malross

Std Zed will be fine at Bedford. Was there when I first saw a zed and wanted one

In which case... I'm booked!

Right... who's joining me? Go on... £129 is still a bargain for Bedford...

Mal.

Snooze you lose. Bedford on Feb 9th has gone up to £139

And back down to £129 now by the look of it.

I'm really keen to do this, but I've never taken my Zed on track before and have no idea what its noise is like. It's a totally standard 53 plate - anyone got any idea whether I'd pass the static and drive-by tests at 87dB?

Cheers,

Mal.

Man, I really should visit this site more often.

1. Stew+1

2. Martinmac+1

3. Stan+1

4. xstric9x+1

5. Ebized +1

6. Beavis +1

7. Tilly +1

8. AK350Z(Scratchy) +1

9. Adam (Arphotographs) (the man with the cam) +1

10. Zmanalex +1

11. Maccaman

12. Squarehead +1

13. Darren-b +1

14. Lexx +1

15. malross +?

Final couple... I've stitched together a few pics for panoramas on the Applecross peninsula and stuck em in me flickr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/malross/ta ... 2008/show/

Mal.

sorry for the delay guys... yep have pics to add. also would like to publish a mini video of the day's drive. anyone have any objections to using any of the posted pics? will add to you tube when done.

No objections here - looking forward to seeing it!

Mal.

Nice shots, man! I think the first one going up Applecross might have to grace my desktop. I'll just tell my workmates it's *my* nice shiny car.

You beat me on the total mileage too -- 1050 vs 964 -- but I'm going to try to claim the frugal crown with an indicated 32.6mpg overall. Not sure that's anything to be too proud of, mind...

Mal.

BTW, did anyone get any attention from the police going through Glen Coe on Monday morning?

I think they must've heard me overtaking from afar. I was pootling along behind a lorry when I passed the (stationary) camera car. Only realised they'd turned the car round and set off in pursuit when I overtook the lorry a few corners later and saw them doing a multiple overtake in my rear-view mirror. Tailed me for the next 5 miles or so then turned off.

Mal.

Nice one, Frank. You've got some bloody great pictures there. Cheers for posting.

Nice one Mal and thanks for bringigng the boy home, he looked very tired. Just uploading some scenary shots now

Oh, that's a point. This was my first outing with the 350Z forums and I just want to say that it was absolutely cracking. I've been out on runs with a few car clubs / forums over the years, but I reckon I'm pretty safe in saying this was the best. Loads of good craic, easy to get to know you all, and not one idiot driver... or maybe my standards have dropped.

Seriously though, it was a great weekend, so thanks to everyone. Exemplary leadership by Stew too - nice one. See you all for the same thing next year (if not before!).

Mal.

As always, quality pictures Adam.

Seconded!

Now, time to see whether I can upload one or two of mine. Apologies in advance for the my-car bias... I'm just trying to upload pics that are different to the ones everyone else will have.

Mal.

Did anyone who completed the full circuit get a final tally of how many miles it was? Must've been a monster...

Mal.

i dont think it NEEDS super, it just likes it more!!

Cheers, that's good to know. I've also found out there's BP Ultimate in Fort William, which I'll be passing through on the way up, so I should be sorted.

Sorry to hear about the bike - bit of a sickener, that.

Mal.

You know this whole full-tank-at-the-start business? Where are people filling up? The nearest super-unleaded I've found is 35 miles away(!) in Inverness... :-/

Note: I'm assuming everyone needs super. Being a relatively new owner, I could be wrong, but don't the cars *need* it? I swear the handbook says to drive very gently if you have to use anything other than 98RON...

Mal.

Hi guys

we had to return home for new car because an hgv took the nose off the z

at a service station on the m6 we are both fine & will be on the road with in the hour z is in the body shop please start a list of mods for them to do while she's in.

sorry no type g this year more of seeing nessie, unless PURE will turn up.

You've just crunched your car and you're still turning up to the meet?!? Man, you're hardcore. Glad you're ok, anyway.

Mal.

EVERYONE who enjoys driving MUST do the A82!!

Yep, I'm thinking of taking a detour via Loch Fyne/Inveraray on the way up, then back onto the A82. Great drive.

BTW, did someone say there's V-Power in Fort Augustus?

Mal.

BTW, looking at the PDF, the Outline of the Day section says we're following the loop in an anti-clockwise direction, but the rest of the doc proceeds to mention Applecross then Ullapool, etc.

 

Could just be me being a dumbass. I am an idiot.

Yeah, sorry about posting what looked like a snipe. Further reading makes it pretty clear which direction we're going. Love the fact we're doing 180 miles and there's probably fewer than 10 junctions to keep an eye out for, btw. Gotta love the Highlands...

Mal.

i think my plan is to be heading up quite early saturday even tho i can't book in til 4,

 

i can still take photos

 

i have an idea for the calendar, so i will either need you to stay sober for a tiny bit into the evening, or allow me to manouver your cars!

 

Adam

Will you need all of the cars in the chalet grounds? I'm just wondering whether I'll be able to get in, what with me not being a guest and all...

Mal.

who is all going to be up there on the saturday?

 

what time everyone planning to arrive?

I'll be arriving in FA sometime between 5 and 6pm on Saturday. I'm stopping at the local hostel, but will make my way over to the posh chalets(!) soon after arriving.

BTW, looking at the PDF, the Outline of the Day section says we're following the loop in an anti-clockwise direction, but the rest of the doc proceeds to mention Applecross then Ullapool, etc. Surely that's clockwise? Wouldn't want to get it wrong and lose you all...

Mal.

Bang goes me being the only red one then

At least we can compare shades!

I wouldn't worry about it. Your Nismo kit looks awesome compared to my bog-standard look. I've just got to resist the temptation to copy you...

Mal.

Right, I've got the Monday off work and have booked my accommodation, so...

1 Stew..................CONFIRMED

2 Martinmac..........CONFIRMED

3 Zmanalex

4 Ebized................CONFIRMED

5 Max ...................CONFIRMED

6 H Potter

7 Stanski...............CONFIRMED

8 xStric9x..............CONFIRMED

9 Little Miss

10 Beavis

11 Bigphil

12 rizbert.............CONFIRMED

13 AK350Z...........CONFIRMED

14 Tamtech

15 350zPaul

16 ab350z............CONFIRMED

17 Adam (Arphotographs)...........Confirmed/booked!!

18 DJsickboy

19 Z Boy - Adams chauffeur for the day (don't do anything rude in your pants while in this car Adam!)

20 gazzab

21 Wilky

22 Malross..........CONFIRMED

The drive out will include this.

 

*snip*

Now THAT, sir, could not be more perfect. That's the exact route I was taking last time I drove the highlands. It's from Steve Carter's website, right? God bless that man and his maps.

Sadly, last time out, I rather crumpled my Cooper S's rear end by reversing into a boat trailer as I left Plockton - d'oh!. Cue an instant holiday cancellation as I drove straight home to book it into a bodyshop. Ever since that day, I've vowed I would return to slay a few ghosts... must be destiny.

Right, time to book a long weekend off work...

Mal.

Hmmmmm... I realise I'm somewhat late to the party, but can anyone point me to a post that says where the drive's going, what people are doing about accommodation, etc, please? I'm getting sick of clicking Next/Previous at the bottom of these pages. Maybe I missed something obvious, but I'd appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

Anyway, I'd love to join you all -- been too damned long since my last drive through the highlands -- but I need to do the sums first (my holiday budget's somewhat depleted)...

Cheers,

Mal.

Northern Eastern Tyres and Exhaust (used by Benfield Motors) checked mine. They have a place on Middle Engine lane at Silverlink Wallsend tele 0191 2626363.A full check is free but beware its a slick operation and I got the impression they were generating work (I might be mistaken though). I descovered later they had also scratched my front nearside alloy during the check but didnt notice it until a couple of days later when I washed it. Have them check your car over with you before doing any work.

Im also told of a place on Team Valley Trading Estate called Xopower but havent been able to locate them in the telepone book yet so am going down today to see if I can find them from scant directions given. I'll let you know.

Vic Young in South Shields use Clarks Coachbuilders in Sunderland tele 0191 5237975.

Cheers, Dicky - much appreciated. I already know I've got issues - the fronts are really badly worn on the insides, so I guess it's either toe-out or dodgy camber. Or is it castor? Whatever, it needs fixing.

Did you get a quote for actually performing the alignment (rather than checking for problems)?

Mal.

No worries on the track. I did a day at CAT driver training last Sunday and they held out fine. 160mph around the high speed bowl, lots of high speed breaking, lots of breaking and J-turns on the Alpine Circuit...

Good stuff. One thing though... what the hell's a J-turn? Never heard that term before...

Have you upgraded brake pads, discs and springs / coilovers?

Nope, I'm just taking it one thing at a time. I'll see whether I'm happy with just the tyre changes before doing anything more.

Mal.

If you got 19" rims and its on coilovers or lowered slightly then you gonna have a problem as they cant get the equipment in... Just been trying to get mine done and I have been pointed in the direction of garages that look after racing cars...

Nope, I'm just on the Rays, totally unmodified.

Mal.