California Speedway big track
 

Well I took the Z to the Cal Speedway "Roval" big track with Speed Ventures on Friday the 20th. Soooo much fun!

A quick rundown...

I had never run on this track and this was my first track day with my Z. (Former track days were at Streets of Willow in my Evo IX). So I wanted to take it sort of easy and ease into things since I hadn't been to this track before and hadn't "raced" a rwd car before.

A quick rundown of my cars setup:
-Stillen Gen III intakes
-Stillen HFC's
-Stillen CBE
-JWT lightweight flywheel
-JWT clutch
-C Spec SS brake lines
-Technosquare ECU tune
-Technosquare oil cooler
-B&M short shifter
-Stillen sway bars
-Tanabe GF210 springs
-Axis Super Hiro 19" wheels

I also just did a an oil change. I run Mobil 1. I had put on Hawk HP Plus brake pads on the front and Motul RBF600 brake fluid in the day prior. I also added Redline Water Wetter and topped off the tank with 98 octane at the track.

TRACTION CONTROL:
A MAJOR NOTE that I will point out right now is that I ran laps with both the traction control ON at first and then OFF. Traction control ROBS you blind in turns on exit... period. If you go to the track do yourself a favor and turn it off. I am certain that I gained at least 4-5 seconds with it OFF.

TEMPS:
Air temps that day were in the low to mid 70's and my oil temp's never got above 230 degrees at any point. Engine temps never budged off normal.

BRAKES:
The combination of my SS brake lines, Hawk HP Plus brake pads and Motul RBF600 brake fluid made for a winning combination. Never once did I experience ANY little bit of brake fade or mushy pedal or loss of brake pressure. It was the one thing throughout the day that I felt the absolute most confident in.

SUSPENTION/TRACTION:
I personally felt like the Stillen sway bars definitely added stiffness that I could feel even on the street under normal driving. On the track the car felt level but still a bit too loose for my taste. Plus I could have definitely benefitted from running some R compound tires. The stock Bridgestone's held up very well and at the end of the day were a bit gritty but nowhere near "shot" and I could run another 2 or 3 track days with them probably. I think I will head towards adjustable coilovers and R compounds for another track day. (And a different seat with a 5 point harness)

Okie dokie... onto the vids.


A few laps around the track (not my fastest.. these were earlier in the day and kinda sloppy :icon17:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h800kfMsH4



Just a very short clip of my running down the front straight... hitting 140mph :eekdance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F58zl_c00Q


All in all it was too much fun. I started with a lousy lap time of 2:16.037 and finished the day with a 2:06.263. I could have shaved off some more with another session but I'm happy with that for now. Oh and I got it up to a solid 140 mph at the end of the front straight before I had to let off for turn 1 and 2. Fun :p

Looks fun. :D

fantastic videos Mike. Thank you for sharing. Looks like you had a ton of fun at the track. The downshifts are so awesome! :tup:

^^ Thanks. Yeah... absolutely my idea of heaven.

I should note a couple other things that weren't mentioned above. One is that I never at any point experienced any "fuel starvation" of any sort. I did make it a point to keep at lease 3/4 tank at all times so that's probably why but I just didn't want to test it. Also, I obviously never went into any "limp mode" but like I noted above, my oil temps never went north of 230.

Oh yeah... Cannot beat those downshifts!! SRM FTW! I was dropping it into 2nd and hitting like 5,000 + rpms.

sounds like you had a great outing!

Yeah it was definitely a great outing and you know something... my car almost needed it as it seems to be running better now than ever. Seemed to unlock it's true potential.

:eek: NICE! :tup:

Looks like a fun track. Great video. Sounds like you had a similar experience tracking the 370Z as I did (I use to track a modded 05 STi). Going from AWD to RWD is a bit of a change.

Yuup.. so easy (and kinda fun) to get sideways out of a turn in 2nd and even 3rd with traction control off. Nowhere near as "scary" as I had thought it was going to be.. I actually prefer it and never felt out of control.

Nice run - I would love to try that track.

One thing to remember is that R compounds could actually cause the problems you managed to avoid. Two in particular are brake problems and fuel starvation - increasing tire traction would greatly increase the likelihood that you issues with either one or both.

Thanks for posting this - it definitely looks fun. And 140 - I have yet to get there yet...

That track looks fun! Thanks for shooting the vid:tup:

Wow! that Video was pretty Cool. :tup:

Hey Mike, What camera mount did you use? did you use the DIY in our forum or it's a different mount. I know you're professional photographer so I am tempted to see your mount! :tup:

Man I want to go to a track.

*So* worth it. I've done four track days on this car in the last two months, and I love it.

