3 days on the phone, 2 days with the spanner and a trackday

[Gary G]

Having owned the 350z since last Christmas time and not being able to move it on this summer, I decided to spend a few quid on it and turn it into a more capable track car.

So as per title, a few days sourcing parts then a couple on the drive putting in some spanner time before getting it all finished for a trackday at Bedford Autodrome.

Shopping list:

HKS Hipermax RS coilovers
Cusco Anti Roll Bars
Cusco Front Camber arms
SPC rear camber/toe kit
HKS Racing Suction Kit
Recaro seats
Sparco harness bar
Sabelt 3" 4 point harness
Goodridge Lines
Ferodo racing ds2500 pads
Scorpion exhaust
Toyo 888 255/35 F and 275/35 R
Rota GTRs silver with polished lip- 9.5J and et20 all round

Pics (not the best, sorry about that!)-

Before

Parts

Work in progress

After

On track

Some randoms

I thought the 350z was ok on track bar the tyres over heating pretty quick in the summer at the 'ring and too much roll in the corners....but now! Lets put it this way....quicker than the M Coupe (which is lighter and has 40bhp on the z!)


Cheers

 

[Dafthead]

Awesome!! Looking good mate, love the plate!

 

[Bjorn]

That plate's pretty cool.

Nice work.

 

[cat171]

Excellent stuff, I love the wheels. It looks great.

Is that reg plate real ?? (dvla had something like that at an auction iirc)

 

[BIG jts]

Nice..

 

[Gary G]

Cheers guys

Yep, the reg is real.

 

[Ali]

Looks epic sir!!! Sound better now? - Not that they sound bad std! V6 FTW!

 

[Christopher]

Hero!

Absolutely love it!

 

[Englebert]

Looks awesome, especially with no front plate! Nice stance.

Private plate is cool, but not sure i'd have it on such a slow car

 

[philthy]

Good choice of mods! love the noise these make. Is body rolling a bit still?

is it just me that thinks the plate is gay as fck?

 

[Gary G]

Looks awesome, especially with no front plate! Nice stance.

Private plate is cool, but not sure i'd have it on such a slow car

Haha to quote you in a previous thread......'oh no you did-ent' or something to that effect lol

TBH the 350z is underpowered slightly but oddly there's not a great difference between it and the M Coupe!

Ali- v6 ftw indeed, sounds glorious lol

Roll....yeah a tad but have you experienced the grip of 888's at the right temp! Oh and RE the plate; I was concerned people would think a) What a c**k, b) It's s**t but then I remembered- I don't give a f**k. It's been received pretty well in all honesty.

 

[JR]

Love the G

 

[Ian_182]

Wheels and the drop set it off

Very nice

 

[powey]

Love it all and the plate

 

[Daniel]

You have awesome taste in cars mate.

Shame the same can't be said about your dress sense.

 

[CHRIS172CUP]

MINT

(no other words needed)

 

[Peperami]

That looks stunning! How much did all the parts set you back?

 

[J0sh]

How much camber!

Love it!

 

[jon_r]

Lovely! Looks a bit different from when I saw you in the Ring carpark!!!

 

[Weeman]

loving that camber, Needs a cage FTW

 

[BioHzrd]

That looks mint made good effort !

 

[Alan]

Proper tool..love it..

 

[Fletcher]

Liking it

 

[mini-valver]

That looks superb! The camber is epic aswell, lol. Did you have it set-up or just set it by eye?

 

[Gary G]

You have awesome taste in cars mate.

Shame the same can't be said about your dress sense.

Whatever dude, have you got yourself a big furry tan coloured coat yet! :rasp: lol

That looks stunning! How much did all the parts set you back?

Cheers bud, I paid trade prices for most off the parts and haven't exactly added it all up but circa 3 grand I'd have thought.

How much camber!

Love it!

-2.5 ftw

Lovely! Looks a bit different from when I saw you in the Ring carpark!!!

Definitely mate! Wish I'd have done all this when I first got it but that wasn't really the plan and things change I guess.

That looks superb! The camber is epic aswell, lol. Did you have it set-up or just set it by eye?

I've got Cusco Camber arms on the front and they basically have a plate on the top that allows upto cicra 4 degrees negative....I eyeballed it tbh then went for alignment, didn't bother adjusting.


Thanks for the comments people

 

[mini-valver]

I'd be tempted to have it fully set-up then see what it's like on your next TD, just to compare.....

