waltzinblack

Big thanks to Jez today for letting me come down late afternoon to pick some goodies up! Great prices and thanks for looking at my gearchange for me!

I'm starting to worry I might have this problem.. do you find it VERY stiff changing gear? I'm not sure how much mine judders coming off the throttle in first though..

Quinn Direct gave me it when I was 18... My sister even rang them up and asked 'so if I had a £60,000 Porsche and I say he can drive it, he can drive it?' And they said yes! haha. Unfortunately she only had a £10,000 TT 225 but that was mighty fun at 18 when I was allowed to borrow it! They promptly took it off my policy upon renewal though.. so no TT.. but then I bought my Zed so I didn't care, haha. They told me they only offer it to people over 21, so maybe try them??

REALLY? wow.. so ALL Zeds built still have this warranty? I wonder if they'd cover my tiny rust spot from a stone chip?

I think I'd be pretty well equipped to help out here! Dogs have always been in the family, grew up with a Border Collie, brother bought a Rottie 4 years ago who I helped bring up and who lives with me now, and I had a Dogue de Bordeaux 2 years ago who I brought up myself, who sadly passed away a few weeks ago from complications of a horrible disease First of all, if you have never owned a dog before, I wouldn't recommend getting a big dog. Medium size (Labrador, Retriever Collie etc) would probably be a better choice. I'm being somewhat of a hypocrite here, seeing as at 18 I bought myself a Mastiff who grew to be nearly 70kg.. but I was lucky that I had the experience of seeing and helping my brother's Rott grow up, and my brother being a lot older had the experience to help me too. He grew up with a Staffy, Alsation and Rott all at the same time before I was born! It's not uncommon for many people to buy a big, masculine dog for their first pet and find themselves overwhelmed though, and it never ends well for you or the dog! Having said that, if you're set on a big, masculine dog then I can't see any problems so long as you prepare yourself for it. Cost: Large dogs are a lot more expensive than small/medium ones. It's the weight that does it. They are more expensive in EVERY way. They need bigger beds, bigger bowls, MUCH more food, and any trip to the vets will be lots more expensive. Vaccinations and Injections have to be a much higher dose for the weight, using my Mastiff as an example.. he used to have about 5-6 times the amount that a smaller dog would have, leaving me with vet bills regularly in excess of £150. Insurance will also be very high (Mastiff was £500 a year, and that was with a £3000 limit...), I hardly ever went to the insurance, although if you have a limit set the premiums don't seem to increase much if you claim. Health: Large dogs are also a lot more prone to health problems than smaller dogs. Particularly with their joints. There's not much you can do about this, it's often hereditary (so check the parents for hip/elbow scoring), but they can also just get it from the stress of growing into a massive lumbering hulk of an animal. Big dogs grow MUCH faster than small ones, which puts lots of stress on their joints. It's important not to overexercise them when young (or they could be more prone to developing arthritis and hip/elbow dysplasia later on) and it's also important to keep them at the correct weight. Too much weight and impact on young, fast developing bones is not good. We took ALL these precautions, and sadly both the Rottie AND the Mastiff still ended up with elbow dysplasia. It can be treated, and the treatment is pretty successful, but is very expensive and a pain to go through. Both my dogs recovered from their elbow dysplasia and could enjoy normal lives with long, fun walks, but they still walked a bit funny.. and it usually comes back to bite them as bad arthritis in later years. Large dogs can also be more susceptible to bloat (google this!) and heart problems. And remember, big dogs being prone to more problems means they are in the vets more often requiring more extra-expensive treatment because of their size. This is why you MUST insure them!!! Claiming from pet insurance companies is a pretty painless process, the vets do most of the work for you. Whether to go for pedigree or not I can't decide. Sometimes you can get a mutt, who has dominant genes from both of his cross-breeds which means he wont get hardly any hereditary health problems. But sometimes it can go the other way. Same goes for pedigrees, I bought the Mastiff as a £1200 pedigree, and because he lacked any good dominant genes from cross-breeding, he suffered from literally every single common problem that Dogues De Bordeaux can have. (Poor little guy was ALWAYS in the vets.. skin problems, joint problems, and then a terribly cruel neuromuscular disease which ended up being too much for him ). However, sometimes you can get a pedigree who is perfect in every way and gets no problems at all. Sometimes I think it's just down to luck.. The Rottie was a £300 mutt from Tottenham, and has probably been crossed with Dobermann somewhere along the line. Apart from his elbows which he has fully recovered from, he's a perfectly healthy dog! Now, training your dog, and this goes for ANY dog large or small- SOCIALISE!!!! Socialise them with EVERYTHING. Other people, other pets, and especially other dogs. The earlier dogs are socialised the more comfortable they become around everyone, and then they won't becomes nasty or vicious later in life. Whether a dog is vicious depends entirely on how it is brought up. I had 110kg of Rottweiler and Mastiff walking around with me, the scariest looking killing machines that made everyone cross the road, but because I socialised them extensively from a young age, they were the softest, sweetest dogs you will come across! Look for puppy classes in your area, these are GREAT for socialising your dog, and the trainers will show you good ways of training your dog to walk to heel, come, sit and all the other commands. Especially good for big dogs who are usually stubborn, and you want to make sure that big dogs are well trained and don't pull on the lead, because otherwise they'll be taking YOU for a walk! Also important to make sure you're in control with a big dog. Some people say never tell them off, and only reward them for doing well, but I think it's good to have a mix of both. If you catch the dog being naughty, a quick smack on the nose and a short, sharp 'NO!' or similar doesn't do them any harm. That doesn't mean terrify them or beat them, just a little discipline, then give them extensive praise when they do the right thing. Eventually you will have a dog that loves you and respects (NOT 'fears') you and knows you are the boss. It gets to the point where you can control them just by changing your tone of voice. They won't like it when they get a smack, and sometimes you feel a little cruel about doing it, but in the end I think that a little discipline combined with praise go well to producing a well trained dog. After all, they need to know you are the master, but you still want them to love you for it! There are lots of things about dominance in dog books, which are especially important for big, male dogs who often like to think they are boss! And a final point, if you're getting a male dog, for god's sake get it neutered. For one thing it makes them less likely to become aggressive or try and be dominant (you DON'T want a fight for leadership on your hands with a big dog!), and its stops them humping everything. Also, if there is a bitch in season over the park, and your dog smells it, they will go for it. And they can get pretty aggressive if you try and interrupt them when they have 'that' on their minds. Best bet is just to get them neutered. They still retain lovely characters and keep their house guarding instincts, but unless you're breeding then you have no need for a massive dog combined with testosterone. Hope you don't die reading all that, but hope it helps!!! Another thing, if you're set on a breed - do LOTS of research on that breed, they all require slightly different things! Good luck! Even with all his health problems and hard work and costs, I loved my Mastiff more than anything, and he was truly the most wonderful animal and made me so proud. They are always worth the effort.

