Weight Reduction

Whjaxn17 · 12-10-2020, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by victorofhavoc

Unfortunately not many decent photos yet. I bought the car mostly built from another member. I'm working on a splitter and detailing it out with photos in another thread in this same forum. Once that's done I'm going to de-livery the rest of it and then get some better photos. Hopefully I'll get some out on track soon

.

I do expect the splitter setup to add about 25 pounds. I believe there's about 15 pounds of hardware I have in total right now for a rigid support and the carbon splitter should be around ten pounds I'm guessing. Cutting some big louvres into the hood would definitely reduce weight though

I wouldn't bank on it being a net loss in weight, but Trackspec makes some very nice hood vents for our cars

victorofhavoc · 12-10-2020, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whjaxn17

I wouldn't bank on it being a net loss in weight, but Trackspec makes some very nice hood vents for our cars

Thanks! I'll take a look at them. I've been talking to verus engineering about their louvres. I've got them on my gti and they make a 350z kit that shouldn't be too different from 370z in cfd analysis.

From initial look it looks like trackspec louvres don't have wickers. Wonder if they have an option to add or if there's an easy way to add myself? The verus ones just slide in from the bottom, and they do make a big difference.

Jmatchley86 · 12-12-2020, 07:53 PM

The trackspec ones work very well. I have them on my car and it solved my heat issue.

victorofhavoc · 12-13-2020, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmatchley86

The trackspec ones work very well. I have them on my car and it solved my heat issue.

Good to know. I'll take a look at them more. Maybe they have a reason they didn't use wickers, but from reading the mustang forums a few guys have added wickers and dramatically improved results.

Here's a link to the verus ones I was going to try to fit:
https://www.verus-engineering.com/sh...41?category=33

Wigjiggy · 12-25-2020, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmatchley86

The trackspec ones work very well. I have them on my car and it solved my heat issue.

Check out racelouvers.com. They (Al) makes a kit for the 370z. I have their fender louvers, and would have gone with their hood louvers if I didn’t already have Trackspec.

Hotrodz · 12-21-2020, 01:36 PM

You are going to always chasing something in the Z when it comes to balancing. All bets are off for those of us TT kits. I also added a larger bash bar to mount the splitter to. The biggest bang for the buck is a lightweight battery. You can gain more weight functional control by getting lighter rotors and wheels. If you are going for mostly racecar then get rid of creature comforts like the AC and condenser. You can go all out and remove the heater core and blowers. From there it is all about suspension up front. Get a good set of coilovers.

The rear you will want a wing and contrary to popular belief they do work at relatively slow speeds. Most the tracks I run on are less than 2 miles long and heavy car or not most everyone in a competitive series runs one if they are allowed. I was shocked how much the wing helped on the Miata! We took it off and she was ha handful on anything over 45 mph.

Also having spent some time with the crew from Nissan that has been to the last few ZDAYZ events and them providing us a tour of the Nissan Heritage Museum, which is not open to the public we talk about the need for better grip and rotation of the rear of the car. Jeremy promptly took me over to one of the 280z race cars and showed me their solution. There was a post welded on each side of the rear wheel well were they added weight directly over the wheel to gain additional mechanical grip. He said the additional weight was worth it in lap times. In fact the Nissan Pace Car they brought to ZDAYZ, a 300 Z, they added about 300 lbs to the trunk to make it behave on the track due to the power level of the car. It was essentially their Trans AM car. Anyway Jeremy suggested I do the same as they did with the 280z. We will see how well the wing does.

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Wigjiggy · 12-25-2020, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

You are going to always chasing something in the Z when it comes to balancing. All bets are off for those of us TT kits. I also added a larger bash bar to mount the splitter to. The biggest bang for the buck is a lightweight battery. You can gain more weight functional control by getting lighter rotors and wheels. If you are going for mostly racecar then get rid of creature comforts like the AC and condenser. You can go all out and remove the heater core and blowers. From there it is all about suspension up front. Get a good set of coilovers.

The rear you will want a wing and contrary to popular belief they do work at relatively slow speeds. Most the tracks I run on are less than 2 miles long and heavy car or not most everyone in a competitive series runs one if they are allowed. I was shocked how much the wing helped on the Miata! We took it off and she was ha handful on anything over 45 mph.

