Agreed! For average driver Koni's are going to be as much as you need. It's not until youre trying to extract every last bit of potential that a high quality coilover will make sense. Sticking with stock mounts and springs have some real benefits for street cars too. Coilovers can get old quick if 370z is your only car.

it was my first time ever to go to an autocross today!!! had a blast. going to buy a helmet now to attend more... I uploaded a video too. this is the one i actually didn't eat up all the cones lol

Grissom AFB Autocross 04/15 - YouTube

Good job!


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Nice....I noticed there are no pointer cones, that's a first for me.

Yah... I got disqualified 4 times in a row cuz I had no idea there was an extra corner lol

It was a wounded Warrior charity event hosted by Purdue PAPA. $25 donation unlimited runs lol

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Mike.

Funny you say that. I just installed Koni Yellows this weekend (on stock springs). What settings do you suggest I run?

Don't know. I never used them with street tires...

I might give the Koni yellows a try. I really like how the Z feels with the eibach front sways. I don't want to change too much though because I still fell the nut behind the wheel needs some more tightening.

Here's one of videos from this weekend. I was pushing the car hard and didn't keep up at the end. I won 1st in CS but had I not spun this would had been my best run.



Notsofasthands.mov - YouTube

Try mounting the camera more forward so you can see out the windshield better. Seeing the driver inputs is nice but less important than lines and car placement in my opinion.

Yes but if he had put the camera above the car, you wouldnt be able to see how horrible the hand placements were. Don't do the trucker steering thing, it's not an easy way to correct a car that is sideways....

Meh, some people shuffle steer, some people hand-over-hand, some people never move their hands (me). I've seen equally fast drivers do any number of different things with their hands all get the job done.

If you can do it well, more power to you. I just dont think that is the norm. Charles Barkley was one of the greatest pf of all time, do you tell all 6 foot 5 people to play power forward?

I think whatever you make work well is good. I've had many an auto-x instructor (SCCA National Champion folks) try to push me towards shuffle steering, but I don't like it and it doesn't suit me. I prefer the hands locked at 9 and 3 and crossing arms if need to since it is rare to need more than 180 degrees of steering input in a competition level course. Tight parking lot auto-x might necessitate a different technique altogether but I haven't really done those.

In the video above the steering input does need some work since the hands were banging into each other and causing errors. I would agree on moving the camera more forward, couldn't really see anything out the windshield since it was so washed out (try spot meter mode).

Yeah the video was a washed out. I also smeared sunscreen on the camera housing before I turned it on. I tried to get it off but made it slightly worse.

I've always felt that my hands were making me slower. Just like any other driver I'm constantly seeking improvements, which is why I posted my worst run. I'm not bragging or anything but you can check out the results here: Final Raw Time Results, #2 - South Carolina Autocross Championship - Myrtle Beach - Sat 04-28-2012

I honestly couldn't see anything from the video except I saw your hands everywhere. If you can get it to work, that is great. Still, it seems like a bad habit that might bite you in the a$$ hard.

Scott Hurley, the name sounds familiar. I believe I met him at the national a few years back.

Too much steering....too ambitious with the throttle IMO. Of course, not being able to see what you were doing in relation to the course makes it difficult to say.

Hey autox guys.

I've been racing with the SCCA for about 5 years now, and this will be my first year with the 370. I have a question about the traction control.

In my E36 M3, the traction control shut the throttle partially and applied brakes to the rear, so it was extremely intrusive. Plus it had a clutch-type LSD in the back. Now with the base model Z, it's got an open diff, but I haven't had a chance to test out the traction control.

Do any of the base model guys normally run with it turned off, or do you leave it on?

It is extremely intrusive, I don't see how you could possibly run auto-x with it turned off even in a base. It will kill the throttle and takes a long time to recover (restore throttle).

Alrighty, then it'll go off and stay off. Thanks for the advice!

I drove an IS300 once with the traction control off and it was utterly impossible to keep the rear in place, so now I never know.

The LSD is going to be the first mod, but I want to learn to drive the car stock first.

Right foot is the best traction control. Well, unless you have fancy racing computers

Hmm, I might be able to pull off that ATTESA-ETS swap before the first event next weekend...

Also I went through this thread earlier, and I'm getting conflicting info on a square tire setup. I was running 245s at all corners with the M3, which had an excellent neutral feel, but that car also had a 50:50 weight balance. The Z is front heavy, but has a shorter wheelbase and a much wider rear track. (I know from the factory cars are setup to understeer for safety reasons, but that's no fun... )

Any idea what any pro-solo nationals winners prefer on their 370s as far as square or stggered - and no, I'm not going R comps or Hoosiers.

Its all personal preference. Without r comps, there is no chance of winning at really any class short of the pax classes. I personally like the square setup, but I cam see why people dont want it. As much as I love my new setup, the difference between what I had and now are so small that it is barely noticeable in terms of time, yet car just feels right. I also am getting much better tire wear too

Right, I'm not trying to win any championships, just enjoy the car and improve my driving skill.

I can always just adjust my line to where the car has the most grip.

Do you just go with like a 255 or 265 or something all around? Nothing too outrageous? I mean the car has power but it's not an SRT-10.

265 is fine on the base, bigger if you have wider wheels

Btw, a must read on autox. Lots of things seem crazy, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it

uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Autocross

Used my hands a little better this time and the camera is directed at the course! This was my fastest run, resulting in a 43.480, no cones, 1st in CS, 9th in PAX, RAW placing wasn't listed with the results.

GOPR0337.MP4 - YouTube

I ran this past weekend, with Traction control off, but I have the performance package, and all stock car. I guess next time I need to run with it on and see what happens.

Running with VDC on is going to severely limit how fast you can go on a course. There will be times when you're probably standing on the gas with no acceleration.

Nice course and nice run, I am jealous of the speed and space

So I am researching the staggered vs square setup on the Z and I wanted everyones thoughts. Please try to keep out personal preference and attempt to more describe why you would think one has a benefit over the other when it pertains to the Z.

I have my own thoughts but I dont have any seat time with the Z yet...only my previous car.

I am not sure what you are going to get other than personal preference given autox changes so much. Also everything's been covered at one point or another.

The Z has most of the weight over the front axle, it doesn't have that much power, it needs more front grip.

This.

Exactly what I was thinking. Makes you wonder why Nissan used a staggered setup...

Probably just for looks. How would an auto-x setup differ from a road course? I would assume you need more suspension travel in a roadcourse.

For safety, I'd think. Most cars, even sports cars, are setup from the factory to err on the side of safety, which means understeer. :(

First event of the year coming up Sunday.

This will determine if I hate life without that LSD or if I can deal with a lack thereof until the end of summer! :D

Yup

Anyone near new England: SCCA is having a novice day June 3rd or something. They will go over how to tackle certain cone elements.



edit: changed to June 3

First Solo event ever. I was running in ASP and won the class but only because I was the only ASP car. (Winning is winning I guess)











Any critiques are welcome.