austin

Herro again, the more I read, the more confused I am (assume that's normal on here though ). My girl is in the need of new front discs (brembo) and originally I was thinking about getting EBC turbo groove +yellow pads. After some reading on here though I now would be more inclined to get DBA 4600 (and probably still ebc yellowstuff), but it seems for roughly the same price of £350 I can get Brembo drilled discs (which would probably LOOK the best, but would they perform best as well?). See, I mainly do some normal to spirited driving, planning on doing few trackdays this year but no madness, so really not quite sure what to get now. I have about 3 weeks to sort this out before MOT.. DBA 4600 slotted - £350 Brembo drilled - £350 Brembo slotted - £280 + ebc yellowstuff pads? cheers guys, aus

cool, thanks Stew. As far as i can see on many websites actually, not only the choice in this size is wider (could even get my absolute fav goodyear eagle f1 gsd3 on all 4s!!) but price around £20-30 per corner cheaper.

5% sorry, i was looking at imperial. 11mm front, 12mm rear http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html Does anyone know if there would be any problems with TC though?

As far as i know Toyo haven't discontinued them but none of the tyre websites i've been on seem to have stock of 245/45s. Im also trying to be practical - in case of a nasty, unrepairable puncture it would be better to change one, not 2 (or all 4 since mixing front and rear isnt great) tyres. In 40 profile there are loads and choice is much wider than our standard size. How come it looks wrong? Only 5mm sidewall difference.

Howdy guys, i've been thinking of putting on my zed toyos r1r, however the closest to stock size is 225/40/18 and 245/40/18, and not 45 profile. The rolling radius would be slightly different to the original and i understand that apart from speedo being slightly (2mph) faster, Zed's traction control is quite sensitive and would be upset by the change? Should I go with it, is it going to be quite annoying to drive and if so - is there a way to reset TC/ESP to the new tyre size? Another reason im asking is because i quite like toyos and know that getting rears in our standard size is almost next to impossible. all input appreciated, austin

On thursday 10th my black 350z is in Abbey for service and I might have some time between that and picking up someone at h'row. Even though i live in canary wharf I'm in Kingston/Weybridge/Walton-on-Thames pretty much every weekend and very happy to show the zed and take both of you for a spin. Car is stock so you can have a clear idea of what to expect. aus

yah, hfc's will be next as well, especially as they help in midrange torque gain which is the most usable in road use - ill probably wait until march until after MOT though, plus putting some money together is a good idea as well as i was thinking of combining the purchase with abbey remap. thanks for the info

Howya goin ladies and gents, i've spent good few days on google but couldnt really find the answer.. Does anyone know where in the UK can I buy/order a nismo exhaust, ideally including y pipe (unless there's some other good alternative to the nismo y-pipe, like motordyne perhaps?)? I've watched dozens of youtube vids of different exhausts for the zed and i have to say nismo is the one i like the most. Motordyne tdx would probably be the first alternative if sourcing nismo will prove next to impossible. All advice will be appreciated, austin

Thats ace! thanks for the replies gents

Hey guys, could tell me where did you source the V2s from please? What are the prices like? Much appreciated, aus

It's an epic car. Build quality and reliability has been greatly improved in all aspects over the previous 3200/4200 and gransport. Both 4.2 in GT and 4.7 in GTS are made by Ferrari for Maserati, where 4.7 is practically a rebored 4.2. I've been looking at 4.2 with my friend, we had a long test drive and chat will Sytner Maranello in Egham, Surrey. Don't know about GTS, but GT has service interval either 2 years or 7500miles. As to running costs I can't really answer that but know quite a few extremely happy owners who used to have porches, astons, mercs etc and they all say this is the most fantastic ride they've had so far. Being an Italian car it will depreciate quicker than a 911, especially given lots or horror stories involving previous maserati coupes, but im positive you'll get more satisfaction too. The only thing which is a must in this car is full service history (which it would have cause you wouldn't want to buy something like that privately now, would you?) and what maserati calls skyhook suspension. Other than that i'd swap my kidney on the black market for a black GTS with red leather. And guys, please remember - GranTurismo is a COMPLETELY different car to the previous models and as far as my knowledge and research goes it doesn't share any of the same catastrophic issues. aus

My first car was an s2000, then i had a c30 t5, now 350z... Clearly I need to get a V8 next, so thinking either AMV8 or maserati granturismo Its gonna be a while though, i really should get closer to being 30 and looking older lol. I get pulled and checked by the police often enough driving the zed as i look 17 haha

