Tomm

Dibs on the number plate holder - PM about to be sent

Likewise matey - mailed it over

Get the reg and mileage - and PM me the details. I will HPI it for you

L44 - Lower Earley, Reading, Black UK Coupe Rust Coupe - A327, see this car every night - has LEDs on the back, think this guy works in Fleet Red NON GT, Arborfield, JDM? Primer Cab - A327, lady driver DB02 (cherished plate) Black 55 reg GT Coupe, A327 mornings at about 07:30 Arborfield, lady driver. Black GT Coupe - flashed me last Wed night in Fleet, young couple 59 370z in Thursday evening, Eversley - mmmmmmm 350z common as muck

I paid less than that for mine, which is a newer UK supplied GT with all the toys I saw an import go at BCA last week for 9k, which was on the internet the next day for 12k

We are talking Mk4 R32 here....? I had an R32 from new in 2003, ran it for 18 months. I had mine mapped at AmD and a Milltek fitted - it needs the remap, its a different car afterwards. Also - even if you dont get it remapped make sure it got the right ECU updates, as after about 4 attempts VW finally got rid of the flat spots that they had from the factory. Mine went to VW twice for this, and then the remap sorted it out once and for all Loved it, and was disappointed to see the Mk6 R20 - was hoping they were going to slot the Passat 3.6 V6 into it - I could have then been tempted. I dont keep cars for long, so the fact I had the R32 for 18 months says a lot. Strangely, replaced it with a Corrado Storm + a sensible 528i daily driver. Theres no replacement for displacement

We didnt plan routes, just knew where we wanted to go - thats half the fun, you stumble across roads like we did. Accommodation is always a mindfield - we stayed in a few nice places so cost a bit, but we saved for ages for this and was worth it. We found loads of places on booking.com I would say to make sure there are no events on in the areas your going to - as you will have issues getting anywhere to stay. Our trip was so good we are going again next year, to a few different places but defo back to the Alps. Question is, will it be in the Zed

I recently bought a UK gun metal GT coupe, Alzean Leather, Sat Nav, BlueTooth, Parking Sensors, etc etc, Dec 2004 (54), 50k, full history at the supplying dealer. Needed a service and 2 tyres, and I got it for a shade over 10k - so as said, wait and watch - its a buyers market. Be prepared to walk if the deal isnt right. Mine was up for 13k 7 weeks before I bought it!

Thanks for the comments all, my other half is a part time photographer hence some of the pics are so good. @ zDan, we drove to Lyon for a few reasons. The SatNav said it was quicker to blast down the motorways then cut across than go through Basel. I am very familiar with Basel - been there a few times, so fancied going a new route. Music wise, well a mixture lots, you get through a lot of music on these trips. I have a broad music library, from the Stereophonics to DJ Hype, to some Snoop and then some Alanis - which errrrr.........was for the missus obviously Last few pics I promise The Stelvio Pass This road was like this for miles, overtook that MPV pretty sharpish What a road. You can see it snake into the distance.

Thanks all - was an awesome trip The car is actually filthy in the pics, GM is awesome for hiding it. Iam trying hard to leave it alone, I was happy with it but just looking round this site and I have now decided I must have some wheel Eibach 20mm spacers, and some LEDs on it too. Why do I get the feeling that joining this forum is going to end up costing me

