350Butcher

If you look at the pic of my fronts the side wall is going in towards the wheel so I think its just the construction of the tyre is designed for being mounted onto a wider wheel. I probably would have gone with 245/255 40 sizes if I had of known this before hand. 40 profile works really well, car handles much better than it did with the 35 on 19" wheels before. There's better then there's 5seconds faster over a 2 1/2 minute lap and I suspect most of that time was made up over the first half of the lap as its more technical as opposed to the last have giving more time with hp. If your hill climb runs are 1min and you could get 2secs off using these tyres think you'll be more than happy I'm sure! Yes good 'ol England does serve up every weather within a day of occasion.......that what we call summer!

Haha thanks for the vote of confidence mate!! The AD08's sweet spot was 34psi hot so I'm gonna start there and see how I go, I've also got a new infrared thermometer to take with me so I can see how they're getting on. Anglesey last year finished them....Silverstone then killed them!! I'm expecting them to be very good indeed. I've used the AO48 in the past and they are the best tyres I've ever used and these are the successor to them developed from their tarmac rally tyre the A051T. I'd be surprised if they went "off" quickly, I've always found Yokohamas to take a lot of abuse and stay very stable over a good length track session. Most times I hear people talk about tyres going "off" is when they've not set tyre pressures as they get hotter and end up running at 40psi and so only on half the foot print and wondering why grip drastically drops off. I'll obviously let you know how I get on but I suspect you'll be ordering a set!......worth noting they come up large on the sizes and also look at the wheel widths for tyre size they recommend. I'm on the minimum of what they allow and 1.5" off the front and 1" off at the rear what they recommend as best which was a bit of a surprise! Hard to find decent tyre comparison vids as most people telling folk how good tyres are on YouTube don't actually seem that good at driving!! This very Japanese vid shows a handy Jap wheel man in a RX-7 at Suzuka with the AD08R vs AO52 (with the same 255/265 widths I'm using).........lap times 2:29.8 to 2:24.98 so its a very quick tyre! Looks like the attitude in car is quite similar just at a higher grip level.........win win!

Not much of an update as opposed to some maintenance required! Rather ashamedly the car went off to Silverstone with the pads in far worse condition than I'd usually allow but I'd not realised they were so worn after its last use so had to nurse them on track but still good enough to have a good time.......to add insult and more cost the tyres all round were looking equally as sad! So with the 'Ring up next (sadly forecast is looking very poor!) I needed to get some new pads on it along with a new set of boots! Also diff oil was replaced and a quick brake bleed with PFC665 fluid just to get it all back to top fitness New pads, all installed..................as you can see were very much required!! Then for team boss and head mechanic to help on the pedal while I bled the brakes And then finally sorted tyres......wont bore you with the whole tail but was going for a set of AD08R's again as they're great but Demon Tweeks let me down/stitched me up a treat!!..........quick call to Yokohama and luckily on the shelf was a set of AO52's with my name on in 255/40 and 265/40 so me trying these great tyres one day was fast tracked somewhat to right now! Looking forward to trying these out..........especially as my spring rates were actually chosen for this level of tyre. Lets just hope its dry enough to see what they've got..........that said they're meant to be a step up for wet use also. Re engine build.......its all collected and looking good. To be honest I think juggling using the car and doing all the work required at the standard I'd like to do it to is going to require me taking it off the road at the end of the year..........got some weight loss planned for it too while its out of use so think it all makes sense to do it that way.

Thank you!! I have to remind myself sometimes how far the car has come and how much work has gone into it.................and continues to do so!

Agreed! and yeah good to put a face to the name...............in fact you met half the family! Cheers, appreciate the comments! Yeah new engine will be a while coming but will be worth the wait.....not really necessary for the road but great for track work......will hold those 3rd gear slides for a bit longer eh!! Your car also has a really nicely set up chassis and the improvements over the stock DE with the cams etc were great for track work! Credit to you and all the work you've put in to it...........makes the late nights in the garage and no skin on your knuckles all worth it! Yeah me too.......think we both took a couple of sessions to blow off the cobwebs but there wasn't much wrong with the pace after that.......still not sure I took Stowe corner the same way twice all day!! Hope the tyres do turn up........you need em!

Yeah crazy isn't it........been to Donington loads and its a running joke as the drivers briefing has to be halted repeatedly as aircraft go overhead and you couldn't shout over the top of the noise its so loud. They have equipment that "only picks up circuit noise and not aircraft noise" though.......not sure how that's even possible!! Out of interest in your experience would you say Donington is still one of the strictest noise limits in the country or have others come down further?

Oh I'm sure you're right on that! Maybe I should be careful what I wish for! Amazing that you can buy a house next to a motorway and there's no noise limit 24hrs a day, council won't listen to any complaints and its just tough...........buy a house near a race track and the council will close it down due to noise restrictions during less hours. Its always been my opinion that the councils should be encouraging track days/driving and making them more accessible in an effort to improve road safety and get people to use there performance vehicles away from public roads but sadly this is a point missed by all of them.

On Sunday I headed off to Silverstone where I met up with @RobPhoboS and had a great day out on the International Circuit! Both Z's ran really well from first to last sessions...........great way to kick off 2019 track days! I did make a bit of a error though and didn't realise/forgot my front pads were about 2\3rds done and down on their ass so had to nurse them a little throughout which was a shame but still enjoyed the day and great to be out driving the car properly again! Didn't actually take too much footage but here's a few clearer laps from the day

I bought a pair of these as recommended by @RobPhoboS https://www.advantage-motorsport.co.uk/decibel-devil-exhaust-noise-reducer.html Sadly I needed the 5" version to go over the exhaust tips and of course x2 so it starts getting pricey!! They work well though, my Z is 102dB drive by but with these fitted it gets me out at Donington Park without issue (98dB drive by). I did ask the staff there what it actually is with them installed but they can only say its at or under 98dB as its not tripped the meters and not give a reading, which is a shame as it would be useful to know. I'll have a system made on the car one day that runs it quiet enough to satisfy all circuits

Noise limits is a big thing that’s not going away and only getting stricter and for me the most frustrating thing is knowing how one circuit compares to another. As your article says 98dB driveby at one circuit will be completely different to the same level at a different venue as the distance it’s measured from will be different. Would be be great if they could all come to an agreed limit that is enforced the same at each track so you confidently have a system that meets that and therefore meets them all. I’ve rang circuits and all they can say is if it’s meets the static then it “should” pass the drive by but cars just don’t conform to that logic. With the cost of some track days it’s way more ££ than you want to gamble with before knowing you won’t get thrown off.

Cheers for all your help with it Dave!! The car looks great and I learnt a lot doing it together............got no excuse for it to not be kept clean now!!! It’s got a few bugs and a bit of rubber in it now from driving round Silverstone all day Sunday though!!! I promise I’ll give it a good wash before the weekend!!

Some nice part for the car and great to see you out driving it too!! See Wales hung to a bit of snow and ice for you, bet that made it interesting!! Anglesey is a fantastic circuit, bet the 4.08 final drive was great round there? Makes a huge difference over stock doesn’t it? I was very tempted to go with the 4.08 over the 3.9 but wasn’t sure if it would make the motorway cruising that bit too much hard work with the revs being that bit higher. How did you find it?? What sort of revs were you cruising on motorways at?

The block's still at the machine shop but I'll be collecting that soon! There's still a few bits on the shopping list that are required to get the build under way.........but I'll definitely be posting up progress when it begins!

Its an angry little go kart! Ahhh sorry mate, I meant it’s 300hp now. I’ve edited the post to make better sense. Stock Vx220 turbo is 200hp the Vxr’s came with a different turbo and a map tweak to 220hp from factory.

Yeah it is a great little toy.......it may come as a shock but I've done quite a bit of work to that too!! Vxr No.10 Chassis: Nitron Race 2 way suspension EP Tuning bearings throughout AP racing CP7621 4 pot calipers with 2 piece AP 308mm discs Pagid RSL29 front RS42 rear pads Goodridge hoses Engine: Stock Z20LET internals Z20LEH VXR turbo, actuator and injectors Chris Tullett full 3" decatted system Pro Alloy charge cooler system inc heat exchanger rad Pro Alloy coolant rad Courtenay Sport remap to 300hp Gearbox: Lightened flywheel with uprated Helix clutch and cover Like the Z it runs Millers motorsport fluids throughout