Thought I'd revive this thread (I successfully used the search funtction ) as I am having the same problem stated in the first post here: Once on the motorway, at speeds over 70mph the steering wheel vibrates and vibration felt through the footwell/legs. Once past 80mph, it's much worse. It gets worse as speed increases. So I got wheel balancing checked and that helped alittle. At the time, i was convinced it would be wheel balancing so i got it done again. So I went to another place and it slightly better. There is def. no brake wobble and brakes are nicely bedded in. Apart from wheel balancing, what causes vibration/poor ride? I get this vibration in exactly the same way, but I couldn't find a completely conclusive answer on this thread as to what it might be. Car was down at Abbey today for a service, but I forgot to mention this problem to them (as I'd forgotten about it, you don't often get up to 80+ on the M25 anymore!!) but noticed it on the way home. The vibration also makes the front and steering feel a little light. Service confirmed that all the tyres were more than legal and only the fronts would need changing in a few K miles, but aren't in desperate need. The car was given a lookover underneath, and the bushes were on the way out and changed for SuperPro. This made the car MUCH better over bumpy B roads, much more settled, but hasn't affected the vibration and lightness on the motorway. All tyres are RE040s, all at correct pressures and with safe amounts of tread, so I can't imagine it's the tyres. All I can think now is geometry and alignment.. saw one or two suggestions of this earlier in the thread but nothing conclusive. Could that really cause this sort of vibration and lightness at speed? Thanks for bearing with my long post and necropost

Awesome mate, will be good to see pics! Whereabouts in London are you if you don't mind me asking?

Had my Azure 350 valeted yesterday.. was sunny and it became a fly magnet.. I guess they are attracted by the shinyness and colour and think it's a flower or something. haha

What about the Toureg? It's basically just a Cayenne without the Porsche badge isn't it. And they do a 5 litre V10 Diesel which does over 20mpg and has SO MUCH TORQUE. There's also a 4.something litre V8 petrol I believe. I would GUESS that similar age and mileage they'd be cheaper than the Cayenne because they have a VW badge over a Porsche one. Again a guess.. but parts might be cheaper too?

Welcome That was the same choice I was making, definitely better to go for a Zed buddy!! The M3 is a fantastic all-round car and technically better than the Zed in so many ways (nicer interior, faster, 5 seats) but the Zed is SO much more special to look at, to listen to and to be inside when you're driving. And I've seen countless E46s since I bought the Zed, they are too common and too boring, I don't regret the decision one bit and I'm sure you will realise you made the right one too! Good luck finding one, I'm sure you'll come across the perfect example soon enough

WOW. Stunning, stunning car. Beautifully shiny! And has convinced me that I HAVE to get some LMGT4s now! Enjoy it mate!

I was the Azure coupe you gave the little wave to, I smiled back but don't know if you could see I love how friendly Zed owners are!

