So the reason I haven't posted anything lately, is simply because it turned out that the paint protection film job by Watabe-san at the introduction of Prince Fukushima's Midorikawa-san, was simply no good. Or rather and more accurately, it was extremely bad.
It started when both Dino and I noticed some weird lines in the hood.
When I complained, Watabe-san reassured me that some time in the sun would cure it. To me, that is NOT a correct answer. I was also not happy because I found that in certain areas, the film was beginning to peel off, there was some obvious dust trapped in some areas, and further Watabe-san had not completely protected the bottom of the side sills - bespoke to the Skyline Nismo - and therefore left it super exposed to rock chips as I drove.
Sloppy! That is a piece of dust between the black paint and the PP film
Here too!
So I went and got some PPF and did the install myself for the underside, but also took advantage of leftover material to remove the interior side sills and wrap the plastic with PPF as well (I had asked this to be done as well but the excuse was - it doesn't stick well).
Looks pretty good huh!
The trick is to heat up the film so it stretches, then wrap the edges around, using tape to keep it in place
And just put back in place. Once in place, the fitment keeps the film in place.
Given the lack of precision, the attitude and failure to cover areas I had requested, I was beginning to have second thoughts about the quality. Would I get super annoyed every time I got in the car, because my eye would catch some dust trapped in the film? So, I found a local shop - BlackCats Detailing - and asked the owner there, Takahashi-san, for a second opinion.
He confirmed that the work done by previously was amateurish, especially in those areas where the film was begining to lift. This is indicative of a rushed job where a quality check was not done. He ALSO found some knife marks in the paint - luckily they could be removed by some artful polishing - that indicated that Watabe-san was cutting too deep into the plastic film, another indication of amateur level work.
You can see the scar left behind by the razor blade about halfway between the taped areas
This scar is more visible, right above my finger
Of course, I was furious - and more so because Watabe-san - who as you remember came to Nismo Omori to show me his handiwork - either knew what he had done, and not mentioned it (from a legal perspective, indiciating a wrongful act he did knowingly) OR, he was negligent in doing so, which indicates incompetence. I could not believe that someone would be so careless (if negligent) with a brand new car, and furthermore, I could not believe that Nismo and Prince Fukushima had introduced not just me, but other owners of brand new cars (apparently an R35 GT-R Nismo as well!) to Watabe-san.
Now, working at Nissan corporate must have helped, and it also didn't hurt that I am a lawyer. Midorikawa-san was super apologetic, and in the end Prince Fukushima took care of what they could, but to be honest this should have never happened in the first place. In this case, the usual apologies did not suffice. But of course since giving me an identical brand new, unblemished car was impossible, I asked for them to not just refund my money, but to pay for all of the fees I would have to pay BlackCats to fix the problems (like removing the old film, buffing out the scratches, and then do a proper paint protection film job on my car.
Flash foward and the end result is a spectacular result - check out: BlackCats IG page
Small shop, but super clean and well equipped.
Dark film over the taillights
Smoked film on the turn signals in the mirrors to match the front smoked turn signals
He even put PPF on the carbon rear spoiler!
Not one spec of dust!
This better photo courtesy of BlackCats
Did I mention that I took advantage of this opportunity to have the ENTIRE CAR wrapped? Yes, this is a level of protection that not even my R33 GT-R enjoys, but after all of the angst of dealing with the first PPF job, and being pleasantly surprised at how good Takahashi-san at BlackCats is at fixing problems but also doing so efficiently, I decided to go all out. It helps that the PPF he uses is Xpel Ultimate, which is the more advanced version than that I had installed on the R33 many years ago. Note, the original film which caused the problems is a 3M product, not sure of the technical differences but I know that XPel keeps a database of the templates used to cut the film BEFORE it gets applied to the car body, thereby reducing any chance of razor blade damage.
So what is next for this car? Well now that I can finally drive it... need to enjoy breaking it in, and maybe some initial mods to bring out its full potential!
So in my last post, the car had finally been returned to me. BUT, truth be told, I was not happy with one thing.
Take a look at the car when I had it sent back to Omori Factory shortly thereafter.
Looks good you say? Well so Sawanobori-san, the guy Nismo Omori Factory entrusts to detail their show cars, was kind enough to find time to do my Skyine after he took care of the Nismo CRS cars that came back from the Nismo Festival. I was especially happy to learn that he also added some PGP windshield protection as well - this I suspect is some kind of ceramic coating so that works for me!
