Oz Striker

Thanks, that's what I'm hoping. But is the inner pad wearing faster a known 350z trait? Its normal on single piston floating callipers like my 330i, where the outer pad has no piston and is "pulled" on to the disc. But i presumed the Z's 4 pot Brembos would mean more even wear. Can you PM me prices for the following front DBA discs, goodridge lines, Front pagid RS29 and ferodo DS2500 pads?

Your a brave bastard with big cajones, if the first place you took your Z was the ring! Do you have the recommended staggered tyre setup?

Thanks for the advice chaps. Regards to the clutch, for now, I will have the fluid replaced, next time I'll be doing a half day so see how it goes. Z-monster, I had borrowed a digital recorder and bought a mic from maplin, but just could be bothered fitting it on with the issues i was having that day. I even took a sock to help cut down on wind noise!! I'm really confused as to whats going on with the brakes and have posted a separate thread about this: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/73788-help-needed-brembo-inner-pads-wearing-faster-than-outer-pads/ If i cant be sure i've gotten to the bottom of the brake issue, theres no chance I'm sticking anything as expensive as DBA, PF on the car. Might just get OEM discs, and EBC yellow stuff, goodridge lines and uprated fluid in meantime ps no offence to anyone, but is just me or are some of the custom elise, caterham style car drivers nuts??! Twice i had one lunge down my inside, luckily i spotted him before the braking zone, and I took a wide line, cause as i turned in the angles changed such that i couldn't see him at all in my side mirror. had i not i would have gone for my apex and we'd probably have hit. I wasnt holding them up, they had just come up behind me and I would have done what i was doing all day, indicating to allow them to pass after the corner.

Hello everyone, need some advice about the uneven brake wear. I am planning on doing 1 track day a month for the next 12-18 months in the Z, but I've some braking issues come up. I did a full track day at Bedford GT (in UK) on Monday. New OEM pagid pads went in the week before (all i could get my hands on at short notice), however I perhaps could have done a better job bedding them in. The old pads that came out, had about 1mm difference between outer and inner pads, with inners at about 3mm. In the morning session as I started pushing on (max of 4 hot laps), I started to feel the brake pedal soften a little, no worries I came in. Front disc temps in the morning were about 210, in the afternoon about 280 deg C. But on my very last session of the afternoon, in fact I think it was the last lap, the peddle went pretty soft, and I could hear the brakes groaning, the pads had hit the metal wear tab & groaned all the way home! The following day I removed the wheels to get a good look at the pads. There is virtually no inner pad material left at all, and the inner disc surface has as a nice rusty lip on one side and scored on the other. Bedford GT is 4.1 miles long with 5 hard braking zones from high speed, so i can understand going through a set of front pads and the fade issues on a full day there, with the stock Brembo brake discs, pads, lines and fluids. Does that sound reasonable? But the bigger issue is the uneven wear of the inner and outer pads. There is 3mm of brake pad on the left outer, and maybe 4mm on the right outer. The above pics show virtually now pad material left on the inner pads. This is where i really need people powers of reasoning and intelligence!! So I'll give as much info as possible: - Both front disc rotate freely - On my way home after the track day i was concerned that the groaning could be a stuck calliper, so I pulled over and checked the temps, both discs were equal at about 80 deg C - The excessive wear is on the inner pad on both sides. before the track day i check the rear pads, and they had similarly uneven wear, but much less noticeable, <1mm difference - After i had the pads replaced prior to the track day, the brakes squealed like a total pig at low speeds coming to a stop, i presumed the mechanic had just been stingy with copper/anti-squeal grease. What Conclusions can be drawn, what can be excluded? Can i exclude a stuck calliper, given the above additional points. I've had a stuck calliper on the BMW 330i (twice!) and the braking was juddery and one disc/calliper got much hotter in everyday driving. I've read on line in other cars that it's sometimes due to inadequately greased slide pins, bent slide pins or corroded pins. I'm going to get the front discs & pads, as well as all lines and brake fluid uprated, but need to know whats going on before shelling out £££ on uprated brake components. I might have a go at putting the old pads back in, and so be able to see how easily the 4 pistons on each calliper go back in. All opinion and thoughts on the above problem would be greatly appreciated

So track day at Bedford on Monday has been and gone and was rather eventful and informative. Lots of info so bear with me, hear goes: (1) For some reason I had grand notions of making a sort of track day show, but on getting to the venue, most of the morning was taken up just by getting used to the car & learning the track. I thought I would even have enough time to shoot a short “track day preparation video†incl checking for tyre scrubbing, applying plastidip spray to key areas of the bodywork to protect the paint, maybe even talking to the camera as I went round the track!! Forget it! My hands were full in morning, I’ve realised I need to concentrate on the driving. 2) I had trouble with camera set up. Firstly my B camera, a 1080p compact was attached to the rear windscreen on the inside looking fwd, except it fell off, presumably because where I had attached the suction cup, the heating element wires were crossing the windscreen and so affected adhesion. The camera lens got stuck and I was rather miffed with myself. So I thought F**k it, concentrate on the driving in the morning, and if you’ve got time in the afternoon to film, then fine. I’ve since read that a camera should be cable tied to a mounting point in the car, in case suction mount fails. Also setting up camera mounts takes an age!! Do it the day before, they are fiddly and you always need to improvise a little. Also test them out. What I thought was my best mount (a cullman), resulted in a very shaky image when attached to the rear windscreen, when I reviewed the footage the following day, and there was an annoying rattle with it. 3) Towards the end of the morning session I felt the clutch peddle drop a little. I came in and let things cool. Then in the afternoon, 1st session out, with instructor, was giving it some beans, I felt the clutch again drop a little, he heard the clutch slipping and we let the car cool for a lap and then come into the pits. where i went from 1st to reverse gear and the clutch dropped completely!! I switched off the engine, engaged reverse then started her up and was able to park it up, and again let the Z cool for a good 45 minutes, after which the clutch was ok again. I managed 2 more (gentler) stints, and on the very last 2 laps of the last stint the clutch dropped a little again, not too the floor this time. Came in packed up, and drove back to London and clutch was fine. I've been googling. And sounds like it could be a clutch master or slave cylinder issue, combined with clutch fluid getting hot as its shared with brake fluid. HOWEVER I have noted I think I ride the clutch a little on track. Part of this is because I have to sit closer to have adequate control over the steering wheel, as no steerig rake adjustment, but this means as (I’m 6 foot tall) that my legs are more bent than I would like, and hampering my clutch and throttle timing, resulting in too much overlap, "i think". Now I know many of you regular trackers are probably 6 foot plus, and I agree that the underlying problem lies with myself, “I†have an issue, where I apply the throttle too early as I've changed up a gear, but I think its made a little worse by the seating. 4) The stock Brembo brakes on are NOT up to a full day at Bedford GT, which is > 3 miles. The fronts were new OEM pagid pads, however they perhaps could have been better bedded in by me, in the week before. In the morning session as I started pushing on (max of 4 hot laps), I started to feel the brake pedal soften a little, no worries I came in. Front disc temps in the morning were about 210, in the afternoon about 280 deg C. But on my very last session of the afternoon, in fact I think it was the last lap, the peddle went pretty soft, and I could hear the brakes groaning, the pads had hit the metal wear tab & groaned all the way home! The following day I checked the inner pad and there is virtually no pad material left at all, and the inner disc surface has as a nice rusty lip. At first I was disappointed by the brake performance of the Z, especially in comparison to the E46 330ci. But in fact it’s not a fair comparison. Firstly the 330ci has up rated brake bits: Goodridge braided hoses, Black diamond grooved front discs and EBC redstuffs and performed very well. Secondly it has only seen action at knockhill, and then never a full day. Knockhill has only 2 hard braking zones from high speed, Bedford GT has 5! Lastly the 330ci is slower, hence will be approaching any corner at a slower speed so, the brakes have less work to do. 5) HURRAY, the 1st good point! Even though the brakes didn’t stand up well from a fade point of view, the bite, power, progressive feel and the not overly aggressive ABS system are all very good IMO. 6) Car turned in very well into a corner, doesn’t feel the same weight as the 330ci, I guess it must have a much lower COG, and double wishbones upfront help. If I pushed too hard into a corner or too early on the power midcorner the RE050’s let me know immediately they weren’t happy by pushing wide/understeering a little. After the instructor told me which fast corners i could go faster, I could feel the rear tyres “jittering†or “dancing†a little, without the TC cutting in, very nice. Towards the end I did a few laps without the TC and got the back end out on the hairpins, no major drifts just on the exit phase 7) the rear tyre tread only went from about 3 mm, to just above the 1.6mm mark. I took my Michelin Supersports with me in case they needed fitting, but I’ve left it for now As a result of dealing with brake & clutch issues, I wasn’t too enthusiastic about doing much filming, I didn’t even bother with the footwell camera, which in hindsight would actually have helped me identify “my†gear change issue. I have got some footage, so will see what I can put together in the next week. But at the moment my priorities are the remedying the clutch and brake issues. So Plan of action which need done, within the next 4 weeks before my next event: New discs New Pads Braided hoses Diagnose clutch issue I’ve seen some threads here but you fella’s use so many abbreviations! From reading various threads, here is what I’ve narrowed it down to: Front Discs: PF (Performance friction?), DBA (who is this? How many options are available?), Stoptech, Tarox G88 or F2000 (both are vented & grooved, not drilled) Pads: I’m thinking firstly Pagid RS29, or either ferrodo ds2500, Axxis Ultimate (heard good things about these, got a set ready to go on the 330) or perhaps a pad from Hawk? Brake lines: Goodridge or HEL. I’ve heard the goodridge are a better fit, but unlike the discs and pads I wont be fitting these myself. So go for the cheaper HEL’s and get them fitted by Abbey?? Fluid: ATE Super blue, ‘cause it make it easier to bleed!! Will discus with Abbey to about the clutch issue, but the Z is grounded until I replace the discs and pads! Once again all and any opinions would be much appreciated. Laslty a photo of DIY shadow front alloys post track day!:

That's some pretty frickin' accurate measuring! micrometer? Haha! yes sorry, digital caliper micrometer. I couldnt quite get it to line up correctly with the pads still in the caliper so had to guesstimate it a little, and i played it safe rather than overestimate how much pad material was left. Z Legend what website is it for the driver training days?

Nah I wouldn't either if i knew i was going to sell shortly, i know I'll be keeping the Z till at least next summer,so i thought might as well use that time well! In the process today of testing camera positions and mounts. There isn't enough room between the back of the steering wheel and the speedo to mount a camera there that can take in the rev counter and speedo, so I think I'll be mounting that camera just in front of the B-Pillar, aimed at the speedo. Pedal box camera should be straight forward so long as I can get some strip LED lighting put into the footwell. No turn 3 is the flat 90 deg right hander that comes after turns 1&2, the right & then left downhill chicane. I took it easy on that roller-coaster blind S curve! Yeh, i found his views interesting too. He calls the 370z a 8/10's car, only really being let down in his opinion above that. But if most drivers were honest we won't, (can't?) push our cars beyond about 8/10's on a track never mind a public road. Hence most people really only exploit a sport cars straight line performance and that's were a Z trounces a BRZ/FRS, and you know what I'll admit it's nice feeling to floor the throttle and hear that V6 roar, we are petroheads after all. In addition its not like the BRZ is a lot cheaper, if it were RX8 money, which was what 20-22k?, then there would be a debate for Joe Bloggs like me, if I were looking to spend that sort of money. Anyway back on track, had the front pads replaced for £40. Joker wanted another £45 just to bleed the brakes, as all 4 wheels would need to come off??? but nipples can easily be got at through the spokes?? I've left it for now, as I've only done 4k miles since the fluid was changed 10 months ago. Will do myself once I get my 1 man vacuum pump brake bleeder down from glasgow I measured the front pads as best I could with a digital caliper with the wheel off at 4.6mm for outer pad, and 3.2mm for inner pad. I measured the new pads at 8.5mm. Once the old pads came off I measured them more accurately at 5.05mm and 3.8mm, but one of the inner pads was crumbling some what near the centre, so it was a good job I replaced them.