Well I always find myself sliding about if I take a corner quickly in the full leather coupe ones.. maybe it's just me being a skinny lightweight guy I get flung about easily, haha

Wow , I might think about changing then... and I bet that vented fabric grips you a little better in the seat than the leather does when you go round corners.. am I right?

Hmm.. I really like the roadster ones too, they look more special even if they arent full leather. I'm assuming you can't have heated seats with them though?

Excuse me if this is a bit of a noob question.. But what's the difference between these: And these: They seem such different styles? Is it only the roadsters that get the first ones? I kind of prefer them, but was only ever aware of the existence of the bottom ones...

Bluetooth adapter sourced..

+1 I know EXACTLY how you feel

Looking ONLY for genuine parts please, no cheap ebay copies. S2000 stubby aerial (I believe the Civic ones also fit?) Nissan 350Z Bluetooth Adapter PM for fastest response! Cheers

Maybe you should all respray your in Azure I get nothing but good comments! My indy mechanics called it beautiful and said it was an awesome car (and one of them owns a 911..), the bodyshop guys that resprayed it said it was the most beautiful car and colour combo they've ever done (and they had Rod Stewart's old AC Cobra in there). My friend told me it was probably the best looking car you could buy for the money, all the girls I know (win!) think it's amazing and pretty, and a lot of people like to have a gaze as you are parking up or rolling past. Had a good few 'nice car mate' comments in petrol stations too. I think on the whole, most people think it's a much better car than it is. Because it's a competitor to the Cayman/Z4 etc, they hold it in the same esteem as those cars. Nissan made ENOUGH of an effort with the interior for it to be considered a 'nice' car as opposed to the cheap lump of Japanese plastic which it really is, haha. What's funny is random male reactions on the street, a girl I know described it perfectly. She mentioned how all the men on the side of the road (builders/roadworkers/peds) all turned their heads when they heard it or got a glance, but they always looked away slightly and tried to pretend they werent looking because men hate to show other men that they are jealous of what they have It's a shame you've had negative and horrible reactions to you driving the Zed Rabbit, usually I only get anger on the roads when I shout at someone for cutting me up and them being the t*** that they are usually argue back even if they were in the wrong. I've learnt to keep my cool on the roads now, one incident with a massive black guy with huge neck rolls stopping and getting out of his Audi was enough to scare me out of road rage in the future!! (To be fair to him it WAS my fault that time )

Hahah.. well fair enough if you dont rate him but I think equating him with Upson is a bit harsh!

Samba? I'm pretty sure he's after a move to a bigger club, and he's one hell of a beast. I thought he wasn't even getting played at the moment because he wants to move.. Him + Vermaelen would be good I reckon. Samba has been doing well in the PL for a looonngggg time. Would be no good without someone decent to replace Sagna and Clichy though. Sagna is just terrible in so many ways. By the way.. have a watch of this, the guy's voice is quite annoying, but the verses are awesome and the way he gets the line so close to the original song is brilliant!

Wenger has lost the plot, and he has absolutely no idea how to coordinate a defence. (Do we even have a defence coach anymore? Personally I think he just sits them down in front of one of those plastic free kick walls with 'defence coach' written on it...) He still has a knack of buying young attacking talent, but when you are useless at the back it's no good! You can score 4 against Newcastle, but then Newcastle can just score 4 back, so what use is the attacking talent? You've got to remember, the glory days came not only as a result of the attacking players and football style that Wenger brought, but also because he had the famous back four behind him. Once we lost Martin Keown that was it. Campbell was the last defender we had that could actually control and coordinate the defence properly. After Keown, Wenger has shown clearly that he has no idea about defensive football. And trying to outscore the other team doesn't work with a s*** defence. Even Barca know that they need to spend money to stay solid at the back, even if they can go forward and score 10 goals. Now, he's TRIED to bring in good defenders, but he still refuses to buy any players with any experience because of his ridiculous age policy. For a defender to have adequate experience to solidify the Arsenal back four, you need someone over or nearly 30 who has played in a top league for a while. And THEN you need a good defence coach and manager who knows how to organise them properly. Wenger tried.. although Vermaelen and Koscielny weren't exactly as experienced as we really need.. Squillaci is, but I don't think he was ever good enough to be an Arsenal centre back. Don't even mention sodding Djourou. Liverpool have got Carragher, United have Ferdinand and Chelsea have Terry. Arsenal have those 4 clowns... If you don't want to hate on Wenger (even though it's surely his stubborn fault, the board would be happy to spend on certain players..) then it MUST be the backroom staff. I mean who the hell is Boro Primorac? Maybe when Dennis Bergkamp is finished at Ajax he can come and help out Arsenal till I die though. I would LOVE to see us being successful again, but I'd still support us even if we were in the Ryman League. United fans make me laugh.. don't think I've ever met one who actually has any connection to Manchester! What's also funny is how Spurs and Arsenal are basically the same teams with exactly the same problems these days.

That would be really interesting if we could find a way to get it working on our Zeds..

Any update on this from anyone? I noticed my noise again today, would like to find an answer