The issue are these Nismo LMGT4s. You see, these are lighter (and rumor has it, less rigid) than the stock Enkeis, which might be good in terms of losing unsprung weight. HOWEVER, this car has the Digital Adaptive Steering (steer by wire system) which is set up using all of the OEM parameters - car weight, wheel and tire weight, tire grip, suspension, etc. - and so when I swapped out the Enkeis for the LMGT4s, it felt really artificial, even in Sports+ mode where feedback is heaviest and most accurate. So, I quickly decided I wanted to put the Enkeis back on.
Except the guys at Nismo did not want me swapping the tires back again - something about how the bead gets weakened and so I was happy to have the car live at Omori Factory while they also ordered new OEM tires.
Was nice to be the ONLY customer! He he he...
HAD to add this photo....
So when I went to pick up the car, I saw this:
My LMGT4s, ready to be hauled home.
Pretty interesting - apparently new tires have a slick protectant coating and Omori Factory has these tire wraps in order to prevent the floor from getting slicked up.
From the side, just because I could. I started wondering if I could do this at home too...
Photo courtesy of Miyata-san, Chairman of the Z31 Club
Once I got the car home, I did a full inspection of the detail. It was pretty good, but Samanobori-san, like most Japanese detailers, uses Echelon, which I found to be hydrophilic, not hydrophobic. The theory here is that instead having water bead up, instead water forms into big puddles that then slide off the car, leaving the paint dry.
Normally, this would probably not be a problem for most people. But I am not most people. First, my cars do not see much rain, especially the GT-R and now this car. Second, I do believe Japan is several years behind when it comes to car detailing products. Hence while waiitng delivery of this car I had done some research in my spare time, and ordered the Advanced Graphene kit from Adam's (and now I hear that there are now even better products on the market... oh well...)
Kit contains surface prep (far left) to remove oils and other contaminants before application of the graphene ceramic coating liquid.
So yes, I know that before applying a ceramic coating, you are supposed to remove the existing protectant/sealant. However, I did not do so this time for the following reasons.
1. I'm lazy; or maybe just getting older and less energy, etc. Oh and it's cold out now.
2. I heard that layering ceramic on top of ceramic can sometimes work
3. Given the hydrophilic quality of the Echelon coating, and my experience with the Elgrand where the guts of a dead bug were seemingly absorbed by the hydrophilic Echelon coating, whereas I had to resort to a chemical buffing to remove, I was hopeful that similarly, the underlying Echelon would soak up the Adams coating. And if Adams is hydrophobic, then prevent water based dirt from being absorbed into the paint.
4. Life is an experiment. If this extra bit helps to protect the car and the paintwork becomes slick (the Echelon does not feel slick, it is more like a clean plate fresh from the dishwasher) - I like slick paintwork!
5. Presumably the paint has been corrected of all blemishes, but if I mechanically remove the Echelon, there is a risk that I would end up leaving scratches.
Obviously you can't tell, but even immediately after application the paint felt slicker
The Adams kit also contains this UV light - the graphene compound has elements in it that glow so you can tell where you did NOT wipe off completely!
I also had this sticker Dino had given me, I was trying to figure out if it made sense to apply to my car somewhere. In the past, I was lucky enough to get a Speedhunters sticker which I applied to the GT-R (and it's still there!).
Not sure if this is legal, but I wonder if I could run around like this? LOL.
Anyway, I am taking things very slow with the application of the graphene ceramic coating. Will update here when done, with my impressions! And yes, when the car was temporarily back, I also applied several products to the interior to provide protection to the leather and Alcantara. I will update fully on that once I finish the rest of the car! Here's to a wonderful 2025, 2024 was just too crazy!
It fits PERFECTLY under the Bendpak lift (at the tray position set to the same level as when the GT-R is parked up there)
The wait is over! The Skyline is back (or rather, I finally got to drive it home!) and tucked safely away in my garage at home.
I can finally start drriving this car and breaking it in! Midorikawa-san from Nissan Prince Fukushima was kind enough to come down with it on his car loader, in exchange I handed off my GT-R for him to take care of now - the biannual shaken is due, and yeah why not make a few changes while he is at it?
See you in a month or so!
So what work did I have Midorikawa-san at Prince Fukushima arrange for me?
