First Track Day in the Z! (Very long post, pic heavy)

[Shoeshear]

Hey guys, just thought I'd document my thoughts about my first track day in the Z. I’m in NorCal, but I thought I'd put it here, since the regional section is super dead. Hopefully, this will help someone decide to go to the track, buy a Z, buy a Miata, or just have something reasonably entertaining to read on a Sunday (or whatever day you find this). We went with NCRC for the track org btw.

Track Prep:

Tape-Bra:
I did this the day-of. Wanted to minimize the debris, rock chips, and general crap on the bumper. Still managed to catch a bunch of crap on the hood from an E30 M3 and a 911 GT3 RS who both seemed like they threw an entire tire at me over the course of a lap....



Oil Cooler:
I wanted no surprises and having read everyone’s woes about oil temp, I prophylactically fitted a 34 row oil cooler from Fast Intentions (and I’ll be moving to Tucson AZ anyway, so I figured it would be a blessing in the 120˚ heat). Had a little bit of overcooling down to 160˚ F on the highways on colder days, but 160˚ F should be more than enough temp for just cruising on the highway at 70mph under 3k RPM. Did it’s job on the track, but I did have some weird heat stuff that I’ll talk about later.



Brake pads:
I went with Project Mu B-Force/Spec pads all around. My OEM pads had good life on them, but I wanted to be safe and these were going to be extra torturous conditions. They recommended them as a good street/track combo if you’re doing some track work, but do a lot of street driving as well (me in a nutshell).



Brake Fluid:
To the dismay of many of you (I’m sure), I did not upgrade the brake fluid. The pedal did get a bit soft and required more travel and a bit more effort, but the braking force stayed true pretty much all day. I’ll probably do the fluids soon and definitely before the next track day, but I did not come away regretting it.

Tires:
I had pretty much new tires. I had Conti ExtremeContact Sport summer tires (the DW successor) with about 1500 miles of gentle highway cruising on it.



Apps:
Bought Harry’s Lap Timer. I had previously shied away from transponders and lap timers, mostly because I felt that I should really focus on just driving, getting around the track, and getting more comfortable driving at a quick pace around turns, rather than actual times. This was my 4th track experience, and after my motorcycle track day (very eye opening and an amazing experience for the other riders on this forum, if you haven’t done one yet), I felt that I could comfortable start driving for pace. Everyone seemed to point to Harry’s lap timer and I will say, very thoroughly pleased with the app. Not the easiest to use, to be honest (it could probably use someone with UI/UX training to rifle through it), but after a couple button presses here and there, I got it sorted. Super awesome app, totally recommend it. For those interested, my fastest lap was a 1:52.10.

Helmet:
I bought a Conquer, full face helmet for $160, SA 2015. Hoping to do more track days and some AutoX in the future. Laguna also doesn’t rent, annoyingly.



The day of battle:

So, my dad and some family friends and I headed over to Laguna Seca (now WeatherTech Raceway or something) bright and early yesterday morning (5/27/18).

Dad’s in an B8 S5 (3.0 SC V6), friend in a 340 whp 135i running FlexFuel for his first track day lol (TT I6 I think), and I was in the Z. Friend’s brother just got his license and his dad is a car guy too and so friend’s little brother has an E46 M3 as his first car… His dad said no-go on the track day for him, sad, but probably wise. Thankfully, super sensible, through-and-through car nerd, so I do not worry for him or his car’s life. Good family of car people for sure and some awesome cars, but I digress.




Gates opened at 7am and we were there at 7:10. Standard driver’s meeting stuff and some driving school for those totally new to the scene. Some really amazing machinery out there. Three Cayman GT4s, a 911 GT3 RS (think it was a 997), two GT350s one of which was on slicks lol, a bunch of track-rat miatas, a bunch of euro people (TTRS, GTIs, M3s, M4s, etc.), Corvette grand sport, Jag F-type SVR, and a bunch of other stuff. Not a single other modern Z out there, just one cool looking white 240z who went home early (by choice, not a wreck).

