Ekona

It was arranged via Porsche, I suspect the actual insurer is the VAG group though unless they sub it out to someone else.

No chance. If it was an STi model then I'd seriously consider it, but for a WRX? Nope, they're just not quick enough to be exciting I'm afraid.

I have it on the 911, along with alloy wheel damage. Think it was £300 all in for that, includes 5 tyres and 5 wheel repairs over 3 years. Given how a single tyre is over £300 and all my wheels are diamond-cut lips, it seemed a no-brainer to me. Haven't had cause to claim yet, but I've got one tiny chip on one alloy that will get claimed for just before the policy expires, along with anything else that needs doing.

Well, I say early, but what I really mean is before you hit the 1.6mm legal limit. I'd not seen the following video before until today, where it was posted on PH following a question from a Boxster owner as to why his car was a bit tail happy with his tyres sitting at said legal limit... Illustrates perfectly just how much extra grip you can lose under braking whilst still having legal tyres. I changed my rears today as they were just under an average of 3mm across the width of the tyre, and already I've noticed more grip and more feel despite them still having the release agent on. I've had a few 'moments' in the last few weeks with the back end getting increasingly mobile under power, culminating in a four wheel drift across multiple lanes when entering a dual carriageway from a roundabout, which was interesting to say the least. Perhaps worth considering changing tyres a bit earlier than you normally would? Is it worth saving a hundred quid or so when you can see the difference in grip levels very plainly illustrated? And don't even get me started on how those differences would be compared between a 452 with 1.6mm and a MPSS with brand new tread...!

You sure?! That would make the MPSS the absolute no brain bargain of the century if they're now that cheap! You do mean the inferior PS3 and not the PS2, right?

I do believe it was you Stew! Really is good stuff, can't wait to use it again this year.

I'm in far greater need than schoolkids. They can get to the back of the queue! I donate my old mags that I don't collect to Jo to take into school for the kids, so they end up with good-as-new copies of Car, Focus and Edge subscriber copies before they actually hit the shops. The only ones I keep are Evo (despite preferring Car as a mag), Total 911 and the PCGB club mag.

Absolutely. De-badge or don't bother, mine went all tarnished and I ended up going back to the originals.

Pah, I do x 2.75 just to make myself look super-awesome! I really want to get my car on a dyno at some point, but because of the silly gearbox I can only use certain dynos (4WD ones that are mechanically linked).

No swirls yet?! It's a black car man, you're clearly not looking hard enough! I don't really get on with LPL very well, I actually prefer something a bit heavier like Megs Scratch-X if you're doing it by hand. LPL works okay on a machine, but even then I struggle to get any decent results with it. Might just be me to be fair. If you really want an awesome product, get some Blackfire Wet Diamond. It was recommended to me by someone on here and I've not looked back since using it, it's stunning.

If they're in good nick I don't mind giving you a few quid for them, although to be honest I do have a fair few years already so would need to check on exactly which ones I'd be interested in. If you could find out the dates of them then I'm sure we could work something out.

If you want shot I'll take them, happy to collect as well

I had no idea this thread had turned into a "I want my car to be quicker than an M3 innit" type of thread else I'd have been here pages ago, we haven't had one for ages and I do enjoy them so very much As has already been said though, enjoy the Zed for what it is and don't try and make it into something it isn't as you'll end up disappointed. It's a cracking car that deserves to stand on its own two feet

This x 1000000000 Numbers alone are just a p*ssing contest with your mates down the pub, the important thing is the difference between the start figure and the end figure, wherever in the rev range you want to look.

Yup, I've got a bottle indoors. It's more of a filler to be used when you don't have time or can't be arsed to correct the paint, and it is pretty good at doing that I have to say, however a weekend of elbow grease with a DA will produce far better results than a few goes of Black Hole ever will, and you'll also not need to rely on fillers again.

I've only ever needed front fogs precisely once in my entire driving career. That's how almost entirely useless they are. Ford irritate me,as their vehicles insist on putting the front fogs on the rocker switch before the rear fogs, so you either have them both on or you have to flash the fronts to get the rears on. Ford need shooting over this, it's utterly retarded.

Just because they're with the same supplier, doesn't mean it's the same tariff. Definitely check that out first, and what their bills say they're paying per unit. I never pre-pay my bills as I'd rather have the money sitting in my bank than theirs. It's a chore, but reading my own meter and paying it monthly for exactly what I've used makes things a lot more straightforward.

Has it only been a year?

That's either not legit, or you'll still need to prove you're a student before purchasing. I couldn't be arsed to register to complete the checkout process to find out, though. If you're a company that needs it then cough up and pay the fee.

There are many places you can get it for much less, but of course no-one can show you those and if you're going to be using it in a business capacity, I wouldn't even dream of obtaining a copy that way either. The £800 or less referred to is probably the discount applied to educational purchasers such as students and teachers. My other half purchased the entire PS CS4 suite for about £155 a couple of years ago now. It's not like the S&T version of MS Office though, you actually have to show proof and set up an account with Adobe to purchase this way.

