The Official 370Z Autocross Thread

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by Spec Jay

there was a at class? :3

shows how long ive been away from autox

Must be a local region thing, I've never heard of it.

[JSBZ]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Must be a local region thing, I've never heard of it.

Local to the Rocky Mountain region: Rocky Mountain Solo Series Rules Page

[ilive2win]

soooo, i have had the 370z for almost 2 weeks now and today was the first day i got to auto x with her. i have auto x'ed before with my rx8 and my evo x, but i was just so nervous because i had to learn a new car and the track was a 70-80 sec track, depending on driver, which is a good size track. i was running in BS againt 5 other cars today, (2 s2000's, 1 350z, and 2 rx-8's) which are all good drivers. so i had my hands full today. the 370z ran very well and really impressed me as well as some of the other drivers. first run i ran stock tire pressure, which was 36psi (i know its kinda high) but i need a place to start correcting where needed be. at the end of the run my tire pressure was up to 40 psi all around. the front was planted but the rear kept kicking out, so i went back to 36psi in the front and 31psi in the rear, and still the z was tail happy, not as much, but still very tail happy. i left it alone for the other 2 runs just to see what would happen. i ended up in 2nd place running a 75.3 behind one of the s2000's which got a 74.9 with better tires. (i forgot what he was running) overall i was really happy with the new z, but i need to plant that back end to be a little quicker. here are some pix...



the results are not posted yet, of course, but when they are posted ill post them on here

[ssqpolo]

might try my first autox in two weeks in Brooksville, FL!

[IMWEZL]

Hmm very tempting. I might look into this when I get back from deployment. I was trying to go a whole year in B Stock without any mods just to get a good feel for the car. In three events I went from 5th place (out of five) to 2nd at the most recent.

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by IMWEZL

Hmm very tempting. I might look into this when I get back from deployment. I was trying to go a whole year in B Stock without any mods just to get a good feel for the car. In three events I went from 5th place (out of five) to 2nd at the most recent.

The car has much more of an advantage in B stock. I would have won the last SCCA event if I had race tires on, as it was I came 2nd on street tires against race tired cars.

By installing the camber arms you are automatically in BSP which is a very hotly contended class. In BSP people are going to have crazy sized wheels, suspension mods and more. The other catch is that even in a prepared class you aren't supposed to use an alignment setting beyond stock range, which is quoted as -1.41 degrees max.

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

The car has much more of an advantage in B stock. I would have won the last SCCA event if I had race tires on, as it was I came 2nd on street tires against race tired cars.

By installing the camber arms you are automatically in BSP which is a very hotly contended class. In BSP people are going to have crazy sized wheels, suspension mods and more. The other catch is that even in a prepared class you aren't supposed to use an alignment setting beyond stock range, which is quoted as -1.41 degrees max.

Where does it say in the rules you have to use stock alignment settings? It says you can only adjust it using stock capabilities but you can make it whatever you want.

And yes the Z doesn't really stand a chance in bsp against the boost buggies.

[ChrisSlicks]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Where does it say in the rules you have to use stock alignment settings? It says you can only adjust it using stock capabilities but you can make it whatever you want.

And yes the Z doesn't really stand a chance in bsp against the boost buggies.

In stock you can make it whatever you want within the stock capabilities, but for prepared you are allowed to add camber devices. I read the following the rules but I think I misinterpreted. You are correct that in Prepared you can go outside of factory specifications using the methods spelled out in section 15.8.

From the 2009 Solo Rules section 15.1 F.
"F. On all forms of suspension, camber/caster adjustment within
factory specifications may be achieved by the use of shims or
eccentric bushings. The intent of this allowance is to permit cars
to be restored to within factory-allowed specification ranges, not
to provide an additional method beyond those permitted in Section
15.8 to obtain alignment settings beyond the factory specifications."

As for the boost buggies, I think we can beat them but it will take some work.

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by ChrisSlicks

In stock you can make it whatever you want within the stock capabilities, but for prepared you are allowed to add camber devices. I read the following the rules but I think I misinterpreted. You are correct that in Prepared you can go outside of factory specifications using the methods spelled out in section 15.8.

From the 2009 Solo Rules section 15.1 F.
"F. On all forms of suspension, camber/caster adjustment within
factory specifications may be achieved by the use of shims or
eccentric bushings. The intent of this allowance is to permit cars
to be restored to within factory-allowed specification ranges, not
to provide an additional method beyond those permitted in Section
15.8 to obtain alignment settings beyond the factory specifications."

As for the boost buggies, I think we can beat them but it will take some work.

Yea the way I read that rule it allows you to shim the suspension ONLY if you're trying to get it back to the stock range because something else you did got it out of whack, like over-lowering. It still allows the use of crash bolts, camber plates, adjustable arms, etc. to do whatever you want but you can't use shims for the same purpose as all those other allowed items.

[IMWEZL]

Yeah BSP here in Hawaii is a no go for me. There's a family lead by Curtis Lee...that man has some insane skills. I think they just competed in the Nationals this week. Great guy, gave me a lot of tips after he drove my car. It helps that he also has a 370Z but he races his 240Z in BSP.

[ChrisSlicks]

Another Auto-x on Saturday, this one was wet the whole day. It made for some challenging driving conditions as there were different levels of grip on different parts of the course.

The car did great though, and I not only won my class, I pulled out my first FTD ever. The top 3 was tightly contended but in the end I was able to stop hitting cones and lay down some fast times.

[AutoX Z]

I'm so tempted to get some A6's but I just cant justify the 3 grand it would take to get an extra set of stock wheels and the tires. Also as it is right now I'm winning BS by over a second consistently and PAXing top 10. Maybe next year for divisionals...

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

I'm so tempted to get some A6's but I just cant justify the 3 grand it would take to get an extra set of stock wheels and the tires.

don't do it!! if you're just running locally and don't know what you're missing, you'll save yourself a tonne of cash in the long run!!!
.. and with vorshlag so damn close....... one conversation with terry and you'll be trying to figure out how to come up with *another* 3k+ for a set of AST 5200's

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by boardkat

don't do it!! if you're just running locally and don't know what you're missing, you'll save yourself a tonne of cash in the long run!!!
.. and with vorshlag so damn close....... one conversation with terry and you'll be trying to figure out how to come up with *another* 3k+ for a set of AST 5200's

Yea its a slippery slippery slope. Im thinking my plan is to hang out till the national tour comes to town next season and use that to get a better perspective on where my driving is at. After thats over I can start spending the big bucks.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Yea its a slippery slippery slope. Im thinking my plan is to hang out till the national tour comes to town next season and use that to get a better perspective on where my driving is at. After thats over I can start spending the big bucks.

you've got a great benchmark in eric jones. if you can run with him consistently, you're on the right track.