Vish8895

4 hours ago, zippypooz said:

Nice thread this. Enjoyed the read.

Thanks.

And thanks to everyone who made me realize buying off an enthusiast/forum owner was a good idea.

The car has been flawless since owning, and never fails to put a smile on my face.... and a spike in my heart rate!

Much more thrilling to drive than my 135i, due to the rawness and the feedback, especially with the mods that have been done and the perfect exhaust setup!

As the title says, I am after a set of winter tires for the standard 18" rays. Or, a set of winter wheels with winter tires on them.

Cheers

Thanks for the assistance everyone.

In the end I decided to view @RVSV2824 's Z first, as the write up was very detailed, the modifications very tasteful and in-line with my mod list, and all communication was very good and helpful.

Raj is a really good bloke and very trustworthy, he didn't rush me, try to hide anything and was generally an all round top bloke. 

The car was really a head turner and such a pleasure to drive. I think he has given me a really, really good base to start with. I am currently itching at work to leave and take it for a spirited drive back home!

Coming from German cars (335i, E46 M3 and most recently a 135i) I can say this car is far far more exciting. The rawness of the power, the feedback through the chassis and steering, and the tail happiness makes this car a real enthusiast car. Granted a lot of this would have been vastly improved with the mods Raj has done to the suspension and the aspiration mods for the added drama.

Did I see this FS advert over on E90 post? Sure I recognize it from somewhere!

3 minutes ago, Cimanu said:

Oh absolutely, they're impressive but certainly not sporty!

A brilliant do everything car.. which the Z simply isn't, boot space is truly woeful. The friend with that 120 is currently looking at E92 335i or 330i as he's often out alongside my Z and another friends R34 GTT.. the lack of noise upsets him

 

335 seem to have all kinds of issues though, we looked at one last weekend with some weird hesitation bang on 4k rpm.

 

I'm looking to swap my Z out for something cheaper to run as I'm almost there with house deposit, pretty much sold on 120D from being in his. I've looked at 330D coupes before too, ridiculous figures for the running costs but the F interior is a big step from the E. Open to suggestions for things I should look at instead though!

 

 

Yes, certainly a good run around family car, I wouldn't mind one for the misses that I can toy with lol!

I would recommend any N54 powered 1 or 3 series, but they are riddled with stupid little problems which add up. Mine ate a High Pressure Fuel Pump and an ABS pump weeks after buying it. Costing me over a grand in pumps in the first month, and about 6 hours of on the drive DIY fitting them (intake manifold has to come out for the HPFP... stupid much!).

But when the work, they are insane fun. All of that headache can be resolved by taking out BMW Warranty. I did this after spending the grand and wish I did it before!! It was £60/month on mine, but sub 60K mile cars are cheaper, and it is comprehensive, the same warranty they sell on their AUC cars. Includes wear and tear too!

1 hour ago, Cimanu said:

Welcome mate,

 

135 is a real weapon, Z might be a disappointment performance wise!

 

As others have said Y pipes have no silencer in but they are narrow so worth changing with the rest of it. Then take it to be mapped once the exhaust is all on!

 

 

Thanks bud!

Yeah it was a weapon, but still civilized inside. I am hoping the small gap in performance from the Z will be made up by its simplistic raw approach (and a whopping loud exhaust to compliment the V6  ).

Thanks for the advice on the Y pipes!

25 minutes ago, Cimanu said:

For me BM are at the top for interior at the moment the whole F shape range are beaut inside (largely due to them being identical across the range!)

 

I have a friend with a F20 120d which is mapped to 230/320 and keeps my Z honest until I really wind it up through the revs.. then does 60mpg to Germany and is £30 to tax.. how can you compete with that!

I think the 1 is a good looking thing in 3 door guise, 5 is a bit odd. 

I thought the same until I got myself a 2012 C Class AMG. That slightly topped the F's for me. That being said, they are still up there as being top 3 in my mind!

As for the 120d, all very impressive, and all so very tempting. But for me, most diesels lack the character of a proper sports car. You can't wind them open down the lanes, and there is no drama to the noise. I had a 3 series coupe m sport with the 3L inline 6 diesel and a giant turbo. The thing was putting 520nm of torque down and was amazing for about 1.5K revs per gear, but just didn't bring the same joy of winding open a big petrol engine.

Thanks all for the responses.

I have had the payout from my insurance theft claim now, so will be looking to secure a car tomorrow evening!

Appreciate the advice, and I look forward to being a part of this forum more :).

40 minutes ago, coldel said:

I would disagree on your thoughts on modded price, most are well under priced vs the total cost of build. People spend thousands then list at maybe 10% over stock price. I have to say I had the same mentality as you of wanting to mod it myself but really the process of adding a plenum, exhaust, sports cats, remap etc. wasn't actually that much fun but was massively expensive. The fun bits for me were new wheels, painting parts, polishing stuff etc.

 

The absence of LSD on JDM cars is down to the spec. If you buy a brembo brake UK car they will have LSD. A quick google turned up comments about the base JDM spec doesn't, the rest do.

Thanks for your reply.

Maybe it has just been from my experience. Most of the cars I see modded are newer than the ones I am looking at, so maybe that's why they appear to carry a premium.

