Ekona

Like this one: Looks like a bloody rollerskate!

Or you could find a friendly local who will read the code for you if they've got an OBDII reader... Anyone volunteer? I'd do it, but it's a bit of a trek from here! Personally I'd get the code read rather than just clearing it even if you have to pay for the privilege, but that's just me. If you clear it and it goes and never comes back then no real harm done, but it's always nice to know why the CEL came on in the first place.

Interesting, my brother just booked his '07 at Glyn Hopkin in Bishop's Stortford for his P2, and he was told that it'd be £365... Given that a P3 is (supposedly) more involved than a P2, that's a very interesting cost comparison there when it's the same chain. I did try to tell him to haggle to remove the crap you don't need on the service and to supply his own fluids AND to tell them to stuff it and take it elsewhere, but his response was "But it's booked in now, I can't tell them to cancel!". He may be my brother, but he's a bloody idiot sometimes.

Tbh unless you've got the money to get the front done and then get the whole lot covered in Ventureshield (or similar) then you'll just be in the same position next year. I'm leaving mine until I can either afford to do that, or just before I sell the car.

I disagree, i bet when you add up the costs of having two cars it will be higher, its things like insurance you have to factor in. If you saw the recent fifth gear you'll see how impressive the megane is!!! But you'd have both cars on a limited mileage policy, as you can't drive them both at once! In all fairness though the insurance may well be a tad higher, but you offset that against what you save on fuel + tax. I don't watch Fifth Gear as the presenters make me want to rape my own face off, but whilst every review of the Megane I've read has been positive, it's still not going to be as much fun or as cheap to run as the Elise. If you only want one car then I'd go for the RX-8 myself, as you'd pick up a minter for under £10K and put the savings towards fuel + oil. Being RWD gives it a huge plus point over the Megane in driver involvement, it's much better looking and just as sensible.

It's a car, stop worrying and get out there and drive it! Get it done before, as it's only going to get chipped to buggery anyway and it might as well get chips from fun driving with friends than from dull runs up and down the motorway.

£15K gets you a mint S1 Elise/good VX220/average S2 Elise @£10K and a solid 2004 Mondeo diesel. You'll still spend less in fuel, tax and servicing, and you've still got a very fun car you can play with as well as something to transport things around in. That's a far more fun option than compromising with a FWD scrabble wagon IMHO.

That would make sense, and also explains why the car is just as loud with no exhaust on at all (just the cats) as it was with the K1 on. Yes, I tested it

Congratulations matey, really chuffed for you

DING DING DING Don't mix and match tyres, else you end up with the exact issues you're having. Change the fronts for Falkens (presuming they're the 452) and you should be fine. If they're not the 452s then I'd be tempted to ditch the lot and get either the 452s, Toyo T1-Rs or if you're feeling flush and want the best grip, a set of Pilot Sports.

Given that Thorney (or TMS) have managed to get some 'interesting' results on their dyno in recent years, I wouldn't place too much emphasis on those results. Mechanically they're good at what they do as I had my car worked on there a few times, but don't trust the dyno for peanuts. My car gets BPU as that's what's closest. It's also had Tesco and Shell and other random 97+ stuff in France and random motorway services. As long as you're putting in 97+ regularly, it'll be fine.

Yup, that's the bit. Any exhaust place worth their salt would be able to do it for you, no need to go anywhere too specialist and over the top. In all honesty if you can get a mate who can weld then it's a proper DIY job: You could even put the silencer on flanges so you can change it back out if you find you want the noise back or need to go even quieter.

I've got the K1, and to confirm you'd re-use the Y-pipe that came with the kit, but you would need to source an OEM mid-pipe from somewhere to use any other aftermarket exhaust, as the K1 wouldn't fit with anything else (at least, not without bodging it somehow). @Andy: A simpler option might be to get the existing silencer within the K1 cut out and a much larger one put in instead. The one that's on there is tiny and really does nothing to quell the volume, but a larger unit should do the job for about a 5th of the cost of a new exhaust.

Doesn't go down from the pax side or from the driver's side as well?

Programme TYpe? Dunno, but it lets you cycle through the different types of radio station available so you only get offered the ones that play stuff you want to listen to, rather than everything. That said, I've never managed to get it to work on any car I've ever owned.

Even more reason to keep the K1, as that little bundle of joy will be waking you up at all hours when it starts crying so you'll simply be getting your own back

A normal K-series no, but the VHPD version is a peach of an engine that proves just what a versatile design it is.

May try and get along to JAE to catch up with some old friends if they're going, and if they're not I'd love to pop along to Zedfest and meet some new friends!

So why does that chart state wheel power as being 246bhp but stated engine (flywheel) power being 276bhp? That sounds about right to me, given the drivetrain losses and certainly doesn't show that early engines only produce about 250bhp at the fly...

Which Elise? I found the S1 to be a much more direct car due to the wheel sizes, as the S2s have such skinny front wheels you really have to provoke them to get anything at all. An S2 111S (K powered) ran out of puff too much at the top end for my taste, but the 2ZZ fits the 111R as a track car so much better. My old VXR ran the same size wheels as an Exige, and felt better than any of the Elises I mentioned above. Why Lotus don't make them in that size for all their 111 derivatives, I don't know.

Exactly. To go back to the original question though, I personally wouldn't say that the V6 in the Zed is uninspiring, but I wouldn't class it as one of the greatest engines ever either. It does what it does very well, but it's not exactly a K20, LS2 or VHPD K-series either. It's a useful, well built lump of an engine, but compare it next to an Alfa V6 and it's dull as ditchwater. A good car is more than just it's engine though, and that's where the 350Z shines: As an all-round quality package.

If other cars like yours are around the same figure, then I've got to say it's either the dyno or the operator. Without wanting to sound like a broken record, post the graphs up so we can all have a look at them.

In all honesty, if you're passing VXs and Elises on track then it's either a) soaking wet or they're being driven badly/you're a god behind the wheel. Given a dry track and stock for stock, an S1 Elise with 118bhp will easily be the match of a Zed. Having owned and tracked both a VXR220 and the Zed in both wet and dry conditions, there's simply no contest at all: Anything other than a downpour and the Zed is nowhere near as quick. That's not to say the VX is the better car, it simply does things differently to the Zed. In an ideal world you'd have both (or at least one track toy and one GT), but I've been lucky enough to have owned both and I respect them for their own merits. I'd love to own a blown Exige next, but for now I'm perfectly happy with what I've got.

Apparently that was a complete pack of lies. Shame, as it was a really good weekend in MI.

Given that a Popcharger + exhaust has got to be in the region of £500-ish, I'd say you've got enough money to spend on tyres. Either go MPS all round for the best grip/feel combination that I've ever used, or stick with another pair of RE040s. Don't mix tyres on the car, it's asking for trouble in this weather.