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Thanks Fella, I guess i am a fairly quick/talented driver but so are a lot of other people in motorsport. I have definately improved massively from when i first bought the Zed, i remember my first couple of events being all over the place and on the grass more than tarmac, it's a whole new ballgame trying to find the limit of a car (and your ability) than regular road driving but the 350 comunicates so well as an old school rwd car, especially with all the mods I have done over the years. Not sure which bushes I have changed, I know I have done most of them front and rear (to polybush) as i have changed parts over the years. Best pressures I found for the AD09 tyres were around 30 front, 26 rear (cold pressure) going up a couple of psi over the runs. a fair bit lower than other tyres I have had which are normally 33F/30R but my setup will be different from most other Zeds as its been tweeked to exactly how I want the car to handle over the years with camber/toe/reide height etc.

Seeing as its Christmas Eve, might as well do a run down of the year (best as i can remember) 21 Rounds/Events in total were completed competing in 3 main Championships. HSA (Hillclimb and Sprint Association) BARC (British Automobile Racing Club) NSCC (Nottingham Sports Car Club) The car has performed admirably again for another year but not without a few problems. The Radium in tank fuel surge pump has proved a total PITA all year, now it may not be the systems fault entirley as i think the fuel tank opening in bowed but after multiple attempts i think i have eventually sealed it, although a still get whiffs or petrol every so often so their may be a fitting elsewhere weeping but at least the big hole at the top is sorted. fingers crossed. I also had issues with the clutch/gears for the last few events which turned out to be another clutch failure, seems whatever i use, they can only hang on for 2 years. Then another thing that plagued me for most of the year was my tyre choice. going from extremes and A052 that are ultra soft to a AD09 tyre that is more road and endurance focused (relatively speaking) proved very frustrating all year, especially on the venues where i had been previously and just couldn't match the times with these tyres no matter how hard i pushed. The fact that the previously mentioned tyres wore out in around 15 events and these still had 5mm of tread left after 21 events kind of emphesizes the hardness in comparison. So I recently put my hand in my pocket and purchassed another set of the good stuff for next season. So going through the season was a mixed bag of highs. lows and anywhere in between but ultimately finished with some silverware and the car mainly intact, it did fail its MOT last month for the first time ever. The rear quarter I had replaced after my big crash at Aintree a couple of years back was not quite as rust free as my original car and the cill towards the rear arch had succombed to the metal worm, luckily, after removing the side skirt, it was only the last few inches or so and the rest looks solid, so a bit of cutting and welding some new metal in was all that was required to get it through, nothing else needed, good for another year. So highlights were 11 class wins over the season lowlights being when i was 2 seconds adrift from my prev times at certain tracks I still managed 6 new PBs despite the inferior tyres Results Below: Cadwell Park 101.5 - 2nd Anglesey National 62.99 - 3rd Anglesey International 103.6 - 2nd Blyton Eastern 79.47 - 1st Blyton Outer 72.40 - 1st Coventry Motofest 73.01 - 1st Coventry Motofest 71.46 - 1st Curborough Figure 8 66.62 - 2nd Mallory Park 84.74 - 1st Curborough Figure 8 65.64 - 1st Curborough 2 Lap 65.57 - 2nd Harewood Hillclimb 66.63 - 5th Harewood Hillclimb 72.40 - 1st (WET) Loton park Hillclimb 61.00 - 2nd Snetterton 100 122.93 - 1st (WET) Snetterton 100 102.08 - 1st Hethel (LOTUS) 90.66 - 3rd Blyton Eastern 77.15 - 1st Blyton Outer 72.68 - 2nd Curborough 2 Lap 65.03 - 4th Curborough Figure 8 66.81 - 1st So onto the final standings and results for the year, I have had the NSCC and HSA awards presentation, the BARC awards are in March so not recieved my trophey as yet but results as follows: HSA 5th Overall in Main Championship and winner of the Oppenheimer sub award NSCC 3rd Overall in Main Championship BARC 2nd Overall in Main Championship Award to follow Plans for next season, I am leaning to doing the same 3 championships again, you build up a good repor and commeradery with people as well as friendly competition. I was thinking about doing the classic marques championship but this is seperate to all others and would mean (i think) you cant score points for multiple championships at the same time so I would have to commit to that and sacrice all others (unless i literally did almost every weekend racing which isnt practicle or marriage compatible!) just need to check the relevent regs. I have provisionally drawn up a schedule to include all my regular events but 2 new additions. Epynt in Wales (Brecon Beacons) which i have never done and looks fun, and also Scammondon, local to me and never previously done as its very short and i tend to steer clear of the shorter ones as in my head sprinting/hillclimbing is expensive enough but only doing 30 second runs instead of 60 secs means its even twice as ludicrous! No other plans to modify the car, just looking forward to pushing it the the limit as always, done a major service to end the season:m Diff Oil, Gearbox oil, Engine oil, oil filter, brake fluid and clutch fluid so hopefully she will be running sweet come March. Also for the detailing geeks, got this bundle in the black friday sales to keep her (and the rest of the fleet) looking tip top. Final few shots from the HSA awards which was held at the national motor museum at Gaydon: Have a very Merry Christmas everyone If your bored over the festive period, watch some of my videos from this season, they will send you to sleep in no time!

Last event of the season this weekend at Curborough. tad dissapointing 4th on the Saturday but finished off with a win on the Sunday.

I had something similar (the 2-2.5k revs stuttering), took it to horsham developments who said it was the VVT Solenoids i think, they stick over time. I had 3 options, 1- replace with new at a stupid price of like £2k 2- get some used ones from Zmanalex on here or a breaker at much more reasonable £300 ish 3- get it remapped again and mapped out (compensated for) which i opted for It could also need the idle relearn doing (videos on youtube) and/or throttle position reset as these are a common thing after battery dying Yours may not be same issue but i would guess if you take it to horsham or abbey motorsports they can plug into obd/ecu and see whats happening

September Update: Start of the month was a trip to Hethel/Lotus for their sprint event. And it was only a matter oftime before the clutch wore out. Ironically, it went 2 years ago at this venue almost to the day and sure enough it decided to stop working after 2 runs, no gears would engage, I did manage to get a half decent time in though, left the car all afternoon then managed to get the clutch working and selecting gears again to avoid the 40hr repeat/nightmare of the RAC recovery from last time. Finished 3rd in class. Some pics below from the photographer: Onto this weekend, just done a full weekend at Blyton Park (video below) and sure enough, struggling with gears again, battled on with the car but something is obviously on its way out and only a matter of time before it fails completely. 1st and 2nd in class Saturday and Sunday respectively, this was the penultimate event of the season, just Curborough left next weekend, a double header to finish with, praying the clutch holds out.

Had a nice break over July/August with a family holiday to Rhodes thrown in, but back at it hitting the rev limiter and crunching gears this weekend though at Snetterton. A weekend of 2 halves.

Latest Vid from Loton Park Hillclimb

how fast did the Nankangs warm up? supposed to take a lap or so which is no good for sprnts/hillclimbs which i do But they are supposed to last much longer than the AO52s which is interesting.

My Local Harewood Hillclimb at the weekend, mixed fortunes but pushing as always!

Next Installment of Zed Track life. Back to Curborough for a full weekend.

Mallory Park Sprint from Yesterday Video below:

Just done the Curborough Sprint Course Figure 8 layout.

255 are biggest i would go on rear rays wheels, 235 should be ok for fronts, going to 40 profile will mean car will sit a little lower so will alter the geo/toe The A052 are a mega tyre but if you are not competing the car against the clock/racing then your better with another option as they wear quicker than just about any other tyre, the new nankang crs are similar price but supposed to wear much better then there are all manner of semi slicks that are cheaper and better wearing albeit with not the outright grip of an A052 if you have the money your as well buying another set of wheels for the track, then you can get wider wheels and tyres for more grip.

Yep, he is always right up there as one of the fastest tin tops at any given event, serious car.

