docwra

Youre talking to people that have real life experience ......... MPSS are the best, Bridgestone RE050A are close behind, Dunlops dont feature on many peoples lists, even those that live in the UK. OP, Bridgestone > Pirelli P Zero as well

Dunlop SP's arent bad, just Michelins and Bridgeys are better. They probably make more markup on the Dunlops

Im sorry but I dont think this is fair or reasonable, a trader shouldnt be able to promote his own stuff as " friendly forum recommendation". To then go on and claim that Pagid RS29's are no good as street pads (which is crap, they are fine from cold and dont make any noise) is totally unreasonable. Apologies Adrian, I know youve got a business to run but this is hardly impartial advice, is it? Ive used RS29, 2 types of Carbon Lorraine, Project Mu, and Carbotechs all in the last 2 years and for me, a 350Z on standard discs with braided hoses and CL RC5+ is as good as anything Ive ever used - no squeaking, worked fine from cold and hot stopping power was awesome, the RS29 and Carbotechs are very close behind and I know Performance Friction are highly thought of too. I currently have CL06 on my BMW which are dusty, noisy but for sheer performance on and off track are amazing. Chances are you dont actually need any discs either but Im getting fed up of banging that particular drum .........

There were only ever 12,000 R34 GTR's, and they were the ultimate Japanese Sportscar, they also have the race heritage and model lineage. The TT Supra was THE fastest car you could buy, with THE fastest engine (still is), the 240Z was the origin of species, the Fords that see ridiculous prices here were all stuff that everyone sought after when they were kids. 350Z doesnt really fit into any of those categories for me, it will be desirable but not collectable IMO like the Mk1 Audi TT, Mk1 MX5, anything german and limited edition for instance. I personally dont think the 380RS will see huge increases in value as its too unknown, I dont think a GT4 is different enough either but we shall see .........

EDFC is awesome trickery, but I dont know anyone thats actually used it much once its installed 10/12 is the higher end for a 350, but its down to the damping - I once looked up srping rates for various coilovers in a moment of boredom: BC's are 10/8 HSD Monopros are 14/7 HSD Dualtechs are 12/11 Meister R (dual) 10/8 Meister R (single) 10/5 Tein Street 9/9 Ohlins NIS 10/7 Cusco 10/7 HKS Hipermax III 9/9 Apexi N1 10/8 Tanabe Sustec 10/8 Megan Track 12/10

LOL, drifting really is a great example for this though, when you realise you are doing it without even noticing its a pretty awesome feeling. Until you hit the wall of course

I could understand if it was a spanking new Ferrari or a concours classic but its a 350Z mate, whats the worst that could happen? A few hundred quid from chips away? I dont understand the mentality - if you have toys then play with them, sure they are going to wear out and get broken but youll have a lot more fun than if you just leave them in the box and look at them - its like when I was a kid, a mate would get new trainers but not wear them "in case they got ruined" .......... eh? What do you do if you need to go shopping, take the bus rather than park in a multistorey?

But this is the problem, Johnny Slowpants has gone out and bought his GT3RS and thinks hes the man, so when he sees anything less than another Porsche in his RVM he cant accept its actually lapping faster than he is, after all hes leaving it for dead down the straights isnt he? I remember more than one occasion when Ive been chasing a mate in a Megane or a Clio, weve caught up some kind of exotica and we have actually had to swap positions as the Porsche (it is usually Porsche drivers) will let a wide 350Z or a 1M lookalike through, but not a Renault. If we are prepared to troll round an entire lap so as not to break the overtaking rules, why cant they pull to the side and lift off for 2 seconds?

Meh, we've been saying this in drifting for years, on any given drift day its obvious which guys that started with stock MX5's on the street and who bought a 400hp comp spec car and never actually learnt how to pedal. My own track career started with a ratty S12 Silvia on cut springs that I picked up for £100 - I learnt so much in that car that when I moved onto bigger and better things I was straight in the zone. Conversely, I almost rear ended a Ferrari 458 in my 350Z at Spa a while back .......... at the end of the Kemmel Straight, how in gods name does that work? Me and a few mates also managed to get an Ariel Atom black flagged at Snetterton for not letting us past for over a lap ........ our most powerful car was a standard MR2 with 138hp. Id hang up my race gloves if I was the atom driver TBH Fast driving for me is all about confidence in yours and the cars abilities and you only find this out when youre on the limit; youre unlikely to be able to get to the limit if your first track car is a GT3. Most of the ex drifters I know are very, very fast on track in whatever they are driving and I put this down to the fact that they are comfortable right on the ragged edge ......... mainly because they have been past it enough times to know that they can bring the situation back. I still remember clearly the first time my Z went sideways unexpectedly and I automatically put more throttle on and steered into it as that was the day I considered myself to be a decent driver ....... but it took the best part of 5 years regular drifting to get there.