First, I had pre-ordered the vehicle-specific NISMO LMGT4 wheels in gloss black, so even though I really like the OEM wheels, I went ahead and swapped wheels, using the same tires. Note, it's important to keep using these tires as they were developed by Sumitomo tire (i.e. Dunlop) especially for this car, based on the compound they developed for the NISMO R35 GT-R.
Before:
Note silver colored lug nuts
After
And with Nismo racing lug nuts! To be honest, having my doubts about this look...
Second, as you know I tend to be a bit OCD when it comes to protecting and caring for my cars. So naturally, right after I ordered the car I started researching paint protection film shops here in Japan. Yes, for the GT-R I had found a local place that does this for Porsches, but the guys at Nismo have very high standards and recommended I talk to Midorikawa-san. He recommended a local guy in Fukushima who he swore did better work than most of the shops in Tokyo and Yokohama, having done a comparison (and who applied PPF to Midorikawa-san's own R34 GT-R!).
So while the Skyline was at Watabe-san's shop, Midorikawa-san kept me entertained by sending me these progress photos:
Yep, had the entire hood/bonnet wrapped...
And the entire front bumper too of course.
Oh, also got smoked (to the maximum degree allowed under Japanese law) film applied to the headlights, fog and DRL!
And, they were not wrong about Watabe-san. The attention to detail is amazing, and for a unique car like this we aren't talking pre-cut patterns but bespoke film cutting. When the car came back to Nismo, we inspected his work just to be sure.
Check out how awesome that smoked film looks!
I tihnk you can see how white the lenses look here, before film was applied.
You can see here that in addition to the hood/bonnet and side fenders, he did an amazing job on the front bumper - cutting around the Nismo logo.
Can't tell now... time will tell if dirt and bugs cause build-up and the film to start being noticeable
In addition, I had him wrap the Skyline Nismo specific side skirts, and to make sure that all body pieces like the front and rear bumpers had protection extending all the way underneath the vehicle, to the further extent possible.
Watabe-san himself showing me how far the film extends underneath
There was also some film applied to the interior, in high wear/risk areas.
You can make out the line where the film ends
Finally, he found some smoke film that matches the dark chrome on the windows, which he applied over the standard chrome inserts on the door handles. He also found film that could be applied over the Nissan logo on the front grill (some sensors are behind that apparently).
Ok then so what work did Prince Fukushima do?
First, they installed this Alpine digital rear mirror with built in dashcam (model number DVR-DM1000B-IC). Or rather, it is a dashcam (with front and rear cameras) that is mirror shaped as it uses rubber bands to loop onto the OEM mirror. I am going to tinker with this as I think there could be room for improvement, but for now this works great. Alpine does provide proper windshield mounts for popular vehicles, but apparently the Nissan Skyline is not one of them.
Second, some cosmetic stuff. First the fake carbon Nismo door inner protectors on the insides of the doors (so if you have a habit of using your foot to kick the door open... it protects the inside of the doors from scratches). Then, one Nissan dealer option - the auto fold mirrors. For some reason, the feature of having the door mirrors fold automatically when you lock the car, is not an option avaialble from the factory. Weird.
Apparently a real pain to install.
More cosmetic stuff - note that the external door mirrors on the Skyline Nismo are just painted black with a red sticker. Anything gloss black risks getting scratched and showing such scratches, so naturally I had them install the OEM dealer option real carbon fiber mirror covers. Putting those red stickers on to make it look like how it was before, but just in carbon, was a nice touch. Same with the trunk spoiler, I changed that out from standard black painted plastic one to the dealer option carbon fiber spoiler that is available on lesser Skylines.
Finally, turns out that Nissan dealers can apply an anti-chip clear undercoat, so I asked for that too!
So what's next? In addition to breaking in the engine, I am leaning towards getting a professional detailer to apply a ceramic coat. I myself will take care of some details for the interior, as you will see in some upcoming posts!
BLUF - I am sending my car up to Nissan Prince Fukushima to get all the dealer options and some extra work I want done, because I got screwed by my local dealer twice and they don't deserve any further business from me.
So as shown in my first post, the first thing I did after picking up my car was to drive it over to Nismo Omori Factory. Not for some work to be done there (not yet anyway) but to leave the car there until Midorikawa-san from Nissan Prince Fukushima could come down and retrieve the car.
