Kuro

Ring Report: (it’s long – grab a coffee!) Hi Folks After what seems like months of planning, we finally got over to the Ring last week, and without doubt it was one of the best driving experiences so far, so much so that I thought I would bore you all to death with a ring report! From the top We opted for the Dover to Dunkirk service, which was ok if a little sparse. Dover is pretty uninteresting and the area around Dunkirk looks like the London Docklands did 20 years ago. From a Zed perspective the ramps and everything were fine, and the space aboard was good, and they weren’t over enthusiastic about cramming all of the cars together, so space around the Zed was fine. Getting out of Dunkirk was easy enough thanks to our good pal Tom-Tom. Without the Tom-Tom the trip would have been much more painful! France was over and done with in a few miles (no tolls) and Belgium was one long, boring road. Although, the ring-road presented challenges even with the tom-tom. The first thing you notice about crossing into Holland and then into Germany in the quality of road. You switch almost instantly to lovely black asphalt rather than the loud brown concrete of Belgium. You also get much better signage too! The Autobahn Oh my, what a joy to drive on. Most of the Autobahns around Koln and Koblenz were two lane carriageways, and looked a little like some parts of the A1, but better maintained and less twisty. Not all of the stretches are unlimited (derestricted sign a little like ours) so you have to be a little careful, you’ll know when they become derestricted as magically an M5 will appear from nowhere and make you look like a complete snail… As the Germans seem to have excellent lane discipline (and no truck overtaking rules!) there are plenty of opportunities to stretch the Zed, but it took me a little time to get used to the feeling. I’m fairly compliant with UK driving laws, and so getting the “I’m gonna get banned/where’s the plodâ€

Given that I'll soon be thundering down the Autobahn, I thought it would be rude not to take the Zed to warp 9 Knowing me, this will be for around 3 seconds, just enough to say "I did it!" before letting car car slow down to around the UK spped limit mark. So, are there are special things I need to remember - besides holding on tight! With the Ring in mind, I've already looked at: Tyre Pressures, Oil levels, fluids levels, etc - Basically everything that a mechanically challenged chap like me can check!

cool

Folks Given the sad man that I am, I fancy a change from the standard lighting, maybe a bit of colour would be good There are loads of festoon types on eBay, but most are LED. Given that these are different from the standard spec, can I expect any nasty shocks, i.e. warning lights a plenty or anything? Perhaps a stoopid question, but I gotta ask Oh yeah, and has anyone any idea of size? I've just taken them out and examined them for wattage, foolishly assuming there would be one size

Folks, Just a couple of things that bugged me this lunchtime, hence the post. 1) The alarm thingy (well, I presume that's what it does) is a bit wobbly, it's not come off, but there's a fair amount of play. Do these things come off, or am I better leaving it alone? 2) Secondly, the lights - how do I change the bulbs? Or rather, how does a ham-fisted oik like me NOT damge the car tring to remove bits of plastic? Pic attached for reference! Oh, and what's the black bit that's out of shot, is this the mike for the phone..?

+1 We have our trip booked from the 2nd September onwards

We'll be at the Ring Any tips from the Guru's? It's our first time Self imposed rules so far are: 1. Lap times are inconsequential and are quite out of the question 2. Everyone will be faster than me - so don't try Any others? (Besides take loads of pics!)

Hi folks Just a quickie... Although my Zed has (touch wood) never developed a substance abuse problem, I thinking that having a top up bottle of Oil for the Ring trip next month wouldn't be a bad idea Looking over my service logs, it last had service Texaco Havoline Ultra 5w40 just under 1000 miles ago. Now, here's the question... (okay, two) 1. Do I have to use exactly the same brand and type (5w40) to top up the oil? 2. Is this one synthetic? (my last one was) and can I mix the two? 3. (okay, three then ) How do I top up exactly I mean, I take off the cap, and what, just throw some in? I'm guessing I put very small amounts (like what?) in and check the level-o-meter..? Yours Dumbly... K

That sounds like you have the clicky axle syndrome in it's early stages Thanks for the info folks Sounds like the extended warranty wasn't such a bad idea after all

I've read about this, but never seemed to quite understand what the noise was. However, sometimes when I pull away I get a sound as if I've just ran over a twig with the rear of the car, like a sharp crack - not loud as such. It doesn't happen everytime either?

does the plastic just pop off?

It's near the interior light switches, just press the button thing and the holder comes down

and?

The sunglasses thing is above the rear view mirror

After owning a Zed for over two years, I noticed something for the first time the other week. The vents on the door, the round ones, you can rotate them to give the best effect, there's even a small tab to make the rotation easier It also took me a few days to discover the 'secret' document holder under the mat in the glovebox

Mine too It all started when my wife mixed up the words Nismo and Nemo, and mentioned to her parents that "he'll spend all of his time fitting Nemo bits to it, just like he did the Subaru!" Which was fine until we lost the Zed in a huge car park at RAF Fairford, which resulted in a panicked looking bloke (me) wandering around murmuring "Nemo?" just like the movie...

Thanks Slightly off topic but why do you call your Zed 'Nemo'...?

Ok, so the consensus seems to be that using stickies is ok, and the wind will not (probably) rip the plate off Ok, where do I buy these heavy duty thingies then?

Having just received my new 'euro spec' number plates in preparation for our Ring trip, what the best way to attach the front one..? I'm thinking about sticking it on, so as not to drill a hole in the Euro flag bit on the left, as this might end up looking pants Is this possible, or there a chance it may fly off on the autobahn

Ou of interest where are you staying in Cologne? (I'm thinking parking really!) We are doing a ring trip early september and we've booked a couple of nights in Koblenz, with a plan to move North over a few days.

Cant believe I never thought of that. Either you guys have very thin mobiles, or you are adept in the use of the sledgehammer

Odd question, but go with it... I'm a member (a sad one too!) of a few forums, and each seems to have it's own identity, and I'm just wondering what the basis of that identity is? Where does it come from, is it the steering group, is it the members? For me this forum represents: 1. Honesty 2. Community 3. Down to earth approach It represents a good place to be, where I think members can ask any question they like, without feeling dumb, or stupid in any way. Here's to the forum K. Waiting for an eBay auction to end, and no, I don't drink

The Cassette player? I've NEVER used mine, and for all I know it could be broken Suggestions? Can you still buy audio books on cassette tapes?

Folks, Would anyone know the size of the disc size and piston size for a Brembo setup UK Zed? A Porsche owning friend is looking at maybe using this setup if it could work Thanks!

Again I tend to try and travel light with the Zed Given that I too don't have the cargo net, stuff slides around too easily, plus there's always the chance that stuff could smack you in the head if you have a front impact collision You can however gets loads in the boot, as long as it's in flexible bags. Most suitcases seem to be a no-no, but I can get loads of shopping in it. You can get the cover to stop people seeing in, but that's only for half of the boot, so that's a bit of a pointless exercise really! The lesson is - travel light! Actually, with some effort you can get a fair bit in the spare wheel well, that's where I keep the a spare jacket, umbrella, first aid kit, torch, warning triangle, Multitools etc. Quite a lot of space really...