I had a VXR220 so I feel your pain. The Zed isn't quite as bad, but the bluff end doesn't really help matters too much sadly and it can get quite irritating if you want it to be perfect.

They should be, I totally agree with you. It's hard to see if rolling I guess, and it's more complicated paperwork to prove a misuse of the Construction And Use regs than it is to nick someone for speeding. /assumption

I didn't realise you had a question, if you'd like to re-phrase it I'll try my best to answer. Do you NEED decent tyres on the road? No, you only NEED legal ones, so a set of Ditchfinders would do on any vehicle. A statement of need is not the point I'm trying to make, it's about promoting why a better tyre is a better choice for any application for a multitude of reasons. Of course if you're going faster there's a risk of a bigger accident, but I'm not talking about driving balls to the wall everywhere. It's not about speed alone, it's about control. I would also guess that Intel also spent billions more on their current multi-core CPU range than AMD have on theirs, and they have a much, much better product. What's your point? I didn't say it was an exact science, and if I have to point out again that my numbers were made up off the top of my head I may just explode, my point was that overall as a rule the bigger manufacturers make better tyres. Every now and then there's an exception, but it's very rare. It's the same in any field, not just tyres. Vacuum cleaners, ballpoint pens, mobile phones: The best ones are the ones made by big companies, are they not?

No, because I wouldn't put rubber like that on a 911, warranty issues aside. If you mean did I have them on my 350Z, the answer is still no because of the reasons I mentioned in my first post. If you actually mean do I have any experience of using those tyres on the Zed, then yes I do as my brother ran both tyres on his Zed. Sorry, didn't mean to cut off all your post but I didn't want to quote too much text to keep the thread legible. All good points, but if I could respond to the direct point I've quoted: A tyre like the RE050A would still be better for a long commute as the road noise is far less than the 452, and it's also a harder compound so will last longer and you'll get more miles out of them before needing to change. I'm not convinced that any argument about being able to go faster in wet or icy conditions just because you have better tyres is realistic as you should always drive to the conditions regardless, and if something were to go wrong through no fault of your own surely you'd want the best tyres available to give you the most grip to get yourself out of it? I have to admit that I enjoy driving in wet conditions more than in the dry due to the lower grip levels allowing exploration of the limits at lower speeds, but again it's all about making sure that I'm still well inside the limits of both my own skill and that of the vehicle I'm driving. It's a fair comment that my budget does allow me to run better rubber than a smaller one, but I still used to put the MPS on the Zed because it was worth the difference. I also used to run A048 on the VXR220 before that, and as soon as the MPSS become Porsche-approved I'll jump ship from the RE050As and get those because the benefits far outweigh the cost. We're also talking about Zed owners who will spend £2000 on posh wheels but wrap them in cheap rubber, so it's not like the budget isn't there to spend if they so choose. Of course it's all down to how the individual wants to prioritise their budget, and they're absolutely entitled to do so, I'm just offering an alternative opinion on why I think it's a false economy. Thanks for the comments though Daryl, it's exactly that kind of debate I was hoping this thread would start.

And that makes our opinions less valid than yours how? I think I've actually been pretty fair in my comments on this thread, pointing out that the figures quoted are not the norm and that you need to look at the overall picture on benefits, yet I'm still very much of the mindset that it's still far too much money to be giving to people who do have a choice. To state that some people aren't worth listening to because they only see the worst in everything is a bit pot, kettle, black if you're only prepared to listen to the tree-hugging, sympathy-giving left wing madness that's crippled this country in the last 10-15 years. OH SNAP see what I did there? Some people are fully capable of understanding all the facts involved and still being able to form an educated opinion of their own regardless of what sensationalist media throws at them. With regards to people feeling bad if they have to use vouchers instead of money, so what? For those that are there through no fault of their own then they have nothing to feel bad about, and for those that are just work-shy then they deserve to feel like losers. For all those families that keep breeding despite not having the money for it, TAKE THE KIDS OFF THEM AND GIVE THEM TO A FAMILY WHO WANT KIDS BUT FOR MEDICAL REASONS CAN'T. Sod all this b*llocks about keeping blood family together, blood isn't what makes a family a family, it's the close bond you share as people grow up together. I have zero blood relation to any of my family as I'm adopted, which granted gives me a unique view on the situation, but I'd rather be brought up by people who have been through numerous tests (both psychological and means) to prove they can be fit parents than some filthy chav scum who breed simply because they have nothing better to do. I couldn't care less if I get accused of being a right-wing evil-doer, as I'd rather than that spend the rest of my life paying money out of my own pocket to give straight to life's losers who can't see further than the Sky remote perched neatly on their engorged bellies whilst their seventeen children run wildly round their feet. /and breathe