Yes Harris is amazing! Yes he drifts the cars, here there everywhere which is awesome, but he is usually also realistic when it comes to whether a car is enjoyable on real roads at 7/10, and admits openly that some cars although not the best are bought for the kudos, badge etc and because they are currently in vogue, which lets admit it is a big part of why a lot of performance cars are bought like he mentions about the F-type in the review Are you back at bedford for the 2nd event or elsewhere? Checked my brakes, the fronts are about 1-2mm away from the metal acoustic wear tab, so gonna get them replaced with a set of base pagids from eurocarparts today. I would do them myself, but damn its hot outside!! I got all sweaty just getting the tyres off to have a closer look at the inner pads at the rear, as I've read they wear faster than the outers. I measured the inners at 4.6mm, and the outers at 5.6 I reckon that should be fine for now, as in general for brake force/distribution I believe its a front:rear 70:30 split. TC saved me too, once in my 330i at knockhill at exit of turn 3, unfortunately the Ultima following closely behind me saw me slide and kick up some dust beyond the rumble strip, he must have lifted off suddenly (or worse braked) and spun off. I felt bad, but at least he didn't sustain any damage and continued on with the day.

Thanks for the advice, I wasnt expecting such good info so quickly as there were hardly any other threads in this sub-forum! And hands up, my bad. I went out and checked, I do indeed actually have a staggered set up with 225/45's up front, dont know how i got mixed up! Our american cousins across the pond reckon Hankook R-S3 are an excellent track orientated street tyre, but they dont appear to be available in the UK from what i can see. I think I'll either stick with the RE050's or go for Michelin pilot super sports for the rears. Daryl thanks for the tips and track specific advise for Bedford, its really appreciated. yeh the large run off areas is one of the reasons I chose it as the circuit to learn the racing craft. As for the other checks: Yeh Slosh, I'll need to check the status of the brakes, I'm sure i got the brake fluid changed last August, if not it'll get changed. If it was changed I'll just do a bleed, to make sure there's fresh fluid in the caliper and no air. Gonna check my pads (if they need changed I'll just replace with stock pads for now, will look into after market options as I time goes on) Regards to the oil. In the E46 330ci it was recommended to overfill the oil by 0.5-1 litre, to minimise chance of oil starvation, as unlike the M3 it doesn't have baffles in the oil sump tray. Any such precaution needed in the Z? Also in the 330Ci, it was best to keep more than a half tank of fuel, to minimise the chance of fuel starvation through long corners. I'll do this anyway in the Z as a precaution, as no harm can come of it, sure i'll lose a bit of speed but my objectives as you guys have pointed out isnt speed, but to have smooth steering, good lines by hiting those apexes and smooth progressive braking My plan is to do 5 lap stints. 1 out lap, 3 'hot' laps, then 1 in lap to let things cool. Apply wheel chocks or put in gear the car when in pits as I've heard handbrake can stick if you put it on while the brakes are hot. I'm gonna be there myself, so no distractions, although hope to rope in a buddy for future dates to film some drive by shots

