Ekona

My daily hack is a current-gen Ford Ranger Wildtrak, the one with the 3.0L lump. I drive my cars hard when possible, and this is no different: Despite weighing 2.5tons, she gets thrown around corners and nigh-on redlined when I'm trying to get the most out of her. In short, she's driven more like a fun car than a works vehicle. As you can imagine, with the above driving style and the fact that the air con is delightful in the summer, I don't get the greatest MPG out of her. Ford reckon 29.7MPG on the combined cycle, and that mixed 50/50 highway/city driving is pretty much what I do day to day (28 miles on the dual carriageway commute, and then anywhere between 10-20 miles driving around the site depending on what I'm doing). In the last couple of fill ups I decided I would find out exactly what MPG I'm getting normally and what I could get out of her if I really, really tried. Results as follows... FILL UP NUMBER ONE I filled the ol' girl up with BP's regular diesel and proceeded to drive my usual way, so basically I thrashed the tits off her. Loads of aircon, loads of revs, lovely. After about 330 miles the fuel light came on and she needed a fill. A quick bit of maths later and I got the grand score of... 28MPG. I was shocked. That's almost spot-on for what Ford reckon, so if I can get that whilst nailing it what on earth can I get if I drive sensibly? Ooh, I did get a wee bit excited at this point in the challenge! FILL UP NUMBER TWO Right, I'm well up for this now. I must be able to near enough double that I reckon if I short shift everywhere, turn the aircon off and coast whenever possible. So I did. I was shifting as early as possible (we're talking between 1500-2000 RPM here), no foot-flat-to-the-florr acceleration, just use the torque to get her moving kind of thing. Pootle around everywhere granny-style, and just pretend I'm limping her home on every drive. I was really impressed at my own ability to change my driving style with such ease, and knew I was onto a winner. As the fuel gauge dropped I got more and more excited, knowing that the final numbers were just round the corner. Finally the time came, and once again I dropped into the welcoming arms of the BP garage and I proudly filled the tank, awaiting the eager numbers so I could do a proper calculation of what I'd got. I was sweating. It was now or never. This is it. My final MPG was... 29.8MPG And as such I will never, ever drive so boringly again. What a complete waste of time, much like you've spent looking forward to the awesome result of this post.

We're only teasing fella, everybody's got to start somewhere and at least you looked through the manual before asking: Most people just wait to be spoonfed instead of doing any investigative work at all.

...which is in the front.

Going up through the gears or going down? If going up, then stop slipping the clutch. If going down, learn to heel and toe.

...and also replacing your discs if you run pads that are down to the metal.

This. We bought our current MR2 from a Toyota main dealer in January who made a loss on it, simply because we caught them on the right day. We saw all the paperwork proving it too, along with the price the car was going to be the next day (£1K more). It was such a good deal there was no need to haggle. When I bought my Zed I paid the sticker price for it, on the condition that they fixed a few little things on it (chips, scuffed alloys, gearknob etc). When the work was done it was worth what they were asking, and I was happy to pay it. I'm loathe to get money knocked off unless I feel it's really worth it as I understand that everyone has to make a living somehow, and if I feel I've got a fair (not necessarily good) deal then I'm happy enough.

Oh, that one! I love that one! More details? Is it rock, pop, R'n'B? Male or female vocal? Up tempo or slow?

It'll fit

Nice tidy lap I can't believe that people drive that track without helmets though. Sod that.

You'd have to be mad to fly BA now. Even if it was £200 more expensive on Virgin, you've got a 100% better chance at actually getting a flight you book.

Exactly the same issues I had with them, terrible TDO IMHO.

Really sorry to hear this Jay, that's simply awful news mate. Really nice blog post though, a fitting tribute.

And this is why I will never, ever go with Circuit Days again after last year: They put far too many cars on the track at one time and it becomes bloody dangerous. Glad you enjoyed it, I take it this was on the Coastal layout? I think that's the Corkscrew you've got pictured anyway. I love Anglesey so much, it's just about the most fun circuit I've yet to drive and there's absolutely nothing to hit so it's as safe as houses.

They are, excluding the uber-lardy convertibles. Mine came in at 1580kg with 1/4 tank of fuel in at last weigh in earlier this year.

I think they already are, sadly

What make is it?

Decatting a car + too much fuel is a very quick way to flames, very easy to do as well.

Thanks, it's always handy to have that kind of info on the forum for when the next person asks

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAG Great to look at, real piece of UK automotive history, terrible to drive compared with modern cars and I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole. Really sorry to hear about the Astra too, hope hubby is okay

How much out of interest?

You'll get an LS3 for that, and it's still an absolute bargain for that sort of power on a lovely new ally block. I have no idea how much a VQ35DE lump from Nissan is brand new, but I bet it's at least the same price. If budget is that much of an issue then a Rover lump will probably do, but I'd be looking at nothing less than an LS-series motor.

Don't bother unless you've got the car stripped out and are running uber sticky rubber with very light wheels and top notch brakes. That'll make the difference on a trackday far more than any aero aids will.

1. I run 34F and 35R for both road and track. I was tempted to drop the rears a smidge on the day when they started to slip through heat, but looking at the sidewall wear I left them alone. 2. Endless RF-650. Not cheap given they used to use it in the Honda F1 cars, but it's proved to be worth every penny and the fluid is still looking & feeling good. 3. Front compound is the PF 01 on matching PF discs, and I'm using PF Z pads on the rear with OEM discs. 4. Loads and loads, I absolutely love these pads! Minimal dust, tons of stopping power & fade resistance, and they've now seen two UK trackdays + the Ring and I've barely touched them. 5. Given a healthy budget, I'd change the suspension for something a bit harder but without going much lower to save the front bumper, and I'd love to go for six-pot front and 4-pot rear brakes. Oh, and a supercharger to be able to keep up with the quicker metal! Realistically though that would almost be a bit pointless as a Roadster (and a 350Z in general really) isn't the best place to start for making a Ring weapon, so I'll probably just fit a set of harnesses to give me more feel from the car and enjoy it as a fast road rather than a track. If I'd have had a few more weekends available before I'd gone the harnesses would most likely have been in, just a shame time didn't allow.

The chassis. That's not me being facetious; I genuinely love the fact that whilst the Zed does have a few niggles, underneath there is still a brilliant chassis which makes the car so good to drive and as long as you get that basic part right you can live with niggles.