Firstly - apologies for the size of this post, its bloody massive I recently returned for a 2000 mile trip across Europe in my Zed, and was asked to post some pics and info by ZAndy who got in touch through PistonHeads. So – here goes…. I bought my Zed 9 weeks ago from a guy called Anthony in Basingstoke, who I think was a member on here, so he may / may not still be around on here, sure the pics will discover this. This is probably going to be long winded – so make tea, and hopefully it will be worth the read…… Day 1 Home – Lens, Switzerland. Around 7-800 Miles. This trip has been planned in advance, the missus having a military style list and everything is neatly organised in a black folder – I ripped the **** out of here for this, but truth be known it turned out to be very handy and made a lot of sense. We packed the car up late Friday night – and despite the press reports and ill informed posts on various sites, the boot space actually soaked everything up we threw in it – we have the tonnau cover thing which separates the boot loads – this is such a good idea and very handy for trips like this. We have Bird View – but also purchased a TomTom Xl Europe as I think the Bird View isn’t all that, not to mention ours is years out of date. We arrive at Dover at about 4am, and drive onto the ferry with a totally unwanted piece of clutch control getting up the ramp – concentration at this time in the morning is real pressure, on and in we head up to watch the sun rise as we arrive in Calais. This is our first trip in Europe, so driving on the right is new to us – the missus takes the first stint and off we go with Switzerland programmed in to the TomTom – Interestingly the Bird View now shows an empty grid – so it doesn’t have Euro maps then! Pretty boring drive down through France and the weather is superb, we churn through the CDs we had prepared. One fill up with Sans Plomb 98 – the rumours of 100 octane fuel appear not to be true, in services at least. France have services every 20k or so, these are just car parks with Toilets but very handy and generally very clean – however I would recommend you only use these for **** breaks, as the mens toilets are a hole in the floor – yes, really. The services with a petrol station seem to be a nicer place to stop. We drove down to Lyon, and then across into Switzerland through some nice roads, at the Swiss border we are pulled over (only UK car in a large queue) Has a look over the car and takes our passports off for 5 mins, we buy a Vignette which is Swiss Motorway Tax for 40CHF, this allows us to drive on any Swiss motorway for a year. Off we go into Switzerland, almost immediately the scenery is more interesting and the roads are getting progressively better. Another couple of hours on motorways, where I must say the lane discipline is superb – NO lane hoggers and we make some real progress as speed limits are 130kmh (80Mph) Cruise Control set at 85Mph. We are getting close to the Chalet, where the TomTom sends us up a mountain pass which is probably the most frightening thing I have ever done in a car, the inclines and hairpins are pant wettingly scary! We arrive at the chalet, where the owner laughs at the way we came up the mountain explaining that there is a normal road up – and we should have read his instructions! Lesson learned – TomTom knows the quickest routes – but also the scariest. The car looks high here as parked on a slant Day 1 over – a few beers and a good nights sleep. 7-800 miles covered and car faultless so far. Day 2 – Tourist stuff, car didn’t move so wont bore you with this. Day 3 – Lens to Lake Como, Italy Heading up through the alps, we drive through Visp and end up on what was a pretty amazing road that leads up to the Nufen Pass – this road took ages to drive but is amazing, long sweeping bends and hardly any traffic – enjoyed this road a lot, scenery stunning as into the Alps now. Get to the Nufen Pass – a series of hairpins and more inclines lead for what seems like ages takes us up to a Glacier! We had not planned this route, so are gobsmacked at what we are looking at – we pull over and soak it up, then head off down the other side of the mountain, more hairpins – we got stuck behind a truck thing, soon despatched! Overtaking on the wrong side of the road, down a mountain pass is something you HAVE to experience, spine tingly and with the windows down the car sounded awesome! Carrying on down the hill we have about 10 miles of overtaking fun with a new Scirocco on Swiss plates, he waves as he heads towards the Gotthard Tunnel, I was quite surprised how well he kept up with the Zed, I was leaving him behind but he was soon back on my rear bumper. These roads are amazing and we are both buzzing. Onto the motorways and into Italy towards Como. Sat nav again takes us on the scenic route which makes the Zed feel VERY wide, as we head through many small Italian lakeside towns on narrow windy roads with tunnels carved through mountains common. A few close calls – and its hilarious how bad the driving quality has become just by crossing a border, the Italians tailgate like I have never seen before, not to mention smoke, talk on their mobiles and overtake on blind corners at the same time – they are truly mental. Arrive at hotel, beers, swim, dinner. What a day – will never forget that road today. Day 4 – Como to Stelvio We head off the Stelvio Pass, some 160kms away – but this being the Alps there is no direct route. Drove through some nice Italian towns, hilarious to see the Police using the old type Fiat Panda’s 4x4s – think I would fancy my chances against one of these ☺ Arrive at the Stelvio Pass, and I am genuinely nervous having watched this on YouTube and Top Gear etc. We start the Incline and nothing you could have watched prepares you for this road, it isn’t just the 50 hairpins – there is a long part leading up to this which is superb, I was using the Sat Nav as a kind rally style guide of what was coming up, and it worked very well! We pull over half way up, and the Views are mind blowing. Something I had not been ready for was the tunnels, they mostly blind and single lane – you have to head through these with severe caution as more than once we had bikes coming at you at speed on your side