I was looking at KW's, possibly Ohlins DFV as well, will give full report after Ive had car corner weighted but they feel really good already. Im on the trackday on 11 April, will definitely catch up with you down there mate

Between those two probably the Meisters, solely as Ive just put a set of GT1 on my 135i (theyre great) and have always rated their customer service. I ran HSD Dualtech on y 350 and really, really rated them for the money but anything reasonable will transform the car's handling, they are a bit rolly and soft as standard IMO. If you cant do Spa in October come to the Ring in April instead

If you get coilovers you may find you dont need ARB's or camber arms, similarly the standard LSD isnt bad at all if its not too tired. Wheres the VDC fuse as well, I thought the only way to kill it was to unplug the ABS unit (this also removes ABS which is a good thing on track) Didnt notice braided hoses but 350Z definitely benefits from them ......... and October is a good time to go to Spa

Lexus will work, but is harder to sort - they are all autos, they are bargey as barges and are heavier which is never a good thing, but cred wise a V8 Jap limo will always beat the pikey's driftcar of choice. E46 subframe mounts are even weaker than E36, theres a reason they are newer but go for the same money

Santa Pod will charge per driver and there isnt really anywhere you can just be a dick, they need to marshall it etc. and Rocky is a proper drift day. As Ekona says, if you can get onto it without unlocking a gate then its not private, I have a few friends who have lost licenses over that misunderstanding ....... The 350 wont even do a proper burnout to send them off in style, sad times Although I just googled it (why didnt I do that when I owned one?) and apparently if you pull the brake light fuse it will light them up. Go do it now

Oh, and heres my other sub £1500 track car, also stock other than brake pads and a bit of cam advance but awesome fun: An FI is a pretty awesome thing - potential daily, track weapon, drift tool and all on 15 inch tyres, OE brakes and no FML feels when you do eventually hit somethng solid.

This is what Im getting at though, there arent many widearch ones so if thats what youre after, who cares if its Cat D. BTW the white one was a Cat D, I should know as it was me that put it into the hedge

Cat D, and TBH when the entire body has been replaced who cares?

E36's are better than E46's as they dont tend to destroy subframes quite so easily, and go for a 6 cylinder and the 4 pots are a little bit underpowered. E46 330's may be tempting for the powers but IIRC they suffer crank walk, not good. Word of advice too, there is a beginning of a backlash again some of the absolute jank looking E36's in the dirft scene now, keep it looking presentable and youll be fine though Working LSDs cost as much as the cars these days (seriously) but they are fine with a welder, as someone says stick cheapo ebay coilovers on and youre away. www.driftworks.com/forum is the oracle for anything E36 related, including buying drift prepped cars Definitely get an M50 manifold conversion and if you can find/stretch to it a decat and an M3 throttle body. You must also run less than 4 fingers ground clearance, this is essential. Ive had a few over the years, this particualrly one I bought and sold twice as it was really rather good:

I went to Snetterton in November with a few mates, they all had MX5's on coilovers, I was in a bone stock MR2 Mk3 Top quality banter all day, a few BMW's and Porsches embarrassed and an Ariel Atom black flagged when all 5 of us followed it for an entire lap, None of the cars cost more than £1500, you can often have more fun in lower powered cheaper cars than in the big boys toys as theres a lot less to lose

Half the price, metal arches and wheels that fit .......... just saying http://www.tradelinkcars.co.uk/used-car-nissan-350-z-v6-import-10275

I dont recognise it, I buy her flowers most weeks, cook about half the time, take her out regularly and shes on a diet so no chocs or sweeties anyway. When I was a younger man I used to just do everything the day after, cheaper flowers and empty restaurants FTW

When its actually ironic it is.

in fact it's the perfect car for aggressive drivers, you'll rag it everywhere and arrive everywhere you go with a big grin on your face, you'll never miss the torque and power because you'll always be in vtec anyway Other traffic anyone? Speed Cameras? Towns, villages and other urban conurbations? Blind corners? As someone who knows the car pretty well but isnt Hondisti my memory was that I was really taken by it on an extended test drive ......... but bought a 350Z anyway. Then my brother got one and I was jealous ........ but after borrowing it for a week had fallen out of love with it a bit, it was just a bit incessant without actually being *that* fast. Then I drove my mates track prepped one at Spa and thought it was a great tool ......... but still preferred my rather non-standard 350Z. When they are edging into Elise and VX money Id be looking at it more as a fun investment than a weapon.

The £32,000 difference in price? Thats only 400% TBF I guess ........ Got to be honest, I think youll miss the power and torque Dan, they arent that light either. If a VX is in budget I reckon thats much more up your strasse

As Ekona says, the only person you should be considering is you. Not the kid and definitely not her. Dont take this the wrong way but youre already coming across a bit weak, the likelyhood of her exploiting this is high. Clean break for 6 months, if you still want contact with the kid after that then it will still be an option but seeing your ex every week is not going to help matters at all. And youre right, its a lot easier giving this advice than taking it but most of us have been there at some point. At the moment your life is stalled, you can sit in your current layby and enjoy the same depressing view for the rest of your life or you can get a jump start and go see whats further up the road