evest

Hi mate, I'm an air traffiker (military so I don't know loads about civil routes though) - I think those aircraft are probably flying over the ash cloud as they will already be at a safe (presumably) altitude as they enter UK airspace, whereas our aircraft would have to climb and descend through the affected areas, so still can't go. I think a very few flights are now operating from Edinburgh. I'm clearly out of work at the moment... will clean the Zed again

Hi mate, have you seen this for the bulge bonnet? viewtopic.php?f=38&t=35294&start=0

You're welcome mate. Let us know how you get on

Hi mate, I've been into martial arts for about 15 years and have covered karate, kickboxing, thai boxing and little bits and bobs of other stuff. So I'm mainly into the upright striking types rather than grappling/wrestling. I currently run a kickboxing club (Amesbury, Wiltshire - you near here?) and would recommend it for a really good workout and some simple self defence. Depending where you train, with kickboxing/thai boxing you would learn punching, kicking, knee and elbow techniques, and how to fight in a ring. Most clubs incorporate self defence training as well. Karate is a very popular. It has a strong organisational backing and very structured training, as well as all kinds of strikes and blocks, you will also learn to use fighting spirit 'Kime' and how to focus your energy (well you will in a good club!). Many clubs also teach using Japanese terminology which is interesting to learn - as it the history of Karate. There are various styles of Karate so you might find different clubs have quite different ways of training. Other martial arts such as judo, ju jitsu, aikido, focus more on holds and using pressure and momentum to beat an opponent. I haven't trained in these personally so don't know as much about them. Mixed martial arts (MMA) is becoming very popular in which you basically learn a bit of everything!! This will give you all round fighting ability - good for self defence as most street fights end up on the floor within the first 30 seconds. There is a less well know one called Krav Maga - developed by Israeli special forces which is based solely on 'real' fighting - this isn't really a sport. In this you will learn how to defend yourself very aggressively and how to escape from trouble in shortest time possible. These are just a few - there are many others, and different styles in most. In terms of self defence, each style has its pros and cons - but when the time come for a real fight, its 99% mental anyway! The thing that will help you most is sparring - this is practise fighting which will give you some exposure to being hit and also how to hit somebody else. Repeated training of this kind will increase your confidence and reactions, and help you control your adrenaline. It really depends on what you want mate - but the biggest advice I can give is you to try different clubs. Find the one you really like before committing to it. Unfortunately there are cowboys out there and some big egos so try to find one that comes recommended. Also - don't necessarily go with the cheapest club either - some of the dearer ones aren't necessarily there to rip you off - they might just be offering a higher quality of training. Hope you find what you want - I'm happy to help with any questions the best I can.

I understand what you are saying and totally respect your personal preference, and definitely agree that the Zed is special! But you raise the importance of the service history: high for Zed/low for your other cars - what I don't understand is why a dealership service history might be considered to be better/more saleable than an independent or mixed service history (I understand that for lower mileage/newer cars then you have to go to Nissan). I can appreciate that Nissan might be more familiar with the car in general - but since a service is just that - fairly basic maintenance (for a mechanic that is, I couldn't do it all either ) any qualified mechanic should fine to carry out this work. It just grieves me to think that an independent stamp in the book might become a point of haggle with potential buyers when the time comes...

I realise that a full dealership service history can be something of a selling point - but I'm becoming increasingly of the opinion that this phenomenon was probably started by the dealers themselves. If I ever sell my beloved Zed , and the prospective buyer complained that the service history wasn't all by Nissan - I'd simply ask them to justify exactly why that was a problem. And if they gave me any lame wafflings about genuine Nissan part etc etc - then I think I'd simply laugh and send them on their way. How many people on here have self installed aftermarket parts on their car - so when it comes to a service, why insist on Nissan? I'm not suggesting for a minute that all dealerships are bad or that all independents are great - you can't really generalise like that, but you should be able to say to somebody - this car has always been serviced at a sound garage which knows the car and has good credentials, dealership or not. But if somebody can show me some consistent evidence (not including individual horror stories, no doubt from both sides of this) that independent garages are less competent than mainstream dealers, or that independently serviced cars are any less mechanically sound than dealership serviced ones - then I'll definitely shut my big mouth. Harrumph!

Nailed it off the blocks from the Park Lane temporary traffic lights outside Farmers Arms car park on Friday night. Hope you werent as as me!

You'd think the sky would be resembling the last days of Pompeii! All UK airspace was cleared by about noon - I watched it on live radar. Kinda spooky actually... Although looking out from the control tower today - it's Harry Ginners out there; I'm sure lots of stranded holiday makers will be looking up thinking WTF are they on about??!! Ah well, no air traffic = no air traffic control = p.m. off work! WHOO HOO!!!!!

I think she likes it! I hope she doesn't get a Zed - I've seen what she's done to her Bentley...

Welcome mate, nice car history - awesome time of year to buy a Zed! Happy driving!

Love it! Looks like a Zed ninja! Why not take the Nissan burger off the front and whack a batman badge on it! Looks like something he would drive! Top job - definitely a head turner.

