Dynamic Turtle

Admiral were a nightmare, it took 1.5 hours on the hone being bounced around 3 call centres across the globe, but finally the one smart guy in cardiff acknowledged that the cats would be covered, but still couldn't allow the plenum and airbox for god knows what reason...

Well I'm liking the sound of the MIlltek/HFCs thus far, but I've only put 150 miles on them. I would say it's a good balance between motorway quietness and a sudden roar upon flooring the throttle, which is precisely what I wanted. There is some wooshing and hiss from the HFCs but it's far from intrusive and actually quite cool. There is a little bit of rattle and rasp from the Berks from time to time but it's a "feature" of the design according to Tarmac. The overall effect is great and the exhaust now sounds much better accelerating in 1st (which is the major weakness of the OEM zorst, IMHO) and whenever you're WOTing it. Difficult to say what difference the Uprev has made though (gained 10whp, 7lbft). The car feels fractionally sharper and more responsive in the lower gears even if the dyno graphs point to virtually zero difference. Not sure if it's a £400 upgrade TBH, but I need to spend more time driving the car in drier conditions because the rain may have been affecting traction. Power increases were also limited by virtue of the insurer refusing to cover a plenum spacer and custom airbox. Visually I'm a little disappointed that the Milltek's tailpipes aren't as polished/shiny as the OEM pipes nor are they slash-cut, which suits the aesthetic better. Oh and great service from Abbey as usual DT

335i tuned as above would be a good bet.

Will do. We'll be the the Alps region between the 12th and 17th of June after taking in the test day at Le Mans. I also have a black Zed but will be with a group of 5 others including a GTR, a 911 Turbo, a RS4, a supercharged Elise and a Monaro. With respect to comments made by others about the legality of use in Europe as long as it broadcasts on a pmr446 frequency like the Cobra MT975s, they are legal in Europe. Groovy - well we'll be winding our way through the swiss alps on the 17th, with a 911 GT3 and Exige in tow. Noted re PMR446 - ordered a binatone 4-pack for £80.

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/62506-gtr-reality-check/page__hl__%2Breality+%2Bcheck

Interesting outlet store! Bet they're pretty decent quality given that the taxpayer writes a blank cheque to motorola for them.

bit over the top, choptop.

Thanks for the amazon links - I'll get a set of those binatones - appears to be lots of good user reviews too. That Convoy movie looks fantastic, never heard of it. Purest genius!

Maybe, though we might bump into around the san bernardino pass! Look out for a black 350 with a very tired driver (Nurburgring > Andermatt in one day, sigh).

Understood, cheers BBK

Abbey have just charged me £390 to replace one radiator fan inc parts & labour while doing the uprev/milltek/berk package. Not a cheap job so well worth doing the procedure above to save some serious wonga. I'd be tempted to have a go myself, but I'd probably just ruin it. 55k miles / 8 years is a decent innings for this kind of component I suppose. Might as well clean up the old one as per the guide and keep it as a spare for when the other motor goes. EDIT: they replaced BOTH fans for £390.

Doing a euro-cruise next month with a couple of other cars and just wondered if anyone had experience with two-way radios. Are they worthwhile or too much hassle re batteries, charging, reception quality etc? Craplins do a 4-pack for £100 but I'm suspicious of anything they sell because it usually last 3 days before dying. Any guidance much appreciated...

Lovely Z, reminder for me to steam clean the engine bay!

Interesting to hear they made such an improvement...

Wouldn't that be done as part of the Uprev anyway? Apparently yes.

That is a good point, but then abbey will charge fitment costs for the milltek (effectively you get the uprev at subsidised cost) and it does seem like a worthwhile upgrade for the money, even if it's performance related.

Hi Guys, I'm seriously considering taking Abbey up on their Uprev/MIlltek package and wanted to know how worthwile it would be adding HFCs, plenum and air filter upgrades in to the mix. HFCs are pretty expensive, along with plenum upgrades. I'm most interested in getting the nicest sound rather than increasing performance and everyone seems to rave about the HFCs. Are they worth £400 + extra hassle at MOT time? Do plenums & special air filters deliver aural benefits or are they primarily performance upgrades? Also, I called Admiral with respect to uprev/milltek changes and want to charge me an extra £31 for them, fair enough. But they said that HFCs were "category 9 declined" for some reason and wouldn't quote me! What's the deal here? Cheers, DT

cheers gsexr, but that might be a little far. RT I went to JS today and the guy recommended that I get a new bumper rather than try to fix the old one. A bit surprised really because it's only very minor cosmetic damage. Let's see what they can do...

Nice, clearly well cared for.

I believe this is what basketball commentators would refer to as a "long shot", but I'd still be grateful if anyone could quote me for a new (or immaculate used) rear bumper anyway. Cheers, DT

Lovely, thanks RT

Hi guys, I need a shallow depression on the rear bumper sorted out and would be grateful if anyone could point me in the direction of a decent bodyshop in the SE London area (Lewisham / Greenwich) or sllightly further afield (bexleyheath / sidcup etc). Cheers, DT

I've decided that the forecast looks a bit grim so I'm not going to bother this year. If anyone in the SE london area wants my ticket, you're welcome to collect it (live in lewisham/deptford area). PM for more details. Cheers, DT

There will always be a shinier car than yours so you're probably fighting a losing battle. Much cooler to turn up with it covered in mud, scratches and bullet holes.

I saw it parked outside Sketch on saturday night. Truly vile in the flesh.