brillomaster

i think they better have got it right, as they've ran out of letters. on a serious note, im happy with my Xperia J!

yeah they look exactly like mine, and mines a 53 plate... correct shape on both sides and got the fitment hole on the drivers side. not sure about the cupholders as you say - if thats out a zed i havent found where it is yet!

alrighty, might well have a plan in place! am very excited already, but early days yet, not buying a car till the spring. will keep you updated with progress!

have to ask, what job do you do that requires driving to top european racetracks and gives free 102RON fuel? and more importantly how do i get that job!?

bought my zed just coming up to a year ago now, and when i bought it at least i was planning on keeping it for a long time - the first car where that was the case (all other cars were stop gaps until i could afford something better/faster, but the zed is plenty fast enough now and should be reliable, unlike my first proper fast car) However, that was when i lived only 2 miles from work... now i live 20 miles from work, the zed is costing rather more in fuel than i'd like and i'm putting rater more miles on it than id like... so am currently considering selling up and spending half the 6 grand on a efficient diesel commuter, and the other half on a mental weekend/trackday car... will have to see how we get on!

mmmm loving the arch extensions but hating the rest of the failside kit... maybe buy it, strip the exterior for parts and return it to near factory, then have a 550bhp ferrari troubler

give this site a go, used it when i considered importing and exhaust from the states. http://www.dutycalculator.com/new-import-duty-and-tax-calculation/

not for me... dont think its a looker at all, and its just a silly silly price... Metcalfe says its rarer than a pagani, but for that kind of money you can get a tricolor, of which there were what, three? I think id rather have a Ferrari F12 and £760,000 change please!

ahh thats too bad, Norwich is indeed a bit far from me, but good luck with it!

Welcome! £8k would get a very good early 350z if you want to avoid the tax hike - although from your previous cars i'd seriously consider the S2000 as well, as you already have a taste for VTEC! PS Gunmetal FTW!

ps as rabbitstew mentioned, theres no requirement for a car to be taxed or tested to go on track, as its private ground. TDOs normally ask that the car is roadworthy, but doesnt necessary have an mot - we trailered our BMW to events as it was not taxed or MOTed, and a lot of trailered cars would not pass an MOT anyway.

the trackday organisers i use are normally £100 - £140 for the first driver, and then £20 for additional drivers (hence why makes sense to share driving). Can go up to maybe £300-400 a day for premium tracks like silverstone and spa, but im happy with airfield days which are a lot cheaper. And then you'd probably use a full tank of petrol doing the driving, depending on how much time you spend on track. Helmet hire is normally £10 if you havent got your own ( i bought a relatively cheap one off ebay for £50). and then as for the car - you could simply buy a car and use it as is, but i was kind of expecting to have to change the oil every couple of trackdays, new tyres every half dozen trackdays (depending on the surface and how aggressive/sliding you are) new brake pads every couple of trackdays as well. The best thing is to buy a car that is light on tires and brakes, and then they last longer - caterhams and the like are easy on brakes as theres less mass to decelerate, and the tires are tiny 15s. its for this reason a zed is an expensive track car, as high levels of torque and 18" wheels mean tyre replacement is expensive, and 1600kg to brake will get through pads quickly. and then obviously once you've got into it, you'll want to modify your car... so bucket seats (£50 ebay jobbies up to £1000 Brides) harnesses (£50-£200), rollcage (more essential on an open top) slick tyres (£80 up depending on size) and so on, and so on... But id be looking to do things on the cheap - if money was no object i'd have a GT3 RS, but im more likely to start slow and upgrade things when parts wear out. Another thing to consider is insurance... there is no third party liability on trackdays, so if you want to protect your car, you insure it. if you have a colision with someone on track, then your insurance pays for your car, and their insurance pays for their car - regardless of who might be at fault. When we ran a BMW we did not insure it - we took the view that if it all went pear shaped then we'd just lose the £400 each we had invested. However, if your car was worth a grand or more, might want to consider insurance. As has been said, it is a great way of spending a day - probably one of the best days of my life was razzing an oversteering BMW round an airfield all day in the middle of summer - its a way better way of spending £100 than getting maybe three laps in a ferrari with an instructor telling you to slow down.

alternatively, anyone around the Bristol area? as one of the trackday organisers i use operate a lot of airfield days around Chippenham - and being airfield days they're very safe venues to drive.

