ZB Calais - New Member

[ZBCalais]

Hi everyone,

I've recently purchased a second hand ZB Calais and what a great car! (I wanted to thank the community as I did some research before I committed to the purchase - Mainly in respects to the loud air con compressor and the gearbox. I appreciate your thoughts.)

We managed to find a ZB Calais with under 40,000km's and it is as good as new! As far as I can tell it was an ex-GM directors car and it is immaculate - We are incredibly pleased with the purchase.

I've owned probably ~12 Fords and Holden's over the years and I can confidently say that this is the nicest car to drive, hands-down. Great trim, tech, ride quality, heaps of room and the 2.0L T is surprisingly good! (While it's not quite as thrilling as some of the modified turbo's and V8's I've had, it is a great mix of power, confidence and comfort.) What a shame the ZB never quite took off here... It's the best Holden IMO, by far.

I'm hoping to ask a couple of quick questions, if I can. I've scanned through the forums but haven't seen anything yet... (Apologies if threads already exist)

1) The previous owner was a smoker, which is not great as I have a young son. I've purchased a new cabin filter to install, I air the vehicle when I can, and have been using some odour removers which seem to be helping. Does anyone have any tried and tested methods to help?
2) From what I can tell, most service parts are still readily available but certain parts may need to be ordered from Europe/US?
3) The factory headlights are pretty horrible - I'm hoping to change them to OSRAM nightbreakers or a Phillips performance globe but what is with the bulb containment design? I have small hands and there is less than no room! They look to be H7's - Can anyone please confirm? I couldn't find this in the manual...
4) On a side note, I purchased a K&N panel filter in a recent SCA sale - I know some people love them and others hate them, but if you're interested, they still seem to be going for $75 instead of $135 - https://www.supercheapauto.com.au/p...3-5049-interchangeable-with-a1962/557206.html (There seem to be a few around at the odd SCA store)

Thanks everyone - I look forward to getting involved with the community! Cheers!

 

[krusing]

Congratulations on your purchase,
And its great to hear you did your research from JC’s forum for your purchase,
However I am not familiar with ZB’s,

But as for being a ex-smokers car,
I am familiar with that.
All you can do it keep cleaning the upholstery, door trims, and head lining, and if your keen, the carpet,

My 2006 Adventra belonged to a smoker, and it was a bit nicotine grotty,
I basically removed all the easy things I could, and washed them by hand in the laundry,
As for the door trims, dash, seats, buttons, basically EVERYTHING (being my interior is a basic leather/vinyl),
I used pine-o-clean surface cleaner (5L) , and purchased a spray bottle, both from Bunnings and cleaned it from top to bottom, and finally got rid of the stale cigarette smell.

Yes, I even cleaned the headlining, especially on the drivers side, all the door trims, handles, the whole car,
I am yet the remove the console again, and then seats, and carpet to Karcher the carpet,
as it looks like it has a “few red wine stains” on it,
as it was a Wine Reps car once in its life, in King Valley,
and then a garden tool supplier from Mt Clear till Sep 2021.

 

[ZBCalais]

Thanks krusing,

I appreciate the advice - the smell is certainly stubborn and has a habit of popping up again after a clean and/or a long drive with the windows down...

I'll have a crack at the pine-o-clean idea and let you know how I go! Fingers crossed!

Cheers

 

[stooge]

service parts like filters you can find at local auto stores but more serious parts may be hard to find locally and may need to come from opel in germany.

the headlight bulbs are push fit(no clips like older cars) and they are h7 bulbs for both high and low, the positioning tab on the bulb faces upwards when fitting them.

 

[ZBCalais]

Awesome, thanks Stooge - I'll grab some new globes this week. Cheers!

 

[ZBCalais]

Hi again team,

The gearbox seems to be a little, 'laggier' now then when I first bought the car, and I assume that the computer is just accounting for a new driver - I figure now is as good a time as any to reset the ECU so that the car can learn my driving style. (I've also fitted a new K&N filter so the car is also accounting for additional airflow)

Can anyone confirm if disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery is the best way to reset the ECU in a ZB? I know some cars really don't like this, so I thought I'd check first! (Will I need a radio code or similar?)

Thanks for the advice regarding the cleaning, tyre pressures and globes so far

Thanks all!

 

[stooge]

Can anyone confirm if disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery is the best way to reset the ECU in a ZB? I know some cars really don't like this, so I thought I'd check first! (Will I need a radio code or similar?)

you can try disconnect it, not really sure how the zb tcm works.
radio codes pretty much dont exist in modern vehicles as everything is secured by vin so disconnecting the battery wont cause any issues with the radio.

some vehicles these days dont even secure the radio at all so you can just swap them from vehicle to vehicle and they work lol.

on a side note when i had my rs v6 i found lag spots in the throttle at certain points of driving and i found a throttle controller solved it for me.
it sort of felt like the gears were not changing down quick enough when certain points of throttle were applied, i used the idrive EVC525L in mine and it worked well.

 

[ZBCalais]

Thanks Stooge - Appreciate the thoughts