I wish I didn't have to work today, the Casino Rama cruise sounded fun.

Sunday's mini-cruise is definitely still a go for anyone who can make it!



2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

That was fun, even though not too many people showed, lol ;-)
Sammy and I waved to some people in a shiny blue Z who were parking out at the extreme end of the lot -- they looked at us funny and then walked towards the mall lol. Turns out they were just shoppers --haha! (*sniff* they didn't even wave back...)

Altogether, I think we had 11 people (including everyone) at Yorkdale... and I heard Wayne and his friends went to the Distillery to hook up with us. Unfortunately we ended up changing plans and going north of the city due to some unforseen road closures, various simultaneous charity walks and rallies... plus the US long-weekend meant a lot of Americans drove into the city. All of the traffic reports that morning advised drivers to stay out of downtown traffic that day. I shoulda known!
Sorry to those people that went to the Distillery, we didn't realize you might go there!

We hung around Yorkdale for quite a while because Fluffydot said Strife350 and his friends were still coming. Eventually we figured they weren't showing and so we left and headed north on the highway in search of lunch...

The weather was awesome! Perfect summer day. We had a nice little cruise and then enjoyed the rest of the afternoon out on a patio overlooking our cars ;-)


In this pic some people are all standing around in sympathy at Darren's black S2000 that had recently got hit on the front fender by a Jeep Chorokee in a parking lot... there were witnesses but no one got his plate!

The poor S2000. Everyone kinda looks like they're visiting a sick friend at the hospital, eh?



2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267395-zG35 Meet May 30, 2004r-0007.JPG

 

Darren's S2000...hard to see the damage in the pic
It wasn't all that bad

2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267397-zG35 Meet May 30, 2004r-0003.JPG

 

Blackie and Sammy noticed we got some thumbs up during the cruise (at least I hope they were thumbs... haha)
...there was a guy in a Mazda 3 that really seemed excited to see the G's and Z go by too -- thumbs up and big smile.

There was too much traffic for much spirited driving but there were little opportunities -- and an M3 convertible and RX-8 ran with us for a while. I have to say, Sammy's car is an awesome beast with his twin turbos. When he accelerated I couldn't stay with him -- even though I downshifted to my peak powerband, he still pulled really strongly on me (I'm pretty much stock).

The M3 followed us and when Sammy did a little run and Blackie and I tried to stay with him, the M3 accelerated and came up behind me -- so I know the M3 could take me, but a turboed G is a stealth way to take an M3!

But not to give the wrong impression, we drove responsibly and 95% of the time didn't speed (there was just too much traffic... look at the traffic going the other way!)

2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267406-G35 Meet May 30, 20040009.JPG

 

Sammy's G, Blackie's Z and an M3

2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267423-G35 Meet May 30, 200400rgzm3_11.JPG

 

I almost bought a 2003 stirling grey M3 /manual with 6 km on it, before deciding to buy the G.
I couldn't justify the price/ value, and the insurance was high.
For the price of an M3, you could buy both a G and a Z!

2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267429-zG35 Meet May 30, 2004-r0012.JPG

 

Awesome day! Couldn't have asked for better weather or company to spend it with. There is something about smaller meets where things just seem to come together easier.

It was great seeing all of you again and getting to know you better. I loved the drive to our lunch destination with all of us having the two-way radios and being able tell each other exactly what was going on, especially when I wanted to play with that RX8 and the M3. I still can't believe that I almost bought an RX8 before I saw the G35. I actually heard about the G35 on the RX8 forum and I had never seen one so I had to go and check it out at an Infiniti dealer. The rest is history.

Thanks for all of the great comments on my car. I'm really happy with it so far. Can't wait to hit the dyno again to boost it higher and see what she can do.

Anyway, it was a great meet and I'll look forward to the next one. Blackie and metasystem, it was great to get to spend some time with you guys/gal and talk about sushi. I'll have to try it someday when I get really brave.

Anytime that you want to get together for another meet, I'll be there.




Silverstone 6MT Maya DTM 20's Greddy Twin Turbo

 

Yorkdale Mall... police cruiser in background. They were having an association function in Yorkdale that day...

Too bad I left my camera in the car when we had lunch on the patio. There were a bunch of different cars that stopped and checked out the shiny G's and Blackie's Z. Then another police car came by and took a good long look at Sammy's 20 inch wheels and greddy turbo exhaust, and if he looked closely enough he'd see Sammy's intercooler hehe...
Woulda made a nice picture!

We also had a laugh when this lady parked between our cars.
Since the huge parking lot wasn't very full, we left some generous space between cars, and still, this lady in a burgundy Escort squeezes her car in between me and Blackie! Haha...you gotta laugh!
There's a nearly empty parking lot...of all places, why would she park between our cars! lol ;-)

So we are all watching her like hawks, and she's about to open her door... it's a tight spot.
I'm holding my breath...
Then I decide I'm not taking any chances, so I set off my panic alarm! My car starts honking and the poor lady must have been startled (I didn't look, we were all ducking and laughing our heads off!!)

