Ekona

Assuming the car weights were the same, and the power levels were the same, then yes the M3 would be quicker. It's the chassis that will do it, and in terms of feel the E46 is one of the best and most neutral cars I've ever driven (and given how bloody good the Z33 is, that's high praise!). It's likely the driver in front of you was crap, but then you also don't know how hard he was pushing or whether the car was 100% or level of experience etc. I refer back to the video I posted some years back of me in an MR2 all over the arse of a 360 at Anglesey: Now there's no way that's down to the car, it's got to be down to the driver. Trackdays are a terrible way of comparing cars unless you're willing to swap keys with someone else to do back to back runs. And that S54 is one of the all-time great engines. The DE (or even HR) cannot get anywhere close to it, it's like comparing a filet mignon with a Big Mac. Keep everything the same including drivers, track, day, weather etc and the E46 M3 will be quicker. More enjoyable? Perhaps, certainly I think so but there's an awfully good case for the 350Z to be equally or more so. I personally wouldn't buy an E46 over a 350Z, but I won't argue it's the better car.

They all look the same anyway

It’s really not. Better is better, regardless. Especially now both cars are very affordable...

You do realise that those Best Motoring vids are the equivalent of a Top Gear challenge? You say say you’ve sat behind an M3, have you never driven one? It’s dangerousiy close to perfection for the money, only the brakes let it down. The chassis control is sublime. Honestly, I love the 350 but the M3 is better in every way outside of looks.

In every measurable way, they are. Better chassis, better engine, better gearbox, faster point to point and round corners, higher quality parts etc. You our may not prefer it personally because generic BMW, but it’s the better car.

Do what you want, it’s your car. You must have a preference!

Definitely not! Ten years is the absolute maximum, personally I wouldn’t even get that close.

Shock news, 100 Jap car fans in the UK don’t buy an M3 I very much doubt the minuscule amount the 350 bought in had anything to do with bringing the GTR back, bearing in mind how long cars take to design and when the prototypes were first shown.

Wouldn't even bother getting the torque wrench out for that wheel nuts yes, engine bits yes, pretty much everything else no. Either it goes FT, or just enough. For the W brace, I'd be going to FT spec.

That should be true, however some manufacturers went off piste and starting putting either colour in their mixture regardless of whether it was IAT or OAT, which was spectacularly unhelpful! Best thing really is to always flush fully unless you know exactly what's in there, as you say Glen.

I'm guessing for a better selection of tyres to pick from.

Risk with re-oiling (if indeed they are an oiled filter, don’t do that with a dry one!) is that you can accidentally over-oil and then wreck your MAF/s, which then gets significantly more expensive. A filter is a consumable after all, that’s why I treat them as such.

If you want to know whether a car will rise or fall in value, just wait until after I’ve bought one. That’s when values seem to drop, every single time The 350 was a return to form after the slightly damp squib of the 300, and was rightly heralded and loved by everyone when it came out. It was cool, honest, brash and cheap enough to be desirable. The 370 came out and was the wrong car at the wrong time, and whilst it has many good things about it I suspect that rose tinted spectacles won’t be half as kind to it in the minds of most outside of this forum.

I’d replace annually personally, just like I would with any OEM filter. If they’re dirty they’re dirty, so bin them and get a fresh set in. Bearing in mind what they do, one that isn’t functioning is either robbing you of power or letting crap into your engine, neither of which is really wanted

Drain, flush, refill. If you flush properly you’ll get everything out anyway.

So there’s people who have just learnt to drive who weren’t born when the 350 came out??!! Wow. I feel old now.

That sounds dreadful. The odd burble or pop is lovely, but that sounds as fake and nonsensical as the map Jag put on the F-Types. Sorry man, not a fan of the noise there at all. Love the gfx on the side though, they're absolutely perfect to liven the exterior of the car up, seriously

I quite like the stripe...

If they have a film on, then 99% sure yes. The vast majority of manufacturers supply their cars with the maximum tint on these days already, so anything over that is going to be illegal.

Well silly question then: Is there a film on them? If they’re OEM tinted then I’d strongly suspect they’re legal, if there’s any kind of of film on there then 99% they’d be illegal.

If you only have one intake, then it will fit. For clarity, you do, so it will

Totally get what you mean about being considerate of someone else's car, but as long as you give it time to warm up (and the flat sixes do take a while to get oil temp up in fairness) then it comes down to the fact it's your money you're spending, so by all means test the product properly. You can always get the other person to drive the car first, so they they only hand it over when they're happy it's all warm and ready to go

Having driven the 2.7 without the IMS issue (one of the few modern Porsche engines I don’t actually know the code number for off hand ), albeit in a Boxster rather than Cayman, I tend to agree with you. I preferred the older engine, it seemed a bit more lively, but then the new 2.7 was the only 9x7.2 lump NOT to get direct injection, which I’m guessing is what makes for a radically different feel. Is it slow? No. It is a very different engine to the V6 in the Zed though, and yes you absolutely do have to rev it to make the most of it. The beauty of the Cayman is the chassis though, and how deft the car can feel under you. The 2.7 just needs a different driving style, but after having driven an mx5 for the last couple of months with much less power, I can promise you that the 2.7 is far more capable of overtaking Work the engine and gearbox a bit more, don’t be afraid to use all the revs all the time. Shifting down to where the revs are at 4000rpm is a pleasure, not a chore As an aside, in terms of running costs my 997.2 was cheaper to run than my Zed was, and likewise the 987.2 Cayman R my brother has after his Zed was the same.

I’d take it with an ocean full of salt

Try asking Nissan themselves, but I very much doubt you’ll either get an answer from them nor anyone else here if I’m honest. I’d have a guess at the answer being ‘lots’.