350Butcher

Cheers!! Glad you're happy with the AP's as I know you're giving them a good work out!! Can't wait to get on track with mine soon! Out of interest what pads do you run in yours? Also.......can't see from the pics, is your kit the shelf 350z kit with 7040 calipers and 362mm CG12 discs that AP offer? I did quite a bit of homework when choosing and making my kit and using the CP5555 calipers with the 343mm PFC disc will save you over 2kgs a side of unsprung weight over the shelf kit. Given that you're racing thought that might be of interest to you........I hope this doesn't read as being rude or cheeky cos it's not meant like that, just some good info Good to hear! I'm hopeful it does make a good difference. I ordered direct from Mtech Ind and they arrived within a week and cost about £70 inc Vat and duty so could be a good value mod. If install is fairly easy on the BRZ too then go for it!

No problem!! Re engine mounts, its hard to review them as I changed so much at the same time as installing them. That said, on track the front end it definitely improved in terms of turn in and response and some of that I'd give to the mounts. If you've ever driven with something heavy loose in the boot then you'll know the effect it has when it jolts the car around, the same of when the engine has that small movement and jolts load through the front end...........its got to be better to get rid of that movement and the negative effects it has and its worth noting that like the gearbox mount there's no additional NVH You'll be very pleased with them If its any other poly or solid type mount then other than being quiet I'm not sure it offers any more (or any less for that) in terms of support and control Don't think anything is under additional stress just think it eliminates the movement under load that the gearbox experiences

I had read all about the unwanted noises when replacing this mount, when I bought their engine mounts I asked Vibra Technics if they could make me a matching gearbox mount, they said yes, I tested it and now its available and has been for a bit now. All the benefits that you'd want from the upgraded mount and I can assure you there's no unwanted noises at all! So if you do find it too much then get this ordered http://www.vibra-technics.co.uk/nissan/350z/724/NIS234M/transmission_mount_

Got the new brakes installation and finished off and torqued up etc today Popped a fresh set of RS42 in the rear And all bled up with PFC fluid.........pedal already feels a load better! The old calipers were knackered and as the pistons weren't sliding smoothly / freely and snagging / grabbing the pedal was spongy as a result.........now its nice and firm! Also, saw these and thought I'd have a go and see if they offered any improvement to the quality or the gearshift For those that may not know........they are shifter/detent springs which I'd not seen before. They dictate the strength of the resistance felt when you move the gear stick from left to right, so with a stronger spring shifting up or down across the gate should align up better and make for slicker/faster shifting. I used to have the Quaife shifter in my old Astra track car and that was very heavily sprung and made for razor sharp and fast accurate shifting so I had high hopes for this improving things for the Z........not that I thought it would get close to the Quaife set up........not that the Z has too much wrong with the shifting either but the car was already in the air and it wasn't too big or expensive to be worth a go and see! Old spring coming out......there's one each side. Access is tight but OK (oem on top) Nothing to look at but the replacement is easily firmer when squeezed between your fingers When I tax the car in May, in 2 days, and take it out for its first spin for a while I shall report back on whether or not this is a nice little mod or an absolute waste of time, effort and money!! While working around the car I couldn't help but thinking this was a good angle to view the new kit on the car.........shameful excuse to post yet another pic of them!!!

Forgot to add that if anyone else wanted this same brake kit then it now has a part no. and is would be available through BG developments http://www.bgdevelopments.co.uk/ Drop them an email to discuss

Cheers! Glad you said it.........I was gonna be polite and not mention all the shiney show brakes that seem to be everywhere at the moment with price tags that make me cringe!! Really looking forward to getting out on track with these............Cadwell Park at the end of May should bed them in nicely!!

How I've said is how it is. The button alone definitely doesn't disable it all but you'd have to be on track to discover it. No theory......that's what Godlsme has done as he is a quick track driver. Its a must for tracking a Z. If you fit a switch to the power to the G sensors then its throws out the whole system, just the same as removing the fuse. Same result either way.

Why thank you...........I'll be doing my best! My Brembo's are destroyed and have distorted due to the heat so sadly have gone in the bin. I have seen this exact setup on a Z3 M coupe 24hour VLN race car so I think these will be safe Haha they are half the weight of the ones that came off you know! Its the equivalent of 1 passenger stepping off a cruise ship but new brakes need new bolts and why not make them sexy Ti ones As I understand it and from what I've found....... 1. On. Wheels slip TC jumps in like a sledge hammer and cuts engine. The Stability control has G sensors in the car (under the center console I believe) they are factory set that if you achieve a level set by Nissan (no idea what it is but it's not high enough) the car starts grabbing brakes in an effort to save you from yourself.......in a crude and horrible feeling way! 2. Button off. Now you can spin the wheels till your tyres are dead but SC as above is still active and lingering in the high speed corners to scare the life out of you! 3. Off Off with the VDC fuse pulled. Disables TC, SC and ABS (as its on the same fuse) so nothing is gonna interrupt your driving pleasure of a Z on track under acceleration, cornering or braking.........you are on your own and all the better for it!

FINALLY!......I have some brakes! So after dropping these off at the start of Feb to have this kit made waiting 6 weeks to be told they'd not even been looked at I had to take them back and join the back of someone elses queue! Very annoying but luckily the someone else was BG Developments and they've been superb. From tour around the facility on arrival to the final result. I did make one big change to the job and that was to drop from using AP's street range of 362mm discs to 343mm which gives me better options. I've gone with PFC's motorsport 343mm disc saving over a KG in each corner in the process. The rest of the job is how I specified it, which was to relocate the caliper to a more forward position to help with reducing pad knock off on track (the calipers also have 4lbs anti-knockback springs installed to help with that too) and run a floating discs to bell mounting. Also had two small tappings added to attach some cooling ducts to when I get a chance to sort that out. Worth mentioning that this setup is only 400g heavier than my previous setup which used the PFC 2 piece floating discs so would be lighter than oem Brembo setup using 1 piece discs! Can't wait to get these fitted! Pics of the process......from the very start as a 4.5" x 2.5" block Machined down And then the final product.......they get assigned their own part no. from BG and I didn't realise my name would feature as part of that which was quite cool. As these are custom and one of one I wanted to just add a little something and I asked Dave about laser etching the 350Z logo with the cars reg below on the bells........and he delivered and I think its a nice touch All laid out ready to assemble...... Brackets Etched bells Installed Thought these brakes deserved some Ti banjo bolts.......at 6g each

No risk there!.......weight alone the Michelins will offer huge gains before all the other usual benefits

Totally agreed, so many variables!...........1psi can change my car from oversteer to understeer biased on track Regarding wet grip, I just like that the Yoko's stays progressive and predictable

I do obviously know Michelin do very good tyres but I'm just yet to be shown that they are better by "a fair margin" than my go to tyre. I have experienced Cup and Cup2's on my friends E46 Csl and we've done a few track days together and although its a very different car from my Z on the AD08r's neither offers significantly more outright grip over another, at least detectable from the seats onboard. Maybe one day I'll try them out on my car one day if I ever stumble on a good deal when the time comes for a new set of boots........I'm not brand loyal for sakes sake but when you find something that works and ticks all the boxes its hard to not stick to what you know.

Think you'll know why they're £35 cheaper when you switch! Assuming you're tracking the car though, as the Yoko's are on par with Cups

Glad to be of help!!

Not sure if this is what you're after but........ go here http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/350Z/ Select your model of Z and select EC.pdf and in the index look for "ECM Harness Connector Terminal Layout" (DE page Pg94-95 and HR Pg103) This will give you a full list of all 120+ pins location and function Ps download the lot for your car.........such a useful thing to have

This......and I think the 40 profile with 245/255 tyres is the sweet spot for the front end, good feel and bite from using these. Never got on as well with 35's on 19" wheels.

You're so lucky having an in house fabricator to make this stuff.........top work on those mounts! Looks like a good fit and a bonus that you're still able to work around it once in. Although I bet it's about to get really tight when you start to install exhaust, turbo air intake, intercooler pipework etc etc!!! Its all part of the fun though!!

If you've got the space it might be worth buying a second set, then you can always sell them on if you change as just 2 rears you might own forever. Went with those tyres as they are the right sizes for the 8.5" wheel, my choice of Yoko AD08's are available in that size, no issues with traction control etc when on road and work great on track

You're right about It being very personal which tyre works best for you. Getting info is really hard too as you sometimes don't know what tyre they saved 2 seconds over (maybe the other option would've been 3secs too!?) and then some people just say Michelin to any and every question re tyres. Also sometimes it the tyre that gives you most confidence rather than the one that has the higher outright grip so YOU go faster. The AD08 is listed as street sport but the AO52 is most definitely a track tyre, I have tried a few of the usual trackday tyres and always come back to Yoko tyres, they have very stiff construction unlike Michelin which is probably some of the reason I like them and don't get on with some of the other brands. They also take all the abuse you can throw at them in their stride, when you think they must look ruined after that last session they soak it up where others are falling apart, especially as the Z is no lightweight! Budget obviously plays a big part too, tyre cost is sometimes scary! But think (most of the time) you get what you pay for. Good luck!! and hope you like your final choice!!.................they will be a lot better than your road tyres though that's for sure!!

Firstly hats off to you for having a crack at Hillclimbing! I'd really like to have a go myself but never seem to align my diary with events I fancy. From that list I'd go with the Yoko AO52's, they use a lot of tech from WRC so up for just launching in to a tarmac stage...........or up a hill climb........on cold and or damp roads. As above, I suspect the Trofeo would be a good performer too but would need heat to really switch on as I believe the Cup2 would too. A friend of mine runs the Cup2's for track days and although no where near as single minded as the Cup(1) tyre he still doesn't have confidence till hes got a few laps on them.....a luxury you wont have!

Have run this set up myself for track work and its very good. The standard Rays are really light wheels, there can't be much in the weights front to back but 245 is probably max width you wanna run on 8" wheel so I went with all round 8.5" rears for better fit. Had 245/40 fronts and 245/45 rears and as said it was a good set up.............only down side is having 2 full sets of wheels for the rears only and stashing 4 fronts somewhere!

It’s the centers that I think I dislike most and for shiney rims I’d go down the split rim route as they can look very nice with the bolts etc Each to their own though, would be boring if all our cars were the same eh

Not surprised drift guys use such a heavy oil, low speed, low cooling and engine cooking, banging off the limiter! Fully synthetic is what you want for track use

Agree using quality oils is paramount wouldn't dream of using poor quality oil in any rating. I know, as everything, this is one of those things if we've had no issues then stick with what you're happy with but the issue I've always had with 5w30's is they're so so thin at 20degrees that I can't imagine what its like at 100degrees all day long on a trackday. Offering such a thin layer of oil between heavily loaded surfaces in the engine just makes me feel uncomfortable so always gone with 10w40 upwards Millers recommend 5w30/40 for normal road use (so that's what's in the Mrs's Ford Focus) and the 10w50 for trackday use in both 350z and Vxr220 as me and my brother both use currently and I also used it in my forged 400hp Evo 5 before that. Never have any oil usage and when inspecting the engine after years of heavy use (the Evo) no signs of wear at all.........so always recommend Millers based on this

I have assumed its an N/a DE or HR car but would stay with the same oil for both. How would your oil advice vary across the options listed Alex? Good info to have on here Personally wouldn't use any 5w30 in anything for track work, too thin for sustained high temps