Brendan's 2014 Solid Red STU Autocross Build Thread

chowtoo · 03-09-2021, 07:51 AM

It looks too tired!
Certainly where the rubber meets the road, only multiplied!
:-)

Hotrodz · 03-09-2021, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cv129

Jeeezus that’s a lot of tire haha

Go big or go home!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Rusty · 03-09-2021, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chowtoo

It looks too tired!
Certainly where the rubber meets the road, only multiplied!
:-)

You see mine from the rear with the 345's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

Go big or go home!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Brendan · 03-09-2021, 04:53 PM

Also thanks to all the people who helped me out by answering questions and sending me pics to study to see if it was even possible to fit this wide a tire up front.

Brendan · 03-19-2021, 10:31 PM

Small update. One of the most frustrating rules regarding building a car for this class is the one regarding suspension bushings. Due to this rule we cant run nice arms like spl or voodoo and a means we are stuck using arms that are more difficult to work with.

I had a set of z1 arms which don't allow for even or easy adjustment as you have to take apart the front suspension to make any changes.

The z1 arms were durable so I would recommend them to anyone looking for affordable arms if they dont plan on adjusting the car often.

I decided to "make" a set of arms that were easy to adjust but also legal for competition. I started with a set of upper control arms from gk tech. These arms are new on the market but the company makes stuff for the 350z and other Nissan cars.

The control arms from gktech work very similar the spl arms but are like a 3rd of the cost. These arms have spherical inner rod ends but the bearing is a standard type that you can get from most stores that stock suspension parts. What I decided to do was replace the rod ends with a type that would be legal for racing. I was able to find a set of rod ends from a 4wd parts company of all places. The dimension and type were perfect for the 370z. I ended up having to swap over the guts from the bushing on the z1 arms to make the rod ends work but someone might be able to put together a set by just having a set of inner sleeves made for the rod end bushings.

Anyways, now I have a set of arms that are easy to make adjustments on and are legal for racing. The only drawback so far is that they gave up some caster. I haven't measured yet so I can say how much, but it was around +8 with the z1 arms. These seem to be more in the range of the stock upper control arms. They do allow for a much larger range of camber which is very nice. Even with the new rod ends I was able to get around -4 and there seemed to be enough threads left to get even more.

Fyi it seems like it would totally be possible to convert a set of spl arms the way I did these GKTech, I didnt want to spend $1000+ finding this out if I wasn't sure.

PXL_20210319_222049350 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

Brendan · 03-29-2021, 07:57 PM

Got some shots of the 315 in action.

_BES8231 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES8233 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES8240 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES8215 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES8222 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

ZontheRocks · 03-29-2021, 09:02 PM

Great photos, per usual!

Tires look monstrous! I love it!

Did your times and traction improve?

Hotrodz · 03-29-2021, 09:12 PM

She looks very composed!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Brendan · 03-31-2021, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZontheRocks

Great photos, per usual!

Tires look monstrous! I love it!

Did your times and traction improve?

Definitely. These tires still hate to get hot so on a long course with two drivers, staying fast from lap to lap is still a challenge. On my own it should be less if an issue

Brendan · 05-05-2021, 11:01 PM

I shot an event at the track this weekend and took a break between run groups to take photos of the car with it's new sexy stance. I'm much happier with how it looks now and it drives well on the street too. I just hope it doesn't push too much. Still not too pretty to send it.

_BES4687 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES4684-2 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES4677 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

_BES2633-2 by brendan sobers, on Flickr

Brendan · 05-11-2021, 08:30 AM

My buddy took photos of the car in action. It's cool to see the suspension working under load. The car is driving well to where I think I can leave it alone and just focus on fixing bad habits with my driving. The new bump stops are doing a good job of limiting the wheel travel to where I don't have to worry about rubbing and they don't make the car push at all which was a big concern. Cant wait to drive this car again.

Seems to be using all the tire even at -4 degrees of camber. I'll need to get out the pyrometer next time we have an event with less downtime and warmer weather.

cv129 · 05-11-2021, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendan

new bump stops are doing a good job of limiting the wheel travel to where I don't have to worry about rubbing and they don't make the car push at all which was a big concern. Cant wait to drive this car again.

Would be quite a task to induce under steer with 315 up front tho

I still chuckle with joy seeing the 315’s up front

Nice pictures!

Brendan · 05-13-2021, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cv129

Would be quite a task to induce under steer with 315 up front tho

I still chuckle with joy seeing the 315’s up front

Nice pictures!

Thanks dude. I suppose it doesn't matter now but my bump stops are active, meaning the car is always on them. If I got the packing wrong the rate would go infinite too soon and make the car push but so far it's pretty great. Feels and looks like dramatically more roll resistance and grip for $15. Most importantly, it goes low and rides good.

BigT · 09-22-2021, 01:43 PM

Did you go to Nationals? How'd it go? I see Bill Zerr didn't do as well as he normally does.

Z33KLF · 10-01-2021, 03:07 PM

This thing is so beautiful yet such a beast!

03-09-2021, 07:51 AM	#61 (permalink)
chowtoo Base Member Join Date: Jun 2018 Location: S. E. MI Posts: 153 Drives: Red2018 M6, 2019 A7 Rep Power: 4596	It looks too tired! Certainly where the rubber meets the road, only multiplied! :-) Brendan likes this.

03-09-2021, 04:53 PM	#64 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 639 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	Also thanks to all the people who helped me out by answering questions and sending me pics to study to see if it was even possible to fit this wide a tire up front. Rusty, Hotrodz and ZontheRocks like this.

03-19-2021, 10:31 PM	#65 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 639 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	Small update. One of the most frustrating rules regarding building a car for this class is the one regarding suspension bushings. Due to this rule we cant run nice arms like spl or voodoo and a means we are stuck using arms that are more difficult to work with. I had a set of z1 arms which don't allow for even or easy adjustment as you have to take apart the front suspension to make any changes. The z1 arms were durable so I would recommend them to anyone looking for affordable arms if they dont plan on adjusting the car often. I decided to "make" a set of arms that were easy to adjust but also legal for competition. I started with a set of upper control arms from gk tech. These arms are new on the market but the company makes stuff for the 350z and other Nissan cars. The control arms from gktech work very similar the spl arms but are like a 3rd of the cost. These arms have spherical inner rod ends but the bearing is a standard type that you can get from most stores that stock suspension parts. What I decided to do was replace the rod ends with a type that would be legal for racing. I was able to find a set of rod ends from a 4wd parts company of all places. The dimension and type were perfect for the 370z. I ended up having to swap over the guts from the bushing on the z1 arms to make the rod ends work but someone might be able to put together a set by just having a set of inner sleeves made for the rod end bushings. Anyways, now I have a set of arms that are easy to make adjustments on and are legal for racing. The only drawback so far is that they gave up some caster. I haven't measured yet so I can say how much, but it was around +8 with the z1 arms. These seem to be more in the range of the stock upper control arms. They do allow for a much larger range of camber which is very nice. Even with the new rod ends I was able to get around -4 and there seemed to be enough threads left to get even more. Fyi it seems like it would totally be possible to convert a set of spl arms the way I did these GKTech, I didnt want to spend $1000+ finding this out if I wasn't sure. PXL_20210319_222049350 by brendan sobers, on Flickr JARblue, cv129, gomer_110 and 1 others like this. Last edited by Brendan; 04-17-2021 at 12:07 PM.

03-29-2021, 07:57 PM	#66 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 639 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	Got some shots of the 315 in action. _BES8231 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES8233 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES8240 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES8215 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES8222 by brendan sobers, on Flickr gbrettin, JARblue, cv129 and 4 others like this.

03-29-2021, 09:02 PM	#67 (permalink)
ZontheRocks Track Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Central Florida Posts: 953 Drives: 2016 Nissan PW 370Z Rep Power: 34535	Great photos, per usual! Tires look monstrous! I love it! Did your times and traction improve? Hotrodz and Brendan like this. __________________ '16 Pearl White Sport \| Stillen Gen. 3 \| Motordyne ART \| Motordyne Shockwave \| ZSpeed \| Powertrix \| EVO-R \| Aeroworkz \| Nismo \| Z1 \| EcuTek \| Tuned by Seb @ SpecialtyZ

03-29-2021, 09:12 PM	#68 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684385	She looks very composed! Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk gbrettin, JARblue, Rusty and 1 others like this. __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

05-05-2021, 11:01 PM	#70 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 639 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	I shot an event at the track this weekend and took a break between run groups to take photos of the car with it's new sexy stance. I'm much happier with how it looks now and it drives well on the street too. I just hope it doesn't push too much. Still not too pretty to send it. _BES4687 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES4684-2 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES4677 by brendan sobers, on Flickr _BES2633-2 by brendan sobers, on Flickr JARblue, cv129, Rusty and 2 others like this. Last edited by Brendan; 05-06-2021 at 07:08 AM.

05-11-2021, 08:30 AM	#71 (permalink)
Brendan Track Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Colorado Posts: 639 Drives: Poor man's Porsche Rep Power: 542	My buddy took photos of the car in action. It's cool to see the suspension working under load. The car is driving well to where I think I can leave it alone and just focus on fixing bad habits with my driving. The new bump stops are doing a good job of limiting the wheel travel to where I don't have to worry about rubbing and they don't make the car push at all which was a big concern. Cant wait to drive this car again. Seems to be using all the tire even at -4 degrees of camber. I'll need to get out the pyrometer next time we have an event with less downtime and warmer weather. gbrettin, JARblue, cv129 and 3 others like this.

09-22-2021, 01:43 PM	#74 (permalink)
BigT Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: NJ Posts: 469 Drives: 98 2g DSM Rep Power: 13	Did you go to Nationals? How'd it go? I see Bill Zerr didn't do as well as he normally does. __________________ 2014 Jeep GC 1998 Talon TSI awd 2011 Z Sport - SOLD

10-01-2021, 03:07 PM	#75 (permalink)
Z33KLF Base Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: IN/BJ Posts: 16 Drives: 07 Z33 Nismo Rep Power: 10	This thing is so beautiful yet such a beast!

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