brillomaster

when im not driving my road BMW im usually driving the track BMW! other than that, might occasionally go walking with my dad, but usually just chilling with the fiancé and our friends.

my guess it that its a reading/map light... which will be switched on or off independently from the usual courtesy light setting. if it is a reading/map light, then it'll be on a separate switch. in the 350z you just press the light itself to turn it on and off...

Llandow circuit also do full day hire for £3000 on a Saturday, which is pretty decent - only two problems though, firstly its not a particularly brilliant track being less than a mile long, and secondly its 20 miles west of Cardiff! maybe one to consider including in the next wales meet!

It doesn't say specifically, but all trackdays I've done at Blyton have been full Open pitlane, with a limit of how many cars can be on track at once. Its a nice little circuit as well, nice smooth tarmac and some decent corners.

Well I've managed to get better prices than that! A full private trackday at Blyton Park is £3,600 all in up to end of august - from sept 1st onwards that drops to £3,100. They recommend a maximum of 40 participants, but even if we only got 20 that would be £180 each, which is about average for a trackday. granted Blyton Park isn't as good as somewhere like Knockhill, but its a lot better than an airfield! however they have no weekend availability in 2015 left, so would have to be Friday or a Monday.

unless you fancy doing something radically different, you've got three cheap choices - 1 - MX5! cheap to buy, cheap on brakes and tyres, handles brilliantly. not that fast though. 2 - BMW! cheap to buy, fast, sounds good. not the best dynamically, needs a few mods before its effective. 3 - MR2! cheap to buy, cheap on brakes and tyres, handles brilliantly. however can have snappy handling at the limit. also plenty of cheap FWD hatchbacks, but nobody wants one of them!

I've just sent an email to Motorsport-events to see what kinda prices they can do for a private airfield trackday - will report back when I hear from them. Also just emailed the owners of Blyton Park as that does owners club events also. I suspect private hire of an actual racetrack will be prohibitively expensive.

hmmm haven't ever heard of that one! but if there are no warning lights, only thing I can suggest is making sure all the fluids are topped up. definitely an electrical bleep, yes? cant think of anything that bleeps when going round tight right handers, probably something silly like a loose electrical connection somewhere that detaches somewhere, like a seatbelt, airbag or maybe even a bonnet/door open sensor. is it like the beep when you leave the lights on?

what do you think we've done? our latest beemer cost £800, plus a bit extra on some decent pads and fluid and you've got the basics, simples! Also if you do buy an old bmw, me and ken offer a disposal service when you're done with it

alternatively we're hoping to go to Cadwell Park 4th July and Donington on 18th July - Donington would be a good track to get a few people going to, since that's fairly central as well (and its a stonkingly good circuit) Do you know what tracks have been privately hired in the past by other clubs? you might be able to get a full day at Castle Combe for a reasonable amount, maybe. but I'd imagine you'd still want to split the cost between at least 20 people to make it a reasonable price each.

Short notice, but we're booked in for rockingham this weekend! Ken has taken custody of the car for a while and in his stewardship he's fitted the new PS pump, fitted a new front left hub so we can run the preferred (wider) wheels, and also given it a good wash and vacuum inside. We've also finally ordered some proper trackday tyres! Excited doesn't even begin to cover it, have been waiting a long time to get on some decent rubber, really looking forward to seeing what the car will be like on them. Unfortunately they wont be on for Rockingham as its a bit short notice, so will just use normal road tyres, but will be ready to go for the next two trackdays, which also happen to be my two favourite tracks! Will report back from rockingham after Saturday - i'll be using a different case for the camera so should pick up sound a bit better. Target for me for the day is to take Turn One flat - no mean feat when you're foot to the floor in 4th at this point, and theres no run off if you get it wrong, just a wall! Just about worked up the courage at the end of the day last time we were there. And Ken's target is to keep it out the wall this time

its a good idea, but it costs a lot to hire a decent track for the day, and therefore you need a lot of committed members, and there just aren't enough to make it viable. However, what has worked well in the past is if we arrange to all go to the same trackday, somewhere central, and then have a mini meet there. For example, there is a trackday at Bedford Autodrome, Saturday 22nd August, which would be perfect for a 350z club outing.

Its a little bit short notice I know, but myself and Ken have just booked the BMW on for a trackday on Saturday 6th June at Rockingham. Rockingham is a great circuit for trackdays, good mix of corners and you get the theatre of being inside the speedway track. Plus facilities and garages are all top notch. If anyone else is free on the weekend and looking for a summers day track fix, the booking is available from rockingham.co.uk. Alternatively if anyone fancies coming along for a bit of a social gathering i'm sure we can get you a few laps in the beemer!

yes and yes. suck it up and buy some new summer tyres for the front, then when the rears wear down, buy a new set of rears to match. keep the winters for winter!

i know i could just google this but... what the heck is a Nilfisk???

a fast BMW is just different to a fast Nissan... first thing I noticed swapping from the zed to the beemer was how quiet the beemer was, it was so well insulated from road noise, tyre noise, wind noise engine noise. but put your foot down and it piles on speed at a rapid pace, even more so than the zed as the torque kicks in earlier. handling-wise, the zed was probably a little livelier - but my bmw currently has less than brilliant front tyres, and they understeer anyway, so the turn in isn't sharp. both cars feel weighty, so that's about the same. although the bmw has a longer wheelbase which affects its nimbleness - but a 1 series would be closer to a zed in that respect. I think with some decent tyres and a fast road alignment the beemer will feel fine. add an exhaust for a bit more aural drama and you're there. but the general quality of the beemer is streets ahead of the Nissan - everything you touch feels great, there are no rattles, everything electric works. but I bought mine as a cruiser rather than a b road weapon. if I wanted something really engaging on the b road, it would have to be something lighter or a proper sports car. had a ride in daz's cheap Porsche Boxster S at Bedford and it was really nice - sounded great, handled really well. But as discussed, it wouldn't be hugely faster than a zed round a track.

this is a good shout - I was going to suggest a tuned 335i but its too heavy for track work, more a fast A road cruiser. But an M135i is a good call - although pricey to buy.

you seem to be quite a fan of the zed, so sounds like you should keep it and supercharge it! to get 400bhp from a different car you're talking a lot of money - cheapest way to 400bhp would be something like an M5 or a supercharged jag, neither of which would be good on track. if you want 400bhp and good on track, you're basically talking a decent Porsche, or something even more exotic. most other cars at the price point (basic 911, M3, 370z) will likely feel pretty similar to a zed really, nothing noticeably faster. also, anything else you buy would probably depreciate at the same rate as the amount of money you'd lose by supercharging the zed. having been in daz's old supercharged 350z, with associated suspension and tyres, it was really nice on a track, and rapido!

side pipes!

that's not the worst of it... I pushed the honeymoon back by a week because of a potential trackday

actualy, id go so far as to say that a triple centre exit looks better than a ginormous offset single exit. Although 3x3" is probably a bit much, maybe 3x2" would look better.

this year! weekend after this show

I've seen far, far worse on road cars. i'll allow a triple exit exhaust only if the centre tip is controlled by a butterfly valve which runs straight through with no silencing!

I've got a wedding I have to go to as well hopefully will try and make this and support the german contingent!