But then she opened her door carefully and viewed my car somewhat suspiciously...

;-)
All in all, we had a fun day!


2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone



267445-zG35 Meet May 30, 20041zz20002.JPG

 

Yeah, it was an awesome day!! I had a great time!
Hopefully we'll do it again maybe sometime in June?


2004 G35C 6MT + Nav, Silverstone

 

damn, i was there that day, but didn't know you guys are having a meet there, else i'd drop by and check out the TT G.

 

Ahh damn I was too sick/hungover from a wedding party the night before otherwise I would of made it to the meet. My car was all cleaned/zainoed and ready to go too...
Ah well, next time and a cruise/parade is a definite must!

 

Looks like it was a sweet ride! I have not even had time to check the site lately and didn't even know it was happening or I would have tried to make it.

Meta - I haven't forgotten about the intake. I am around this weekend for the exchange.

I did manage to get to Cayuga on Friday night though and ran the 1/4 mile. Bear in mind that it was my first time and I'm sure that I can improve on my time but I did manage to run a 13.99. The G got a ton of attention from everyone there - about 80% of the other cars are either Civics, Integras or Mustangs.

2003 CB Coupe 5AT
ATI Procharger
Stillen Cat Back Exhaust
Eibachs
Gord G Grounding Kit

 

I would've loved cruising to Times Square with you guys but Jean Machine was 20% off everything!!

but in all seriousness, Dave's SCed coupe should be running low 13s or high 12s.
did you have trouble getting a good grip?

 

Hey Dave!
I'll be away this weekend but I'll give you a shout when I get back re: the intake.
This last meet/ cruise was thrown together quickly so the turnout was smaller. Actually, some people were asking about your whereabouts!
Hopefully there will be another one soon...

Hey next time you go to Cayuga, if you want, let me know... I was saying to Sammy I've been wanting to try my stock G on the 1/4 mile! Maybe a few G's would go with you? (with the exception of Sammy's twin turbo, most of us will make your high 13 look real good!)


Hey Fluffydot! Damn, I missed that sale and I needed new jeans, lol!

Anyway, I think Dave's time was still pretty good for the first time, blower or not...
I figure, since we don't know what the temperature, humidity, etc. was, it's probably hard to draw any conclusions. Plus, Dave needed gas to get home from Cayuga so probably wasn't running all that light -- plus he had street treads I presume. Plus his engine was likely still hot by the time he drove all the way there ...a hot engine equals a lower ET.
So lots of possible reasons for a high 13 with the SC ;-)

Maybe he didn't lower tire pressure, ice-bag the intake/ plenum, remove the spare tire, or do any of those little tricks that can shave down the ET? We just don't know ;-) ((Of course, I'll be doing all of that when I go to minimize the humbling laid down by the forced induction G's, hehe))

Anyway, my understanding is that the first time is really hard to get a good RT 'cause you don't want to disqualify yourself (so the tendency might be to watch the tree for the green instead of launching right after the final yellow...) And a slow RT can add a good half-second or so.

One other thing, Dave's suspension is lowered, which is great for track/ lapping but doesn't give the car as much "squat" (weight transfer) over the rears off the line.
Dunno if that actually mattered, but I can tell you that in the real world (read: "on-ramp") -- that blown G is mighty fast!!!! ;-D





G35Coupe 6MT + Nav

 

Hey Kyle!

Thanks for the support. I think that I have tons of room for improvement on my times. Grip was certainly an issue; I lovered my pressure to 18 psi to try to improve the grip. Hooking up seemed to be everyones complaint that evening for whatever that is worth. There were a bunch of Mustangs that were trailored in that were only getting around the 12.5 sec area. These things had HUGE slicks, light rims, and they were "burning out" to get some heat into them. At $500 a corner I was not going to be shredding my street tires up for night that was only 10 degrees out.

Regardless of the times, I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. After my first run my hands had tremors in them from all the adrenaline going through my body. On my second run I was so looking forward to running that I forgot to turn the VDC off. There I was trying to reach down with my left to turn it off while I was steering and shifting with my right. When I got back to the pits my buddy's laughed their a**es off when told them.

It would be a blast to arrange a night for all of us to go there. My friends who were in the stands said everyone was commenting on the G whenever I got to the line. I just don't think that there are many that have been the track before.

I purposely didn't lighten up my car as much as I could have. I wanted to see how it would run in real world conditions. Next time I think that I will do more of the little things like you mentioned. It is pretty funny watching everyone push their cars up to the line so that they keep it as cool as possible though. I just drove it up.

Later G's!

2003 CB Coupe 5AT
ATI Procharger
Stillen Cat Back Exhaust
Eibachs
Gord G Grounding Kit