broady

Update following track day at Cadwell Well spring arrived for long enough on 17th March to get a track day in - good job I wasn't at Silverstone and under 3 inches of snow! Had one dry session, a few wet and to finish off conditions more suited to boats, but the Superpros did their job. More stable, quicker change of direction and improved sharpness meant I am now significantly faster than my mate who has a sorted 944 Turbo. Putting summer tyres on has increased the road noise a bit more so bear that in mind but anyone looking for better handling and a factory fresh feel for the whole car should consider these.

Thanks for reminding me of the downside to the Milltek, extremely shiney inner on the rear pipes, some spirited driving sorted that out and will not be cleaned again!

Over the past year my (owned from new) 2006 MY car has started to show signs of getting old. To be fair it has done 80,000 miles and in that time has had one set of new discs (to help with track work), a couple of sets of pads, a Milltek exhaust and Eibach ARBs. Then my first real problem came with a horrible clunking sound from the front of the car, it sounded like my car was falling apart but a quick call to Mitz calmed me down and he diagnosed a worn bush (banana arm if I remember rightly). He suggested replacing the offending bush with Superpro plolybushes, but when costing it up, it seemed to make sense to get a whole new front kit fitted in one go. I must credit Jez and Horsham and the following post for convincing me it was the right thing to do http://www.350z-uk.c...e__hl__superpro in fact it made me consider having the whole kit (shame you guys are so far from me otherwise Mitz would have some competition!). This worked out to be even better value and protected me against any more scary knocking sounds and promised sharper handling on the track. Once the kit was fitted the difference was amazing. I took Mitz out for a ride and we couldn't believe how quiet the car was and how bumps were being absorbed. Clearly my problem was fixed but I had no idea how solid the car would feel. There are two downsides, the whole car is now more solid, you feel more bumps, but you feel all bumps less than before. The other disadvantage is a slight increase in background noise, possibly the bushes are transmitting more noise through the chassis, but this is only minor and the zed is not a quiet car to begin with anyway. With road conditions as they are and with my winter tyres fitted it hasn't been possible to test the handling properly but I can imagine getting better control over bumps and a general increase in sharpness. Can't wait for the spring to arrive and try them on the track. I have not been keen on the idea of upgrading the suspension but the combination of the ARBs and the bushes has hopefully fixed my need for better handling.

Wanted to improve handling, Mitz recommended this as my first step. If you want to kill the understeer on your car, get one of these and play around with the setup (my car liked soft front and middle rear) until you get the balance you are looking for. More details here http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/61853-eibach-arbs/

The discs on my car lasted a good 75,000 miles and 5 years but the overall braking system needed an upgrade as it struggled on track days and pads (EBC redstuff) were on their last legs. I asked Cougar Store for advice and was recommended Ferodo pads as the first upgrade. The downside to them (over my EBD redstuff) was cost, extra dust and possible noise when pads were cold. At the same time I had some Black Diamond grooved discs fitted. I couldn't justify the cost of DBA's and I was willing to be a guinea pig for the 12 grooved Black Diamond's. To top it off I upgraded the hoses and fluid. All were fitted with no hassle by Andy and off I went with a much firmer brake pedal but some squealing noise at low speed when cold. An impromptu track day happened not much later than the fitting and the new setup performed miles better than the OEM discs and redstuff pads. There was hardly any brake fade and the performance was a big improvement (ask the M3 who had the legs on me in a straight line but was quickly caught under braking!). After the track day I have a slight vibration on the discs, I think the Ferodo's are possible too agressive for the disc, but a subsequent track day showed their performance to still be excellent and there are no ill effects when pushing them to the limit. Diagnosing the problem with the discs is a difficult task but the cost of the Black Diamond's means I can't complain, they still work well, may try the 6 grooved version next time and still have plenty of cash to spare over the DBA's. So in conclusion Ferodo's are the way forward for track use and Black Diamonds are good value for money and do the job if you can't or won't pay DBA money.

