coldel

Might look ok'ish if you powder coat them black or something but yeah in my opinion pretty awful - but then again the only opinion that counts is yours as its your money!

Yes - usual process is to increase the air flow as best as possible ie velocity stack in the airbox, plenum spacer, sports cats, exhaust then apply the remap - if you do the map first you then change anything substantial you need to pay for extra dyno time to tweak it. Do read the various threads, bear in mind all that will cost you circa £2k and you will probably gain around 15bhp - the remap is more about the drivability of the car than any big power gains.

I think the restriction is to something like 110? In any case if you are going to be modifying the engine you will be looking for the remap at one of the various specialists (Abbey etc) which will remove the limiter, if indeed it is still there.

The clicking could be the good old clicking CV joint problem. Have a searchy on here before you pay out good money on parts, it can be fixed with a simple re-grease. Ekona 'has views' on many things but tyres are something he enjoys talking about - drop him a PM if you like but there are many threads discussing them also on here. The general concensus seems to be get matching tyres all round, although RE040 Bridges are not the best tyre in the world, how much you got left on the fronts? Might be worth doing all 4 at the same time if you have the budget - top tyres are SuperSports it seems although a lot of people go for Falken or Vreds. Otherwise Alex is good for all your Nissan parts and will save you a packet over any Nissan dealership. Whereabouts are you located? There is a meet at the Grasshopper in Westerham (near Gatwick) in a couple of weeks, come along and sure the lads will take a look at any rattles and noises.

I agree and I would add cyclists to that when you're talking about central London. I work on the Strand and the number of times I've seen them put themselves and other people in danger is incredible. As for the div in the video I agree with one of the earlier posts that it looks like he might have thought he could go between the trucks and then realised he couldn't. Muppet. London is just a relatively small place given the number of people living there with small roads for all the forms of transport. Cycles, Bikers, Cars, Buses, Lorries, Vans they are all there trying to share that same 10ft wide bit of road. As much as cyclists want to go for every gap because they think its their prerogative to overtake in traffic, cars do also think on roads where it open up a bit they have to get back past. All that said, having been both in the saddle and in the seat, cyclists are definitely more in number in utterly shocking road use. From ridiculous attempts to undertake (I am turning left at a roundabout at Richmond bridge the other day and a cyclist tried to cut up the inside of me and go straight over instead of just waiting. All they way up to plain ignorance like on Priory Lane in Roehampton where the council went to great lengths and expense to build a cycle lane on the pavement, so taking space away from pedestrians, only for cyclists to completely ignore it and still cycle in the road at 15mph up the hill because they all have their yellow jerseys on with Sky written on them or something thinking they are Tour de France entrants.

You got too much money to burn Ian!

Did well to swerve it - enjoy the Merc!

What an utter clown

When I bought my car I drove it 200 miles home in the dark, got home at just gone 11pm and it was great

I often find that roadsters, that were not originally built as roadsters, but are coupes converted in the whole are not that pleasing on the eye. In terms of driving with the top down in winter, its less of a showing off thing and more of an enjoying the drive thing. I have driven with the top down on a cold day not to show off but to just enjoy the head room, the experience of having open sky above you as you shift along the road - it really adds to the experience, its not about showing off.

I flitted with SELOC for a while but drifted away once I got this, should re-engage really as so much of the info is transferable. Yes my bad - 66 VXRs!

I think there is a video on page 1 of this thread with my exhaust note - ran an iphone app on it and it was about 97 dbls static

I wouldnt say it was a case of scrimping, everything adds weight and the car is all about having as little of it as possible. I think when Wasso stripped out his boot on his Zed, along with various other bits and pieces he saved 80kgs or something, thats an average adult male in weight. The heater I agree is pathetic. The VX220 seats are super comfy, when doing the drive the other day after 2 hours (plus hour and forty five mins getting there) I still felt nice and comfy, I hear a lot of the Lotus buys try to retro fit VX seats in. I also forgot about the VSE (Vauxhall Sports Exhaust) which came with the car, sounds bloody amazing

Well its been 4 weeks now and thought I would give this a 'summer' weather write up. Obviously when the weather turns it will be interesting to see how usable it is and at what point its not usable and will go under cover. But the last four weeks have blessed me with stunning weather for a convertible roadster Buying Experience There are not a lot of these about, typically over the last 6 months I have not seen on PH, ebay and AT more than 30 for sale at any one time. There are amongst that lot about 6-7 which just havent sold because of dealers thinking they are worth 5k more than they actually are, even at dealer prices. In fact most dealers have no idea what these cars are. I joined the VX forum, helpful bunch on there, but really good for picking up VXs for sale before they hit PH - its quite common for them to be kept within enthusiasts. I bought my VX off the forum off a long serving member along with plenty of endorsements. Also don't be put off by number of owners, these cars are passed around a lot with relatively few miles added each owner, mine has 6 previous owners I think with 50k on the clock. There really wasn't much to look out for, typical things such as checking oil, coolant, brake levels, suspension, all the usual stuff you would for any car. The real VX specific stuff was paintwork, clams were incorrectly stored during build stage and moisture got into the fibre glass meaning under cold weather it expands and bubbles the paintwork. Checking for previous damage, there are a lot of write offs, both declared and undeclared out there - due to the cost of replacement body panels you can write off a car hitting a rabbit. Some cars are repaired undeclared but you then are in the dark in case it was more than just panel damage. Again having at least half the cars life on the forum gave some reassurance. ​I traveled on the train for four hours to get mine - expect to do a lot of traveling to find the right one. I also spent 5 months looking before finding the right one. The Car Mine is the NA version, there are two others technically which are the Turbo and the VXR. VXR's are uber rare, only 60 ever made. Turbos are pretty common although lots of cat d's around, nothing wrong with them but never buy without photo evidence of repair and bills. Most people will clamour for the turbo due to its immense performance but amongst those in the know the NA has the better handling capability and can be upgraded cheaply with a SC to easily outperform a turbo. It is, sparse. You climb in and its a mission to do this, backwards. One foot in and then rotate and drop, then swing in right foot. There is no cool way of getting in and out. Once you are in though it feels like the car envelopes you and everything you need is just an inch or two away. The drivers side seat slides back and forth, there is a comedy hand pump for lumber support but the steering column is fixed in place. The passenger seat does not move at all. There is carpets where the foot rests are but otherwise its exposed aluminium. This means its loud inside, there is on the forum a carpet solution for £35 which carpets the whole interior but it kind of takes away from the car what its about for me and of course adds weight which I will get back to later... ...that said I will be covering the centre tunnel in leather and adding a leather handbrake gaiter. But yes the weight, every kg counts. When I have a passenger I lose a lot of performance! probably about a second off the 0-60 at a guess! Depends on the passenger of course but it has a massive impact, so even a few kgs here and there when modding combined makes a big impact on the cars performance. Handling wise there is no change, but its that straight line speed that is impacted. Steering wheel is a momo leather jobby (with an airbag!), drilled peddles, alu handbrake and gear knob. No central locking (weight saving). The big problem interior wise is the heater, there isn't one. Well technically there is but it has two problems, it doesnt blow hot air, and the tube connecting it to the vents is in essence bacofoil. the tube can be replaced but a new uprated heater unit is about £300. Seriously, if you like your creature comforts and/or you have various bodily ailments which mean some yoga moves are difficult, this is a hard car to live with. There is a head unit and two speakers. Not sure what else you can say about that. Driving Experience Yep this is where it all gets exciting, and really to the point of the car, driving this thing is incredible. Strip away the power steering, air bags, traction control, roof(!) and just about every luxury and you have a race car in all but name. The feedback through the steering wheel is incredible. I know we say we get good feedback through the Zed but seriously this is on another level plus one. Its no sleight on the Zed but by sitting a few inches off the ground in a lightweight car (circa 800kgs half the zed weight) with a small steering wheel with no power steering the whole setup is for your brain, hands and the wheel to communicate directly. As you drive down the road you are feeling the road as if you are walking on it bare foot, its the only way to describe it. Every tiny contour, I drive the ford focus afterwards and I feel so numb I find it frightening that people can safely drive like that - without knowing whats actually happening under the wheels. I have yet to really test the grip levels but its the handling that really sets it apart, and having this intense communication with the road really puts you in a great position to know how far you can push it. Think it will be an aerodrome drive or something to really test the grip levels... All this comes at a price though - I went on a drive out with Daz the other weekend and as much as I was smiling at the end of two hours I was physically tired. My shoulders ached and my left leg was getting a bit of cramp! Its a small engined NA, so you have to work the gears to get the best out of it, and also when tossing it through corners it has to be two handed and at points I'm hanging onto the car as it drags me round the corner. The zed I could corner hard with one hand on the wheel, impossible now. Maintenance Hard to make a call on this due to only 4 weeks ownership but looking into costs in case, if someone stole my discs and pads, to replace with branded decent stuff all round would be less than £200. Most engine parts are mass produced as its just a vectra engine, so minimal cost. Worst case scenario if the engine went bang you can get a used one with 30k on the clock for around £600. The real fear with these cars is the bodywork, any damage and its hefty bills. The only other problem is the wheels, they are an odd size and only two brands make the right sized tyres for them. Some owners swap out for exige wheels where the selection is more varied (and often cheaper). Overall Physically a tough car to live with and drive, no comforts, you work every second on the car when driving it - it doesn't 'cruise'. However in its favour is a rare car with great looks for its age (although can be marmite, they look better in reality than on camera), until you drive this or an elise or a formula single seater you cannot comprehend in your brain how much grip it has and when you do it makes you re-evaluate everything you had driven before which you thought could 'handle well'. Despite the non race spec engine its pretty nippy within speed limits, reaching 60 in under 6 seconds. You MUST test drive these before you buy, a passenger seat drive is ok but get your insurance to cover you if buying privately because it will really be only then you know if this is the car for you. Col

I would be offended on your behalf Dave, I think thats an awful thing to say to you Speak to you on FT soon Baldy Context is everything!

On the issue of 'offended on behalf of' - Was something in the Metro this morning of a white guy who won compensation from an employer because he was offended on behalf of a fellow black employee who the employer constantly referred to as a 'golliwog'. When he raised it as an issue on behalf of the other employee who wouldn't complain he was dismissed. He won something like £20k and the employer after the verdict still felt she was in the right and it was all blown out of proportion. ...the intelligence thing raising its head offline as well as on

It is also a sign of the times that the younger generation can't answer phones or afraid of face to face conversations within a business environment - and actually any grad who can come in and do this is almost at an advantage over others. Amazing that new grads in our company wont answer the phone because they are scared of who might be on the other end and what they might ask them...

I think no one really cares too much about all this until it happens to them - true in a lot of things actually. Personally I find it sad that people resort to it, and in most cases they are pathetic people who have no real impact in the real world and find the only place they can feel like they are important is in the 'apparent' anonymity of online. I also think Twitter is one of the most pointless inventions on this planet that has been one of the most successful.

There is a thread on here somewhere about a guy who moved it! Just unscrewed everything and relocated it under the cubby box. Go searchy!

It does rattle - but I have held a dual mass flywheel and it weighs a god damn lot! So will help with revving.

Quite a lot of online companies that will custom make them for you - I got some in black and red with Volks written on them, much cheaper than buying the stickers from Volks Racing!

Another subtle but effective mod, engine plate - no more 'ecotec' written on it

Just say 'oh' and turn your back on them and talk to someone else!

I have an 18 month old boy, I could never, not in a million years harm a single hair on his head. I have found myself close to tears reading some of the news on this. The amazing thing is there was an older child in the house who didn't suffer the same abuse, he only got hit if he tried to feed Daniel. Again as some other posts hear me out on this, but I can understand to a tiny insignificant point why the guy could have physically and mentally done what he did as he was not the natural father even though it is still massively so wrong, but the mother, in all honesty how she forced away that natural instinct to protect your very own - she is evil, twisted and should be put down, there is no place on this planet for her. Then to read her mother going on about how the system failed her 'normal girl' and that it wouldn't have happened in Poland, rubbish, utter rubbish - your 'normal girl' is a twisted and evil woman who failed the one person above all else she is on this Earth to protect. In fact mother, if you want to throw non-sensical accusations around, you should be in the dock for bringing up a woman who is a child killer, how about that? The fact that neither of them accept in any way still blame for his death, just shows how pointless it is keeping them alive, they have no place in normal society. Lethal injection and be done with it.

Was down a side road by the Savoy hotel