No doubt.

Yeah I can do a non-dyno video just driving around the streets or something. Test pipes are available too :).

Weighed the entire car today. Camera battery was dead so I didn't take any pictures though.

Car:
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring w/Sport Package (No NAV)
SPL Pro Rear Camber Arms +3 lbs. over stock.
Berk Technology High Flow Cats -10 lbs. over stock.
A little over 1/2 tank of gas. No driver.
The spare tire and tools were not removed.

3,326 lbs. total
Cross Weight = 49.9%
Left Side = 49.9%
Right Side = 50.1%
Front = 54.7%
Rear = 45.3%

heavier than i was expecting.. ^ although with the touring package i guess this is still pretty light. thanks for doing that DDM

Yeah a bit heavier than I thought too, but it is what it is. :) This weight is more real world though with 1/2 tank of gas, all the floor mats/spare tire/tools/etc. still in the car. I am doing track prep on Thursday and will re-scale it with all of that stuff removed.

Thought it was worth mentioning that the cool a$$ spare isn't in every car. My spare is a solid steel wheel.

Ahhh, probably only in the sport package to clear the calipers...

Looking forward to Thursday's results. Thanks DD.

Change of plans, track prep won't be done until tomorrow. I was originally supposed to go to San Diego and back tomorrow to pick up my time attack 350Z from Jim Wolf. I was going to run the 370Z on the track Saturday and the 350Z on the track Sunday for some datalogging on the Haltech ECU.

The forecast calls for rain and JWT isn't quite done with the 350Z yet so I am going to leave it down there. I will still track the 370Z rain or shine, but that means I have all day tomorrow for track prep and I am feeling lazy tonight :).

howd the track prep go?

Track weekend was a complete failure, sorry guys. It started raining last night and the forecast said it would be worse all through the weekend.

I decided to leave the spare/sub/tools in the back to help keep more weight over the rear wheels and aide in traction in the wet conditions on track. So sorry, I didn't corner scale the car with the spare/sub/tools removed.

I also didn't change the brake pads since I was worried that because of the conditions and the lower speeds of driving in the wet, I wouldn't be able to get the track pads up to their operating temperature. So I have no feedback on the Hawk HP Plus pads :(.

I also failed on the photos/video. We were the first group out on track in the morning and the track was really wet. I didn't set up the video camera because I knew I was going to be going out and going super so I can see where the puddles were on course and check out the conditions. After finding the trouble areas of the flooded track my intent was to start filming in the second session. Well the weather got worse and wasn't letting up so they canceled the event and sent everyone home before I got a chance to go out on track again.

So in closing, it was a day full of fail. I have no feedback on the car, no feedback on the brake pads, no video, and nothing cool to share. :thumbsdown:

I was :owned: by mother nature. Its a slim chance, but I will do my best to make it out to Streets of Willow for another (hopefully dry) track day on the 13th. Sorry guys.

That's a shame... Well, there's always next time. Thanks for the update. We're glad that you tried, but we're more glad that you didn't push it to unsafe boundaries.

Thanks for the update. Hopefully the weather lets up and you get to test the crap out of the car.

I was excited to do some wet weather driving because we rarely get to here in Vegas and driving in the wet is a great way to really improve your driving skills. It was just too much water and puddles this past weekend. I was instructing with the student group and they were the last ones to run before they shut the track down. I went out with a student in his car and it was nearly impossible to just make it around the track at that point. Some of the puddles...or lakes...stretched across the entire track and were pretty deep so you had to really slow down to not hydroplane off into the weeds.

Sounds exciting!

It really is too bad you couldn't go out on the track again. Hopefully it won't be raining next time. I think I'm going to sign up for a trackday thats coming up soon too and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Also Mike, about the battery. I was talking to someone yesterday that knows a good bit about cars and I told him about changing the battery out and putting it in the trunk. He said that that's not such a great idea because of the smaller battery/longer cables issue. If we switch the battery out, it has to remain at the front. If you want to move it to the back, then you need to get a strong battery or keep the stock one.

I understand the logic behind that, but from personal experience, it works just fine. I have the same Odyssey PC680 battery mounted in the trunk of my 350Z and it fires up just fine.

ok cool. Practice > Theory.

yep that theory is completely flawed unless you were to use like 4 or 6 gauge

stick to 0 gauge and you will most likely not even have a .1 voltage drop from the battery to the front

sound to me like his expertise isnt electronics :icon14:

Definitely not and neither is it mine. If there is one area that I don't know enough about, it is electricity and conductivity. I have never studied that field sadly.