OEM exhaust finally starting blowing after 75,000 miles and 5 years. Looking at the design it was quite obvious that at some point the kink behind the back box would get corroded, so the fix was not going to be another OEM system. After consulting with Mitz at Cougar Store he recommended a Cobra (the value option) but as I intend keeping the car for the forseeable I asked what the best long term solution would be and he offerd the Milltek. Both would offer me what I wanted, a similar sound and look to the OEM system, but the Milltek was the higher quality (and cost) option that I chose. Fitting went well, the Milltek looks to the untrained eye to be a good piece of kit and a better design. Improvement over the OEM was obvious due to that having a hole in it, but I am very pleased with the sound and overall smoothness. Thanks to Mitz and Andy for making it painless as usual.

I had Cougar Store fit my Eibach's and had a good discussion with them when deciding what settings. Unknowingly I decided to go with the same setting as Alex recommended (great minds!) which was soft on the front and middle on the back. The logic was simple, on a track the car (everything else stock) understeers so I wanted to shift the balance towards oversteer. First impressions were a feeling of the rear coming round much earlier, which I took as a good thing. Then went on track at Rockingham and that really proved it was the right setting, much more balance on medium speed corners but not too much as to make the faster corners too scary. My friend in a sorted 944 Turbo used to be able to keep up with me, not any more! I would ignore all warnings on instructions about wet or slippery conditions, on the road it shouldn't ever be a problem and the traction/stability still works fine anyway. All in all a big thumbs up to CS for the recommendation and the impact that a modest investment has had on the handling. If you are looking for an improvement in handling try these first, I no longer have a desire to upgrade my suspension.

Bought some Nokian WRG2 winter tyres two years ago just before the big dump of snow. It's not the being able to get somewhere that concerns me about snow, it's not being able to stop or steer, with winter tyres that concern disappears. Having said that getting places is useful, I wouldn't have made it to work for a week without them, plus I could go and find so open space to have some fun without fear of getting stuck. As a bonus they are very good when it's cold and wet. If you can afford a spare set of wheels then buy some, fit winter rubber and keep your summer tyres and wheels in better condition for longer. Have run my set for two winters now (say 12,000 miles), they are about half worn and have put up with Motorways and warm temperatures (17 degrees on one March day) without complaint.

Nokian WRG2 Winter Tyres - put on car (06 MY GT) 2 days before the snow hit Derbyshire in November and boy are they good. It has turned what used to be fear of driving the car in the snow into fun. In deep snow the only problem I had was ground clearance. I could go anywhere I wanted with excellent traction and braking. Traction control works well with them allowing some slip, like in the wet on summer tyres. On top of all this they are not any noisier, rolling resistance seems the same and are V speed rated so feel fine on Motorway. These were some of the cheapest options (got them from mytyres for £500 delivered) but usefully come in the OEM sizes front and rear and are a respected winter tyre brand. When weather not as bad they have much more grip than my 'normal' tyres when it is cold and just as much grip in the wet. Braking in the wet is not as good and the steering is not as sharp in the dry but grip is fine. Having driven for a few thousand miles on them I have forgotten they are on, so must remember to switch when it gets warmer! Thoroughly recommend getting winter tyres and if you want a good option go for the Nokian's.

Have sent a PM - but website kept crashing when sending. Are the wheels still available?

My Dad is a travel agent, no promises but give him a try and at least you can speak to someone and pass on the frustration! Tel number 01543 258631.

M13KYF Thanks for the card, was parked there for business so no driving for 2 days. Took the long way home through the Peak District to the midlands though, just to make up.

Apparently it is the phone integration that causes the problem, the amp is left powered on should a call be received when the radio is off. You learn something new everyday! It would be nice to have the ability to turn it off though, especially as there is no bluetooth integration yet, making the integrated phone system almost useless.

Difficult to tell where the noise is coming from, but don't think it's the petrol pump, agree with Chesterfield it is like white noise, hence my assumption the speakers were still on even with radio off.

Thanks for confirmation that they should be there, however if you look closely near the bottom there is already an air bubble and am concerned it will come off. Dealer won't get off lightly!