This is right around the point where I stopped arguing with myself and decided to shift my attention back toward getting this car on the track. Once the decision was made I started re-planning the build. Unfortunately for me, just participating in regular track days doesn’t cut it for me anymore. I am at a point where if I am at a track I have to be testing or competing, I have to have something to strive for. My first order of business then was to figure out where I wanted to compete with the car. Because this is still my daily driver and I am on a shoestring budget, wheel to wheel racing is out of the question simply because it would require a full roll cage so time attack or time trials is the best option. To make a long story short, I decided to build the car to N.A.S.A. Time Trials TT-A class rules. With my current obligations as a driver for Berk Technology in their BMW 135i, I felt the N.A.S.A. Time Trials series is the best bet for being competitive and keeping the build budget low. It is also the most legitimate time trials series out there aside from Redline Pro Time Attack and Global Time Attack.
So now with a new direction to move in, next on my list was a set of wheels & tires. Fortunately for me, my friend Zee Reid, whom I originally traded my 18” Forgestar F14s to in return for his stock wheels & tires when I parted the car out, was willing to make this trade again. He got his stock wheels back and I got my 18” Forgestar F14s back with a used set of Hankook RS-3 street tires, the same street tires (size and all) we use on the Berk Technology BMW 135i that have earned us street tire track records at 3 different tracks. The only bummer is now I don’t have the luxury of having a separate set of track wheels and tires so I have to daily drive on these. They are street tires so that’s not the issue, but like any tire, the more you heat cycle them the less grip they give you so they will never be as fast as slapping on a brand new set at the track, not that I could fit 4 wheels and tires, tools, etc. in the 370Z anyway if I did have a separate set of track only wheels & tires. That’s a luxury reserved for those with a truck and trailer or a friend with one that is also going to the track on the same day.
