Ekona

Just under a tenner a week to run a sports car. Seems like a bargain to me

Do NOT track the car in the current condition. You will be pushing the car to 9/10ths, and if there is a minor problem then this can very quickly become a big problem if something lets go at high speed. You risk not only your life, but the lives of your fellow trackday goers. Now the 'non-positive' rant is out of the way, some more practical advice! If budget is your concern, and it looks like it is with only £4K to go play with, then I'd consider getting an early MX-5. Strip the car, do the brakes, add roll over protection, and most importantly if you have a bad back (previous fellow sufferer here) put a supportive bucket seat with harnesses in. That will give you a very fun little car that is no slower than a Zed for less than £2K, and if you write it off at the first day then you've only lost that much. It would be very easy to do that much damage to either a Westie or a Zed if you had a minor off, so worth considering another car from that POV. Westies are huge fun but if it's a very cold day, or if it's raining, you're really not going to have a very fun day. Something like a '5 or MR2 or even the Zed if you do decide to go that route will be far more enjoyable (and quicker) if conditions are bad. The Westie/'5/'2 will be cheap on consumables, the Zed much less so. None of the cars that have been mentioned would be a bad choice for track use, just depends on what you want out of it.

Very good point. Most German stuff gets modified mechanically not externally (wheels excluded), so if lairy bodykits are your thing then probably not a good idea either. That does my head in with 911s, as unless it's a Turbo no-one bothers trying to modify it at all, so you ask a question on a forum and it all goes quiet because no-one does anything.

It's a very different car personality wise as well, so make sure it's what you want before changing. It's a little more staid, a little more professional, and whilst I don't think that's a bad thing it's not for everyone. The hooliganism of the 350 is very catching and hard to let go of.

F50 > F40

MY EYES THEY BURN I really wouldn't do green on orange, but it's up to you. You'll be better off getting wheels and tyres separately, as it will give you more choice to get a quality tyre on there.

An opinion, by it's very nature, can never be the truth. A fact can be true, an opinion not. Personally I can think of half a dozen new fun cars I'd buy instead of the 370ZN under £35K, including a standard 370, but that's just me. As long as you're happy with your purchase then that's all that really matters, but decrying someone else for daring to have an opinion that differs from yours? Do you really think that's fair?

I very much doubt Seb had much of a say in the decision. Asked for input definitely, same as Webber, but very little weight would be behind his words. He's paid to drive, nothing more. RB want the best drivers but want to pay as little as possible, and Ricciardo certainly falls into that category.

In your opinion.

Well chuffed for him, hope he does well. Fair play to RB for giving him the chance as well over an easier choice like Kimi or Alcocko.

But you'd be earning 40% less, so it would still cost you just as much

Look at it like this: If the dealer servicing costs you an extra £500 over the years but you get an extra £1000 when you come to sell it, then stick with the dealer. If it costs £500 and you don't get any extra, then the choice is yours. If it costs £500 but you lose another £500 because the dealer was known to be crap, then definitely don't bother.

If only I didn't have the pesky warranty to worry about so had to buy the official sports exhaust, I'd have had that instead.

Great stuff matey Still a couple of formatting errors on there though dude, (997.2 AP exhaust, for example).

I would expect to pay less, and it would put me off a bit. The difference would be if I had masses of receipts from the DIY servicer, or I had traceable records via a forum or whatever to show that the person knew their stuff and wasn't a complete muppet trying to cut corners. Personally I stick with quality main dealers for my main servicing to keep the book stamped, but with other bits like brake fluid changes or extra oil changes I'll either use a good indy or do it myself.

Very, very good cars. The car is much more adjustable on the limit than the Zed, and it certainly makes a much better noise! Interior is of a substantially higher quality too as you'd expect, but as said above the running costs are substantially more: Brakes especially aren't cheap, a good friend of mine who owns an early SMG model was a tad shocked at the prices. As far as upgrades go, the brakes are the big weak point and the vast majority of owners upgrade the calipers and discs so if you can get one that has been done even better, if not expect to pay £2K for a kit. Electrics can be seriously expensive if they go wrong, but they don't tend to. The SMG can be a bit temperamental (control boxes and pumps are known to fail), but it is a brilliant piece of kit and set to the most agressive mode an absolute hoot! In pretty much every way that matters they're better than the Zed. But then they should be, seeing as how they were more expensive to buy.

Exactly. They're right for the most part, however WhatCar are to serious car reviews as Jimmy Saville is to babysitting i.e. really not suited, and you certainly wouldn't trust either.

Go and buy an electric pump and do it at home. The Michelin one that Halfrauds sell is pretty good, costs £40 and now comes with a removable pressure gauge too.

Also, you never fit a spare wheel to the driven wheels. In the case of 4WD, you fit it to the front.

How the buggery I missed this thread, I have no idea. Glad you got it sorted dude. Oddly though I would actually recommend dropping a couple of PSI with the MPSS due to the stiffer sidewalls, but that's personal preference. I used to run my Zed on the MPS2 with 33F/34R, I just found it gave a better balance but then that was in combination with an aggressive geo so it wouldn't work for everyone. If 35/35 works for you, then definitely stick with it

People need to draw the distinction between Clarkson the TV personality (gobby, deliberately provocative) and Clarkson the journalist (thought provoking, intelligent, knowledgeable). There's also Clarkson the person, but I've never met him so couldn't comment. Clarkson the TV guy is hideously irritating and to be taken with a massive pinch of salt. Clarkson the journo is one of the best writers of his generation, and I could read his stuff for years.

MPSS, Michelin Pilot Super Sport

:lol: They are a little trendier than Loakes though

You don't count, you have proper graphics and stuff down yours and you know that I think it looks proper awesome