Broke in the car at the autox, initial thoughts

cossie1600

I had 996 miles on the car this morning, I figured it was time to break in the car properly by taking the car to a local autox. As much as I wanted to do it at the track, I have to wait three more months while I load up on parts like race pads/full slicks/new rims/oil cooler.

Anyway today was the second time I actually redline 1st gear in this vehicle. It's amazing how much top end this car has compare to the original 350z. The new RE-11 (265/285) I had gave me trouble at first as I had trouble getting the air pressure right. After playing around for three runs, I was able to get the car to the way I want and therefore was able to lay a few solid runs together to finish the day. Here are the couple interesting things I noticed.

#1 The brakes stopped the car very well. I never hit ice mode on course, but I did hit ice mode as I came to a complete stop at the finish. I do feel a set of Carbotechs will take the brakes to another level, I can't wait for them

#2 I don't know if it is me, but the car seems to have a slight lag between when you hit the gas vs when the car actually goes. I don't know if it is the drive by wire (The 08 or 09 STI is notorious for that) or if the car just has less torque than the 350 down low. That was very apparent to me.

#3 The 285 RE-11s were sticky, it was very hard to slide it without purposely trying Still, $1197 is not a good price to pay on a brand new car.

#4 As wide as this car is, it never "felt" big on course like the Corvette. Of course it might be because the Corvette goes down the straight a lot faster, so less time for any reaction.

I left the lot with about 1001 miles. I took my Prius in to finish the day, it finished 3.8 seconds slower than the 370. Not bad on low drag fuel efficient tires Overall I am happy with the result as I finished ahead of everyone that I should, I look forward to a full season in this thing at the track and autox.