bernmc

If you fancy swopping out that NISMO suspension in exchange for standard and some pesatas, drop me a pm...

Be interesting to see if anyone has some real times to compare with the calc results. According to it, my R33 will do: 0 - 60 (Secs) : 3.47 0 - 100 (Secs) : 8.16 60 - 100 (Secs) : 4.69 Quarter Mile (Secs) : 11.97 Terminal Speed (MPH) : 121.09 Drag Strip Quarter Mile (Secs) : 11.57 Drag Strip Terminal Speed (MPH) : 125.17 ...which seems a bit ambitious ! I'll have to get my g-tech out and have a play. The z's figures come out at 0 - 60 (Secs) : 6.19 0 - 100 (Secs) : 15.31 60 - 100 (Secs) : 9.12 Quarter Mile (Secs) : 14.51 Terminal Speed (MPH) : 97.35 Drag Strip Quarter Mile (Secs) : 14.41 Drag Strip Terminal Speed (MPH) : 98.44 Which is probably realistic.

Also bear in mind that that the traction and stability control systems were developed around 17 and 18 inch wheels. The further you stray from standard, the less predictable the car's electronics will be.

As will I be pending a few small issues like cash and couriers

This has turned into a bit of a free for all... it was an 'exhaust for sale' thread...

I've just ordered their clay bar and degreaser. Had some good reports over on detailing world if I remember correctly. Haven't tried their wax (I'm a Zaino man)!

Has anyone ever heard of the LS Racing N1 Cat back exhaust? (avail here - http://www.unit-8.co.uk/acatalog/350z_Cat_Back.html). Looks reasonable in the pic, and pretty cheap, but I've never heard of it... So many exhausts out there - could do with having a stack of them and a ramp for the day to try them all out!

Bit late seeing this, but I wouldn't use a lambswool mit - too much chance of dirt particles getting trapped and scratching the paint. Just stick to microfibre cloths. I don't like sonus clay. Used meg's and zaino - both nice. Just ordered some bilt hamber so will see what that is like. I dilute solution of car shampoo and water works fine as a lubricant for the clay (or just water for the BH bar apparently), so you don't need to waste money on clay lubes.

We have ferrodo DS2500's and RBF600 brake fluid in our Z. Served us well around the track and at Milbrook. Don't have braided lines, but that would be the next step (tend to use the skyline for the track now, which is why I haven't fitted them yet). DS3000's will be a bit too hard for road use I think - you're not going to have enough heat in the brakes for them to be fully effective. I've recently changed from DS2500's to Carbotech pads on the GTR, and they're better again - downside is they are quite squeaky at low speed. Best price I got for DS2500's was from Allyn at ASP performance (stockcar on the Mitsubishi Lancer Register). Carbotechs are available from thetyrant, also on the MLR (he's very helpful). Road tyres are always going to be a weak point on the track. I've run with Toyo Proxes and Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetrics - not a huge amount in them. They all go off after a few laps of hard driving. Definitely the biggest limitation to getting max laps in once brakes are sorted. Think seriously about getting a spare set of alloys (go for 17's as smaller tyres are cheaper) with dedicated track tyres. A set of toyo proxes r888 will allow you to drive to the track - they're (just) street legal, and will make a HUGE difference to your day. Slicks are even cheaper (around £80 a tyre), so they're an even better bet. Unfortunately, they're not street legal, so you'd have to find a way of getting the wheels to the track, and changing them there. Pretty tight squeeze in a Z.... I'd only think about suspension once you've done brakes and tyres. Fiddling with the engine is a big money step as you'll end up having to upgrade the radiator, fit oil coolers etc as well as anything else you do. It's a downward spiral!!! Best advice (if you're married) is to get your wife involved - that way there'll be less moaning about the money you start spending !!!

Well fair enough - everyone is entitled to whinge I suppose ... it is very British after all ! TBH, the servicing costs didn't look that scary to me - again comparing to my current GTR. It also gets done at least every 6K (My old VR4 and it's EVO siblings need a fettle every 4.5K :o), and I doubt I get much change from 600 odd pounds each time. Again they're not straight services - I'm forever having odds and sods fettled - but if you're used to forking that amount out each time, it won't be such a big shock with the new car. The 350 costs a lot less, so if I was going from that alone, it might be a bit more scary. And if I was an ex 911 owner, I'd still be saying 'well the bloody thing cost me half of what the Beetle did - so what if it costs a bit more to service! I'm still quids in and driving a proper car' !!! As for track day inspections... how are they going to know? A good proportion of trackers remove or obscure their reg's when they go to play. Is the new car's ecu clever enough to talk to the satnav and record the fact that the car is doing a trackday? I know the jap cars do work out that they're on track and remove the speed limiter, but do they make a note of it? If the ECU does make a note of track work I suspect it won't be long before it can be hacked.... I ordered a new GTR but pulled out when the markets went bang, and I had to choose between financing a new business and the car. One of the things that made it a little bit easier was the knowledge that I'd be dying to take the car out on track, and I really couldn't afford to destroy something worth 60K. At least with the current R33 I can blat about the track every chance I can afford the time, and doing it in a 10-20K car is a whole lot less frightening in the event of an off! Hopefully I'll be around to pick up some of those speculator disasters once the business is turning me into Sir Allen

A 911 turbo costs nearly double the GTR to buy. You'd still need to own the GTR a looong time and be paying double the service cost before total cost of ownership came up to that of the Porsche. Pay 5 grand a year extra, and it'll be 10 years. If you start including track day sums, then you need to do the same for the Porsche. And bear in mind that putting it into the wall is going to hurt your wallet a lot more in the Porsche. Poor customer service is unacceptable - Nissan needs to sort that out if they're trying to muscle in to the snobbery of the supercar market. But if you're whinging about running costs, you can't afford to buy a supercar - even a 60K GTR. End of story - there was no way something with the performance of the GTR was going to be cheap to run. My 13 year old R33 costs around £1500 for a new set of discs and pads all round. And I'm frightened to do the sums properly, but I suspect it hasn't cost much short of £10 grand a year to run - admittedly that's with relentlessly upgrading and fettling for road and track fun, but still. You want big toys, you'll pay. Just go and have a look through some back issues of EVO in the fast fleet section. You'll see just how much the Lambo's, Zondas etc cost. In fact EVO did a feature on running costs for a host of perfoemance cars a few years ago, and it made your eyes water. Porsche was the cheapest, but I don;t think you got much change from £15K a year on things like Lambos. As for pricing the GTR a lot higher... for goodness sake! What kind of logic is that. How long will you need to own the car to save enough on servicing before you make up a £10-£20K premium on the purchase price...! I'd rather buy for less, and then manage the running costs. EU law now says that main dealers have to honour warranties even if the cars are looked after by (prperly trained) specialists, so I suspect there will be considerable savings to be had.

Don't know about it being a great show - bloody chav-tastic if you ask me! And I couldn't work out if there was more silicone or cellulite on the semi-naked car wenches! SOme of them really shouldn't...! Show marshals were clueless, and I had to buy a show ticket for the wife even though were were only there for the MLR trackday - not remotely interested in polished novas with 20ft spoilers ! Track was great as usual though, so it made up for it. Was a bit nervous about leaving my stuff in the garages with all the chavs out on day release, but nothing grew legs! Had a bloke with the new GTR in the garage next to mine, so got to ogle a bit, and cuss the fact that I cancelled my order Took a few pics but haven't had time to go through them yet... here's a taster:

Original exhaust on my MY2004 falling apart, so I want to replace it. I may get a new Scorpion, but could be something you have lying around or want to change? Max 400ish pounds, and needs to be stainless or better and in good condition.

