Ekona

That's a much different interior than the auto one shown a couple of weeks ago, especially around the stereo/heater panel. I love the dot gauge for the fuel and temp, but the rest of it leaves me bland. The less said about the side profile, the better.

Going back a few posts... Lotus aren't far off that: The newer spec Exiges come with T/C which is eminently switchable (as well as adjustable slip allowed), but they then tell you in the manual that you don't need to pay any special attention to the car over and above the obvious when going on track and warranty will not be effected in any way. I know there's a bit of a difference between Lotus TC and Nissan VDC, but then there's also a world of difference between a small British manufacturer and a massive multi-platform Japanese firm. Make no mistake, someone will get caught out by this once the UK cars start coming through. All it will take will be for one Performance Centre to take a stand against a particularly obnoxious customer, and then you'll really see the fur fly.

Indeed, hence my McDonalds car park post

Depends how you do it. I spend about half my time on track sideways and the other half neat and tidy. 99% of people on track do the same thing, just look at the Caterhams for proof If you're constantly spinning out and causing flags then you'll obviously get pulled on it, but the idea is to find your limits and then stick within them. The odd spin here or there is fine.

Why on earth would you want to? Seriously mate, take your Zed on track if you want to be able to have a laugh with it in relative safety and without the BiB disturbing you. Donuts in car parks is for chavs in McDonalds. IMHO, obviously.

Looking at the interior again, it looks like the heater controls and stereo are all part of the same unit now, which means no fitting of aftermarket stereos unless you want to get really creative

I quite like that bottom one...

Get a can of compressed air and give that a good blast over the keys, should help lift most of it without removing the board itself.

Ever spilt anything on it? Cleaned the dust off it recently? I only ask as occasionally my G11 keyboard does the same thing, and I know it's down to the latter as I've never spilled a drop on it but it is covered in dead skin

I've never seen the point of a car bra: Yes, your paintwork underneath is kept spotless for when you come to sell, but you look an absolute tit driving the car around whilst you actually own it, which is surely the important part?

When does it overheat? The fans will only work in stationary traffic or if the car is sitting still idling somewhere for a period of time, as otherwise there is enough airflow to negate the need for them (they'll possibly kick in on extended track use as well). If it's overheating on normal driving, then I'd suggest the problem may lie elsewhere. As for £700 fans, since you've got no warranty I'd be finding out the specs of the stock items and shopping the internet for a similar item (as long as the size/air draw/current is the same, there's no reason you can't fit one of those). Where you'd find that spec is a different matter and one I don't know, sorry. And welcome to the forums, just sorry your first post here isn't a happy one!

Speak for yourself, mine does. I've got the full complement of buttons, they just do different things than the coupe as no Bluetooth.

I'm sold, I'll have to give you a call and get an order for one sorted.

Just roughly would do Phil, I'm hoping it's a bit heavier if anything as I want a more positive feel to the shift.

Anyone know the weight difference between this one and the stock item?

Must be almost time for an 'official' unveiling then, seeing as that's got almost no disguise on at all. When's the next big car show again?

MY06+ cubbies don't retro fit to the older ones as the mounts are different, so I had to source a MY06 complete replacement for mine.

Sounds suspiciously like a knackered clutch to me, at least the revving with no power part.

I honestly didn't mind what colour car I got as long as it wasn't red or silver (my previous cars were those colours for one and I don't think either of them particularly suit the 350 very well, all IMHO of course). Anything else would've suited me fine as I wanted a Zed for the way it drives, not the way it looks.

Graphs look okay, what gear were the runs done in? Was that the only run they did, or did they do a couple and see which was best? I would imagine the lack of power is down to zero airflow as they put no fan at the front, as the lines look fine.

Massa? Totally agree with you. Massa was not at fault at all, but the system caused fuel to be sprayed over the pit lane (granted, a limited amount due to the cut-off system), a mechanic to be injured and a car to be released almost directly into the line of another car in the pits. It's dangerous as hell.

Really? Interesting. I'm not sure if I'd consider that to be a good thing or not really, as Id' like to think that, despite all the electronic gadgetry in the car, I still have some control over the little things like if I want the a/c on or not. Just a thought, but if the TPS is slightly off and only seeing the throttle open 95% under WOT, would it still shut the a/c off?

No fan? That's just poor and very amateurish, and I certainly wouldn't go back there again. Name and shame methinks. There's nothing you can do to set your car up any better for a dyno other than the obvious i.e. make sure all your fluids are correct and... *lightbulb on* wait, you didn't have the air-con on, did you? That'd kill some power from the parasitic loss.

This is very true, but either way you're in the warranty period so it doesn't matter so much. Outside of that it might worry me, but not right now. Good point, though.

I've driven a 296 Roadster (mine) and a 313 Coupe (my brother's) back to back and, on the road, there's pretty much naff all between them. On the track I know the coupe will feel a lot keener, but between the two engines there's really nothing at all. Personally I feel the 296 offers the best combination right now given that prices are in free-fall as you get the nicer interior with an engine that has plenty of mods available for it (313 stuff is still relatively rare and intakes are obviously double the cost), but then I would say that as that's what I bought! If you can get a 313 for the right price and don't care about the basic intake & exhaust mods then I'd probably go for that if I'm honest, but otherwise there's nothing wrong per se with the 296.