I also think your comments about the mods is half true in my case. I wouldn't be doing them expecting night and day differences, but I would like the fact that I did them, but yes massively expensive for little return.

I think I will re-visit the modified car listings and give them more attention.

The below from a forum member here does interest me:

Thanks for that link. I have read that and another which is why I think what I said above, but still unsure lol :(.

I am planning to modify the car quite a bit. I have seen a few already done with the mods I want (plenum, intake, decats, Y-pipes, coil overs etc.) but in all honesty, I don't think its any funny buying one already done.

I want to start stock and have the fun of doing it over time,  although sadly watching my bank balance get rinsed mod after painfully expensive mod lol.

I would buy pre-modded if the price was right, but too many people list them as if they are worth more with the mods (i.e. £5K car with £2k mods asking for £7k... it really doesn't work like that). I think because they have invested time and effort into the car and it therefore holds a higher value to them.

Hi all,

I have been eyeing up the used car markets for a number of weeks now, gearing up to buy my first Z.

I have set a budget of £6K, with the limit of 80K miles and FSH, body condition is not my main concern, as this car will be a bit of a project and not a show pony.

My main desire is brembo brakes and LSD. From what I understand, all 350z's with Brembo brakes have a LSD, is this correct? 

I have shortlisted down to the below cars, and wondered if anyone recognises, them or just has any general input that may be of help when viewing this weekend?

This is my favorite at the moment, I have never seen a red one on the road before, and they are few and far between in my search parameters:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201711040948422?logcode=visc&fromSA=true

This is my second contender, seemingly good condition, with some nice mods but nothing too brash:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201710260677055?logcode=visc&fromSA=true

I agree Spatt.

My 135i would return 35mpg on a motorway run, and 30mpg in the week days (all a road driving).

Servicing and mainteneance was not much more than any other mid range sports car.

Whereas my e46 M3 needed new front discs and pads, coming in at around £600 in parts alone!!!

11 hours ago, pjf1985 said:

Had mine on for probably 2 years now with no issues 

Thanks, that's good to know! If I get one I want to slap decat pipes and a y pipe on ASAP!

1 hour ago, gangzoom said:

^Sorry to hear about the car, crazy these days rather than work hard to get rewarded in life so many people prefer to just turn to crime :(.

 

Hope at least insurance pays out, one thing I learnt from my recent claim a good insurance policy is worth payin for, even if cheaper policies are available.

Yeah it is a right pain. That was my goal car, something I had pined after for years and in just 4 months it was taken!

The sh*ty thing is, the current market value is approx 12K to get a like for like replacement, but the book value is around 10K for mine in mint condition, which it was.

I have been doing hella research and even contacted the financial ombudsman service (who regulate the insurers over payouts) and they say that current adverts are not viable evidence of market value, and unless the car is rare or classic, the book value pretty much is the be all and end all :(.

So I won't even be able to replace it with the payout, assuming I get top book value after fighting them on it.

Also, what do you mean about paying for good insurance? I thought with car insurance it was all pretty much the same?

That being said, not sure why they chose the Z. They are big fans of forced induction, so they are going to have to throw so much money at the Z to make it as fast as their other cars...

I have been watching them since season 1, all those years ago!

Love 99% of the content they make, and they really do put so much effort and time into their builds (super gramps, Marty's little K car thing etc.)

Up until last week I owned and daily'd a 135i M Sport Manual (Coupe). The older true twin turbo 3.0 inline 6 with 306bhp and 300ft-lb.

The car was pehnominal, and was only weeks away from going stage 2 (decat downpipes, dual cone intakes, remap) and pushing an easy 400bhp.

But it was robbed whilst I was at work, so now I am car-less and waiting for a payout so I can get a Z. 

I would 100% recommend one, the inline 6 turbo engines from BMW are a masterpiece, and it was my 2nd one! 

How did you get on with your search for a Y-Pipe?

How's the pipe holding up? I was eyeing up the JapSpeed one but hear lots of bad things about their exhaust parts...

Ouch that is a hefty bill to go TT setup! Plus the cost of forged internals!

Could go and buy a 135/335i for that and get it to 400whp with money left over to fuel the thing!

Amazing! 

I really like the alcantara and leather hybrids, reminds me of the C63 performance wheel! 

So were you able to get into the car?

Also, what was the problem? Faulty locking module?

I suspect most Testers are not going to be concerned, if the rest of the car is safe, and all modifications have been carried out properly.

I.e. if the boss kit is loose, the horn wires hanging out, the wheel rocking back and forth etc, they will throw the book at it, but if the wheel is safe and secure, they would be more lenient.

Again all depends on the tester, but all the testers I have used have common sense and an understanding of real world safety vs MOT checklist safety.

Good to know

6 minutes ago, veeg33 said:

Hello and welcome

 

Mine's currently for sale if that interest you -->

 Dan (above) has pretty much answered all your questions. Good luck with your claim.

Hi,

Thanks for the welcome.

Your car looks great, and is the color I want. Also a great write up, shows the car has been owned by a real enthusiast which is nice!

Sadly it's out of my budget, I am looking to spend around £5000 and there are quite a few on eBay, AT and GumTree in that bracket with similar age and mileage (albeit not black).