coldel

Saw a nice B5 S4 Quattro today... Must not go to the dark side (german rep mobiles!)

I had the 1.4 turbo supercharged Scirocco a few years back, lovely car inside, the boot size is pretty good but it has a narrow aperture to restricted by the actual physical size of stuff but it will still carry a fair bit. Back seats are very comfy and loads of room in the back for two adults which gives it that practical edge over any two seater of course. Driving position was really nice, interior high quality and the little 1.4 I had was the 180bhp version and was pretty rapid! Very good cars...

...SMD to be a mod?

Its taken him tens of thousands of posts to turn...

I remember a friend of my younger brother bought an M3 on finance for nearly 20k when he was probably earning that a year working in Pizza Hut, he got the car, parked it outside his house then next morning it was gone. And he hadn't insured it! Lease/PCP is ok to get a new car, not something I would do, but I am glad people do otherwise there would be less demand for new cars, more demand for used cars (which pushes up prices) and if there is less demand for new cars, less are built and less money for manufacturers to create new cars that no doubt in a few years I will want to buy used...etc etc.

Just for reference, SMD loves 350z's and given what I know would never take an Astra in its place he is also a sarcastic sod which is part of what endears most of us to him! I have been on quite a few car forums now, but I keep coming back here, why? Partly because there are enough guys on here to be impartial because they truely loved the zed they owned but have moved on and experienced many other cars. I think its a credit to this site that we can be more objective about other cars...just nip over to an Astra forum and see them ranting on about how their 1.7 diesel which has been remapped now has 'superb' performance and can beat anything on the road, and EVERYONE agreeing with them. I don't think I would want to be a part of that.

You are spot on GM, that Astra looks stunning

I have to say I feel the Audi's of this world are cheating the motoring world. That a normal looking family saloon can have 500bhp as standard. If its a fast car, it should look like a fast car!

As above banjo fittings are fine, they are very common and only leak if the mechanic does a shoddy job of prepping the caliper. Screw in are clearly easier and less hassle, but are they worth paying the extra $ for? I wouldn't say so and would never pay nigh on £200 or whatever they were asking last time I looked. If Clark do a screw in that are priced on par with Hel etc then give it a go, sounds like a good deal as it means easier fitting but I would suspect performance is on par with Hel etc.

The S2000 is never in the same boat as an Elise, MX5, not by some margin. For a start, it has a heater... ...seriously though, the S2000 sits very much in the Zed roadster, Z4 roadster category for me. They are higher power heavier sports cars, the Elise MX5 are small light roadsters low on power high on handling. My VX was often affectionately called a go cart, something an S2000 isn't.

I have to say, most 18s I would say you need to lower, but these look fantastic and fill the arches lovely. Good work Mr Chris Tarmac!

As much as everyone quotes 0-60s (which I thought we banned on here!) I would like to quote Jez Clarksons quotes on anything Astra/Vectra VXR "Catastrophic Understeer!" Not sure if they have sorted that out yet?

Or something like this where you enter your salary after tax and it tells you what percentile you're in: http://www.theguardi...ic:in body link That's more like it! Amazing how the media etc throw averages around as if it means anything. i.e. 7 people run the 100 metres, 3 run it in 10 seconds, 3 run it in 20 seconds and 1 in 15 seconds, the average is 15 but really it means naff all, its not the time most people will run it in. Sorry, rant done now, don't want to remind myself of that dull stats degree I did many moons ago...!

Having cast a glancing eye at some mk1 RS Focus's I remember seeing mountune, think its the equivalent of an Abbey map tune or the like.

Always find these sorts of reports so frustrating - how many people are actually, average? Hardly any. More useful are quartiles and standard deviations...huff!

Huge thread on the back of 'I raced a VXR'! I looked back on some cars owned over the last few years and there are a few Vauxhalls, didn't even realise until I thought about it. I remember years back buying a Corsa 1.4 Sxi Tdi I think it was, I loved that car. It was plucky, fun, did about 60mpg or something daft and never let me down. Even when at 5am I put petrol in it it drove about 5 miles before I had that moment of 'recall' and pulled over, it never chugged once! Then again I had a 1.8 SRi Astra on a 55 plate I think it was, thought baby was on the way (in the end it wasn't) and bought it as the sensible choice. An immaculate car but the most utterly soulless car I have ever experienced, utterly shocking interior, lifeless engine (and I now have a 1.8 Focus as the family run around which is miles better). The VX220 was sensational. On a decent run circa 45 mpg. Put your foot down and it easily kept up with the Zeds on the A/B roads (as per the drive out in Kent last year - good work Daz!). What surprised me most about this car was not the handling (which they are famous for) but its ability to brake down from 60 to almost nothing in a fraction of the time of anything else on the road. A pure raw driving machine, if you ever get the chance to own one, go for it without hesitation. That said, the chassis built by Lotus effectively...so thats cheating to say its a Vauxhall. Still have to say, the Zed is the one I miss the most! Its not really that fast in the grand scheme of things nowadays (and seriously its not worth boasting about racing in one) but it turned heads and has a real character about it. Enjoy.

Yeah I know what you mean, but I'm happy to have a peaceful time of it for now I do have a nice quad pipe exhaust so it makes a nice grumble but thats it I do like the fact that it does 50% better than the Zed on fuel, helps pay for other hobbies now! Sent from the golf club... Got the local strip joint loyalty card topped up now have you Dave

£700, you could rent stirling castle for that up here I am 23 and make bit above average and still stay with the parents...... I only pay 180 a month for the Zed and think thats ample. I could afford a lot more but then you tie yourself down and you aren't as flexible. I think you can judge how much you can afford with how mcuh money you have left with your current finance(assuming its on finance) When you moving up to Jockland? Haha I wont tell you how much I pay in rent in Richmond then, that would give you a heart attack!

Goodridge are the most expensive, although not seen any side by side reviews of them vs HKS or HEL?

Definitely do it if you can - makes the brakes feel a whole lot better and react better.

Just be wary, as I said factor in worst case scenarios for your costs of rent, so many people underestimate it. Food shopping for two people per month, probably looking at at least £250 I would have thought? Do you eat out much? We probably eat out twice a month, usually is another £120 on top for the month. It might all be divided by two - but it does add up!

I think Humpy fitted his without the braces...

Wow, £500 for rent and bills, must be out in zone 6 somewhere which is quite a small place? We own a flat in north London for instance, 1 bed, rent is £700 a month before bills. Then you have council tax (circa £100-£200 a month), water rates, leccy, gas which is another £150 a month I would say. Then the smaller stuff like TV licence, monthly travel costs to work, lunch at work, etc. Clothes top ups generally set me back £50 a month on average ie new shoes, work clothes etc. Then you start buying food...this is all before you have even stepped out the door to have a beer with your mates! I am sure there are many other costs which I have missed as well. What bank you with? Most now do a cost of living calculator which outlines all the possible bills per month and if you fill it in with a worst case scenario in mind (whereas most people are inclined to put best case) then it should give you a good idea of what your disposable income is.

Never been a fan of the Nismo lip, sticks out too far. I like the Stillen lip actually. Have you considered a splitter? Stillen do one, it bolts onto OEM and if you dont mind it being black no need to paint it either...Tarmac is your man!

You don't live in London do you ...