First track day shakedown

Zauskycop

I wouldn't say you can drive the hell out of it...it is certainly less "tossable". But it does have an incredible amount of lateral grip that you can used to your advantage. It will take you time to work your way up to trusting it, but even on the STOCK tires I am on still (ugh) it is pretty amazing.

Get into the turns..ease into throttle then if you feel a bit of a push, try to tweak the throttle input (I mean MORE throttle) until you feel a very nice rotation from the rear. I have yet to snap spin mine (prefer not to actually) but that also means I haven't found the limit.

I weak points of this car are:

A. Oil temperature, which can be solved with an oil cooler. And

B. Brakes. Though they are incredible stopping, BUT they heat up. Fast. Very Fast. For light tracking you are okay. Want to run 25 minute sessions, start thinking about ducting for the brakes.

I have the Stillen kit, which undoubtably helps, but I boiled mine with fresh Motul, at Blackhawk Farms a month ago. Two disclaimers: I was running VERY hard on the brakes...wanted to really test them and after 9 or 10 laps of really pushing...I felt them going and backed out. Secondly, BHF raceway is known as the hardest track on brakes in the USA...if there is a harder one, we haven't found it.

Tracy Ramsey

Drew M

The brake and oil temps can be remedied with upgrades. You say there is a lot of lateral grip, but what about putting the power down coming out of a turn? I've heard mixed reviews about the LSD. Does one need to put in an aftermarket diff? Sounds like it could use a new suspension, too.

Shiru

Drew, my Z is a replacement for a Miata and I raced SM for a brief moment in time.

The Z will be a great track car but its not quite there yet. I'm trying to take baby steps with it to get the balance right but due to work, I haven't gotten as many track days as I would like to test it out. Next one is Grattan mid Sept.

Since my last post I installed a 25row Z1 oil cooler kit. Amazing difference in temps so I think that problem is solved. I was very concerned running at 260 degrees before.

The brakes will still need some attention as I want more cooling. I've got some ideas that'll be mocked up in the next coming weeks. I'll post pics as I get it worked out.

As for handling, the Z is good but not Miata great. The power is there to rotate the tail however there is a definite understeer issue that needs to be worked out. Unlike an SM you can't mash the throttle...a little more dexterity will be needed. I'm going to start with an alignment to get as much camber as stock parts will allow and possibly wider fronts since mechanical grip is always my first step. If that doesn't correct it well enough then I think the adj control arms for more camber.

From the feel of it I don't think heavier sways in the front will help with the Nismo package. Its already got heavy bars and not a lot of roll.

Shamu

I run stock PS cooler with good fluid and have never had issue on track with fluid boiling?

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Grant

Shamu

Youre going to find the car increasingly frustrating as you start to do the things you think are easy for track work. Understeer is just related to lack of negative camber up front and perhaps toe settings. Also need plenty of tire up front too (nothing less than 285 in my opinion). SPL's adjustable upper arms are decent and allow caster adjustment as well.

If you dont make major changes in springs you will need a big front bar. It helps keep rear end planted annd does help with rollover. Overall just reduces need for so much neg camber. Hocthkis is decent cheap adjustable bar.

Oil temps. be careful your running upper end right now. Id go for biggest cooler you can mount. Also be waware if you go with sticky tires the cars have oil starve issue as well. ...speaking of starve get one of Phunks suel starve kits or you will be doomed to running full tank of gas forever.

Brakes. Be very very cautious. If you are serious track guy and like braking deep the OEM abs system will bite you with Ice mode eventually. First time it happened to me I almost $hit my pants. Had to throw car sideways into turn to slow myself down. Important to now the 370Z is heavily rear brake biased in stock form. You should keep that in mind when making pad choices.

These cars handle far better than any SM I have seen on track. I pass them in turns all the time in the Z. I

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Grant

GSS138

Off camber downhill turns. Car does not like it. with its weight and rear camber issues on OEM suspension. I Got brave once chasing a Lotus down a hill. 420 degrees later...

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Current Mods: Vorpal Weapon +5.

djtodd

RA turn 11/12...pucker up

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Rangerz

I boiled the stock fluid and jumped straight to the z1 PS cooler with good reline D6 fluid, so I never tried the good fluid/stock cooler combo

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Stillen Gen III/ NST/ Fast Intentions Non-Res HFC & 12" Resonated CF TDX/ Setreb series 9 OC/ SPL upper control arms/ Whiteline front & rear swaybars/ Uprev tuned by Seb@specialtyZ/ 319HP 262TQ/ Z1 PS Cooler/ Z1 SS Premium break lines/ CJM Road Race pump/Carbotech F:XP10 R:XP8 Nismo OC DIY

Shiru

Definitely something I'll need to look into. I hadn't heard of oil starving on these cars as an issue. For this summer I'm sticking with OEM tires but I'll look for better options over the winter while its in storage.

I had "ice mode" happen to me on the street and ya, I nearly messed myself. For the brakes I'm running upgraded pads plus I'm looking at ventilation options for improved cooling. The ABS is a whole different story and as this is still a street driven car, I'll just deal with it.

Well the Z is definitely faster but for tossibility into a corner the properly setup Miata is hard to beat.

Drew M

I've not driven a 370 on the track but I find this extremely difficult to believe.

Rangerz

Good tires and a little - camber up front and you can out corner most cars out there. Im talking HPDE 3 and 4 level cars ... the TT boys have a bit more invested in performance parts but, the Z will hold its own and then some

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Stillen Gen III/ NST/ Fast Intentions Non-Res HFC & 12" Resonated CF TDX/ Setreb series 9 OC/ SPL upper control arms/ Whiteline front & rear swaybars/ Uprev tuned by Seb@specialtyZ/ 319HP 262TQ/ Z1 PS Cooler/ Z1 SS Premium break lines/ CJM Road Race pump/Carbotech F:XP10 R:XP8 Nismo OC DIY

clintfocus

side topic, dont know how you guys are boiling PS fluid

Rangerz

Mine only boiled on a certain track(east) its a bit more technical than the other configurations. That was on the stock fluid though. The Spec Z's were boiling as well....a few of them anyway. In hindsight I never even thought about just switching to redlin D6 and jumped straight to the cooler and redline.

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Stillen Gen III/ NST/ Fast Intentions Non-Res HFC & 12" Resonated CF TDX/ Setreb series 9 OC/ SPL upper control arms/ Whiteline front & rear swaybars/ Uprev tuned by Seb@specialtyZ/ 319HP 262TQ/ Z1 PS Cooler/ Z1 SS Premium break lines/ CJM Road Race pump/Carbotech F:XP10 R:XP8 Nismo OC DIY

Rusty

I've never boiled the PS fluid. But I have the Z1 PS cooler. I installed that when I installed my oil cooler. I figured I would do both at the same time. Also I keep my PS fluid level low, so when it gets hot and expands. It does come out of the cap and make a mess. Think this is what is happening with some people. Their have too much fluid in the resv. and it overflowing when it gets hot.

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浪人 - 殺し屋
"The Difficult Anytime, The Impossible By Appointment Only"
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clintfocus

i ran the original fluid from 0 miles till a month ago, i currently have 70k miles O_O lol, never had a issue. but i dont recommend that HAHAH