We study isospin effects in semi-peripheral collisions above the Fermi energy
by considering the symmetric 58Ni + 58Ni and the asymmetric reactions
58Ni + 197Au over the incident energy range 52-74 A MeV. A
microscopic transport model with two different parameterizations of the
symmetry energy term is used to investigate the isotopic content of
pre-equilibrium emission and the N/Z diffusion process. Simulations are also
compared to experimental data obtained with the INDRA array and bring
information on the degree of isospin equilibration observed in Ni + Au
collisions. A better overall agreement between data and simulations is obtained
when using a symmetry term which linearly increases with nuclear density