Hello folks, I'm a relatively new owner of a 2007 350Z , purchasing it in Aug 2012, but as its my 2nd car I don't get to drive it too often. So I've decided to do at least one track day a month for the next year, to enjoy the car and develop my skills as a driver, as I'd like to enter some form of cheap club racing events, in something like a 240sx or BMW E30 (dream on?!). But I am in no way ready for that at the moment, hence my plan to improve my skills. The second motivating factor is I watch a fair bit of YouTube car shows (eg Drive), which are very entertaining, but they are somewhat irrelevant to me and I believe the avg driver. They are either hooning around in hypercars on airfields (ala Jeremy Clarkson) and/or expert drivers like Chris Harris power sliding cars on winding roads. What % of 911 drivers have done that on the road? (ok done that and not crashed?!!), never mind taken their car to the track?? I hope to have a video or 2 every month, where I'll briefly outline my objectives and then cut to a video of the track day, hopefully speak to some fellow track day enthusiasts and check out there machinery (nothing wrong with a little automotve eye candy). But rather than just the usual single camera track day video looking forwards, I'll have multiple cameras set up (forward, rearwards, driver facing so I can talk to 1 camera, pedal box and instrument binnacle, not outdoor body panel cameras to begin with. I'll occasionally change to my BMW E46 330Ci (to mix it up, & so i dont become too accustomed to one type of chassis set up), and once over the next 6 months hop into a Porsche Cayman at the Porsches driver centre, for 1-1 instruction at Silverstone race circuit (already done this once in a 911 last year). The first trackday will be at Bedford Autodrome on the 15th July, video will follow shortly after. So my first query is: I currently have Bridgestone RE050, 245/45 R18 all round on Rays Alloys. Rear tread is at about 3mm, fronts at about 4-4.5mm Finally getting to my Q!! I feel its important, as a beginner that I learn to recognise that I am approaching the limit, rather than outright cornering speed. My rear tyres will need replacing after the track day on the 15th, but what should I replace them with? My feeling was to stick the fronts, with what will prob be 4mm of tread left, on to the rear, and get something like 235's for the front and then eventually when the 245 rears need replacing for the second time, put 235 on, so I'll have 235's all round. Hope the above makes sense. Am I talking nonsense? I think the Bridgestones RE050's at 245 width will mean the rear may be just too sticky, and the overall grip limits just too high. Also I'm not a total noob to track days. I've driven the following on experience days at the track: Aston Martin DB9, Subaru Impreza Wrx sti, Mercedes C63, Mercedes SL65, Porsche 911, and a couple of proper track days in my own 330ci over the last 4 years. Of these cars i was able to "unstick" the AMG Mercs out of slow corners, but the 911 was planted on throttle, but I could feel the grip limits on corner entry, and really feel what the front tyres were doing. Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.

Did you ever have any luck with this?

Very Nice Quick question does anyone know if pre & post facelift cars have the same indicators? Saw some on fleabay but fitment stated as 2003-2005??

Looking good, any chance of a more zoomed out/wider angle view?

With the greatest amount of respect, everything you have written there is complete horses**t. Just because a car has been maintained at a dealer does not mean it is better looked after. Hell, I'd say it was maintained on average at a lower level. Cars like a 350z which are maintained at an independent are done so by people who care about their cars and know who to use independently to look after their cars. The average franchise dealer YTS kid who is working on your 350z know feck all about your car. Ok i see what you're saying. Of course a car maintained by an enthusiast who knows his stuff, is a regular poster on a forum like this will be selling a car in above avg condition and yes better than some clueless banker who just rolls his zed into the dealer...........BUT I have little way of working this out, especially so if you are just looking at web adverts and calling up the seller for a chat. IMHO i still think that if a seller takes his car to a dealer to be serviced and pays there overinflated prices, he cant be a total scrounge bag! (esp if the car has branded tyres on it) In my search for a Z i came across numerous that had been taken to Indie's and was clear to me just hadnt been well taken care of and not even driven too much clearly the expense of running a 3.5L car had put them off, this happens with many performance car as its price drops and means people can afford to buy it, but dont want to shell out the dollars to repair & maintain. And ofcourse i also saw ones with FNSH that had certain issues or aspects i was a little unsure of. In the end i bought a 2007 Z, FNSH, with 23k on the clock, so not a lot of miles or time for muppets to screw it up! I dislike it as much as the next fella, that cars with full dealer service history sell for more and sell more quickly, but ultimiately the reason is any propective buyer doesnt know how good or bad the indies are that previous owners have taken the car to. Its the only reason I serviced my BMW at the dealers. Luckily for me I stayed for a number of years in Dumfries, where the level of dealer service was far higher than those in Glasgow, who really do have a "rack em, stack em & pack em" mentality. Maybe this time with the Zed I'll go the Indie route, googled Abbey, and they do look impressive. maybe i'll go for a drive one day and check em out. And thanks dave, i shall check the carpet, dont remember seeing slits, but there are 2 carpets in the boot so maybe in the lower one. I suspect a previous owner removed the cover and sold on fleabay. Will prob do a DIY job with MDF, which i saw somewhere here.

