brillomaster

cant argue with maths - next time you fill up, reset the trip computer and work out your actual mpg, and then its a simple calculation to work out how far you can actually go on an 80 litre tank - assuming you drive in the same style. i find the mpg reading is pretty accurate - been ignoring the fuel gauge and dte reading for about a year now, never had a problem, as long as you reset the trip computer and mpg reading at each fill up.

my fuel gauge is terrible. the other day it was screaming bloody murder at me to put some petrol in, (DTE had been on '----' for 20 miles) but i'd only done 330 miles on the tank, and my mpg reading suggested i should be good for over 400. Sure enough, when i filled up yesterday could only get 58 litres in, so still had 22 in the tank Nowadays i reset the mpg reading at every fill up, and as long as its above 26mpg i know i can do 400 miles, regardless of what the fuel guage and DTE reading may be telling me!

Welcome! On the other hand to the views above, i dont think the newer car is worth the extra tax outlay - after all the increase in power is largely a result of a higher redline, but i rarely go above 5k anyways, soi wouldnt notice a difference. In fact, the older car has slightly more torque, so for cruising i think you're better off with an older one. If i was doing trackdays however, i'd want theextra power, so depends on usage! Generally if well maintained the cars should be pretty bulletproof - check oil levels regularly and be sure to use super unleaded, and you should have car good for 100,000 miles or more no problem

if you could upload anything you have of the bmw that'd be really good... i'm always too busy driving to worry about filming, so as such dont have many in car clips! a helmetcam seems like a very good idea though - can see the track and (more importantly in our case) the amount of steering corrections!

Well what an awesome day! started damp but dried out nicely, Bedford is an awesome track! thanks for the ride Will, even a standard zed feels great on track! hope you can sort the brakes though, a lot of people rate Ferodo DS2500s.

i like it, tyres always look waaay more race with writing on the sidewalls, easiest way to look pro! However they do look a bit pricy, sure i could achieve the same effect with a stencil and a rattle can.

looking forward to seeing you both there! look out for a ropey dark green E36 saloon, that'll be us! while we might not have the power of an m3, we're running nice and light so can certainly see off the pesky FWD brigade if its dry... however in the wet we'd be overtaken by a mobility scooter!

yep just round the corner on tachbrook road

haha you're not wrong, seen quite a few people come off there! theres just a patch of tarmac just on the apex that is like sheet ice, on what is otherwise a corner taken flat out!

would love to do racing, but have always considered the costs to be prohibitively expensive - cost of car can be very cheap yes, but you'll need at a very minimum fia spec cage, seat, harness, fire extinguisher and so on, and very likely the car will need suspension, chassis stiffening, wheels, tyres etc etc to be competitive. And then the cost of racing entry and accomodation again is quite a lot for what you'd get - maybe an hour of practice, a 20 minute qualifying session and a couple of 20 minute races? Therefore i stick to trackdays... still the same buzz of driving a car flat out on a track, but with considerably lower cost of entry, less chance of damage repairs and you can start with any car, and modify it as and when budget and talent dictates. I have a friend who does autosolo events in his MR2, which is also very cheap, but he rarely gets into second gear, which isnt really my thing!

Have to be quick if you want to book though, looked today and there are only 6 spaces left. http://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackday/ I think Bedford GT is a really good track, quite long so a fair few corners to remember but it all flows really well in my opinion. Plus its got a really long straight to go really fast!

just to back up what Ekona said, Michelin Pilot Super sports are widely regarded as THE BEST everyday road tyre you can put on a zed, so defo dont get rid of them! R888s and Yoko AD08s are both semi slick trackday tyres IMO - wouldnt run either as an everyday tyre as i wouldnt trust either to displace standing water as well as a decent road tyre. However if you only drive in fair weather they would be ok. Also R888s and Yoko AD08s will wear out a lot quicker than MPSS, but thats the compromise for a lot more dry grip.

on the plus side... nice to see friends and family taking such an interest in the chassis balance and dynamics of a sports car! most others i suspect would just stay quiet and let you get on with it...

Look good to me! Quite a common style but I like them. Might need a little spacing to sit perfect though.

I'm guessing a lot! However the size of the turbo suggests all the torque will arrive in one gigantic lump at about 4000rpm... Hope he's paid proper attention to the engine internals!

Well i've only ever bought cars outright in cash, and my usual thought process goes: have i got enough saved +sale of my current car to afford the new one? Is the insurance reasonable (which for me means less than £800 currently) Can it get reasonable mileage (cut off here is no less than 25mpg on a motorway run) am i expecting big bills/is the car expected to be reliable? If the answer to all these is yes then i'll probably consider it. Also if it helps, i normally put aside £100 a month in savings, which covers insurance, roadtax, tyres and servicing. That way when they come around annually, i've already got the money saved for it.

pssh, if you spot a gunmetal zed outside the cafe nero on shires at the weekend, that'll be me!

now thats more like it, but stick with a coupe... i'm hoping my next car will be an E63 M6

i have done this... hopefully doesnt make me a ricer! and while a nismo badge on a non nismo car is technically making a false claim, i think it looks fine - in fact it looks really good on yours! however, now that you have a nismo badge, a set of LMGT4s wouldnt go amiss

crikey will you want to check what dodgy sites you're signing up to, been a few years since i last had nigeria trying to give me money. That or i'm just not as lucky as i used to be

mmmm the want is strong with this one... had a ride in someones S15 with Brides and it was a very comfortable place to be. plus simple bolt in jobby for these, if i had some azealan seats i was looking to shift i'd be all over these!

Looks very nice, also loving the wheels! might get a set for my Gunmetal Zed at some point. One thing i dont get though, why the central rear fog light if its a UK car? although looking at the clear front reflectors and side light mod, it might be a symetrical styling thing?

bit hard to see when shrinked, can you put a link to the image online?

I'm cutting back my drinking by 96% - I will only be drinking on days ending in a Y

Hmmm pretty straightforward for 2014, want to do as many track days as possible- did 7 this year, want to do 12 in 2014. Also more trips in zed, and more holidays! Would love to do le mans this year.