vern

I have a similar problem when mine is parked on my driveway. There was also a weird thing that happened one time where our neighbours thought they had a problem with their sky dish because there was a high pitched sound coming from it, but when we checked, it was actually coming from my 370 and it was like the radio waves from the alarm and the sky dish had somehow connected together. I never have a problem with the car when it's parked just outside my office and it's on a similar gradient and probably more exposed to the wind, so I definately think it's something to do with the signal that the intelligent locking system emits. There is a button on the plastic bulkhead beind the passenger seat that effectively disables the motion sensor element of the alarm. I did this on a ferry recently. You just push the buttom once and get out and lock the car as normal with the alarm. If you do this and still get false alarms, then it's probably not a cat or strong winds.

I think some people are missing the point a bit........ It only really works if you want or need a brand new car. If you do and bought and sold it in 3 years, the depreciation would almost certainly be higher than the figure you would have spent on the lease and don't forget that road tax is included in the lease figure. As I said in my earlier post, I did the sums on an RX8 and a VXR Astra and the RX8 was a massive saving to lease and on the VXR about 2k. That's assuming that I could have even sold the car at the Parkers car guide figure and does not make allowance for the hassle and cost to advertise etc. I would suggest that it's more cost effective to buy a 12 month old model and then sell two years later, but as I said, if you want a brand new one, then it's normally cheaper. The car manufacturers obviously sell the cars to the lease company at a much higher discount than we could negotiate at the dealership, so that's obviously where the saving is.

We are actually 6 months into our 4th lease in a row. We've had a Clio 182, Maxda RX8, Astra VXR and now a Megane 250 cup. There are no catches and the tax is also included. I did the depreciation sums on the RX8 and VXR and is was way cheaper over the 3 years to lease, although if you bought one of these cars when it was say 12 months old and then kept it for 3 years, it would obviously be a lot closer and possibly cheaper to buy instead of lease. The figures quoted are usually based on 3 + 35. That's three months up front and then 35 payments. There is often an admin fee of say £125.00 The mileage is normally 10k and obviously this will go up if you increase the allowable mileage figure, although it's cheaper to do this on the contract rather than have this added on at the end at the excess mileage rate. My advice would be to be flexible on the car you want as some manufacturers offer massive discounts to the lease companies and others don't and so the price fluctuations don't always reflect the list price of the vehicles. Also don't go overboard on the options list. These will just be added to the contract value by almost the exact value of the items selected. Look at the deals out there and then try at least three or four different companies. The actual quoted price per month on our Megane varied by around £75.00 per month!! One final (obvious) comment is that the car needs to be handed back in good condition. I've looked after our cars the same as I do my Zed and yet all the inspectors went over them in a lot of detail. We didn't have any issues, but on the last car (VXR) the inspector mentioned that he had noted on his report about all the stone chips on the front of the car (3 years old with 60k miles!!) We have used the same company for the last three leases, so I can recommend Nick Walwyn N.Walwyn@vehiclecontracts.co.uk

I'll keep a look out for you all the same..... I'd like to go to see an endurance race at Spa. I just love the curcuit and imagine that seeing an LMP1 blasting through Eau rouge would be something special. I can remember my first time at Le Mans during the night practice and being down close to the track just before Tetre Rouge and hearing the old 7.0 litre (I think) GT1 Corvettes for the first time and I could feel my internal organs shaking as they went past....

We are staying at Houx campsite again this year (we have on all 4 occasions) I'm not really sure how the hotels would work to be honest, as Le Mans city it a good few miles away from the circuit and almost certainly you would have to drive in each day and park etc. I'd rather leave the car once I get there and then have a few beers, rather than worry about getting breatherlised by the French Rozzers. It looks like the weather should be fine for most of the day tomorrow in the UK and mostly France, so for once all the effort I've put in polishing and waxing the beast should be worthwhile!!

We are going down on Thursday. Catching the 7.35 ferry from Dover & will be leaving Northamptonshire at 3.30am - ouch! It's out 4th time and the last time we went down was 2010 in the 350z. This is the first time for the 370z. We haven't stickered up this time, although we did get a few last time out, but it's sort of crept up on us a bit this year and I left it too late to sort anything. Keep an eye out for us.......it's ultimate yellow, so there shouldn't be too many!!

I can recommend the Wheel doctor in Milton Keynes. I had a small repair done to one of my 350 wheels and he blended the paint very well. I dropped the wheel off at his house in Bletchley for that one. He also came to my work and did both the wheels on my wife's VXR astra when they were badly kerbed and these were also very good. We had both cars for over a year after the repair and they still looked fine and had not deterioated in any way. I hope this helps. terry@thealloywheeldoctor.co.uk - 07931 971242

Hello and welcome. I work in MK, so look out for the bright yellow 370! For a body shop you may want to consider AL Shaws in Denbigh West (just off the Denbigh Road past B & Q) They did a great job on the bumper on the 350 that I used to have. They are nice people as well. - http://www.alshaws.co.uk/

Sorry guys but I think some of you are wrong.......... I had a Clio 182 (with cup suspension) for three years and also a 350z (313bhp version) and although the Clio was great fun and felt really quick, it wasn't as quick as the Zed. Ignoring the 'on a wet track' comments, which effectively would level the playing field for numerous cars in comparision to the Zed, to properly assess the performance, pick a small/medium size track like the Bedford Autodrome (1.8 miles) (EVO figures) 370: 1:28.7 350: 1:30.0 182: 1:34.0 The Clio 182 timed above is actually the Trophy version with the trick suspension/shock absorbers and there is still a bit of daylight between that and the 350z!

It helps if you are married to a petrol head...... We originally went down in my wife's Clio 182 in 2006. This will be our 4th visit and we will be in the 370 for the first time! If you see us in Houx campsite, say hello. The car's yellow, so it should stand out!!

If you are happy with the price, then I'd go for it. I never had them on my old 350z and I've kept with Bridgestones on my 370z, but I did have them on my RX8 in 225/45 x 18 size. They were actually more predictable in the wet than the RE40'S that originally came with the 2006 model car that I had (I assume they fitted RE50'S on the later RX8 models) Asthetically I prefer the more standard tread patterns that most of the tyre companies are now adopting but on performance and price I was very happy with them. I even had them recommended by the Helpful local Mazda garage where I had the car serviced, as a more economical option to the Bridgstones. From memory they were about 40% cheaper than the Bridgestones and I got over 40% extra mileage out of them! I hope this helps.

Many thanks - I'll give it a go.

I have some light damage around the bolt holes and also some stone chips on my alloys. Does anyone know what the closest match would be for the standard (silver) Rays wheel colour

I'm probably in a good position to comment, as we own both the cars in question! Well sort off........We actually have a 370z and a megane 250 cup, but aside from another 15 BHP and a few extra bells and bells and whistles, I think the Trophy is very similar. In terms of performance, yes the megane is very quick and on real world, cold wet tarmac, is quicker than the 370. On a dry track it would be a different matter. Evo tested both cars on a dry Bedford Autodrome and the 370 was 2 seconds a lap quicker. Interestingly when Evo put the same Megane in a group test with the Focus RS, Seat Leon and Golf GTI, they dyno tested them all and the Megane recorded over 270bhp and if the Trophy has another 15bhp, the actual power to weight is much closer to the Zed. The Megane is also fitted with the 'trick' Renault Perfohub drive system and along with the slippy diff, the power is put down through the front wheels like no other car I've ever driven. Whatever you say about Renault, the Renaultsport boys know how to engineer a hot hatch. Given the choice....obviously I'd have the 370, but on the days when I drive the Megane to work, I've still got a smile on my face!

Thanks for the info - I'll give them a try

I'm looking for two rear Bridgestones for my 370 and trying to get the best price possible. On Black circles they have the 275/35 x 19 (96) W and also the same tyre in a (96) Y speed rating. I appreciate that the correct tyre is a W rating, but as the Y rated tyres are £26.00 cheaper for the pair and are also the same load but with a higher speed rating, does anyone know of any reason why these would not be suitable. I find the tyre dealers have a habit of steering you towards the tyre they have in stock at the time or the more expensive offering.

I've got a gunmetal grey rear bumber from a 58 plate 313ps model. It had some slight car park damage which I had sprayed by one of these mobile guys, but where is was parked on my drive, the light fell right onto the damaged area and in the end I got a new bumper. I've not got the car anymore, but the bumper is in the warehouse where I work in Milton Keynes. Let me know if you are interested. I've been meaning to advertise it, but haven't got round to it yet. Simon

It's remarkable really that Porsche can strip out all the extras and still charge 61k. (no air con, CD player etc) I don't see this as a viable track day car and honestly think they will find it hard to sell that many. Give me a Cayman S with PASM and Crono pack and I'll be happy. I think that it's a great result for Nissan, especially when you consider that most of the 'extras' that push up the TT and BMW price, are already included in the basic cost of the 370z. I also don't think that EVO were trying to do the 370 an injustice by placing it in this company. They have been flag wavers for the Z cars for a number of years and in many ways were highlighting the difference in costs for 'comparable' performance across the 4 cars. I'm sure if you told Nissan to produce a car that would retail around 60k, they would produce something really special..........actually, I think it's called a GTR!!

I've been to Le Mans three times and never had a problem with the French Rozzers. I've heard a few stories about them being heavy handed with the Brits. EVO magazine had to fly out another journo when one of theirs got caught speeding and had his Merc impounded and licence revoked for 30 days. It was the only way to get the car back. If it's a dry day and you are on the motorway with the cruise control at 85mph ish, then they won't bother you. There are enough loons blasting along at well over 100mph for them not to worry about you. Take a colour photo copy of your licence though, just in case and if you do get caught, be prepared to get escorted to the local cash point to provide them with some 1664 beer tokens!! Don't forget to sort the warning triangle, hi-vis, spare bulbs and headlight deflectors. I got all mine from Amazon and it's was nearly half the price of Halfrauds.

Some of the forum members that subscribe to EVO may have already read this, but the magazine ran a group test this month with some quite interesting results. They had managed to get hold of a 370GT Edition for the test and although my first thought was that it was out of it's depth in this company, they gave it 4 and half stars out of 5. They made the usual comments about the interior not being at the same level as the German cars, but were generous in praise for most other aspects. Not suprisingly they placed the Cayman and the BMW joint first. More surprisingly they placed the 370 3rd and the TTRS last. The other surprise was when they hot lapped them around their home track the Bedford Autodrome. The times were: Cayman: 125.5 BMW: 125.9 370z: 127.1 TTRS: 127.3 The previous time they had clocked for a basic 370z was 128.7, so the suspension changes made by the technical team at Cranfield would appear to have improved the car, at least on the track. They said that the TTRS was hindered by it's (standard) 18'' wheels, which is even more remarkable when you consider the list price for each car and the 'as tested' price. List price (as tested): Cayman: £51728 (£61402) BMW: £40020 (£45340) 370z: £35000 (£35000) TTRS: £45840 (£52945) Obviously 53k doesn't get you a set of 19'' wheels for a TTRS!

Yeh it was good to meet. It's a shame you are selling up, but you're probably at bit like me and get bored with the same car after a while. Good luck with the Clio 200 - you'll have fun with it and it will be a bit cheaper to run. If you see the blue VXR or the 370z, park it near and I'll have a look. All the best

Hi, I used Autoglym polish and then what I refer to as 'Lazy wax' which is Ice wax by Turtle. I saw a demonstration being done on a car bonnet and bought some a couple of years ago. It's so easy to use and quicker than most waxes. It's also really good on the black trim/chrome and leaves no white residue at all. It is a synthetic wax, but in some ways I think of it as a cross between a detailer and a conventional wax.

I managed to carry out the first proper wash and wax of the year so far on Saturday. I spent about 4 hours on the 370 and another 3 on the VXR (I didn't want it feeling left out!) I was Knackered on Sunday.....

Mine doesn't have the illuminated scuff plates or the yellow stitched mats. I got it straight from a dealer as an ex demo, so maybe the items were not available on all the yellow cars. Mine's filthy at the moment, but I've ear marked Saturday for an overdue wash and wax!

I've had a couple removed and the end result was perfect. I don't know where you are based, but the man I use covers Bucks. He took a bad dent out of my wifes Astra door and went down past the glass. There was no sign of it dent at all when he had finished. I've got his card at home if you need his details. Simon