Mr Tidy's MC Thread - 5 Years On!

Well I took it to Ross at RBM this morning and he read the codes.

My grasp of all this black-art is distinctly sketchy but the DSC Control Unit was the culprit apparently, then Ross reset the (a?) DSC sensor and the lights went out and have stayed out so far - fingers crossed!

I wouldn't be too bothered driving a car with no DSC as I must have owned more than 25 that didn't have it anyway, but TPMS might be useful when I do my Welsh trip next week.

I thought I had a buyer for my CSL Reps but things have gone quiet on that front, so there may be a classified in the offing. :lol:

Anyway as always Ross was really helpful - and while I was there I booked my 3 Series in for a service!
 
Mr Tidy said:
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)!

224s Fitted 230421.jpg

I'll find out how they feel tomorrow when I go to my sister's for dinner. :driving: !
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That looks great Mr Tidy! :thumbsup:

I've always been a really big fan of the 224s. 8)
 
Last year a good mate asked me if I fancied doing a driving trip to Wales in May.

That sounded like a great idea so I instantly said "Yes" but then restrictions got imposed and it went to the back of my mind, until last month when it seemed like things were going to change.

My mate lives in a village near Heathrow that has a car club who were organising the trip, so hotels got booked!

I said we could take my MC but realised my mate hadn't even sat in it, so a week before we were due to set off I took my car over to his place and we went for a blat and then he drove it. Given we were expecting to spend 5/6 hours a day driving I didn't want him to find it a miserable experience but he really liked it. He has history with straight 6 RWD cars having owned a Healey 3000 and several Triumph TRs.

So we discussed essentials and agreed on a hammer, cable ties and gaffa tape. But then got to considering potential show-stoppers and a wrecked tyre/wheel was well up the list. So the day before we were due to leave I took a spare Style 32 front wheel I had to get a new Kumho Ecsta the same as my refurbed 224s had and slung that in (most of) the boot together with an E46 jack, breaker bar and torque wrench.

But it doesn't leave too much boot space, although turned over we could fill it up with other stuff. :lol:

Wheel in Boot1.jpg

So last Thursday morning we all met up in the village hall car park and headed off to Wales with no set route, but most of us used more A roads than Motorways.

Other cars were a Series 2 E-Type Roadster, nearly new M2 Competition, 911 Cabriolet (996 I think), Audi S3, Mini Cooper SD Convertible, Saab Turbo Cabriolet (as the Dolomite Sprint was playing up) so a real mixed bag!

Thursday night we stayed in the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel - the scenery was amazing!

Z4 Front on Dam.JPG

Friday and Saturday routes were planned, and just fantastic! Especially the A4212 from Blaenau towards Bala. And thankfully our route suggested turning round and doing it again! :D

So I managed to put 660 miles on it in 4 days and loved them all - even if my mate didn't get a look in!
 
I just realised it's been a while since I updated this.

I was going away for a few days in the heat of June and the A/C was only blowing cool air, not ice cold. Luckily a local Indy managed to squeeze it in and it just needed a regas - phew!

But after raising the ride height, removing spacers all round and swapping from 19" wheels back to OE 18s I finally got it booked for a 4-wheel alignment last month.

It didn't go too smoothly as both track rod ends were seized solid and had to be replaced, as did a N/S/R lower balljoint because the rubber was twisted. I had it set to E46 M3 CSL settings and although I haven't used it much my initial impression is that it has been transformed. With the added bonus of the steering wheel being straight when driving in a straight line. :D
 
Interesting question! I would have posted a photo of my print-out but my Indy's black print cartridge had died so all I've got is lots of green on the post-alignment sheet. :roll:

Anyway I cheated and found this on the "clubcsl" website!
 

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Nearly 18 months on (where did they go) I think an update is probably overdue!

Not much to report really with 2 clean MOTs and an oil service at RBM last year.

Then 2 months ago I went on the Scottish Highlands and NC500 B21 Tour which was so good I've signed up to do his Borders trip in October! With a slight detour on the way home to Muir of Ord where my Dad was born and to Yorkshire "Bangers and Cash" territory (and the Yorkshire Auction House) I did 2,000 miles in a week.

Mathewsons Derek 1005.jpg

I finally found a use for the Sat Nav too! Not for finding my way as it's painfully antiquated so I only used it once for home, and setting the graphic equaliser for the DSP stereo that I hardly use as an S54 is such a great soundtrack. But I can see all the OBC functions on 1 screen without having to scroll through them on the dash. :)

Only downside was when I went to the Haynes Breakfast Coupe meet at Sparkford earlier this month I hit a dozy bird on the A303 that smashed part of my front undertray. :(

Undertray 040623.jpg

Sadly it's specific to the M so it costs £197 + VAT but I've got it booked in for replacement at RBM on 5 July - just hope there isn't too much rain this weekend for the National at Crooklands as I'm really looking forward to that!

