Purchased from Suburban Nissan (yuck :P ) on 6/17/2009 Thanks to Robert_Nash and the VPP program!
The old car (2007 Solar Orange. Oh how I miss that paint.):
And the 370:
On 8/22/09 I ran the first Jawbreaker Road Rally:
So hung over the next day that I tried to get my co-driver to drive us to the awards ceremony but he refused. Camera man got a ticket speeding up to snap photos of the group on the highway.
Then the mod bug started biting. I ordered the FI TDX and a set of Hotchkis sway bars at the end of September 2009. Unfortunately I didn't get the exhaust before the car had been covered for the winter.
Finally December 28th with a little help from some local Z guys we installed the exhaust:
Unfortunately Nissan decided to cross thread the right rear end link on the sway bar and we had to hold off on installing the Hotchkis sways for the time being.
3/??/2010 - Thanks to a group by I picked up a stillen G3 intake.
Installed it myself and cursed the dremel.
4/03/2010 - Installed Carbotech pads with Dad's help. XP10f XP8r.
4/05/2010 - Shot my first turkey
5/01/2010 - Mod party at local Z guy's house.
We finally put my Hotchkis sway bars on. I can't feel any difference on the street.
5/03/2010 - Water in brake fluid... flushed the Nissan fluid out with Superblue before my first track day ever.
5/13/2010 - First track day at Waterford Hills with SEMPCA.
The Z's outnumbered Porsche's for quite a while in the signups for this track day but only 4 of us weren't scared off by the rain. Those of us who stuck it out had a blast aside from a new fellow to our group who rolled his Nismo into Swamp. Fortunately no one was hurt and the car was repaired. (Videos below!)
5/20 - 5/23/2010 - ZdayZ
The dragon is a blast. ZdayZ is amazing. I expect I'll be making that trip every year from now on. (Damn I needed a haircut at ZdayZ : )
5/26/2010
Switched to Eneos 5w30 because no one local carried Redline.
5/29/2010 - Gingerman Raceway with Auto Interests.
AI is probably the least strict of any of the clubs I've been to the track with this year but there weren't any incidents I was aware of. We were the first group to hit the new layout of track. I had a NASA instructor who on our first lap went offroading in his Elise. During the parade laps there wasn't enough speed to feel a new elevation change which led to us running right off the end of the track. No damage to his car. He really helped me to get my foot in the gas out of corners. When I finally got some clear track I felt like I was finally getting the rhythm of the track and some speed. By the 3rd session when I could push it my car was hitting 280-290 by the cooldown lap.
7/21/2010 - Installed 25 row Z1 oil cooler kit. Have to use a piece of cardboard to block the air flow to it even on 80+ degree days on the interstate. If I don't tape the cardboard on the oil temps stay around 160-170F. Switched to Redline 5w30.
7/24 - 7/25/2010 - Mid Ohio with NASA Great Lakes Club course Sat, Pro Sun
WOW What a fun track. NASA is definitely the most formal group I've been with so far this year but they do keep things moving on schedule somehow. I was a little unhappy with my instructor because he was so quiet. Judging by his evaluation though I guess that was because I was doing things right in general. Carousel and madness are bitches. I really liked the bus stop in the club course. Something about hitting that apex at speed was really exciting to me. I felt like I was standing still at times though. Rained on Sunday morning. I really enjoyed running in the rain and during that session I felt fast compared to the rest of my group. Can't wait to hit Mid Ohio again.
8/7 - 8/8/2010 - Jawbreaker Road Rally 2010
This year the roads were better than last year but unfortunately we say way way less of the other cars. I pushed it a lot harder than last year too. We missed the second turn unfortunately which put us about 20 minutes behind the rest of our group at lunch. In the afternoon though we more than made up for it passing a friend in a 350Z twice while he was pulled over.
Even though the Jawbreaker is a TSD we pushed for the fastest time. That honor went to a fellow in a partially race prepped 996 by over half an hour. I believe we ended up with the 6th fastest time but they haven't actually posted them this year.
8/28/2010 - Bought SAllen's TE37 Time Attack wheels and RE-11s. Drove my winter car (2000 Cavalier) to PA to pick them up. Long day in a car without AC or a radio. I was a bit worried when I tried to put the fronts on and discovered that silly spacer bolt thing.
9/4/2010 - Oil change. The oil was still golden! I was shocked. 200+ track miles, 250 hard road miles, and 1000-2000 highway/city miles. The Eneos was black and nasty in a similar timeframe.
9/9/2010 - Waterford Hills with SEMPCA again. It was dry this time! HOORAY! What a fun track in the dry. It's tiny and tight but I was picking up some good speed. My first time signed off to drive solo. I was shocked by how much different the car felt. It makes complete sense when you consider you're dumping 150-250lbs!
My instructor rated me with the "Orange" group in my log book. I'm not sure what that means for next year with the club since I was in Green (Green -> Yellow -> Orange -> Red/Instructors). He timed me in my last session and said my best time was 1:29. I played with MaxQdata a bit but it didn't seem to understand the track and didn't detect any laps.
Steve (local Z fella) Took some great pictures (click for more):
9/11/2010 - Grattan Raceway with 3balls Racing
This group rocked. 30 minute sessions with two groups. Normally they run 4 groups but occasionally will set up a day like this. 30 minute sessions meant you got off track and had just about enough time to check over the car and get a drink before you were headed back out. Grattan is a wild track. Off camber and blind turns all over with a long smooth straight. My group (Group 2) had one and a half dry sessions then it was full rain the rest of the day. My friend Lee took me for a ride his first session and then rode for mine to help me with the line. My best lap was a 1:38 in the dry but was mostly around 1:56 in the wet I my best and average looks like 2:10. MaxQData worked really well here unlike Waterford. After our lunch break we started running the track in reverse. In the dry I think this would be a LOT of fun and probably faster than the normal direction but in the wet it was just scary at times. The rivers crossing the track seemed to be a bigger problem this direction and I never really found a good line through the turn that led onto the straight. The biggest problem I had was that I was hydroplaning at about 60mph on the straight. I could feel the car twitch back and forth the whole time.
I offered to let Lee take it out for a session and he accepted. When I let him hop in it was only a few minutes after my session and the brakes were just starting to feel good. We turned 3-4 laps and I was happy to see he was following a very similar line to me. We let a cobra pass early in the straight and just before the braking zone we hydroplaned and did a complete 360 on the straight. Very wild ride. Unfortunately I didn't turn on the GoPro but some guys in an Evo behind us did catch it. Lee did the right thing and kept the wheel straight and brake and clutch in so we were able to get going right away. No damage but a little water in the face. I'm anxiously awaiting the video.
An hour or so later I went back out for one more session but the rain hadn't slacked up enough for me to keep traction yet so I headed home about an hour early.
One of the guys took this amazing picture I'm going to have to get the full res version:
I've been posting my track and other driving videos on Vimeo. I'm quite a ways behind since I haven't even edited the Mid Ohio videos yet:
sig11's videos on Vimeo
Mods to come:
Coilovers - I am debating whether or not I'm at a point where these would help me yet. I think that I have a lot of car left to grow into as a driver as it is so I am torn.