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#1 d4v1dtyler

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Posted 17 February 2007 - 01:16 PM

How practical would a zcars mini be for an everyday car?? as i wouldnt be able to afford one as just a weekend jobbie.

#2 minidan

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Posted 17 February 2007 - 01:45 PM

i spose it depends what you are willing to put up with for a car. ie: very VERY loud inside, harsh ride, wearing harnesses instead of seatbelts, rubbish mpg etc etc.

#3 Jammy

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Posted 17 February 2007 - 02:04 PM

Drivability wise theres no reason why not, you can even pay to have a reverse gear. It would be just about the same as driving any other car. But as minidan says, very loud, can get very hot, plus no where to put bags or luggage and only two seater.

#4 Malc and Di

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Posted 17 February 2007 - 10:24 PM

We're going to use ours every day. No choice. It's going to be frustrating in traffic but Di has a nice run down to work a couple of days a week through country lanes. It's a vtech so a bit easier for pootling about with than a bike engined one.

#5 markrally

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Posted 17 February 2007 - 11:11 PM

How practical would a zcars mini be for an everyday car?? as i wouldnt be able to afford one as just a weekend jobbie.



Definately dont go bike engine for everyday use unless you wan to add loads of sound deadening etc.

See here for some in car stuff
Posted Image

cheers

#6 Spoonz

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Posted 08 March 2007 - 10:35 PM

when mine is finished i think it will be my everyday car for like quite a while! lol i think i will be taking the long way to work in it instead though, lol

but im sure when i have the days off it will be more fun,,,,,

spoonz
(mine is bike engine)

#7 Vegas superstar

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Posted 11 March 2007 - 03:28 PM

I think maybe the bike engine is a little unpractical for everyday use as the busa and R1 only seem happy little engines when they are screeming. I've also heard that the sequential box can be tempremental when tootling around town.

Now the VTEC is another matter. Even more so with the iVTEC. The iVTEC not only has the two-engines-in-one facility but ulso works different depending on throttle position so as far as the engine goes you have great control over economy. Still, having that much power under the right foot is like dangling a bag of smack in front of Pete Docherty.

Other issues such as sound though can always be reduced greatly. Sure it costs, but easily achievable with well thought out sound deadening and a good, sealed bulkhead. It only needs to be done once. I've been out in Chris's demo 2ltr ivtec and it's only loud when the vtec kicks in and even then I found it liveable. He did have two silencers on it though (the second being mounted on the outside) but there seems room inside the rear to mount the second.

Yes it becomes a two seater but how many two seater production cars do you see people living with everyday? Whether it's an SL Merc or a MGF, many live with them succesfully. AND if again, a little thought is aplied to the design of the rear bulkhead, lightweight aluminium platform on the top would mean two suitcases and various bits and bobs could fill that space.



But even if non of that was achievable, going out in that demo ivtec is nothing short of mind blowing. It is the most amazingly fast and sorted car I've ever been in. Period. I am biased towards mini's though. :xxx:

#8 z cars chris

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Posted 12 March 2007 - 10:10 PM

just as an example of what you can do i drove to belgium in our demo car carrying my suitcase a spare wheel some spare parts for our belgian agent and a halfords tool kit(just in case i broke down)
i then drove for two days flat out around zolder race circuit taking passenger rides a total of 320 miles on track before driving home again
it didnt break, did 25mpg on track and 40 normal driving at 80 mph on the motorways and blew everything away into the bargain
it was a very good weeks entertainment all round
the comments about sound proofing are worth thinking about obviously we tend to build cars a bit on the racy side but if you work out that i weigh 115 kilos and even with a passenger in the cars ballistic the addition on 20 kilos of sound proofing just wont make a blind bit of difference to the performance it will however make a hell of a difference to the interior comfort
we have just built a v tec for a customer who asked for a proper soundproofing job to be done on the car and its amazing what a few sticky pads and decent felt can acheive
im sure this car isno noisier than the honda that we got the engine from in the first place
chris

#9 USA-Fin

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Posted 13 March 2007 - 02:51 AM

i weigh 115 kilos
chris


There goes my idea that all English chaps look like Keith Richards! :thumbsup: I thought I would be the biggest bloke in a Mini, but I've cut down to only 113 kilos.
I can't wait to come by and see the VTEC car. I'll see you the first week in April.

Jim

#10 z cars chris

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Posted 19 March 2007 - 07:53 AM

jim theres hope for all us big blokes and as the old tv advert says "Mini small on the outside big on the inside" i think the fact that i can remember that advert means im an old git!!!
if you are coming early april just be aware that im in sweden at a big show with the cars from the 4th to the 12th april so if you do want to visit the workshops hopefully you still can either before or after those dates
chris

#11 USA-Fin

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Posted 20 March 2007 - 06:10 PM

jim theres hope for all us big blokes and as the old tv advert says "Mini small on the outside big on the inside" i think the fact that i can remember that advert means im an old git!!!
if you are coming early april just be aware that im in sweden at a big show with the cars from the 4th to the 12th april so if you do want to visit the workshops hopefully you still can either before or after those dates
chris


Chris,
It looks like I had better darken your doorway on Monday the 3rd. I'll see you then.

Jim




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