Biscuits, I can't agree with you here - just because I own a 350z doesnt mean i always accelerate in 5.9sec and drive at 155 (167)mph. My bestie got a gallardo as a graduation present from his parents, he's also 23 and a decent driver. I'm not scared being in the same car with him as he never does weird, scary, or dangerous sh*t on the road. On the other hand other mate i know wrote off his mothers 1.4 golf, because he was showing off and didn't have enough skills and/or imagination (at least he was fine and hopefully learnt his lesson). aus

I completely agree with most of the things said by all of you. Being and import (lol) i did not learn or pass my driving test here, so cannot comment if tests are too easy etc, however judging by the vast majority of road users there have to be some huge changes done to the drivers training system. IMHO the biggest problem is not the speed itself, but distraction and lack of basic ability to asses road situations. Few things of the top of my head i very strongly feel should be taught to every new driver: - correct use of lights in different situations and low beam always on (i understand some wont agree with me here, but think how much more visible you are to other road users in EVERY weather condition), not anti-fog or position lights, not to mention high-beam; - mirrors, mirrors, mirrors! -- they are in every car, and three of them for a reason (one of the reasons why it is safe to travel on a german motorway at pretty much any speed is that you can be certain no one will change lane without making sure it is safe to do so), - few hours motorway driving during the day, heavy traffic, night time, rain/snow, including joining, leaving, overtaking - how to read road traffic and how to predict what other drivers might do at any given moment - for the love of god, please use indicators BEFORE, not AFTER executing a maneuver - make it a habit! find yourself indicate even on an empty road - lane discipline - no, it is not cool to hog middle or fast lane and people who do so should be fined just as the ones who speed (again - Germany) These are just few i could think of just now, probably because they bug me most. Also think there are way too many driving schools with too many @*!# drivers/instructors teaching new ones same stupidity. Young drivers are still the most 'risky' and reckless ones, me belonging to the age group (see link below) but bad training will make any driver, regardless of age, dangerous. I really hope my post will not be seen as thread hi-jacking. I merely pointed these few things out as i feel until the training changes there are no hopes for raising speed limits, in fact im pretty sure we will soon see most of them lowered even more. Also I'm not saying im the best driver in the world. But I have been driving for 6 years, never had an accident (touches wood lol) or scratch, or even a speeding ticket (well that one has probably more to do with luck, even though I dont usually speed and if so, its more a case of doing 80-85 on motorway than 35 in residential area). I have been moving around for a while, driving in many countries and so far I haven't seen better motorists than the German ones. aus P.S. something to *sigh* at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdH40VS59rE

Looks very very cool, may i just ask what about the front number plate, ie how do you get away without one on display? I find UK plates to spoil the front end quite a lot but I don't wanna be stopped every half a mile for not having one lol aus

Hey, do some reading in the insurance section. There are so many companies and some offer discounts for members (depends on your age/history). I've heard for young drivers Elephant and Admiral are good (Im with admiral who gave me the cheapest quote but its still just under £3k - 1yr english ncb, 6yrs clean licence and no accident :/ ) Have you tried DirectLine? They won't come up on compare.com or anything like that but some of my friends insure their cars there. Hope that helps, austin

Hey, sorry to hear you're getting rid of it Not sure how helpful that'll be, but as some of you know I've only recently purchased my Zed - in fact exactly 3 weeks ago. She's a 54plate Kuro, GT on Rays, 39k miles when i bought her, really stunning condition and i paid £13k in p/x. Hope that helps (somehow lol) austin

If its on a thread you should be alright - good place will repair the tyre and you'll be able to drive with no problems at all, even if it's Y speed index (i had mine repaired once and nothing happened even at 155mph so no worries). However if its a sidewall or very close to it you'll have to get a new one. A picture (even if not super clear) would be very helpful. Aus

Hahaha guys, she is NOT my Mrs therefore i still do my washing myself (erm..yeah) and when I once tried ironing i gave up after half an hour and threw away the shirt. So that gets done with weekly dry-cleaning haha. Yes, she is a full sized one, with legs, even tho a bit short maybe being maybe 5'4" lol. Oh and i managed to fit my surfboard inside the car too! I keep finding Zed the most practical car i've ever owned

credit crunch?

hahah well i know 5'11" isnt THAT much, but im a guy after all - i cant fold like a scissorjack lol

tonneau cover?? completely enclosed, less road noise? She would have to be really skinny. WAYYYYY skinnier than this girl who for the record is a flatmate Funnily enough i even fit there and im 5'11" and 150lbs!!

you have to see this i refuse refuse refuse to ever buy a car that has more than 2 seats aus

Think I'll be going here instead of Wales. How many of you are planning on going to JTS? I'm a bit confused as to if we have a club stand or not? austin

lol pretty sure we can keep this game going forever lets just settle on saying that zeds look best in black, we all know that after all