Mack

Possibly a buckled cell or something.

 

Guess you'll find out if it cures itself!

Fingers crossed.

I love big ripples

Swap the r for an n?

Just had a problem getting the car to start.

Ive recently only been doing short journeys in the car, some days less than a mile.

Car wouldn't crank, clicking from the starter, battery showing 10v (checked with a meter), doors sluggish to unlock. Got a bump start, ran the car for a good 20 mins. Started fine the following time and again ran it for a good 20 mins. This morning again showing 10v. I attempted a parasitic draw test but got a wandering reading. Jump started the car and ran it down the local ATS.

They conducted a battery and an alternator test and concluded it was the battery. The alternator test is showing 14.43V under load (all car electrics, heaters etc on, only jump started 15 mins before) however it is also showing "Ripple too big." They gave me a copy of the test and told me its not an issue so I've taken there word on it and got a new battery.

Does this sound right?

Mack

Mine felt a bit like yours when I first got it. Compression rod bushes and decent tyres fixed it for me.

I doubt its your tyres, you can check the compression rod bushes by jacking up the car and removing the front brace. I could see mine where ripped in places. As long as the ball joints on the end are fine you can just change the bushes for poly. I have the superpro ones on mine.

EDIT:

+1 on the alignment check as well, but take a look at the compression rod bushes first.

If you go the easy out route be very careful or get a professional to do it.

They are more brittle than they appear, I've snapped one off before and its a nightmare to drill out the remains.

Where are you based?

Thanks for the recommendations, I will look into them.

Airline Pilot for a well known low cost airline.

Not the career it used to be but not bad either.

Ive recently had someone back into the left hand side of my 350z damaging the door and the rear quarter panel. Im insured through Chaucer via Sky Insurance and they have been good. The other side accepted liability and they got me booked in for an estimate. However the repairers are unable to get hold of a door skin from Nissan to complete the repair. Its currently on back order with no estimate to when it will be available.

Im looking for a good bodyshop preferably near Stansted to complete the repair.

Can anyone give me some recommendations?

"If he says its a flawless/floorless finish I'm going to tape his bloody mouth shut"

Lol

I'm interested Bennet, let me know if it falls through.

Great idea!

Just look on eBay for the grommets. Any 22mm and 25mm blank grommets should do fine.

Any decent Silicone sealant will do.

Fair reply Mack, Ill give you that

 

Your a gentlemen!

 

Partworns - you might get yours inspected (actually, by who, the Michelin Man? ) but most people would read that as "help yourself from a tyre pile", thats the dangerous bit. Ive never met a tyre inspector and Ive known a couple of people suffer blowouts at speed, Ill stick with the quality tested option thank you

Slicks are a different story but again, if youre using DS2500's you probably arent quite ready for them yet

 

He's my bezzy mate!, not quite suggesting you grab a few from the tyre wall at the track. I source from a few reliable people and get it looked at by a reputable garage thats fits them for me. Mostly its common sense, no cuts to the side wall, no bulges etc. I plan to run slicks one day but I need to investigate oil surge etc. Ive got a set of blue stuff pads to run at my next track day.

 

Likewise with the brakes, there are 1500 registered users here and no-one has ever had the same issue, this suggests that its specific to your car - Ive seen well over 450 deg C on mine (standard calipers, discs, currently Carbon Lorraine RC06 pads) and wasnt suffering any fade at all, not to mention that fade is generally down to fluid rather than discs or pads.

Sure, brake ducts arent going to hurt but neither are loads of other changes you could make

 

Bit of a mix up here, thats not my car. The inside wearing of discs and pads with stock Brembo's does seam to be common. Not sure if its a design issue or something else. Does yours do it?

 

Oil temps - I dont know on my car :o but Ive spent time with others to know its not caused any issues with FI being involved - again, like the brake ducts you could do it but theres a list of stuff Id be doing before I got to that stage.

I didnt say anywhere you shouldnt do cool down laps, just that theres no need to keep <2K rpm or whatever, they are more for brakes than engines.

 

If you measure them, let me know.

 

I can see youre only trying to help so sorry if I was hard on you at all but Ive been around forums, tracks and modified cars a long time and Ive seen a lot of inaccurate advice given, myths perpetuated and just downright wrong stuff being presented as facts (welded diffs and stretched tyres are two personal favourites ), some of which I wish Id known was wrong when I first read it so I will tend to stick an oar in from time to time

Welded diffs and stretched tyres init! +40BHP from the K&N.

OK Mack, you keep telling people stuff thats not correct if it makes you feel good.

 

http://www.stoptech....and-other-myths

 

If you makes you feel good I will take that one on the chin My main point was check the inside of the discs and pads as that was were mine where worn.

 

I got the brake judder, ill accept my technical explanation is a bit off but my main point is inspect your discs and pads, especially the inside. Is that bad advice? My brake judder did not disappear.

