Criticise my driving and help me make the car faster
 

Hi everyone,

I have just completed my first track day and the bug is well and truly dug in. This event had been planned on my calendar for quite some time and I had always intended to track the car.

My best lap time was a 65.** with a fuel starve event (which I mistakenly thought was the car hitting the limiter, and shifted up). I am told the car will do a 60 flat (stock) with an experienced driver, which I am not.

Here is a helmet shot of my 65sec.

https://onedrive.live.com/download?c...HgotuT6cIh3UnU

Yes my driving is ****, I'm aware.

My short term goal (by year end) is to break 60sec, which shouldn't be hard, as I don't intend to stay stock.

I was told by others at the event that the car will definitely not get anywhere near 55sec so THE GAUNTLET HAS BEEN THROWN DOWN.

I have an Ark Grip cat-back and I am running Kumho PS91's in stock size on stock rims. Everything else is a stock 2014 sport 7AT. My brakes were also near the end of their lives, which probably negated any benefit from the exhaust.

The next event is in August. It's a sprint event (if you can't tell from the video), so I'm not concerned with engine heat (30 mins between sprints) or brake fade. I stripped the hatch before this event and next event I intend to pull the passenger seat as well.

Parts that will be arriving soon.

* High Flow Cats
* Stoptech rotors and sport pads

I am thinking about replacing the intakes and getting re-tuned on E85 (easily available here), but I'm unsure if just throwing more horses at the problem will get the results I want.

There is no opportunity for driver training where I live so I will need to learn on the track, at the event.

I will run with semi-slicks at the next event but I'm still unsure on what wheels\sizes. There appears to be no restrictions on what I can do to the car apart from adding boost (which changes my class) or running full slicks.

I'm happy pulling stuff out of the car for the event if it's worth the time but it needs to be put back in.

Help me make the Z go faster!!

Most important mod is the nut behind the wheel.

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I would say you don't need more power, it is more about seat time and getting higher speeds in turns. I think what you can start with is front upper control arm, it will give you much better response and turn-in as well as a balanced handling.

An experienced driver can send the car around the track 5 seconds faster than me (which is half-way towards my ultimate goal) so I'm very aware of that fact, however, I have no way to train, other than at the event. There are no permanent tracks here or track driving schools.

So between now and the next event I can only make car upgrades and get third party advice on driving style and mistakes I'm making.

There are 6 more track days left in the year and that is all I have to work with.

Definitely seat time will help. I was no-where near the limits of grip and just kept the throttle steady when I started to feel the car getting light through the long turns. Bigger balls are required.

The steering felt heavy and I think even a pair of gloves would have helped.

Do you have a product in mind? Will these require a special race alignment after installation? Or just a general wheel alignment?

SPL FUCAs :twocents:

JAR, legitimate question, I know SPL FUCAs are the best in the market, but are they really worth the $800? I've been struggling with that for some time.

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move steering wheel to the other side and you will see track better :icon23:

Short answer, yes. Voodoo or SPL are pretty much the only ones that are worth anything on the track. For street driving, the SPC or Z1 or Kinetix will probably be fine, but don't expect them to be able to handle the stress on the track (plenty of failures of each have been documented).

Jar said it, I have all spl arms, with no issues, some of them were on the car for over 3 years of track usage . No issues except one of the locking bolts on fuca broke for over tightening, alignment shop mistake.

For the track. They are worth it. :tup: Every bushing in my Z has been replaced with SPL bearing, or parts. I'm a rolling catalog for them. The SPL arms will hold the alignment spec and not move.

OP, you have to learn how to hit the apexes. You could be a little smoother with your inputs. Don't jump on the brakes, easy on to them. Easy off of them. Too hard on, and too quick off will up-set the car.

With the SPL uca. Set your front alignment to -2 camber, +6 caster, toe just a hair in. The rear, -1.75 camber, and toe just a hair in. This will be your baseline. This will work on the street too. Later on. You can add more camber.

You also need a good LSD in the diff.

Look into getting sway bar for the front.

You have the base brakes or the Sport brakes?

When you feel the steering wheel get light, it's on the edge of grip.

It's the sport brakes.

Looking at the price of the SPL FUCA's, plus import taxes, plus installation and tuning costs it doesn't look like I will get them in before August. And the next 6 race days will be compacted into just 2 months and I still need to go semi-slicks and spare wheels.

So I'm hoping the HFC's, new brakes, retune, semi-slicks plus more seat time will allow me to drop 5+ seconds off my time over 6 track days.

I'm sold on the FUCA's though.

That is a lot of shifting you did and I don’t hear any tire noise. The tire wall is a little scary.

With semi slicks or slicks. You have to add caster to your alignment to get the most out of them. Stock fuca's, you can't do that. You need +6 and greater caster.

I just want to again say, seat time is important, when I started tracking I was doing 2:40s, then the mod bug hitted me, I started modding and modding, sway bars, boltons, coilovers, alignment, brakes, tune, tires. I reached 2:32 on PSS and then 2:27 on Re71r. My car lacked toe adjustment range -didn't buy midlink or toe bolts- changed the bushings and got LSD, my alignment got messed up with too much rear toe in. The car was tail happy. Did 2:26 on r888r.

Some people said that is the car limit, but I installed toe bolts and got Hankook V12 evo2 tires (a downgrade), I did 2:28 with proper alignment (-2.2 front camber 0 toe 6 caster, -1.6 rear stock toe in). Returned to stock suspension with nexen sur4g and increased the front camber to -2.5 and rear to -2, I did 2:24. Installed new coilovers and I did 2:21.

So just to sum up, I was lacking a lot in driving skills and I held my car performance, still holding it, going from 2:40s (where I should be doing low 2:30s), to 2:30s (I should do high 2:20s) to 2:27 (should do low 2:20s)

But also, with shorter tracks, getting lower lap times is harder.


What I am trying to say, if you aren't reaching the limit of you current tires, you will not reach the limit of semi-slicks, and semi slicks are more tricky to drive on the limit, slicks are even harder.

:iagree:

Semi slicks are not going to help you until you understand the car and yourself.

I've seen so many times a slower car with better lap times then a faster car.

As you gain experience. Change the things one at a time. Keep a notebook. Write everything down that you do. Even the weather for the day.

Mods are not a substitute for experience. YouTube has approximately 13,483,275 clips that back this statement up.

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Get an instructor or an experience driver to ride with you. I thought I was doing pretty good with my Z at the track. It's boosted and has every suspension upgrade and then I blew my engine. I got a Miata and now I am leaning how to become faster. I can drive the car at the limit without worrying if it is going to kill myself. I am learning car control and what momentum is all about. Miss a shift or an apex and you can forget about your lap time. I can't stress enough how important it is to get instruction. Let your instructor drive your car and watch everything her she does. Every time I have an instructor ride with me I get faster!

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This was my fastest recorded lap. I did another lap which I think was a bit faster, and with some screeching in the corners, but the clock stuffed up so I never got a time for that one.

These tires at 30 PSI cold will not slip unless you gun it mid-corner.

2 cars were smashed that day. One was a nice new WRX that had heaps of money thrown into it and rammed the tire wall at the last chicane. Total write-off. His previous lap was a 53.**

Very good idea. There is a guy there that was putting down sub 60's in his Z a year ago before he moved to a different car. I can stick a gopro on his head.

Well my current tires will have had quite a few heat cycles by August and then I will be asking them to do another 6 track days.

So my options are.

1. Buy a new set of street tires just before August

2. Keep the current set and run them with FUCA's (maybe?)

3. Buy semi-slicks and run them on another set of wheels so they stay fresh.

4. Focus on completing the 3 major performance bolt-ons and re-tune

What would you do?

You need seat time my friend. Plan and simple.

:iagree:

Slow down, seat time, instruction, get to know how the car and you get along as your driving skills improve...

Yes it is addictive, lots of us are addictive.. but also do it so it is fun

I would keep the tires until they are worn, and add fuca later on. Keep in mind, each mod will change how the car behave, so you would need to adjust yourself to it.

This^^. I’m still on oem suspension, and my times still keep dropping each track day.

Before you blow your money on suspension, spend the money on tires and driving. The car is pretty good stock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj__fbR_QVc&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=791wv6p61lU

OP is convinced that he needs mods to go faster. Rather than learning the basics.

Personal improvement is the new killer app.

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No I'm trying to use mods to compensate for my shitty driving. At least until my skills can catch up.

Do you start a teenager off in a Ferrari or a beater Civic?

Do you start a 7th grader off on Fermat's Last Theorem or algebra?

Do you build the walls of a house first, or the foundation?

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Mods won't compensate for chitting driving. They will get you in trouble faster.

:iagree:, totally.


You wouldn't be able to catch something like this

https://youtu.be/S6LG_2CXXK8?t=150

OP, don't listen to these fools. You be you. You'll learn eventually. Or not :ugh:

1. Thumbs up not inside the wheel.
2. Turn in later
3. Find a bigger track, that's more like autocross.

He's in Qatar. That track is ab the size of the country...

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OP is in Australia

:iagree:

Think the track is a go kart track.

Turn 1: you can enter with more speed, stay tighter and closer to the wall on the left.
Turn 2: You can late apex this and can probably negotiate the turn without braking, just a lift of the throttle will probably do
Turn 3: Track out to the curbing and widen the angle entering into 4
Turn 4: looks ok
Turn 5: Stay closer to the wall on the right, use the curbs on the left
Turn 6: Track out wider, look at where all the skid marks are....your car should be there
Turn 7: You can sacrifice this apex in exchange for a straighter line into turn 8, providing yourself with a mini straight away
Turn 8: Track out wider, again look at where the tire marks are
Turn 9: You are turning in way too early and staying too tight, this is killing your minimum speed through here and your line for the next turn
Turn 10: Track out to the wall on the left, brake late and turn in sharply towards the apex with the tires standing up on the right

The next few turns are a loop, so just review 6 through 9.

In general you're not using enough of the track and you're missing some apexes while hitting others that arent as important.

Also this course is weird since you drive a section of it twice and it's difficult to know where the finish line is. Is it the tire barrier chicane at the end?


Just my $.02, hope that helps