Really sort to hear this mate - some right little ar$eholes out there! Really depends how deep the scratch is - I'm guessing if it's a keying, yours will be way too deep to polish out and will probably need to be done professionally. What colour is your Zed? Solid colours are easier to paint match than metallic. Are you able to post up a pic? A good bodyshop should be able to sort it out mate. Good luck.

Opie Oils do some pretty good discounts for members - personally I get the Fuchs Silkolene 5W-30, but there's plenty of choice. It might be worth checking with Nissan how much your price would come down if you supply your own oil and filter; compare this to the price of getting your own. The Zed needs about 6 litres for an oil change - Opie do a service pack which includes 5 litres of oil, oil filter and an extra 'top up' litre - price varies depending what oil you want. That said, I think most dealers get their oils much cheaper by bulk buying, for obvious reasons. You probably won't save loads of money by getting your own oil - but I know a lot of owners value having the choice of products. Good luck

Hi mate, I used Admiral for my first year with the Zed, but have now moved to Adrian Flux - they specialise more in performance cars and were able to beat Admiral's quote by nearly £100 - including modification cover! That said, I never had any problems with Admiral - good service. Worth trying Adrian Flux though. Hope this helps

I'm guessing the warranty thing is probably a blanket protection against their products being combined with other brands which they can't guarantee. Or, more cynically, maybe it's to encourage people to buy a matching brand flywheel... I think he was trying to suggest that there is no point buying a higher performance flywheel if the rest of the car hasn't been upgraded in kind. Whilst I see what he means, not many of us can afford to upgrade a whole car in one go, so gotta start somewhere! Anyhow, I have bought the kit and it's not making my Zed any better in the boxes! Thanks for your input

I'm thinking maybe a fine mesh gauze to pre filter any substantial debris, then perhaps I could fashion a 'windsock' out of something suitably robust (and heatproof!) to the inner snorkel

Thanks guys, Might look into the nostril for direct cold air, although would you end up getting a fair bit of crap distributed into the engine bay? Do they include a gauze/mesh inner to filter out all the flies/leaves etc...? I have been looking at cooling panels - are these things effective or more of a dress-up item? That said, I very drawn to the new forum slam panels!

Looking very nice mate I'm considering getting spacers, they really give the Zed a more pronounced stance! New head unit on the list too - how's that Pioneer?

Yeah he was very helpful when I was making the decision to buy it; answered all my newbie type questions - really quick delivery too! He also said the only real side effect was the extra idle noise you mention. It was just the suggestion of extra torque being applied to a clutch not rated for it that alerted me - but now I'm thinking surely this only becomes a problem if you're hooning it. If the collective experience of drivers running this combo on here states that there isn't an issue, then I'm happy to take that on balance. Maybe the Exedy guy was angling for me to buy an uprated clutch from him! Perhaps I'm just a bit 'spooked' prior to an expensive installation. Cheers

I bought the flywheel from that very man! Although it was a while ago now, last year in fact; only just getting round to installing the parts. He did explain the characteristics of the Fidanza once installed, which sounded good and I know a lot of members love theirs - just having second thoughts now after my conversation with Exedy.

Hi folks, I know clutch and flywheel has been discussed on here loads and I have read them, but please bear with me - I just got off the phone to Exedy with the following info, leaving me with some decisions to make, and I'd appreciate your help. I have bought a standard Exedy clutch from a supplier on Ebay (who I have learnt Exedy will no longer deal with over trading disputes). Maybe a schoolboy error, however Exedy have confirmed the part numbers so looks like I got away with it - although the clutch is not covered by Exedy due to its being purchased on Ebay. Not a problem - that was my choice. Going off some of the reviews and opinions on here, I decided to buy a Fidanza flywheel to go with the clutch. However, whilst chatting over the flywheel/clutch with the Exedy rep, he questioned my decision to install a lightened flywheel alongside a standard clutch which isn't designed for it. In addition he asked, since my car is otherwise unmodified (to any significant power degree) what's the point in a lightened flywheel? He suggested that the Fidanza flywheel will expose the standard Exedy clutch to a higher degree of torque from the engine than it was designed for, unnecessarily increasing the wear on the clutch and for the sake of hardly noticeable performance gains. If installing the Fidanza then I should choose a higher performance clutch, or get a standard flywheel - seemed logical. In addition, he stated that even if my clutch had been under warranty, this would be immediately void if used with a non-standard flywheel. Have I been stupid to buy the Fidanza?

I appreciate the info mate, cheers! I'll see how I get on; to be honest I was looking for a pleasing sound and a bit of dress up for the engine bay. Which probably makes me a tart! I had thought about the heat soak and sadly the Takeda doesn't come with a heat shield or box. That said, my intention is to look into adapting an existing model to fit, or fabricating something myself. Although I suppose that would make it simply a posh airbox...

Now you tell me! Why is that, and is it a significant loss in comparison to other systems?

Thanks for the input guys! I guess nobody has either - well anyway, decision made: the Takeda is INBOUND! (apparently Fujita are not doing so well these days) I'll post up pics and clips in due course...