Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - First track experience today ! Some good, some really bad

RCZ · 02-08-2009, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370sed

Great thread...I'm considering a 370Z, mostly for track, and I was looking at the Std model w/Sports Pkg like the OP...as the best choice. C&D had listed the oil and dif cooler as options in their FEB09 test, but apparently they are really not avail. from Nissan - which is sad - no warranty.

As a track addict in my current RX-8, I'm now reconsidering if this is the correct car -

I'm pretty dismayed at things I've learning about this car and browsing here for only one day:

1. 55/45 weight distribution needs adjusting.
2. trail brake unweighting - brakes? tires? weight bias?
3. Yikes!! Really the most shocking - A sports car that fails a short 20min HPDE run due to overheating at 70deg.
4. Sports car that REQUIRES some major mods (oil cooler, perhaps dif cooler) right off the bat to do track duty.

I ran two yrs in my RX-8 with nothing more than DOT4 fluid & sway bars with no problems thru HPDE1> HPDE2> HPDE3 before doing brake lines, pads, rotors, braces, etc. I was also looking at a Porsche, but was hoping to escape the high cost. I guess the extra money does buy a car ready for track duty.

Sorry to be upset and negative on my 1st post --- but I was thinking this was the answer - or would at least work at some level on track - right out of the box I guess.

Good luck with fixing these issues - I'll still consider this car, I'll just have to factor in the $$ to fix it to be a proper (or even adequate) track car

I think you are going a little overboard on the negative aspects of the car. I drive a lot of track events too and I've felt a lot of different cars on track. GT3's, GT-R's, Turbos, STIs, Evos, 350Z's, etc. I can tell you that the Z feels much better than I expected. It feels very well planted and eager to be driven fast. My best advice would be to test drive it. I'm coming from 2 modified STIs both of which were pretty quick around the track, faster than 911's and M3's. I drive Solo class for HPDE. So far I have to say I am impressed with the Z, I absolutely love this car despite those minor things you said. Also problems 3 and 4 are the same. Having 3 problems isnt such a big deal. An oil cooler is not really a major mod either. The weight distribution has its advantages too. Like I said, the best thing you can do is test drive it..you will immediately be able to feel that its a great car. Spend half the cash you will save by buying the Z instead of the porsche into the Z and you will have a porsche beater and a fun car to work on.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370sed

Oh yes -- IMHO forget the Hawk pads. I tried them and wondered "Where's the great braking, modulation and feel I was looking for?" Rather, I would strongly recommend Cobalt Friction GT Sports (if a DD) or for mostly track time you can't go wrong with some Cobalt Friction XR2 front / XR5 rear for HPDE3/HPDE4 use. The XR5s are not listed on their site, but they are specially formulated to help reduce rear unweighting on cars that have that propensity. They make them for the RX-8 (I run that combo) and they are AMAZING!

Hehe I suggested Cobalts further up in the thread, they are amazing. I actually called Cobalt to see if they were going to make pads for the 370Z...they didnt have an answer yet, but its likely.