2011 Chevy 2500 HD Duramax is the ultimate tow machine, I saw that thing accelerate up a steep hill at 80mph while towing a 10,000lb car and trailer. Incredible torque.

I only live 3.5 miles from work and if the weather is good I use pedal power.

If you can get anything maybe they can lease you a Lexus LFA? :icon17:

:tup:
If I go the tow vehicle route, I am favoring a GM product with Duramax / Allison

I can lease whatever, but lease only covers a fixed $ amount, so I'd end up paying a big chuck of that LFA... even if I could afford it, it is not a car I'd want to stretch my budget for... like the high revs and cool display in console, performance is mediocre for a modern supercar, but looks don't suit me

wow excellent thread and quite a digest for a night and a morning

a couple of ideas

1st idea reduce cd: flat bottom and dimple it like a golf ball used by VAG in most of their cars the dimple effect helps with air speed under the car

2nd idea: thermal wrap everything you won't believe the change it makes we did in our race car (a honda civic 1998) you reduce engine temps by A LOT and you increase exhaust velocity we used thermal tape in header and exhaust and intake to isolate it from heat and cold side radiator hoses to isolate them and everything we could keep cold to lower temps.

those are my 2 cents

love the rims, love all the effort you have put into this and I would love a pic of the truck hauling that baby if you have one.

sorry for my english not my first language

Ideas...

1. 911 Carerra GTS Cabriolet
2. BMW M3 convertible
3. Z06... buy it at end of the lease and turn into 2nd track car?
4. Audi RS5... not available in U.S. till Sep?
5. Jag XKR convertible in Polaris White with 'Black Pack'

The Z06 would be the only one that I would consider turning into a track car - gives me the option to do that eventually if I really like the car... the others all have a back seat for my toddler... anyone have a strong opinion?

thanks for reading and commenting - your english is fine! headers are already wrapped... have started adding more thermal barriers in other places too for safety, but will put some more thought into what else can be done to optimize the engine... I've noticed that at the track I always run my fastest time during my second lap and times fall off by a tenth or so each subsequent lap... there is definitely a heat soak issue with the drivetrain or possibly the tires

the aero underneath the car is pretty bad, so I will be looking at ways to create a flatter profile... the dimpled surface under the car makes sense, I'll do some more research there

Regarding your second car forget the RS5 its a bad joke for the money you get a M3 with mods and eat it alive, a 2011 S4 is a blast 3.0 supercharged seats 4 adults with the torque vectoring rear differential a joy to drive with APR tune that thing is doing low 12 seconds 1/4 mile with a weight of 3800 lbs without driver, extremely nice interior and creature comforts.

if you manage a good under aero you will have nice gains if not ask the lotus guys in the 70s xD

M3 Vert :)

The 1 M is pretty amazing and relatively cheap. My favorite car at the NAIAS after the Porsches. :)

and I forgot to say I love audis

You don't modify a work funded lease car. I was just saying too many people have a BMW, so go Audi.

I ruled out the Jag after a visit to the dealer this afternoon... pretty car but seems like something old ladies would drive... the sales people had no idea how to answer my technical questions

Went to Porsche dealer today too and they convinced me to think about replacing the F250 with a 08-10 certified Cayenne Turbo... I drove one today and man it was a blast! That might be the best approach, if my deal will let me lease a used vehicle

Agree, wouldn't get an S5 and modify it

So my new list is:

tow vehicles / family car
1. Cayanne turbo (1-3 yrs old)
2. new GM 2500 diesel

fun car
1. m3 vert (0-2 yrs old)
2. z06 (0-1 yrs old)
3. 997 Turbo (2+ yrs old)
4. new 997 GTS

Well owning a 370z Nismo, I'm basically the proud owner of a poor mans 'something that looks similar to a 997 GT3', knowing I can't afford a Porsche Turbo right now, but I'd have a 997 turbo if I could, so I of course suggest that option.

1 series Bimmers always gave me the feeling of 'I couldn't afford a 3 series' and they looked too stubby or 'smashed' short. Not a fan. Not sure why BMW is bringing their more affordable cars to America, it will make the lose their 'elite' luxury feel they have here. Something they've lost in their domestic market, where Fords are considered nicer in some stand points.

I was just making a point about the potential of the car, the S4 is a very nice car it has the ability to go damn fast and it can be a family car and if you buy it after the lease you can have a car with tuning potential just for the sake of making it go faster, and they are not that expensive.

gt-r? =] if ur also considering 996, might i add in aston martins? a second hand one of those wouldnt run you too much. around the same as a new m3. i've been checking =]. nice maser maybe.

Aston is an interesting idea! e.g. this one https://used.astonmartin.com/en-GB/S...rice&Order=Asc

just cannot get excited about audi's nor nissan GTRs

May have to add that aston to the list

C63 or E63? Very fun, fast and comfortable!