Heres a long shot proposition... would anyone be interested in buying a cheap RWD car and do a couple of trackday/airfield days this year? I've been keen to get back on track for a couple of years now since my previous trackday partner moved up north... and i'm very keen to do the same thing again, but its no fun on your own. My current plan is a simple one... buy a BMW 328i for around £800, then go on half a dozen trackdays at around £100 - £120 a day. I'm based in the Midlands, so someone would need to be fairly close by to make it work. alternatively if anyone has a car they want to track, but want to share costs with someone, let me know. Feel free to drop me a PM if you're interested and want to know more.

depends... if im closing in on someone and the road is clear, no need to change gear at all, can just cruise past in 6th.... although for most overtakes i'd drop to 3rd for a quick one, or 4th for a slightly more relaxed overtake. I'd rarely use 2nd for an overtake as a) you'd need to change gear halfway through the move, and if the gap was so short that i needed the power of second to get past safely, i wouldnt consider it a safe enough gap to overtake in the first place. Normally i find mid range torque is plenty for most moves, rarely do i exceed 5500rpm even with spirited driving (although that may change when i get a new exhaust).

dunno, you try it, and report back to us? cant do any harm, exhaust works equally well with bungs in or out, cant see how half a bung would be any more detrimental than a full one? on a serious note, could always get an exhaust maker to weld in an inline silencer, and then can run without bungs.

haha touche!

well thats certainly yellow! only concern is the wheels - not the artwork, but the size... 17s on a mk1 MX5? definitely needs lowering, looks like a 4x4 with wheels that big!

hmm seeing it all worked out like that it isnt looking cheap! think i might leave you to it... but we need pics please!

hmm, so far, heineken, carlsberg export, banana milk and fanta... quite a random selection so far...

psssh, theres only so much crappy xmas tv one can watch... happy xmas zedders!

So as we all know, the xmas period is the time when everyone typically tries to get to everywhere else, making the motorways of the UK absolutely chockablock with estate cars overflowing with tasteless presents and vomiting children... however, for some of us it means that wonderful cross country journeys, and a good amount of driving! Normally we would drive down to my girlfriends parents in south wales in the GFs 1.1 206 - but since i also have to see friends in west wales, and then my dad in ludlow, before driving back to wales for new years, i have to take the zed! So the proposed route... Day 1, starting from near Ebbw Vale, take the B4560 over the brecons and then west on the A40 to Llandovery, and cut across the A482 to Lampeter. Day 2, back down the A482, then North East on the A483 and B4358 to Llandrindod Wells, then east on the A488 to Knighton, and onwards on the A4113 to Ludlow. Day 3, south on A49 to Leominster, then South west on the A44, A4112 and A438 to Talgarth, before cutting across the black mountains on the A479. http://goo.gl/maps/AkgNe Total distance, 221 miles of sheer Welsh driving road bliss Anyone else planning any good drives over the xmas period?

Crikey, Alison Hannigan is 38? she looks at least 10 years younger, she just doesnt seem to age! Denise Van Outen is approaching Cougarland as well, she's only 2 years away...

yeah i noticed that when coming from a seriously over assisted eco box... thought i had two flat tires, then i realised that thats how cars are supposed to feel, not finger twirling crud

well yeah pollyanna is 20 years younger, obviously shes going to be a bit perkier... but suzi is definitely rocking the over 40s brigade! and lets not forget VBH, who also turned 40 this year