Track Day Chat

Eagle · 07-16-2020, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin_boy

oil temps were definitely high, and thats with a 34 row oil cooler lol. I absolutely loved it! it gave me a complete new respect for my car and also for high performance driving in general. one thing i realized is that street driving or even canyon driving does not translate to track driving at all. But all in all, it was super fun

even made me take the build way more in a track direction

That's great to hear and that's what i'd wish more street/canyon drivers would acknowledge and understand if they gave driving at the track a chance. I used to drive our canyons a lot, been on basically every So Cal canyon from Ojai down to Palomar Mountain. I still go from time to time but after my first track day, the canyons just weren't as rewarding and liberating as the race track is.

Also the 370z doesn't get the respect it deserves as a track car/sports car. You have the miata/s2k/frs crowd who say it's too heavy, then you have the Porsche/BMW/Mustang/Camaro/Corvette crowd who say it doesnt have enough power. They're not completely wrong, but that's not an excuse to dismiss the car and ditch it. If you love the car, get the seat time with it at the track and it will reward you and surprise some people along the way.

As you develop with the car, you are going to find there's a lot it has to offer in it's stock form and even more so as you start to tune the handling with coil overs, brakes, sway bars and tires.

1st track day my 370z had cold air intakes and a front sway bar at Streets of Willow CW, the rest came down to me...I had an amazing time, a day i'll never forget.

If you're interested in tracking with a dedicated group of Nissan enthusiasts, hope you might consider coming out to a Nissan Challenge event. We are scheduled to resume our 2020 season in September if COVID conditions permit it.

Wigjiggy · 07-17-2020, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle

That's great to hear and that's what i'd wish more street/canyon drivers would acknowledge and understand if they gave driving at the track a chance. I used to drive our canyons a lot, been on basically every So Cal canyon from Ojai down to Palomar Mountain. I still go from time to time but after my first track day, the canyons just weren't as rewarding and liberating as the race track is.

Also the 370z doesn't get the respect it deserves as a track car/sports car. You have the miata/s2k/frs crowd who say it's too heavy, then you have the Porsche/BMW/Mustang/Camaro/Corvette crowd who say it doesnt have enough power. They're not completely wrong, but that's not an excuse to dismiss the car and ditch it. If you love the car, get the seat time with it at the track and it will reward you and surprise some people along the way.

As you develop with the car, you are going to find there's a lot it has to offer in it's stock form and even more so as you start to tune the handling with coil overs, brakes, sway bars and tires.

1st track day my 370z had cold air intakes and a front sway bar at Streets of Willow CW, the rest came down to me...I had an amazing time, a day i'll never forget.

If you're interested in tracking with a dedicated group of Nissan enthusiasts, hope you might consider coming out to a Nissan Challenge event. We are scheduled to resume our 2020 season in September if COVID conditions permit it.

I need to move to CA! Or get a 370Z movement going out East.

justin_boy · 07-18-2020, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle

That's great to hear and that's what i'd wish more street/canyon drivers would acknowledge and understand if they gave driving at the track a chance. I used to drive our canyons a lot, been on basically every So Cal canyon from Ojai down to Palomar Mountain. I still go from time to time but after my first track day, the canyons just weren't as rewarding and liberating as the race track is.

Also the 370z doesn't get the respect it deserves as a track car/sports car. You have the miata/s2k/frs crowd who say it's too heavy, then you have the Porsche/BMW/Mustang/Camaro/Corvette crowd who say it doesnt have enough power. They're not completely wrong, but that's not an excuse to dismiss the car and ditch it. If you love the car, get the seat time with it at the track and it will reward you and surprise some people along the way.

As you develop with the car, you are going to find there's a lot it has to offer in it's stock form and even more so as you start to tune the handling with coil overs, brakes, sway bars and tires.

1st track day my 370z had cold air intakes and a front sway bar at Streets of Willow CW, the rest came down to me...I had an amazing time, a day i'll never forget.

If you're interested in tracking with a dedicated group of Nissan enthusiasts, hope you might consider coming out to a Nissan Challenge event. We are scheduled to resume our 2020 season in September if COVID conditions permit it.

