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Willis' 350z TRACK//DAILY//GT//NUR


WillisRR

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Yes butcher, friken know that well. Things normally take twice as long too :(. Like you said all self inflicted and we bloody love it really!!

 

Thanks Sargara, Aye, some of the footage in the first clip was recorded quite low so to stop some bits being louder than others i just levelled it out. If i had more time i would have taken the whole clip, dropped it back into adobe premier and hightened all the levels (as you can only raise by 6db) but I just do what I can and whack it up without spending too long, 3hrs to put those clips together :).

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I will need to buy a set of new semi slicks soon. I can see you both went for A048R (you and butcher). Are they currently the best choice out there when it comes to good lap times and reliability? How do they compare to r888 or r888r?

Edited by GodISmE
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It is pretty difficult to call for your application in all honesty. The r888 is by far the better track focussed dry tyre with surprising levels of wet grip and water dispersion (considering the tread). The AD08r however is just the best all round tyre i have ever had, i dont run the 48r on my 350 but do on the MK. The Ad08r is brilliant from cold and very good wet performance. The r888 probably comes up closer to an a048r. Again a tyre i love but in the wet the 48 is terrid. I run a a032 for a wet tyre on the MK because i just hate the 48 so much in anything but dry conditions. The ad08r is used as the world time attack control tyre which says a lot, it just depends on how long stints you do on track days as the r888s would wear much better in that regard.

Edited by WillisRR
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Probably not this year for me, I'll have to stick with mpss and potentially mps4 on the rear (mpss not available in our size), however I'd like a second set of wheels for the track I think.

Not sure about running those tyres in year round conditions largely on the road.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Bit of an update with Nurburgring Looming!! Cadwell park first though on the 19th in the MX5 if anyone's about?

 

Compression arm polybushes added to the front (Thanks Rob)

Tyre Monitoring System added (Thanks SpeckUK)

Tein Monosport and EDFC fitted with minor headache, rear hub to damper bushes/bolts had seized so new ones ordered (Thanks ZMANALEX)

 

Replacement Y-pipe fitted to stop the horrid blowing OEM system deafening me on the journey over.

 

Full geo and Corner weight this weekend and then off for 10 DAYS at the very best place on earth!!

 

Can't wait!! Much more apprehensive this time compared to last year. No real clue why in all honesty, maybe because we are going for such a long time i feel i may start to get a false sense of confidence! Must remember to get the sticker for my windscreen that says '7/10ths no more' haha!

Edited by WillisRR
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Haha last year in the MX5 it was like a proper top gear challenge. We had taken it on two track days in the months leading up and it had broken both times!! So with a 100% fail record I thought i was doomed before I even set off.

 

That came true when waiting for the ferry at the front of the que in Newcastle! The car engine bay temps got so hot it wouldn't start!! All other cars and lorries were loaded and the security guy said it was time to give up as I couldn't be pushed on, the car had to stat and drive on... So I asked him to push me down the hill to bump start it and drive up into the ferry.... This didn't happen and i gently coasted to a stop as the crowds of other people (who had parked, dropped bags off in their rooms, got a beer and gone onto the rear deck to watch some dick head in an mx5 fail) cheered.

 

Luckily my Mrs had insisted i take 6Ltr Bottles of water to keep me hydrated... I ended up pouring all six on the motor/bay to cool it down, which errupted into @*!# loads of steam and a @*!# load more cheers from the people gathered to watch :lol: .

 

Bloody worked though and the car coughed into life and I drove it on with minutes to spare!!!

 

Somehow managed to drive it all the way through Holland, Germany and arrived at Nurburgring with no issue other than a screw in my Toyo R1R tyre... ohh and a BMW wrote itself off right in front of me and debris took out the garage Vary front lip!

 

We got the tyre repaired and I lapped for 4 days with no issues!!!!! Every time that barrier went up my heart sank. I was so convinced bad sh*t was going to happen and every time i saw that finish straight after another completed lap i literally cheered! Made me love that little POS far more than i should!

 

About an hour away from home on the way back after 1.2k of driving our freshly rebuilt 4.6FD diff started whining like mad! At that point i couldn't care and was just so glad to be home!

 

...You can see why i bought the 350z for this years trip :lol: . Let's hope for a more chilled out approach this year!!

 

5min long vid

 

1min short highlights vid

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So the last week of Nur prep! Halted i am afraid to say by having to have our dog put down on the Saturday. She was just so awesome and such a massive part of our little family. We are going to miss her so much but i wont dwell on it here...

