brillomaster

the standard touring wheels are 8" front and rear. The option RAYS are 8" front and 8.5" rear. But as already said, both standard touring rims and the RAYS options run a staggered 225 front 245 rear tyre width.

agreed, reset the comp on the motorway this morning and was averaging 35mpg by the time i got to work. Even on the zed weekend in wales with 150miles of spirited driving i averaged 28mpg. From my experience its running a cold engine thats the problem, once its up to temperature it can cruise all day at 30mpg, and do 400+ miles on a tank easy. I cant think of a car i'd rather go to scotland and back in, the slight drop in mpg compared to a diesel is more than made up for by the effortless cruise controlled comfort and low down torque

its all very lovely, but what is actually the point of the advert? are people paying to have their car dirtied, so they can then pay to get the car cleaned again??? i may just be being special, but i just don't get it!

yeah, i know thats why the car is as bad as it is... maybe they can have two leader boards, one for the real A listers in a VW polo, and then the rest in a 370z

Go Toyota! Those Audis are getting a bit predictable now. But more importantly, GO ASTON MARTIN! I fully expect to come into work to a champagne celebration on monday

Haha nice collection! although theres a heavy industrial vibe... i suggest adding 8 litres of Viper V10 into the mix!

Mmmm thats a good looking racecar! Still doesnt stand a chance against my companys astons this weekend though

theres a new reasonably priced car for this series... but yeah, they should either do away with the segment or at least make it a more interesting car id say in the grand scheme of things a base spec 370z is a very reasonably priced car, but would be a lot more interesting to see how celebrities fare on track with it! i'll of course be tuning in to watch it... i'll freely admit that there are a lot of far better weekly youtube videos, and i'll even freely admit I prefer the US version of top gear (they HAVE done away with the star in a reasonably priced car, every episode is just a long film with a series of challenges, with the winner (usually Tanner) driving a new supercar) but UK top gear is still the best way of passing a sunday evening.

gonna see a lot more of the 4 rings seeing as it was made by audi! Why Jason Statham is narrating it is beyond me though!

Grounding kit is third on the list Arran? Is the car that much better for it?

Have you seen the rest of the car?! a few scratches on the roof are the least of our cosmetic worries!

Definitely a good day! Hopefully I haven't scared will with my at times flamboyant driving style... Although still pleased to be the only one of us not to spin... Clearly not trying hard enough! Next time might try trail braking a bit more, or being more aggressive with my turn ins.

Well we are back... car made it there and back in one piece! well, 99% in one piece, but i'll leave Will to explain what happened to the 1% of the car we didnt bring home Overall was an awesome day... Will has a photos, but heres a report/debrief from me... Track time started at 9:45 or so with some pretty serious trackday machinery - half the cars there arrived on trailers, mainly caterhams and elises, with the odd subaru and clio thrown in, but our main competition were the trio of stripped out M3s. Generally dry, few spits of rain but nothing to change driving style. Initially we were very cautious particularly with the brakes - braking light and early, well before the BRAKE boards that were there to help learn the lines. Car did indeed handle like a boat through the bends, tipped over at a very jaunty angle most of the time! Definitely does not like fast direction changes through the chicanes, quite easy to get a pendulum going on. However as the day wore on we did grow in confidence, and managed to be brave approaching corners, maing sure we braked in a straight line, off the brakes and turn in, steady throttle through the corner then slowly feed in the power on the exit. Despite the suspension the car was very docile and predictable at the limit - was generally neutral tending to slight understeer, but easy to get the back into play with a teeny bit of trail braking. Awesome fun to drive right on the edge, clipping the apex cones and then running ot wide whilst hard on the gas. only one corner really gave us any trouble, a very tight second gear hairpin, which we had to take about 20 mph, fighting understeer all the way around. Really could have done with a slippy diff, when I did try to get some power oversteer, the soft suspension just meant we span up one wheel and didnt really go anywhere! Then at ten to 4, everything changed.... the heavens opened! We did consider calling it a day, but since it was almost inevitable we will have a full wet day at some point, we forced ourselves to go out anyways. Quite a difference even going at 6/10ths, just had to be so smooth with everything, and also we are now most definitely getting oversteer! Believe me, winding a quarter turn of opposite lock whilst doing 70 through a corner is a sphincter clenching moment! Somehow I managed not to spin despite the worsening conditions - even though the hairpin that was so awkward before became a playground for drifting fun! Definitely focuses the mind driving in the wet, after a few laps came back exhausted, but very happy so the car... engine and gearbox were very strong, never missed a beat, and was pretty nippy! however suspension and brakes do need upgrading... about 6 laps are the limit on the brakes, and then the pedal just goes all the way to the floor. On the way home the front pads were completely shot, making a horrible grinding noise probably just as well we stopped when we did. Going to work on the car the next few weekends, and then roll on the next trackday!

nope, still got the standard seats in there. However, they were only cloth with no electronic adjustment to start with, so they arent too bad... just waiting for a decent pair to come up on ebay, but mindful of our budget (think the stringy thing holding your shoes on )

So me and Will have our first trackday tomorrow at Hullavington airfield, in our old E36 328i... really excited! Have been looking at videos to know what to expect, but really looking forward to getting out on a track again, been far too long. Car is pretty much standard mechanically, but is missing 80% of its interior, which has helpfully contributed some useful weight savings. We expect hat the weak points will be brakes and suspension, but will be report back with pics at the weekend. We also have a bit of friendly competition in the form of an MR2... could be an interesting duel!

Dang, makes me wish i'd gone for Azure Blue and not Drizzle Grey... looks really nice! might also be attempting to polish up my headlights, they're looking pretty cloudy.

Mmmmm, £7k for a 04 Import Auto seems steep to me, regardless of condition and mods... i paid less than 7k for a UK manual zed with less miles on it, a year ago! normally i would say to put standard wheels back on, but with the other mods that are on it you'd be limiting yourself to a certain buyer anyways, so perhaps you would get the value for them with them on. Either ways, best of luck with the sale!

I agree lol... if first gear cant prevent a car from rolling backwards, then how on earth is it going to move it forwards! I always leave my in third or reverse when parked on any kind of slope, preferably with the front wheels pointing into the kerb in case that doesnt work!

i always thought the lights of a 350z look similar to the mk5 ford fiesta... or is it just me?

i like the red rims, stands out. Although not with the standard orange reflectors on!

+1 +2, was gonna call it on bad grammar as well... anyone want to start the thread that this thread could have been?

One of those things really - just have to estimate based on how the clutch feels as to how much life it has left. But either way, having a nice new clutch does make the car feel a lot better!

coilovers to stop the car pitching under braking, and proper buckets and harnesses will help no end when driving. if buckets are too costly, just go for harnesses, or even a CG Lock on the seatbelt will help hold you in place.

nah im already decided on the hankooks lol, ordered them last tuesday, getting them fitted tomorrow! will let you know if i end up backwards in a hedge. PS POST 1000! happy veterans day to me!

Good stuff! Bet you're glad it was a dry day - cadwell is a formidable challenge in the wet with the two very contrasting sections of track.