I got .8 one side 1.3 the other

we were back at a "norma;" autocross layout today... i felt just like you guys... i have new tires up front and about 3/32nds left on the rear and the car oversteered pretty crazy today felt just like driving a Z... will take that over the normal understeer all day

Sorry I just saw this post. I use the hotchkis bar and it's just about perfect with the Hoosiers on the car. However on street tires the understeer was well, epic. I would recommend a smaller bar for street tire use.

Cool, thanks for the info

^ reported

Hillclimb idea
 

To All: If you follow the link above to watch Tom driving, you should also see a video listed in the column to the right: "370Z at Goodwood Hill climb" or similar. They get to drive quite a long way. I'm wondering if such events are open to all and, if so, how we could organize similar events in the states. :driving:

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is a huge event, but there are much smaller hillclimb events here in the US. There are at least a couple in the North East where I'm at, so check around.

Thanks, Chris. :driving:

New England Hillclimb Association (NEHA) - www.hillclimb.org

the rules change every year, make sure you don't need a cage to do this.

I'm excited about the potential bump for the 350z's to ESP!

Lots of hillclimbs in the North West US. And they are much longer. Here is a video of me at my first ever hillclimb a few years ago. I was very careful. I went faster in a slower car the next year but my videos didnt turn out well.

I'm planning to bring my new Nismo Z to hillclimb this year. Other than crappy LSD the car should do OK as Hillclimbs usually reward power.

I need some advice. I just started running in the street tire CS class my local SCCA has. I want to upgrade to some better tires, and hopefully get rid of the understeer. The car is 100% stock. What size/type of tires do you guys recommend? It seems like RE-11's are the best option. I'm hoping to reduce understeer by reducing the difference in front/rear width. Am I better off running 275/30 front & 285/35 rear or 285/35 all around? It seems like 285's are a bit of a stretch on 9" wheels in front, but the 275/30's are 1.2" smaller diameter than stock.

Also, what would you recommend for alignment settings on a stock Z? I know were pretty much screwed for camber, but has anyone tried playing around with the other settings?

285/35/19 all around works. I only have one event under the belt with the new setup, but I can already tell the plow is less noticeable than before. There is a stretch, but you will live.

Add

Thanks, I will go with 285's. Any advice on the alignment?

After skimming through the thread I saw a few other people talking about competing in SCCA C-Stock. Does C-stock really allow slicks? For some reason I thought it was DOT tire only, but looks like I'm mistaken. What are the other allowances I should be aware of besides front bar?

What slicks are you guys using, and is the consensus 285's on all 4 corners?

I've got 2 autox's under my belt on the stock RE050s, time to step up.

Yes, stock class allows slicks - DOT slicks is the catch. Personally I would prefer that stock class was street tires as originally intended and leave the slicks to the prepared categories, but alas that is not the case.

For SCCA the fastest street legal slicks are Hoosier A6's. 285 is a good size all around for the short courses they run.

I'm in the prepared class and run 315 front 345 rear V710 on after market wheels, but they are too big for 60 second courses as there is no way to get heat into them. They are good on our clubs 100+ second long course with 6-7 runs a session though.

The other big allowance for stock class besides a front sway bar is an aftermarket or adjustable struts. The catch is that they must be exactly the same length as stock, so options are extremely limited and expensive. You can adjust suspension (camber/toe) using factory adjusters. You can add a high-flow air filter (K&N etc) but not a cold air intake.

i believe there is a nationa ltour guy here, he should have all the answer

i think most were referring the a6s as slicks.

i dont know how committed you are, all i have to say is dont waste your money until you are really ready to commit

What they said^

Also, many local clubs have a street tire stock class, which is a good way to go for new guys. It's nice to be competitive without dropping the $$$ on spare wheels and hoosiers.

To clarify Hoosier A6s are not slicks, they are DOT race tires. Slicks are a completely different animal and are not allowed in stock or street prepared. If you are going to get some Hoosiers 295/30/19 is the size you want on all 4 corners. I would spend some more time on your stockers before making the jump to r-comps. If you think you're ready to drop 1300 on a set of tires that will last maybe 1/2 season and cannot be driven on the street then by all means.

Ps if you're wondering don't waste you're time with other r-comps like Toyo r888's and the like. Hoosiers are the only ones worth paying for.

Yeah, R888s are garbage

Thanks for the clarification. I'll probably do the first couple SCCA events on street tires and see what the competition looks like.

I would contend that A6's are very much DOT R slicks as opposed to DOT R treaded tires. An A6 is closer to a radial race slick than a treaded street tire. Compounds the A6 uses are very similar to true race slick compounds as well. I have always found it amusing when some people try to say an A6 isnt a slick but a DOT R race tire. What exactly does that mean in a practical sense as in many venues an A6 is superior to non DOT race slick. Thats especially true now as Good Year and Hoosier have stopped producing many non DOT race slick sizes in soft compounds in favor of supporting road racing compounds that just dont work in AX. Again there are exceptions but really A6 is a slick in general sense of the word. Its not a tire you can drive on the street any more practically than a true radial race slick.

Also I would challenge assumption that A6 is only way to go for a DOT R tire. It depends on your goals and skill level. Toyo R888 is a fair tire and if you need something to drive back and forth to event its far better choice than a A6. Treaded DOT R can also double as an intermediate rain tire where A6 would fail. And tread life will be far greater on treaded DOT tire. I'm actually a fan of Nitto NTo1 as intermediate tire that can be driven to events.

Not everyone is headed to Nationals and having flexibility to run a streetable treaded DOT tire is something many of us who dont want to trailer tires use. My street wheels have R888's and I only use them for local AX now. My race wheels have R6's for track work. A6 is just over priced and only really required if you are out for National Tour or big event win. Also dont ignore the new Good Year DOT R tires. They make a soft AX compound now and cars on Good Year DOTs in San Diego were beating Hoosier clad cars at National tour. I think a few more National title winners will be on Good Year DOT R tires this year. That pretty much puts a stick in things for Hoosier being the " only ones worth paying for". :stirthepot:

as an idiot who purchased 2 sets of r888s new, i want to say they are absolute garbage compare to its predecessor. the r888 might have been fast the first couple heat cycles, but they drop off so fast that they are virtually garbage even with full treads showing.

i might try the nt01s if they dont have the same drop off as the r888s

I used the NT01's for a season with many heat cycles. I really didn't notice any drop off in performance, and I like them as a track tire for their durability. Certainly not as fast as the full R-comps but was faster than the RE-11 by a second or 2.

The only thing I don't like about the NT01 is the noise (okay for driving to the track but I wouldn't leave them on). Also not particularly good in wet conditions, for that I would go with a full tread depth tire.

sounds very tempting. i am debating that or go all out with a set of c51 or bfg r1s. i cant run the re11s anymore, sick of getting outrun by drivers that are slower

Yes the A6 is very much like a slick but it is not. It just bothers me when people refer to all minimally greased tires as slicks, there is a still a relatively large difference between the two.

It is also my opinion thatif you arent going to make the jump up to A6 then just get a good street tire like an re11 or rs3 and play on those. I drove my car with the oem bridgestones for a year and beat plenty of guys running other rcomps. Also since Hoosier is the only company who makes 19s goodyears are a non-issue to me.

This is a great thread, I just read through it in anticipation for the Solo SCCA event I am doing this Saturday. The only thing I am wary of is the course as I have watched tons of auto-x videos and find that many of them are hard to follow in terms of knowing where to go.

Is it more obvious when you actually get to the course in person?

It is much more apparent in person when you are walking the course at low speed. There should be some people available for the course walk to assist the novices in understanding the course and its elements.

It has no tread and is a super soft compound so to me that is a slick whether it has a circumferential grove or not. The A6 is one of the softest compounds used in racing, the only thing softer is a drag slick.

What makes it DOT legal over the racing slick anyway?

The two circumferential grooves and it has to pass some other DOT tests but I'm not sure what there are.

Well thats not completely true. Plenty of softer compounds than A6 on non DOT race tires however its still very soft and its operating tempreture range is much lower than most race slick compounds.

Remember that DOT R's were born from "cheater slicks" People would buy race slicks and put groves in them to run on the street. About the only differnce between Race slick and DOT R slick is fact that tire has DOT approval which means it has minimum contruction to pass DOT standards and has minimum tread groves to satisfy the DOT regulations. All the suppliers of slick type DOT R tires say for racing only now. DOT R's are very close in construction to regular radial race slicks they are just use a little heavier construction and belt to meet DOT requirements. Tire compounds and construction used in true race slicks tend to be more tolerant of heat as well.

But truely tires like A6 are race slicks by defintion. They are made for racing and they are slicks. Many people use A6 and R6 as they would a radial race slick. In some situations A6 is faster than a non dot slick.

The A6s are softer than some of the racing slicks out there.

Best advice: Walk the course as many times as possible (and walk it with the novice group if your region does that) and also look far ahead, not just at the next turn.

Sometimes courses are set up like a sea of cones so course design can make a difference.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. It's an SCCA event this Saturday, I am going early to walk the course a few times in response to your recommendations. They have a mandatory driver's safety course as well before the first drivers head out which I hope will cover that stuff.

I will make sure to catch some GoPro footage so that I can have evidence of my noobish autocross skills!

On top of walking the course, some other things that I've found helpful are to draw the course on a piece of paper (you can also note key points or draw the line you want to take) and run through the course in your head.

Good luck and have fun :tup:

Even more important. Get an experienced ax instructor in the car with you.

so much tr00f, so much fail. i love this thread so much!!

That is definitely my plan, that is the part of the event I am most interested/excited about.