andyvvc

On a slightly more serious note......has anyone got the 1:1 Scale Map of Wales ordered for Graham yet? I think Mrs Keyser was sorting that out?

Wow, what a car! Love the colour...and talk about 'exclusive'. I've NEVER seen one of these on the road.

Sunday afternoon about 1.30pm. Black tinted windows but otherwise standard 370 Zed i think. You came past my silver 911 and then proceeded to disappear into the distance! I think you turned off at the A515 slip (Ashbourne/Sudbury)

Very aggressive looking car in black, especially in my rear-view mirror! Dropped my window to hear the V6 as you came past but i think the exhaust was standard

Hang on.... I know Ferris Bueller once said: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to take a look around once in a while, you'll miss it" But..... are you really selling the 370 already!?! I know i'm not the most devoted forum user but bloody hell, i thought you had only just bought it?

01 - 25 - Bockaaarck

26 - 30 - Grundy225

31 - 80 - octet

81 - 105 - HaydnH

106 - 115 - Tigerzed

116 - 140 - Bockaaarck

141 - 150 - FLEX

151 - 175 - SuperStu

176 - 200 - Andyvvc

In the event that myself and Lydia win *anything* that needs a Zed....we'll either drop the prize back into the prize-pool, or do a quick auction for whatever we've won (monies going to the charity)

Find me a manufacturer that doesn't say that though! Nissan do for the Zed, Yota for the MR2, BMW for the Mini etc.

Tesla? Do i win a prize?

I think i used Funky Tyres. 4x MPSS 19" tyres delievered (from the Netherlands i think lol!) in just a few days. £700ish iirc. Best tyres in the world. Ever. Grip was night-and-day compared to my previous Falken 452s (and they were a good mid-range tyre)

Pretty sure Funky Tyres are on here somewhere. It's thru this forum that i found them.

The Turbo manual states: "Acceptable oil consumption: 1.5L per 1000km" lol No wonder the service schedule is 12k miles, if my engine uses oil at the rate Porsche say is acceptable I'll have changed the bloody oil myself just through top-ups

Porkers will always have a certain amount of Kudos and the 911 in all guises is still a special car.

Sometimes i dont think people stop to think how good the zed actually is so from a performance angle there`s not a lot to be gained.

 

Also remember that a 5 to 10% failure rate in manufacturing is just unbelievable and far too high to be acceptable.

You have to take on board that for every 100 cars on autotrader between 5 and 10 will need an 8K engine.

 

Its a shame as i am a poker fan but that is also the reason the 996 are cheap. Pay your money and squeeze those bum cheaks every drive

Im not sure the failure rate is as high as even 5% (tens of thousands sold in the UK over the years, but only a comparitively low number of folks pop up on forums to say something has gone bang). That said, the M96 engine was a ludicrous thing for Porsche to invest in. The Mezger race engine (996 Turbo, GT2 and GT3) is *very* expensive, but bullet-proof as a result. I believe a new Mezger engine was around $50,000 when new. The M96 by comparison about £28,000. So there was a saving made somewhere by Porsche on those M96 engines...and i rather suspect we are now seeing the effects of those savings in the failures (IMS/bore scoring etc) that is impacting some M96 Carrera owners.

I'd argue that by fitting a 3rd radiator, lower temp thermostat and getting the oil and filter changed every 4k miles, any M96 owner can potentially avoid any major issues. Service shedules are laughable...the Turbo once every 12k miles! I'll be getting the oil done every 4k like i did in the Zed. I think the schedule on the M96 engines might be even longer.....! i can't believe even the best oils will last that long without beginning to break down and thus potentially cause premature wear to an engine.

I recently bought a 996 C4.

 

As Dan says, it's an experience i felt i had to tick off my list, and im glad i have done, but honestly i'd rather have my old 350z back.

 

Whilst the Porsche is certainly rapid and interesting to drive, i dont feel like it's really that much more special. Also the 'Porsche Anxiety' is pretty annoying... every little noise has me worrying that it's going to cost me some serious money. I've never really been concerned with a cars running costs before, but these are expensive to keep maintained well... and it's money that i dont see as being very good value (i.e. on other cars, preventative maintenance is almost rewarding but on the Porsche i feel like im getting ripped off).

I can see where Marzman is coming from. Off-boost the Turbo is marginally quicker than the Zed. The drive doesn't 'feel' any better or worse than my HR Zed (although i have yet to push it hard due to crap weather).

What i do have to remind myself is that my HR Zed was the pinnacle of the 350z development being the latter HR engine car. It was also modified (suspension, intakes, exhaust, Nismo alloys etc) so that brought it up in terms of handling etc. The Porsche is totally stock...and it's easily as good as my modified Zed in terms of handling etc. The RR layout is ....wierd...but will grow on me im sure as i begin to realise i can go into corners "Slow in, VERY quick out" due to the extra mechanical grip.

That said, I'm not certain that a normal 996 would have been enough for me over the Zed. But then, the 370 also wasn't 'enough' compared to my old Zed. Any 370 would have needed exhaust, suspension, UpRev to make it a worthwhile upgrade from my old Zed.

So the twin-turbo Porker ticked the 'Is it sillier than the Zed' box for me. The fact that it's a 'SuperCar' in some senses for good second hand 370z money also helped a lot!

I use Zentrum Porsche in Calverton near Nottingham. Great bunch of lads running a really decent Indy Porsche garage. While i was there with the Turbo on the ramps going thru the PPI findings, an older 911 (964 - 80s Targa) rolled in on a flatbed after having had a full respray. 10 mins after that, another owner roled in with his kids in his mint white 964 Targa. The owner of the garage had his 996 GT3 parked up outside too (talk about minimal! Seats as thin as paper!!). They had just recieved an imported black 993 Turbo too...

For me, the 996 was an obvious step up from the Zed in terms of power. However, without a local Indy i would not have bothered. Porsche OPC prices are still silly and make Ni$$an look cheap. Zentrum charge about £180 for a minor service, and £380 for a major (includes plugs!). That's less than Ni$$an used to charge me for the Zed servicing (when i couldn't get to CS or Horsham)

Agreed! Wait a second.......

Coming from 3.5 years of 997 ownership, but two things I would say straight away:

 

1. Along with an Elise, the 911 is one of the classic driving experiences that everyone should have a try of once in their lives. All the weight out back makes for an incredibly intense and unique drive.

2. Read up on IMS and bore scoring. If you're in the unlucky 5-10%, then you'll need a slush fund of around £8K-£10K to get it up and running again.

 

 

Astounding cars, modern 911s.

What Dan said ^^^^ The C4S is 'essentially' the Turbo without the turbos. Or the Mezger engine. I believe the C4S has the wide-body kit that the Turbo has, and the same 4-wheel drive system (95% of power to the rear wheels until they break traction, then upto 40% to the fronts to help you out).

I've found that the Turbo is actually smaller than the Zed - the wing mirrors make it almost as wide cos they stick out more, body-wise i think it's 10cm or so narrower. Similar length.

Cabin spec on my 04 is a step down from the HR Zed i had (albeit not by much). Back seats = luggage space. Front boot is 'useable' for a few squishy bags.

The rear-wheel drive 911's are the 'purists' cars. The 4-wheel drive ones are for those who don't want to leave a widow behind

My mates got one of these - very nice cars. We remapped it from 418 to 455 - so pretty safe - drives a lot better with the extra boost

If i ever go down the remap route i will also need to remap my brain.... currently it's just not quick enough to keep up with what the standard Turbo can do

Lol, yeah that's always a good one for insta-heart attacks!

 

Easy DIY fix too

Think i saw you pop up on 911.co.uk - how long have you had a 911 for Ekona?

Just by way of a brief update, I had my first brown-trouser moment today when the 'Oil Pressure Alert' warning flashed up on the dash, it bonged at me, then the oil pressure needle fell to zero......!!! Then 5 seconds later the needle was back again. I limped the car home after checking oil level etc (all ok - at max). Turns out the oil pressure senders are sh1te and usually need replacing every two years when they start to give false alerts like this lol

Who's doing the remap? That's a bit too cheap, IYSWIM. The Mezger is a solid lump, but it ain't cheap if it needs repairs.

Yeah fair comment mate. I'll have to re-check with Zentrum (they suggested it). I might have mis-quoted the price TBH.

A few pics after finally giving her a basic wash (still needs clay, Megs restorer then a wax). Also just discovered that for £200 at the local Indy Porsche garage, they can re-map the engine and increase boost pressure, taking the power from 414bhp to 500bhp. This is apparently the 'safe' limit for the standard turbos and intercoolers, beyond this and it needs new turbos, intercoolers, fuel pump etc etc

I'll be sticking with 414bhp for now. "Mod-itis" was supposed to have gone with my Zed!

Glad she found a good home Kris. She's been utterly flawless in my ownership, and i believe it was the same for Seb from the Nissan Sport Z forum too. Always nice to know the car is still around on the forum. Despite my new purchase i still miss the Zed - especially the Exhaust note. Perfect volume and sound at WOT in my opinion

Welcome

 

What has Andy bought instead?

(check out the 'Other cars' thread)

There is now one car space for the drives as Andy vvc is now Zedless

 

I said he should have passed the car to Lydia.

 

He'll have to get a wedding ring instead, I could do with a new suit. :stir:

I need a short person to act as an official photographer in the back of the 911......anyone got any ideas?

You still both coming to wales Andy?

Still booked at The Moreton mate. Looking forward to seeing everyone again. I'll drop Graham and others a PM to discuss the drives out. I understand that club liability won't cover non-Zed cars, so being 'part' of a convoy might be a no-no. However, driving on ahead and getting pics at various spots should be ok.

Do we know any small, ginger-haired club members who might fit in the back of a 911? They'd need to have a good camera of course. Whassis name....thingy.......Chris.......T? Chris U? Chris V? Dammit, I can never remember his name

The Zed went last week. The replacement has been picked up. I'm still recovering from my drive home...the Zed was FAST but this thing on boost is....

I'll try to get some pics and a better 'review' posted up in the coming days when I've driven her a little more. It feels a lot like the Zed off boost. Planted. Solid. Very responsive. Then the boost builds to a measly 0.6 bar and all hell breaks loose. I opted for a tip car not because i'm old, but because i was certain i wouldn't be able to respond quickly enough in lower gears. The acceleration is utterly savage. 0 - 30 its like my old Zed. Its very quick. 30+ on boost and i forgot to shift up the first few times - thankfully the tip did that for me - it's like nothing i have ever driven before.

If i still have a licence and eyeballs at the end of the week; pics and more detail will follow.

Anyone need a dedicated camera car at Wales 2014?

Sold to Kris, i hope you enjoy the car as much as I have mate! Mods, please lock this thread, car now sold :cry: I feel sick.