• Registered users are encouraged to enable MFA/2FA to add an aditional layer of security to their account. More information can be found here: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/top-tips-for-staying-secure-online/activate-2-step-verification-on-your-email

Time for a Type R - 2008 FN2 GT

longsh07

longsh07

Messages
22
Hi all, I'm new around here so thought I'd get a build log going before I forget what I've done!

Purchased my 2008 FN2 in late Oct 2015 as a replacement for my MX5 that was written off by someone who would attempted to drive through my car on a mini roundabout. To say I was gutted was an understatement. I've put a lot of time, money, and effort into making it the car I wanted and I wasn't finished with it. Still, it was a second car to my yellow Nissan 350Z GT4 so not the end of the world. Once the insurance part was sorted it was time for me to get something new. And here she is:

24572610676_38620256b2_c.jpg


So far I'm loving it. I used to drive my 350 to work and back one week and the MX5 the next. Well that's changed (sorry 350) and I'll almost always choose the FN2 over the 350 purely because as a day to day car its easier to live with.
Plans for the car was to modify and do a few track days (as well as a daily) but there doesn't seem like there's an awful lot I would actually change at the moment!

So far:
  • Dec 15 - Nokian WRA3 winter tyres fitted, oil change (Motul 8100X 5w-40), Skunk2 magnetic oil drain plug, HAMP oil filter, Goodridge Phantom braided brake lines, Motul RBF600 brake fluid, EBC Yellow Stuff pads all round and Honda OEM discs all round.

To fit:

  • J's Racing tow hooks
  • J's Racing sun strip
  • Skunk2 magnetic gearbox drain plug
  • Drivers side wing mirror indicator

Plans:
  • Yokohama AD08R or Michelin Pilot Cup 2's (on stock 18"s).
  • May look to change alloys to Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2's with fitment as close to stock as possible -1" diameter (17x7.5 ET53) to preserve scrub radius but reduce weight.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Very nice. :smt023

How are you finding the yellow stuff pads? There are some mixed reviews as far as the Type R goes.
 
Loxy said:
Very nice. :smt023

How are you finding the yellow stuff pads? There are some mixed reviews as far as the Type R goes.
Click to expand...
So far so good. They are only just about bedded in (I tend to do 500 miles bed in) so they haven't been used in anger yet.

I ran Green Stuff on my MX5 and they coped alright on track with just myself in the car. As soon as you add a passenger they cook themselves after about 10 minutes on the Silverstone National circuit. Couple of cool down laps brough them back to life but the colour had gone a bit funny . Based on that I went for yellows for the Civic because it weighs more and will carry (and therefore have to shed) more speed so I needed a higher temp pad. I also wanted to go for an R90 approved pad for my own peace of mind.

I did a lot of research before buying the Yellows. This ECE R90 regulation was a bit of a concern for me and turns out there are very few performance, track capable, pads that are R90 approved. DS2500 were my first choice but are not R90 approved.

I contacted loads of tuners/pad suppliers/pad manufacturers and my insurance company but no one could give me a straight answer if it was legal to run non-R90 pads on the road. The replies I got ranged from 'forget about it and fit X non R90 pad anyway' to 'not a clue' to 'as long as your insurance company is cool with it and you can pass an MOT, what's the problem?'.

I even went as far as to look up the EU regulations myself. Turns out R90 only seems to apply to manufacturers. That means a pad is either made to that standard and sold as road legal or isn't but can be sold with the proviso 'not for road use'.

There is no law, regulation, or MOT requirement that says you cant use a non-R90 pad on the road. With that said I wasn't prepared to fall into this legal black hole should the worst happen, probably because my FN2 purchase came off the back of an insurance claim.

One of the reasons I went with EBC in the end was because of how helpful they were. I had a long email exchange with one of their technical guys about the regulations and performance of their pads. They were open and honest about the fact they didn't know the legalities of using them on the road but that R90 was a manufacturer requirement and rather than a consumer requirement. There was no sales pitch, no pushy 'our pad is the best' crap, they were just open and honest about their pads capabilities and I have a lot of respect for that so I decided to give the yellows a go to form my own opinion.

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
 
As you can probably tell from the above, I tend to dig a little too deep into things. It can be a blessing and a curse.
It usually means I end up making the right choice (for me and my driving style) but decisions often tend to take forever and sometimes end up back were I started :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you :)
Tend to agree. White would have been my first choice but there were no Mugen's available that I could afford at the time!
Still money I saved getting a GT I can now spend on getting an LSD :smt023
 
Just added some more info to the first post. I assume I'll be able to edit it forever in this forum?
 
longsh07 said:
Just added some more info to the first post. I assume I'll be able to edit it forever in this forum?
Click to expand...
Yes the white ones do look good also i tend to agree but not worth the extra premium better putting more money into parts! Yes can edit it as much as you want or add new comments below with pictures etc
 
Perfect. I tend to post more details updates and just keep a summary plus before/after photos on the top post.
Next update will probably be tow hooks, sun strip and tyres. Planning to go to the track taster day at Silverstone in March as a bit of a shake down to see if there's anything that could do with some tweaking.

The only major work I've got on my radar at the moment is the gear box. 3rd gear is a bit sketchy at times so I expect the synchro is worn. Bit annoyed as it was behaving itself fine when I test drove the car! Also had a Honda history so had rightly or wrongly assumed it would have bean dealt with had it been an issue. Still its an excuse to fit an LSD.
Tempted by the M factory final drive too but I need to work out exactly what effect it might have and if I can live with it on the road.
 
longsh07 said:
Perfect. I tend to post more details updates and just keep a summary plus before/after photos on the top post.
Next update will probably be tow hooks, sun strip and tyres. Planning to go to the track taster day at Silverstone in March as a bit of a shake down to see if there's anything that could do with some tweaking.

The only major work I've got on my radar at the moment is the gear box. 3rd gear is a bit sketchy at times so I expect the synchro is worn. Bit annoyed as it was behaving itself fine when I test drove the car! Also had a Honda history so had rightly or wrongly assumed it would have bean dealt with had it been an issue. Still its an excuse to fit an LSD.
Tempted by the M factory final drive too but I need to work out exactly what effect it might have and if I can live with it on the road.
Click to expand...
Sounds great to me I haven't done a track day yet but im going to do one at rockingham at the MIMMS honda early this year!
That is a shame but every car has its faults and like you say if your going for the LSD you might as well get it all done at once I can highly recommend Stevie at Grinspeed check the site out they give you fitted prices for most things on the website! I had springs camber arms/bolts and a fast road set up done there as well as a full service transformed the cars handling, I had lots of questions answered which gave me a good idea of where i want my car to be
 
xSythan said:
Sounds great to me I haven't done a track day yet but im going to do one at rockingham at the MIMMS honda early this year!
That is a shame but every car has its faults and like you say if your going for the LSD you might as well get it all done at once I can highly recommend Stevie at Grinspeed check the site out they give you fitted prices for most things on the website! I had springs camber arms/bolts and a fast road set up done there as well as a full service transformed the cars handling, I had lots of questions answered which gave me a good idea of where i want my car to be
Click to expand...

Grinspeed is a little far away for me to be honest, getting on for 200 miles, and I thought TDi north was too far :).
Still I've got a good garage I use for my 350, Japex in Kings Langley. Also there are few tuning companies near by I can call on if need be. Oh that was another thing, throttle response. I want to get a tune to make it more responsive. Fly by wire is nice but its a tad laggy
 
