Nissan 370Z Forum - Daily Driver No Longer

Nissan 370Z Forum (http://www.the370z.com/)

- Track / Autocross / Drifting / Dragstrip (http://www.the370z.com/track-autocross-drifting-dragstrip/)

- - Daily Driver No Longer (http://www.the370z.com/track-autocross-drifting-dragstrip/130255-daily-driver-no-longer.html)

Daily Driver No Longer

Original Post:
Ok, I finally got serious about getting the Z out on the track. I've collected some serious parts over the years, and I'm open to any input from an experienced perspective. My goal is for the car to be street legal with a heavy emphasis on track performance. And since I'm not quite to the point where I can trailer it to a location (because I don't currently have a vehicle to tow with), reliability is the name of the game at this time. So while I prefer to stay focused on track performance, I don't mind sacrificing some to make sure the car can drive home after track sessions.

The vehicle has 100K daily driven miles. A lot of highway miles, but there are a number of hard driven miles in there as well. I change fluids frequently and never had any real mechanical issues other than a steering rack replaced under warranty at 80K, a broken fuel top hat, and a power steering leak fried my alternator.

Parts List:

( Click to show/hide )

UPDATE 05/2020
Oil pump gears are ready. Insurance is back on the car.

UPDATE 06/2020
Rolled the Z out of the garage for the first time in over 18 months. A quick spit shine cleaned her up nicely. Towed the car to Austin Z Clinic with the most of the front end torn down to minimize labor costs. Phase 1 begins.

( Click to show/hide )

Phase 1: oil gallery gaskets, oil pump gears, oil pan, oil cooler, crank pulley, thermostat, water pump, PS pump, PS cooler, coolant reservoir, intake, engine mounts, front sway bar, and front endlinks.

UPDATE 08/2020
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...s-oil-pan.html. Moving forward as planned. A good bit of the upper gallery gasket was missing when it was removed.

Phase 1 is complete.
Post #217

( Click to show/hide )

UPDATE 11/2020
Hydraulics went out so Phase 2 gets a head start.
Phase 2: dropped the car off at Austin Z Clinic for clutch kit, slave kit, transmission mount, and test pipes.
Driving like a champ now :driving:

UPDATE 12/2021
A Tundra backed into the Z while I was stopped at a light. It was at the body shop for 10 weeks for a new front bumper and hood. Not particularly happy with the shop communication or the finished product :rolleyes:

UPDATE 02/2022
Got the Z back from the body shop and promptly put it up on a curb. That was 6 more weeks in the body shop for another new front bumper, new LH fender, headlights and a wheel :shakes head:

UPDATE 04/2022
The Z started knocking and smoking on the way home one day. Towed it to Austin Z Clinic. Had him replace all 4 accessory bearings, alternator, and spark plugs. Might as well move forward with Phase 3.
Phase 3: fuel assembly top hat and fuel starve solution.

UPDATE 05/2022
Phase 3 complete and the car is driving like a champ. Turns out the power steering fluid was seeping and dripping onto the alternator. Replace an o-ring but that doesn't appear to have solved the issue. Will be digging deeper. In the meantime, doing logs to update the tune with Eugene (Bythabay).

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835300)

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

It's in there, but you have to do some searching. He lists at as the "B" from the Billet Oil Pump Gears, the "P" from SPL, and "Kit" from the CJM RRP Kit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835300)

I don't see where you've listed a BP kit?

why would he want that garbage?

FI TT only way to go :tiphat:

I knew the first comment would be something about boost :icon17: :tup:

Unfortunately, that would really blow the budget. Staying NA for now :tiphat:

Quote:

Originally Posted by FPenvy (Post 3835309)

why would he want that garbage?

FI TT only way to go :tiphat:

No, he bought the correct transmission. He can use the BP kit. :stirthepot:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835324)

No, he bought the correct transmission. He can use the BP kit. :stirthepot:

it's still garbage in comparison :bowrofl:

Says the guy who never bought either, and then gave up and bought a different car. :rofl2:

You need to hurry up and mod that GTR so you can keep up with a boosted Z. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck33079 (Post 3835328)

Says the guy who never bought either, and then gave up and bought a different car. :rofl2:

You need to hurry up and mod that GTR so you can keep up with a boosted Z. ;)

i still think the GTR stock is enough vs boosted Z. i win the traction war all day. the Z needs more than just a set of snails to compete.....like a build block, tranny, fuel, etc...

i just start it and hit the gas :tiphat: i gave up due to it being a waste of time and money.

now, doesnt mean that i dont have a list of parts i'm currently sourcing to go FBO and E85.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JARblue (Post 3835283)

Ok, so I finally want to get serious about getting the Z out on the track. I'm going to dump some money into maintenance stuff when I bite the bullet and pay labor for the install of numerous go-fast parts collected over the years. I'm looking for any input from an experienced perspective.