Oh and there was this super cool, super stock 370z. Not sure who owned it.











My dad and I went in the Solo group since we’ve been to a couple track events. I did a Skip Barber Miata racing school day, a day at Thunderhill in my previous car (04’ A4 1.8t), and a day at Thunderhill on my Kawasaki ZX6r. With that in mind, and having overcooked turns before, I was keen to take the Z home in one piece and do my best not to succumb to the red mist. Because the younger kid wasn’t going to drive, I took him, his brother, or my dad as a passenger every session except the first, so keep that in mind if you’re looking at my times and think I’m a slow grandma (I also only slightly care if you think I’m a slow grandma, because I still have my car and am a happy adrenaline junkie who got his fix and is now riding his high, thanks.)



Session 1:

I started the car up early to warm up and took the first lap pretty gently (relative to track speeds), short shifting and mostly cruising around in 4th and 5th for the first lap, waiting for the tires, oil, and brakes to come up in temp. Got to 180˚ F just before the corkscrew and started pushing it up to 4-5k, and was pretty much hammering it onto the straight. Conditions were pretty much perfect, the tires gripped fantastically, the brakes were great, with basically no fade (a little sponginess from the stock fluid, but braking force was with me the whole way). What struck me most was how balanced and forgiving the car was. I know I have slightly increased width on the front tires, but the rear does too. People say there’s a lot of corner entry understeer, but I would say there is only a little bit. A very slight lift or a light touch of brake gets the car to rotate oh-so-smoothly that I felt like god (I’m not, I’m aware). Very very very correctable and progressive oversteer, with only the slightest hint of understeer sometimes (typically if I overcooked a corner or was seeing if I could brake a little later). Started the session in the low 2:00s, ended with 1:58.xx. Honestly, was very happy with a sub-2:00 in my first track day with this car.




Session 2 and 3:

Younger kid got in the car with me for these sessions. Surprisingly, didn’t feel the weight addition in the turns quite as much as I thought (he’s probably 130 pounds or so), but I really started to feel it on the straights when I was having a hard time reeling in less powerful cars. I really started to appreciate where the LSD was adding some grip under power with steering angles and throttle aggression that would have produced a one tire fire even in the Miata my dad had before. Had a bit of power oversteer on turn 11 in 2nd gear, but very controllable and buttery smooth honestly. The weirdest part was that on my cool down lap of session 3, suddenly the clutch went to the floor half way through the lap and I had to point everyone by because I was stuck in 4th. I pulled the pedal back, cruised in 4th for a couple turns, and suddenly the pressure was back. What was even weirder was that I noticed that the clutch pedal feel/feedback was reduced, but the engagement point hadn’t changed. It was super weird, and I decided that I’d limit my shifting by leaving it in 3rd around turn 2, 8 (corkscrew), and turn 11. Not sure if I just boiled the clutch hydraulic fluid or if it’s my CSC on the way out. Clutch worked fine on the way home for what it’s worth. Finished session 3 with a 1:54.xx and consistently running 1:56.xx.





Session 4 and 5:


I was getting more comfortable pushing the car. Blew turn 2 a couple times hunting for a later braking point, overcooked turn 3 as well trying to chase the damn Jag SVR, had a nice slide that I thought I’d correct with just a little power, but ended up with a small snap the other way that I had to correct and then kept going. Not lifting probably saved me from a spin. 

Now for the oil cooler… It worked pretty much perfectly on the track overall, and for the first two sessions didn’t see over 205˚F at 65˚F ambient temperature. But in Session 4, and 5 I saw higher oil temps getting into the 240s, up to 245˚F in session 4 and 5 and I’m not really sure why. Ambient was 70˚-75˚F, so I’m not sure what it was. and the only reason I noticed was because the car felt like it was slowing down a bit. Not enough, but just enough that I had a harder time than anticipated pulling an E30 in uphill after I had lost momentum (I had to brake because he was being annoying and not pointing me by early enough even though I was up his tailpipe for 90% of the previous two laps, but he’d lose me in turn 9 every time and then wouldn’t point be by and then I’d be on him again by turn 5 or 6 the next lap… very irritating).

If anyone has any ideas about the oil temp, let me know. I was leaving it in 3rd and 4th, and if I was just about to catch 4th before a corner, I’d cruise/coast near redline to save a shift.

After my moment with the slide, I took it relatively easy that lap, ran a 1:55.xx, then ran a 1:56.xx because of traffic, and then finished off my day with a PB 1:52.10 and then had a cool down lap. Perfect end to a pretty much perfect day.


My finishing thoughts
A very very controllable car. My first experience with controllable oversteer was with the Miata at Skip Barber. The oversteer is gentle, smooth, and very easy to put back in line with a bit of counter steer. You can induce a bit of oversteer/rotation so easily to tighten your line that it felt like I was playing ProjectCars or GranTurismo or something. That $hit is real! Wouldn’t have minded more grip, but I actually really like the way its balanced (not sure if I’d want to go with a square setup as I initially thought seeing how tail happy it is on lift and braking). Might go up to 265 on the front and 295 on the back, similar differential F/R as stock. The contis held up to the punishment amazingly, and they’ve been great on the road, dry or wet.

The real hero (aside from the car’s balance) were the brakes. On whatever post(s) I found the PMU B-force rec, I thank you. Awesome brakes, didn’t really fade (should probably upgrade fluid next time), awesome bite and braking force. My Dad ended up riding shotgun with me for session 4 because he couldn’t trust the brakes on his S5 and was getting ABS on pretty much every braking zone. So was my friend who ran out of brakes going into turn 11 and hit the dirt (no damage to life, limb, or car). He just said he pressed the pedal and it slowed down so little and he didn’t know what to do (in the novice group). Both of them on EBC red stuff, new for a month or so before the track. Both of their rotors had turned a burnt golden color and mine were still a normal color. Not sure what happened to them, but the fact that it happened to both of them means I’m never using that for my track days. The B-force pads have been amazing street and track, can’t recommend them enough for people whose cars are serving double duty.


Hope you guys enjoyed my ramble! I’m just still so high from it that I had to do something related to it.

If anyone has any ideas about my weird clutch pressure thing (that only started after I slowed down oddly) let me know please. And the oil temp too if you don’t mind!


TLDR: SUPER AWESOME DAY, YOU SHOULD GO TO TRACK DAY TOO, DON’T CHASE JAG SVRs AGGRESSIVELY

[yaoxiao4]

Aw man! I was there today! there were 2 of us

glad you had fun though! come back and do more :P

[Shoeshear]

Damn! Missed out! Family friends needed weekend/driving school and stuff, so that's what we ended up doing. Bummer. I saw one of you guys posting times on Harry's lap timers and wondered if it was someone from here! Next time man!

[Spooler]

Yes, you need to change out your clutch and brake fluid to Motul RBF 600 or similar brake fluid. This should help.

[2011 Nismo#91]

Originally Posted by Spooler

Yes, you need to change out your clutch and brake fluid to Motul RBF 600 or similar brake fluid. This should help.

This.

"The weirdest part was that on my cool down lap of session 3, suddenly the clutch went to the floor" - You boiled your clutch fluid. The same happened to me, resolved with a insulated clutch line and replacement of stock fluid with RBF 600.

https://www.zspeedperformance.com/ZS...ZSP2006-IH.htm

Or DIY with this

http://designengineering.com/heat-sh...ized-sleeving/

[Shoeshear]

Ah, I figured the clutch fluid boiled, just wasn’t totally sure with the CSC being a known issue. I’ll swap out that fluid first chance I get along with the insulated line. Thanks guys!

[yaoxiao4]

looks like u got some pretty good shots!

https://www.gotbluemilk.com/2018/May/180527NCRC/313

[Shoeshear]

Yeah, I thought they were decent, still on the fence about buying them haha. Did you get any great/dramatic shots?

[yaoxiao4]

haha no dramatic shots, but they're pretty good. last time gotbluemilk at a $50 special for all photos, doesn't seem like it this time . I think I'm just going to buy a few that I really like

https://www.gotbluemilk.com/2018/May/180528NCRC/416/

[Shoeshear]

Dude, your Z looks sick!! Got a build thread or mod list?

[yaoxiao4]

yaoxiao4's first car and first journal

here ya go, still new to tracking, so i'm learning lots

[danegrey]

Nice write up, glad you had fun, yes, learning the limits of the Z are interesting

"Tape-Bra:
I did this the day-of. Wanted to minimize the debris, rock chips, and general crap on the bumper. Still managed to catch a bunch of crap on the hood from an E30 M3 and a 911 GT3 RS who both seemed like they threw an entire tire at me over the course of a lap...."

You might want to look into this product
Protect - n - peel

Easy to apply and peels right off

https://protectnpeel.com/

[Hotrodz]

So you are moving to AZ...come play with us, AZ NASA! It is a great group of guy and girls that love to go fast and have safely.

So those oil temps are not bad at all. Remember even though the ambient temps are only in the mid to high 70s the asphalt temp continues to rise and be as much as 30 to 40* hotter than the actual air temp. You will see track temps in AZ that you can actually fry an egg on. Don't be surprised to see your temps go as high 265 and you end up in limp mode. The other thing that will happen is you will lose poor as the oil and water temps climb as the motor start pulling timing to protect its self. You may wan to look in to a vented hood or get you a set of Trackspec hood vents. They are worth their weight in gold. I'm boosted so I have done a lot of stuff to get more in to my engine bay and then out again.

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[Shoeshear]

Originally Posted by danegrey

Nice write up, glad you had fun, yes, learning the limits of the Z are interesting

"Tape-Bra:
I did this the day-of. Wanted to minimize the debris, rock chips, and general crap on the bumper. Still managed to catch a bunch of crap on the hood from an E30 M3 and a 911 GT3 RS who both seemed like they threw an entire tire at me over the course of a lap...."

You might want to look into this product
Protect - n - peel

Easy to apply and peels right off

https://protectnpeel.com/

[QUOTE=Hotrodz;3760711]So you are moving to AZ...come play with us, AZ NASA! It is a great group of guy and girls that love to go fast and have safely.

So those oil temps are not bad at all. Remember even though the ambient temps are only in the mid to high 70s the asphalt temp continues to rise and be as much as 30 to 40* hotter than the actual air temp. You will see track temps in AZ that you can actually fry an egg on. Don't be surprised to see your temps go as high 265 and you end up in limp mode. The other thing that will happen is you will lose poor as the oil and water temps climb as the motor start pulling timing to protect its self. You may wan to look in to a vented hood or get you a set of Trackspec hood vents. They are worth their weight in gold. I'm boosted so I have done a lot of stuff to get more in to my engine bay and then out again.



I'll definitely have to try that protect and peel thing next time. Blue tape was a PITA for sure.

And yeah, I definitely want to get involved in AZ, but won't have a ton of time (going to be an IM resident at U of A). I think I read your build thread or something and saw you post about the Trackspec vents (definitely looking into those) as well as the nostril things. Seems like cooling the car is the major hurdle. I can't do anything too drastic because it's my DD also. Definitely want to do all the usual stuff eventually (exhaust first because I love at least a bit of noise) including suspension, tune, vents, etc.

PS, that's a mean looking Z!

[Hotrodz]

I'll definitely have to try that protect and peel thing next time. Blue tape was a PITA for sure.

And yeah, I definitely want to get involved in AZ, but won't have a ton of time (going to be an IM resident at U of A). I think I read your build thread or something and saw you post about the Trackspec vents (definitely looking into those) as well as the nostril things. Seems like cooling the car is the major hurdle. I can't do anything too drastic because it's my DD also. Definitely want to do all the usual stuff eventually (exhaust first because I love at least a bit of noise) including suspension, tune, vents, etc.

PS, that's a mean looking Z![/QUOTE]

Thank you sir and congrats on you residency at U of A..."Bear down AZ!" I am a U of A grad from back in the day.