G1en

The oem tubes are plastic and have been known to crack/split at some point so upgrading to silicone is a good idea for me plus silicone must be more free flowing than the oem intake tubes, again, just how much real world difference would never be noticable.

I did my airboxes in gold tape, i have silicone intake hoses. Made same performance gains as a go faster sticker. Ie: 10hp in your head, zero in real world. not gonna do any harm though so feel free to do it, looks more race car if nothing else.

Horsham Developments did the strip down and rebuild. Think It was £1000 then whatever replacement parts needed on top. So you will save a lot doing it yourself if you can, what i will add is i can easily tell that 3rd and 6th synchro have been done as goes into those gears so easily now, just wish i would have maybe had the whole lot replaced as others are noticeably a little bit worn (but still ok) they did say its getting harder and harder to get gearbox parts now as the car gets older and i think they may have stopped producing any new synchros.

If anybody wants to watch 50 minutes of me waffling on, moaning about tyres whilst trying to go fast, then sit back and make a brew. Latest video from Anglesey.

Well, just before I post my video from the weekend, back to the fuel system. After getting back from Cadwell, I went to get some new tyres fitted, and on way back car started cutting power every turn, realising i must be ruunning empty i pulled into the nearest garage and brimmed up the tank. now the Zed apparently holds 80 ltrs, I put in just over 79 lts so it literally was on dreggs. I went inside to pay the £133 (new record) only to come out to find a river of fuel running out from under the car. after informing the attendant of this potential hazard, i set off back home leaving a trail of petrol down the A1. It was still leaking when i got back home so put a oil pan underneath and went inside to cry. so just to confirm, Horsham-D had replaced the O ring 3 times in total and i had put mastic/silicone round as well, as whilst at the garage we just could not get it to stop leaking. the opening for the pump/level is slightly bowed. so this is how it looked at first: After brimming up and losing what felt like 20 ltrs I decided the only thing i could do was what a plumber once told me, if in doubt use more silicone, so i did. left it to cure then went for a short drive. unfortunately this was no help and resulted in the picture below: Fuel was still finding its way out, and as there had been so much it had eaten through the electrical connections so as i was fiddling around, 3 of them just detached meaning no engine starty, I decided to disconnect the battery at this point as having current run down a positive cable hanging loose next to liquid petroleum was starting an alarm bell ringing in my head. So i decided to strip off all the silicone and have a rethink, back to below: (the fuel has eaten away at the tank coating as well! So in my head I thought the best solution would be to make my own gasket and do away with the o ring that for all intensive purposes was doing diddly squat. I consulted the google AI to find out what rubber would be best as Petrol can eat its way through most things. I found out that Viton Rubber is highly resistant to petrol, even more so than nitrile rubber that the o rings are made from so i ordered some of this 200mm x 200mm x 2mm thick to make my own gasket. drew a template the best i could, as i couldn't remove the fuel hanger from the tank without disconnecting the fuel hoses and the level sender that has tiny screws that looked like a recipe for dissaster, i could pull the unit up an inch or so to give me enough room to fit a gasket in. template below: Rubber arrived and gasket cut, note: as i couldn't remove the unit easily i would have to split the gasket so i could wrap it around the hanger, i cut a wedge interlocking shape so it would hopefully link back together ok and limit any leaking, see below: I then fitted it and screwed down the bolts, all went went apart from losing the o-ring into the fuel tank never to be seen again, I put a bit of silicone on the area where the cut was and prayed to the car gods. finished pic below: You can make out the gasket just sicking out from the edge of the plate. Amazed to say, so far this has worked and when i got to Anglesey after 160 miles of driving, no wet patches. Although there is a smell of fuel sometimes, so at some point i need to check all the hoses as i think one may need nipping up.