Apologies if that is too much waffle but I just love this car. :driving:
 
I just noticed it has been a while since I added anything on here.

The National at Crooklands was great so thanks to Craig3.2 for organising it and to everyone else there for making it a great weekend. Weather was mostly dry, but was a bit chilly for the end of June!

And special thanks to Steve who took me down the road in his 20K mile MC on OE suspension. Now I know what ride compliance is, as my car on the H & Rs doesn't have much!

Then I got the new undertray fitted at RBM, but picked up the damaged one in my 3 Series. Like every M specific part one day they will be NLA, so if my new one does get damaged maybe I'd be able to use bits from both to make something usable?

So I went to Shepshed in August and the turn-out was great again, even if there was a brief shower on the Sunday morning. But it was great to catch up with others Zers and to meet the Dutch contingent. I really hope it isn't the last Zedfest.

Towards the end of August I went to the "M" event at Bicester and forum member Wassup coded M-Track Mode for me, but I'll admit I haven't tried it yet. :oops:

(I was hoping to slide around at the Pistonheads event at Thruxton this month on the skidpan but it got cancelled. :( )

Then back to Scotland in October for B21s trip around the borders which was another great trip with more Z4 fanatics. :thumbsup:

Which brings me to today, exactly 4 years since I first drove my car and left a deposit on it. Seeing as the roads were salt free and it was dry, sunny and about 10 degrees I went for a drive with no destination. :D

Anyway those 4 years have passed really quickly and I'm still loving my MC, so I have a few more trips planned for next year. :)
 
I'm surprised it's been four years already! Good to hear you still love it and you're making the most of every opportunity to drive it :driving:
 
My Tidy, this is exactly what these cars are for - driven and enjoyed. I personally plan to enjoy mine at every opportunity, putting miles on them doesn’t bother me. Meeting others owners and sharing good times are more important 😊👍
 
That 4 years has flown by! :o

It is great to hear that you’re still enjoying it so much. :thumbsup:

Keep enjoying it Mr Tidy. :driving: :)
 
Mr Tidy said:
So I went to Shepshed in August and the turn-out was great again, even if there was a brief shower on the Sunday morning. But it was great to catch up with others Zers and to meet the Dutch contingent. I really hope it isn't the last Zedfest.
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It was great to meet you there [ref]Mr Tidy[/ref], and to see so many fellow Z’ers. Good to hear the MC is being used as intended :driving:
 
It's now 5 years to the day since I collected it - I don't know where the time went! :o

I took it to Ross at RBM for an Inspection 1 service in June, and it needed 11 shims. Maybe my trips tearing around Scotland on B21s tours caused a bit of wear?

Sadly one front brake caliper had been sticking so the disc on that side was quite badly lipped, so it also got new front calipers, discs and pads as well as a new A/C drive belt. Total cost of all that was just over £1,700 - ouch!

And the rear brakes will need some attention soon as the pads are quite worn and the handbrake tends to stick, but my credit card needs time to recover. Just as well it still feels special every time I drive it. :lol:

Next planned trip will be B21s NC500 one in March or April.
 
£1700...ouch indeed! :cry:

It is mad where the time goes as you say, but thinking about it, I've had the 370Z for 6 years in April as well. So if I keep it any longer than that(which I will) it will be the car that I've owned the longest. I had the XR4x4 for 5.5 years, the Cerbera for 6 years, and the E90 330d for 6 years for example in comparison.
 
Mr Tidy said:
It's now 5 years to the day since I collected it - I don't know where the time went! :o

I took it to Ross at RBM for an Inspection 1 service in June, and it needed 11 shims. Maybe my trips tearing around Scotland on B21s tours caused a bit of wear?

Sadly one front brake caliper had been sticking so the disc on that side was quite badly lipped, so it also got new front calipers, discs and pads as well as a new A/C drive belt. Total cost of all that was just over £1,700 - ouch!

And the rear brakes will need some attention soon as the pads are quite worn and the handbrake tends to stick, but my credit card needs time to recover. Just as well it still feels special every time I drive it. :lol:

Next planned trip will be B21s NC500 one in March or April.
Click to expand...
It’s good to see that some things and some people endure Iain. I still enjoy reading your posts and although the annual mileage in my Z is low it still gives me an enormous amount of pleasure. As does being a member of the Forum.👍
 
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