350Butcher

I have finally booked my first trackday at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for Tues 17th July!!! Been wanting to do this track forever! Run by the Mlr (but will feature a good mix of cars I expect), they have secured a double header in July this year (it'll still pour with rain of course!!). Cost for non Mlr member £399................member price £359............cost of member ship £20...........!!!!???? All the details here if anyone fancy's it........I'm really looking forward to this one! http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=555786

Nice mod to come with. If it is out as far as it looks then I'd get under it and with a few simple measurements you'll get it driving far safer till you get it sorted properly. Think the reason they are "out of stock" is because they've been discontinued. I just like the design of them, look far beefier than stock for taking curbs on track.............and parking in tight spaces too of course!

Litchfield do only do Ecutek (so 370z's only) Bit of a drive (but a nicer one, make sure you take the B4494 from Chieveley to Wantage on your way home its epic!!) but go and see Jez at Horsham he'll get the best from it for you. Looking at the pic of your car it looks like its running a load of positive camber on the rear (Unless the camera is distorting it) so get yourself a full alignment done while you're there! Also where did you get the Tein rods and ends? Thought they'd been discontinued a while ago!

Think you missed a very good opportunity to get it mapped by Jez to be honest mate, it was always gonna throw warning lights after you removed the cats even if infrequent, after he went through all the agro of strapping the car down and hooking it up to the dyno it would've only taken a short while to map it for you.

Just realised I didn't actually attach a link in my previous post........added now and here it is again for good measure http://mkiv.supras.org.nz/dyno.htm Glad you're happy with the car as it!

Yes..........if stuck open will vent oil straight into air intake

If its just happened suddenly I'd fit new pcv valve..........easy, cheap and may fix it! That said DE engines wear their rings out and do start to use oil but that wont be a quick thing

The Dyno Dynamics rolling road is accurate and (therefore the lowest reading dyno out there) that does upset a lot of people, hence why it has the nickname "heart breaker" I bet it drove a lot keener on the way home? Looking at the pics of your car it must be brand new so it may free up a few Hp after few more miles too. Visit this page for dyno comparisons, enter your wheel hp and save yourself some time and money if you want to see bigger numbers http://mkiv.supras.org.nz/dyno.htm

Great turn out!............did I spot someone running the AP Radi-CAL's.......very nice Hopefully make it down to the next one myself to say hello

Great mod for the Z without going to all out solid bushes............jack your car up and look how far the rear subframe hangs down on the soggy factory bushes!! Bit of a job to install but well worth it.......good luck with the sale

I don't think its got anything to do with yaw angle or "70%" of tc.........I don't think its as high tech as that. I was of the understanding its simply a G sensor that remains live after tc has been switched off that if tripped, from high speed cornering on track or super aggressive low speed cornering drifting, then it starts interfering by cutting engine, grabbing brakes etc Good video though.....that's how to do it.....think I'd probably install a covered switch inside the ash tray or storage box bit if I did it. Andy Barnes of Sumo Power fame is the main man behind Time Attack I believe.....I have a friend of a friend who runs his VX220 in Club Pro though so could ask him for info regarding it all

Cheers Ross, appreciate that!! Glad you liked having a read through it all Looking forward to following your build too mate

Always important to have a stripped out car when you're driving to the shops eh! It definitely works on DE and HR cars as I did it with both my cars for years. Suppose its better 5th than any of the others, its probably the least used gear of them all! Hopefully it is just synchro for you and its a relatively easy fix (not sure how big or small it is on a Z 'box). If you've not already got single mass flywheel then that makes a noticeable difference to rev response and delivery. When I approached them to make that mount it was because I wanted the benefits of an uprated item without the annoying noises and they delivered, doesn't make any detectable change in NVH but makes a noticeable benefit to shifting on track under high loads! Really like it.......a quality made part too. Perfect time to get a set of cams in while that's off isn't it???

Yeah I do quite like the guy........a bit of his advice/mods are questionable though.........plus are there any of him driving the friggin' thing! I would not want to be on the road or more so track with things like brake lights not working. If you look at my track vids on board or from my brother car looking at mine that all features remain working...........only the bits you don't want working aren't working. The only thing that happens is that a load of lights are illuminated on the dash when the fuse is out.....cant remember which ones but again have a look at my vids and you'll see the ones that are on. What you having done with your 'box and clutch? Are you getting a Vibra Technics gearbox mount to go with the engine mounts you've got while its all off?

