Finally! Thoughts on first track weekend
 

After nearly a year, I finally got the Z on the track for a weekend of fun. I should tell you I am not a super-experienced track driver, but I have averaged 6 track days or so a year over the last 5 years (all in my previous car, an 02 BMW M3). I own the 40th edition Z with the AE oil cooler and Stillen gen 3 air intake. Here are my thoughts:

Oil Temps: This was obviously my biggest concern. But, the weather was so cold this was not a problem at all. With the AE cooler, I topped out at only 220 degrees. But it was only 35-55 degrees all weekend with 40 mph winds and even a little rain on Saturday. Definitely NOT a typical Southern AZ weekend! My normal driving temps since installing the cooler are 170-200 depending on the outside temp and how I am driving. While it wasn't an issue this past weekend, even with the cooler I am concerned that when it is a more typical AZ day (100 degrees) oil temps will still be a problem.

Handling: I thought the Z did great! It was so smooth and fun around the track. I rode with an instructor on Sunday who said it had a lot of body roll, but compared to my M3, I thought it felt pretty tight. Sure, a sway bar would help. But for a stock configuration, I thought it was responsive and tight.

Tires: Stock tires with 15,000 miles on them going into the weekend. The Bridgestones did fine for street tires. I have been a Pilot Sport 2 guy, but the Potenzas held their own. Predictable break away characteristics. Plus, they did not disintergrate after two hard track days! That's a bonus. On my old car it was not unusual to kill brand new tires in two days.

Brakes: I was worried about these too, given some of the stories out there. But I was pleased with braking performance. I experimented with both VERY hard short stops and softer long stops and there was never even a hint of fade or complaining. Hardly any hot brake smell either, even when others around me were smoking theirs. I was doing 120 at the end of the main straight, so they got a work out. As with the tires, the stock pads and rotors seem to hold up to abuse without needing to be changed out immediately.

Synchro Rev Match: Love it! Not many shift points actually on this 2.75 miles circuit, but SRM was awesome. I thought I would turn it off and try it without, but I loved it too much to do that!

A couple of unexpected things:

Fuel Starvation: Once I got to a third of a tank of fuel, the car was undriveable! It would bog down and practically stall on any corner. I was really worried at first until I filled it back up and eliminated the problem. IMO, this is unacceptable in a "sports car". In the M3 I would only drive with 1/2 tank or less to save weight. With the Z, it better be full at all times!

Noises: The spare tire and Bose subwoofer banged around in the back so much I had to take them both out after my first session. I had opted to leave them in to keep weight in the back. Plus they are a small pain to remove. But I discovered that the hold down post doesn't tighten properly and allows both the tire and subwoofer to move around a lot.

Overall, I had a great weekend with the Z at an awesome facility (Inde Motorsports Ranch in Willcox, AZ).

Thanks for the write-up.
35-55 in AZ? It was 80-85 in Southern Indiana this weekend. Bizarre.

Don't worry tree, the cold weather is coming back your way! It WAS really bizarre to come out and see frost on my car in the morning! Arizona has had some wierd weather.

I went to Tucson this past weekend, leaving my 95+ degree Friday here in exchange for a rainy 40 degree Saturday. Go to the desert to get cold and wet? hmm.


Good writeup!

6 days a year is excellent, i can only do 4 or 5 at this point. good to hear you had fun. i love the srm too. i started the day with it off, i then found .5 sec by just turning it on as it helped settled car downshiftingin the heavy braking zone.

i think the 370 is slightly faster than the e46 m3 at the track, but for some reason those cars just feel really fast.

yeah, the fuel is a pain. with sticky tires and coilovers, I get fuel starvation at 3/4-7/8 of a tank.

thanks for info!! im super excited to go tracking this summer!

Pretty accurate assessment. I think something is wrong with your spare tire screw-down though. I've tracked many times without having to remove the subwoofer and spare and they don't move at all. Also, consider your next purchase to be a set of Carbotech brake pads and a brake bleeder. Swapping fluid and pads is 100% recommended as this will quickly become a limiting factor for you as you keep hitting the track.

wow!!!! what can be done to fix this ? :icon14:

put more gas in the car. bring 5 credit cards to each track day so you can fill up before each session, great for tracking fuel mileage

+1

Remember, your credit card company won’t recognize the track gas pumps and they will think someone stole your card. Try to use the same card on the same day and you will be SOL. And you can’t use cash (at least at Summit Point).

I learned the hard way…

I get two fillups per card

I get two fill ups too. Yay 3X points for gas ;)

This fuel starvation issue is ridiculous. When I'm low on gas I bog down under accell and have stalled several times under hard braking. Did I tell you guys that I ran completely out of gas on track last time I was out there? 4th gear on a straightaway and bam, dead. I thought the motor was gone because the gas gauge still showed 3-4 dots. I don't know if its more dangerous or embarrassing.

Did anyone get those baffles put in a working?

cheaper to just fill up every session, 5 gallon jug is now part of the packing list. gas is 4 dollars a gallon at my house, cant imagine the price at the track

Stupid question... but how do you determine if your filled up when you are using a gas can? It seems like the fuel gauge can be a bit inaccurate at times, and I'd think trying to get as close to full as possible would cause some overflows.