MattMe

Looks like the worlds worst rear spoiler in this picture Nice car - love V2 bumpers.

Most roads around Notts are fine now, the M1's been clear all week. My advice would be don't go to Beeston anyway, but if you have to, take the Seat. It's not like you'll have an enjoyable drive down on the gritted motorways in the Zed. Go eco!

Personally I like your current bumper more than the two you are choosing between, but I understand you're after a change. I'd say V2 but definitely without the connard things. Looks like something you find sellotaped to a Nova.

We run about 300 laptops at my work, mainly Toshiba and HP now. Both are superb makes if you get the right model. They're indistructable, well made and very reliable even after 5 years of being used/abused every single day for 10 hours. Same as anything, if you get a cheap HP it'll be no better than a cheap Dell. Apart from with Dell it doesn't matter if you spend a lot, it's still a cheap Dell. The cheap ones are generally good value though. The Mac OS is nice, and there are less viruses aimed at it. However, weighing that up against the cost is just a joke. They are well designed, and very well constructed machines but I'd go with the cost saving and compatability of a Windows machine any day. Whether you decide to spend £400 on a laptop, run it for 2 years and then spend anotehr £300-£400, or just spend £800 now and run it for a few more years before replacing is up to you. I'd only recommend a Mac if there was a specific reason you needed one. Or you have cash you want to burn. In which case I'd actually recommend buying a cheap Dell and giving the rest to me to burn on your behalf. Shop around and go for the best offer you can find. For general web browsing, word processing, photo editing and listening to music even the most basic spec PC of today will do you fine.

I'm no pro, but I'm pretty sure it means you wrote around 99 posts previously...

I don't mind the look of the new scooby, and let's face it - they were never exactly ground breaking designs in any of it's marques!

+1

Didn't you threaten to ban Zugara for that??

From what I've heard the spacer will make a difference on the 06 onwards engine, only it has an even better effect when paired with a lower plenum (MREV2?) as well, which is more similar to the pre 06 engine. If that makes sense? I've read on here recently of someone with an 06 fitting a plenum spacer as advised by Abbey, so I guess they must do something. My opinion would be that you are still increasing the air flow over the front chambers and increasing the amount of air in the plenum so it should improve the performance and condition of the front two cylinders/sparks. Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong.

Never heard the dragons say that before! It's fair enough mate, I'm not trying to hold anyone to it, I just don't want ot go and make 12 or 15 of these things and end up £1000+ in debt! Preferably. I'll make some phone calls tonight, see whats what.

Have a read up on the Jag X-C75 engine. As well as 60 mile trip on batteries (enough for most commutes?) it has 2 turbine engines and a diesel engine, so you get the best of all worlds. Massive power, battery power and Turbine/Diesel power as a backup. Sounds like a good interim solution to me!

Sorry - I've been working in Cambodia recently. The project is at the point where I've found a small business to make the gaskets for me, and I've alerady got the metal fabrication lined up. Currenntly on Mk2 of the required CAD drawings for the spacer, gaskets and nylon spacer as the first wasn't quite as I wanted. Also have the material on order for the nylon washers, and have quotes for the required bolts and other bits and pieces. So it's just a matter of pushing it all forwards again now I'm back. I hadn't anticipated it taking this long, and I appologise for the delay. Didn't realise there was a time scale in which people would be interested. The project is certainly 'off the ground' and is making steady progress, but fitting it in around work, travel and other personal issues I could not have known about have pushed back my original (rather optimistic) dead line. I hope people appreciate I am trying to help the forum members by offering a quality Motordyne alternative at almost half the cost, with minimal profit for myself. Perhaps that's why these projects 'never get off the ground'? If there are still 12 people interested I will continue with the project as planned. If not I guess I should cut my losses now

I don't think we are. I think we're seeing the end of affordable fossil power sports cars. People who buy porper sports cars (Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo etc) don't car about tax, ruinning costs etc so they'll be made for a while yet. Zed buyers, and RX-8 buyers etc will be put off by the tax increase, fuel prices etc and so they won't manufactor these thirsty V6 or rotary engined car. I am a bit of a V enginge geek, I love V6s and V8s, but the more I read about the electric cars the more they excite me. Have a read up on the new Jag C-x75 (X-c75?). Over 1000 torque, and 800bhp, and one gear! Fecking hell. They'll soon produce affordable (to manufacture) performance electric engines and we'll all be happy again

But then you could argue a 1.6 Focus has 'enough' power for the road. That's a silly comment to make when you drive a sports car. None of us need 280bhp, but I think the car would benefit from another 50 or so horses. With the weight, and the linear acceleration of the stock car it can feel underwhelming and some what lacking. My opinion is if you think the car has enough power already then you aren't driving it properly

I serviced my car wearing a green cardigan. Does that count?

