Had a fun weekend playing in the Z06s at the Texas Motor Speedway and was just thinking how I could see it being fun tinkering out on the Autocross courses, but, having a sedan makes me think it would be a bit reaching.

Car is stock other than the sway bars and exhaust.

 

I did my first one a couple weekends ago down here in Houston in my '05 sedan w/ sport-tuned suspension and it was a blast! Car felt great out there. The G35 is by no means out of place out there. Great way to get your feet wet with this stuff and it is inexpensive to boot. I highly recommend it. In the SCCA car class list, the G35 sedan is in the DS (D-Stock) class. The whole class thing is still a little foggy to me (the Coupe is in F-Stock - 2 classes slower?). I think the class brackets have alot to do with how successful other drivers with those cars have been in the past, not some intrinsic capability of the car, although the two elements are obviously related. Anyway, that puts the sedan smack-dab in the middle of the Stock Classes (SS,A-H). Definitely many less capable vehicles out there. I think I read in the rules that to compete in one of the Stock classes, you can have an aftermarket rear sway, but not a non-stock front. Just follow up on where you can and/or should compete. Although I have read quite a bit, I am still new to the sport, so do your homework. Again, its easy to sign up and get out there, just do it. Good luck!

 

You'll notice that anything over D stock tends to be either:
1. a dedicated sports car
2. a hardcore sports car
3. a high performance car

Keep in mind D-stock is a very respectable class for a LUXURY sport sedan.

Also, the coupe is heavier than the sedan, and being nimble is more important than having a lot of power it AutoX.

Everyone bags on the RX-8 for having no power, but it's in the same class as a 350Z with much more power and almost double torque.

 

So, my Stillen front sway bar wouldn't qualify for the DS class? that sucks.

 

Not just DS, nothing in the Stock Category (SS,A-H).

I had it backwwards.

Quote from the SCCA Solo Handbook for Stock Category:

13.7 ANTI-ROLL (SWAY) BARS
A. For front anti-roll (sway) bars:
1. Substitution, addition or removal of any front anti-roll bars is
permitted.
2. Substitution, addition or removal of anti-roll bars may serve
no other purpose than that of an anti-roll bar.
3. The use of any bushing material is permitted.
4. No modification to the body, frame or other components to
accommodate anti-roll bar addition or substitution is allowed,
except for the drilling of holes for mounting bolts. Non-
standard lateral members which connect between the brack-
ets for the bar are not permitted.
B. Rear anti-roll (sway) bars may not be removed, replaced, or
modified in any way.

Looks like the next Category up (Street Touring) lets you replace both sways along with many other things.

 

sorry I'm late to the thread. I've been autoX'ing my G35x over the past couple of months.

One thing I wanted to correct: F stock is NOT 2 classes slower. I also initially thought they went in alpha order, but they don't. FS includes the 335i and Mustang GT, among others.

The G can be competitive to an extent. It really depends on other drivers (of course). For instance, our sedans are pitted against the WRX and 330i. I have beaten a WRX that I regularly race against. However, I have had mixed results against the 330i. I've raced 2 of them, both with the performance pack. One guy beat me by 2 full seconds, yet the other I beat by 4 secs.

There are some matchups, however, that just seem absurd to me. The one car I've run against in 4 of my 5 events and am always FAR behind is a Mazdaspeed3. Granted, the driver is VERY experienced, but I don't feel it is likely I can ever compete with a car that has just as much power, yet weighs 500 lbs less. Yeah, I've got AWD, but it doesn't help THAT much on a 40-sec tight course with a top speed of 60mph. It is all about turning, and lesser weight is a very big part of the puzzle. My 3700lb+ beast is a handful, but I've been impressed with how competitive it is out of the box (with good tires).

The last time out, as a matter of fact, my time fared well against even the STX class. I think if (when) I mod my car to that point, it could do quite well. [sways, springs, full exhaust, ECU, plenum, and wider wheels are all allowed in STX, if I recall correctly]

 

According to your quote there, the front sway bar may be substituted/swapped but the rear must remain stock.

 

I used my 5AT sedan for an AutoX driving class a month ago and it was too much fun. It was good for me to see what times the instructors could pull in my car (1-2 seconds better) to give me something to shoot for. The G beat an M3, older Mustang GT and RX-8. The AWD cars definately had the advantage.

I'd recommend the swaybars you have, turning VDC off, staying in 2nd gear most of the time, and getting R-compound tires.

 

I think how they set the track makes a big difference, but I've yet to see anyone run faster than the prepped Miatas and S2Ks, though, so I don't see how AWD is an advantage.

 

The track I was on had lots of sharp turns and a skidpad-like circle that most of the RWD cars sort of drifted around while the AWD cars lost no traction.

 

The AWD cars can put the power down more quickly/smoothly coming out of a turn. The turns are fairly low speed, so its easy to lose traction in a RWD with a lot of power.

 

I placed much higher in the standings on a very tight course, so I understand your point. Fastest time of the day was an STi; however, 2nd place was a prepped Miata. The Miata's advantage, of course, is its light weight. That's where our GXs really fall flat. Its tough to get 3700lbs around a corner fast. But as you've said, we can get our power down sooner and faster when coming out. So, all in all, it's a trade-off.

If you are heavy and RWD and powerful, yeah, its going to be tough to do well against the AWD cars. Or even the lightweight FWD cars, for that matter.

I think I'm going to go run with the BMW club this weekend. Unfortunately, that means I won't be classed properly since they group all non-BMWs together, but at least I can keep track of the 330i times and judge accordingly, since those are in my SCCA class.

 

you should definitely go out to the S2000 club autocross. they combine with the Miata club, and it's a lot of fun. it seems like the last group you'd want to be around with a sedan, but they are a great bunch of people and there are tons of other kinds of cars out there. they don't care what you drive and there's always some highly experienced SCCA drivers out there always willing to ride along and give you tips.

I just recently got the sedan, but I've always had a blast in the roadster which is now for sale. I'll be out there in the sedan as soon as I don't have a conflict.

here's the thread for the last autocross. they'll post another thread about a week before the next one on Sept. 13.
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=611084

 

Wow, F Stock now? Back in 03 I was AutoXing my coupe in the B Stock group and had relative success in it. (Middle of the pack) Consider the other cars in my group were 350Z, RX-7 (non-turbo), MR-2, Porsche 944, Porsche 928 and my nemesis - the S2000 groupies. I was actively AutoXing for 2 seasons and while I never topped the class, I was usually in the 45-60 percentile in B stock. Given that I had no prior track experience I say the G Coupe is definitely a capable car, even on a tight AutoX track.

I also AutoXed the G sedan a couple of times and back then the old sedans were in G Stock IIRC. The sedan is actually more fun to AutoX than the coupe as it would fishtail and 4 wheel drift around the corners at fairly slow speed.

I usually come out ahead of comparable 350Z's (apparently the front strut over the engine made the car understeer more) but below the S2000's.

 

Interesting.

350Z is now C Stock, by the way. So it moved down, just not as far as the Infinitis.