Yesterday saw me back in action for the first event of 2024. It's been in at the guys at Horsham Developments for a few weeks to do some work including new rear wheel bearings, new coil packs and plugs, the gearbox rebuilding (3rd and 6th syncros) along with fitting a coolerworx shifter and finally a radium fuel hanger surge tank kit (which has caused a few issues) Yesterday was the first time I had driven the zed in anger since the work and overall the day went well but there are a couple of issues. We had lots of problems with the radium kit leaking fuel, I Think (because we don't know for certain) that the fuel tank opening is slightly bowed so where you have the oem plastic level sender unit fit, it probably sealed ok as the plastic is slightly flexible, the radium kit is machined metal and was rocking on the opening, because solid metal doesnt flex the fuel was getting past the o ring which wasnt sealing properly as you would drive around sloshng the fuel about. I have since siliconed around the unit which has stopped 95% of the leaking now but there was still a little yesterday so have added even more on today, fingers crossed the sealant lasts a while, I got it from work as it states it can be used to seal leaking, oil, petrol and deisel tanks as well as other chemicals. The shifter is very different to the oem one and will be marmite to lots of people. I love it but it does have some drawbacks, 2nd gear is hard to engage and 4th gear doesnt feel like it engages at all (but it does) so i'm hoping once i get used the the operation and how it is, i will be fine. I do love the precisiona and clunk of it. No grinding/crunching now from the gearbox which s a big positive. Strangly on the dyno, it made 10hp less than last time (all top end 6500-7500rpm) but more power/torque all way upto 6500rpm I can't notice any difference after driving and as the 2 runs were 3 years apart and very different times of year probably non comparable date anyhow. So latest video below from Cadwell, still probably only committing at 8 tengths. Its a hard track to figure out trying to go fast and not trash the car at the same time. Really would benefit from a track day here.

If I was buying one now, I would go look at a few in the area even if I had no intention of buying that particular one just to get a feel for whats normal wear and tear. Like any car 20 years old there will be a risk involved no matter how well its been looked after but I think you can definately put the odds in your favour with a few easy checks: Check how clean the fluids are, Oil, Brake, clutch, coolant, power steering are all very easy to see and give you a visual indication of how long they may have been in the system and ultimately how well cared for the car has been. Rust is a big concern like any old car, common problem areas are the arches (fronts no big deal, but rear can be expensive to sort) behind the side skirts is another common problem area and if you can, have a look underneath the car (ignore the w brace and adjoining kidney brackets as almost every 350z will have these rotten) if they have been replaced thats another plus point for maintanence. Are all 4 tyres matching and premium brand? Pet hate when i see champiro or similar tyres on a sports car, what else have the owners skimped on if they cheap out on the only thing connecting you to the road? Then realy its just the overall condition, if the brakes/clutch/exhaust have been done recently, thats another thing to factor in as if these need doing thats another £500-£1000 each You dont have to worry about the gallery gaskets as these are problems with just the HR later model. I prefer to see service receipts/invoices rather than a stamp/book filled in but either way, obviously more records are better, I service my cars myself but usually keep a photo of the products used plus a receipt for buying them to prove to the next owner I look after the cars. If there is very little service history then I wouldnt walk away from the car if the deal was good but obviously would have to be reflected in the price and you take a judgement call based on what the overall condition is like taking into account all above. hope that helps, overall though the 350z still represents one of the best bang for buck cars you can buy in my opinion, can't see me ever getting rid of mine unless i go carearing into the armco at 100mph on track.

Fantastic Lewis, what its all about, enjoying the car and creating the memories.

Merry Christmas and happy new year to all! Santa got me the fantastic prezzie of redundancy for Christmas and I was over the moon, just what i wanted. No, thats not sarcism you hear, it realy was what i wanted, I even asked for it after being told i wasn't at risk. I kinda had another job lined up and was half leaving anyway so with the prospect of a few grand and a final handshake I thought why not. It does allow me to now rebuild the gearbox that's been annoying me for the last couple of seasons plus some other maintenance/preventative measures that I will contact the guys at Horsham about. What it does mean is I have had to setup another youtube page/channel as the old one was linked to my works google account and as thats now closed/defunct I cannot log in or transfer the existing videos which is a little annoying. I am sure some IT geek will know a way but sick of google searching and nothing working or the options not available. Anyhow, new intro video below from the new channel. username is now @Glen_350z rather than the old @Glen-350Z Please subscribe if you did to the old channel. Lots lined up this year if all goes to plan, will be doing 3 different Championships in the Zed.