Video below from Coventry Motofest at the weekend. Lots to see walking around, can you guess the car below?:

20psi seems too low if its a 350/370 your driving. I have never gone that low but that doesn’t mean i’m right your wrong. Just try a few combinations and see how the car feels, ultimately its what works for you, i have had no end of people tell me what pressures to run on the 350 at sprints/hillclimbs, they didn't work and do my own bum cheek testing now. I know the AR1s have a relatively stiff sidewall so you can get away with lower pressures but i would be very surprised if your didnt feel better turn in and sharper steering with pressure up near 30 at the front. I run usually 5psi less at rear for traction and due to car being lighter at the rear. From my experience the pressures only go up 1 or 2 psi on a sprint run where as on a track day they may well go up 10psi over numerous laps if pushing. I would try 30 front 25 rear and see how that feels, just for comparison my last sprint day with the 350 i was running 34 front 27 rear with yoko AD09. Last year with A052 it was 34 front 31 rear. I have run Ar1s in past but was 5 years ago so cant remember what pressures were but certainly no where as low as 20, dont think i have ever gone below 25 on any tyre, maybe should try it lol.

Latest Video from Blyton. Next up is Coventry Motofest 1st and 2nd June, if your heading there, keep an eye out for me!

Took a family trip to Newby Hall Sports cars in the park event last Sunday, seems to get bigger every year. A 2 hour long tailback just to get in is testament to how many people go now. decent weather as well. Only took a few pics but gives you a sense of what's on show. Did spot a few Zeds together just as we were leaving but unfortunately was being pestered to get out by the family...

The oem tubes are plastic and have been known to crack/split at some point so upgrading to silicone is a good idea for me plus silicone must be more free flowing than the oem intake tubes, again, just how much real world difference would never be noticable.

I did my airboxes in gold tape, i have silicone intake hoses. Made same performance gains as a go faster sticker. Ie: 10hp in your head, zero in real world. not gonna do any harm though so feel free to do it, looks more race car if nothing else.

Horsham Developments did the strip down and rebuild. Think It was £1000 then whatever replacement parts needed on top. So you will save a lot doing it yourself if you can, what i will add is i can easily tell that 3rd and 6th synchro have been done as goes into those gears so easily now, just wish i would have maybe had the whole lot replaced as others are noticeably a little bit worn (but still ok) they did say its getting harder and harder to get gearbox parts now as the car gets older and i think they may have stopped producing any new synchros.

If anybody wants to watch 50 minutes of me waffling on, moaning about tyres whilst trying to go fast, then sit back and make a brew. Latest video from Anglesey.

Well, just before I post my video from the weekend, back to the fuel system. After getting back from Cadwell, I went to get some new tyres fitted, and on way back car started cutting power every turn, realising i must be ruunning empty i pulled into the nearest garage and brimmed up the tank. now the Zed apparently holds 80 ltrs, I put in just over 79 lts so it literally was on dreggs. I went inside to pay the £133 (new record) only to come out to find a river of fuel running out from under the car. after informing the attendant of this potential hazard, i set off back home leaving a trail of petrol down the A1. It was still leaking when i got back home so put a oil pan underneath and went inside to cry. so just to confirm, Horsham-D had replaced the O ring 3 times in total and i had put mastic/silicone round as well, as whilst at the garage we just could not get it to stop leaking. the opening for the pump/level is slightly bowed. so this is how it looked at first: After brimming up and losing what felt like 20 ltrs I decided the only thing i could do was what a plumber once told me, if in doubt use more silicone, so i did. left it to cure then went for a short drive. unfortunately this was no help and resulted in the picture below: Fuel was still finding its way out, and as there had been so much it had eaten through the electrical connections so as i was fiddling around, 3 of them just detached meaning no engine starty, I decided to disconnect the battery at this point as having current run down a positive cable hanging loose next to liquid petroleum was starting an alarm bell ringing in my head. So i decided to strip off all the silicone and have a rethink, back to below: (the fuel has eaten away at the tank coating as well! So in my head I thought the best solution would be to make my own gasket and do away with the o ring that for all intensive purposes was doing diddly squat. I consulted the google AI to find out what rubber would be best as Petrol can eat its way through most things. I found out that Viton Rubber is highly resistant to petrol, even more so than nitrile rubber that the o rings are made from so i ordered some of this 200mm x 200mm x 2mm thick to make my own gasket. drew a template the best i could, as i couldn't remove the fuel hanger from the tank without disconnecting the fuel hoses and the level sender that has tiny screws that looked like a recipe for dissaster, i could pull the unit up an inch or so to give me enough room to fit a gasket in. template below: Rubber arrived and gasket cut, note: as i couldn't remove the unit easily i would have to split the gasket so i could wrap it around the hanger, i cut a wedge interlocking shape so it would hopefully link back together ok and limit any leaking, see below: I then fitted it and screwed down the bolts, all went went apart from losing the o-ring into the fuel tank never to be seen again, I put a bit of silicone on the area where the cut was and prayed to the car gods. finished pic below: You can make out the gasket just sicking out from the edge of the plate. Amazed to say, so far this has worked and when i got to Anglesey after 160 miles of driving, no wet patches. Although there is a smell of fuel sometimes, so at some point i need to check all the hoses as i think one may need nipping up.

