Emperor Ming

Hi Guys Blimey. I only put my two penny worth in. Phil. I was not and never would say that these pads are the equal of 'performance' pads. I would however say that they are within a very small margin of the standard pad. That was the point I was making. The couple of times I have had to 'use' the brakes in a vengance they have been fine. i have not yet had to do a motorway speed 'slam on the anchors' type stop yet but would hope that I don't have to. I also never did one with standard pads either so would not have a base line to compare with. Like a lot of things there are other variables. A well maintained system with fresh quality fluids will perform better than a better system with crap fluid, possibly contaminated with water. Just Mings thoughts

Sorry to resurrect a very old thread, Ming, but I was wondering how well these pads had worn. I have been considering replacing mine and have searched on the web to find a supplier. It seems that a number of them can supply a front set for about £25, but I have not come across the ABTEX ones. In fact, some sites don't specify the manufacturer at all. Where did you get yours? Do the 200SX turbo pads also match the rears? Any advice would be most welcome. Hi Jim I suppose it is horses for courses. Even though i have owned many fast/very fast cars I do not drivel ike an idiot. At times I do drive fast but progessive and safely. When the need arises I use the brakes and hard. I have suffered no fade and no problems with them but have not put them under 'track conditions'. I personally am more than happy with them and will be using them again. If you are the sort of person who uses the accellerator as an on/off switch then maybe firmer more 'sporting' pads will be better for you but for day to day useage the pads are fine. I know others will say that these pads are not suitable and i am ready to be shot down in flames here but:- If the pads and discs are of the same material and contact area then the only other variables are weight and speed. Since we are considering similar speed/pads/discs then the only difference is weight. I have not checked up on spec but I would hazzard a guess that the 350z and the 200sx are similar in weight so the pads SHOULD be the same for each car. Even if the weight is different it will only be by the weight of an average passenger. Ming the Simpletons thoughts

Just found this on ebay. Callipers look a bit cruddy but the disc's don't look to bad http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nissan-350Z-Fairl ... dZViewItem just a thought. Personally I would be loath to put second hand discs on my car unless absolutely necessary. Ming the Considered.

Afraid not, although the caliper is the same the disc is different, 200SX disc is 280mm and 350Z 296mm also the caliper is the S13 model and discs for these are 4 stud fitment. Cheers Phil It was worth a thought mate. Knowing Nissan though the discs will be the same as something else in their range as new models tend to start off as parts bin specials then develop a life of thier own as the model develops. Come replacement time i am off down my favourite automotive parts place with a disc in one hand and a tape measure in the other. Ming the Hopeful

I have had plates on most of my cars and always used to get Car Specific numbers. Then it dawned - it takes a while for us plod you know - that a personal - as in for Mr Ming plate would be better. So we got £250 all in Ming the Happy

Holy sh1t, Ming, I've heard it all now... why haven't you got flashing red/blue lights? Never thought of that LOL I need to order another one for the boot light now!! Ming hte Psychadelic

I have a non brembo jap import of the same year as yours and I changed the pads as soon as I got it. they were from a 200sx mate. that being the case look at 200sx discs before you buy anything else as it is a fair bet they will be the same. They will save you a packet if they are. Ming the hopeful

I repalced my interior light bulbs with LED ones . . . . . . . . That change colour It sounds real chavy but the colour change is slow and subdued and is in my opinion quite a good effect. It is effective when they work together and also, as is sometimes the case, when they get out of sync!! Ming the Disco Diva

Nope. Cannabis nearing cropping or just after it is cropped has a right pong to it. Take the smell of a smoked spliff, sweeten it a bit and then concentrate it by a factor of 20 and you will get an idea what a decent crop of weed smells like When i have done a raid if I leave my shoes in the hall Mrs ming knows as soon as she comes into the house its that strong. Imagine what I smell like if i have spent several hours cutting the stuff down I would hazard a guess and say that 25% of all my seizures come from a sniff test or a bit of info like 'There is a strong smell of cannabis on ******* Street.' We literally walk up and down the street 'sniffing' vents letterboxes etc to get an idea of which house it is!! We do not often fail it has to be said. Ming the blood Hound

You have to do 30 years mate and then you get the pension. I had a bit of military service in the middle so I still have 4 years 6 days 8 hrs and 54 minutes left to go! As for the pension we pay 11% of everything we earn to get it mate. Ming the Ready

Yup!! Since 1977!! God I feel old!! Ming the COP!!