Also having spent some time with the crew from Nissan that has been to the last few ZDAYZ events and them providing us a tour of the Nissan Heritage Museum, which is not open to the public we talk about the need for better grip and rotation of the rear of the car. Jeremy promptly took me over to one of the 280z race cars and showed me their solution. There was a post welded on each side of the rear wheel well were they added weight directly over the wheel to gain additional mechanical grip. He said the additional weight was worth it in lap times. In fact the Nissan Pace Car they brought to ZDAYZ, a 300 Z, they added about 300 lbs to the trunk to make it behave on the track due to the power level of the car. It was essentially their Trans AM car. Anyway Jeremy suggested I do the same as they did with the 280z. We will see how well the wing does.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

I agree. The wing helps a lot, even at “slower” speeds. Balance is much better. I run the ARP 300 CF wing and an alumilite splitter that I made myself. Business in the front - party in the back!

OptionZero · 12-21-2020, 01:50 PM

Is this balance due to the hatchback nature of the car, which basically has a bunch of empty space in the back?

a carbon hatch would have done wonders, huh?

Hotrodz · 12-21-2020, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

Is this balance due to the hatchback nature of the car, which basically has a bunch of empty space in the back?

a carbon hatch would have done wonders, huh?

I think that is part of along with being rear wheel drive. This is not much of an issue with front wheel drive hatchbacks.

Austin Hurtel added a cf hatch a a 9 Lives wing to his racecar. He was fast before he gutted and detuned his car so he could race wheel to wheel. His initial results are promising.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

///maestro · 12-21-2020, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

You are going to always chasing something in the Z when it comes to balancing. All bets are off for those of us TT kits. I also added a larger bash bar to mount the splitter to. The biggest bang for the buck is a lightweight battery. You can gain more weight functional control by getting lighter rotors and wheels. If you are going for mostly racecar then get rid of creature comforts like the AC and condenser. You can go all out and remove the heater core and blowers. From there it is all about suspension up front. Get a good set of coilovers.

The rear you will want a wing and contrary to popular belief they do work at relatively slow speeds. Most the tracks I run on are less than 2 miles long and heavy car or not most everyone in a competitive series runs one if they are allowed. I was shocked how much the wing helped on the Miata! We took it off and she was ha handful on anything over 45 mph.

Also having spent some time with the crew from Nissan that has been to the last few ZDAYZ events and them providing us a tour of the Nissan Heritage Museum, which is not open to the public we talk about the need for better grip and rotation of the rear of the car. Jeremy promptly took me over to one of the 280z race cars and showed me their solution. There was a post welded on each side of the rear wheel well were they added weight directly over the wheel to gain additional mechanical grip. He said the additional weight was worth it in lap times. In fact the Nissan Pace Car they brought to ZDAYZ, a 300 Z, they added about 300 lbs to the trunk to make it behave on the track due to the power level of the car. It was essentially their Trans AM car. Anyway Jeremy suggested I do the same as they did with the 280z. We will see how well the wing does.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Very interesting stuff. I've been curiously thinking that if my rear end is so darn light compared to my front, could this have a negative impact on my rear-end grip (and I think it does). I'm playing around with suspension setups, tire pressure, and no swaybar to see if that helps. Having a stock diff definitely doesn't help either lol As for your comment about aero, I'd love to run aero but at this time I'm planning on competing in Gridlife Street class which limits us to no aero at all unless stock USDM or JDM.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OptionZero

Is this balance due to the hatchback nature of the car, which basically has a bunch of empty space in the back?

a carbon hatch would have done wonders, huh?

Carbon hatch would help, but not by much (by itself). The heaviness in the hatch actually comes from the glass. If I could replace my hatch with a CF one AND replace the glass with plexiglass, I'd be golden! But unfortunately, my class doesn't allow for plexiglass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

I think that is part of along with being rear wheel drive. This is not much of an issue with front wheel drive hatchbacks.

Austin Hurtel added a cf hatch a a 9 Lives wing to his racecar. He was fast before he gutted and detuned his car so he could race wheel to wheel. His initial results are promising.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Hotrodz · 12-21-2020, 02:54 PM

You need to talk to Austin, he holds and broke several records in Street class with his Z. He is really fast!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

///maestro · 12-22-2020, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hotrodz

You need to talk to Austin, he holds and broke several records in Street class with his Z. He is really fast!

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

Yep - we're facebook friends

03threefiftyz · 12-22-2020, 08:44 PM

I can run as low as low 2900's with driver, fuel and/or ballast, and that is full cage. 350z, but still...

Figure 2700 no driver and a gallon in the tank and that is with pretty heavy aero.

victorofhavoc · 12-23-2020, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 03threefiftyz

I can run as low as low 2900's with driver, fuel and/or ballast, and that is full cage. 350z, but still...

Figure 2700 no driver and a gallon in the tank and that is with pretty heavy aero.

2700 would be tough. You'd have to fully rip out the dash, door framing, replace panels with real carbon panels (not that fiberglass stuff with a layer of carbon on top), and start chopping away at the structural bits that are no longer needed with a cage.

I'm sitting at 3010 without driver but with fuel. Another 300 lbs is tough to find, but doable with some persistence.

cv129 · 12-23-2020, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by victorofhavoc

2700 would be tough. You'd have to fully rip out the dash, door framing, replace panels with real carbon panels (not that fiberglass stuff with a layer of carbon on top), and start chopping away at the structural bits that are no longer needed with a cage.

I'm sitting at 3010 without driver but with fuel. Another 300 lbs is tough to find, but doable with some persistence.

If you don’t already know or assume, putting some context to his post, this is his car. Ain’t nothing regular about his car haha

FS: 350Z Race Car FS

12-21-2020, 01:36 PM	#6 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684386	You are going to always chasing something in the Z when it comes to balancing. All bets are off for those of us TT kits. I also added a larger bash bar to mount the splitter to. The biggest bang for the buck is a lightweight battery. You can gain more weight functional control by getting lighter rotors and wheels. If you are going for mostly racecar then get rid of creature comforts like the AC and condenser. You can go all out and remove the heater core and blowers. From there it is all about suspension up front. Get a good set of coilovers. The rear you will want a wing and contrary to popular belief they do work at relatively slow speeds. Most the tracks I run on are less than 2 miles long and heavy car or not most everyone in a competitive series runs one if they are allowed. I was shocked how much the wing helped on the Miata! We took it off and she was ha handful on anything over 45 mph. Also having spent some time with the crew from Nissan that has been to the last few ZDAYZ events and them providing us a tour of the Nissan Heritage Museum, which is not open to the public we talk about the need for better grip and rotation of the rear of the car. Jeremy promptly took me over to one of the 280z race cars and showed me their solution. There was a post welded on each side of the rear wheel well were they added weight directly over the wheel to gain additional mechanical grip. He said the additional weight was worth it in lap times. In fact the Nissan Pace Car they brought to ZDAYZ, a 300 Z, they added about 300 lbs to the trunk to make it behave on the track due to the power level of the car. It was essentially their Trans AM car. Anyway Jeremy suggested I do the same as they did with the 280z. We will see how well the wing does. Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk AlWakRa and Rusty like this. __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

12-21-2020, 01:50 PM	#8 (permalink)
OptionZero A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Sacramento Posts: 3,270 Drives: 15 370Z Nismo 6MT Rep Power: 214102	Is this balance due to the hatchback nature of the car, which basically has a bunch of empty space in the back? a carbon hatch would have done wonders, huh? __________________ OptionZero Build Thread

12-21-2020, 02:54 PM	#11 (permalink)
Hotrodz A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NW, AZ Posts: 9,330 Drives: 10 Nissan 370z Nismo Rep Power: 2684386	You need to talk to Austin, he holds and broke several records in Street class with his Z. He is really fast! Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk Rusty likes this. __________________ *Fast Intentions TT Installed and Tuned by Seb at SpecialtyZ 610whp 560tq:\|Fast Intentions 3" TT-TDX*\|SpecialtyZ/Fast Intentions 72 Row Oil Cooler\|SZ 6 Puck Clutch & Flywheel\|3GsCustoms\|Z1\|Wavetrac\|Hotchkis\|Whiteline \|Blitz\|Fortune Auto 500\|Fujimura\|SPL\|H&R\|TK\|TWM\|RPM Rollbar\|Sparco\|Next Level Performance\|TrackSpec\|AeroFlow Dynamics\|Pioneer\|

12-22-2020, 08:44 PM	#13 (permalink)
03threefiftyz Track Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: MD Posts: 536 Drives: 03 350z 6mt Rep Power: 18	I can run as low as low 2900's with driver, fuel and/or ballast, and that is full cage. 350z, but still... Figure 2700 no driver and a gallon in the tank and that is with pretty heavy aero. Hotrodz likes this.

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12-12-2020, 07:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
Jmatchley86 Base Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Location: Fort Worth Posts: 159 Drives: 2011 370z 6MT Rep Power: 10	The trackspec ones work very well. I have them on my car and it solved my heat issue.