White Face Gauges - Was wondering which ones were the best. Are they easy to install? Do I have to buy new bulbs?

4) Suspension - I driven the car before when it was new and the suspension now is ALOT more "floaty" than before. I read someone that supsension should be checked or replaced after 60k? The car has 108K and my dad never changed the suspension! Any suggestions? I'm looking for a more solid ride, maybe 1 inch lower.


I know this is long, but I would really appreciate any documentation anyone could provide. Thanks in advance.



-Jimbo

 

Well, here are some things that can help you out...
Number one: Your car is not pulling to the right due to a lack of proper alignment; Alignment has very little to do with the car pulling. I would look in to the condition of the tires (if they are leaking, change em...) Most of the time, uneven wear and tear due to excessive wheelspin or severe and sharp turning over the years has made the tires uneven in their normal wear patterns... That is the cause of most of the "pulling" traits on most cars. Uneven tire wear can also be caused by the tires being improperly balanced (or the weights from the balancing falling off). If you have chrome wheels, the weights probably fell off (since they are sticker type weights on the inside of the rim). I would just look in to getting a whole new set of tires or rims like you want to do.

Also about your chrome peeling, most factory chrome is not very thick or sharp edged when it starts peeling. The cause of your tire(s) seeping air is most likely due to the old age of the rubber, or just a tiny hole hole someplace in the tire which is too small to find or patch. It is VERY unlikely that the chrome poking the tire is causing an air leak.

And last but not least, your car feeling more floaty than what is used to be is a simple fix... Most cars need to get their suspension checked up at the 60k service (just for fun and check-up). At around 100k miles, most shocks start to go... Causing the car to feel floaty or bouncy when going over small bumbs or potholes. I would probably get my ideas together for the wheels and tires that you want... And then consider the lowering springs that you wanna get... Put those all together and swap the wheels, tires and shocks all at the same time.
Do some research in the forums and find out which springs and shocks are the best combo for the ride quality you want.

You will save your money on the labor of the whole swap, since they will not charge you twice for the disassembly of the lower parts of your suspension. (Since your wheels and springs will be coming off...) Might as well change out the shocks while they are already down there...

Hope that helps you out... Sorry it was so long... Just trying to help ya out...

 

Ah...thanks for the advice.



I just went outside to look at the tires. WTF. I have 3 tires ( Both front + left rear ) that are the same and 1 tire (Right rear) is different but brand new. I swear I'm going to kill my dad as he can't drive to save his life.

The chrome peeling on ALL 4 rims are pretty bad. They look like the rim exploded and left some of the chrome on there. So far only the left rear tire leaks air.

I've been looking at the Koni supsension for my I30. Anyone have any suggestions/advice on them?

I'm probably not going to have enough money to get rims immediately (I'm a poor college student) so does the Infiniti dealership carry OEM rims? (Looking for same style just not chrome..what a hassle) Hopefully they won't charge me an arm and a leg.

Also for the white gauges I'm reading that people are having numerous problems with them. Anyone suggest ones that work well with a 96 I30?

Lastly, anyone know a good mechanic or dealership in the bay area? (I'm in San Jose) I was planning on taking the car to Frontier Infiniti in Santa Clara. Any comments on them? The car is in awful shape and I want to get her fixed up.


UPDATE: Damnit...there are highpitched squeeking noising coming from BOTH rear wheels while breaking...ugh.



-jimbo

 

Hahaha... Sounds like your dad doesn't know much about driveability...

Your car is most likely pulling due to the tires being different... Actually I am quite sure it is... Get some new ones... That means 4 of 'em being the same

About the OEM rims, check in to a local junkyard or stripping yard... Most places like that have 4 matching wheels you can pick up for pretty cheap (compared to going through a dealer!)... Shouldn't be too hard to piece together 4 matching rims...

The high pitched squeeking noise while braking is most likely the quality of the brake pad. Your car uses semi-metallic pads (As opposed to organic type) and some times they wear differently and glaze over from heat and such... That usually causes the sqeeking while braking. If you have squeeking while *not braking, that is usually a sign of the brakes being worn out and being on the pad sensor. If your dad put in some crappy brand pads the last time he had em changed, most cheap pads squeek more often than the OEM type. You might want to look in to buying a set of OEM pads from the dealer. (NOT going to the local Pepboys or whatever...)

Good luck....

 

I was looking on ebay. I found these rims:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...900548&r=0&t=0

I would go ahead and get your alignment checked on your vehicle. I get mine checked at least once a year. If you are planning to get new struts, then I would wait and get the alignment done then because you would be having to have it done twice.

Have your rear brakes inspected. It might be time for new rear pads.

White face gauges are nice but they are somewhat of a pita to install.

Since your dad has put over 100k on the car then I would imagine that the tires on it aren't that old. Take it to a tire shop and have them pull the tire, find the leak, and have them put an internal patch in it. It only costs me $7 to have it done here.

 

Hrm...all 4 brakes were changed not too long ago. I forgot the brand but it was something "Platnium". It only squeeks while breaking.

I might be get the tire patch as that seems like a low cost quick fix. Now I need to find a tire place around here...hehe

Also, are platinum spark plugs a good cost efficient upgrade?




-jimbo

 

Your car is supposed to veer slightly to the right so that if you fall asleep your car goes off the road rather than into oncoming traffic; although I'm sure between the leak, and newer tire on the back makes your car veer more than it is supposed to.....

As for going to the dealer for rims, ikSardarG had it right, paying for oem rims from the dealer will end up being so much, aftermarket rims won't be out of range.
www.ebaymotors.com is the way to go, except shipping will kill you..

As for white face gauges, 'I30CeFiRo' has my favorite i30 and he seems to have white face gauges with indiglo, his webpage is http://www.geocities.com/i30cefiro/home.html
he has some pics of em too, its a 96 also..... if anyone has better pictures of an i30 than that please let me know.... hope this helped a little.

-Nate

 

Yea, I have to admit I'm terribley jealous of I30Cefiro's car

I'll e-mail him later about his mod. His indigo lights are looking awesome.


Still....anyone recommend a mechanic in the bay area? I rreally don't want to get the shaft from a dealer.




-jimbo

 

Try emailing Turbo95Max or you can post this in the West Coast Forum and I'm sure he will respond to you.

Now, I go to him for all of my mods/maintanence, so he's a pretty good mechanic.

 

Excellent, I'll try contacting him.



-jimbo