Ekona

Must be almost time for an 'official' unveiling then, seeing as that's got almost no disguise on at all. When's the next big car show again?

MY06+ cubbies don't retro fit to the older ones as the mounts are different, so I had to source a MY06 complete replacement for mine.

Sounds suspiciously like a knackered clutch to me, at least the revving with no power part.

I honestly didn't mind what colour car I got as long as it wasn't red or silver (my previous cars were those colours for one and I don't think either of them particularly suit the 350 very well, all IMHO of course). Anything else would've suited me fine as I wanted a Zed for the way it drives, not the way it looks.

Graphs look okay, what gear were the runs done in? Was that the only run they did, or did they do a couple and see which was best? I would imagine the lack of power is down to zero airflow as they put no fan at the front, as the lines look fine.

Massa? Totally agree with you. Massa was not at fault at all, but the system caused fuel to be sprayed over the pit lane (granted, a limited amount due to the cut-off system), a mechanic to be injured and a car to be released almost directly into the line of another car in the pits. It's dangerous as hell.

Really? Interesting. I'm not sure if I'd consider that to be a good thing or not really, as Id' like to think that, despite all the electronic gadgetry in the car, I still have some control over the little things like if I want the a/c on or not. Just a thought, but if the TPS is slightly off and only seeing the throttle open 95% under WOT, would it still shut the a/c off?

No fan? That's just poor and very amateurish, and I certainly wouldn't go back there again. Name and shame methinks. There's nothing you can do to set your car up any better for a dyno other than the obvious i.e. make sure all your fluids are correct and... *lightbulb on* wait, you didn't have the air-con on, did you? That'd kill some power from the parasitic loss.

This is very true, but either way you're in the warranty period so it doesn't matter so much. Outside of that it might worry me, but not right now. Good point, though.

I've driven a 296 Roadster (mine) and a 313 Coupe (my brother's) back to back and, on the road, there's pretty much naff all between them. On the track I know the coupe will feel a lot keener, but between the two engines there's really nothing at all. Personally I feel the 296 offers the best combination right now given that prices are in free-fall as you get the nicer interior with an engine that has plenty of mods available for it (313 stuff is still relatively rare and intakes are obviously double the cost), but then I would say that as that's what I bought! If you can get a 313 for the right price and don't care about the basic intake & exhaust mods then I'd probably go for that if I'm honest, but otherwise there's nothing wrong per se with the 296.

I'm about the same height as the OP and it took me a while to find a decent driving position as there's so much adjustment in the seats. Got it all sorted now though, and I prefer to sit more upright as well.

Can you even install LPG on a rotary? Genuine question, I've no idea. The worst thing about the RX-8 is that, if you turn the engine off within a short time of starting it (think "Oh @*!#, I've left the oven on, better go turn it off quickly"), you'll flood the engine which then requires a trip to the dealer. I was chatting to an ex-RX owner the other week at Woodbridge as I've got a soft spot for the 8 as well, and he said that it was a nightmare as you don't realise how often you actually do it: Moving the car off the drive, in/out of a garage etc. I'd have thought that the cost of an RX-8 + LPG conversion = more than a decent diesel anyway. Personally I'd be after a Fabia vRS myself, or an E46 diesel.

Nope, don't mind at all matey, the whole reason I put it up there is for as many people to make use of it as they can. That's a bargain for someone, I still love the sound of my K1 roof up or down

Hey, I recognise that video clip I also had the ESR Y-pipe fitted in that clip, not sure if you're selling that as well or not but thought I'd add it just for a bit of clarification.

Are you sure you've got oil? The dipstick is about as much use as a chocolate teapot at times, and given that both the oil sender light AND the pressure gauge are telling you the same thing (are they read off the same sensor though?), I'd be triple checking the oil level.

The worst thing is you just know it's going to sell, even at that price.

I'd really admire them for trying something different inside the car, yet it really doesn't work and only proves the fact that Americans can't do car interiors, which is a shame. It reminds me of a Duplo set.

Pre-Zed was a modified VXR220, post-Zed will either be an Exige SC if I go back to something light and nimble, or a Z06 Corvette if I go even heavier and bigger. Whilst it'd be hard to go back to a 4-banger after the glorious sound of a six, the precision of the Exige might win. Then again, if the missus throws a strop or mentions proper heating, a lumpy V8 'Vette won't exactly be a hardship. The Zed is the complete opposite of the VXR220 which is the exact reason I got it, else I'd have been constantly comparing with the others I considered (987 Boxster S and S2K)and the VXR would most likely have won every time, leaving me in a big sulk and feeling daft for selling in the first place. I've never felt that I made a mistake yet in 6 months of 350Z ownership, so I'm 99% sure I made the right decision.

Send it back and get a new one, then if you want to sell it on when you sell the car at least you're selling something decent.

Nope, I haven't got it either. Try looking in the Spare Sock drawer. Most things end up in there.

It's not wired in directly though, it just intercepts the incoming radio signal and passes that through whilst broadcasting it's own signal. Granted, it's a bit neater than the one I'm using as you can tuck it away somewhere but it's also 100 times more fiddly to install in the first place (not saying it's a hard job though). I don't think there is a perfect solution for anyone with a UK car, only some that are better than others. In all fairness I took a gamble on that Monster one, but the ability to tune your own frequencies in was a godsend when travelling to Le Mans this year. It seems that Essex and France appear to have very different frequencies used!

That's the same as just about every other FM transmitter though. I'm using a Monster one on my iPhone and it's about as good as any I've seen/tried.

I had about 4mm on my rears before yesterday and I've only taken about 1.5mm off that, and that was on an abrasive surface and on purpose. You could easy waste a brand new set of T1-Rs if you spent all day going sideways, but you could also not even notice the wear on the same tyres if you're nice and tidy. Pads should always be checked before tracking anyway and unless you're silly low you'll be fine. I've never bothered with track insurance as I've never seen a car to car accident on track, and I always stay within my own limits so I trust myself not to have a car to scenery incident. That said, I'm aware of the risk I take and it is a risk, but considering most single day track insurance quotes are about £200-£300 with an excess of £5K, you've really got to be driving like an arse to do £5Ks worth of damage to your car. If you can get it included on your regular insurance then that's worth having, otherwise I'd say it's not worth it. Each to their own, though.

Keevil, Elvington and Woodbridge available from here next month. Anyone interested in Woodbridge on the 18th of October?

Bedford's okay but a bit featureless, and the 3 or 4 consecutive hairpins near the end get very tiresome very quickly. They're also strict as buggery on noise there now, and I'd expect anything other than a stock exhaust to fail the drive-by tests easily. Tbh I don't mind travelling for track days at all, makes it more fun if you can make a weekend of it with a few mates.