The vehicle has 100K daily driven miles. A lot of highway miles, but there are a number of hard driven miles in there as well. I change fluids frequently and never had any real mechanical issues other than a steering rack replaced under warranty at 80K, a broken fuel top hat, and some recent starter(?) issues.

With the future expectations of track and/or autoX activity, I'd like to go ahead with a few preventative maintenance items as is reasonable for the budget (only ~$5K so no boost). And since I'm not quite to the point where I want to trailer it to location (because I don't currently have a vehicle to tow with) driveability and reliability are the name of the game at this point. I don't mind sacrificing on-track performance and spending that money to make sure the car can drive home after track sessions (obviously that's not always possible and I will need to have a backup plan).

My thought was to assign a 1, 2, or 3 priority level to the item based on performance and risk criteria. A 1 rating would be high priority due to factors such as a high risk of failure due to mileage or cause racecar or high performance value for the cost or just basic maintenance that is due. A 3 rating would be low priority due to low likelihood of failure or cost prohibitions for now or something that has little to no impact on driveability as well as things that are good to keep in mind for the future. A 2 rating would be a medium priority and basically anything that doesn't fall into the other two categories. For example, this might be things that aren't a priority but are much easier to do while some other work is being done.

Maintenance Items
1 Starter issue
1 Clutch + CMAK
1 Fluids (engine, trans, diff, coolant, brake)
1 Spark Plugs
1 Injectors
1 Oil Gallery Gasket. Might as well do the oil pump at the same time since the front of the motor will be apart.

Performance Items
1 Driver Mod (w/ Instructor)
1 Seb re-tune (currently on Ecutek w/o RaceRom)
1 Hotchkis Front Sway Bar
1 SPL FUCAs (purchased)
1 Stillen Brake Duct Kit (purchased)
1 FI 34 Row Oil Cooler (purchased)
1 CJM Billet Top Hat
1 CJM RRP kit (purchased)
1 CJM Engine Mounts
1 Torque Solutions Transmission Mount
1 FI Test Pipes
1 Carbotech XP10/8 Pads
2 ARC Coolant Reservoir w/ Catch Cans (purchased)
2 SPL Differential Bushings (Whiteline poly currently installed)
2 SPL Subframe Bushings
2 Oil Pressure Gauge
2 Fuel Pressure Gauge.
3 Fortune Auto 500 Coilovers + related SPL suspension bits
3 Wavetrac Differential
3 Track Wheels (Enkei 18s likely)
3 Radiator (NOT CJM or miSHITmoto)
3 2-piece rear rotors
3 Billet Oil Pump Gears

I will do some work myself, but there are a number of things I've never done. And as much as I'd like to learn and have full confidence, I simply don't have the time to mess with them. I really just want to drive the car :driving:

My estimates with labor (for the priority items) already have me well over budget, but please let me know if you have any questions or any recommendations for go-fast parts or maintenance items to add to the list :tiphat:

Jar, if you want to play the autox game. You have to decide how far you want to go because of the restrictions in each class. Most of everything you want to do will put you at a disadvantage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3835385)

Jar, if you want to play the autox game. You have to decide how far you want to go because of the restrictions in each class. Most of everything you want to do will put you at a disadvantage.

:tiphat: I'm aware but its not an issue for me. I'm not looking to compete with anyone except myself. So I don't care what class they have to put me in. At least one of the groups I know about I'm told is very lax with the regulations.

Oil pump is tempting. But expensive. What do you recommend? Sucker Punch is $1300 new so that's a big chunk out of the budget. I am not interested in RJM. Boundary Engineering is another but I know nothing about them.

Sucker Punch would the way to go. Just doing the galley gaskets and oil pump will eat most of the $5K if you take it to a shop.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rusty (Post 3835402)

Sucker Punch would the way to go. Just doing the galley gaskets and oil pump will eat most of the $5K if you take it to a shop.

I would go with the Boundry Engineering gears and call it good if at all for now. Remember the engine may need to be pulled to do the oil gears so that time and labor will be about $1800. Also add to the list ATI super damper. If you want a bit more power get Z1 400 hp kit. It seems to be worth the money without going stupid.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Yeah ... the clutch and maintenance items are at least $4000 in parts and labor :ugh: :(

Galley gasket should be done though, right? I mean 100K miles. If it fails on the track, the motor probably gets toasted.