Ekona

My first test was cancelled as I was on my way to the test centre. Just one of those things, could be the examiner has broken a leg and can't get to work, or any other number of things. Look at it this way, it's more practice time.

Cyclists riding side by side are easier to overtake than when they ride one in front of the other, as your TED is halved. You give a cyclist as much space as you would a car anyway, so really it makes no difference. If the road isn't wide enough to overtake a car on, then I would agree that common sense would dictate that the cyclists do drop back into single file to let you pass, but again you have to think about whether the overtake is safe to carry out if the road is that narrow. Well if there are parked cars on either side and on coming traffic, it makes it a tad difficult. My point exactly: It's not safe to overtake anything there, be it a single cyclist or a herd of wildebeest.

Somewhere in the world, there is someone who edits the dictionary. Right now, that person is hastily re-writing the entry for 'clusterf*ck' to include a picture of that car.

http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/98450-the-official-im-going-to-le-mans-24hr-2015-thread/#entry1487276

That's my house. Or my truck, depending on what you're looking at.

Ssssshhhhh secret squirrel

Says the man with the BGW

With the Mini gone, it was time to buy a replacement. Needed to be cheap, economical, practical, and reliable with good MPG. So we went and bought this: ... which is none of those things! Well, it was cheap at least. It's a full fat Clio 182, which means it has both cup packs & the external spoilers (although this is missing the front chin spoiler as they usually get ripped off) and the suspension goodies (lower springs, better dampers, wider track). It's had the cambelt and dephaser done, the interior is very good for a Clio that's done 100K miles, with just the steering wheel grip needing a replacement. It's got a Milltek exhaust on it already which is quite nice, and the brakes have been done recently. Service history is patchy at best (well, it actually stops at 37K...) but it was so cheap, it was worth a gamble. My brother used to have one of these when they first came out, and I loved it. Massive character, lovely engine, sublime handling. I always wondered though if that was a bit of rose tinting, but it's actually better than I remember. So much grip and poise through corners, pulls beautifully, and the feedback from the chassis is amazing. Best hot hatch ever? Yeah, I reckon so. After the Mini and the abysmal torque steer - I don't get why people rave about those cars so much, they're a bloody nuisance when trying to get the power down - it's an absolute pleasure to hoon this thing around. Fun cars are fun, regardless of any preconceptions. Maybe we've bought a time bomb, or maybe we have a bargain, but it'll be a hoot finding out!

This is why I keep all my NCB letters, so even if I move to an insurer that doesn't recognise all my NCB I have proof that I do have it

Yup, ours sounded horrendous when cold and revved up to 3k. No bother otherwise, and we had it changed before we sold it.

Actually, I've been out doing proper work on site today with 300mm water mains, so it's quite possible that I am actually ill!

Cyclists riding side by side are easier to overtake than when they ride one in front of the other, as your TED is halved. You give a cyclist as much space as you would a car anyway, so really it makes no difference. If the road isn't wide enough to overtake a car on, then I would agree that common sense would dictate that the cyclists do drop back into single file to let you pass, but again you have to think about whether the overtake is safe to carry out if the road is that narrow.

If the car doesn't arrive as per the order, that's down to the supplier to fix.

F80 M3/4 is a bit of a mess at the front IMHO, the inside is nice though. However, the E46 is a design classic. Still looks great today in any version from a 320D to an M3, they really got the lines perfect on that one. Time will tell of course, but I suspect people will be wanting E46s until the day I die, whereas the F80 will soon be forgotten about.

www.carlimits.com There's a reason I've done multiple days there with Andy, and it's not because I really like grumpy Welshmen with a dry sense of humour

What wheels are they Graham?

Yup, M3 stock brakes are absolutely dire! I quite like the stock Zed brakes, but I am very light on my braking anyway so I don't think I notice it as much as others.

I've tracked both, HR coupe and SMG ragtop, both stock. M3 chassis is a mile ahead of the 350Z in terms of feedback, brakes are better on the Zed, steering a smidge to the M3, noise definitely to the M3, seating position to the Zed, gearbox 100% to the Zed!

Two accidents in one year is definitely going to affect things, but 40% does seem a smidge excessive. Tbh you should be ringing round the usual suspects come renewal time anyway, so you'll know then. Or even run a fake quote through the comparison sites, using generic Zed and not your own address, then see what the numbers come out at. You'll know what to expect then.

Oh. Ha ha then, I guess.

Change the slave AND master. Probably just the slave, but change the master as well for the same reason you do the flywheel as well as the clutch.

That's a big NOS bottle! Does it cost much to get it filled?

Proper rear coilovers? Or damper and spring as per OEM? And welcome along btw

Doesn't matter if you use wheel or hub, as long as you stick with the same measurement all the time and the same dyno place (and preferably the same operator!). Flywheel figures are a load of rubbish, no-one knows what they are as no-one removes their engine to get it tested. Anything like that is just a guess, not really worth worrying about apart from pub p*ssing contests.

Good luck with your op matey