My 2014 Black Cherry Z

14BlackCherry

Hello everyone,

I thought I would start a thread covering my build from stock to present and soon future. I strictly bought this car for autocross. I purchased the vehicle brand new literally off the truck. It arrived at the dealership and I drove off with it that night. Since purchasing it in May 2014, I've only put 8k miles on it, mostly which is driving to and from autocross events and a weekly dinner meet with other local autocross drivers.

Before I purchased the Z, I had this:

2009 Cadillac CTS-V Sedan. 6.2L v8 w/6spd auto and my best vanity plate to date: ZR1-DNA, due to sharing the LSA with the ZR1 Vette.




The car ended up being way to powerful and heavy for what I wanted to do with it. So then I traded to this:




Then the modifications started.

14BlackCherry

Summer Series 2015

Competed in B-Street locally and I must say that it was a good learning curve. Current setup:

275/35/19 - RE-71R
Nismo S-tune Wheels
Tomei Full Cat back exhaust.
Koni Yellow Shock - off the shelf
Eibach Front Swaybar
SPL Front Endlinks

The car runs and handles decently well for street class. It lacks front end camber and tends to push.

14BlackCherry

Summer 2016:

My first time running the car is STR trim. Due to working overnights and lack of PTO I wasn't able to complete as much events that I would of liked to. I completed 6 events and finished 2nd locally in STR.

Car Setup:

255/35/18 - RE-71R
Enkei PF01 Wheels 18x9
Tomei Full Cat back exhaust.
Koni Yellow Shock - off the shelf
Eibach Front Swaybar
SPL Front Endlinks
Stillen Gen 3 Intakes
Berk HFC
z1 2pc rotors front and rear
z1 Front adjustable camber arms.
Custom Alignment.

Alignment:



Random photo getting some air, credit Brendan Sobers:



For the 2017 season I have some new toys for STR:

Penske 7500 DB custom valved by Guy Ankeny:











I'll keep this thread updated. The shocks are valved up to 1100lbs sprint rates, and I'm going to run 1000lbs springs in the front and 900lbs in the rear.

SINISTER

Love the color ...I sold my hellcat just like you sold your ctsv just too big and driving a boat was lame....purchased a Z nismo. Thinking about coilovers ...but have not pulled the trigger. Good luck!

__________________
Not to be able to stop thinking is a dreadful affliction, but we don't realize this because almost everybody is suffering from it, so it is considered normal.

ChaseZ

Those Penske's are all business

TechnicZ

Suspension porn!!! Can't wait to see your review on these!

14BlackCherry

Yeah I really liked the V, fun car awesome straight line speed, but just too dang heavy. These will be my first set of aftermarket coilovers ever.




That's what I keep getting told. I hear I stole them for the price I got them for less than $1k.



Haha, I'll keep you posted.

14BlackCherry

Rear Perches and Coils.

14BlackCherry

5/9/17: First round is in the book, I'm still on Koni Yellow's and expect to be on the Penske shock come round two which is Memorial Day weekend. I received my shock settings and will adjust from there.

As for the first event I can tell that I haven't autocrossed the car for 8 months. I feel like my line was terrible and I didn't even get one clean run!!! Also my RE71R's are over a year old with probably 100+ runs. Tire measurements are at 2-3/32nds. So new tires will be in the works. Feedback is much appreciated.

14BlackCherry

Finally everything arrived for the shocks.

Custom rear perch/ride height adjusters, 900lbs rear springs.

Front Hyperco springs arrived, 1000lbs.





Shocks are already set for initial setup. Just need to install and align. I'm really anxious to see how the Z responds with stiffer suspension. Any suggestions for ride height and camber settings?

Thanks guys.

14BlackCherry

Second round of the Summer Series in Colorado. Finished 2nd in STR. This will be my last run on Koni shocks. I might be selling those if anyone is interested, only have about 4k miles on them. New camera angel for this event. I made a custom mount thanks to (AK370Z) which is found here:

How To Make An Awesome GoPro HD In-Car Mount For Approx. $30 (AK370Z)

Video:

14BlackCherry

Suspension is finally installed. Alignment and Corner Balance on Wednesday and Colorado Champ Tour this weekend! Sorry about the pics uploading sideways.











Car is too slammed at the moment. No tire rub but the front lip rubs on everything.

14BlackCherry

Well first event in the Z with the new suspension in the books. The car feels amazing. Now I need to get used to the new limitations of the car, and work on my driving. This event was a National Event (CO Champ Tour). Tom Reynolds killed everyone in a ND. Overall fun event, looking forward to more seat time with the car.

There was also some controversy with safety at this event. In both videos you'll see the car goes airborne. It was extremely worse on day 2. A lot of discussion is taking place after multiple cars sustained damage. Luckily my Z did not sustain damage. I guess that's one of the perks of having stiff springs.

14BlackCherry

Sorry for the late posts life has been busy. Since my last post Summer Series 4 and 5 have been completed. I'm finally gaining more confidence in my setup. At the last event still finished 2nd, but was within .4 tenths of 1st. Car is coming along nicely.



Summer Series 5: