The Official 370Z Autocross Thread

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

Why does having staggered tires suck? Is it just the ability to rotate the tires or is it a handling thing?

Looks like the AST solution Boardkat mentions won't fly as they are only developing a coilover, not something that will use stock springs so that"s out for stock class.

I guess we're just at the mercy of Koni at this point for any adjustable dampers. I wonder how different they are from the 350 dampers...

Handling, skinnier front tires causes more understeer (built in safety feature for the Z). Since we are already going wider in the rear, linear traction will be very good. But keeping a stagger makes the car prone to understeer, so the square setup, in my opinion from autoxing 2 different 350's, is the best route.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by Ruff

Handling, skinnier front tires causes more oversteer (built in safety feature for the Z). Since we are already going wider in the rear, linear traction will be very good. But keeping a stagger makes the car prone to understeer, so the square setup, in my opinion from autoxing 2 different 350's, is the best route.

i think you meant understeer
but yeah, i WANT to run 315's in the rear, but will probably just try and find some used 'vette rubber to test on. especially when i'll have a pesky co-driver constantly reminding me of my decision if we don't go square and can't tune out the understeer with shocks/FSB

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by boardkat

i think you meant understeer
but yeah, i WANT to run 315's in the rear, but will probably just try and find some used 'vette rubber to test on. especially when i'll have a pesky co-driver constantly reminding me of my decision if we don't go square and can't tune out the understeer with shocks/FSB

LOL FML...

anyway, with already going to a 295 rear I think we'll have ample linear grip. And lateral grip in the rear will be more then enough, its the front that needs the help. But I guess we'll figure it out next year

[boardkat]

texas 370Z autox guys, take note. straight from vorshlag, in a follow-up from a phone call i made earlier today:

"Thanks again for the interest. I talked to the founder of AST today (he's here from Holland for the week) and mentioned your (and others') desire for 370Z shocks. He and Brian of AST-USA agreed that these should be farily easy to make, since the 370Z shares some geometry with the 350Z, which they've already made.

I will post on SCCA Forums when we have found a local 370Z tester (we have our own vendor subforum there)."

get in touch with terry asap!! let's get these shocks fab'd up

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by boardkat

texas 370Z autox guys, take note. straight from vorshlag, in a follow-up from a phone call i made earlier today:

"Thanks again for the interest. I talked to the founder of AST today (he's here from Holland for the week) and mentioned your (and others') desire for 370Z shocks. He and Brian of AST-USA agreed that these should be farily easy to make, since the 370Z shares some geometry with the 350Z, which they've already made.

I will post on SCCA Forums when we have found a local 370Z tester (we have our own vendor subforum there)."

get in touch with terry asap!! let's get these shocks fab'd up

Yea I was thinking about getting into their test program but I'm kinda far away down in houston for that plus its still a big investment on my end. Hopefully someone else will step up though so they're a quality product out there in a year or so.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Yea I was thinking about getting into their test program but I'm kinda far away down in houston for that plus its still a big investment on my end. Hopefully someone else will step up though so they're a quality product out there in a year or so.

a year or so? i need somebody to step up before march, lol. i'm even considering taking delivery of my Z in dallas if nobody is willing!! c'mon, i drive 2.5 hours each way every second weekend to autox at my "local" event
but yeah, i can't imagine it'll be cheap like a koni yellow, even converted to DA, would be. it'll be worth it though

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by boardkat

a year or so? i need somebody to step up before march, lol. i'm even considering taking delivery of my Z in dallas if nobody is willing!! c'mon, i drive 2.5 hours each way every second weekend to autox at my "local" event
but yeah, i can't imagine it'll be cheap like a koni yellow, even converted to DA, would be. it'll be worth it though

Yea its bout 4 hours each way from houston to dallas, texas is big. If I was in dallas and had the money to burn I would be all over it though. The Z needs alot more damping to help through the quick transitions.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Yea its bout 4 hours each way from houston to dallas, texas is big. If I was in dallas and had the money to burn I would be all over it though. The Z needs alot more damping to help through the quick transitions.

i live in oregon
maybe i take my parking lot racing too seriously, eh?
beers are on me all week in lincoln next year if you take the plunge!!

[pgrmstr]

Good news on the AST front....and pricing will be a concern considering everything that is needed with wheels and COSTLY hoosiers, but I'm just hoping someone has a SA or DA available early next year at the latest. It's not long from when the local season starts to when the first Tour or Pro event is in the Northeast so we don't have a lot of development time, maybe 4 to 6 events of you want to run every weekend and travel to neighboring regions. It sure will help to have everything in place for the 1st of April so we can concentrate on setting the car up.

Keep the pressure on....anyone have contact in for Lee so I can put in a poke or two as well

Its good we have some good dialogue going from the autox folks, thanks!

[pgrmstr]

So earlier in the week, I get an email from Vorshlag stating there was no damper in development, just coilovers....

Well, wouldn't you know, I get a follow up response today stating...

"over the past few days, we have gotten interest from people in using our shocks for a B Stock 370z. We are looking more seriously into this and we'll get back to you"

hmmmm, I wonder who those interested people were

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

Good news on the AST front....and pricing will be a concern considering everything that is needed with wheels and COSTLY hoosiers, but I'm just hoping someone has a SA or DA available early next year at the latest. It's not long from when the local season starts to when the first Tour or Pro event is in the Northeast so we don't have a lot of development time, maybe 4 to 6 events of you want to run every weekend and travel to neighboring regions. It sure will help to have everything in place for the 1st of April so we can concentrate on setting the car up.

Keep the pressure on....anyone have contact in for Lee so I can put in a poke or two as well

Its good we have some good dialogue going from the autox folks, thanks!

yeah, i've already started adding everything up.. 3-5k for shocks, 2k for two sets of wheels, 1.5k for drys, 1k for wets, 1.5k for exhaust, .35k for FSB... and all the miscellaneous stuff like fluids/pads/alignment/dyno/etc... at least i'll have a co-driver to split tires with.. yeah
BUT IT'S GOING TO BE FUN!!!!

i wish we had 4-6 decent events to get ready. it'll be cold and wet for our first 2-3, then we're off to san diego/el toro for the tour/pro. i doubt we'll be the ones to unseat the RX-8's there, lol. but at least it'll be warm, and the people there are always a blast to hang out with!

i'll PM you lee's email addy, don't want the spambots to pick it up on here! i haven't heard back yet, but i only sent him something yesterday. a follow-up call will be in order next week if i still haven't heard back.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

So earlier in the week, I get an email from Vorshlag stating there was no damper in development, just coilovers....

Well, wouldn't you know, I get a follow up response today stating...

"over the past few days, we have gotten interest from people in using our shocks for a B Stock 370z. We are looking more seriously into this and we'll get back to you"

hmmmm, I wonder who those interested people were

that's why it's good to be pounding pavement NOW. the last thing i want is a brand new car, ready to go, sitting on stock shocks for a season! 2010 or bust!!
.. oh, and sometimes a phone call goes a long way, too. terry got a good sense of where i'm coming from and what i want to accomplish, and i got a good sense of why he was reluctant to put something together for the stock crowd (not just us). felt we met in the middle by the time we were finished, and it seems as though i was right on the mark. still keeping my fingers crossed!!

[pgrmstr]

yeah, i've already started adding everything up.. 3-5k for shocks, 2k for two sets of wheels, 1.5k for drys, 1k for wets, 1.5k for exhaust, .35k for FSB... and all the miscellaneous stuff like fluids/pads/alignment/dyno/etc... at least i'll have a co-driver to split tires with.. yeah
BUT IT'S GOING TO BE FUN!!!!

The initial year always hurts...at least I don't have to justify it to a nagging wife anymore

Rather not get into the 3-5k for shocks though....that's full coilover money. I'm also looking at moving into a tow vehicle and trailer as well so every bit of savings here and there will help. My co-driver doesn't come with any funds however, but I'll have an official tire changer and gofer....my 16y/o son. Been running a FJA kart last couple years, will have license in Jan so need to bring him up to speed asap on driving a big rig. He's got course walks, picking lines, seeing the course,etc down though!

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

The initial year always hurts...at least I don't have to justify it to a nagging wife anymore

Rather not get into the 3-5k for shocks though....that's full coilover money. I'm also looking at moving into a tow vehicle and trailer as well so every bit of savings here and there will help. My co-driver doesn't come with any funds however, but I'll have an official tire changer and gofer....my 16y/o son. Been running a FJA kart last couple years, will have license in Jan so need to bring him up to speed asap on driving a big rig. He's got course walks, picking lines, seeing the course,etc down though!

yup. check your PM for lee's addy. i'm sure the yellows will work best for your situation. doubt you'll be losing too much in terms of competitiveness, if you convert 'em to DA. i just really wanna see how the "other half lives" for once
on another note, are any of you guys planning on hitting up your local shops to see if anybody can fab up a hitch? the 350 guys did it a few years ago, looked like this:



if we could get something like that fab'd up, hidden and with no bumper cutting, i think we'd be in business!

[pgrmstr]

This looks like the ticket! I was gonna see about getting a hitch fab'd up for it as I have the tire trailer and that would really be the easy way out. I was looking at photos on here of one of the guys cars that were stripped and thought it wouldn"t be tough to use that main beam on the rear...although I was thinking about routing the receiver out where the rear fog is....

But certainly is an easier and cheaper solution than the towing route so I plan to check into it