Stutopia

What's wrong with these c****? Is it really that hard not to be a douche? I hope the Fedz take them down with extreme prejudice.

I loved it, always liked Paris but it's mentally busy in the day and saw an article in one of the Shell spam emails about doing it at night. I think I might have to collect some more night cties, just got to make sure the things you want to see are lit up Sorry GM

Last week I managed to combine a family errand to visit relatives in France, with an excuse to put 1400 miles on the Zed and also fulfil an ambition to drive a Paris street circuit I've been working up. All sane humans know that driving Paris, in a car you want to keep in good nick, is a foolish idea. There's not even time to blink, let alone sightsee. So I devised a plan. Why not do it at 2 in the morning, when the lunatics are at home sleeping off a garlic binge? The most tedious bit was the first day in England - braving the mentals of the M25 (why can't they drive in just one lane? no one is getting there any quicker than you ) but it was all fun from there. I've grown to love the effortless chunnel journey (has crossing borders even been so easy?). Then it was just foot down and cruise through France for 6 or so hours and some raids on cheap French petrol stations. A long journey on the French autoroutes is a real pleasure. A road surface made of entirely one decent material, no potholes, no traffic, no queues, a sensible speed limit and just for fun, the weird rest stops to enjoy - sponsored by 90s popular beat combo "Air". I was at first delighted to find this particular rest stop deserted and took a celebratory photo whilst I stretched. I was much less delighted when I noticed the mist was clearing and that I wasn't at all alone, a Latvian truck driver was making eyes at me from his cab I wasn't looking forward to the French peage, driving alone I didn't fancy getting in and out at every stinking toll booth, so I picked up one of their magic tags for the windscreen. Worked like a charm and suggest you pick one up if you're doing any serious miles in France, 26 euro, bargain. A little snap at my destination. Bit of smut for Granvile too... This was my first proper run out with the Michelin Alpin PA4s and I can't fault them. It rained almost solidly for 4 hours on the way back and they dealt with some fairly hefty pools of standing water, at good speeds, didn't stop me puckering up when I hit them but I never had that awful feeling when the steering goes light When I was off the proper roads and enjoying the deserted back roads, they preformed beautifully and I'd be hard pushed to pick them from my previous MPSS, other than a bit more road noise (particularly on the UK motorways - almost silent in France) and an occasional glimpse of the slip light. Never had winter rubber before, so I've been enjoying trying something new and getting the feel for them. Here's the Paris Circuit I put together http://goo.gl/maps/5Ei5N for my stop off on the way back to Drive Paris. Managed to squeeze in the big stuff, the Louvre, Notre Dame, three beautiful bridges, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Champs Elysees, Place de la Concord and some good stretches along the banks of the Seine. It was an absolute pleasure to drive the city at that time of night and the buildings were all lit up beautifully. Got a little snap along the way too... Glad I did it in the Zed, not just some rental car. How many other people can say they had a little sideways fun on a deserted Arc de Triomphe roundabout and boomed the sound of their V6 off the ancient walls Here's a short movie I made of the Paris run. Took a bout 45 minutes in total to drive the route, with some stops along the way to drink the city in. I've managed to cut it down a bit. Loved putting the miles into her last week, If you get a chance to do this, do it Need to get back over in 2015 - anyone driven Scandinavia before... EPILOGUE Needless to say, the Zed was absolutely filthy when I got back. Sadly I caught a bit of mild Ebola whilst I was away, so spent a couple of frustrating days in bed when I got back with the car sitting filthy outside - I could hear her pining for a washmitt. Pics before I could get out of bed and take care of her No reflections Dirtiest I've ever seen The Shark and DJ Apple iFoam was no match for the caked filth. Left side, after pressure washer rinse of snow foam. Right side, just after the snow foam has run off - crap cleaning power For such a big job I lined up some of my favourite products for this last serious clean of 2014. I've been saving my last bit of AMMO Foam Paint Cleanser for a special occasion and was happy to finish it off with this big wash Not used the Envy for a while now as I've been trying a few others, as is my want, It's a great shampoo and cut right through the rubbish on my wheels, barely even needed the Sonax. Also revisited Poorboys QD+, as it has been hiding behind a bucket for a while. If the spray nozzle was any good, I think I'd really like this - intrigued to see how it stands up to the current weather. Invisible Glass was actually something I purchased in desperation in a Wallmart in Florida. The rental car had a mysterious goop on it, which was invisible in the dry but imposible to see through in the rain. Bought some of this and brought it back, great glass cleaner - only complaint would be that the aerosol dispenser is a PITA if you use it in highish wind (20 mph) An hour or so later ​Thanks for having a look, hope some of you get inspired to do a similar run - Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam???

Nice choice, these keep popping up when I'm browsing senible daily possiblities. Let us know what the mod opportunities are

Nice snaps mate, not a bad looking zed either

I like that, I might lift it for use in The Shark. Orange one if the OP's interested.

