rmgthatsme

I like my home appliances to just work, bit like my toaster or microwave or vacuum cleaner and I don't want to have to have specialist knowlege to achieve that level of service. We used to use Windows stuff at home up to several years ago when I got fed up with the endless issues (probably more my incompetence than the system's fault?), switched the whole family to Macs and it has been plain sailing ever since. It just works so seamlessly, even for stuff like home networking, printer sharing etc. which even a luddite like myself has been able to manage very easily. Would a mac mini serve your purposes? Would allow you to use your peripherals like your nice monitor, keyboard etc. and the new version running Lion is pretty decent. Just bought one a month ago and find it's great. Being able to boot into Windows or run Parallels is also a great feature. Our kids also use Macs at school so this is a plus. Do you have the Apple certified 2nd hand programmes available in the UK? You can get some very nice kit with a warranty at good prices that way too.

Absolutely gutted, raced to the link provided only to find all 25 tubs have been sold. Have to continue using Autoglym on the Lear this weekend then...

Thanks for the feedback. I will have a go with some spray silicone lube this weekend myself. Doubt I can get the Italian spray stuff here locally. Top seems to be working like a dream again, smooth as silk so can only imagine it was the temperature but am surprised as it never gets really cold here. Don't want to mess with the 2 elastic bands as the rivets will be difficult to get out of the struts and it would drive me mad to have little bits rolling around in the struts every time I corner If I needed to I would just get a seamstress to do some additional elastic velcro pieces for me but as said alls well for the moment.

How about a non-Jap? My wife has a 2010 Kia Sorento and it certainly is very well equipped with normal 2WD but auto switches power variably to 4WD as necessary and can be locked into permanent 4WD at the push of a button. Has very female friendly light controls and adjustable electric seat for vertically challenged ladies to give good all round visibility. Has hill descent control, TCS, 4 wheel disc brakes, reversing sonar and camera (in the review mirror), 6 speed auto box with manual sequential shift, front and rear a/c, heated seats and steering mounted controls for audio/cruise control etc. All very necessary of course with the huge amount of off roading my wife does on her way to the mall or to pick up my son from school... the hill descent is excellent in our urban conditions for those particularly challenging mutlistorey carparks Seriously though, I did a lot of research on this car before I bought it as my wife loved the Discovery she previously owned (but sold as it couldn't fit into many multistorey carparks here in Hong Kong as the height was too high) and it seems to get excellent reviews in the States, Canada, Australia & South Africa (some of which places encounter deep snow) for reliability. The diesel is also available in the UK and seems well regarded. Hope this helps with some food for thought.

Yes had a look at the TSB's posted on an american website as they have a convertible section. Didn't seem to apply to my case. In any case, as mentioned in my post, I'm in Hong Kong and the weather here almost never gets down below 10 C. It worked smooth as anything last night again, the temperature is back now in the 20's again and will only rise from here onwards toward summer. Raining cats and dogs here though at the mo so no chance to check the mechanism this morning on the way to work. Any suggestions on lubricant to use? Genuine Nissan Window Regulator Grease Part number 999MP-WRG00P is recommended in the TSB but will just standard silicon spray lubricant do the job as well? What do you use to lubricate the hinges and slider bars etc.on your roadsters? Thanks

Have done a search but could not find an answer that seems to address my problem. My 04 JDM roadster top has been working fine and I retract the roof almost daily unless its raining here in Hong Kong where we have no cold weather issues in the winter. A couple of days ago, when retracting the roof, it stuck at the stage where the hinged metal cover rises up and the soft top is more or less vertical and has already 1/2 folded back on itself. After moving it back and forwards a couple of times, it worked again. Paying closer attention now to the retracting motion, it seems that at the stage when the soft top actually retracts from the 1/2 folded position into the compartment under the cover, there is a moment in the motion when it is not smooth, seems quite jerky as the hood hinge "snaps back" before it fully retracts into the compartment. The jerky motion is from the soft top not the metal compartment cover. The whole soft top retraction motion is very smooth except atthis point just past the vertical when it is sort of "upside down" and the 1/2 fold action before it goes into the compartment that is very jerky. Is this likely to be a lubrication issue (but all the other motions/actions are very smooth) or is it some alignment problem? As in the UK, the Nissan dealer here milks its customers so I would be glad if anyone can point me in the direction of what to look for/how to diy fix this. I am concerned with the torrential rain we get here in spring that a failure to close the top would leave me with a mobile swimming pool and damage the delicate soft top motors. Any pointers gratefully appreciated. Many thanks!

Thanks, will do just that Dude, Google for mods4cars, I have their module fitted which allows you to remotely put hood/windows up and down .... its also on the forum but f@@k knows how to put a link into this

Really like these stealth finishes...

Looks stunning! How do the door insides etc look when this is done as well as the engine bay? Is there some sort of abrupt cut off line where the wrap ends?

Wish it could remote start and put down the hood on my roadster and lower the windows . It's annoying that you can't activate the hood before you press on the brake pedal. Would be great to also be able to do the reverse i.e. get out of the car, hit the button and then the hood closes, the windows go up and the engine then shuts down. There was actually a thread on this on the other US forum about some guy claiming to be working on a code writing project for this but nothing ever seemed to come of it.