 

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Fitted my new applecarplay head unit which should be a nice upgrade from no stereo in the MX5 on a long trip to Nur! Think it really updates the interior nicely too...

 

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Tein EDFC Controller all in and working great>>

 

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And a few trips over the Peak District in the last few days to test the Teins out and a bit of therapy. Will give a full review as I use them more and explore on track. First off is the body roll control is now very impressive due to the heavier spring rates. Really has made this car feel how I always wanted it too. It even seems to have sorted a lot of the balance out too! The EDFC has proven to be as useful as i had hoped, being able to drive 20 mins from my house on full soft and simply click a button to harden things up as I get to some of the amazing roads over in the Peaks and easily soften them up after is just perfect. Also great for adjusting to the weather/road conditions. From full soft giving almost OEM compliance with much less roll too full hard which would be suited to track use only it really has made the car a very impressive and adaptable all rounder. I dont say it lightly, but this is THE best car i have ever owned. Don't get me wrong I think you could go out and buy BC, MeisterR etc and have similar results, I don't think this is exclusively because i bought the monosports but it is the EDFC that stood out to me for my application.

 

Only thing that I am not super keen on is the EBC Orange stuff pads. They are OK. The initial bite is weak but they are consistently acceptable even on longer stints.... nothing more than acceptable though not worthy of slating either, i wont be buying them again mind.

 

God damn do I want a mechanical diff and light weight flywheel too. Final drive is still on the list also.

 

Bring on Saturday as our ten day adventure to Nurburgring begins!

 

 

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Edited by WillisRR
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Sorry to hear about the pupper fella :( Its never easy is it, they become so integral to our lives and then one day they're not here anymore. Be watching over you from the doggie rainbow keeping an eye out!

 

Pleased to hear you're happy with the suspension, Im looking forward to gettibg mine more settled. Looks cracking in those last pictures!

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I got back from Nur last week, absolutely epic scenes.

 

Concerning youre not rating the brake pads already, mine were literally on fire when I came in after one two lap session (had to go straight off down the road to cool them) and were the key to going fast confidently, you need that extra 10% in the bag for when you **** up ...... :lol:

 

CL pads FTW on any track car, the amount of noise they were making after they cooled down a bit was comedy though. :lol:

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Cheers Olly, yeah friken horrible coming home to the house without a dog in it! Feels so soulless. Awesome re the suspension, let's hope you give them the same approval.

 

Awesome Docwra, I love it there. Really is such a special place. It's tricky re the brake pads. I have done a few track days on them and they have been uber consistent but it's just that initial bite. Could be because i am used to lighter cars but i certainly agree that the likes of CL would be much better... just much more money too :). Glad to see you had an awesome time and made it back safe. Let's hope I do the same eeekkk!!!

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Sorry to hear about your doggy :(

 

The car is looking very nice ! (we're almost twins on that front :lol: )

 

I'm using CL RC5+ pads on the track, and swap them over to stoptech road pads (amazing bite now the discs are worn in).

I love the CL pads, and will try out the RC6 pads next but I don't run them on the road, I prefer having the 2 separate pads for their jobs (same with tyres when I can afford it).

They aren't cheap but they're sintered and won't disappoint, I'm going to have to route in some brake cooling ducts as started cooking up the fluid, and looks like I have heat spots on the discs :lol:

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Also sorry to hear about your pooch, looks like a right cheeky character in that pic.

 

Good to hear you're enjoying the car and getting it to more your liking. The Zed really is a great drivers car with only a few choice mods and one of them is definitely a proper diff. I've just fitted a 3.9 FD to mine this year and am really looking forward to stirring the box a bit more now and keeping that engine singing!

I know its been covered over and over but I have run with Pagid RS29 and millers 300+ brake for years and years and they are always there hot and cold same every time you hit the pedal and that is worth the price tag all day long for me, if I try anything else it'll be the performance friction 08 pads.................hopefully in PF ZR31 calipers but now we are talking £££

 

Hope you have a great time in Germany, as you say such a special place just bubbling with all things car and track related........just wish I could get out there more!

 

PS keep meaning to ask you what that front lip is? Less is more with the Zed and that looks just right!

Edited by 350Butcher
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Yeah she was just so affectionate and loving. I moved out when I was 17 and she has been with me since so very odd coming home to no fluffy crazy dog.

