MG Mark

We were out at Le Mans with it last week. A genuine 4-seater that looks like it wouldn't/shouldn't be, practical with fold down back seats and hatch. Then there's that 6.3 litre NA V12. Great fun it is, indeed, with beauty, quality pace and a noise that simply brings a rapid onset of wood. The best value for money "from £226k" you could probably get for a 4 seater..... Yellow (Giallo Fly, I think it is?) would suit it well, and sod the dealer! Mak

Definitely needs one for each tailpipe or the exhaust note will have an odd warble to it. I'd also highly recommend using black cats, as they would blend in better and enhance the visual appearance. Mark

The "out of car" experience is a great way to get a different perspective on how your car looks, handles and sounds. Been fortunate with my '61 MGA and the 350Z to swapped cars with trusted mates and driven plenty of other classics and moderns. Highlights have ranged from a shabby chic racing Frogeye, an E-Type, a Ferrari 360 and a Ferrari FF. Everytime, the 350Z looks purposeful, handles well and goes well, often to the surprise of mates who gain a new found respect for the "ricer" in their midst! Mark

One more thought - if that lot doesn't sort it, check the functioning of the Limited Slip Diff. Mark

I know the EVO incident at Marham - I was one of the organisers there for that MLR event and for the other track days we run there. The driver was starting to drift over to the right, as that was the side of the runway that you would turn off at the end of it. But, he misidentified his location along the runway length, suddenly thinking that the yellow cones approaching (quickly....) marked the end of the runway where he should turn off right - that was why there was the initial drift to the right and then the sudden lift off and attempt to brake hard when he thought he was going to "run out of road". The yellow cones were actually marking the start of the lift off and slow down straight section, with about 1000 feet of the runway left to slow down in before turning off. The initial skid was then compounded when the car, already rotating and sliding to the right dropped off the 2-3" ledge of the difference in height between the main runway surface and the adjoining concrete shoulders. That's what then increased the rate of rotation and the excursion onto the grass until coming to a stop; with a flat surface to run over (nothing solid to hit) and thankfully little correctional inputs (too fast to do much) the laws of physics played out benignly (no rollover). Lessons from that - the higher the speed when something happens, the faster it goes wrong. All inputs must be smooth and progressive. Know where you are. Get braking done in a straight line. If it starts to go wrong in a big way like that, take your hands and feet off everything and trust to physics until everything stops - over-correction will create a pendulum whip effect that greatly increases the risk of rolling. Regarding the OP's post, my 350Z (HR engine) has happily run there on Avons, setting up the track day layouts, at over 170 in a straight line and through fast "sweepers" in the range of 100-150. It's planted, solid, stable, predictable feel and nothing goes wafty, light or fuzzy (more than can be said for the Boxster S I has before!). Recommend check tyres are the right sizes and pressures (note - raise the pressures for sustained high speed/track work) and a full 4-wheel alignment/geo check. Test the car on a smooth surface. If that doesn't rectify it, check the bushes for play/wear AND check the bump/rebound rate of the shock absorbers. I'd hazard a guess now that if things feel loose, unpredictable and horrible, particularly when cornering at speed, it'll be one or both of the last two.... Mark

Daily driver for me - adjust driving accordingly to suit the conditions, and clean/hose off more frequently, particularly wheel arches/lips. Mark

Same age/mileage as mine, when I had similar pedal symptoms a couple of times. That was the master cylinder seals on the way out, so that was replaced, with fingers crossed that was it. No such luck, as a few weeks later, the next symptom was a slightly odd pedal feel on one gear change and a brief hot clutch smell (probably a little hydraulic fluid escaping). Then a few days later, the clutch pedal just hit the floor - the concentric slave cylinder seal failed and comprehensively sh*t the bed - fluid everywhere. Gearbox out - flywheel was fine, the slave/thrust bearing and the, clutch plate were changed, all back to normal since. Mark

57 and not counting...... Mark

That was the question I also meant to ask - having seen the posts on their failure too - i.e there an upgraded CSC......as you mention one, what has been upgraded and where can I get one? Thanks, Mark

Just joined the forum and have searched for advice on clutch replacements, but can't find quite what I'm after. My clutch slave cylinder failed quite comprehensively today on the way back from work, resulting in the ignominy of recovery on the back of an AA truck, back to my local chap who has worked on the car since buying it nearly a year ago. Car is a 2007 VQ35HR, so the problem comes with that added bonus of needing to drop the gearbox because of the concentric slave cylinder...... The master cylinder was replaced about 3 months ago when that failed, so I suppose the slave going was only a matter of time. Car has covered 58k miles and, otherwise, no problems with the clutch or gearchanges - nice and smooth, progressive, no slipping or juddering, biting point just over halfway down the pedal travel. Normal mixed driving on A and B roads and motorways, spirited driving, but not ragging it. So to the question - as the clutch and flywheel seem good, how worthwhile is it changing them at the same time? And, I've seen the posts about SMF v DMF - best to stick with DMF for the cushioning of loads? Any instances of SMFs inducing undue loads on the engine's crank? Thanks Mark

Hi all, Found this site to be a great help in finding out about 350Zs before taking the plunge and buying my orange 2007 car in September last year; have had a great time so far with it over 10,000 very enjoyable miles in UK, Ireland and France. Looked at the forum from time to time but decided to join because of the large number of 350z owners who flash lights and/or wave when crossing paths - a friendly bunch. If the owner of the silver car driving on the A141 between Warboys and Huntingdon recognises himself as waving on occasional mornings driving to work just before 7am, that's me coming the other way! Mark