toffeeblock

For my head unit then initially just took note of the serial number or something, ordered a replacement (refurbished probably) and swapped them over a few weeks later - I was never without sounds!

(Take a good luck at your Rays alloys before you go in, any signs of bubbling etc., and have them replaced with refurbished ones too while you are at it. Another common problem to look over under warranty, they took snaps and got Nissan UK to authorise the work, also took a few weeks to sort out but no problem.)

NOW SOLD.

2006 06 350Z (300bhp model) non-GT

Metallic Gunmetal Grey

59,000 miles (mostly motorway)

18" Rays Alloys

Paintwork is excellent and is "Paintshield" protected over the front end

Full main dealer service history, recent P2 service at 58k

Ipod dock fitted.

In the last year has had new tyres (Falken 452s), EBC Discs (turbo grooved and Procut skimmed)/Pads (redstuff) all round.

The problematic skipping CD player and corroding Rays alloys common to this years model were replaced under warranty.

MOT till end june, tax until november.

The car is in pretty much "as new" condition and I am only selling because I really need a slightly more practical car with enough seats for the kids. You can reach me via the forum or on 07908 395646 any time. Based in Basingstoke but I work in Guildford, so can arrange for viewings there too if necessary.

EBC happily sold me the combo (via my local garage) of turbogroove and redstuff, and were advised of this when I contacted them via their website. When you look at their website one item I read seem to imply that they recommend skimming for EVERY installation. What a joke! Brakes sold for a specific car should just fit or am I missing something? Maybe I was just unlucky.

Some traders may have more info (e.g. CS) about the most reliable combo of course, and which don't need to be installed using precision engineering.

For the CD player, if you are within the 3 year warranty period Nissan will replace this for free. Mine got replaced this way. After 3 years, despite it being reasonable for you to expect a CD player to last longer without failure, you'd be lucky to get Nissan dealers to cover this I reckon!

Looking good, I have to admit black alloys are growing on me the more I see them nowadays.

Also don't show the dirt so much! Bonus.

Sky had episodes 1 and 2 the first night (Guadalcanal) which was ok, but not knowing who the characters were it felt a bit random. #3 was the Ozzie chick-flick this week, though I did enjoy the bit where one guy passed out face planting the floor hungover in the early morning roll call.

Glad to hear the action improves again soon!!

Animal - you lucky chap!

It's rare to find a place that seems to care as much about the finer details as the owners do.

For my MX5 they had a choice of set-ups, normal/fast road/track etc. some of which Tony developed himself; plus they recalculated these settings for every car each time based on actual chassis measurements not the original manufacturers written dimensions. It 'felt' like a really fast car afterwards , but then I got the 350Z and really understood what a fast car is !

I've used WIM in Chesham, Buckinghamshire on my old MX5 as he was a real guru on the owners club website and highly recommended. People travelled from around the country to see him.

http://www.blackboots.co.uk/wheels-alignment.php

There is less to adjust on a standard 350Z car, compared to the MX5, but they are perfectionists at getting the adjustments back to spec. If you read around you will see that although many places may have the right Hunter equipment, it's between the ears that lets them down and don't use it to it's potential! About £100 for the alignment I recall.

My bad, I have the Random Orbital Megs polisher Meguiar's G220 Dual Action and it works a treat and doesn't heat the paintwork. Please forgive the incorrect terminology!

Motherf****rs eh?

Probably a company rep-car driver who couldn't give a damn!

The most recent episode here (#3) was a total "chick flick" . I'm up for a seeing women's boobs under normal circumstances, which could've been done as a flashbacks, but was also really rather hoping to see some general death and mayhem coupled with loud explosions to rock the subwoofer.

I hope #4 gets back on track (with a bit of Ozzie woman flesh as flashbacks ideally)

Welcome.

I drive past Farnborough every day on the M3 and on down to Guildford and don't see many Zeds, nice to have one more in the area soon!

For what it's worth I changed from the standard Bridgestone to the Falken 452s and they made the ride much quieter / comfortable / wearing very well and handle excellently (wet or dry), at the time they were a lot cheaper that the 'stones or MPS equivalent (I think I used Blackcircle with the club discount); however you do have more choice if your model car requires the same tyre sizes front and back.

My previous car had Toyo T1S which were great on an Mx5, but are not readily available for the 350Z at 18" and 225/245 combo and would stick with Falken in future.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive guide and track day drivers or boy racers may have different ideas about what is best or looks coolest. For everyday driving, the Falkens do just fine and were good value.

For price matching, my local companies for checking are Micheldever tyres or Headley Tyres (nr. Newbury), though in recent times Black Circle seem the cheapest.

Take a look at this link for typical service intervals etc.:

viewtopic.php?f=64&t=32277

If you have little history a P3 would be the full monty if you were unsure of past history. I'm sure I recall that somewhere on the forum the Nissan checklist for each type is available, try a search for that if you wish to give your mechanic the official checklist for them to follow. Failing that i think it is in your Nissan handbook that comes with the car, if you have one.

It may be cheaper for you to source the necessary parts from traders on here (e.g. Opie oils for oil and oil filter / spark plugs etc.), or at least use their prices for bartering with your mechanic. If you needed new tyres/discs and pads as well as a service it will pay to shop around that's for sure!

I've been trying to (reluctantly) sell my 2006 300hp GM (non-GT) 59k miles car recently which is in great nick, priced below the Parkers/What Car etc. at £11,250 for quick sale and not had much success so far even corrected for high mileage and the fact it is a non-GT!!!

I guess we only see advertised prices so don't really know what they actually sell for.

Also, as there aren't that many 350Zs sold every day compared to a Focus or Astra for example I suppose the price guides themselves are less accurate anyway.

