Nissan 370Z Forum - 370Z at the 24 hours of Nurburgring

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miguez

05-25-2009 08:22 AM

370Z at the 24 hours of Nurburgring

Seems like RJN Motorsports ran a 370Z at this race, although they didn't do so well, finishing 113th, only completing 89 laps. The winner was, surprise surprise, a Porsche 997 GT3, completing 155 laps. I tried to get more details on this car's progress through the race, but the official website, although having an "English" version of sorts, is hard to decipher, as most of the writing stays in German after the switch to English :).

Falken's 350Z finished 11th overall!

CrownR426

05-25-2009 02:34 PM

sadness...

Diversion

05-25-2009 02:59 PM

Any reasons stated why they couldn't finish the race with the 370?

6MT	05-25-2009 05:09 PM

Probably over-heated the oil.:shakes head:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diversion (Post 78050)

Any reasons stated why they couldn't finish the race with the 370?

miguez

05-25-2009 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diversion (Post 78050)

Any reasons stated why they couldn't finish the race with the 370?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6MT (Post 78084)

Probably over-heated the oil.:shakes head:

LOL!

Well, they did finish the race, they raced for just over 24 hours, which means they didn't give up. They probably spent some time in the garage, though, fixing something, and that's what I am trying to find out. It is not uncommon in long endurance races like this to spend some hours in the garage fixing breakages that you wouldn't even think about fixing in shorter races, so perhaps they had some major damage, fixed it, and kept on going.

I'll update if I find out.

GreenJalapeno

05-25-2009 05:38 PM

thats sad to hear ^ D:

but im with 6mt..oil probably overheated

Phimosis

05-25-2009 05:42 PM

That would be scary and frustrating having such high speed differentials between the 370z and the other cars. They should have a special track day for 370z's called "24 Hours of Limp Mode", where everyone is limited to 3,500 rpm.

On a brighter note, the best finish by a Non-German car in the 24 hours was a Nissan 350z that placed 11th over all with 144 laps.

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:07 PM

Im looking for more info

http://www.rjnmotorsport.com/images/...sg103883lr.jpg

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:09 PM

http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec.../VLN_035_0.jpg
http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec.../VLN_018_0.jpg

http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec...186%5B1%5D.jpg

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:11 PM

http://www.rjnmotorsport.com/images/stories/370z.jpg

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:17 PM

miguez

05-25-2009 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ (Post 78133)

http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec...186%5B1%5D.jpg

That looks bad-a$$.

miguez

05-25-2009 06:20 PM

Holy sequential shifter, Batman!!!

Awesome pics, RCZ, thanks. From their website?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ (Post 78147)

http://www.autozeitung.de/sites/defa.../VLN_081_0.jpg

miguez

05-25-2009 06:21 PM

Can anyone tell what has been done to this VQ? I can see an interesting container with a couple of AN fittings towards the front, but I am not sure what that is.

I also see the non-stock intake tubes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ (Post 78133)

http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec.../VLN_035_0.jpg

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:23 PM

RCZ	05-25-2009 06:26 PM

Seems to me like they used a standalone ECU since the MAF sensors are gone.

That metal container in the middle seems like a coolant reservoir...

Adding to pics above...

Phimosis

05-25-2009 06:31 PM

update: The 350z that placed 11th was Falken motorsport, running in the sp7 class wich is limited to 4.0 liters N/A.

The 370z was from Robert J Neville motorsports and was running in the sp6 class, which is limited to 3.5 liters N/A. From what I read, it was running a vq35 motor. Interesting....

miguez

05-25-2009 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phimosis (Post 78165)

update: The 350z that placed 11th was Falken motorsport

Hey Phimosis (awesome name, lol), did you see that in my first post?

