brillomaster

Yes. K1= probably the loudest exhaust for a zed, barring no exhaust at all. add decats, even louder still! Ask Bennett if he still has any hearing left - I think hes running the setup you describe and i'm pretty sure small children's heads explode when he drives past.

if you're going to the ring for the first time you're better off spending the time making sure your car is ready, so check oil and fluid levels, tyre tread, amount of brake pad material, condition of bushings etc. A car that stops and handles properly will be worth a lot more than one that accelerates to 60 a fraction of a second faster.

well its the only slot that day - when the full trackday is having lunchbreak, they run the taster session during lunch. if you just go on the website all the info is on there.

I strongly suspect it would be with other beginners, but without all the bravado attached with getting on track at japfest and trying to impress your mates lol. The structure of the taster sessions is a full briefing, use of a simulator to get a feel for the track, then three laps behind a pace car to learn the lines, and then 20 minutes of free driving - great value for £30 all in, even includes helmet hire. As long as you take it steady and leave sensible gaps between cars, I don't think there would be a problem If you come along for the whole day, you're welcome to come out in the beemer in the morning and then you'll be one step ahead of the game when the time comes for your taster session.

Hi All, Myself, Will and Ken are booked up to go to Rockingham on Saturday 21st of June, if anyone would care to join us Rockingham run really professional full open pitlane trackdays - unrestricted use of the pit garages, and full trackday entrants can also use the wet skidpad area for free. Alternatively, if you have never tried track driving before, Rockingham run a 20 minute taster session in lunchtime for just £30, so perfect if you've always fancied seeing what your zed will do on a track! Anyone is more than welcome to come out in the beemer as well over the course of the day. We have garage reserved just for us, so hoping this can turn into a bit of a club social and get a few more members introduced to track driving. Cost is £195 for the full day if booked in advance, or £30 for just the lunchtime session. For full details and booking, see the rockingham website, link below. http://www.rockingham.co.uk/trackdays/track-days-rockingham.php Look forward to seeing a few people there!

what kind of power to handling ratio do you want? cos it will dictate what cheap car you get. if you want decent twisty cornering ability but don't mind being overtaken on the straights, go for an MX5 or an MR2. if you want loads of power but not that good through corners, get a cheap zed or maybe an old 5 series with a V8. Personally, I think a 3 series is the optimal balance for a cheap track car - enough power to hold you own on the straights, relatively light to get through the corners. plus parts are dirt cheap. Used to have an MX5 and have been on a track in an MX5, just didn't have the power to satisfy me, no matter how good it was through the bends. there just so happens to be a track prepared 328i on ebay at the moment for a grand... its just like ours, except better lol. might be worth a look? depends how much work you want to do on it yourself, or if you're like me, and just want to drive it! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-328i-Sport-Coupe-Road-Legal-Track-day-Car-/331201638804

well most people are welcome to try the beemer out... as long as you can successfully get your own car round a track, you can probably handle the beemer. Plus she's an old German girl and she likes being manhandled by anyone who'll have her 6 people have taken the beemer out on track so far I think.

We're off to Bedford Autodrome this coming Monday with Javelin Trackdays... have noticed both a 350z and a 370z on the list of attendees, anyones on here? we'll be in the ropy green beemer, come over and say hi

well, in all the trackdays we've done with the beemer (about a dozen now) we've never seen anyone crash their car, either into another car or into a barrier. A few mechanical issues sure, but nothing to crumple bodywork, apart from the odd cone or two. EDIT That's not to say it doesn't ever happen though! theres a post on here about a 350z that collided with the armco at Bedford, so if you're going to take your pride and joy on track, get some insurance! generally very good etiquette on trackdays, you let people past if they're faster, and people let you past if you're faster. watch for brakes and tyre wear, but other than that its the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on.

sheesh 9k for a 77,000 car with leaking exhaust and engine and airbag warning lights on?!? that's about £3k overpriced, or my car has doubled in value over the last 2 years! its a buyers market, plenty of decent well looked after examples out there for a lot cheaper than £9k... keep looking, these things can take time!

Bedford Autodrome is my local track! (bar Mallory - but that's not much of a track) count me in. will be in the Beemer with Will and Ken, but we can more than hold our own against a standard zed.

not sure what the awkwardness is... the E55 has 200bhp more than a zed, and twice the torque figure... towing a little ride on lawnmower is hardly going to slow it down. What would be interesting to see which is faster, a 350z, or an E55 towing a 350z on a trailer?

just gone for redstuff fronts on mine, no squeak at cold, seems to have a decent pedal feel.

quite a few sessioned trackdays at Croft circuit, not too many cars out on track at once. Javelin trackdays is the organiser, website here: http://www.javelintrackdays.co.uk/trackday/index.php next one is on sunday 22nd June, get your name signed on!

hmmm, july... we don't have anything for july... Bedford GT in May, Cadwell and Rockingham in June, Blyton and Bedford again in August! might be tempted to come down to Keevil for the day on 21st July... although its a very straightforward track layout normally, only got 6 corners. How about Abingdon on Friday 18th July? haven't done that one before and is supposed to be a more engaging track.

oh if you want to learn to drift only (with no track driving) then probably best to buy an old E36 BMW and weld the diff. pick up a nasty high miler off ebay for a few hundred quid, few hours labour to weld the diff and away you go.

agree with ekona, track driving and drifting are worlds apart - most trackdays will black flag you for drifting, even little ones. plus also, when you start you'll be spinning a lot, not something you'll want to do on a trackday.my advice is get down to santa pod on a DWYB day - don't worry too much about tyres as there are drift tyres available along with fitting for £10 a tyre if I remember correctly. Start out by doing donuts and figure of eights in the playpens, then when you're feeling a bit more confident move onto the kidney track. a zed would make a good drift car, lots of grunt, FR layout, LSD. drifting is very hard on clutches and gearboxes, so these might need replacing. Also watch engine cooling... bouncing off the redline while getting no air through the radiator does tend to overheat things.

hmmm sounds tempting, don't believe i'm doing anything that weekend! put me down as a maybe

good work from Red Bull! solid third place for Ricciardo, great result for him, and Vettel moving from 15th to 4th is probably drive of the year so far. Still miles away from the Mercedes, but definitely a move in the right direction. Glad Hamilton held on for the win, don't seem to get along with Rosberg. Maybe next race they should put Hamilton on the prime tyre first, give him a chance to play catch up in the final stages of the race.

you need a cobra resonated exhaust from CS, sounds lovely, no drone at cruising but opens up over 3500rpm to a gorgeous growl. Best ~£440 you'll spend on the car.

been driving 6 years, 3 of which in cars with >250bhp, so far none

Mod it, but keep all the bits as it WILL be worth more standard if you come to sell it. Apart from exhaust and stubby, nobody wants those standard!

hmm this is awkward... the first thing i thought of when i read 'best sounding engine' doesnt fit in any of those categories since its a rotary engine from a Mazda 787b

I strongly suspect 40 profiles will be better, maybe even 35s as they're so wide. maybe 255/35/18 front, 275/35/18 rear? And that'll still have some stretch, 11" is wiiiide!