Drivin Ivan

I always put some in when I am on the track to be absolutlely safe but for the road you'll not notice any major difference. Ivan

Nice Video, I am so glad that wasn't me sticking my head out on the Mway! Well done! Ivan

Having just read the posts on the skyline site this Paul is clearly a fraudster and is laughing his arse off at everyone paying a few quid here and there to try and stop some of the louder voices from rallying any kind of action. It is sad but was only a matter of time before someone did this - the ticket auction requires too much trust and easy to take advantage of. He is as likely to be in Poole as he is on the moon. If he has been selling tickets for the last 6 months then he has probably made about £150,000 and paying a couple of people back here and there is peanuts to what he has made and it means he will be able to keep one step ahead for a little while longer. Just my 2p Ivan

When are we going to see the video footage from the Mway? Not a day for the Targa Top but some people found a use for it! Ivan

A good meet today, thanks to those who put in the effort to make it happen. It was good to see so many Z cars on the road together. Saw some familiar faces and met some new people. I have a few pics from my phone but I can't post them. If someone sends me a PM to ivanfaulkner@blueyonder.co.uk I will forward them on (with number plates covered up in a readers wife style - isn't that your Z car?). Drivin Ivan

Yeah I managed to clean the car (I seem to have lost the two tone grey effect though!) so if I can get out of bed in the morning and drive the mile to the petrol station I will be there. Ivan

For those of you thinking about camping there is a very large campsite very close by. It has good facilities and costs E$10 a day (not night). But the Ring is stuck up in the mountains and even in August last year I was bloody cold, the temp didn't get above 18C during the day. There was plenty of room to work on the car. Ivan

Look into getting breakdown cover with the german company ADAC. This is the only breakdown people allowed to rescue a stranded car from the Ring and they will charge you E$300 (that's Euro dollars). If you are a member it is free! When we were there one of the german guys told us that it is only about E$75 for full european cover. I already have full European cover so I haven't done it myself. Ivan Should be at the ring just after Easter

Avoid the drilled / grooved and go for the Brembo flat discs - they are excellent and I have been very happy with mine they performed very well at the Nurburgring (two weeks of thrashing). Ivan

Porterfields are very good pads - I was alongside a decent bike when we both slammed on from just over 100 - he was a car length in front of me at one point! On the other hand I now have big lips on my Brembo discs (front and back) and have stopped using porterfields on the road. Now I brake real hard (I have harnesses) which does tend to cause a lot of wear and tear on the discs as well but I was shocked at the amount one set of porterfields did, especially on the rear discs. With the porterfields all the braking is in the first bite, dont try to get a second helping of hard breaking it wont be there until you have lifted fully off the pedal again. I will be buying a new set of porterfields for the Nurburgring this year!! Ivan

If your car is standard then just change the oil and filter! If you have a washable filter then clean it. check the levels of all the fluids, top 'em up if they need it. Tyre pressures and condition, take the wheels off and check the brakes over. Kick tyres! That should do it Ivan :D

Compensate for the power loss and nice warm feet by getting more power! Ivan

When I removed the aircon from my Prelude a few years ago the difference in weight was dramatic, all the bits came in at over 40Kgs - the compressor was huge and the car did handle differently because of the change in weight ditribution. That said the aircon had never worked on that car and I didn't miss it, I have never had the inclination to remove a perfectly good aircon system! Ivan

If I can get my arse out of bed and wash the car I might even show my face :smw: , even if it is just to fight for my petrol! :hyper: Ivan

Stay away from my optimax you B******* :rant: that is the one place that I have been able to get the stuff while everyone else has been complaining about shortages. Ivan

Try the local car bits store, the ones for a rover 216 fit just fine and cost about a quid for 3! Ivan PS you could probably buy a whole rover for that money these days! :rofl: People keep asking where the dealers have gone !!!! :headvswal

You have to press the wheel hub down to get the springs and shockers in and out. it helps if someone can do this for you as you manouvre the thing around. Other than that be careful with the boot trim. It took me just over half an hour when i did it for the 4th time! Ivan

It is an old policy that they no longer sell but basically I can do anything to the car (apart from increase the cc) as long as I can prove it was installed on the car e.g. take a photo. They did not give me any hassle when I sent them the list of mods to my last scooby when it was nicked, took the usual 6 weeks to get a decent valuation out of them but eventually I got the complete value of the car back (nearly £2K of that was the extras). Ivan

I have a JAP TT SWB Slick top :tongue: that is parked on the street - used as my daily driver and I lost two scoobies last year (two claims on the insurance of over £6500) I have 9 points live on a shitty estate can have any mod I please and I pay less than £600 fully comp with liverpool victoria. Oh and 34 going on 6 (when driving Z car). Ivan

Mike quoted me "Standard rear shocks for JDM cars are £68.51 + VAT each (possible small increase when ordering from Nissan)." this was in September so price may have changed - I went for Z centre at £80 delivered the pair next day service. Ivan

Last week I got through £150 of Optimax and loved every second of it. I didn't go any where special - the turbos loved the cold air. Slippery roads sooooo much fun! Maybe I could convince the council :smw: to spread diesel on the roads during the summer just so I can drive around every corner sideways! :headvswal Ivan

Believe it or not in my many years of motoring I have managed to purchase and fit several new batteries - I wasn't looking for any help at all on the exchange of cash for goods part of the process. :headvswal What I was looking for was information on whether the Jap spec cars had different batteries from UK spec and would I have any difficulty sourcing one. Drivin Ivan

Looking for some help on where to get a new battery. Woke up this morning went down to start the car and just got a gentle clicking sound - dead battery I did manage to get it going with jump leads. I have drained the battery a couple of times over the summer and have not been driving long distances so no chance to charge the battery. I have a Jap spec car qand I seem to recall reading a post that said the terminals are the wrong way round. Can anyone shed any light please? Thanks Ivan

Pay someone to do 4 wheel laser alignment - it costs a lot but is worth every penny. Ivan

Either low brake fluid or you need new brake pads (probably on the front). Check the fluid under the bonnet - best after you have been for a drive - if it is below the half way point between the two marks then a top up is recommended - if this doesn't work then the level has gone down beacuse your pads are worn. New pads are easy to fit (very messy with the copper grease though): open the top of the brake fliud reservoir and put some tissue or cloth around the edge; just take the wheel off and remove the clips and screws on the top of the caliper and pull out the old pads. Take the shims off apply copper grease to the back of the new pads and shims, use a G clamp to push the pistons back as far as they will go, slot the new pads in, repalce the retaining clips and screws put he wheel back on, repeat as necessary, put the screw top back on the brake fluid reservior. Always do left and right sides when changing pads or you will end up going in circles when you brake. Ivan