 

Ahh yeah I certainly think I need to spend a little more on the next set of pads and go for something I have used and know work like what you have suggested. Rob, good call on the double pad set up, a friend does this on his clio and having the brembos makes it a 10min job. Cooling ducts are 100% such a great idea for what is very cost efficient. Currently have the engineering school where i work looking at some that will replace the oem reflectors on the front bumper. Was hoping to have them on for nur but i now need to get a different washer bottle as the ducts will pass right through that space. Just removing the splash sheilds lets the heat escape better tbf though.

 

Bahhh butcher That sounds spot on, 3.9 and mech diff! Just so much outlay but i really think it's worth it... I just dont have it right now and with the baby due soon i guess it's low priority bahh :(... if you haven't worked out why I have spent so much on the 350 in such a short amount of time now you know.. make it too uneconomical to sell on for a sensible car 😂.

 

The lip is a mines style item made by RT Performance ðŸ‘.

 

Thanks, so excited now, been a lot of effort to get the car ready and mega money but i am so happy with the result. Now to go and have lots of fun!

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I know its been covered over and over but I have run with Pagid RS29 and millers 300+ brake for years and years and they are always there hot and cold same every time you hit the pedal and that is worth the price tag all day long for me, if I try anything else it'll be the performance friction 08 pads.................

 

Well said, its that confidence you need. In many years of doing this its become clear to me the CL's, PF's, RS29 and Carbotech XP8/XP10 are the only options that give this, people can tell me EBC are great all they like but invariably said people havent used any of the above.

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Just been having this very conversation on the way back from Cadwell! You find it with the likes of ferrodo pads too amd a lot of average 'sporty' tyres paradas2 and T1Rs to name a few! People go from crap pads/tyres to these and then think they have found the ultimate. I use and have used carbotech and CLs on my other and previous cars and there really is no comparison. I only ran the Orange stuff EBCs to give them a go, never expected them to be as good but we have to try these things and when i bought the EBCs I didn't expect to get as carried away as I have done and do as many track days in it as that is what i have the mx5 and MK for... but the 350 was just that damn great! Have been surprised in the past mind, we run axxis ultimates on the mx5 and feck me they are amazing for the money.

Edited by WillisRR
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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm back!! All limbs still attached, bank account SMASHED but luckily not the car too haha! Such an amazing 10 days and have come back with even more love for the car!

 

Quick review would be... Mon-Fri was uber quiet and the locals driving standards are amazing, they are either very fast or very respectful (or both) and no track closures all week... Come the weekend and it's FULL of try hard idiots who crash lots and make lapping on a Sat/Sun a waste of time and money. Teins are awesome, Brakes were ok but couldn't deal with the GP track (Yep we got to do the GP track too!), 10 days at Nurburgring is expensive, very expensive, fuel for a lap of Nordschleife is more than the actual lap ticket! Watching the ZR1 Corvette, new GT3 and GT2RS Porsche go for fast laps throughout the week was amazing but watching the Mclaren P1 LM was even better! Ohehr than that power sliding for a farewell lap will get you told off but if you play dumb/polite you wont get banned :lol:. Oh and don't buy a new Fiesta ST, they blow head gaskets and cost you 500eu to get recovered on your first lap :rant: .

 

Few pics and a very short unedited vid below along with a few pics. Will upload full laps and vids of each day asap :teeth: ....

 

 

BORING Initial thoughts of the Teins and EBC pads I did before I went...

 

 

 

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Edited by WillisRR
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Glad you had a great time!! Such a great place!!

 

I've not been round on touristenfahrten day but can totally imagine the difference between the mon-fri vs sat-sun experience. We had exactly the same when we did our track day with DN, all day only a few cars recovered and I think 1 red flag...........track day ended and about 10mins into public session red flag, recovery truck and ambulance are out and an E90 M3 on brit plates smashed to bits comes back! Ruined it for everyone else.

 

It so good seeing proper machinery being put through its paces round there too, the super cars stay in the car park in the UK they get driven flat out on track in Germany!

 

Great little sample vid and pics, cant beat those high speed compressions/corners can you?..................nein drifting made me chuckle and top job at acting the clueless englisch!!

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Best place on earth isn't it! Feels so homely too!!

 

Hehe yeah certainly wont go for just a weekend again like we did last year! And too right! The fox hole was damn insane compared to the mx5 last time haha!! Really was so impressed with how the teins handled such a damanding track! Felt i could really push!

 

Oh hell yes, playing dumb comes easy for me haha!

Edited by WillisRR
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