Mr Tidy's MC Thread - 5 Years On!
- Thread starter Mr Tidy
- Start date
Well given how the weather was at the end of the year and with my tax expiring on 31 December I decided to give January a miss and save the best part of £50. I bought a solar charger a while ago so connected that up.
Then in early February the roads seemed to be salt-free and I was getting withdrawal symptoms so I bit the bullet and taxed it. On the 5th I found out that my solar charger wasn't up to the job, because trying to start the car only resulted in setting the alarm off! So I connected my jumper pack and started it and the alarm even went quiet after what seemed ages, but was probably less than a minute.
I made a point of using it for essential travel every week or so and all seemed good, until I left it 12 days and on 2 April I needed the jumper pack again.
It worked fine, but as soon as I drove away I got the trifecta of warning lights. I did nearly 40 miles and it started on the battery when I wanted to come home but the warning lights stayed on.
So I decided to bit the bullet and ordered a new Exide battery from Tayna on 4 April and Yodel claimed it would be delivered on 6 April between 19.00 and 21.00. Then about 21.30 I got a message from them saying nobody was in - which is so much b*llocks because I was and nobody left a card. Probably couldn't be a*sed because it was heavy!
Anyway I didn't bother trying to get it redelivered because I could see a repeat of their first effort so I arranged to collect it from their depot yesterday evening - it was only a few miles away.
So today I got it fitted and took the car for a test drive which was great, but those 3 lights haven't gone away.
It looks like I'll be seeing how I get on with my code reader tomorrow!
Then in early February the roads seemed to be salt-free and I was getting withdrawal symptoms so I bit the bullet and taxed it. On the 5th I found out that my solar charger wasn't up to the job, because trying to start the car only resulted in setting the alarm off! So I connected my jumper pack and started it and the alarm even went quiet after what seemed ages, but was probably less than a minute.
I made a point of using it for essential travel every week or so and all seemed good, until I left it 12 days and on 2 April I needed the jumper pack again.
It worked fine, but as soon as I drove away I got the trifecta of warning lights. I did nearly 40 miles and it started on the battery when I wanted to come home but the warning lights stayed on.
So I decided to bit the bullet and ordered a new Exide battery from Tayna on 4 April and Yodel claimed it would be delivered on 6 April between 19.00 and 21.00. Then about 21.30 I got a message from them saying nobody was in - which is so much b*llocks because I was and nobody left a card. Probably couldn't be a*sed because it was heavy!
Anyway I didn't bother trying to get it redelivered because I could see a repeat of their first effort so I arranged to collect it from their depot yesterday evening - it was only a few miles away.
So today I got it fitted and took the car for a test drive which was great, but those 3 lights haven't gone away.
It looks like I'll be seeing how I get on with my code reader tomorrow!
This afternoon I picked up my freshly refurbed 224s in Silver Glitter with their new tyres fitted.
Based on a few recommendations on here I went for Kumho Ecstas and got them from Black Circles for just under £400 which seemed pretty good to me. After reading many of "mrwilks" posts I went for 225/45 fronts and 255/45 rears and am pleased with how they look. I actually prefer them to the 19" CSL Reps I took off. It seems strange that reverting to standard is more unusual but when I met 4 other Z owners a couple of weeks ago 3 of them had some sort of CSLs (although only one set were Genuine ones)!
I'll find out how they feel tomorrow when I go to my sister's for dinner.
!
Based on a few recommendations on here I went for Kumho Ecstas and got them from Black Circles for just under £400 which seemed pretty good to me. After reading many of "mrwilks" posts I went for 225/45 fronts and 255/45 rears and am pleased with how they look. I actually prefer them to the 19" CSL Reps I took off. It seems strange that reverting to standard is more unusual but when I met 4 other Z owners a couple of weeks ago 3 of them had some sort of CSLs (although only one set were Genuine ones)!
I'll find out how they feel tomorrow when I go to my sister's for dinner.
!Looks fantastic mate.. 224s are a great wheel, Id take them over csl's any day 
I did like the CSLs, but like I said everyone's got them and these 224s came up at a good price just half a mile from home. And I don't think they look too bad with the Aeros. 
Otherwise I would probably have gone for something completely different, like Veemans or similar.
Otherwise I would probably have gone for something completely different, like Veemans or similar.
mr.tourette said:Looks fantastic mate.. 224s are a great wheel, Id take them over csl's any day
I'm not a huge fan of 224 aesthetically, at least in silver, but my big issue with them is their weight. I can't remember exactly but putting on arc8 18s saved around 20kg or so
(unsprung mass let's not forget). OEM CSL save a bit less but they are 19" of course, it's still significant. I don't really understand why whoever made the 224 wheel did it so badly/cheaply 
cost is the obvious answer I guess. Shame as the m3 18" wheel of similar vintage is a lovely wheel significantly lighter.
Dont get me wrong i dont dislike csl's but i do have a soft spot for the 5 spoke wheel style 
Car looks great Iain. What’s next on your list? There can’t be much left to do.Mr Tidy said:I did like the CSLs, but like I said everyone's got them and these 224s came up at a good price just half a mile from home. And I don't think they look too bad with the Aeros.
Otherwise I would probably have gone for something completely different, like Veemans or similar.
IRD said:
Thanks Ian. Only the suspension and a 4-wheel alignment to go - well on the planned list anyway!
I'll see how it feels on the new wheels/tyres with the H & R coil-overs, but if they still feel too stiff I have a set of H & R springs and a set of Eibachs, but would need some shocks. I'd probably go for Bilsteins - we'll see. :lol:
Looks "clean" & uncluttered on its 224s , CSLs are always a win but done to death ( for obvious reasons )
Have you got any spacers on Iain ? Difficult to tell from this angle .
"255 45 18 " on rears :? that should be 255 40 18 i assume ?
Kumho's ? they will do everything 99% of ZM owners would ever need for very reasonable money , just be wary once they get sub 4mm , that's when the premium rubber earn the merit functioning the same pretty much until they hit the wear bars .
Have you got any spacers on Iain ? Difficult to tell from this angle .
"255 45 18 " on rears :? that should be 255 40 18 i assume ?
Kumho's ? they will do everything 99% of ZM owners would ever need for very reasonable money , just be wary once they get sub 4mm , that's when the premium rubber earn the merit functioning the same pretty much until they hit the wear bars .
North Yorkshire
I've done almost 100 miles on them over the weekend and ride quality is slightly better, but most noticeable is how much smoother and quieter they are over cats-eys.
I'll see how they cope with exuberant cornering once I've got some more mileage on them!
And it wasn't a typo, I really did get 255/45 rears. They certainly fill the arches. :lol:
Next planned change will be suspension then an alignment.
I'll see how they cope with exuberant cornering once I've got some more mileage on them!
And it wasn't a typo, I really did get 255/45 rears. They certainly fill the arches. :lol:
Next planned change will be suspension then an alignment.
