The Official 370Z Autocross Thread

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

I've heard that from Lee in the past, promising june, then july, then before Nats, only to be left empty handed so have little confidence in his tentative dates...

I was gonna call terry and ask about the AST as he has been getting them for everything the past couple years so that will be THE choice...so that's good news...

And Jr has enough rides at his disposal....keep him outta the Z

Based on what you saw with the 295s on the rear, any concern about stuffing a 315 in there?

Trying to get me some used Corvette rubber from Aquilante down the road to mount up for a couple local event in Oct

I hope Jr was joking, considering on tuesday he was talking about how slow c-5 vettes fealt compared to the c6 he was driving. So with his rational, the 370 should be too slow for him.

I didn't have a close look at Learic's car, but it sounds like 315s should fit. The only downside I see is if the 370 is anything like the 350, it sucks having staggered tires for auto-x. Square setup ftw. But since you are going to be running local events and getting used rubber, all the more power for you to try! And please post up your feedback, results, etc!

[pgrmstr]

Why does having staggered tires suck? Is it just the ability to rotate the tires or is it a handling thing?

Looks like the AST solution Boardkat mentions won't fly as they are only developing a coilover, not something that will use stock springs so that"s out for stock class.

I guess we're just at the mercy of Koni at this point for any adjustable dampers. I wonder how different they are from the 350 dampers...

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

Why does having staggered tires suck? Is it just the ability to rotate the tires or is it a handling thing?

Looks like the AST solution Boardkat mentions won't fly as they are only developing a coilover, not something that will use stock springs so that"s out for stock class.

I guess we're just at the mercy of Koni at this point for any adjustable dampers. I wonder how different they are from the 350 dampers...

****, maybe that's why i haven't heard back from terry yet. i'm gonna give him a call. i've got questions out to pen$ke and moton in the meantime. SOMEBODY is gonna want to take the money i'm willing to throw at them, lol.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by boardkat

****, maybe that's why i haven't heard back from terry yet. i'm gonna give him a call. i've got questions out to pen$ke and moton in the meantime. SOMEBODY is gonna want to take the money i'm willing to throw at them, lol.

heard back from moton - they've got a motorsport DA coilover setup w/ custom mounts ready to go, but no shock drop-in i'm waiting to hear back from the US rep about a possible stock fitament (he's at the petit le mans this week), but i'm not holding my breath.
on the other hand, i had a very productive conversation with terry this morning. no promises yet, but i'll keep you updated as we move along. keep your fingers crossed!

[pgrmstr]

So earlier in the week, I get an email from Vorshlag stating there was no damper in development, just coilovers....

Well, wouldn't you know, I get a follow up response today stating...

"over the past few days, we have gotten interest from people in using our shocks for a B Stock 370z. We are looking more seriously into this and we'll get back to you"

hmmmm, I wonder who those interested people were

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

So earlier in the week, I get an email from Vorshlag stating there was no damper in development, just coilovers....

Well, wouldn't you know, I get a follow up response today stating...

"over the past few days, we have gotten interest from people in using our shocks for a B Stock 370z. We are looking more seriously into this and we'll get back to you"

hmmmm, I wonder who those interested people were

that's why it's good to be pounding pavement NOW. the last thing i want is a brand new car, ready to go, sitting on stock shocks for a season! 2010 or bust!!
.. oh, and sometimes a phone call goes a long way, too. terry got a good sense of where i'm coming from and what i want to accomplish, and i got a good sense of why he was reluctant to put something together for the stock crowd (not just us). felt we met in the middle by the time we were finished, and it seems as though i was right on the mark. still keeping my fingers crossed!!

[pgrmstr]

yeah, i've already started adding everything up.. 3-5k for shocks, 2k for two sets of wheels, 1.5k for drys, 1k for wets, 1.5k for exhaust, .35k for FSB... and all the miscellaneous stuff like fluids/pads/alignment/dyno/etc... at least i'll have a co-driver to split tires with.. yeah
BUT IT'S GOING TO BE FUN!!!!

The initial year always hurts...at least I don't have to justify it to a nagging wife anymore

Rather not get into the 3-5k for shocks though....that's full coilover money. I'm also looking at moving into a tow vehicle and trailer as well so every bit of savings here and there will help. My co-driver doesn't come with any funds however, but I'll have an official tire changer and gofer....my 16y/o son. Been running a FJA kart last couple years, will have license in Jan so need to bring him up to speed asap on driving a big rig. He's got course walks, picking lines, seeing the course,etc down though!

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by pgrmstr

Why does having staggered tires suck? Is it just the ability to rotate the tires or is it a handling thing?

Looks like the AST solution Boardkat mentions won't fly as they are only developing a coilover, not something that will use stock springs so that"s out for stock class.

I guess we're just at the mercy of Koni at this point for any adjustable dampers. I wonder how different they are from the 350 dampers...

Handling, skinnier front tires causes more understeer (built in safety feature for the Z). Since we are already going wider in the rear, linear traction will be very good. But keeping a stagger makes the car prone to understeer, so the square setup, in my opinion from autoxing 2 different 350's, is the best route.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by Ruff

Handling, skinnier front tires causes more oversteer (built in safety feature for the Z). Since we are already going wider in the rear, linear traction will be very good. But keeping a stagger makes the car prone to understeer, so the square setup, in my opinion from autoxing 2 different 350's, is the best route.

i think you meant understeer
but yeah, i WANT to run 315's in the rear, but will probably just try and find some used 'vette rubber to test on. especially when i'll have a pesky co-driver constantly reminding me of my decision if we don't go square and can't tune out the understeer with shocks/FSB

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by boardkat

i think you meant understeer
but yeah, i WANT to run 315's in the rear, but will probably just try and find some used 'vette rubber to test on. especially when i'll have a pesky co-driver constantly reminding me of my decision if we don't go square and can't tune out the understeer with shocks/FSB

LOL FML...

anyway, with already going to a 295 rear I think we'll have ample linear grip. And lateral grip in the rear will be more then enough, its the front that needs the help. But I guess we'll figure it out next year