of the road! We start the hairpins, sliding the Zed on almost every one – although I must point out the TC was on, the drops there mean turning it off would require larger balls than mine! Traffic up is empty, but down is heavy with bikes. Strangely, we had not seen another English car since France, and we then see a battered old Corsa on UK plates coming down the pass! You can just about make out the road here My mouth is so dry as we arrive at the top, and then becomes clear why there are so many bikes – as there are hundreds at the top so must be a meet or something, carnival like atmosphere as we poke the Zed through the crowds – was very pleased to see the attention the car got, lots of pointing etc so obviously gave the throttle a tickle as the exhaust sounds superb ☺ We pulled up at the car park where the Top Gear boys stood before saying “shall we do it†Looking down on the other side of the pass and up at the mountains, superb – this is a life experience box ticked. We drive down the other side, back up and then back down the north side of the pass heading back to Como – we were behind a Mk6 Golf GTI on the way down, too much traffic to have too much fun but there were a few little straight’s where we had little hustle. What a day – pool, beers, bed. Weather again has been superb, 32deg and the car again, faultless – I experienced the car like I never have before, the car came alive on these roads, I look at the car from the hotel balcony and I love it – we have driven some 1000 miles and car has delivered on every count ! Day 5 – Back to Switzerland, no planned route We had planned to stay in Italy for another day, but the hotel was a nightmare last night – the owners dog barked all night, and all his mates came round for a smoke – underneath our room, complained but his what was good English soon disappeared and he only now speaks Italian. This is a 4* Hotel / Spa – shocking. We found Italians to strange, and whilst Como is an amazing place we head back to the sanctuary of Switzerland – the chalet we stayed at has a room – result. We filled up near Milan – this was a strange experience. People come into the petrol station from all angles, wedging their cars in to the pump – no queues, and getting in / out is tricky! Not a pleasant experience! Two Italians nearly scrapping over an argument about the pump – very, very funny. This route took us over the Simplon Pass – and again – wow. This road whilst not being like the other passes, is an absolute engineering masterpiece, with roads clinging onto the side of mountains and some awesome bridges – we seemed to be on this road forever, and wish it could have been longer. Driving in Switzerland is a real pleasure. I will never forget this road – the only words we muttered we things like “wow†and “amazing†– its just mind blowing, you have to drive these roads. Back in Switzerland we arrive in a town called Crans Montana, which is higher up the mountain to where our chalet is – we have to kill some time as the chalet owners are out. We drive in Crans and stumble over the Omega European Masters golf ! We drive through very busy streets, people again pointing at the Zed which is some compliment as Crans is like Monaco and Ferrari’s, Lambos are all quite common here. We walk round the course and watch a few Pro’s play in the Pro Am – I play golf so this was real unexpected treat. Chalet, Dinner, Bed. Day 6 – Lens, Switzerland – Home. 800 Miles or so. We were supposed to going home via the Nurburgring, but they gits closed it to the public that week until 17:15 I have been dreading this journey, its 8-9 hours to Calais, and we are not booked on a ferry not to mention the 1h 20 min drive from Dover to home at the other side – its going to be a long day. Thankfully, the missus offers to do the entire drive! Result. It rained like I have never seen, and as your driving through cloud the visibility was pretty much about 3m! Mrs M performed very well, while I bit my nails to pieces... We arrive in Calais, get on a ferry pretty much immediately and although the crossing was very rough we are back in Blighty in no time. I drive home, get in at 10pm, we left the Chalet at 08:30 – I have allowed for the 1h difference here. Fish N Chips, Bed. Conclusion – We had an amazing time, and I am so glad we went as we were not sure if it would happen. I would recommend this to anyone, you have to do this as it really is a good way to spend a week and cost wise it isn’t so bad. The car – the good. Well, this is my first jap car after owning an R32 Golf, M3 etc and I am pleased to report the Zed delivers in EVERY area. Its like a time machine as long trips just done seem to take that long – we were both amazed when we arrived at the destination to get out feling OK, no bad back (I have a bad lower back) Cruise Control was an absolute godsend and makes the car a real GT. Plenty of space, and having all that area behind the seats is superb for long trips as everything is reachable – the Zed really is practical enough for couple on a long trip, we took a weeks worth of clothes in big case and still had plenty of space. On the good roads the Zed was spectacularly good, the noise, the grip, the handling,- everything was just awesome. Sounds maybe a bit gay, but I really felt like I bonded with the car – this happens rarely with me, as I change cars every 6 months or so – I cant see it happening here. The car – the bad? Well, not much to report here but there were a few little annoyances. I cant seem to get the AC right, its either too hot or too cold, or the windscreen mists up – am I being a div? The Airbag light came on whilst doing the Stevlio pass – I have reset it, but it comes back instantly – needs a diagnostic Headrests don’t move forward – this was annoying as meant neither of us really slept on the long drives, car is very comfy otherwise. Lesson? Take a travel pillow We only saw 1 other 350z on the entire trip! That was a Swiss black GT – the car got a lot of attention everywhere, which surprised me a little. Figures 2 people 1 350z GT 1950 miles 29.1 MPG over the whole trip, this is hugely impressive considering we used cruise a great deal and were going up mountains all week! 5 tanks of fuel 6 days 6 packets of sweets 2 large smiles