Hey, fake beads are beads too y'know. Stop being so beadist! You're right, it's not their fault, I embrace all beads, fake or otherwise.

Very nicely put together Zed, love the paint and interior work, wheels aren't bad either

First use on semi interior plastics. A good application on exterior plastics lasted me(in good weather) 6 weeks id say. I should do a longevity test but it's in my maintenance wash now as I always like to have nice black plastics. Fair enough, a regular "routine" means I tend to have no clue about longevity of my favourite products!

This spolier should be good, nice few mods you've got going here - keep 'em coming

PM SMD FTW, but just in case get some pics up in the thread, there might be someone almost as gifted as SMD who can help.

Looks good Harry, nice tip - any idea on longevity or is this your first use? PS - add some fake bead shots at the end of a review

I'm sure you did, but please say you have topped up?!! Didn't need to top up, the very brief flash of the light was just the combination of the very steep incline and the fierce acceleration. I checked the level then (many many many times) and since then (properly from cold) all good. I also knew that it was just short of MAX when checked three days before my trip (at my regular Sat AM check) and there wasn't any on the driveway or in the engine bay, so it would have had to have shat out about 5 litres in three days without leaving a trace.

It's a rubbish design but once you become familiar with it, it's easy enough to live with for regular checks (i.e. leaving it over night and checking it in the AM when stone cold). I initially found consistent readings have been tricky but can't say I have had a problem actally hitting the hole (ooo err). For me the most frustrating thing is trying to get a reading if you're in the middle of a trip, I wanted to check mine the other day at a service station as the oil light flashed on for a split second on an uphill pull, totally impossible to get a reading without waiting an hour for it to settle down, then dipping a good dozen times

Chevy Matiz would be at the top of my list, worst rental ever.

Think you need to get yours "boosted" with some FI performance ingredients & a bulge bonnet to show your oldman what's what. Frosted leather seats get dirty too easily so who wants them anyway. (although I would like them. ) Thanks Stu. It's the first time I've ever played around with pictures like that, ..adjusting the shading, saturation, highlights etc and I'm very pleased how they turned out. For me, adjustments in photo editing tools are much easier than framing a good shot in the first place. You can try lots of things in post production but taking a good initial shot is a real skill.

I have a very particular set of skills Granville. Which makes me a nightmare for people like you. Great shots mate, the Zed looks great in the monochrome shots

Too late now, but next time if you can buy from richersounds, their 5 year supercare guarantee is the only warrantee I would ever purchase, it's brilliant and cheap and if you don't use it they give your money back!!! http://www.richersounds.com/information/warranties Extract below: "If you use your 5 Year Supercare, we’ll: • Supply you with a free loan unit, so you never have to go without your music/films. • Replace any machine that cannot be repaired with a like-for-like equivalent. • Offer you free routine servicing and maintenance checks as often as you want. • Give you a 45-day cooling off period. If you change your mind within 45 days, we’ll give you a full refund. No questions asked. You may also terminate the agreement at any time during the guarantee period, and get a pro-rata discount. • Cover the specified items for 5 years. As well as all of this, you can claim your money back at the end of the 5 year period if unused. Simply return your unused Supercare policy within one month of the expiration date, and we’ll refund the price of your guarantee."

Do you use the incredimitt then? I'm stuck between pad and sponge ������ Yeah, it's decent. Nice and thick, holds a good volume of soapy water too. Fairly drains your wash bucket out during a wash, needs to be topped up a couple of times I find. It's better than the lambs wool mitt I used to have, which is now in reserve. I got a great wheel mitt as well, can't think who sold it. Edit - it's a captain crevice http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/dodo-juice/captain-crevice-wheel-mitt.aspx

I can't believe you don't know how to use a mitt????? The incredimitt has an elastic thing inside it you hold on to too

Are those back seats even usable? Hardly any leg room back there Love the blue leather

Mitt for the win They're undroppable!!!!

FIT!

Looks great these big cats are a nice mix of beatuty anf the beast, but there's an awful lot of car to keep clean there Presumably it comes with a Gentleman's Gentleman to keep her spick & span!

I am indeed, to be honest I was in 2 minds about whether to fit them or not even after having them dipped, but I think they look OK! I am going to change my B pillar to the ones from TarmacSportz as the CF weave pattern on my current ones is too fine and doesn't match the louvres.(Assuming I can unstick the existing NISMO covers that is!) David They look great, I've got a GM and some louvres waiting to go on. I have been playing around in photoshop trying to decide between going colour coded or gloss black. The dark works really well in your pic, gives a great shape to the area with the door window and that rear quarter area. Thanks for posting this Mine are carbon fibre effect hydrodipped. Yeah, but even in that (very nice BTW) carbon they've given me a much better idea of what a dark colour with a glossy finish fits like with the rest of the car.