Stutopia

Cheers Vik. Humpy, I never would have done this a year ago, Zed Club made me do it Little vid, nothing that'll get you track veterans excited, no in car I'm afraid just some drive-bys, but some cool noises. http://s1321.photobu...13a721.mp4.html

Having soaked up as much preparatory learning as I could from you good people here, I was 1 part excited, 1 part curious and 20 parts bricking it about my first track day. Watching youtube videos didn't really help either As part of the continued Jaaaaaagification of this place, a mate of mine in the Jaaaaaag owners club (http://www.jdcarea11teesvalley.co.uk) kindly got me in with the Big Cats for an Introductory day at Croft, though it felt pretty intermediate when the race prepped porker rocked up and some guys had full race suits. Anywho, got the sighter laps out the way and then got my first proper run. OMFG this is the most fun you can have, pants on or otherwise. Sadly it absolutely hammered it down all day, so I was tiptoeing around the first few laps. Especially after coming out of Tower Bend and the rear trying to overtake me, only 4 corners in After I cleaned my pants I set about finding some lines and keeping it smooth. I'm pleased to say only one car got past me, I'm sad to say it was an FF Clio 172, but on the positive side it was driven by an actual race experienced driver, so I didn't feel too bad. I felt even better when after a lap or so of shame after the Clio incident, I stomped past an Aston Martin DB9! Yay Team Jap. I was less excited about doing a Mk2 Jag a bit later, which was older than I am. Fully shaking after the first session, but absolutely loved it, even managed to assuage the fear of totalling my beloved Zed and relaxed a bit. I learnt a lot more about what she will and won't do in the wet in 20 track minutes than I did in the previous 8 months on the road. My second stint was cut short by pesky engine management light, so I pitted, checked the codes (grrr heated o2 sensor 2s), cleared the codes, but it was too late to get back out. Booo! I was so pleased I had the iOBD2 to confirm what the fault codes were, otherwise I would have been too scared to drive her the two hours home, cheers Dan for weighing in there It could have been worse though, my mate who organised it put his scooby track toy off the road backwards two days before the event, and then bust the turbo on his Beamer daily driver which he was bringing instead (TBF it's done nearly 250k!). So I got off lightly, naturally the rain meant a couple of incidents. An Ibiza decide to try a route over the grass, but survived unscathed fortunately and the Clio which did me had an ABS fault at the end of the pit straight which locked up the rears. Only some monumental skill stopped it being nasty. The tyre sounds alone will stay with me for weeks. Enough banging on, sorry I'm still a little bit excited about it all, here's the pics and hopefully a short vid. The circuit, if you're not familiar. Not too complex, but not very forgiving, the grass is wet and very very close on some sections, as is the armco. Pretty much the first car I saw on arrival, even more beautiful in the metal. As you can imagine at a Jaaaaaag event, there were cool old cars all over. C Type Replica, nice. Lancia Vulvia I don't remember the name, but the Fez is familiar.... But there was also some new Cats, and not just on my Zed. The noise this thing makes is epic, especially down shifting after the pit straight. There were a couple of lightweights out as well, they like the wet even less than the Zed. This Z4M was astonishingly fast in the wet, it blitzed everything it came across. I never saw it go head to head with the M5 that was out, but I reckon he would have beaten it. It's either a beast of a car or the driver was the third Schumacher brother you don't hear about. The DB9 that had to get out my way! Beautiful car. Some jerk off's beetle holding me up. TBF, there were two Carrera 4S's out, both flew round, like it was dry. Skillz. I detailed the Zed beforehand, only to find out that country roads are the enemy of the detailer. Filthy before I even got there My other mate, in his R32, stunningly quick in the wet and, for a stock motor, made a great sound down the straight. If I was going practical, I'd have one of these. Rapid The Clio that did me It's a mini metro Lynn, they've re-badged it Lynne, you fool. Another quick Golf. Probably my favourite modern Jaaaaaaag. But this one isn't bad TBF. Oh the noise mmmmmmmmmm... M5 - handy if you need to get to the office fast, but does't really get me juicing. Probably the fastest car of the lot, easily the coolest. The classic e-type and fittingly for a Jaaaag event, leading them out, the van is not tracking BTW. All in all it was ace, if you're thinking of doing it, do it. Get insurance if you are nervous like I am, I was still pooing it at first but that soon went away when I realised it was more likely to be me getting it wrong than someone else cleaning me up. I think I'd be much more relaxed out there if I had a little track toy to use please Santa.

Got back without a reappearance of the EML so well pleased, maybe just lightly toasted them

That's what I wanted to hear! Cheers Dan.

