Track day pics, Tein lowering springs, Stillen Swaybar, and overall 370Z review...
 

So went to the track for the second time with the car, this is my first time going to the track with some mods etc.

Mods are: brake ducts, stillen sway bars, tein lowering springs (Stech)... all this with Michelin pilot super sport tires.

The car performed great, I have been to the track without these mods and so I can compare stock VS the current mods.

Springs: They performed very good, However the steering felt a little numb on trun-in, maybe because these are progressive springs, or maybe because the 2 degrees of camber up front... However once on the turn they felt good... On a side note, these springs are great combo for track/street. the ride is better than stock and they do perform better than stock overall. Also, for 200 dollars I wasn't expecting to change the whole feeling of the car jejeje.

Sway bars: the car had more understeer than what I wanted to, I have the front bar set at medium and the rear at soft. In theory this should stiffen up the car about the same in the front and the back (about 35%). I was expecting to have less understeer than stock but It felt with similar balance. However there is a lot less body roll. I have to try setting the rear at medium. If someone can input on their set up id be thankful.

Brakes: had no brake fade with the EBC yellow stuff pads, motul 600 fluid, and the stillen brake ducts. I had been to the track before with the same brakes but without the cooling ducts and did have a little bit of fade, So im guessing the cooling ducts did their job. However the pedal felt inconsistent and so I just ordered the Z1 SS brake lines. lets see how that helps.

coolant temp: I put on some "watter Weter" and the coolant temp never went over 210.

Oil temp: outside temp was about 85 degrees with 85% humidity, I have the 34 row oil cooler (using 5W30 synthetic motul oil). I was expecting the Oil temp to stay lower. I had to slow down after about 3 laps, the temp would climb to 250 by the time I checked the gauge.


Overall the car feels much better... I cant wait to try different setting on the sway bars.

QUESTIONS:
1) I have the front bar to medium, and the rear at soft..... D you guys suggest stiffening the rear or softening the front?

2) What oil are you guys using at the track? weight, brand, etc.

3) Id like to eventually have a linear spring set up on the car. What coilovers do you guys know that lower the car the least? I Cant go lower than what I am right now.

Thanks,

Enough theory, here are some pics :) :happydance:

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...pCA3VSO9E2.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...pCA125J7U2.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...pCA8L07DH2.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...s/IMG_0563.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...pCA9S1E5R2.jpg

Did you leave VDC on? It will always make the car feel like you have understeer as it tries to keep you from sliding.

Great pics, juice!

Nice review, I am kind of in the same spot as you-stock 2012 that I just started tracking this summer and I am doing 1 upgrade per session.



You may eventually want to buy another set of wheels/tires. My last track day I removed my 19" potenzas which where 255F/285R and I swapped to 18" 285 Square RS-3's. It was like driving a completely different car-I dropped almost 10 lbs per wheel with the enkei rpf1's from my flashy(but very heavy) Foose 5 stars. With the 285 square setup, I experienced no understeer at all.


I too use Motul 600 RBF and Motul 5W30 V300 racing oil, you might want to move to Motul 660 RBF if you have upgraded your pads.

Also take any left over RBF and replace your clutch fluid as well. I did this before last track day and I swear it also made a night and day different on how my clutch felt-very smooth and much less noise as soon as I left the shop. It was noticeable immediately. Nobody ever thinks about clutch fluid, it is brake fluid and it is a fairly easy thing to change. If your clutch fluid boils-not sure what happens exactly but don't want to find out.

Also with synthetic Oil, I don't think you need to slow down at 250, I think it is more like 270. I usually am at 260/265 after a 20 minute session and have never tripped the "limp mode" , but now summer is getting hotter and I think it kicks in at 275/280. I REALLY need my oil cooler before next time lol.

Oh yea everything comes off as soon as i turn the car on at the track jejeje

Yes i also did motul 600 for the clutch but the xlutch was inconsistent..... i had to replace the slave cylinder and i went with the zsp csc but didnt replace the master cylinder... then i found the reservoir with black grease on the reservoir. Some guys say its from the broken seals of the master cyl. I orderrd the master cyl last week.

As far as the tyre set up i am happy with it. The grip on the michelin pilot super sports is crazy!!! It may not be as the re11s but they handle like a dream.. i have the front 265/45/19 and rear 295:40/19... i will eventually but a set for the track probably.

You say 260 is not that high for.the oil temp? I was thinking that was really high :icon14:

Is that the correct ratio for front and rears? I know stock is 1.18. Anything larger I believe is more understeer, any lower more oversteer. I need to find a calculator to figure that out.

Stock diameter is at least 26.8" and now you have 28.4" front. Rear is 26.5" and now you have 28.3". Something tells me you need a different stagger setup. Or settings on sways will help.

260 would make me nervous

I have Hotchkis sways. So you have no options for stiffness up front. But I like stiff in the front to help with the extra weight transfer that is up front. So far as the rear, medium worked best for me.

So you recommend i leave the front at medium which is about 35% stiffer than stock, and set the rear to medium instead of soft?

My set up is only about 2.5 % taller than stock so its not much. However the front tires got wider (percentage wise) than the rears. From 245 to 265 and on the rear from 275 to 295. So in theory it should help eliminate some of the understeer.

Something i forgot to mention was tire psi. It was front and rear at 35 hot. Next time ill try to lower both. And have the fronts a little lower.

A lot of this reflects the drivers style in the beginning when learning your car. So you go the route you just mentioned. But I'd at least try full stiff front and med rear. I bet you'll like it.

Ill try that. I like going from loose to tight. The car felt fine with this sway bar set up with stock springs. But it lost alot of response with the tein springs, maybe the progressive design or the extra camber. I dunno

This were my calculations, i checked with stillen and they said i was right.

FRONT BAR
Front Adjustable 5 way (21%-48% Stiffer)
1: 21%
2: 26%
3: 32%
4: 39%
5: 48%

REAR BAR 3-Way Adjustable Rear (37-70% Stiffer)
1: 37%
2: 50%
3: 70%

:shakes head:
Ok...NVM, I need coilovers.