Sam Mcgoo

The one you link is sadly a CatD, which I'm not sure with this kind of car would be a good idea, as I think re-sale would be a nightmare. It is a very good car though. I am looing 30 - 40k which does bring a few more into the mix, mainly early, 4.2 autos but some have low mileage. I may well be in touch. Is his name Dicky Grace? I've heard good things about him and he has introduced himself to me on a maser forum. Unfortunately, my budget might not stretch to a 4.7GTS. Its the same with the aston, the 4.7 is the better faster car, but they hold a premium for it as do the 4.7 GTS. I know what your saying about the power/speed being relatively slow compared to modern hot hatches and saloons but there is always something faster out there and I don't like saloons or hatches one bit. I like cars to look fast/curvy . Yeah that is the biggest worry. I'm very tempted with a warranty, but unfortunately that usually means a dealer. Prestige car sales are pretty scarce near me. I have one maz dealer about 20 miles away which I visited yesterday for a test drive. But the price was pretty keen for what it was. I'll try and get time to write something about it in the next day or so, but it was a positive experience!

I must say, I'm very surprised by the opinions so far. I told the missus when I put this thread up that everyone would say Aston! How wrong could I be. It seems to be if your into cars then the maser gets preference, as most other people i've spoke to (not particularly car people) always say Aston. I thought you might say that. I might well take you up on that very kind offer if my search takes me down your way. We did pop in somewhere over the weekend and have a look around an 09 GTR and I liked it more than I thought I would, but didn't take it for a drive as it was pissing down and I didn't think it was worth it. I suspect if I do drive one, I'll find it very hard not to find the speed very tempting....... Cheers Andy. Hmm, I do work away a lot, so a car share might work..... You make very good points, and I had thought the same. Re the warranty, I think I would be very tempted to spend the extra on getting a good warranty which is something I wouldn't normally entertain. But with the possible repair bills for these cars, it might be worth the piece of mind. The running costs - Insurance would be cheaper than I currently pay, MPG is close enough to what I get now to not bother me too much, Tax will be twice the price at 500 odd. Servicing, on the Maser is only every 12500miles or 2 years, where as I currently do mine once or twice a year with my ~5k average mileage. (although I do do it myself which obviously saves a lot.) Modifying - that is a good point, as I do like to tinker. Don't want a BMW! (no offence Kyle) C63AMG had crossed my mind as the power and noise is awesome, but saloon cars just don't do it for me. Yep, that's why I think it now looks a little dated. Jags, Fords and many others .... Unfortunately, the automated manual (MC Shift) seems to go through very expensive clutches quite quickly which puts me off a little. Also, driving them slowly can apparently not be the smoothest experience. They are also pushing the limit of the budget. The Auto, has a couple of manual modes - either the paddles or knocking the stick up and down, which seem to work pretty well. It's not lightning fast, but is still quicker than I can probably change on a normal manual. Also, as much as I hate myself for saying it, I quite like the idea of knocking it into auto in traffic. As I said they are not mentally fast at around 5 secs, and I'm not one for traffic light GP and they're not excactly slow. Not sure a standard Zed would keep up if the driver was giving it 100% but if you did good on ya. I think the noise and sense of occation would be enough. To be honest, what I like about the fact that it's not mental quick is that you get to hear that engine through the revs for longer!

Well (I think) the time has come for a change of car. I've had an itch for a V8 for a long time and a couple of things going on in my life recently has made me think about living for now and treating myself to something a bit special. I've been struggling to find a car I really lust over (within my budget) that I'd be willing to replace the Zed with. That's how much I love my Zed! My budget is circa £35k For the past year I've been thinking that was going to be an Aston Martin Vantage V8. Then recently I saw a Maserati Granturismo and it has really got my attention! They are both similarly priced, the Aston being a little cheaper for an early one, but at the same year I'll be looking at around 2007 they are both very similar. They both have a V8 and similar performance. Aston is 4.3L @380bhp, The Maser is 4.2L @ 405bhp. The Aston is a bit smaller and lighter so is a bit quicker to 60 at just under 5s and the Maser just over 5s. The Maser is rarer than than the aston which I like and i think the Maser just takes it on the noise contest as well. the tone and growl is amazing. They are both GORGEOUS. I am beginning to feel that the front of the aston is getting a little dated but the back is perfect. The maser has really nice lines and a gorgeous, aggressive front but the back is not as curvy as the aston.... Reliability.....appears very similar, with the maser coming out slightly on top I think, but its hard to find much online about the granturismo so information is a bit limited. The Maserati is more practical due to having 4 usable seats and the Aston just 2. Prestige ......difficult........everyone knows and loves an aston. Maser is rarer but because of that people don't know what they are. Reviews - seem very similar. There are lot of cars out there in that price range, and many are faster, but I'm after a mix of speed, noise, prettiness and sense of occasion. The above give that. I have considered a new UK Mustang but am not willing to take the hit on 'new' car deprecation . I am NOT interested in BMWs, Audis and other german wagons that you see a dozen of every day. Porches - I'm a little tempted in recent years, but the wife isn't keen and I'm not sure if they will give the same sense of occasion. R35 GTR. The wife and I always thought that that would be the route I would choose due to long love for Jap cars and yearn for more power/speed, but now I'm not sure. I don't think they are that good looking and find it hard to justify that amount of money on another nissan. I do appreciate how fast and awesome they must be to drive but not sure it's enough. .........Thoughts on a postcard..........

That must have been sooooo boring. Driving slow makes me tired. Good effort though!

As has been said, there are a lot of more modern cars that will take you by suprise off the line. Power/weight isn't great, and any modern auto will change gear in a fraction of the time you can so you'll be loosing there too. Once your pressing on though, they do pick up well, are well balanced and selecting the right gears going in and out of corners is much more fun. YOU MUST RUN YOUR CAR ON 97+! It's is designed for it, it says it in the manual and on the inside of the petrol cap. If you dont and you are doing anymore than poodleing around you will almost definitely be damaging your engine.

Welcome to the club.

Welcome to the club

The Bridgestone RE 050A are a good tyre, but not as good ass the MPSS or Eagle F1s and they only came on later 350/370. RE040 that the 350z actually came with from the factory originally are shocking and would not be recommended over about a dozen other tyres. Do you actually think Nissan started with a tyre and designed the car round it? Or designed the car and then fitted a reasonable tyre that would do the job and be cost effective?

I'm also subscribing to this. I must do my (quite large) Garage floor but am worried about cost and how any paint type stuff would hold up to a trolley jack getting dragged around over it and used on fairly regular basis.

Double post.

Good info doc!

Semi flex? Is that like a lob on? You ok Sam? When you planning on Snetterton again? Always got a lob on lol. I'm fine mate, thanks. Just don't seem to get on here as much recently. Nothing planned track wise atm but will stick a post up when I do. Missing your lob on X

Hmm quite like that for big spoiler. It's looks kind of porsche 911ish.

Semi flex? Is that like a lob on?

I assume by the tread pattern they are RE050A?

Without being rude, your not asking anything new and it reads a bit confusing. Many off the wheel threads would answer your questions regarding what tyre sizes for what size wheels. There are also a few 18s vs 19s type threads. The general consensus is that 18s will be a bit more comfortable and arguably handle a little better. 19s generally look better as they 'appear' to fill the arch more and suit the size of the car a bit better but are usually heavier and compromise a little ride quality. However, the make, style, offset and weight of the wheel make a huge difference to the look and handling and likewise the make, size, sidewall stiffness and pressure of the tyres used will make a huge difference. For example my 19" OZ Superleggera III with MPSS feel a million times better on the road than my OEM 18's on Bridgestones even though the ride is a little less forgiving. I would suggest you look at pictures of Zeds with various wheels / sizes and decide what you like the look of first, then come back and tell us I like 'these' wheels in 18's or 19's or whatever you choose, than we can make suggestions on the best offset, width and tyre size to choose.

No I'm afraid not, unless things have changed in the last year or so. It's down to your new larger injectors. I think the calculations are based on how long your injectors are open for. There was talk of UpRev working on a way to fix it, but not sure if it ever happened.

Welcome to the club. That's a nice long first drive to get to know it!

Sounds like it could be a coil pack or plug breaking down as it warms up. I would start there and see how it goes. If you still suspect fuel pump, as tricky says - check the fuel pressure before you go swapping things.

It does sound like your running lean, causing the missfire. As you said, should be idling at around 14.7. If it was a plug or coil pack it would normally run rich. Any smoke ? Have you got an OBD2 reader? on your phone or anything? Can be invaluable for fault finding looking at fuel trims etc. What bank is your AFR gauge plumbed into? What fuel system and injectors do you have? Could also be a vacuum/boost leak so carefully check all your pipework for cracks, leaks, tight fittings. Have a read through my thread here from when I was diagnosing a missfire on my supercharged Zed. Should help a lot. http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/78240-running-lumpy-no-eml-all-sorted/page__hl__lumpy

Welcome to the club James. Someone may well know the car, quite a recognisable plate. What area was it bought in? You can re sync the Key to the car. Have a look in the guides section, it'll be in there somewhere.

As above Re-the fuel pump, but those symptoms could be caused by a lot things. Any ECU codes? Clean air filter? Clean MAF? Checked spark plugs and coil packs? Any sign of being rich or lean on your spark plugs? When do you get this problem? All the time? certain rev range? full throttle or part throttle?

Welcome to the club.

As has been said, didn't see this coming! Understandable though with the purchase of a house. Good luck with it and hope it all goes smoothly. A nicely moddified Zed, with just the right amount of reliable power. Anyone looking to purchase a Zed should seriously consider this. Great value for money. Most owners lust for more power pretty soon after purchase then spend £k+ on n/a mods and remaps to get 20/30 bhp and its still not enough on a car this big and heavy if you want it to feel quick. Money is already spent here, ready for someone else to enjoy! Good luck with the sale mate.