trackpig

Cheers. Pretty similar toe setting as I am aiming for. I am stuck with the front camber settings though I look forward to the vids

Nice work on the quick ring trip! What geo settings do you run on the car? I am about to have mine aligned but wondered if there are preferred settings to standard. How quick did you make it round the ring?

The nut has a fine thread. It's an m14x1.5.

What kind of price are we looking at for a head gasket change?

The nut for the compression arm ball joint is in the dia below, part number 40038D http://www.courtesyparts.com/350z-parts ... 0_801.html

I had a tricky time of trying to remove the compression arms at the weekend! I removed the under tray and brace all without a problem. All I had to do was remove the nut from the ball joint on each arm. I started with the passenger side as I thought that one was the one knocking. The nut was seriously tight. I obviously was as gentle as possible as I didnt want to damage any thing but had to get more persuasive. I finally removed the nut after using vaious combinations of tools, jacks, heat and wd40. The nut was tight all the way down the balljoint thread and fought all the way. This took around 3 hours to remove!!! The nut wasnt in the best of condition when I got it off and would not go back on the ball joint. No problem I thought as I have been very clever and bought the nut from Nissan yesterday. Yes, except its not the correct nut I am now in the situation where I cant put the car back together and my girlfriend is walking to work on monday. I call Nissan on Saturday morning and tell them we got the wrong nuts. It is indeed £18 per nut for the correct ones and I can have them on Tuesday . I then try a motorists dicount center to see if they have the M14x1.5 (fine thread) nut I need. I have to buy a whole whole ball joint for a BMW at £9 just for the nut. It works though! I am now at the point where I know I can put the car together but still have the other side to do. I inspected the compression arm bushes and both look in really good condition (I know at least one of the arms has been replaced by previous owners). I decide to reassemble the car as I dont think the bushes need changing. Once complete, I test drive the car and find the knocking has gone. I cant belive it. The car feels great on its knock free suspension. I think the arm had been replaced in the past by Nissan but the thread of the nut was damaged but done up with a air gun. I reckon there was was very slight play in beween the ball joint cone and hub and this caused the knocking. Just glad its sorted

I was told that price on the phone. I pick them up in the morning, so i'll report back. You guys must have too much cash if you can pay £38 or £11 for a nut!

ive just ordered two of these nuts just in case- i am changing the bushes at the weekend. Around £2 each from nissan. part number is 089116421a i believe.

Thanks. I was thinking of taking the same approach. Not exactly clear though is it? Cheers.

Hi all I am going to fit the bc racing coilovers to the car this weekend. Ive been reading the instruction manual which is fairly poor imo. I have a question and I wonder if anyone can advise me? Front units- The spring pre load is set at the factory and should not be adjusted (stated in the manual). Only the ride height and damping can be adjusted- fair enough. Rear units- The spring platform can be ajusted for height and the length of the damper unit can be lengthened or shortened. The instructions say i must adjust the damper and the spring platform together if i want to raise or lower the car. How do I know what damper length to set to suit the height of the spring platform? Getting this wrong will result in bad spring preload or the damper extending too much/ bottoming out! Any ideas or suggestions welcome

He is currently trying the wet and dry process but the lenses seem to have many micro cracks in them. He has had problems in the past where it looked like the top coating was peeling off in places. After using the tar and glue chemical the cracks appeared. The cracks do not seem to be very deep - only in the surface and do not grow when you flex the plastic of the lense. I'll see if I can get some pics. WRT the ebay ad- Are the lights in the ad from a JDM car? Do jdm cars have non xenon lights? Cheers

Hi All A fellow 350z driver I know is after a new set of headlights after his have become damaged by heavy duty cleaning products. " Tar and Glue remover" got onto the lights and has "crazed" the plastic lense. Has anyone bought and fitted a set of these lights from the states?: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/03-05-Nissan-350Z ... 20b7e3844a Cheers

Monaco is worth a visit (just so you can say you have driven the track every time the monaco gp is on tv) We didnt bother with the vignette last year, we just hitched a tow with a local driven Z4 and cruised through swizterland at a fair pace The french autoroutes are pricey but great roads. 100 miles travelled in 1 hour is the goal

A read though of my thread my give you some ideas: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=39640 You are right to limit the amount of miles per day as it can become a pain. We like to have a two night stay along the way as booking into a hotel in the afternoon and having to pack up and check out in the morning is hard work. Two nights in one place gives you a good break. I would limit the miles driven in this country, we are going to start to use Newcastle to amsterdam in future. Enjoy!