 

Likewise, in your link to that thread (what exactly was I supposed to be seeing in a picture that wasnt there?) you said yourself that you didnt get overheating with DS2500 but did with yellows, regardless of the pad its more likely to be the caliper at fault - I personally dont consider either to be a track pad anyway but its pretty obviously not something that happens very often, Ive never see a caliper change colour before and neither had anyone who answered that thread.

 

​The front callipers turned purple. They both changed colour. Could be caused by a stuck piston but probably unlikely to have exactly the same fault in both from callipers simultaneously. It would probably have shown itself on the road. I have only run DS2500s on track days so far so I can't comment on the yellow stuff pads. The point is its possible to overheat the brakes. Different pads will perform differently. A bit of ducting is a few quid and again "worth considering" not essential.

 

An oil cooler kit is at least £200 + installation which I think is expensive for something I dont actually need, and telling people to use partworns rather than new tyres is criminal advice frankly (think about it ....... where did the partworn come from? why is it a "partworn" in the first place?) - Im planning on using a spare set of rear 18's with Nankang NS2-R's as Ive been suffering from my rears overheating a lot, I know a lot of other guys who do similar for track as when you really push "hard" you start to need something different front and back.

 

The clues in the name! part worn means its been part worn . Its like any second hand parts, get them inspected and from a reasonable source. Zmanalex was selling part worn slicks on here. I personally haven't had a problem with part worn tyres. Bennet runs partworns as well, ask him. If you know the performance of the tyres and know a good mixed setup more power to you. I ran my car on a mix set of good branded tyres and it was not good. Again first track day, especially if its wet I would not experiment with mixed tyres.

 

As for the oil cooler what oil temps are you getting? Ive asked already but you haven't answered Note my wording "worth considering" not essential and a recommendation to do cooling laps, bad advice? Give Abbey a buzz and ask them.

 

Even your last post says a lot to me - every track briefing Ive ever been to they tell you they will only accept mechanical fixing of an internal camera, I guess you must have missed that in the "donkeys" youve been doing tracks huh?

 

Track days in Northern Ireland where a bit more relaxed, Snetterton's a bit different, first time I went it wasn't mentioned in the briefing. They where happy to accept it if it was attached with the M3 sticky stuff, providing it was clear of the airbags. The bloody thing wouldn't stick to the dash texture unfortunately!

 

I was trying to help the guy out by letting him know. Its a bummer to find your can't run your camera.

 

You have every right to do whatever you want, but spewing forth inaccurate advice while assuming the position of expert is not something Im down with - a lot of people dont have prior knowledge and are at the least will perpetuate the inaccuracy, at worst it could actually be dangerous.

 

​Check your discs, as a beginner don't be mixing brands front and rear, beware of brake temps, oil temp maybe an issue, camera needs to be solidly mounted. Yup, real dangerous. No I'm not an expert, buts its what I've learned along the way.

 

Youre stone cold wrong about warped discs, youre blaming a lack of ducting for a brake caliper problem, youre telling people to spend money they dont need to and then suggesting that one should use secondhand tyres from a totally unknown origin in preference to (in my case) RE050A's and MPSS front and back. Sorry of this sounds like a rant but Im not down with bad advice.

Nothing wrong with a good rant

Ok, looks like a mixed bag of rainy weather tomorrow so leaving the road tyres on.

Done all the checks I can think of and everything on the car seems fine.

Will hopefully get some video footage using harrys laptimer app, just fixed an iphone holder to the rear screen.

Will update after the event !!!!

Good stuff mate!

Be aware of one thing. I tried to run a go pro camera at Snetterton inside the car. I got pulled by the marshals because I was trying to mount it with a sucker cup or the go pro sticky on the windscreen.

They wanted it clamped in a solid way in case of roll over. The passenger seat headrest might do it.

Enjoy your day!

Think you read too much into that, who said that when you're on track you have to drive like a F1 driver? A Track day is like a spirited road drive, you take it easy and be mindful of your surroundings. It's not a time attack.

Fair enough, I've edited my post.

I personally like to push hard.

OK, Im not having a pop but do you really think two trackdays is enough to start giving advice?

 

2 days in the Zed but I've been doing track days for donkeys.

 

I found my front discs where shot, as the expanded under the heat they warped causing vibrations under braking.

 

Brake discs dont warp, they sometimes pick up deposits which are impossible to see though. Generally a proper bit of heavy braking will sort them out so if they are a bit wobbly to start with just push through it.

 

Any metal will expand with enough heat. If the disc is not a floating design it will warp. The discs were shot. I had a look before I went but didn't check the inside. The insides of both front and rear where worn.

Extra ducting is worth considering.

 

Why? Ive done 15+ days on everything from Anglesey to Spa and not had a problem.

 

Good for you, take a look here http://www.350z-uk.c...ld#entry1167694

 

The after picture has been removed but the calliper changed colour. My guess is that takes some serious heat. Why not extra ducting? Its very cheap and might just save you from brake fade at the worst moment. What brake pads/disc were you using? not all are created equal.