Yesterday saw me back in action for the first event of 2024. It's been in at the guys at Horsham Developments for a few weeks to do some work including new rear wheel bearings, new coil packs and plugs, the gearbox rebuilding (3rd and 6th syncros) along with fitting a coolerworx shifter and finally a radium fuel hanger surge tank kit (which has caused a few issues) Yesterday was the first time I had driven the zed in anger since the work and overall the day went well but there are a couple of issues. We had lots of problems with the radium kit leaking fuel, I Think (because we don't know for certain) that the fuel tank opening is slightly bowed so where you have the oem plastic level sender unit fit, it probably sealed ok as the plastic is slightly flexible, the radium kit is machined metal and was rocking on the opening, because solid metal doesnt flex the fuel was getting past the o ring which wasnt sealing properly as you would drive around sloshng the fuel about. I have since siliconed around the unit which has stopped 95% of the leaking now but there was still a little yesterday so have added even more on today, fingers crossed the sealant lasts a while, I got it from work as it states it can be used to seal leaking, oil, petrol and deisel tanks as well as other chemicals. The shifter is very different to the oem one and will be marmite to lots of people. I love it but it does have some drawbacks, 2nd gear is hard to engage and 4th gear doesnt feel like it engages at all (but it does) so i'm hoping once i get used the the operation and how it is, i will be fine. I do love the precisiona and clunk of it. No grinding/crunching now from the gearbox which s a big positive. Strangly on the dyno, it made 10hp less than last time (all top end 6500-7500rpm) but more power/torque all way upto 6500rpm I can't notice any difference after driving and as the 2 runs were 3 years apart and very different times of year probably non comparable date anyhow. So latest video below from Cadwell, still probably only committing at 8 tengths. Its a hard track to figure out trying to go fast and not trash the car at the same time. Really would benefit from a track day here.

If I was buying one now, I would go look at a few in the area even if I had no intention of buying that particular one just to get a feel for whats normal wear and tear. Like any car 20 years old there will be a risk involved no matter how well its been looked after but I think you can definately put the odds in your favour with a few easy checks: Check how clean the fluids are, Oil, Brake, clutch, coolant, power steering are all very easy to see and give you a visual indication of how long they may have been in the system and ultimately how well cared for the car has been. Rust is a big concern like any old car, common problem areas are the arches (fronts no big deal, but rear can be expensive to sort) behind the side skirts is another common problem area and if you can, have a look underneath the car (ignore the w brace and adjoining kidney brackets as almost every 350z will have these rotten) if they have been replaced thats another plus point for maintanence. Are all 4 tyres matching and premium brand? Pet hate when i see champiro or similar tyres on a sports car, what else have the owners skimped on if they cheap out on the only thing connecting you to the road? Then realy its just the overall condition, if the brakes/clutch/exhaust have been done recently, thats another thing to factor in as if these need doing thats another £500-£1000 each You dont have to worry about the gallery gaskets as these are problems with just the HR later model. I prefer to see service receipts/invoices rather than a stamp/book filled in but either way, obviously more records are better, I service my cars myself but usually keep a photo of the products used plus a receipt for buying them to prove to the next owner I look after the cars. If there is very little service history then I wouldnt walk away from the car if the deal was good but obviously would have to be reflected in the price and you take a judgement call based on what the overall condition is like taking into account all above. hope that helps, overall though the 350z still represents one of the best bang for buck cars you can buy in my opinion, can't see me ever getting rid of mine unless i go carearing into the armco at 100mph on track.