Kieran, they are looking to get the Connaught championship back to what it was a few years back. Apparently its tailed off recently so will see what they come up with for next year. contemplating entering the classic marques championship. This is run completely different to all other championships as far as i can tell. you have to get your car dyno’d and weighed at their designated dyno to give a base power to weight figure. This is then adjusted with several other factors eg tyre type 1a/1b/1c/slicks, 2wd or 4wd, manual or auto and several more. This then produces a multiplier that they apply to your actual times to produce your classic marques event time. its been tweaked over the years and apparently works really well so the “best” drivers usually win (as the car is taken out of the equation as best possible due to above adjustments) its appealing as the zeds main achilles heel which is weight would actually be a benefit in the calculations. The downside is a lot of the cars were running road tyres as semi slicks carry a 2% (or maybe 2 secs) time addition i think so at a lot of places you would finish with a better classic marques time on road tyres and you also save money not buying semi slicks. Problem is it puts you 2 seconds down on everyone else in the class competing in other championships so your times would look poor and on the day you would maybe finish 8th instead of 3rd for example. Anyhow, plenty of time to look into things and make a decision.

Yep, i mean the Zed will never be the “best” car at any event but its a great all rounder that when setup right is a very capable car. I love giving the better/faster cars a run for their money and beating some. The only way it might get to the top of the timesheets would be to turbo it but initial expense aside, you then start running into regular issues as everything is stressed so much more. I see the guys with the 600hp evos spending more time under the car than in it, most trailer them as well. You also increase the chance of an accident and then said accident costs fortunes to sort. I love the reliability its shown where i can just turn up anywhere, drive to and from event and give it hell in “relative” control and also enjoy the day in between runs talking with and about other competitors cars and setups.

Thanks man, its not that relaxing when I'm behind the wheel. The go-pro does great at making everything look smooth but doesn’t convey that feeling in your bum cheeks when the car is right on the limit.

If you mean trackdays then no, it’s expensive enough paying for new tyres and brakes every year and a clutch every 2 years not to mention all the fluids which i do twice a year. there is still a fair few venues i still havent done so will prob include some of them next year.

Season Overview: Now with the Sprint/Hillclimb season officially over I thought best to summarise the year up. The Zed has been very reliable despite the use it gets. The engine is fantastic, and despite the gearbox crunching into 3rd it has held out and doesn't seem to have got any worse. I will flush the fluid again before the start of next season and see what it looks like. It has been great to get to so many different hillclimbs and tracks around the country to continue on from last year. The main fear of wet days has almost gone now as the car now handles a wet track as well as a dry track and i am always up near the front whatever the weather, partly due to the tyres and partly due to me now knowing the car and its handling characteristics inside out. So the year started back in March with a first trip to Cadwell. It chucked it down all day, 10% of the cars that arrived, went home in bits, but I was not in that statistic and despite being well off the target time as the track is treacherous in the wet, managed to finish 2nd in class. April saw a full weekend at the scenic Anglesey Circuit along with a round at my local Harewood. The weather was kind in Wales as its normally a complete lottery but 5 numbers came up for me, not perfect but good enough. A day on each of the national and International layouts provided a 1st and 2nd place finish with new championship records to boot. The Harewood round was very cold so the tyres struggled to switch on but still managed 3rd. May saw trips to Aintree and Harewood again. A better time at Harewood (average for the year) saw a 4th place finish and even though I was 1.5 seconds off the target time at Aintree, I finished 1st in class on the day. June was my 1st visit for Coventry Motofest where you race on public roads and I went to Three Sisters track for a first time also. It was blisteringly hot at Coventry which meant record crowds watching as the sprint is just a small part of a much larger event for the City. Red Hot meant my fastest ever start time of 2.4 seconds. 1st in class both days and new records set! Three Sisters was a good day, hot again but I think there was only me in class so a 1st place is a bit of a cheat, anyhow, new record set again. July was the busiest month of the year for me. A full weekend at harewood followed by a full weekend at Loton Park followed by a full weekend at Prescott. Probably the best 3 Hill climbs in England. Harewood rounds saw me set new records in the Connaught Championship and finished 4th and 2nd. Loton and Prescott were almost identical weather wise, Saturday was wet then dry on Sunday but as mentioned previously, the wet days used to be dreaded but now i can embrace and attack them (within reason) I broke my own existing record at Loton and had 2 2nd place finishes then just missed out on the record at Prescott with a 2nd and 3rd place finish. August was relatively quiet in comparison with just 2 rounds at Harewood. Both finished with 4th places but the earlier meeting with perfect conditions provided me with a new PB for the hill which after approx 250 runs is no mean feat. September saw a full weekend at Pembrey and the final round at harewood. Pembrey like other venues this year was the complete opposite on each day, baking hot Saturday and mainly wet Sunday. Done on 2 different layouts of the National track then Clubman track, I finished 3rd and 2nd in class with new Connaught records to boot. Harewood finished the season off with some good times but ironically my worst finish of the year in 5th such is the competition and quality of cars now. Never the less, a very enjoyable year and can't wait to do it all again in 2024. Finished the year 14th Overall in the Harewood Championship (from almost 200 entrants) and 2nd Overall in the BARC Connaught Championship (from 60 entrants) Full Results (only showing times for first 3 runs at each event - as these only count as records) Cadwell 113.30 WET (2nd) Anglesey National 62.19 (1st) Anglesey International 102.11 (2nd) Harewood 64.96 (3rd) Harewood 64.59 (4th) Aintree 51.88 (1st) Coventry 78.98 (1st) Coventry 75.38 (1st) Three Sisters 81.05 (1st) Harewood 64.64 (4th) Harewood 64.48 (2nd) Loton Park 60.68 DAMP (2nd) Loton Park 59.63 (2nd) Prescott 55.61 WET (2nd) Prescott 49.98 (2nd) Harewood 64.05 (4th) Harewood 64.71 (4th) Pembrey National 125.80 (3rd) Pembrey Clubman 134.85 DAMP (2nd) Harewood 64.56 (5th)

Well done Kieran, the Zed keeps going strong

@Stutopia that's it now for the season, Zed will hardly get used till March, been a busy 7 months like you say. Zed has been flawless in the main.

Final round at Harewood Possibly the last event of the year.

Latest Update from Pembrey Circuit Longest travel yet, around 260 miles each way

Latest Round at Harewood: thumbnail courtesy of my daughter

Yep was gonna post, check the connector that goes through the door frame, check the wiring as it may have twisted/broken, then there is the window switch itself, can’t really be much else. hope you get sorted.

Car looks superb buddy

Use the force

Finally got it working. took the door card off again, undid the connection that goes through the door, cut open all the rubber sheaths and checked every wire for continuity and/or damage that runs into the car. Every one was fine. was at a total loss and accepted the fact that i would just have to live with it when upon putting the door connector back together realised i didnt have the locking part of the block, think i had butchered it and threw it away when i run new speaker wires through door. I thought to myself i wonder if the connector had just worked its way loose? low and behold pushed it together as hard as i could and when everything else was back plugged in, the window worked and so did the wing mirrors! so all along it was just a loose connector pic below of which one im referring to: the main connector that goes through the door jamb, anyone elses will have the additional plastic tab that locks it in. At least in my case if things stop working again, its the first place to look and a 2 minute fix. RESULT

Latest Video from Round 6 of the Harewood Championship New PB achieved

this is only thing left to investigate really, connected the motor/relay unit up to battery direct and it works fine, does the same weird noises with the old switch and new switch so extremely unlikely both are defective, wiring looks fine in door so will have to check the door joint, i did drill the connector a while back to run new speaker wire so that may have caused an issue but has been working fine for last 2 years. Also noticed today, only the drivers side wing mirror folds in (and really struggles, again like its not getting enough power), the passenger side doesn't move at all and when i try the drivers window switch all the led in switch start flickering as well as the noises, so must be something wiring/earth based somewhere, just so annoying. I am also thinking i have driven home from racing recently in monsoon conditions so possibly water has gotten into the electrics somewhere and may be the issue?