I find it even mellows me out. After getting on the track and being completely focused, I end up very Zen afterward. It's nice just driving home with the sunset, knowing you did the day right....

Great wright up and nice vid's
Always nice to hear another Z owners opinion at the same track.
Your car sounds great
That's the same config we ran for the Time Attack but they tighten up the chicanes a bit it looks like.

We need to get all the local Z owners together at the track.

Thanks for posting that up.

:tup:

Thanks for posting those vids! Love that sound and you could tell it was just alot of fun!

i was there yesterday doing the auto-x. wish i had done the track event instead. rode with a friend of mine in a supercharged miata. he ran a best time of 1:54, top speed 147mph, (he was hitting the rev limiter at the top of 6 gear). i definitely gotta do this track the next time around!

my next event is button willow dec. 20th. it'd be nice to have see other z's out there.

Nice vid, looks like you had fun. I've run that before and I laughed to myself after I realized I clenched my butt cheeks on the first lap when you went from the banking back onto the regular surface. I remember it unsettles the car slightly.

wow let me know when the next 1 def want to go!!

Nice vids, that is a cool track, never been on a banked section before :tup:

Paul from AE Performance is right. We should all get together for a track day. That would be a great time.

Red Line Time Attack Appreciation day Dec. 18th $125 includes FREE timing

Robi and I will be there :tup: Come on out guys....Streets of Willow, Willow Springs Raceway, Rosamond, Ca.


http://www.redlinetimeattack.com/

Very nice, and glad you had fun! We were out htere back in Nov for the Redline Time Attack season finale! With some more seat time, sub 2:00 should be acheivable. Best of luck.

Def a sub 2:00 is achievable. After getting a feel for the car and what it's capable of, I would have no problem pushing a bit more next time.

Very nice. I would lose the HP+ pads though, they cook under heavy braking. You probably weren't standing on the brakes considering it was your first time out in a while, but the Carbotech's are the way to go especially if you add more tire underneath.

Thanks for the tip.. I will swap 'em out before the next track day. And no, I wasn't standing on the brakes as it was my first time out in a long while.

nice vid..hopefully i'll make the next event.

Hey aren't you coming to Fontana on Sat?

http://www.the370z.com/southern-cali...2-12-09-a.html

^^yeah i saw that but unfortunatly i cant make it this sat..

Yeah, Paul from AE ran 1.55.xx in Redline config which I hear is a bit slower than the usual Open laping config, but I think that just comes down to the brass.

I'm a wuss but will be extremely happy with a 2.00 flat. :eekdance:

Anyone coming out to ACS this Sunday? I'll be there in the BlueMeanie for my first outing :tup:

Stan

Is that running simultaneous with the big track event? I want to check your car out and meet you but I don't know if I wil get the chance on Sunday.

Yes. I might be out there Sat. too.
Check the Speed Ventures site to see if I've signed up for Sat. I won't know until the last minute.

Stan

PRAY FOR NO RAIN!!!!!
Weatherchannel dot com says nope.. the rain won't start until MONDAY but sheesh.. you never know. You Sat. guys are probably safe but we might be dodging a bullet on Sunday!!!!

However... the event runs rain or shine and either way I'll be there with two video cams on car. ;)

ACS only has one track. we are running the roval configuration. i think you mean the track event and the autocross? speedventures always does an auto-x running simultaneously with the track event here. you save $20 if you sign up for both. it'll be fun.

See I would pray for rain lol. Its not often you get to practice wet driving skills. Just pray for a little rain and not enough to close the track. :)

Diito. I love driving in the rain on track, although you do need to dial it back a little as grassy run-offs turn into giant slip and slides when they are the slightest bit wet. Giving point-by's suck though, unless they let you use turn signals instead.

i would normally agree and i've driven in the rain once at buttonwillow. but i personally would not want to try driving in the rain at acs. rain + 150mph speeds + the WALL on the oval is a pretty ugly combination. i can just hear the wall taunting me, "yeah, just keep on pushing harder. go ahead, make my day!" hahaha....

ACS does only have one track... yes. However, they (speed ventures) doesn't run autocross on the "track". I believe they run it out in the parking lot on a makeshift track. That's all I was saying.



Agreed. Screw that. I wouldn't have any problem running the track in the rain EXCEPT for coming off that front straight at 140+ going into that long banked turn. I mean how much do you gamble that?

Plus, I'm going in order to try to beat my standing time. Obviously in the rain I would have to dial it back and I really don't have any interest is doing that. I guess if worse comes to worse, I drive in the wet but I really don't want to. If I were paid to actually "race", then sure I would chalk that up to "practice" but I'm not and I'm happy to be a "fair weather" weekend warrior. :rolleyes: