The Official 370Z Autocross Thread

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

not sure how much info you are going to get, there are probably not many people who particpated at the national level in this forum, especially in a 370z

yeah, i know jeff sold his recently, but spoke with dan briefly @ nats last year and i think he still posts on here. agreed that there aren't many nationally-prepped 370's, not just on here, but anywhere. 19" wheels, limited camber, 40ish competitive runs when flipped, almost no shock options... easy to see why!!

[cossie1600]

it sounds like you know about autox, then you should know it is a copycat sport/event. i think the guy who finished 4th last year got this car a lot of attention, but then it makes no sense for new guys to try it as the miatas will probably rape the 370 again this year.

if nissan was more amature friendly, all they need to do is offer 18x10 front wheels, a torsen lsd and some camber adjustment

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

it sounds like you know about autox, then you should know it is a copycat sport/event. i think the guy who finished 4th last year got this car a lot of attention, but then it makes no sense for new guys to try it as the miatas will probably rape the 370 again this year.

if nissan was more amature friendly, all they need to do is offer 18x10 front wheels, a torsen lsd and some camber adjustment

i picked up a cmod ride over the winter so i'm less concerned about "the" car to have to "win", but having a dual purpose car that's a blast on the street is a priority - which is why i'm considering the 370. agreed on the wheel/lsd choice - add sub-3000lbs with double-wishbones front/rear and 315's square for under 30k and we wouldn't be having this conversation. one can dream

[Ruff]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

it sounds like you know about autox, then you should know it is a copycat sport/event. i think the guy who finished 4th last year got this car a lot of attention, but then it makes no sense for new guys to try it as the miatas will probably rape the 370 again this year.

if nissan was more amature friendly, all they need to do is offer 18x10 front wheels, a torsen lsd and some camber adjustment

The 370z was on my autox radar long before anyone on here owned the car, let alone Daniel finish at nats. Probably about 3 years by now. Anyway, who needs a co-driver in a prepped 370z at Nats? I'm carless, and my buddy Heitkotter thinks I'll beat him if I'm in one

[Shamu]

Originally Posted by Ruff

The 370z was on my autox radar long before anyone on here owned the car, let alone Daniel finish at nats. Probably about 3 years by now. Anyway, who needs a co-driver in a prepped 370z at Nats? I'm carless, and my buddy Heitkotter thinks I'll beat him if I'm in one

I dont know based on your performance this past weekend in the 350 Z Im not so sure. ES miata and street tire tire STR MX5's smoked you? Think its going to take more than a 370Z to help you out of that hole. LOL! money would be on Bryan as co-driver who would put a 370Z on top. He put a street tire 350Z in top 5 OA this weekend at an SFR event.

Looks likes Brits 914 is finally starting to work better?

Oregon Region SCCA - Oregon Region SCCA Solo - Event #3: PIR South Paddock 05/01/11

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by Ruff

The 370z was on my autox radar long before anyone on here owned the car, let alone Daniel finish at nats. Probably about 3 years by now. Anyway, who needs a co-driver in a prepped 370z at Nats? I'm carless, and my buddy Heitkotter thinks I'll beat him if I'm in one

Last year you end up in a broken GXP. The year before that you break Glens 350....something tells me the codrive offers won't be poring in....

[cossie1600]

there is no such thing as a perfect car. heck i would even argue the cars that win at the national arent street driven, most are trailer queens anyway, even in stock class. its all relative and what makes you happy. i had a rx8, i got rid of it after 6 months because it was such a disappointment at the track. it doesnt mean i dont like the car, it just didnt do what i wanted it to do

[Shamu]

I made assessmsnt pretty quick that a CS 370Z or wouldnt be much fun. Nismo in BS isnt much fun either. Then learned no one had even asked SEB to class the 370Z in SP! So I wrote up request and asked others to write in. We now are stuck in BSP. Not a fun class with EVOS but heck of a lot better than ASP! So started down that parth and 370Z still comes up short against class leading car potential in HP. And silly SCCA Solo rules dont let you use full coilover in the rear which is a problem if I want ultimate performance and proper motion ratios for the track.

I'm now playing more on the track with my car and its gone into SSM.. ...Sigh honestly 370Z sucks for most of classes right now if you want to live without an oil cooler I guess CS is best. I wont roll that way.

Its more of a fun car than a car that will be nationally comptitive. 370Z in CS is likely best chance but yeah big bar up front and saggy nasty stock springs you have to live with. I had a hard time with Nismo springs being too soft up front. My car rides better on 1000 lb front springs with 400 lb rears on JRZ coilovers than it did on stock Nismo Tokico junk. And performance is like night and day.