QOTSA & Hendrix Will ignore the Gary Barlow bit! I was similar at work yestarday apart from my guilty pleasure was Alison Moyet shoved between Led Zep and some DJ Shadow. Not physically, obviously. That's just plain wrong and wish I'd never thought it. Yikes

I usually put around £60-£70 every 7 days. Weekends I don't go far and my commute is queuing to get on the motorway in stop/start, a few junctions of motorways followed by dual carriageway and a few more bits of town/stop/start traffic. I get around 25mpg when driven like this. If I go out at the weekend and there's less traffic, probably closer to 22. I drove to Cambridge t'other day and got around 28.5mpg. Not too bad for what it is, but town traffic does kill it to below 20mpg. Scary stuff. It is a sports car with a large capacity V6, and it's designed to be economical, but enjoyable. Which it is, apart from the running costs! I quite often think about getting something more economical for the commute but then I remember why I bought the Zed - so I was driving a car I enjoyed. It doesn't make sense to me (right now) to have to drive a car I don't like and on the odd occasion drive my Zed. I can kind of afford it now so I'm doing it. It's not big, it's not vlever, and it certainly ain't cheap, but I like it

get nylon washers for the plenum spacer that can handle 200+ Haha! You saw straight through my thinly disguised efforts! I'm looking at materials that are 160+ anyway, which should be enough, but might go higher to be double-sure! I'm guessing the plenum would be one of the coolest areas of the engine so it shouldn't be an issue. Otherthanthat, I'm still interested in the block temps and max water temps etc.

I'm asking for two reasons: 1 - Because I'm curious, and we discussed it at work. Nobody knew for sure. 2 - Because if I'm to make a component that sits inside the plenum chamber I don't want it to melt! No FI, just typical engine temps (out of curiousity), and max temps you would see a block reach before other components or fluids fail.

Ah, never knew that water boiled at a higher temp under presure. Or maybe I have known it since school, but forgot So does that mean average temp for the block of a water-cooled engine wouldn't go over 130? What would average kind of operating temp be in a 350, for example? On reading another thread regarding oil, some folk pointed out that their oil temp was going over 135 on track, so their blocks must be going over 135, and therefore the water too? See - I knew it wouldn't bea straight forward 'less that 100' kind of answer!

Quality post, Ceasar. Plenty of well made points I hadn't really considered or understood before reading that. Particularly about how and why Synthetic oil is so vastly different and modern compared to mineral based types. One question though - what does 'PAO' stand for? You said it plenty but never explain what it's short for! Another question - what emp should an oil cooler operate at? Over 100 degrees, to allow the water in the oil to evaporate? Looking forward to 'Part 2'!

Just a quick question... What temprature would an engine block reach usually? I'm guessing less than 100 degrees celcius, as the water would boil above that. Sounds logical to me, but these things aren't always as they first seem I guess. Would the entire engine reach the same temp all over, as the metal would conduct the heat? Or would it just be the areas which the water cools that would stay below 100? Would all water-cooled engines run at approximately the same temp? Some random questions, but we were discussing it at work the other day. Any input?

Really nice motor. White and black looks sweet, and white's not so common on a 350z. Front end works really well, find the rear spoiler a bit OTT in my opinion... Happy motoring!

I seem to recall hearing somewhere that next season the F1 will be in HD. Not that it affects me - I still have a CFT screen

Just a quick update... Been put off this little project for a while due to some 'personal issues' but it's back on track now Sorry for the delay, and lack of updates. Some costs involved I'd not expected, bits costing & being more difficult to get hold of than I imagined! Should hopefully have a test item fitted to my car in the next couple weeks, so will update on how it goes. Sounds as though I can get as many as required, so long as it's more than 12, so everyone who wants one should be able to get one. More on that in the future... Don't like writing about it too much as I've not paid my trader membership yet, and don't want to be too cheeky with 'advertising' it. Will get it done soon. Cheers, Matt.