StephenG Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Well, I felt this was a Christmas present I could get for myself: a few hours of tuition and lapping of the Top Gear track in the 350Z, care of plans motorsport. The circuit is at Dunsfold aerodrome, only 30 minutes from my house* (see later). After a week of studying the bbc weather page for Guildford, I depressingly accepted that it would be raining a bit. Any thoughts of getting a nailed-on time on the Pistonheads leaderboard were put to one side; and not to worry, some 350Z owners told me; at least that way I'll get sideways nice and easy and I won't wear down the tyres. Fair enough. I picked a Friday afternoon for the day, which includes much more than just learning the track and going for it all whistles blowing. Darren & Toni from Sussexcarz.com came up too, as the track was an even shorter distance away for them. In fact, they got there before me, as it took me over 45 minutes to find it. Why? Well, I navigate everywhere by postcode, which is actually a very bad move when trying to find an airfiled, apparently - as Dunsfold aerodrome was originally the secret base of the Harrier Jump Jet and as a result, it was given a 'secret' postcode that actually directs you to a retirement village in Cranleigh. Clearly, the Russian spies would have never suspected anything when navigating by postcode alone. The pensioners of Essex Drive, I might add, clearly did not suspect me to be dripping with Polonium 210 and gave me directions to the Aerodrome. Of course, they were mostly wrong, and their advice took 2 minutes to hear as they had to gulp in huge pockets of air just to speak; some of those gulps I guess would have been their last. I could have phoned Darren for directions, but alas, the village of Dunsfold itself has no mobile phone coverage. When I finally turned up I was in a foul mood, not helped with the skies opening. Thankfully, Graham from Plans is an ideal tutor for this sort of scenario. After a quick pre-brief of what we were going to do, Graham (my track mentor for the day and overall good guy) asked me what my objectives for the day were. To be honest, I wasn't sure. I know I wanted to have fun but I'm too competitive to enjoy myself usually. Thankfully, with the weather making a competitive lap time impossible, the pressure was off somewhat. I wanted to learn where I could improve the car, and how much the supercharger would make a difference, but Graham explained that in the wet, grip levels were going to be down to 10%. I asked, "down by 10%?" and he said, no down TO 10%. Ouch. I find my car isn't the most grippy at the best of times, so I was beginning to think I was going to come home in a converted ice-cream van and my car was going to arrive later that day in a hoover bag. Anyway, after signing the 'when you die, its your fault boyo' sheet, we were off to the track. Darren and Toni followed with my camcorder and Darren's camera; we were going to need something special to see in this weather, which was getting quite tricky. So, first things first, Graham took my car round the track, to show me the different exit and entry points, and the 'method' of driving the car. Firstly, the track. It's identical to the Top Gear track - not at all modified - and it's much more challenging than you'd expect for a converted airfield layout. Surprisingly, it's a figure of 8, and the edges are marked in thin white lines that slowly disappear in rain. Hmmm. Graham's got good experience with the 350Z having driven the Palmersport cars, so for two laps he pushed the Z hard and was really impressed with the supercharger. He said he much preferred it to Turbo cars as the power delivery was smooth and predictable, making it much easier to 'dial in' the power wanted coming out of corners and to not overcook it. So yah boo, turbo boys :lol He was stupidly impressive in my car, and was confident in dry conditions he'd knock a huge chunk off the lap time of a normally aspirated Z. When you consider my car still has stock clutch, suspension, and brakes, I thought this was pretty surprising. Then I jumped in my driver's seat and took over. Cue some buttock clenching moments even at low speeds. At first the rain wasn't too bad - light drizzle, with some dry-ish patches on parts of the track, and I was taking things lightly. Immediately, I discovered so many things I was doing wrong - as to where I was braking, steering when braking, weight transfer, everything. However, I was learning quickly, and even though I wasn't able to put all of his suggestions into place, at least I was working out why I was doing things wrong. http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2191371868274686228 Interestingly, he kept the traction control on. Why? Because if it's coming on, you're doing it wrong. This is a smooth, fast circuit, and you should be able to do it at top speed without triggering any driver aids. It actually *helps* to teach you what you've done right and wrong (alongside Graham, of course). Laps were much easier earlier on as the weather was bad but visibility wasn't so bad you couldn't see edges. And this is the problem with the aerodrome - you really can't see the circuit until it's too late. The white lines disappear and there are no other features. While waiting for the rain to subside, we had a go at doing V-max on the runway itself. Wow. This car never ceases to surprise me. At 120, 130, 140 it was planted, actually hunking DOWN as the speed increased. Graham was mightily impressed with how stable it was - me, I was shocked. He thinks the front damper is helping to push the car down and is having a strong aerodynamic advantage. Still shocked. At 150, I ran out of balls long before I ran out of runway (it just wanted to keep going) because over 120, the rain meant I couldn't see anything - literally, I was driving blind. I slammed the anchors on - and it stayed perfectly straight. According to Darren and Toni, the noise of this V-max run was something else, but unfortunately, they didn't get it on Video. Here's me coming back the other way, when I got to 130-ish (had less runway). http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3497411432686540278 After some more tuition to show me where I was failing to get the braking/turning/balancing process right (it's difficult, so much more than you can imagine), I had a go at my timed laps. I was pretty pleased by this, as the brake-turn-accelerate practice was actually leaving me feeling physically sick (I had to go for a walk outside the car!). Unfortunately, it was a bad time to do the laps. Regrettably, by now it was torrential rain and a bit of mist as well. I'm astonished Darren got as good pictures as he did. And here's my attempts - My standing start on my first lap http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4196937070630393845 and me overcooking my 3rd lap. http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=8931619105361925913 In the end, I managed a 1:46.7, just over 7 seconds slower than another 350z in the dry, but oh well. I only did 3 laps as it was becoming pretty ridiculous in the weather and with the exception of the hammerhead and gambon, you couldn't see where any of the corners where. When the weather was slightly better I did an unofficial 1:43 - not going faster, just being able to see where the corners were. In summary, it was a superb day, and so much better than a track day in that I had all the track to myself and a dedicated tutor. Amazing value at £190. I've learnt so much more about the car; and respect it hugely now. I thought the problems I were having were problems with the car; not at all, it's my inability to distribute the weight correctly. In his expert hands, the car was a demon; and so *extraordinarily* fast. I'm going back in the Summer to do it again and put down a proper time. Which I'll probably overcook, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 143 is a good time if you look at sarnies his best was 139.37 in the dry. max. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoREoD Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report! BTW - I do like your rear end! Probably the nicest I've seen - Is all the bodykit from one source? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 No, it's not - but it's the same rear as Val's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 excellent report with a very nice sounding exhaust m8, guess it's not standard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report mate. In line with the other questions, what's the front bumper and skirts?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report, hoping to do this in May Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lomoto Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 cool very cool by the look of the weather as well, you did a good job keeping it off the grass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report, mate. Car is looking beautiful even in the rain and full marks to the photographer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report mate. In line with the other questions, what's the front bumper and skirts?? Front bumper - Kaminari Poly Urethane (can't recommend PU enough - Fibreglass is far too brittle up front) Sides - Ings +1 Rear - Speedracing (ask Val!) Wing - Spoiler Depot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted January 6, 2007 Author Share Posted January 6, 2007 excellent report with a very nice sounding exhaust m8, guess it's not standard I had the Nismo exhaust but it was far too loud in the cabin. This is the Invidia G200 true dual; works great with forced induction and is beautifully quiet in the cabin (in comparison to the roar outside!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 The car sounds and looks excellent and you certainly didn't shame yourself with that time in those conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 great write up StephenG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 excellent report with a very nice sounding exhaust m8, guess it's not standard I had the Nismo exhaust but it was far too loud in the cabin. This is the Invidia G200 true dual; works great with forced induction and is beautifully quiet in the cabin (in comparison to the roar outside!) thought it didn't sound like a Nismo! Have t say I don't really like the sound of it, although the SC noise is Good report, thanks for sharing PS who the heck is Darren? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report mate. In line with the other questions, what's the front bumper and skirts?? Front bumper - Kaminari Poly Urethane (can't recommend PU enough - Fibreglass is far too brittle up front) Sides - Ings +1 Rear - Speedracing (ask Val!) Wing - Spoiler Depot And what sorts of places can get these in the UK? Any search on the web comes back with mainly forum chat!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam's Z Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Great report Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl114 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Awesome write up buddy, come spring i will be giving this a go i think, sod getting the nismo kit now, i want to have fun on the track and learn about how to drive my car properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam's Z Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Awesome write up buddy, come spring i will be giving this a go i think, sod getting the nismo kit now, i want to have fun on the track and learn about how to drive my car properly £190 Is the difference of having a Nismo kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl114 Posted January 6, 2007 Share Posted January 6, 2007 Awesome write up buddy, come spring i will be giving this a go i think, sod getting the nismo kit now, i want to have fun on the track and learn about how to drive my car properly £190 Is the difference of having a Nismo kit No no nooooooo Spend all the money i was going to, for many track days, drift school and getting a proper lesson on how to track my car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Great write up Steve My record still stands though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted January 7, 2007 Author Share Posted January 7, 2007 Awesome write up buddy, come spring i will be giving this a go i think, sod getting the nismo kit now, i want to have fun on the track and learn about how to drive my car properly As an ardent modder it pains me to say this, but that's an equally good move Of course, if you can afford both, I recommend that too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Did you have to let your insurance company know about it? I want to do it but I dont think my insurance company will cover me to do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Did you have to let your insurance company know about it? I want to do it but I dont think my insurance company will cover me to do it Then don't tell them. The other alternative is to arrange track day insurance for the day, but that's quite expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Did you have to let your insurance company know about it? I want to do it but I dont think my insurance company will cover me to do it Then don't tell them. The other alternative is to arrange track day insurance for the day, but that's quite expensive. Just wondering if maybe its a requirement before they let you do it. If its not required then I wont bother although ill probably enquire & find out costs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted January 7, 2007 Share Posted January 7, 2007 Did you have to let your insurance company know about it? I want to do it but I dont think my insurance company will cover me to do it Then don't tell them. The other alternative is to arrange track day insurance for the day, but that's quite expensive. Just wondering if maybe its a requirement before they let you do it. If its not required then I wont bother although ill probably enquire & find out costs Its not a requirement. Basically you sign your life away prior to going on the track. If you crash its your fault and your bill. Or you could tell your insurance and pay the mullah or get separate track day insurance. To be fair there is virtually nothing to crash into at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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