:boxing:Now is a proper Z car

Depends on what kind of training you want. Personally, I'd save and and save and go to CAT. If you can inspire enough members here, they'll do a group day for 4-8 people, and then it works out closer to 300 quid. Not as nice as having Colin all to yourself, but the training is still 2nd to none. If you want fast/safe road driving, then Cadence might be worth a look. This is the guy that trains the EVO mag drivers. Emphasis is very much on making safe, fast and smooth progress on the road, and it can be a bit proscriptive - do it like this, and no other way - whereas Colin at CAT tends to let you nurture your own style. Cadence also are one of the gatekeepers to the High Performance Club (google it), so if you fancy some of the benefits of membership, it might be the way to go. I've done a group day with CAT in the skyline, and shared another day with my wife in the 350z. It's where I'll be spending my pesetas in future!

Absolutely love this track - vs Donnington for my favourite. I'm always a bit wary of booking days early/late in the year as it's a real swine when damp. Looks like you had a dry one though. A couple of my pics from last year - such a beautiful place too. Must keep an eye on events here in future...

Bit of an odd setup this. I'm booked for a trackday (or 1/2 day actually) at Donni - running from 1200-1900 on Sat 11th. Confirmation came with a ticket to the show as well. Track is open pit lane, so I assume they're closing the track to the show people (or there weren't enough show takers for track time). Booked through the skyline club/lancer register. I should be there in the skyline - depending on it getting through MOT this week (cracked windscreen delays play!). Failing that it'll be the Z - but that's got a dirty great hole in the exhaust, so I'll have to get something sorted pronto. If anyone is about, come and say hello. Won't be many skylines there - mine is the silver R33 GTR reg ending in UKM, or the Z is gunmetal with NISMO kit and 19 inch NISMO alloys reg ending in NLR. Bernard

You had the right to have his car independantly inspected and quoted, so you could have done that. Or got hime to give you 3 quotes from different body shops. Lessons: Camera! Witnesses - get them to look at the damge. Mirror, signal, maneuver, but keep using the mirror £145 to save all the hassle... I suppose that's not too bad

Hee. A bit over 950 My wife says the drive looks like a used car sales lot now

Ooh! Lotus in a smart suite I'd be tempted, but my wife would remove my testicles with a blunt spoon. And the Z is hers

Can this club ever stay on topic It's home:

A yank V8 - more cubes, the better . Just for the noise. Lotus 7 replica - any self-build will do. As soon as I get a garage big enough... An RS4 (the current one) - a few years when they're cheap Honda NSX Nothing particularly exotic - just cars that have caught my fancy Then it gets silly and wishful thinking - lambos' koenigsiggggggggwotsits etc. I'm coming to terms with the fact that these are highly unlikely to ever be on my drive

Rats. Wife's birthday. Stepson's 21st. I was under the impression that the world revolved around me. Much confusion now

33 Yep its an R33-GTR. Spec list as long as your arm, 360BHP at the wheels running 1 bar on steel-internal turbos, so another 0.2-0.3 bar if I wanted it before having to move to forged rods. I've always wanted a skyline - one of my 'must own before I die' list! Was going to get another VR4, but thought I'd just *try* a drive in the skyline, and was hooked. I don't like the R32, and R34's are waaaaaaayyyyyy out of my price range. So this R33 it is. Roll on Thursday... better pack plastic seat covers - risk of peeing pants high

That's the correct way to do it - and it's 50% race braking pressure. I started reading this thread thinking wot a load of old cobblers people were talking. DS2500's are classed as Race pads, so they're designed to be ready to go after a lap on the track. The bedding in procedure for them is very aggressive. If your discs aren't blue and the smoke from your wheel wells doesn't make other motorists go then you haven't done it right. They're a fantastic pad - work well from cold, and we had no fade at all on our trackday with the Z. Hope you've got some decent brak fluid, or you'll boil it in no time! While my VR4 (EVO VI spec) brembo's with DS2500's wail like a banshee, the Z's have never given much more than the odd peep.