If there are Porsche Turbo's on your list though...thats going to blow everything else out of the water....go test drive a Turbo S.. Its apparently one of the fastest cars out there right now because of the variable geometry turbos, the PDK and their awd system.

thinking 2+2 or 4 seat vert, if I go the car route... the only merc that fits is the e550 and it is underpowered! haha

M6 vert's are going for a lot less than they used to... ex BMW North America

Yeah I was also gonna suggest M6 vert....but meh...the transmission on that sucks and really ruins the car.

ORLY? what's so bad about it? only certain years?

Well, afaik they don't have DCT on it. My friend and I took one for a spin a little while ago (not sure what year it was) and he told me they don't come with DCT. It still has SMG like they offered in the old M3. Clunky and slow, not to mention it completely cuts out the power while it does this. It was pretty awful. Its nothing like the DCT in the M3, which is glorious until it overheats...which it does on the track and then refuses to switch gears...

911 Turbo S Cabriolet (back seat is mini-kid sized though)

Why not a CTS-V ?

it has the space to be a family car and that thing is FAST, its not a good looking car but for the price I think is a nice car if you can go past the looks

I would kill for an R8 V-8 or V-10

I always hated how small the back doors are on the CTS, I had one of the new ones, not a CTSV, but I would have to shimmy into the doors. I'm 170, 5'11". I said screw that, sold it and got a Pontiac G8 GXP for my wife.

M3 is a fun car with tons and tons of power and potential

cayman--your new car!
 

Travis, check this article. They said the best driver's car was the Cayman. It is compared to a Z, a ZR1, a GT500, an R8, and a few others.
2009 Motor Trend Best Driver's Car - Best driver's car competition - Motor Trend

I've actually been noodling with the idea of replacing the Z and the Expedition with a CTS-V wagon. Imagine, a track car that can haul the spare wheels and tires and tools without needing a trailer.

The CTS-V is pretty quick around a track but it isn't anywhere near as much fun. The weight and long wheel base make it rather sedate. Although if you replaced your Expedition and added a tow hitch to the CTS-V it could be your tow vehicle slash backup car.

before buying a cayman I would choose the boxter spyder roadster or whatever is called

^ agree with lev. I would get a Cayman R too.

What a broad range of cars...

Oooh I like the new Cayman R! And of course the boxster would be great in Florida... not sure the wife will like the idea of a 2 seater... I'm going to make this decision after we figure out which house we will be in and therefore how many garage bays I have to work with! lol... Thanks all for your input... more on this topic later

Back to the Z... getting set up for this weekend at Chuckwalla... I will run session 1 on the Nittos just to get my feel for the track again... Session 2+ on the Hoosier slicks... goal is to approach the course record of 1:54... I'll be happy with a 1:57, thrilled with a 1:55... will try to capture vid on canon5dii

I disdain Boxsters.

Very surprising given the Zr1 and R8. I have to say the Cayman looks amazing.

Those new cts-v sedans look soo nice in person, was def impressed

Had fun at Chuckwalla yesterday! Vid's here

http://www.the370z.com/track-autocro...tml#post960651

Improved my PBT a couple seconds, got to put the pressure on a Ferrari 458 and a Lotus 2-11 and watch him the Lotus spin out of the bowl in front of me, and unfortunately cracked one of my 11" rear wheels that I was using to run big fat 305 Hoosier slicks... All in all, great day at the track :)

All, I'm laying low for a while... new job, new house etc... will update as soon as I have something to say about the car

In the meantime, I would strongly encourage you guys to read what happened to our Regional Director in the NASA Arizona community... one of the finest amateur racers in the sport... car caught on fire and he barely escaped with his life... some good reminders in here:

Update on Tage - NASA AZ

Travis, glad to hear your settling into your new home in Sarasota.

That's very scary what happened to your regional director Tage. Did they post up any pictures or video yet?

Thanks

Here are some key posts

NASA AZ - View Single Post - Update on Tage
NASA AZ

Based on his description, he had about 8 seconds to stop the car and get out, coming from over 100 mph... the practice duration is 20 seconds - he said if he had taken that long, he'd surely be a gonner... something for us all to think about as we practice our exit drills and balance the cost of fire safety gear in our budget!

I haven't found the vids yet, I'm sure they'll show up sooner or later

That's wild. Fire is a scary thing. Safety equipment is definitely something you don't want to cheap out on. A fire is one thing in a high dollar professional race car, but for the average weekend warrior it could be even worse depending on their equipment and/or training. :eek:

Glad to see that he made it out alive.

^ Eh, I think we would have a much easier time. We don't have roll cages, bucket seats, 5 point harnesses, etc. All we gotta do is stop, unclick seatbelt and get the hell out.