DDM Project 370Z

miguez · 06-01-2009, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travisjb

Ditto that ! would love to get a write up on your day !

Miguez, longacre makes great pyrometers... the $100 models are more than adequate
longacre pyrometer - Google Product Search

Thanks Travis, I wonder if the laser one is as good as the contact one?

ChrisSlicks · 06-01-2009, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miguez

Thanks Travis, I wonder if the laser one is as good as the contact one?

It's not a laser pyrometer, it is infrared. It does have a laser pointer but that is just to help you aim it accurately.

Probe pyrometers are better for tires as you can get below the surface rubber. But unless you're hard-core I would go with the infrared as it is a better general purpose meter. Use it to measure rotor and caliper temperatures, engine block etc.

koojo · 05-31-2009, 10:11 PM

Nice upgrades! Just read your entire thread and very impressed. Hopefully I'll have my Z soon.

Caravanshaka · 06-01-2009, 08:02 AM

Bet you can't wait to get that LSD in now that the weekend is over. How long until your next Time Attack?

CBRich · 06-01-2009, 08:50 AM

This is reaffirming my impression that the Sport package may not be worth the money. I had figured that I would want to replace the viscous LSD for any serious use so I just opted not to get it. Really the only feature worth paying for is SRM.

ChrisSlicks · 06-01-2009, 09:00 AM

Mike, just read about your fuel starvation issue. I guess I should have warned you, the G35 and 350Z had the same problem. The issue appears to be lack of baffling around the fuel pump pick up, high lateral loads push the fuel away from the pump and you choke. For this reason I always keep fuel above 1/4 tank.

M.Bonanni · 06-01-2009, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miguez

Are you going to look at a bigger core for your oil cooler? I know this track is probably the worse in the schedule regarding oil temps, but it wouldn't hurt anywhere to run cooler oil in this car...

By the way, are you checking tire temps across the treads to determine optimum camber? If so, which pyrometer are you using?

Yes I will be looking into a bigger oil cooler core. The Mishimoto one is good for most circumstances it seems, but a bigger one definately wouldn't hurt.

I have a Longacre pyrometer, but was only using it in the rear since I don't have any adjustment capability in the front.

Quote:

Originally Posted by miguez

Hey Mike,

Followed you on Twitter all day, nice improvement on lap time! Are you going to write a quick report on it? It would be awesome.

Thanks! I will write a detailed report on it in a separate thread and link it in this thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caravanshaka

Bet you can't wait to get that LSD in now that the weekend is over. How long until your next Time Attack?

Yes the LSD will go in ASAP. My next time attack will most likely be the Super Lap Battle Qualifier at Auto Club Speedway the first weekend in August.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

Mike, just read about your fuel starvation issue. I guess I should have warned you, the G35 and 350Z had the same problem. The issue appears to be lack of baffling around the fuel pump pick up, high lateral loads push the fuel away from the pump and you choke. For this reason I always keep fuel above 1/4 tank.

Yeah I had the same problem on my 350Z as well but that car was a fully prepped race car on sticky tires which generated much more lateral grip. Did not expect it on a near stock 370Z with street tires.

ChrisSlicks · 06-01-2009, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDMotorsports

Yeah I had the same problem on my 350Z as well but that car was a fully prepped race car on sticky tires which generated much more lateral grip. Did not expect it on a near stock 370Z with street tires.

G35 did it bone stock at auto-cross. The tank slosh is bad in other ways as it adds a delayed and additional weight transfer, which was particularly bad in an auto-cross type driving scenario. I used to run the G35 with a full tank to combat this.

miguez · 06-02-2009, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDMotorsports

Yes the LSD will go in ASAP. My next time attack will most likely be the Super Lap Battle Qualifier at Auto Club Speedway the first weekend in August.

Mike, I was reading the Super Lap Battle Rulebook, and it sounds like you could enter your Z in the Street category, correct?

Some heavy hitters in that event, do you know if Team Tarzan is showing up again? Sounds like Tanner Foust might be there too...

M.Bonanni · 06-02-2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miguez

Mike, I was reading the Super Lap Battle Rulebook, and it sounds like you could enter your Z in the Street category, correct?

Some heavy hitters in that event, do you know if Team Tarzan is showing up again? Sounds like Tanner Foust might be there too...

Yes this car is well within the Street Class rules.

I have no idea who will actually show up this year, but you can bet that records will be broken as usual.

CBRich · 06-01-2009, 12:25 PM

I'm assuming the only real option to fix the gas sloshing is a new redesigned tank. Unless you want to race with a full tank all the time.

wstar · 06-01-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CBRich

I'm assuming the only real option to fix the gas sloshing is a new redesigned tank. Unless you want to race with a full tank all the time.

Yeah a tank with good baffles in it would probably help.

miguez · 06-01-2009, 12:56 PM

Or simply a surge tank.

M.Bonanni · 06-02-2009, 06:18 PM

Link to my time attack results thread. Pics and video in there too

.

DDMotorsports Redline Time Attack Round #2 Results!

M.Bonanni · 06-05-2009, 03:55 PM

What's up next for the DDM 370Z?

Well with two track weekends in the books I have learned a lot about the car and the parts I have put on it. Road course racing is the ultimate proving ground for a car and for aftermarket parts developers. The track will uncover your car's weakest points in a hurry and once you fix one weak point, it may uncover another. One track may uncover issues that weren't relevant at another track. This is exactly the kind of testing and data needed to build a solid car with solid parts.

The biggest issue in building a track car is reliability, after all a car is only as good as its weakest part. This is why the immediate focus on the DDMotorsports 370Z has turned to cooling. At Buttonwillow Raceway back in late March, our 370Z was equipped with an off the shelf Mishimoto universal oil cooler kit. The kit worked excellent both on the street and on the track keeping oil temperatures in a safe range. Fast forward a few months and that puts us at this past weekend's event at Willow Springs. Temperatures were much hotter than they were at Buttonwillow, and the track layout meant there would be a lot more full throttle, sustained high rpms, which inevidably means more heat being produced by the motor. The Mishimoto oil cooler that worked so well at Buttonwillow found its limits at Willow Springs. The oil temperature after ~2 1/2 laps around the 2.5 mile track driving as hard as I possibly could would eventually hit 270 degrees, at which point the car's ECU would dramatically cut power and revs. Because of this, our next plan of action with this car is to upgrade to a larger oil cooler core.

Like the oil cooling issue, there is another heat issue that has plagued the 370Z. A post race inspection after Buttonwillow unveiled a differential fluid overheating problem. The stock limited slip differential was damaged at the first track day leaving bits of metal floating around and the factory differential fluid smelled severely burnt. Unfortunately we could not fix this in time for the Willow Springs event, but luckily everything held together for the event without totally blowing up and locking the rear wheels. So our plan of action to fix this is to install the Carbonetic 1.5 way limited slip differential in place of the stock unit. Although the Carbonetic part should generate less heat than the stock LSD, we will take precautionary measures and add a differential oil cooling kit as well to ensure no future issues.

While we are on the subject of cooling, we will also upgrade the factory power steering oil cooler to a larger unit as well as inspecting the transmission for signs of overheating to determine whether or not that will need a cooler as well.

All of these items are on our punch list before we start worrying about making the car faster again, although the Berk Technology Cat-Back exhaust is still scheduled to go on the car very soon.

Also on the horizon:
- Front camber arms
- Sway bars
- Different brake pads for the track
- 18" Forgestar wheels
- Wider Nitto NT05 tires
- Mines intake ducts (maybe)
- Painted door handles/rear diffuser thing

05-31-2009, 10:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
koojo Base Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vermont Posts: 61 Drives: Infiniti G20 Rep Power: 17	Nice upgrades! Just read your entire thread and very impressed. Hopefully I'll have my Z soon. __________________ 2000 Infiniti G20 (TURBOCHARGED - SR20DET) - FOR SALE - http://www.koojo.net/

06-02-2009, 06:18 PM	#14 (permalink)
M.Bonanni The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,575 Drives: Fast Rep Power: 1321	Link to my time attack results thread. Pics and video in there too . DDMotorsports Redline Time Attack Round #2 Results! __________________ MikeBonanni.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MikeBonanni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBonanni36 Function > Form

06-05-2009, 03:55 PM	#15 (permalink)
M.Bonanni The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Las Vegas Posts: 2,575 Drives: Fast Rep Power: 1321	What's up next for the DDM 370Z? Well with two track weekends in the books I have learned a lot about the car and the parts I have put on it. Road course racing is the ultimate proving ground for a car and for aftermarket parts developers. The track will uncover your car's weakest points in a hurry and once you fix one weak point, it may uncover another. One track may uncover issues that weren't relevant at another track. This is exactly the kind of testing and data needed to build a solid car with solid parts. The biggest issue in building a track car is reliability, after all a car is only as good as its weakest part. This is why the immediate focus on the DDMotorsports 370Z has turned to cooling. At Buttonwillow Raceway back in late March, our 370Z was equipped with an off the shelf Mishimoto universal oil cooler kit. The kit worked excellent both on the street and on the track keeping oil temperatures in a safe range. Fast forward a few months and that puts us at this past weekend's event at Willow Springs. Temperatures were much hotter than they were at Buttonwillow, and the track layout meant there would be a lot more full throttle, sustained high rpms, which inevidably means more heat being produced by the motor. The Mishimoto oil cooler that worked so well at Buttonwillow found its limits at Willow Springs. The oil temperature after ~2 1/2 laps around the 2.5 mile track driving as hard as I possibly could would eventually hit 270 degrees, at which point the car's ECU would dramatically cut power and revs. Because of this, our next plan of action with this car is to upgrade to a larger oil cooler core. Like the oil cooling issue, there is another heat issue that has plagued the 370Z. A post race inspection after Buttonwillow unveiled a differential fluid overheating problem. The stock limited slip differential was damaged at the first track day leaving bits of metal floating around and the factory differential fluid smelled severely burnt. Unfortunately we could not fix this in time for the Willow Springs event, but luckily everything held together for the event without totally blowing up and locking the rear wheels. So our plan of action to fix this is to install the Carbonetic 1.5 way limited slip differential in place of the stock unit. Although the Carbonetic part should generate less heat than the stock LSD, we will take precautionary measures and add a differential oil cooling kit as well to ensure no future issues. While we are on the subject of cooling, we will also upgrade the factory power steering oil cooler to a larger unit as well as inspecting the transmission for signs of overheating to determine whether or not that will need a cooler as well. All of these items are on our punch list before we start worrying about making the car faster again, although the Berk Technology Cat-Back exhaust is still scheduled to go on the car very soon. Also on the horizon: - Front camber arms - Sway bars - Different brake pads for the track - 18" Forgestar wheels - Wider Nitto NT05 tires - Mines intake ducts (maybe) - Painted door handles/rear diffuser thing __________________ MikeBonanni.com Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MikeBonanni Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MBonanni36 Function > Form Last edited by M.Bonanni; 06-05-2009 at 04:26 PM.

06-01-2009, 08:02 AM	#4 (permalink)
Caravanshaka I shake Caravans Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: north Dallas Posts: 9,517 Drives: everyone crazy Rep Power: 43	Bet you can't wait to get that LSD in now that the weekend is over. How long until your next Time Attack?

06-01-2009, 08:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
CBRich A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: SC Posts: 2,464 Drives: 370Z Rep Power: 545	This is reaffirming my impression that the Sport package may not be worth the money. I had figured that I would want to replace the viscous LSD for any serious use so I just opted not to get it. Really the only feature worth paying for is SRM.

06-01-2009, 09:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 654	Mike, just read about your fuel starvation issue. I guess I should have warned you, the G35 and 350Z had the same problem. The issue appears to be lack of baffling around the fuel pump pick up, high lateral loads push the fuel away from the pump and you choke. For this reason I always keep fuel above 1/4 tank.

06-01-2009, 12:25 PM	#11 (permalink)
CBRich A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: SC Posts: 2,464 Drives: 370Z Rep Power: 545	I'm assuming the only real option to fix the gas sloshing is a new redesigned tank. Unless you want to race with a full tank all the time.

06-01-2009, 12:56 PM	#13 (permalink)
miguez Enthusiast Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Columbus, Ohio Posts: 359 Drives: '04 Cavalier Rep Power: 182	Or simply a surge tank.