Finally! Thoughts on first track weekend

djohnson1967

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).