Yup. Same night I banged my head I also spashed red hot oil on my arm whilst cooking Tea. Mrs Ming wanted me to do some ironing but i was frightened to get the damn thing out just in case!! Ming the clumsy I agree

If it weasn't for the fact I am so honest I would have seriously considered that LOL My back and neck still feel as if I have played international rugby non stop for a fortnight. Ming the tender

How old? What engine? I had an XK8 before the Zed and it cost me a bleedin fortune in repairs. The cam chain tensioners in all the V engines were a bit of a problem and could fail - taking out the chain and often the valves and pistons. (I was lucky it happened to me on start up and only cost my £850 9 days after I bought the car with FULL SERVICE HISTORY!!) Off the road six weeks and then 9 days after I gto it back the auto box played up. Ho Hum another £400. Body work on the XK was also not up to Japanse standard and there were several patches of rust appearing on a 1998 car. There was a patch underneath that only just passed the MOT and would have needed a fair bit of welding before the next one. this would have necessitated the inside of the car coming out!! All of the above considered it was a VERY nice drive and for the right price I would still have another Jag as they are a lot of car for your money. Get a good one and you wont regret it! Hope this helps Ming the concerned

Did a bit of a raid Saturday at another cannabis growers house. Talks our way through the front door having smelled quality skunk wafting up and down a windy street. The lady of the house straight away admits that there is cannabis being grown upstairs so my buddy goes up to have a look. Within seconds I hear the sounds of a bit of a scuffle so I dash for the stairs. At this stage I should add that it is a small middle terrace house with VERY narrow stairs. I leap them two at a time and half way up smash my head into the wooden overhang. PAINFULL !! your having a laugh!! Every vertebrae from the base of my skull to my coxsyx popped. I dropped to the floor like I had been baseball batted. I lay with my arms over my head cursing like a navvy docker with enflamed piles for about 20 seconds and then realised that my arms and legs still worked. I slowly got up to a blinding head ache and a carpet burn on my forehead. Having no hair this does look a little strange i can assure you. My mates didn't know whether to laugh or come to my assistance so they: ...... .... ........ .... ..... laughed. At least we got the cannabis. All nicely dried and ready to smoke!! Ming the sore

Changed my tyres and the noise just WENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Simple as! I have loked up the tyres on the web and they all say Bridgestones sound like the bearings have gone in the front wheels when the tread wears down! Ming the Quiet. Pro Tem Turn up the radio or REV IT MATE

Didn't neil and christine hamilton try to use this as a defence? They were caught on the m4 I think, and they didn't get away with it. I would think that the coppers would be honest enough to hold their hand up and say who was driving - is that too much to ask? You would be surprised how often the fact that the driver cannot be ascertained has resulted in a prosecution being dropped. It is up to the prosecution to prove an offence not for the defence to disprove it. I know of at least one case where a car smashed into a wall and the officer turned up to find TWO drunks. When asked who was driving both pointed to the other. No prosecution as the could not prove BEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT who was driving. As for the honesty thing I agree you would hope that they would put their hand up and do the honest thing IF THEY REALISED. Ming the Helpful

Possibly but not necessarily. They keep communications 30 days I think and then they are recorded over so it might be a time thing? Believe it or not there is often substantial periods of ime when a driver of a car doeas not make radio communications. i have been out on enquiries most of the day and other than book on I have not had a need to use the radio. Both my partner and I drove the vehicle though. Ming the HONEST

Just as a bit of info so that you can see some of the potential problems there are in identifying the driver of a vehicle several days or weeks after it was driven heres a little insode picture. Briefing is over and the drivers go to get the panda cars. Not every car is set to a beat as there are some in for service, some broken and some still out in use by the overlap shift. The driver grabs what he can and heads out to check his vehicle and fill in the log book when as he walks to his car the radio goes and sends him to an 'IMMEDIATE'. If you were the person wanting an officer immediately - burglary in progress, shoplifter stealing you handbag etc do you want that officer to stop and fill in the book, check his car, check the mileage and then come out or Just get a bleedin move on? EXACTLY The officer then does a couple more jobs and maybe about lunch time remembers to fill in the book. Whilst he is having his meal he loans the car out to an officer working another beat as he has a short enquiry to complete - ten minutes and three miles - and then after his meal his partner drives the car!. This happens to almost every panda car every day. The patrol officers ALWAYS have an enormous list of jobs to go to each time they come on duty and spend all day juggling resources to get to as many of them as they can. If during the above NORMAL shift a camera is tripped then it wolud be difficult the next day let alone several weeks later to ascertain the actual driver. Just a little insight into the hectic life of a patrol car driver. Ming the Considered (Thank god I am no longer one of the above and have the grace to investigate and go proactive)

Hi Guys I have just done 550 miles in two days in the Zed and as well as averaging just over 26 to the gallon the car has performed faultlessly. There has been a mixture of conditions including a torential downpoor and standing water and the front tyres - FEDERAL UHP - were great. Solid planted and even when I aquaplaned at over 80 they picked up as soon as the touched tarmac and apart from the noise of hitting the water you would not have known. I am more than impressed. Ming the safe

OK, but would you buy one if they cost £60k? Honest answers only please... I wouldnt, id get a segaris Is that a cheap version of the SAGARIS?? LOL Maybe its a Blackpool Import version!! Honest reply. NO WAY. If I had £60 G to spend there are other cars that I would head for straight away (Not all of them new I might add!) I paid a lot of money - TO ME - for the Zed and in my opinion it was the best in the price bracket. There is ALWAYS a better car if you have the money! TVR. No way No Way! I have driven one (4 litre Cerbera!! - 0 to 60 in 3.9 I believe) and they are BLISTERINGLY quick alright but the build quality is VERY POOR. Still might fancy an M5. (Ooops there I go again standing up for poor old BMW) Ming the Thoughtful

I agree with the last comment about looks for several reasons. Most of the time performance does not matter as the road conditions and other traffic mean that the drivers ability is far more important than the cars. (Remind me to tell you about the Skoda and the Calibra Turbo one day) So long as the car is driveable and has plenty of grunt (The Zed is both) then it will out perform most road conditions. Many a car with good PAPER stats is on the road quite un impressive and others that should not perform as they do often shine. Most of the time the car you drive is either pootling along in traffic or sat uotside your house and in both of those situations the Zed LOOKS great. Good enough reason in my book to pay a lot of money for one!! Ming the Happy

Choice 350z - even new yet to be released superchaged version with about 350 bhp or BMW M5 - with M5 button that turns out over 500bhp and makes it the BEST saloon car in the world. I love my Zed but I think I might defect if I could afford it. Just a thought. Go on Ban me LOL LOL LOL Ming the thinker

Swopped the front Bridgestones - part worn and noisy as hell - for FEDERAL's. Cheap as chips and so far a great tyre. Good grip wet and dry and NO NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did a bit of looning around in a car park the other day - because I can OK!! - and they were very predictable. So far a top replacement!! Ming the satisfied - well it is Christmas

If you have had 'cheesy poofs' over christmas you need to pick your friends better. Straight confession. I have cleaned my car twice in the last 8 days!! Failed to polish it though as it rained straight after on both occasions!! Ars* Ming the bored