I have relocated batteries and also have used the PC680. Eventually I got back to just replacing OEM bat w/PC680 for weight savings in place. Why? Relocating means heavy gauge wire ('0' - '2') to carry the heavy starter current without voltage drop. Aside from the inconvenience of installing the wire, the potential voltage drop of extra connections, and PITA of stuffing the battery somewhere where it was not designed to be, but the bigger issue is weight.

The heavy cable actually weighs a considerable amount per ft, the new mounting bracket weighs more. Add that up and the battery and you'll find actual total weight saving diminished significantly. Leaving the battery in its original gets you the most static weight lost. The only downside is there is not fore to aft weight change.

The PC680 works good, but tends to discharge quicker over time than stock, and I've found they need replacing about every 2 yrs as they lose charging capacity.

Good info, I think you should buy a Z. We could use another voice of experience.

What is the point of relocating the battery to the trunk?

for better weight distribution....

Yeah, if you're moving all the stuff out of the trunk, moving the battery to the trunk will off set 45Lbs from front to back (roughly a 90Lbs shift). That makes a BIG difference in traction and handling.

How heavy is the pc680 battery? Aren't those batters a lot lighter than stock?

15.4 lbs

FYI. I found out that odyssey does not recommend the 680 motorcycle battery for this car... i'm not saying it won't work, just that when my shop called them - they recommended instead using the 925. The 925 weighs 26 lbs. I will be relocating the battery to rear also, which is even more reason to go with a slightly higher amperage option vs the 680. Rgds, Travis

Awesome, thanks for the info travis.

with 0 gauge wire, i guarentee there will be no problems out of a pc680

Do you buy battery boxes, or some form of containment when locating to the back? I imagine you don't just throw the battery back there.

actually with the pc680 thats not needed.
same with any other high quality (i.e. expensive battery)

These batteries are either dry cell or gell cell. this makes them impervious to leaks and means so can mount them upside down if desired

cown, i'll trust that you're right... but for me, i'll go with the 925 - only a few pounds more and offsets the 4 pounds of 0-gauge cable you will use.
frost, here are some mounting options... scroll down this link
Odyssey Dry Cell battery PC925T PC 925T

ya id prolly end up going with the 925 also

i have an optima in my track car and that sucker is heavy
i have it mounted on its side right behind the passenger seat

before it was mounted
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...7/IMG_6817.jpg

Couple of thoughts re: PC680 or similar like Braille....These aren't the "recommended" battery for almost any car. It doesn't have enough cold cranking amps, it's amp-hr rating is too low, and it doesn't last long with parasitic loads such as when you leave your car just sitting there for long periods of time (a couple weeks will drain it) but it IS enough to get by, but just.

That said, it works great, starts the car, runs the car, weighs very little, and is easy to mount almost anywhere. I just don't use it in the winter, rather during track season, and in warm weather, it's just fine.

As far as mounting, you can buy aluminum brackets (enclosed box) made specifically for this battery that makes installation convenient. I would NOT want anything mounted anywhere in the passenger area just strapped down. You certainly don't want it becoming a projectile in case of accident. Even at 15lbs it would be a missile.

The whole point of this PC680 battery is to loose maximum weight, not just move similar to normal battery weight somewhere else. Losing vehicle weight is a battle of accrual. A lb here, ounces there, etc., and this is a major win...because 20lb is hard to come by in this game.

You absolutely need some kind of tie down to secure the battery. You can't just have it sliding around the back. They do make custom tie downs for the PC680 and most other similar batteries.

^i didnt mean no tie down, sorry lapsed my mind.
yes you will need a tie down, i just ment you dont need a box or any sort of containment

In road racing I think that losing weight, and moving weight are just as important as one another. Losing the maximum amount of weight is the ideal situation, but a lot of times, that doesn't work out in production based cars. Most of the weight you are going to be able to easily remove will be off the rear of the car. Eventually the weight difference front & rear will hurt handling more than the weight savings helps it. Moving weight to the places where you need it most while having as little effect on handling as possible can be more beneficial in some situations.

Thread Revival, what else are we getting rid of?

as i mentioned in the track thread, got rid of washer fluid reservoir...

and oh by the way, also removed all oil from the car ! :( don't recommend that for anyone else !

what are the trade-offs with removing the low speed bumper ? i've heard some say that it doesn't matter b/c it is only good for <10mph, others say don't touch it because it is integral to the crumple zone and front impact protection dynamics

BUT... It would be fine if the car is driven every other day?? I do not plan on having any fancy audio equipment either...just the stock stuff.

Absolutely, I leave mine in spring to fall during track days weather. The only time it will discharge is if you leave it a couple weeks because of the parasitic loads (ECU, etc). So I just put it on a trickle charge (One of those $15 battery minders) if I'm on vacation or the like.