After routine washing I only clay the car once or twice a year. Quickly remove surface water after washing, using a microfibre cloth - much better than a chamois leather - and then begin claying.

I used to use the Meguairs clay but now use a generic one bought from i4detailing.co.uk (discount to forum members when I bought the stuff). As long as you keep the clay lubed (clean warm water works just fine to be honest rather than expensive lubes that run out quickly) it is dead easy.

Then polish with the SFX-3/2/1 in that order (only used SFX-3 the first time - now only need 1/2 as paintwork is well looked after since I got the car) applied with a Megs rotary polisher and SFX pads.

If the rainclouds are still at bay, I use Dodo Jiuce Rainforest Rub wax which gives a great finish and smells nice too! (Again from i4detailing, who are great by the way).

Final step - stick all the cloths in the washing machine, remembering that if you do this together with the wifes clothes you will be seriously reprimanded - but you will only do this once.

Nice job shown above. After claying the car I use the Sonus pads and polishes (SFX-1/2/3) and a Megs rotary polisher and get great results. Just a shame you get bird s**t on the car within a few days to spoil the mirror finish!

This is quite interesting, I had similar issues with mine but it was not quite so scary. Although my brakes were working well they had increasing vibration as the miles clocked up. I contacted EBC who advised the response below. This seems to be a common complaint and had I known I would not have got EBC turbogrooved discs and pads (mine are redstuff pads fyi). I got my front discs skimmed (£80) and all is well now. My local procut mechanic advised it was not really possible to originally fit the discs and pads badly, so to me this points to a fundamental fault in EBC design (assuming the mechanic was correct). Not being a mechanic myself I don't know who to believe, but in future I would stick with Nissan parts (or try another brand) just to avoid any risk.

Email response from EBC.....

"This is always a fitting issue where the discs have been fitted with too much runout and then the discs contact the pads Every revolution when not braking this wears a small dip in the disc surface and when you brake the pads jump over the dip and cause vibration through the steering Usually it takes approx 3000 miles or so to appear then gets worse

This is what people mistakenly call warp

Two ways to sort it

You can replace them but you may get the same again if they do not measure the disc runout in every hole position to less than 2 thou

Or the best way is to go to a pro-cut centre and have your discs skimmed on the car this not only trues the disc up but also aligns them to your particular car Go to http://www.ebcbrakes.com click on troubleshooting and scroll down to pro-cut centres you should find several in your area"

Hi,

Reduced for quick sale...

I'm selling my family wagon as I've just bought a new Nissan Pathfinder so I can get to work next time we are snowed in. Location: Basingstoke, Hampshire just off M3 J6 or 7. Please see autotrader ad for more details:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/ ... &logcode=p

I replaced the standard B'stones with Falken 452s and they are a helluva lot quieter. The cabin noise is now fine, even on a very long journey. Drives a lot better too, more grippy when cold.

If you look at cars <3 years old and the Rays are discoloured in patches or it looks like the coating is coming off they can be replaced with refurbed ones under warranty. >3 years and your on your own so check them out - it's a known problem with Rays I'm afraid. Though a refurb may not be too pricey anyway.

good luck with finding the right car.

I replaced the standard B'stones with Falken 452s and they are a helluva lot quieter. The cabin noise is now fine, even on a very long journey. Drives a lot better too, more grippy when cold.

If you look at cars <3 years old and the Rays are discoloured in patches or it looks like the coating is coming off they can be replaced with refurbed ones under warranty. >3 years and your on your own so check them out - it's a known problem with Rays I'm afraid. Though a refurb may not be too pricey anyway.

good luck with finding the right car.

hi there, welcome! I'm from Basingstoke too. 06 Gunmetal Grey 350Z in Hatch Warren.

What car do you have so I can keep an eye out? I upgraded from an MX5 which was fun but lacked the poke of the Z of course, coming from a 1.2 punto must be quite a shock!

I can recommend Fast Fit for MOT / Tyres and brakes etc. They match any internet prices, even those with our club discount. West Way are ok for warranty work, and their servicing prices are ok (for a dealer) but take your own oil etc. and tell them the screen wash is ok to save some of the cost. Opie oils on here does good deals for proper synthetic oil etc.

If you have any minor scratches that need polishing out, I've got a decent Megs polisher etc. and would be happy to help - though I ain't offering to wash your car first

Have fun, hope to see you around,

toffeeblock

hi there, welcome! I'm from Basingstoke too. 06 Gunmetal Grey 350Z in Hatch Warren.

What car do you have so I can keep an eye out? I upgraded from an MX5 which was fun but lacked the poke of the Z of course, coming from a 1.2 punto must be quite a shock!

I can recommend Fast Fit for MOT / Tyres and brakes etc. They match any internet prices, even those with our club discount. West Way are ok for warranty work, and their servicing prices are ok (for a dealer) but take your own oil etc. and tell them the screen wash is ok to save some of the cost. Opie oils on here does good deals for proper synthetic oil etc.

If you have any minor scratches that need polishing out, I've got a decent Megs polisher etc. and would be happy to help - though I ain't offering to wash your car first

Have fun, hope to see you around,

toffeeblock

Nice install. Got some real stones there for showing Elkie Brooks playing . I prefer the Scissor Sisters myself.

Apparently there's always a group of sports cars that meet at Guildford Cathedral and travel down in convoy. 7.00 am this sunday I think (ouch!), see http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... t%20&mid=0

If you have a themed car you park in the show area, a decent sports car like a 350z nearby (unless it's Sushi sunday and you enter the themed area) and a boring car parks miles away! My boss and wife take their Elise and Impreza down regularly, I was thinking of going this sunday myself if I can get up early enough.

Maybe worth planning for the next Sushi Sunday as a group, starting at the Cathedral too?