brillomaster

DO expect it to be a lot louder, and a lot raspier. DON'T expect to get through an MOT with them on! I believe the EML light comes on because of the O2 sensors, think you just buy some spacers and that'll fix the problem.

how does the zed handle on staggered tyre widths? I only ask as our current beemer understeers even with a square set up, let alone a staggered one... although the zed always felt more tail happy.

then that sounds about right! We're about to fit a full set of 245/35/R18 Federal 595RS-Rs to our track beemer, and that's running an 8" front and 8.5" rear wheels, same as the zed. I think federals are about £90 each at the moment, if you're interested in a low cost alternative!

245s would fit on an 8" rim and an 8.5" rim, so wouldn't worry about getting another set of rear wheels. and yes it would make the car understeer less having a square setup - but that's not necessarily a bad thing on a track car.

we've driven snetterton in the snow, which was interesting! Thank goodness for DSC!

yeah, give me a few months to put some decent wheels on it and i'll report back with more photos - its number one on my list of things to do.. should probably make sure I have decent wide rubber on the rear before getting a remap!

you're not wrong! I was budgeting £11-12k for a good one, and there were plenty of dealer cars of a similar age and mileage for £13-14k. I would have happily paid the asking price for my car, but to get another £800 off almost feels like stealing! Still, probably a good idea to have a few ks in the bank in case something breaks, doing my research certainly showed up a lot of things that could break. but hopefully all will be well for a while - should give your E46 M3 a run for its money (in a straight line obviously!)

Hmmm cheers Gangzoom - maybe will try driving with the windows open a crack then to let some exhaust noise through! shame at the moment theres no noise from the turbos, not even slightly aware theres anything sucking and blowing under the bonnet. suspension and diff mods im going to leave it, as you say its a lot of money to put into a £9k car, and it will never see any track work. I think the money is better spent on tyres for the track car! interesting to note on the fuel, i'll see what I get out of this tank and then maybe run a tank on normal - but at the moment i'm happily cruising towards 400 miles from a tank this first week so even if I keep it on super its still cheaper than the zed (although offset by the £200 a year increase in tax!)

its just a series of errors - sure bring him in if you're absolutely sure you wont lose track position - if there is any doubt at all then don't bring him in. Especially at Monaco where track position is everything, its really not that hard to defend a position round Monaco. But then why bring him in at all? he's already in the lead, just because theres a perceived free performance advantage doesn't mean they have to take it!

well that was just some terrible strategy calls... especially since the commentators said a car could probably do the entire race distance on one set of primes and as we know, decent tyres makes naff all difference round Monaco - Vettel could have been driving the safety car and he'd have still kept Hamilton behind him. as for verstappen's dramas, I was saying to my future father in law before the race that there were a lot of young fearless drivers this season - was inevitable one of them was going to launch themselves into a barrier.

Haha, I've had various sporty germans for years, thought it time I settle down with one day to day! the number plate is pure coincidence - its going back as soon as the paperwork comes though. And yeah mini meet sounds like a good plan, our usual works pub is the George and dragon in Chacombe, will message you both. 350zedd - Married, yes. Sprogs, hopefully not!

Hmmm seems that sports mode is what I need for day to day driving... now things have got interesting! Cruises with the revs around 2000rpm rather than normal auto mode which shuffles to the highest possible gear as quickly as possible. No wonder it didn't feel the full 300bhp fast before, even low boost twin turbo'ed engines don't do a lot at just over idle. And the chap that had the car before me never even used the flappy paddles, which would hopefully suggest that the car hasn't been driven that hard. Although was on a diet of standard unleaded - it'll be running super during my ownership, especially as I plan to remap it soon and you get the best power (and economy) gains on 97+ RON. Usefully though, even the standard BMW brakes are certainly as strong as the Brembos on the Nissan - I guess they might fade with repeated hard stops, but that's an unlikely occurrence for me on a road car.

Yeah, really been a fan of BMWs recently... after all, I've had 4 older BMWs now for track cars, and they've been great. obviously the E46 330ci was the best, so smooth and refined, thought it time i had a BMW as a roadcar. And also i do feel a sense of pride that i own a BMW, and its also my first genuine 300bhp car! finally reached that milestone bought an E92 even though i hadnt ever driven one before, but as i say, the E36 was good, the E46 was better, so would have been very surprised if the E92 was suddenly terrible. and its the best looking bmw in recent years in my opinion - most other 3 series look rather dull (with the exception of the E46 coupe) but the E92 coupe looks good. just needs some slightly bigger wider wheels! only car i think i prefer more is a 6 series like dan has - but was put off one of them due to the size, the age and that i've never been that enamoured with V8s - prefer cylinders in multiples of 6, and hey, twin turbos! and this is my first ever auto... thought why not, lets try having a computer changing gear. and even so, i still have the track car for manual heel and toe thrills.

chirag - blame the camera and the dull day... and it could do with a decent wash, will take some more pics when shes clean and the suns out. Mitz - might well be in touch for the exhaust, will see how i get on after the wheels and remap are on! Ian - nah i flashed someone into a side turning the other day, and i'm normally pretty chilled... hopefully the BMW-ness doesnt rub off on me! Yeah new office is pretty swank, shame the rest of the road is still a building site!