You may have noticed that I have recently been asking him and his team to do work on my cars, starting with the Elgrand. And there is a reason for this. You see, when the new Nissan Skyline Nismo went on sale back in August 2023, I was ready with check in hand. However, the closest local dealer (Nissan Prince Kanagawa, Nippa branch) told me they could not order it, EVEN THOUGH I had been telling them that the car was scheduled to go on sale in August in the months leading up to that date - how was I confident that I had accruate information? Because the people who worked to develop the car told me! (more details in a future post). I was given all sorts of excuses - there was to be a lottery system given the demand for the car, that Nissan employees could not buy it, etc.
I was ready to give up, or at least try to find one on the used car market, when Ochiai-san at Nismo Omori introduced me to Midorikawa-san. You see, Midorikawa-san is WELL CONNECTED on the dealership side, and he quickly contacted some senior people he knew at Nissan Prince Kanagawa, and lo and behold turns out they WERE able to offer me a car from the allotment they had received from Nissan - I would just have to buy it from their Higashi-Kanagawa branch, not the Nippa branch. Not a problem for me, it means a few more minutes traveling to that store versus the closest one. But being able to order a brand new vehicle on the same terms as any other paying customer, even if it meant asking around, was exactly what I wanted to do. No special treatment for me - Even though I work at Nissan, I am not the kind of person who pulls strings to get something I want, at the expense of ordinary customers.
So I placed my order for the car I wanted on 8 August 2023. One small problem... when I finally got the paperwork in the mail, it was NOT with all the options I wanted, as the car did not have a sunroof. I am not going to say whose error that was, but it meant that I had to quickly place a change order... except this time, the salesman at Nissan Prince Kanagawa Higashi Kanagawa told me it was too late - the dealership's allotment had been used up too, so I could not cancel this order and re-order either. Apparently, a really popular car!
So I was resigned to a car without a sunroof, but if you know me I really like my cars to be the top of the line and fully optioned. It was at this time that the salesman at the Nippa branch called me and told me they now had a new allotment of 6 cars - apparently, these cars were not being ordered in remote areas of Japan, so those dealerships had relinquished their allotments back to others who had customers on waiting lists, mostly in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture. Once I heard this, of course I was not happy - did the salesman at Higashi Kanagawa just not know or could he not have been bothered to make me happy? Did not matter, I called up Midorikawa-san... and a day later I had the Higashi Kanagawa dealership's management call me with deepest apologies - of course they would be happy to reorder the EXACT car I want from their new allotment. Also, it turns out that there was plenty of time to submit the original change order...the salesman just couldn't be bothered I guess.
So given the runaround I got from Nissan Prince Kanagawa at two of their stores, there is no way I am going to spend more money with them (even though as I mentioned in my previous post that I had a good experience, USUALLY it's only the salesman, and not the branch manager and the dealership president who come running out to greet customers... and now you know). I got the car from them, and unless there is some kind of warranty work I have to do with them, I doubt I will ever see them again. The guy who DOES deserve my business is Midorikawa-san, so I am more than happy to be inconvenienced as he takes care of all 3 of my Nissans.
Anyway, a few days after I dropped the car off, Midorikawa-san personally came down in their car carrier and retrieved my Skyline Nismo. Here are some photos and video I took. I knew he was coming so I dropped by to make sure he knew EXACTLY what options and extras I wanted him to install before he left with my car.
So I arrived a few minutes early, but then as soon as Midorikawa-san showed up, the guys at Nismo sprang into action, opening the big garage door.
Love how everyone is ready to go! On time, without delay and without any fuss.
Car was looking fantastic. I really think I made the correct choice on color.
Of course, we took this opportunity to make sure some additional Nismo parts got loaded into the car...
The trunk space not as big as we expected...
The only I guy right now I would trust driving my new car, Ochiai-san.
Some stills from the video:
And then Midorikawa-san got to work, securing the car.
And then once secured the car was lifted up. Love how these carriers are designed for cars with low clearance.
Another still from the video clip. Just love this angle!
And of course, leave it to the Japanese to get Nissan wheel cap perfectly flat when the parked it onto the carrier.
So here is the last view I had before they drove off. I guess the only way this could have been improved was by covering the car or putting it into an enclosed trailer, but Fukushima is only a few hours away and there was no rain in the forecast.
Anyway, I am hoping a quick turnaround on the work on this car so I can start driving it and breaking it in! OR, should I keep it under 100kms for the rest of its life, assuming it will become a collectible? Hmm...
