Ekona

It's like me and Darren were separated at birth...

Assuming those figures are accurate, the Cayman is a second quicker to 100. That's a lifetime, and given that it's a better handling car too it's going to be substantially quicker on road, track or strip. Who cares anyway? It cost £20K more so you'd expect it to be better, and if you wanted a quicker car then go buy an old Impreza for £5K, spend £5K on go faster bits and you'll be quicker than 99% of the cars out there. The Zed is about the experience, the overall drive, not the pace.

Gen1 Cayman was a fraction lighter than that, IIRC about 30kg. The new DFi engine has a few more pumps and bits than the old M96/97 engines had, plus there was some changes to the suspension as well I believe. It does depend on the options very much though, for example if he's got the adaptive sports seats then he'll be carrying an extra 25kg over someone with the stock seats: Those things are seriously heavy. If his car has PDK, then forget about it. He will absolutely muller you. Manual may be closer due to differences in driver shifting, but assuming like for like the Cayman 'box is a tad more slick than the Zed one (I do prefer the manliness of the Zed shift though, adds personality to the car) so he should make up time there as well.

Declare every single thing that doesn't come with the base car. So yes, I would declare sat nav, up to them if they're interested or not. You should see the list I had to give my insurers last month

A fair bit. Much better chassis, MR layout, bit more power... It's a much better car all round, but you do pay for that privilege. Is it a gen1 or gen2 car?

If you can't tell any difference then you're driving very smoothly, as it doesn't kick in unless you're being incredibly ham-fisted with the controls In normal driving, it doesn't really matter if it's on or off. It can save your bacon if you're being a bit of a tit, but otherwise it doesn't do anything special to the car.

To be fair, any garage that is going to look at that and use it as an excuse to fail it for an MOT isn't one I'd use for MOTs in the first place! It does look a bit agricultural, but as long as it works for you then that's all that really matters.

Isn't there some bit in the MOT test that says how far apart the accelerator and brake pedals have to be, which is why the Nismo one only curves round at the base?

Then they should have no issues with taking it back and getting it sorted

Heel/toeing doesn't mean you have to use those parts of the foot, it's just an easier way of describing the motion rather than using left hand ball of foot to right hand ball of foot. Depending on the vehicle I use both techniques, really does just depend how the pedals are set up. In a Caterham I'd roll the ball across, but in the SV chassis of the same car I'd have to pivot and use the heel/toe due to the different pedal box. But yes, the Nismo pedal is a must-have really on the Zed, I had one in mine and loved it.

If there's no sticker inside the fuel cap, then it's definitely in the manual. Which you've read, of course.

My problem with R1 isn't the DJs as such, it's the daytime playlist: There is simply no decent music that remotely interests me on it any more, and this is why I don't listen to the radio any more full stop.

Pushing the brake pedal would be better In terms of brake wear and keeping temps under control, you will always be better burying the pedal into the floor than you will being softer with it. However, every corner and every condition will dictate a different braking technique, so as has been said there really is no correct answer. I tend to brake earlier and softer with a view to unsettling the car as little as possible which works for me, but even I'm aware that's not technically the right thing to do.

Very handy, need a bit for Jo's STi

Seems like a good idea, assuming he's finished spending money on making the car perform better. If he hasn't, then he's a c*ck.

You mean they arent the best choice of tyre? I thought everyone on here loved them - had them on mine and really didnt rate them at all, you are the first person other than me who has said anything negative I think Don't get me wrong, if I was after cheaper tyres for a Zed then the lowest I'd be prepared to go would be the VUS, however it has to be said that the feel from them is amongst the best tyres I've ever used (second only to S1 Elise Neovas) and that goes a long way towards balancing up what they lack in outright grip. Far, far better than any Falken/Toyo non-motorsport tyre.

Floor-mounted throttles can feel a bit weird to heel/toe on at first, but you do get used to it pretty quickly. 911s have always been like that, and when I had a blast in a mate's 997 T4S manual it took a good couple of changes to adjust. Obviously all the cool kids have auto 'boxes that blip the throttle for you anyway though

Vredestein got trashed too when they first came out, until people tried them and realised that the VUS were actually great in terms of feel, but still only average in terms of grip. Most budget tyres fall down on both of those, so to find one that didn't is the exception rather than the rule.

Haven't listened to R1 since the start of the year, and I'm not missing it at all. Then again, since I'm now out of their target audience group, I guess that means they're doing something right.

No issues at all, on any vehicle at the appropriate times.

Turn your telly up louder? Have you already spoke to them about the noise?

Do they do them in the right sizes for the Beetle? Sadly not. I died a little inside when I found that out. Each to their own. If the OP is happy, I'm happy. There's enough posts on here where I give my opinion, no need to add to them if the OP has already read them and decided that Neuton tyres are for him.

Tyres that grip the road? Hug the curves? Rip the miles? HOT DAMN SIGN ME UP BOYS Ahem.

Every 3k is overkill unless the car literally lives on track. Every 5k is plenty for a hard-driven car with the occasional trackday, otherwise 10k/annually will be fine.

I've done it too. You need to work out first off who pays if the thing is damaged (driver or 50/50, and then what happens if one hasn't got the cash to do it?), and what happens in case one of you wants out. Bearing in mind the cost of clams on the Elise, even a slight brush with the scenery is going to cost a bit. Just make sure you get everything in writing and signed by both parties. Wear and tear on tyres, brakes, suspension etc, all stuff to consider. Has he ever driven an Elise before? They can be a bit twitchy if you're not used to them, and that makes those car to scenery incidents a bit more likely to happen.