I meant to send that on a PM.

Hi Alex Do you have any pre owned coil packs in stock? I could also do with an injector. Are the injectors hard to change? I only want them as spares for a nurburging/ spa trip. Cheers Kevin.

Try cameralert for the iPhone- gps locations of fixed and mobile sites. Don't worry about the comments from the BRAKE members and do gooders!

I have used a couple of different tyre choices, tyre pressures are dropped to around 34psi hot. I find the rear end planted which can make the slightly less front end grip feel more prominent. I know that coilovers, camber arms and full geo is the best way forward but getting the right tyre size is important. What size tyres do the regular trackdayers use on the their Z's?

I could go for a new set of tyres but I want to buy the right sizes. I am happy with 245 on the rear but was thinking of 235 or 245 for the front. The front geo is not really adjustable unless I purchase A arms. Wider tyres seems a cheap way to increase front grip. Thanks for any info p.s I know vredestein ultrac sessanta are rated on here, but has anyone ran them on track?

Hi I have the standard rays alloys fitted to my car. I want to get rid of the understeer thats present on trackdays, to do this , I am thinking of fitting 245/40/18's all round. I have checked on the online calc's and it seems the 245's will fit on the 8" and 8.5" rims no problem. I am aware there my be TC and ESP issues but what about rubbing or poor steering feel?? Any first hand experience of 245's on the front or opinions out there?

We did some high average speed driving through france and germany on our euro tour last year. High cruising speeds with a few top speed attempts thrown in for good measure. It only amounted to around 7 hours driving in one day though. All 3 350z's loved it. The vx220T loved it but the vx passengers looked a bit tired!

It's also german and a 4 seater coupe imho more aimed at comfort and refinement than as a track tool. I can't honestly see most people who would be buying an M3 ask for the kind of ride that harder springs would give? I probably should have changed the suspension on the M3, but brakes were rubbish also, it really wasn't meant to be a track car imho. The proper track coilovers for the m3 and the zed have nearly the same spring rates, so surely it must come down to comfort for daily use? I didnt pick up on the M3 to have an M3 vs Zed debate. I simply want to tailor my Z into a slighty more track happy car. To do this, I want to understand spring rates and spring balance. The M3 was just used as an example of different spring rates for different cars All cars like M3's and Zeds are a compromise. The M3 was not designed as a track tool and neither was the Z.

Its similar in power, weight and drivetrain layout yet has very different spring rates and front to back balance recommended by BC. I found my M3 to be a little wallowy untill I changed the suspension. I also find the Z a little soft as standard when used on track. Suspension setup can transform a refined cruiser into a real track piece.

Great write up, thanks. When you ordered the coilovers, did you spec your own spring rates? If not, it sounds like you have the 10kg fronts and 8kg rears. I cant decide if I want 10 and 8kg or spec something like 9kg front and 9kg rear to keep the ride comfortable and to try and dial out some of the understeer that nissan dialed in.

Hi I have been looking at a set of coilovers- BC's in particular due to good reviews and a good price. I am confused at the spring rates that are supplied standard with the BC kit. BC provide 10kg/mm front springs and 8kg/mm rears- a stiffer front spring. This goes against what Nissan fit as standard and what most of the after market conventional spring makers supply ( mostly supplying stiffer rear springs compared to front). I then looked at what springs BC supply for different cars of similar power and weight to the Z. For an E46 M3- similar weight, power and drivetrain layout, BC supply 7kg front and 8kg rears. Can anyone explain why cars of similar weight and power have such different coilover spring rates and why BC have changed the spring balance to the front on the Z ( a setup which I have read will increase understeer) Thanks for any info Anyone who has fitted BC's to their car and has an opinion on them, please do share your comments.