longsh07 said:
Grinspeed is a little far away for me to be honest, getting on for 200 miles, and I thought TDi north was too far :).
Still I've got a good garage I use for my 350, Japex in Kings Langley. Also there are few tuning companies near by I can call on if need be. Oh that was another thing, throttle response. I want to get a tune to make it more responsive. Fly by wire is nice but its a tad laggy
Click to expand...
Yeh thats fair enough always helps to know a good garage I know a few that sort me out with good prices local but if i want anything particular ill use Grinspeed/TDi North im from hull so it was a 2 hour drive each way for me!I drove my friends FN2 R a few months back and i actually liked it more than i had thought as i was ep3 mad (still am) but i was expecting it to be less capable and it really wasnt but it did feel comfier and more refined than mine! If your planning any bolt on modifications best to wait till its all fitted before tuning as you probably know! Im hoping this year to add a 4-2-1 decat manifold to my cat back exhaust and upgrade the inlet manifold to go with my tegiwa m induction kit ill be paying TDI a visit for the k100 ecu and tune :)
 
xSythan said:
Yeh thats fair enough always helps to know a good garage I know a few that sort me out with good prices local but if i want anything particular ill use Grinspeed/TDi North im from hull so it was a 2 hour drive each way for me!I drove my friends FN2 R a few months back and i actually liked it more than i had thought as i was ep3 mad (still am) but i was expecting it to be less capable and it really wasnt but it did feel comfier and more refined than mine! If your planning any bolt on modifications best to wait till its all fitted before tuning as you probably know! Im hoping this year to add a 4-2-1 decat manifold to my cat back exhaust and upgrade the inlet manifold to go with my tegiwa m induction kit ill be paying TDI a visit for the k100 ecu and tune :)
Click to expand...

Friend of mine has an EP3 Premier Edition like yours only in Cosmic Grey although to be honest his has been a bit of a nightmare despite being a Honda approved used car. Just goes to show how meaningless that is in the real world...
You ever had any issues with the Honda satnav?

The comfort factor was the biggest reason I went for the FN over the EP. His EP3 feels more raw and aggressive in my opinion so as a daily I prefer my FN. Having said that I'd love to have a stripped out caged EP3.
I think the FN2 gets a bad wrap because Clarkson didn't like it. Simple as that.

That's the plan, I can live with the laggy pedal for now. Tyres then a track session will give me good feel for the car then I can start thinking about freeing up a few ponies and more importantly some extra torque.
 
longsh07 said:
Friend of mine has an EP3 Premier Edition like yours only in Cosmic Grey although to be honest his has been a bit of a nightmare despite being a Honda approved used car. Just goes to show how meaningless that is in the real world...
You ever had any issues with the Honda satnav?

The comfort factor was the biggest reason I went for the FN over the EP. His EP3 feels more raw and aggressive in my opinion so as a daily I prefer my FN. Having said that I'd love to have a stripped out caged EP3.
I think the FN2 gets a bad wrap because Clarkson didn't like it. Simple as that.

That's the plan, I can live with the laggy pedal for now. Tyres then a track session will give me good feel for the car then I can start thinking about freeing up a few ponies and more importantly some extra torque.
Click to expand...

Totally agree it can mean nothing at all and to be honest i don't like taking my car to main dealer i didn't like the black sludge of oil they used i changed it myself a month later because it looked that rubbish what they had used!
I don't have a sat nav i think this was an extra even on a premier edition not many have it if i'm correct.
Yes agree on that too Clarkson put it in everyone's heads before they tried one! mine is so bumpy for daily driving on the lowered suspension too but i love it when i'm in the mood, i use mine as a daily but my round trip is about 10 miles a day 5 times a week and use it every other night to go to gym and that's it so don't do many miles at all!
There's no rush just enjoy it and when you feel the need for something extra go do it that's what i'm doing with mine although i feel like i want everything right away will almost take all the fun out of it
How do you find the 350z in comparison speed/handling wise as i nearly went for one this time round but previously owned an ep3 and i knew what i was getting with one of these :)
 
Oh fair enough. Probably for the best to be honest because neither does he anymore lol. He took it back to Honda under warranty so many times before he gave up and we swapped it out for an aftermarket one.

Speed wise the 350 takes it hands down. The car pulls hard when you step on it and its one of those cars that you have to pay attention to your speed otherwise it can quite easily drift upwards without much input.
It feels quite big when your in it which makes everything feel very planted and causes the sensation of speed to be about 20mph less than the actual speed.
Only problem is this makes it a bit awkward when driving through traffic or around town.
The FN2 however is fast enough to be fun but just tame enough to be calm when you need it to. Nice sweet spot really.

As for handling its hard to say. I've had neither on track (yet) and I've only driven the FN2 on winter tyres so its not a fair comparison.
I'm impressed with the FN2 though. I find FWD cars have an odd handling characteristic and I've not been able to put my finger on yet but Honda seem to have either muted or fixed this. It still doesn't handle like a RWD car but it was a surprise to me how similar it was. As I said above, the 350 feels big even if in reality they are about the same size but it does feel more planted so I'd be more confident cornering the 350 hard. With that said, on the road I've been able to thread the FN2 through corners at roughly the same speed as the 350 and on winter tyres so who knows. I could really do with a back to back track session on similar tyres to give you a proper answer but either way both handle very well.
 
longsh07 said:
Oh fair enough. Probably for the best to be honest because neither does he anymore lol. He took it back to Honda under warranty so many times before he gave up and we swapped it out for an aftermarket one.

Speed wise the 350 takes it hands down. The car pulls hard when you step on it and its one of those cars that you have to pay attention to your speed otherwise it can quite easily drift upwards without much input.
It feels quite big when your in it which makes everything feel very planted and causes the sensation of speed to be about 20mph less than the actual speed.
Only problem is this makes it a bit awkward when driving through traffic or around town.
The FN2 however is fast enough to be fun but just tame enough to be calm when you need it to. Nice sweet spot really.

As for handling its hard to say. I've had neither on track (yet) and I've only driven the FN2 on winter tyres so its not a fair comparison.
I'm impressed with the FN2 though. I find FWD cars have an odd handling characteristic and I've not been able to put my finger on yet but Honda seem to have either muted or fixed this. It still doesn't handle like a RWD car but it was a surprise to me how similar it was. As I said above, the 350 feels big even if in reality they are about the same size but it does feel more planted so I'd be more confident cornering the 350 hard. With that said, on the road I've been able to thread the FN2 through corners at roughly the same speed as the 350 and on winter tyres so who knows. I could really do with a back to back track session on similar tyres to give you a proper answer but either way both handle very well.
Click to expand...

Yes agree i will always use honda specialists now for my stamp! Very in depth comparison I like it haha ive never been in one but ive always loved the look of them and they sound awesome!!! Yes be good to get on track with both to compare be nice to see the time differences you could put down RWD more power vs FWD less power. I imagined the 350 would feel more heavy and solid just from the weight of the engine. Do you have any pics of the Z im intrigued?
 
Excellent choice and my favourite colour on the fn2. As an all rounder the fn2 is amazing, especially with the GT pack. I would have one to complete a few track days per year and still feel comfortable using it everyday. Price wise beats the shiz out of a GTI for the mullah.

I've never really thought about pad regulations, will have to check mine! I use standard stoptech street pads on track and find them excellent.
 
Jmate said:
Excellent choice and my favourite colour on the fn2. As an all rounder the fn2 is amazing, especially with the GT pack. I would have one to complete a few track days per year and still feel comfortable using it everyday. Price wise beats the shiz out of a GTI for the mullah.

I've never really thought about pad regulations, will have to check mine! I use standard stoptech street pads on track and find them excellent.
Click to expand...

Nah its proper confusing. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
I doubt you'll find anything for Stoptech as they are American I believe, so R90 doesn't apply to them. Did all this research for the FN2 and then found out my 350's Hawk ceramic pads probably aren't R90 either for the same reason...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top