RichardS

We're not mate!! He posted at almost midnight last night and I for one was in bed asleep....:wink: And as for the investment of club funds into such a project - it is not as straight forward as one might think. There will have to be much research into the feasibility of producing the panels on a larger scale; and the economic benefits to whoever finally produces them. And then what happens if that company folds - or decided it was no longer economically viable to continue manufacture, once we made the investment? And another question from me (forgive me, as I am not technical) but for what it's worth, could a decent body-shop not fabricate a replacement panel from sheet metal and weld it in place; on a job-by-job basis? If so, could this be another reason why there has been little demand to date - because that's what has been happening when owners have had their cars repaired? Don't get me wrong, I am all for this idea in principle; but as an accountant and business man myself, I have to question the viability of such a project:wink: Richard:cool:

Cheers Noel - the voice of experience...:bow: Thing is, I had an unbranded induction kit on mine before the Apex-I and I seem to remember that performed better also.....!! Actually Ian, it is going into THE bin tomorrow.... I just got it out of the airing cupboard where it was drying, only to find the mesh has started to rust and flake away!! Utter shite IMO - how are you supposed to clean them? I have always used proper air filter cleaning fluid and then rinsed them in the past - done this with K&N, Cotton Green etc - and they have all been fine. This Apex-I is now no longer suitable to put back on any car..:sad: Richard:scared:

LOL - yes, but I can delete your post so no-one will ever know.....:wink:

I thought you were spoiling for a fight there mate......:lol: .....and then I was going to edit your thread as you might have been soliciting.....:winkiss: Richard:ph34r:

Well done Mark - this had the potential to go very wrong, through no fault of Mark, but here we are..... Top work mate; you made it happen!!! Richard:thumbup:

Hi Nick, To save you the searching - I'd say your oil pressure is fine; but the gauge is not reading properly..... It's a common fault caused by the sender unit failing; it will work fine when cold, but as the engine warms up, the gauge reading drops to low or even zero. You'd know if the oil pressure was poor as the engine would sound like a bag of spanners.... Trouble is, the sender unit is about £100 new....!!! Richard:scared:

Not a good idea IMO either mate....:sad: Brake lights should come on bright and stay on - everybody else understands that too.... And I also like the idea of the hazards flashing under emergency braking on some modern cars; it's a great safety aid on a motorway!! Richard:flowers:

Looking good Kim - and nice to see you online mate!! Hope all's well with you and the family....:cool: Richard:thumbup:

D'oh - you're dead right mate....:oops:

I have heard good things about that Steve... Trouble is, when I start to run out of product, I just nip to Halfords; rather than wait for mail order stuff to arrive!! I've used other Meguairs products (Gold Class and NXT) but they just don't seem to be that durable - this Ultimate works well though.

LOL - nice one mate..... .......And we need pics of her modelling it too...:wink: And no, not for personal gratification - but we really would like some pics of our members and their folks wearing the club gear; for promotion purposes.... Richard:cool:

Excuse the fly on the roof........ B@stard....:detective:

I gave the SLK a nice coat of Meguairs Ultimate Wax today - on top of the paint sealant I treated it with last time - and I have to say, it's good stuff. I've been using it a while now and it really beads water well; plus dirt and road grime does not seem to stick to the car as much..... If it's dry on Saturday, then I'll do the same to the ZX, ready for winter....:cool: Richard:thumbup:

Removed my Apex-I cone to give it a clean..... .....and refitted a universal K&N cone in its place whilst the Apex-I dries out. And I have to say, on taking the ZX out for a little spin in the sunshine, I actually think it performs better with the K&N. I sometimes felt that the car had trouble "breathing" at the higher end of the rev range after I originally fitted the Apex-I - but dismissed it as me being daft. But today it did feel more like it was ready to go. It is a good inch and a half longer than the Apex-I; and a bit wider too - so it definitely has more surface area for the air to enter..... I reckon the K&N is staying....:wink: Richard:biggrin:

Nice one Si - thanks mate.... I look forward to hearing what they say!! Richard:thumbup:

I agree with you Steve, The trouble is, it's very hard to get someone to actually make the parts needed; as they would have a very limited number of customers for them and would struggle to make profit; or have to charge prohibitively high prices! It's easy for the classic Fords, MGBs and Jags as there are still so many of those cars around; loads were built and there's a big enough market for someone to supply parts at reasonable prices. The Nissan 300zx didn't sell in massive numbers here in the UK and was taken off sale in Europe after barely 4 years. Although I guess the way forward might be to look towards the USA - or even Japan - but that might still prove difficult as in those locations, the cars do not suffer from corrosion as much as they will here!!! It would also be great if one of us had the time and dedication to conduct research into it for everyone's benefit. But once again, we all have day jobs and as committee, we run the club in our spare time!! Our best option at the moment is if one of our traders could source these parts which will become so vital in future; to preserve our cars a little longer. Richard:flowers:

Clearly a UK spec car with that 17 digit VIN, Rob..... ......And if it were me, I'd remove the VIN plate pic from the public view now...:wink: Richard:cool:

LOL - not quite mate.... I wait until the needle is also resting on empty and still carry on another 40-odd miles......:rofl: One day it will catch me out....:innocent:

Yup - I have to agree..... This route will be easier and cheaper Steve!! If you convert your existing car, plus do the sprucing up you are thinking of, it will certainly cost you more. Plus the increased insurance premium as you will have modified the car beyond the original spec!!! You can buy a decent TT for not too much cash at the mo; so do that and sell your current NA mate...:wink: Richard:cool:

Welcome David.... .....And sorry to hear of your ZX woes mate; I hope you get it sorted mate:sad: Good luck, Richard:clover:

Yup - mine does that too. My previous one didn't - the "remaining miles" just counted down to zero..... ......but this one goes down to about 30-40 miles and then gets the car graphic. I don't know about your car, but mine is a clear graphic of an SLK front-on view; it's pretty good actually!! I still drive on a good 40-50 miles with the picture and fuel light showing though - and watch Julia's face getting more anxious by the minute...:lol: Richard:smartass:

It's so that when you switch from dipped to full beam, the HIDs in the dipped beam stay on. You can do the simple "earth" modification; but that will make the full and dipped come on together each time you flash your headlights - whereas with the "diode" mod, the flash operation only works the main beam. It's to prevent premature bulb failure in the HIDs - as they do not like being flashed on and off too much:wink:

Of course - I didn't think of that:blush: I've never let it run so low before - I think the most I have put in is 69.5 litres...:lol:

73 into 70 - how does that work....? I could not be asked to fill my Merc last Friday on the way home from London, and continued using it the last couple of days until I eventually passed the local Shell garage. The light had been on since Friday and the trip odometer was showing 410 miles since the last fill (I rarely see more than 365), so thought I'd better stop. Considering the car is supposed to have a 70 litre tank (which includes the 9 litre reserve), how is it that I managed to squeeze in over 73 litres? Is the tank bigger than the handbook suggests, or is there something wrong with the calibration of the forecourt's fuel pumps....:shifty: Still, at least I now know just how far I can push it between fill-ups before it is actually running on fumes!!! Richard:ohmy:

As above - quite simple to do; if a little bit fiddly getting the HID bulbs in place into the lamp holders..... .......And then choosing where to locate the ballast units. Mine are under the nose panel fixed to where the old air box was mounted:wink: I'm no expert at car maintenance and mine only took around 30-60 minutes tops!! Richard:thumbup: