Nigelp

as has already been said, try not to get hung up on laptimes. Its all about enjoying yourself. Obviously people do time themselves, I just set the GPS going and put it in the glovebox, then look at the end of the day. I find I put less pressure on myself that way. for info, my Golf MK2 with 170HP has done an 8:46, so the Z should be in the low 8`s with a driver who knows the ring AND the car.

Anyone, please? :bye:

if a car needed to be driven to them on a breakdown trailer, does not that tell them something was wrong ! Which dealer was it, I`ll avoid them if they are local

Right, I`m trying to get to the bottom of this. Been to main dealer and they say its `normal` so could someone do me a favour and try the following please? I find the motorway best, but in 6th, at 70, put your foot to the floor for say 5 seconds, then push the clutch and at the same time come off the accelerator. Mine holds the revs for just under a second before dropping. I`d expect the revs to fall immediately when I dip the clutch and release the throttle. Could someone post their findings so I know if they are all like that or just mine. It works in and gear, when you hold full throttle for a few seconds depress the clutch/accelerator, I just find it safer and repeatable when I do it on the motorway/ dual carriageway. Cheers, Nige.

I`ll get my coat...

Good luck with that I was going to go when I`m out in the summer, but having spoken to friends who have been and researched it, I`m giving it a miss. Unorganised chaos best describes it. Passed on both sides, into braking zones, no marshalls or flags. Have fun

Guess this is the best place for these? Dirk Schoysman was driving the Euro press car round the ring over Easter, sounded amazing and I managed to get a few pics. He certainly wasnt hanging around either

yep, thats me, but London, sheesh, thats not exactly local for me

£50 for an hour, which is enough, they do offer 2hr for £85, but to be honest, I think thats too long. She was exhausted after 1 hour !!. really seemed to get a lot done in that hour if you understand what I mean? not one of those that you look back and say "blimey, where did the time go?", it seemed plenty long enough. Biggest thing I learned? when its sliding, dont mash the throttle to keep it drifting, I only had 10 mins at the end, but on my next to last lap, I had a great looong drift, modulating light throttle all the way round the corner with the back hanging out, I was really pleased with myself As you can see, if you do come off and hit the tyres, it doesnt matter, the cars are so battered after a month, they change them, so you are not as apprehensive about bending it.

After me having a few sideways moments in the Z, my wife mentioned that she had no idea what to do in the event of a skid. I spoke to afriend who had similar experiences with his wife and he recommended a place in Tockwith (Near York). They have a skidpan, RWD cars and offer introduction to car control, including understeer, oversteer, powersliding, recovery etc. I booked Louise on a course and we went today. It is a purpose built skidpan, covered in oil, diesel and rain. VERY SLIPPY !!!. They use old cars, this one had been in service 5 weeks, usually, they last between 3 and 5 weeks, when the police use the skidpan, they go through around 8 per week :whistle: The cars drive fine and although look very very tatty, are ideal for the job The instructor took Lou out for 5 minutes or so, showing the basics, then she took to the wheel INITIALLY, she was very tentative and too slow, that lasted only a few minutes and she had her first sideways moment, then they came more often... She was having great fun. Matthew went along for a ride whoops... I even had a go for 10 mins Fantastic experience, well worth it. :thumb: We are going again for another go in the summer

OR, upload to www.stage6.com, unlimited file sizes and far far better quality than youtube etc

you know, even though i`m never going to be in a position to buy, I just dont like them

On a motorway run, I get high 28 > 32, locally I get 19, I tend to reset the MPG reading every tank and this one, after 170miles is showing 19.6. It has been very wet and I havent driven it hard, but thats a lot of short journeys. I dont care what I get, if I did, I certainly wouldnt have bought a Z

I look at it this way, imagine you take THE photo of the holiday and find you cant enlarge it enough because you only took it in a lower quality resolution, how annoyed would you be? Thats why I take the highest resolution and just buy another memory card if necessary, they are so cheap now, in the scheme of things, they are nothing.

Made me chuckle http://www.maniacworld.com/death-star-cafeteria.html

I`ll already be out so i`ll see you there

I found it didnt make the slightest difference on my Z. I tried 3 coats on a panel before I used the PC to see if the swirls were light enough, but I genuinely couldnt tell any difference at all with the Z-5 regarding swirl removal. I use the Zaino stuff on all my cars, the longevity is amazing, but I think the Z-5 isnt really all it is cracked up to be. Martin, Looks ace, did you get any full car before / after shots??

I`ll be there 21/03/08 > 006/04/08 and 23/07/08 > 31/08/08. I hope to get at least a weekend in at some other time, but they are my main trips this year

unfortunately, The golf just has 2 seats too, so i couldnt fit them in. I am working on it though Not sure when anyone will be out this year from here, but if you are there when I am it would be good to meet up

The Zed hasnt been over yet. I have a MK2 Golf track car I leave out there and we go back and forth in my Mazda 6. I am trying to work out how to get over in the Zed for at least a few laps the year, but the kids dont like the idea of being left at home and missing a trip

I have used Dover > Calais and Dover > Dunkerque a lot and this year, i`m just using the Tunnel or Dover > Calais. The norfolkline crossing, though cheap has become more hassle than its worth to me. It may not be so bad with just one trip, but I find the unloading particularly annoying. When I arrive early, i dont expect to be one of the last off the ferry which happened several times last year, the single carriageway road to the motorway is also a pain if you get behind someone slow. Going via calais is more expensive, but every single time I do, i get off the ferry quickly and am passing the Dunkerque turning sooner than if I had taken the Dunkerque ferry and driven to the motorway. I stay at a travelodge (canterbury Dunkerque) the night before. I can drive down, stay there, then its a 30 minute drive to the ferry ready for the 7am or 8am crossing next morning. If I book ahead, I can get a family room for all 4 of us for £29, bargain

I`ve been a lot (did 180laps in 2007). It was in my MK2 Golf, but it doesnt matter what you drive, the whole experience is amazing. As mentioned above, look on http://www.nurburgring.org.uk/ , I`m a moderator on both forums, but there is more general chatting and info on Northloop IMO. Best advice I can offer is DONT time yourself, at least for 5 laps, you are under enough pressure as it is for the first laps, its not about how fast you go, although everyone will ask you if you beat 10minutes when you get home... Next best advice I can offer is to get some passenger laps with experience ringers, it gives you a totally different perspective on the place. Cheapest ferries are Norfolkline, P&O or seafrance are more. Its then a 4hour (ish) drive to the ring. There are loads of places to stay nearby, I can offer you some suggestions if you are interested. Nige.

Happy New year

2 for 1 offer with Autosport International Website Use code "WLC 04" I`ll be there on Saturday, I`ll pop in to say Hi