Hi all,
Hope everyone had a lovely new year
Well it's been a week since i got the ZT-T on the road and have to say I am loving it so far. Done around 300 miles on almost 1 complete tank over the last week on my trip up to Milton Keynes and back, with the majority being motorway miles travelling up there and back from Essex, and the rest being a mixture of small roads and dual carriageway driving whilst I was up there and also whilst I was getting the car MOT'd. Used around 50ish litres so as a guestimate based on loose figures I worked out the MPG to be around 27mpg combined which I guess isn't too bad.
Been doing a bit of town driving since refueling and it seems like it's not as bad on fuel as I thought it might be, compared to the v6 auto I was running previously which was going though quite a bit of fuel on local driving. I've been used to running diesel 75's and ZT up to this point so was a bit worried the fuel consumption would be too much for me, but so far it seems ok
I have to say the v6 190 is good fun, especially with the stainless backbox on this one which makes quite a bit of noise. I will be changing the exhaust system though, as this one although it's not too loud most of the time, it can get a bit boomy at certain rev ranges, it's pretty loud at 2-3k revs, but then above that it goes a lot quieter and changes tone to a higher pitch noise. Also I noticed earlier in the week that a little bit of the sound proofing was falling out of one of the tail pipes, pulled that little bit out and it hasn't done it more since but the box will need replacing as it did get a bit louder after that happened. It looks like a cheap aftermarket back box, although the tail pipes are clean the box itself is pretty rusty so looks like it's one of those cheap stainless ones where only the tail pipes are stainless and the box itself is just polished metal.
I have a driver's side V8 heatshield which I've kept for some time so if I decide to keep this tourer (which I really want to keep as long as I get on with the higher fuel consumption) then I plan to have a new cat back stainless duplex system fitted with oval tail pipes. Will need to do a bit of research into what sound level option to go for, will probably go for midsport but need to make sure it won't be too loud as on the tourers a lot more exhaust sound enters the cabin due to the more open back on the tourers. I will probably fit a new flexi at the same time.
Performance wise, I'm not 100% sure if it is running perfectly at it's full power, it's quick but I feel like the 2.5v6 auto I had before and also the 2.5 v6 177 manual model I drove previously felt faster. The 75 v6 manual I drove before I'm sure it felt like it had more kick in 1st and 2nd gear. I've replaced the vis motors with refurbished ones which now both definitely work as I've tested them using toaf, as the original ones had both failed as they were both clicking when tested. I'll get this looked into by my mechanic when it goes in to have the belts done, he's had v6's before so he should be able to tell if it feels like it's not running perfectly. I guess it's probably because I'm so used to the torque in diesels especially remapped ones
To drive the ZT-T feels really good, has a very tight feel with no roll and corners very flat, whilst at the same time providing a lovely soft ride so you don't feel the bumps in the road. A very positive driving experience. The gearbox and clutch feel very good with no slip from the clutch, good thing as the clutch had been changed in recent years which I have a receipt for.
The brakes are fantastic now I've replaced the discs and pads all round, for anyone who has standard brakes the 190 brakes upgrade is well worth it, it makes a huge difference. I've missed having this braking power as I'd been running a 75 with standard brakes and also driving the TF for the second half of 2018. I have the same brake set up on my ZT diesel as well which I upgraded the brakes from standard to bigger 190 brakes set up
Handbrake holds amazingly as well on the first couple clicks, think this is the best handbrake I've ever had on one of these, it's silly but just feels so much better only having to pull the handbrake up a little to get it to hold well.
Needs a couple bits done on it, the sills in 2 places are showing a lot of rust, they're still solid but eventually will go though. Already knew about this but the MOT guy called me over to demonstrate that they were still solid which was reassuring, but advised to get them repaired within a year. So will be going up to Nottingham to get that done as mentioned in one of my previous posts.
Exhaust needs changing due to the backbox as mentioned above and also due to a small gas leak from one of the middle boxes which was noted on the MOT. Whole lot will be replaced for a stainless system.
I'll need to change the tyres all round for a decent set. The rear ones are low and need changing soon anyway, but the front ones are utterly useless. The front pair are almost new but the grip is pretty non existent, cheap rubbish budget tyres. Literally every single time I pull away no matter how gentle the front wheels always slip causing the traction control to kick in as the light appears on the IPK screen. Quite annoying especially when I need to pull away at a junction quickly. Turn the traction control off and I might as well not bother as I just sit there spinning the front wheels for ages, absolutely terrible. I've had the traction control kick in many times in up to 3rd gear when I put my foot down. I run Nexen NFera SU1's on my ZT and have been really happy with them so will got for a set of them on this ZT-T. Only issue is I'm not decided if I want to change the wheels yet, so currently have to hold off tyres until I decide on wheels.
Oh and I also replaced the damaged offside wing by one supplied by Tim JMGRs, many thanks again mate
Here's before and after pics, much better now