Just went out for session 2 of track day, cars been standing in the rain for last hour or so, it was wet when I went out for first session this morning so taking it pretty easy, however, EML was thrown after a couple of warm up laps on second stint. iOBD2 reads fault codes: P1147 & P1167 which I believe both to be "Heated O2 Sensor 2" Obviously I abandoned the session, and I've cleared the codes now, and left her to cool down. But she was driving/pulling fine when I noticed the lights and on my stroll back to the pits. Is this just because there's no heat shield on the Berks? Is it something I need to worry about? Is she safe to drive home (circa 3 careful hours driving)? Any help fully appreciated! Ta.

No worries. It's not a great leap from a bathroom towel TBH, the dodo that is, there's a Meg's one with a waffle finish which is quite different from a conventional towel, but I seldom use mine as the dodo is miles better. I'll go mammoth next time, just for the change. Mitt FTW!

I prefer a drying towel to a chamois, got one of these which I like http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/dodo-juice/orange-plush-microfibre-drying-towel.aspx though I've read good stuff about the mammoth. http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/washing-and-drying/drying-towels/chemical-guys-wooly-mammoth-drying-towel/prod_1003.html Also got a mitt, not a sponge http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meguiars-Luxurious-Lambs-Wool-Wash/dp/B001MPW5IC This stuff is quite personal though, so it is not necessarily black and white on this. If you have the cash, simply try a couple of things

What about? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-hinged-plastic-screw-cover-caps-White-Brown-Beige-Black-Grey-NEW-/181186628990

After I hacked up my front grills I simply bought some fine speaker cloth, ebay, then some elastic thread and sewed it up round the back. Zero protection from objects but acoustically almost invisible. There's a picture of the bodge in here. http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/69970-front-speaker-grill-mod-a-big-thank-you-to-smd/

Just get one that's been looked after, they're all ace! If you fear you may catch Zeditis, then get one with some of the starter mods already taken care of. If you think you won't catch it, sadly you're incorrect DE driver.

I have the pioneer, app radio is a waste of button presses with my iPhone 5. You can get a firmware update and a cable plus an apple cable to make it all sing and dance, but I really can't be bothered. I don't need facebook on my headunit when I'm driving. Works spot on for everything else though, BT is decent, weirdly you can't use USB lead to make calls from the HU, only BT. Works well with the ebay special reverse camera too.

These two things can save you hours. The grabber is indispensable for non-ferrite objects, which is good when your putting ally or titanium or plastic nuts & bolts in places. Best thing is, they're cheap as chips. Mine has a little LED on the end too, which is a nice touch. Whilst you're magging up, the magnetic dishes for storing nuts and bolts rule too. http://www.amazon.co.uk/STAINLESS-STEEL-MAGNETIC-SCREW-BOLTS/dp/B0043MCC52

Very nice Zed and nice snap too

I don't really allow passengers as such, they add weight and clutter and think it's appropriate to eat and/or drink inside the car

I found that if you're sifting CVs and you get a single one where the applicant can correctly use less and fewer, to and too, and deploy an apostrophe - you don't need to worry about any of their other skills, just grab hold of them, they can be trained to do almost anything else! They have proved they have attention to detail, English skills and actually give a @*!# about the material they're distributing about themselves, oh, and also about getting a job

What Dan said. Other than that keep ringing them, if you can, get a name and keep calling the same person every single day. They'll get bored of trying yo fob you off.

No idea what my numbers are but I'm a big fan of my prescription sunnys. Even when it's not especially bright or glarey, they just make my eyes so much more relaxed, which is great for long journeys. Just remember you've got them on when it actually starts to get dark!

Munguin. It's part monkey, part penguin.

Something else to think about. Cheers Mike. No sign of it today though

Well hello there lunch! Nice to see you again! Nothing wrong with a keeping you meat & 1 veg nice and smooth Sent from the Jaaaaaag at the golf club YAAAARRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPP Trimmed is one thing, isn't smooth a bit freaky?

Braun Cruzer 4. It's like a regular electric shaver but it has a slidy thing on top that you can use for non-babyface smooth. Only one length but it works for me. Not too scruffy for the squares in the office, but deep down, people know you're the kind of maverick who doesn't always play by the rules but does always get the job done. I think Jack Bauer would have one. Allegedly it goes in the shower but with no shower mirror, I tend use it old skool, over a sink.

Simple but effective. Nice work. You've rekindled my interest in this...

Of course. Naturally I searched before posting didn't find many actual resolutions.

Cheers fellas. I've got a friendly tech next door who'll hook it up to his super computer if it comes back on tomorrow. Hopefully that'll at least give me a connector, or area, to check once more. She was in for a lip respray today, you don't think some overspray could've snuck into one of the front impact sensors? I know it's a long shot but...