G1en

Possibly me too, would be great having a mini forum Spa trip.

Latest Video from Sunday at Three Sisters.

Latest instalment from Coventry Motofest.

couple of #fast shots from Aintree. Also got mentioned when giving out the awards afterwards, how awesome it sounded. double win.

Latest Round of Connaught Speed Championship Yesterday at Aintree Went a little better than last year... Next weekend I will be at Coventry for the motofest festival, anyone popping along, keep an eye out and cheer me on!

Watched this a few days back, makes very interesting viewing although the caveat is they only tested one tyre type, one wheel make and at one track (small test track) So results might and no doubt will, vary significantly with different setups, and cars/drivers for that matter. BUT, taking it at face value, who knew the stretched tyre look is actually faster than the "normal" straight sidewall. All the show car stance boys laughing at us now. Also questions the unsprung weight argument as the wider wheels were all faster than the narrower options with the same size tyre fitted, even though they obviously weigh more? Would be interested to know what setups actual race teams have tried and/or run as that's more real world info I would like.

Yesterdays Video from Harewood Round 2

having done multiple alignment setups i can say this: Your car will pull to the right on a flat road as both right side wheels have more positive camber than the left. it might not be so apparent on single lane roads as these are usually cambered to the left for drainage etc. but on a motorway it will be annoying. They have given you a very safe toe setup with toe in front and rear which stabilizes the car but not that great for turn in and response, ie it will feel a bit numb If you don't have adjustable front camber arms I don't know how they have changed the front camber as there is no oem adjustment so as you say it points to something else that is an issue, like worn bushes, bent arms etc... you will have to investigate this. Ideally you want same same camber both sides around negative 1.5 deg for general road use.

And Yesterdays Video from Round 1 of the Harewood Hillclimb Championship.

Also got my new "company" car this week. Must say it might be FWD and boring but the refinement inside. so comfy and quiet and plenty of tech as standard.

Some Pro shots from Anglesey last week:

I will have to beat practice day by 2 seconds to get a PB so unlikely BUT new tyres will def help as will video below: Does explain why back end felt a bit loose on the faster corners.

Latest video from Anglesey, fantastic track but hard to master. More commitment at bend called "Church" needed and the right hander "peel" think I messed that up every time but never the less, great weekend all said and done.

I think what the AA (and others) are getting at is they won't repair/rescue you whilst actually on track/stage/off road at events etc. Otherwise there is no defined time period to that statement above and it would render half of all policies null and void, any car that has done a track day ever is not covered! When I blew up my clutch at Hethel i was in the assembly area alongside the track, the mechanic came out and all he asked was, did I do it on track? i said no i didn't even get as far as the track and that was that, all reported and rescue commenced, that's another story, I do not recommend the RAC. Like Alex says, as long as you are towed/pushed away from the track then the policy is valid in my eyes. disclaimer- my eyes have had no formal legal training.

And Yesterdays wet Cadwell park Sprint.

Practice day at Harewood last week. Main purpose, to make sure the car is fit for the season ahead.

The real conclusion from this is where can I get a E30 ethanol mix (Spicy fuel) and how long before my engine explodes or it melts the pipes/hoses?

SSR GTV02 Powder Coated Ruby Red Satin

Your slight ride height adjustment may well have sorted the tracking naturally. which seems the case. Having setup my car (ride height/camber/toe etc) too many times to mention over last 5 years its always surprising how just small adjustments effect the handling. I remember when mine was pulling slightly to the right, when we looked at the setup one side at the front was about 0.25 degree more camber than the other 3.0 to 2.75 just evening them out instantly got rid of the pulling. Obviously when a car is polybushed/stiffened/lowered on sticky tyres everything is magnified as well. so your lowering one corner will have increased the camber slightly and in turn changed the toe slightly resulting in countering whatever was causing the slight pulling. Result

Can't tell if you have done anything wrong BUT I use a lithium battery which is way smaller than a standard lead-acid type. To get the height needed I purchased several cork sanding blocks (that you would normally wrap sandpaper round) and duck taped them together to make a base roughly the same size as the battery. they are around 40mm depth so if that would work for you, its an option, might raise it up too much though in your case.

This is prob not the case but check to see if your boot light is on. when I used bedliner paint on the rear boot floor I left the boot latch ajar so the fumes could vent out and escape. 2 weeks later when i next went to start the car, it was dead. I knew the light was on but didn't think a tiny little bulb would drain enough power to worry about it but it did. Obviously you wont have your boot open but there may be an interior light thats staying on somehow and causing the low drain.

My local 2 shells have not had vpower last few weeks. I did a quick google and found that shell are changing the formulation during december and launching a new vpower that is supposed to be better for modern turbo and hybrid engines. Maybe some docks/refineries have run out of the “old” stuff and waiting for shipments of the “new” formula?

Mine goes all over the place (+/- nearly quarter) but usually sorts itself out on a long even road. think its to do with the sender being at one side of the tank so you can have more fuel over the other side when driving aggressively, also goes up when you point the car downhill and goes down when going up hill, could also be a sticky float/lever if thats how it reads the level. I just live with it, as long as you don't drive too far with it in red its fine in my eyes.

I will make sure i put the hawk or yellowstuff pads back in when within 100 miles of you mate.

