Z Visitor : Nissan 350Z (Fairlady Z)

did a 'for fun' shoot for a visiting friend and put together a simple montage.

See a drive review on this car's successor, the 370Z, HERE

covering my bases (again!)

during a short run out for breakfast, the sunny weather wreaked havoc on the tactile rubber inserts in the car (over just 1.5 hours! from 10 to 1230pm), so the climate control bits are starting to peel.

i was shopping around online for a fitted cover for the car (had a good experience with the covercraft all-weather NOAH car-cover so was thinking of going down that route), but the wife suggested using the one from the 190 E 2.3-16 instead since the cars were pretty much the same size.


what do you know? it fits pretty snug and accommodates the rear wing well, with even the wing mirrors slotting nicely into the cover's mirror pockets. Funny thing, cos it wouldn't fit the W202 C-Class i was running for a short while, which you'd have imagined would have been a better match.

My turn to be on scooby snacks...

Well, we were really enamoured of the S204 when we first drove it back in 2006 (see HERE and HERE) and there were at least two of us who were prepared to buy one for an attractive enough price. Sad to say, fate was not on our side so we moved back to Hondas instead.



Fast forward to 2011, one of the S204s that I had my (hawk) eye on finally came up for sale and after a great deal of reluctance on the original owner's part (how can we blame him?!) we finally sealed the deal on 17th Aug. 2011.


This example was originally registered in 2008 (manufacturing year is 2006, instead of 2 additional deals, MIE ended up exporting most of the 30 S204s due to their 'innovative' pricing strategy.)

To date, the one-owner car (mileage when taken over was just under 24,000 km) remains in original condition save for a full Cusco underbody brace, larger STi 12litre reservoir (for the intercooler spray) in the trunk and 6pot front/4pot rear AP Racing big-brake kit. Apparently, this full set-up with the all-round larger rotors weigh-in lighter than the stock Brembo system.



The original Pirelli PZero Corsa tyres from 2006 were buggered by the time this car was registered in 2008, so the owner slapped on a set of Michelin PS3s, which still have plenty of life left in them. At next change, we're likely to switch to Michelin Super Sports, since we've heard loads of good things about them, for both road and track use.



Otherwise, everything you see on the car is bone-stock, which includes the dry carbon front lip, rear diffuser, brushed aluminium finish wing mirrors, lightweight forged BBS alloys and the Titanium STi exhaust system that gives the car a delicious rasp during full-bore runs. Of course the gorgeous carbonfibre reclining Recaro SP-Xs are still there, while the other addition to the cabin is the defi triple gauge cluster (mounted in a Zero/Sports pod) that doesn't block out the digital clock.



We even managed to get a matching black-grey Recaro Start iQ baby-seat from Exotic Tuner to go with the leather/alcantara interior as well. (Incidentally, check out the carbonfibre weave on the backs of the front seats...!)




Fast Facts : Subaru Impreza S204
Engine: 1994cc, 16-valves, flat-4
Maximum power: 320bhp at 6400rpm
Maximum torque: 432Nm at 4400rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 2540mm
LxBxH: 4475 x 1740 x 1410mm
Kerbweight: 1450kg
0-100km/h: 4.5 seconds (claimed)
Top speed: 248km/h (claimed)
YOM: 2006
Rescued and registered: 18th July 2008