Welcome from a 51 year old and Zed owner of 2 months, isn't the second childhood great?

Thanks Chris for this very useful link!

Yeah but top down, good tunes, elbow on the door top...these roadsters are heaven. I find myself smiling even when there are tailbacks on the motorway home from work, just turn off at the nearest exit and head down the lanes home as it just means more time with the car. The only thing I could hear yesterday was grid flying up off my tyres so I knew there was a gritting truck out somewhere... resulting in me cruising at 30mph in a 60mph to avoid damaging my bodywork. Sure enough, I eventually caught the gritting lorry up and rather than risk getting sandblasted by it, I actually had to do a nice detour down different country lanes to get home. That and the A14 being screwed resulted in a 1hr 40min drive home for me. (I only live 36miles away)

Welcome and great news about your find, you'll be able to get your wish list off to Santa nicely in time

What's mine is hers and whats hers is hers Thought it was great that she went through the trouble of finding a garage to do all this work, if you knew my missus you'd understand that anything mechanical scares her to death but she canvassed about 10 different shops before deciding on one and then gave up her own car for 2 weeks so he could get the work done in time for me to enjoy it over the holidays. Turns out she found a great place as the work is and the owner is a nice guy as well. RE the KEF's they should provide some great entertainment over the holidays, I use Cambridge Audio kit with NHT floorstanders and surrounds...makes me a very popular resident in an apartment building I'm sure Hong Kong is great for HiFi and general electronices shopping as I'm sure you know. Cheers RMG I assume she didnt pay for it all as well? My crimbo pressent to myself was collected last night - Kef 2005.3 surround system courtesy of DoogyRev Just need to fit it all up, cant reuse the mouting points for my old Kefs so will need to do some house destruction tonight

My missus has given me an early Christmas pressie, knew what I was wanting to do with my Zed and got it done in time for the hols. She went without a car for 2 weeks this month while it was at the shop. Full exterior respray in pearl white Debadged on the back Rebadged with the "Zed" on satin finish badge to replace the burger on the front Carbon wrap on the centre console/gear surround and door rests to cover the scratches Full P3 service

Hey Cal, great looking car. I'm the other guy mentioned earlier based in HK. Mines a Pearl White 2004 roadster.

Please accept my sincere condolences for your loss. Have myself lost my father when he was only in his mid fifties in the first year of retirement and my brother to a motorbike accident. I do hope that with this and each passing Christmas your family will remember her wonderful life and it brings you closer together, reminding you of the importance of family. Sounds like she would really want that.

Mmmmmmmm...in the right location, to the right buyer it has possibilities e.g. Bollywood mogul, Las Vegas casino attraction as airport limo for the high rollers, Mainland Chinese nouveau riche coal baron...the possibiities are endless. If the guy is a successful entrepreneur, he didn't get his wealth by being dumb and not seeing a market. I would really love to see to whom this sells. I bet the price tag announced is way higher than he's actually seeking and it eventually gets sold for an undisclosed sum but the buyer will claim the rather dubious rights to it advertised value.

I'm at the opposite end of life (50+) and recently bought my 2004 roadster as a toy to take me to/from work at my wife's urging I'll be the boring fart who suggests you first look at your savings e.g. have a thought on how many months expenses cover do you have in the event a redundancy or other loss of income occurs in this economic environment. In the event the girlfriend is delayed from returning to share expenses for whatever reason etc. etc. The cars will always be there, they get cheaper year by year and the newer models with better specs will come into your reach and hopefull will happen as your own income grows so you can hammer the car when you get it without a second thought of fuel/tires/parts costs etc. Much more fun to own a car that way IMHO. I'm guessing you already know all this though right?

Really sorry to hear about this particularly at this time of the year. Hopefully there was insurance to at least minimise the financial loss? Suggest a relocation at the earliest opportunity as the feeling of security your sis has a right to expect in the house may be one of the more valuable items to have been taken away. Time to gather the family round and have an extra special Christmas for them so the scumbags who did this won't leave any lasting damage due to anguish.

You will next find that the would be hijackers have sued the car owner for mental anguish and loss of reputation...

Might I suggest that you and/or you wife speak to her instructor? If he is a professional with the right attitude he would welcome better understanding the unease your wife feels and develope lessons to address the issues. If his reaction isn't what you would expect, change the instructor. In either case, why not also bring up your "keen interest" to sit in a death trap to allow wifey to get more wheel time and ask him how best to go about it to support his lessons. Note my wife banned me from teaching my younger son to ride a bicycle so YMMV

Bonnet truly "Pumps Up" your Zed; really suits the car Not a fan of the sticker though... Have you de-badged the rear as well? Would appreciate a photo if so as i'm thinking of doing the same and the car is going into the painter's tomorrow. I will be removing the front badge, the rear Fairlady Z but not sure about the rear Nissan badge. Afraid (does my bum look big in this syndrome) the rather "generous" rear of the Zed will look too heavt without some rear badge in the centre.

They do in some countries. Yes I have one touch on both windows on my JDM import in Hong Kong.