 

[riz]

noice noice, got a sweet spot for Zed's, bit unsure on interior, but noice

 

[miketheman2k]

Having had a 350z before and spending a fair amount of time in Gary's car before and after the mods, its almost like a different car. Certainly in the flesh it has a lot of presence on the road. Almost all cars will roll even a small amount on track and that pic above was taken on at a dry Bedford with the R888's fitted - I think that's quite minimal roll for such a heavy car.

Those Rota wheels look mint, they look as good as wheels costing twice the price.

I thought the 350z was ok on track bar the tyres over heating pretty quick in the summer at the 'ring and too much roll in the corners....but now! Lets put it this way....quicker than the M Coupe (which is lighter and has 40bhp on the z!)

Cheers

My car was definitely off your pace at Bedford, but you neglected to tell the audience that my car didn't have a couple of mods that made your car so fast...namely the amazing R888's. I now have these and I can't believe the difference they've made to the M Coupe, even in the wet they've got so much more grip than the road-biased Eagle F1 Asymmetrics which I thought were good.

And yeah, your car ain't much slower (definitely thanks to having a 6 speed box imo) but once I've shaved 70kg off the weight of mine by changing the seats it'll be my car that's saying bye 87e :rasp:

 

[Gary G]

I'd be tempted to have it fully set-up then see what it's like on your next TD, just to compare.....

Its had full set up mate...twice in fact lol. I eyeballed the camber to start with at first height then had alignment- camber was at -2.2, I did a track day and wanted more camber and an adjustment to the height.

I then lowered the rear and raised the nose a touch and dialed in an extra 5mm camber on the cusco arm. Went back for alignment and it was 2.5 nr side and 2.4 offside, close enough for me! Basically if I wanted the guy doing alignment to change camber it would involve hassle and money...would have to take all the equipment off, take the car off the ramp, jack up the front and adjust the arms before dropping it back down, driving it so it settles, then back on the ramp...you get the idea! Plus I wouldn't trust them to have put all the screws back in the right place lol.

Here's the arm:http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?model=350z&cat=handling&prodid=1288

Mike....I need a supercharger! lol

 

[kpowell911]

love that! How much you spent on bits?

 

[Ali]

love that! How much you spent on bits?

^ Read up!

 

[kyle_sxi]

looks awsome mate

 

[Englebert]

Whats tyre wear like on the 888s and 2.5degs? I have 2 degrees and was thinking about going for the same tyres... but not if they last 5 mins!

 

[kpowell911]

^ Read up!

thanks

 

[MaLicE]

booooooo for the rotas but atleast u went for manly widths and not pussy width on the front.... u need to space them out though, they need more offset!

 

[MarkCup]

Proper job that, looks like a lot of fun :approve:

 

[Gary G]

wtf malice! lol they are most extreme et you can get pretty much...If I didn't use the car properly then I reakon another 5mm in the back with an additional .5 degree camber to tuck it in....same for the front I guess! tbh if the exchange rate wasn't so crap I'd have gone for Volk Racing TE37's or some Works rims....11" and a 305 tyre in the rear ftw!

Rob, not great tbh...reakon I'll get another 3 days out of them or 6k gentle road lol. Its been said that the 888's aren't the best for heavy cars (mentioned the e46) and that the Yoko a048 med/hard are better but f**k that! 300 quid a tyre! Not so much the camber that kills the tyre, more the compound I think

 

[sean_d]

Lovely car

 

[Englebert]

Rob, not great tbh...reakon I'll get another 3 days out of them or 6k gentle road lol. Its been said that the 888's aren't the best for heavy cars (mentioned the e46) and that the Yoko a048 med/hard are better but f**k that! 300 quid a tyre! Not so much the camber that kills the tyre, more the compound I think

6k on the fronts?! Thats not so great... lol. I presumed the A048 were suited for the Elise and the 888s were best for heavy cars! Oh well... might give them a go anyway, Pilot Cups are a £1k!

 

[MaLicE]

wtf malice! lol they are most extreme et you can get pretty much...If I didn't use the car properly then I reakon another 5mm in the back with an additional .5 degree camber to tuck it in....same for the front I guess! tbh if the exchange rate wasn't so crap I'd have gone for Volk Racing TE37's or some Works rims....11" and a 305 tyre in the rear ftw!

Rob, not great tbh...reakon I'll get another 3 days out of them or 6k gentle road lol. Its been said that the 888's aren't the best for heavy cars (mentioned the e46) and that the Yoko a048 med/hard are better but f**k that! 300 quid a tyre! Not so much the camber that kills the tyre, more the compound I think

i ran 9.5 by 18 on my 200 with et12 offset back and 15 front! thats more hard core lol

and i seen a 350 with 18x12" wides on the back et0 thats hardcore lol!