AK370Z

05-26-2009 01:31 AM

Great find Miguez and RCZ for the pics. :tup: Car looks great. Here's the press release from Nissan Motorsports

http://www.nissan-motorsports.com/EN...S/090523_1.jpg

Quote:

May 22, Nurburgring, (Germany)

2009 marks the 3rd year that NISSAN Germany has taken part in the Nürburgring 24-hour race. A team formed in co-operation with the German car magazine "Autozeitung" will start the race on the 23rd of May in the new "Fairlady Z", known as the "Nissan 370Z" in the west. The new model will be supplied to dealers starting in July. The bright yellow example racing here is being campaigned by British motor racing company "RJN Motorsport", the squad having developed the car in a mere 100 days.

he yellow SP6 class "Fairlady Z" puts out 385 HP from its 3.5-litre V6 engine. It is also equipped with BBS wheels, Bilstein suspension, Dunlop tyres, Hella headlights and Recaro seats just like last yearfs Nissan 350Z.

Before starting its debut race, the Fairlady Z will have already run at the track twice. Autozeitung editor Holger Eckhardt (Germany), racing driver Alex Buncombe (Britain) and Matthias Malmedie (Germany), anchorman from the car programme on the German TV channel RTL II called "Grip" will be team-mates of former DTM champion Kurt Thiim for the 2009 race.

The first race for the new "Fairlady Z" or "Nissan 370Z" is the Nürburgring 24-hour race which this year marks its 37th running. It is a traditional event on a very hilly forest track around 25km long and is known as a grinding 24-hour endurance race. The race accepts approximately 180 entries mostly consisting of Europe's veteran teams and production-based touring cars.

NISSAN MOTORSPORTS

Source: NISSAN MOTORSPORTS | 2009 Press Release

AK370Z

05-26-2009 01:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6MT (Post 78084)

Probably over-heated the oil.:shakes head:

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenJalapeno (Post 78103)

thats sad to hear ^ D:

but im with 6mt..oil probably overheated

For a car that'll compete in 24 hours of race, do you guys really think it won't have oil cooler? If I were to guess, this Z is probably equipped with heavy duty oil, transmission, power steering, diff coolers etc.

Please read here...

Quote:

We're following the 24 hour race at the famous Nurburgring track this weekend and came across this pic of a Nissan 370Z competing in the race.

It'd be interesting to know how it's setup... from the pic below we can see a massive front oil cooler, cold air intake, and deep front airdam with brake ducts. And the cuts made in the front fascia to feed cooling air to the intakes and radiator. Stay tuned for more details, if we can find them. We're very interested in what it takes to make a 370Z work on the track - we've talked before about coolers and the like and this car is a rolling example of what works - or doesn't. We'll see in 24 hours what shape they're in.
http://www.drivingenthusiast.net/sec...800_600_90.jpg

Source: DrivingEnthusiast.net Blog

miguez

05-26-2009 05:49 AM

Excellent finds, AK!

Another interesting detail. Look at the rubber seal underneath the front part of the hood. I don't think the US spec has that, correct?

Also, it sounds like they're using the VQ35 from the Nissan press release. I wonder if they did that just because they already had one race-prepped.

sensi09

05-26-2009 09:58 AM

Yes the VQ35 is interesting. Makes you wonder why they didn't just use a sorted 350Z chassis to begin with if they're limited in engine size.

ChrisSlicks

05-26-2009 10:23 AM

Thanks for the pics and info, very interesting.

miguez

05-26-2009 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sensi09 (Post 78637)

Yes the VQ35 is interesting. Makes you wonder why they didn't just use a sorted 350Z chassis to begin with if they're limited in engine size.

From the pics and press release it sounds like they had help from Nissan Motorsports, so it is possible Nissan wanted the 370Z chassis out there, and the best way in this case (due to who knows, VQ35 being ready, etc.) was to slap the VQ35 on.

AK370Z

06-01-2009 10:16 PM

Check the videos

http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-p...0z-inside.html

video 3 and 4 shows in depth 370Z driving, take off, crash areas etc

travisjb

06-02-2009 01:09 AM

Wow, just found this thread... A+++... and some rep points about to be spread around - even you AK ! :)

I'm totally craving details on how this car was setup... how much weight did they get off in different areas? what did they do to stiffen up the car? how did they manage the brakes and brake cooling? ...........

corner3garage

02-28-2010 07:23 PM

This car is pretty cool, I watched the grip tv on it. The car was doing great, 2nd in class, until they got clipped at night and some other stuff had to get replaced

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