For those that are interested i had Contisport 5's on the rear & Conti 3's on the front of my BMW 330ci and was hugely impressed with them. Quieter and better grip than both Eagle F1's and Falken 452's and remarkably lasted longer by something like 4-5k miles than either of them. Super stable at 140mph on the autobahn, although i never got to take the other 2 up to that sort of speed On top of that they provided great grip (TC light rarely flashed over pot holes) and mimimal road noise right up till the rears reached the legal limit unlike the Falkens. Just bought my 2007 Zed which has Bridgestone RE05's all round but the rears need replacing, & I'm not sure whether to go with my favourite Conti's at the rear, but then have a mixed set up, OR go for the RE05's which I have little experience with and tbh I havent heard people shouting from the rooftops about how great they are.

Good point about spotting problems early KC, I'll start searching the forum for good Indies in south london. I do agree on the whole about most dealers, tbh i dont think they check all the things that are mentioned on the service sheets eg my 330ci got taken in for a Inspection II (P3 equivalent) and they are meant to check the bodywork for corrosion etc, i already knew there was a small amount of rust on one of the front wings, but they didnt mention this. Heres a pic of the car: Ok so more Questions for you Zexperts! [2] Is there an internal radio antenna avaialble, or DIY/mod? Dont like the bee sting radio aerial, its gonna get knicked and it spoils the lines! [2] What are these brackets for under the rear strut bar? Tonneau cover fitment???

Thanks for that fellas. I kinda have no choice at the moment, I bought it last week and the service reminder has been up, I'm new to London so dont know my way round the indie's yet And call me old skool or backward, but i believe a greater % of Full dealer serviced car will be in a better condition, and will have had things repaired promptly than that those serviced at an independent. Reason being I wouldnt know how good or bad any given Indie is if buying a prospective motor from a private seller, they may have gone to a "cheap as chips" garage or a specialists with an excellent reputation, I would be none the wiser. Whereas at least at a dealer a "certain" level of competence can be guaranteed. If a private seller is willing to fork out for a dealer service, I would say they are less likely to have skimped on other maintenance and repairs. Ofcourse for all extra work, water pump, suspension bushes etc I would always, where possible take to a recommended Indie.

Ah well worth a try, thanks for the quick answer. Also I dont have my service book to hand and i'm about order some oil for a service at Nissan, but are diff and gearbox oil changes part of the Z's servicing schedule? If they're not I'll plan to do them myself at a later date, but if they are I'll order some up pronto incase they are needing done at the service.

Hello 350z-uk.com forum! I have recently purchased a 2007 350z, (come from a BMW E46 330ci) and had a few questions which i tried searching for here and on the net but no real luck. (1) The first is, does the Z have the ability for automatic driveaway locking? If so is this a feature that only the dealer can switch on? Or can it be done by a ignition/key button sequence? (2) Can the Z be made to give an audible "chirp" when the alarm is armed/disarmed? If so is it something the owner can do themselves? In the US Z handbook it states that if both lock & unlock key buttons are pressed simultaneously for 2 secs, it be can switch between chirp on & off, tried it but didnt work (3) Is there any way to disable the small yellow LED lights at the top of the headlight unit, which come on with the side/headlights? Theyre not the turn signals, but kind of like DRL, without being on 24/7, similar to the the yellow "eyelash" LEDs on the E60 5 Series. I dont especailly like them, and there are already w5w wedge sidelights, so dont see anything wrong with deleting them if possible. I'm not describing it very well, hopefully someone will know what i'm going on a bout