I will definitely look into that!! loos so exciting... is it only nissans? my friend loves to come to whatever event he can with his subie

it kinda sucks because the canyons dont give me much satisfaction anymnore. I live down the hill right by topanga canyon and 10 min from malibu canyon, so it was a couple times a week thing for me. I want sway bars but I heard the install is up to 8 hours front and back?!?

Eagle · 07-19-2020, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin_boy

I will definitely look into that!! loos so exciting... is it only nissans? my friend loves to come to whatever event he can with his subie

it kinda sucks because the canyons dont give me much satisfaction anymnore. I live down the hill right by topanga canyon and 10 min from malibu canyon, so it was a couple times a week thing for me. I want sway bars but I heard the install is up to 8 hours front and back?!?

We have a great time driving, competing, talking shop, exchanging knowledge, tips, we offer ride alongs and offer instruction as well.

So I have some good news for you and your friend. Nissan Challenge is held on open track days, so we are intermingled with drivers who are not necessarily competing in a timed time-attack event if that makes sense. He's more than welcome to join in on the fun and be included in Subie Challenge which typically runs on the same days as us.

You and him can still most likely run in the same session if your experience levels are on the same level (Beginner, intermediate, Advanced...etc) and compare lap times amongst yourselves, but your lap times and points will count to your respective series...yours will count for Nissan Challenge and his for Subie Challenge.

Also regarding the sway bars, highly recommend you only replace the front sway bar, many have reported that changing the rear bar and leaving at it's softest setting causes the car to have a sudden snap oversteer characteristic. Hotchkis pretty much makes the best bar on the market for our cars. Changing out the front bar shouldn't take more than a couple hours although at times it's tough loosening the nuts on the end links, so you might need a breaker bar and some good wrenches

justin_boy · 07-22-2020, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle

We have a great time driving, competing, talking shop, exchanging knowledge, tips, we offer ride alongs and offer instruction as well.

So I have some good news for you and your friend. Nissan Challenge is held on open track days, so we are intermingled with drivers who are not necessarily competing in a timed time-attack event if that makes sense. He's more than welcome to join in on the fun and be included in Subie Challenge which typically runs on the same days as us.

You and him can still most likely run in the same session if your experience levels are on the same level (Beginner, intermediate, Advanced...etc) and compare lap times amongst yourselves, but your lap times and points will count to your respective series...yours will count for Nissan Challenge and his for Subie Challenge.

Also regarding the sway bars, highly recommend you only replace the front sway bar, many have reported that changing the rear bar and leaving at it's softest setting causes the car to have a sudden snap oversteer characteristic. Hotchkis pretty much makes the best bar on the market for our cars. Changing out the front bar shouldn't take more than a couple hours although at times it's tough loosening the nuts on the end links, so you might need a breaker bar and some good wrenches

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!! so much info

I will for sure look into that event, also thanks for the advice on sway bars. I was about to buy front and rear but what you told me convinced me to stay with only front. Also everyone is sold out and backordered for the time being

Hotrodz · 07-22-2020, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin_boy

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!! so much info

I will for sure look into that event, also thanks for the advice on sway bars. I was about to buy front and rear but what you told me convinced me to stay with only front. Also everyone is sold out and backordered for the time being

Keep your eyes and ears open for a used one. You will also want to get SPL front end links as well if you don't have them already.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

justin_boy · 07-23-2020, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

Keep your eyes and ears open for a used one. You will also want to get SPL front end links as well if you don't have them already.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

is it a good idea to use a 35mm up front and keep the rear stock? I will def be getting the endlinks. do i also need bushings while im at it?

Eagle · 07-23-2020, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin_boy

is it a good idea to use a 35mm up front and keep the rear stock? I will def be getting the endlinks. do i also need bushings while im at it?

I'm running the Hotchkis bar which is pretty much the strongest/stiffest bar out of the box you can buy. I like it a lot and noticed a big difference in handling after i installed it.

I'd recommend you leave the stock rear bar on for now, but when it comes time for coilovers you're going to want to either disconnect it or remove altogether.

AlWakRa · 07-25-2020, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle

If you're interested in tracking with a dedicated group of Nissan enthusiasts, hope you might consider coming out to a Nissan Challenge event. We are scheduled to resume our 2020 season in September if COVID conditions permit it.

I hope I was in US, so I can join these events

looks fun with other fellow Nissan drivers.

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