So, 350z has gone, and have now moved onto this little beauty! Picked me up a 2006 BMW 335i, cream leather interior, automatic box with flappy paddles. Bought for a song as well, 1 owner from new with full BMW service history, 54,000 on the clock, an absolute bargain at £8,200! Was originally advertised for £8,995, and i thought he'd never go lower than £8700, but he did! First impressions... its certainly a lot quieter than the nissan! in fact, can hardly hear the engine at all, its pretty much silent until about 4,000 and then theres a slight hint of straight six soundtrack. but by this point you're doing a buck ten, so probably wanting to back off a touch! ride is great, road noise is practically nil, and its nice to have everything working as it should. theres even an extending arm that passes you the seatbelt when you close the door, which is gimmicky but very useful! The auto box responds well - takes a bit of finessing to pull away smoothly, but once you're up and going the shifts are smooth. the flappy paddles work really well - cruising along at 60, hit the downshift twice and instantly drops you to 4th, ready for you to accelerate. and then in a few seconds it reverts back to full auto mode. Or, shift the lever across into Sport mode and use the paddles, and it'll shift into manual mode, and stay in whatever gear you tell it (unless it either redlines or approaches stall, in which case it'll change) upshifts are quick and smooth, downshifts are accompanied by a nice throttle blip without the actual need to heel and toe (which i can never do smoothly on the road anyways - i'll save heel and toeing for the manual track car) but the acceleration - well, think a jet engine accelerating for take off - no drama, just a seamless wall of power underneath you. just needs a soundtrack to match. oh, its even more economical than the zed - a simple A road cruise netted 31 mpg, whereas the nissan would be around 27mpg. a few modifications planned - firstly, the wheels are only 17s, and the rears are still on bridgestone runflats, while the fronts are a combo of non-runflat cooper and avon tyres - not that brilliant really. so the plan is to get some 3SDM 0.01s in 18s, with goodyear Eagle F1s front and rear. Also, one of the key reasons i got this car rather than a 645ci or an E46 M3 - ease of remap! £395 gets you an extra 60bhp and 80lbft of torque, to take you to approximately 370bhp and 370lbft, which should be plenty to be getting on with! And lastly, since the engine is so quiet and deceptively fast, and theres plenty of budget left over from my planned £10k, maybe some scorpion back boxes. Still wont sound as good as a nissan V6 with a cobra exhaust i think, but bmw straight sixes still sound way better than a 4 cylinder. so thats that! might even keep it for a few years longer than the zed, since theres no reason to chop it in now!

haha patience! also don't forget, most people are on here cos they already have a zed... ebay worked for me.

I've always bought cars outright - never had a loan. Sure my machinery hasn't been the latest and greatest cars, but the zed was plenty nice, and only depreciated £1400 in the 3 years I had it, so £460 a year. And have also been a happy mortgage payer for the last 4 years now, which is working out considerably cheaper than renting was! Plus, in that 4 years the value of our flat has gone up, and interest rates have gone down, so win win. might consider getting a loan for a car now, but only now I know that mortgage is secured and making payments is comfortable. but then again, if I can continue to buy outright that's great, and can then move onto a bigger house and bigger mortgage.

seems to me the sensible option is to sell the A5, pay off the debt and then buy a cheaper car with no debt. doesn't matter so much what the running costs are as long as you can buy it outright and put the monthly savings towards a mortgage. E46 330d is still my option - or if you're bored with diesel, a 330ci. 230bhp is plenty to be getting on with, pick up a nice one for £3k or so. but really, plenty of interesting options out there that you should be able to buy out right, run for a year and then sell on again and lose very little in depreciation.

I think £8k seems fair to me, depends how quickly you're hoping to sell it!

swap it for a cobra resonated - no drone on motorways, but opens up to a lovely note above 3000 rpm.

what roadtrip said - the difference in rolling diameter between a 245/45/18 and a 275/40/18 is a mere 0.07%, so perfect! have a play on willtheyfit.com for info http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=245&aspect=45&diameter=18&wheelwidth=8.5&offset=33&width2=275&aspect2=40&diameter2=18&wheelwidth2=10&offset2=20

well, the one from the dealer is £2,500 more expensive so not quite the bargaining tool it could have been

£360 a month is £4,320 a year - what makes up that figure? if you want cheap running costs you need to minimise depreciation, minimise servicing costs and cost of consumables like brakes and tyres... I cant see a Z4 being particularly cheaper... in the words of schoolteachers everywhere, show your working!

I thought your A5 was a diesel? and you want to switch to a petrol for lower running costs? i'm confused... if you want to save money do it properly and buy a shed - E46 330d should fit that criteria nicely.

every year or every 9000 miles, whichever is sooner. so yes, service due in 500 miles, assuming it hasn't been longer than a year since the last one.