Its nice to have car setup on 315 rears and 285 fronts that actually turns! I'm just running against 500 HP turbo 3 rotor RX7's now. No delusions of making this a nationally competive AX car.

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by Shamu

Its more of a fun car than a car that will be nationally comptitive. 370Z in CS is likely best chance but yeah big bar up front and saggy nasty stock springs you have to live with. I had a hard time with Nismo springs being too soft up front. My car rides better on 1000 lb front springs with 400 lb rears on JRZ coilovers than it did on stock Nismo Tokico junk. And performance is like night and day.

Its nice to have car setup on 315 rears and 285 fronts that actually turns! I'm just running against 500 HP turbo 3 rotor RX7's now. No delusions of making this a nationally competive AX car.

After taking apart my front suspension I found that the front of the car spends almost all of its time on the bumpstops. There is maybe .5" of travel at most and then a big squishy 3" bump stop. In the rear there is more travel, maybe 1.5" before you hit the bumpstops.

And my car turns just fine. Is it like a miata? no but its much better than many other car's I've driven.

[AutoX Z]

Theres alot of references to me in the above posts. My and my co-driver were 4th and 5th last year and I've made it no secret that we underperformed at nationals last year. We gave up maybe a second the first day coning the fast runs and making stupid errors on the others and then completely mis-drove the course the second day. I still think the Z can win and we are going back this year to try and prove it. It's not an overdog by any means but I think it can win, its just never going to be easy in any car against the top drivers in CS right now.

We have played with the idea of 315's but at this point have no plans to run them at any upcoming events. Our biggest concern isn't fitting that size tire inside the fenders, it's actually mounting it on the rim. The 295's are hell to mount as is and we have been warned against trying to go larger by a few different people including Hoosier.

[boardkat]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Theres alot of references to me in the above posts. My and my co-driver were 4th and 5th last year and I've made it no secret that we underperformed at nationals last year. We gave up maybe a second the first day coning the fast runs and making stupid errors on the others and then completely mis-drove the course the second day. I still think the Z can win and we are going back this year to try and prove it. It's not an overdog by any means but I think it can win, its just never going to be easy in any car against the top drivers in CS right now.

tell me about it. i've got buetzer and heitkotter to contend with out here if i make the move. well, maybe not brian if he lands that pro driving contract in a few weeks! so much for easy access to free contingency tires though! i am in the same camp as you - i truly believe the car is equipped to win on most courses with excellent driving. it's definitely not an underdog by any measure of the word.

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

We have played with the idea of 315's but at this point have no plans to run them at any upcoming events. Our biggest concern isn't fitting that size tire inside the fenders, it's actually mounting it on the rim. The 295's are hell to mount as is and we have been warned against trying to go larger by a few different people including Hoosier.

interesting. i've had any of a number of experienced/inexperienced mounting guys @ my local america's tire slip the 295's onto my 18x8 rims without any issues over the past few years. maybe there's something different about the 19's? if/when the time comes, i'll let you know how it goes because i definitely want to run 315 square if it's possible.

[cossie1600]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Theres alot of references to me in the above posts. My and my co-driver were 4th and 5th last year and I've made it no secret that we underperformed at nationals last year. We gave up maybe a second the first day coning the fast runs and making stupid errors on the others and then completely mis-drove the course the second day. I still think the Z can win and we are going back this year to try and prove it. It's not an overdog by any means but I think it can win, its just never going to be easy in any car against the top drivers in CS right now.

We have played with the idea of 315's but at this point have no plans to run them at any upcoming events. Our biggest concern isn't fitting that size tire inside the fenders, it's actually mounting it on the rim. The 295's are hell to mount as is and we have been warned against trying to go larger by a few different people including Hoosier.

Didn't you run 295/315 last year?

[AutoX Z]

Originally Posted by cossie1600

Didn't you run 295/315 last year?

Nope 295's square. I've thought about running that stagger but the car has no issues putting down power and rotates fine so I don't see a need to upset the balance with more rear grip.

[cossie1600]

Originally Posted by AutoX Z

Nope 295's square. I've thought about running that stagger but the car has no issues putting down power and rotates fine so I don't see a need to upset the balance with more rear grip.

That makes sense. I don't run Hoosiers, but I loved how much better my car drove when I threw the square setup on it. It's amazing what 20mm of tires can do to it

[boardkat]

and fyi dan... i'm the owner (dennis) of the broken BS solstice from last year. we only spoke briefly in grid but i think you had a longer conversation with my co-driver (adam).
i'll definitely look you up when i'm there this year, although i'm just doing a fly 'n drive this time around in cmod, even if i've got a shiny new 370 sitting in the garage