Jeez that guy does some talking!! So the small single dark red, 50A fuse marked VDC on the fuse cover next the large triple fuse he’s banging on about it the one. Pull that out and everything is deactivated for you, put it back in and all is restored.

Sadly I think a lot of the shapes and dimensions are governed by pedestrian impact protection regulation. That said I think it looks pretty good.........I'm more put off by 335Hp and Auto gearbox's!

No worries.....Yeah give it a go......I promise you wont go back to having it fitted after you've tried it out!

One thing I have wondered regarding fitting a switch......can you just flick it on/off on the move? I'm assuming you still get all the lights up on the dash too? Haha I don't know how you drive so quick from the passenger seat!! I'm terrible in the rentals on holiday! Build plans sounds promising........keep me posted on the progress.......sounds like you're in safe hands with Coobcio's wealth of experience with the VQ Good luck with the timeattack plans....some of the UK Pro stuff is insanely advanced. Read up on Savanna's car, has got some nice bits on it........and in it!

Good to read you're going down the route of making the new mounts and getting it back that bit further. It's spending that extra time doing these things that makes all the difference to the end result. New loom looks factory good!

To quote the great man himself "Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere"

Pics look like fuel pressure regulator and boost control solenoid

For me the fact it only takes 2 seconds to pull out and put back the fuse kinda made me not wanna mess around wiring something in........that said suppose it's still easier to flick a switch! When I first got my Z (the first DE one) I took it to Donington and every time I turned into the old hair pin at the bottom of craner the car suddenly started jolting and clunking and I honestly thought my wheel was about to fall off!! Turns out even with the TC turned off that stability control if it senses over a certain g (or what ever its looking at) decides that while turning into a bend at 80mph ish that its a great idea to start grabbing brakes seemingly randomly and for no apparent reason and scaring the s**t out of me!! So......from that day onward I've always pulled the VDC fuse......no abs, no tc, no scary sc making me think the cars falling apart.......happy days!! With fuse removed, I'm convinced that the brake pedal feels firmer and more consistent, maybe the abs bleeds off a bit of brake pressure and without abs cutting in a bit early (although I never found that a huge issue in the dry but it was in the wet) allowing for later and harder braking. Without the tc and sc is where the real benefits are though, the car is free to move around under you and you can really enjoy and load up the sweetly balanced chassis that the Z is gifted with. I, like you've said, was a bit nervous when I first pulled it (and removed the "safety" of the systems) but the truth is if you have good brakes and tyres and decent geometry then the Z is not a big scary oversteering monster its a really nice, balanced and exploitable car. Even when it does get out of shape its controllable and forgiving. Even in the wet the fuse stays out and behaves the same albeit at the lower speeds. I think that when the systems are active we assume that every time that light flashes and the power is cut we automatically think "oh that's good, the car just saved me" but the truth is there's so much more to lean on its actually activating really early and being intrusive and stopping your speed and momentum and therefore driving pleasure and enjoyment!! Which the mighty Z has tons of...........with the fuse out!!......Try it and just build yourself up I bet you go loads quicker and feel more confident. The one and only down side to removing it is that the dash lights up like a christmas tree, but I don't think there's anything you can do about that so its a miner niggle to put up with for the benefits of it being out. Sorry for the very long answer!!

Cheers Rob! I keep updating it so its nice to know people still wanna see it! Yes, would be good to get on track with a you and some others from the forum this year. Not done a toggle or switch but I've always just pulled the VDC fuse out when on track

While I wait for the brakes brackets and bells to be made I decided to treat myself to something I've been toying with doing for a while........ Re-trimmed wheel........its fairly subtle over stock.......but is slightly thicker with smooth top/bottom and perforated sides with silver stitching to match the Recaro's Pics aren't the best but you get it

Great build you're starting here! Will be following your progress so keep the updates coming Regarding radiators, Mishimoto is a real no no! I'd stick with stock unit over it, they're very poor quality and not up to the job, will give you problems down the road for sure. Koyo Rad would be my recommendation, great quality and performance. Had one on my 420hp Evo 5 for years so fitted one to my 350z I have now when the time came. Think they offer 2 core sizes for the DE too so might be worth going with the thicker (36mm from memory) given your future plans for power levels. On a point you mention about making up some plates to move the engine back a little further, I think you'll be reaping the rewards of making efforts to get it as far back in the engine bay as possible given the amount of cast iron / weight out front that's got to effect the handling when finished. The Supra engine is a great choice though, easy power and an awesome sound track!!