 

There is an oil to coolant oil cooler installed but a proper oil cooler is worth considering. I would limit hard laps to say five in a row followed by a cool down lap driving in a high gear

 

Oil cooler - not needed unless you are drifting, and cool down lap just needs to be not maximum attack, high gears or going really slowly arent anything to worry about - its more for the brakes than the engine anyway

 

You have just repeated what I said. What oil temperature are you getting? what was the ambient temperature? again an oil cooler is not expensive if you plan to do many track days.

 

Don't mix brands front and rear.

 

I wouldnt rush out and buy matching tyres just for a trackday TBH

 

Mixing brands front and rear is not even recommended for road driving! especially in the wet. Just get some part worns if they don't match.

 

My main advice - dont worry. At the end of the day its not much different from a spirited drive on an A road, yes its harder on the brakes but its not like youre entering a 6 hour endurance race. Go steady to start with, dont try to race anyone and gradually build your speed up while remaining comfortable with it and before you know it you'll be hossing round like an old hand. The best bit of advice I ever got given youre the only person driving the car, if you crash or lose it its because YOU were pushing too hard, and YOU need to be the one to realise that.

Ive done 2 track days at Snetteron in my almost standard Zed. Heres my 2 cents:

General:

Driving on a track is far more intense on the car than road driving. It will highlight any problems with your car. If I could test drive a car on a track I would. I used to track day a Saxo VTR once a month. I discovered a faulty rear damper on Debtors Dip at Kirkistown, Northern Ireland by having the back snap out at 100MPH and skidding backwards across the grass at 80MPH. It was interesting!

Therefore I advise you build your speed slowly. I highly recommend your do it however! Take advantage of the driving instruction. Its well worth it.

Brakes:

As others have pointed out the weak point on the Zed. Check your discs and pads from and rear. Specifically check the inside of disc and the inside pad as they tend to wear more than the outside. I found my front discs where shot, as the expanded under the heat they warped causing vibrations under braking. Not confidence inspiring at 120MPH! Braided lines and uprated fluid are a cheap and reasonably easy upgrade. Extra ducting is worth considering. Beware when leaving the circuit as the fluid will still be hot. You may find you need to brake considerably harder when driving at normal speeds. When the fluid cools its no longer a problem. A Spare set of brake pads is worth considering.

Do not apply the handbrake after a driving session, leave it in gear. You can weld the rear pads to the hot disc.

Oil:

Another weak point of the zed is it does heat the oil. There is an oil to coolant oil cooler installed but a proper oil cooler is worth considering. I would limit hard laps to say five in a row followed by a cool down lap driving in a high gear. After you stop pop your bonnet to allow the heat to escape.

Tyres:

The single most important item for track days. Don't mix brands front and rear. Get a tyre pressure gauge, you will find as your tyres heat the pressure rises dramatically. You will need to let out some air and top it up after the track day.

Other:

Bringing a Go Pro camera is a great way to record your day but it must be mounted securely or the Marshall's won't let you out. Unfortunately the Zed interior doesn't have many good points.

Something that might interest Mac owners.

I've got a 13 MacBook Air and I'm mostly very happy with it.

One really annoying thing is the start up sound. It plays at the volume set at shutdown and can't be disabled. Turn it on while people are asleep it will wake the house.

To stop it you can mute the sound before shut or alternatively use a program called start ninja which does it automatically. It's free and also works with the FileVault 2 WDE as well.

http://www.allvu.com/index.php/sndownloadpage.html

Hope someone finds it useful.

Good idea to sell it on here, for postage you can use parcel2go.com. Just measure it, weight on the bathroom scales or guess against bags of sugar.

Its very easy to do. There's often someone reverting to standard to sell.

Thanks everyone for your kind words, as said by you all the important thing is that she walked away without any serious problems .

 

Sorry to hear about your car and good to hear your missus is ok.

 

Its a heavy car but I've always thought of it being a solid car. I would much rather have a wack in my Zed than my old Mk1 Micra.

 

Interesting you say this because shes now borrowing her dads old Mk1 micra to toddle about in

 

Sad to see .... But very glad to hear everyone is ok .... If a tad shaken up from it I expect

 

On a better note , there was a zed for sale at " simply jap" show on Sunday

 

... Night blue , frost leather , 57 plate HR , 45-47k ( can't remember) sat nav £9950 , there's a pic of it on here from the show.

 

Forum member ..... Can't remember who though !

 

Don't suppose anyone knows anything more about this, sounds like it would be right up our street.

 

Ed

You probably don't want to see this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxdW4HwX_rk&feature=youtu.be&t=15s

Sorry to hear about your car and good to hear your missus is ok.

Its a heavy car but I've always thought of it being a solid car. I would much rather have a wack in my Zed than my old Mk1 Micra.

Fair play for offering a good deal to someone!

Im sure someone who's rounded or damaged the bleed nipple will take this off you.

pm sent

Thanks for the Reply Nissan Nutter,

Do you have any photos?