2022 Review Will just get this upto date to finish the year off. Its been a very busy and eventful year overall. I decided to not just do the Harewood Hillclimb season this year but the Connaught Speed Championship as well which travels to lots of Hillclimb, sprints and circuit venues all across England and Wales. Unfortunately like most things in life, it didn't go exactly to plan and more money than anticipated has been spent on the 350z but she lives on and finishes the year being just as fast as when it started. The first event at Harewood resulted in a second place finish and the new A052 tyres seeming to really suit the car. Half the field have had to change tyres this year as the soft Extremes which were the goto tyre for the last 3-4 years had been pushed into another catagory by the MSA so roadgoing classes could not use. Everybody went for different options, some deciding to go back to the tried and trusted R888R but the feedback is it just does everything ok but doesn't excel in any area. I have used the Nankang AR1 prev and many went for this option as well, problem with this tyre is when its cold/damp it just does not switch on and you really need it to be hot and dry to get the performance. Other options like PS4 /4S and Rainsport5 are excellent in the wet but no good any other other time, so the A052 seem to be very good in all conditions, the downside is the price and durability. £1300 for a 18" set for the zed and lasted this season only, you usually get 2 years out of most 1B tyres. Anyhow, if you have watched any of the videos, you will know the clutch/gears have been tempremental for a while now, and in April at Hethel (Lotus) the clutch finally shat itself. Stranded 200 miles from home it took a day and a half to get home, no thanks to the RAC and a £1000 bill for a new clutch/flywheel/slave kit to rapidly fit before the Aintree sprint. In hindsight i should not have forced it through (literally fitting it the night before) as if you watch the aintree vid, On the first run I lost the back end and went screeching down the barriers backwards at the first corner. Determined not to waste another day/event with a DNF I actually went back out after hammering the rear arch back out, cutting off all the trims/wheel linings and gaffer taping the rest of the damage. I actually managed a semi respectable time but suffered from fuel starvation on 2 runs which ultimately cost me the win. I didn't know at the time whether the engine cutting out was to do with the crash damage so feared the worst,. I still managed to limp home from Aintree (around 90 miles) So off to the Garage it went to assess the damage. I honestly though it was a write off at this point as rear quarter damage often results in this outcome but I agreed with the garage to save her. There is a video earlier in the thread with what it cost but in summery around £3600 and travelling all over the country for the parts. It took around 2 months to sort so I missed around 6 events i would have done which ultimately cost me positions in both championships BUT the main thing was the zed was back on the road and looking almost like new (the repaired rear quarter and bumper was actually the best looking part of the car now) again I had left it till last minute and I had another event at Harewood the day after I collected it from the garage so no chance to even get it aligned, checked out. This resulted in my times being around half a second off compared to every other event. Proof that a properly aligned car is faster, but it was at least good to be back out, even if the dodgy gear changes had returned. The rest of the season went relatively straight forward, 2 events were cancelled due to the death of her majesty but I fit in as many as i could realistically get to. I just managed to squeeze in 6 events at Harewood and as they were all dry, I got decent points at all to squeeze into the top 10 come the end of the season. I only managed 7 events in the Connaught championship and 10 count so finished down in around 26th place, but will definately do again next year as you get to test out the Zed in a wide variety of events, As i elude to on one of my videos, the Zed really doesn't suit itself to any event, tight twisty stuff or wide open track stuff due to its power/weight compared to other potential cars in the class BUT when its setup well and with the plethora of aftermarket parts i have on, I am always there abouts with the fastest on the day, mainly finishing second but sneaking the odd win as well. So, since the season finished I have changed the brakes as the DBA discs have been on for 4-5 years! I change pads every year but the yellow stuff just couldn't cope with extreme braking on track so I have put on Black Diamond grooved discs and EBC's Race spec RP-X pads. Let me say to the non believers, I know EBC get a bad rep from a lot but these RP-X pads have you headbutting the steering wheel when you stomp on them. I think for the tracks/circuits next season they will be awesome, I don't think they will offer much for the hillclimbs but they are supposed to work well from cold anyway so hopefully wont be any worse than an oem pad. when i went out to bed them in i was locking the wheels from over 100mph! I have also done a full service with my goto Fuchs oil, kaaz for the diff and replaced the gearbox oil again, for the third time this year with the best i can find in order to prolong the gearbox for another year, I think it will need a rebuild shortly as there is plenty of metal shavings every time i renew the oil but as long as i am not too aggressive with the gear shifts, its fine. Onto next year, I need to get some more tyres for the season, just waiting on MSDA to finalise the available options. I need to replace the brake fluid, when i can get a helper and it warms up. And I need to start booking some events, the first being Cadwell in March which if dry, I think I could do very well there. And finally, for anybody with spare time on a weekend, get down to a local hillclimb/sprint event and check it out, the vast array of cars will always amaze you and the so will the sights and smells in general. Cheer on your fellow 350z On a personal note finished the year with another knee opp, as I thought starting back in the veterens football league was a good idea, lasted around 8 games before the ACL went for the second time, so no more footy for me, stick to racing from now on, but i do have 9 months of rehabilitation to do! Only the best oils for the Zed! Below: a week after the knee Op still cant walk "normal" a month later but getting better every day Below: Me on awards night at Harewood (9th overall) Below: some of the cars you will find at a Sprint/Hillclimb event Below: some action shots of the zed this year (copyright to the owners) Thanks for reading, Wishing all my fellow 350/370z owners a happy xmas and new year!