As a fellow VQ35 owner, I would like to invite all of you G35 owners to our 350Z track day. We already have G35's registered and this is going to be a great day at the track. Beginner drivers will be helped out by more experiened drivers. If you have not tracked your car yet, this is a great opportunity to do so.

Jeff - zland

350Z

 

Here is the information you need to register:

**Mossy Performance 350-Z- Track Day**
Friday, March 5, 2004 (7AM-5PM)
Presented by SoCal-SERCA!

All cars & driver experiences welcome! Instruction available from
experienced run group drivers for beginners, & hot-lap timer units will
be available for rent.

NOTE: Convertibles must have OEM hard top in place, OEM roll protection
or roll cage/hoop extending above the driver's head.

Online reg. & info:

http://www.gfos.net/serca/2004/streets/reg.php

This event will obviously be heavily promoted in the various -Z-
communities so don't lag on registering & securing a spot by mid Feb.
The cap for maximum number of cars will be 60.

For lodging about 20 min's south of the track off the 14 FWY in
Lancaster, mention the track & get a better rate at
www.desert-inn.com/.
The track is about 4 miles west of the 14 FWY, exit left at Rosamond
Blvd. (same as Edwards Air Force Base) & head past the supermarket/fast
food shopping center (right hand).

For directions to Willow Springs raceway
(www.willowspringsraceway.com/)
via Mapquest or other mapping site just use their address at
3500 - 75th Street West in Rosamond, CA 93560.

There is a closer motel right off the Rosamond exit, but it is more
expensive. If you have any specific questions please email me at
southwest@serca.org.

"Happy Motoring" & hope to see you there!

Carlos Gutierrez
SERCA - Southwest Region
southwest@ serca.org



350Z

 

Thank you Jeff. I have signed up and hope we get some more G cars out there with you.


Cpe 6MT/Aero/Prem/ATI/RT cats/Borla hdrs-catbcks/Nismo flywhl-cltch/TS-ECU/Tein flex EDFC/Stillen sways

 

Eagle1:
Your got a lot of mods on your G35. I had the opportunity to be in 3 different SC cars last month, the ATI, Stillen, and Vortech. All of them were a rush to say the least. Have you tracked your G35 since you added the ATI SC? I am curious to hear feedback from you about its performance on the track.



Writer - SportZ magazine & owner of a 350Z

 

zland:
My first chance to track the car will be on the 6th of Feb at Laguna Seca. The second (assuming I do not bend it in Monterey) will be at Willow Springs and your event. The car has more capacity than I do, so I am going to be very careful, as it is going to be the first day of school for me.

But in addition there are a lot of things to be thinking about with the mods, and adjusting, so it certainly is unlikely to be set up just right in Monterey, but hopefully better by the time we meet.

I have some bigger rubber coming to help with the braking and cornering(as we know that brakes don't stop cars, tires stop cars...the brakes just slow the tires!), and those are going to be 245 front and 275 rear on 19" Enkei wheels, which are five pounds lighter than the stock wheels. Combined with the better ability to absorb and shed heat, and thus avoid fade, with the 14.1" StopTech slotted rotors (stainless brake lines and upgraded fluid), I am hoping to get better slow slow in addition to the supercharger go go.

The car is lowered an inch all around, has the Stillen adjustable sways (middle setting), and then we can crank down the stiffness on the Teins, so hopefully that will help with the handling as well.

I did put the Nismo flywheel and clutch in to help with getting the revs up a little more quickly into the powerband of the centrifugal supercharger, and I am pretty excited about the responsiveness on the street. But since the pull in fourth takes you to well beyond the speed limit, I haven't really had the full benefit experience in the upper gears. But third and fourth are very satisfying with it. The Nismo limited slip differential is going in this week.

We will get you in the car, definitely.

Part of the reason for not tracking the car just yet is that the engine mods have been taken cautiously, and I have slowly picked my way forward through the dangers of running lean and early detonation, while adding the mods to the car, and of course more horsepower and torque. In particular, I have done the ECU reflash, mostly to address safety at high rpm. The rev limiter is now set at 7100. We took it up there at Technosquare and it was fine. But....I want to get the gauges in and redyno and remap not only the hp/torque, but especially plot the a/f mix up the rpm band. BEFORE I go out and toss it around. It is one thing to be rumbling around the track and another to do it paranoid about pinging sounds. The less to think about the better. So that is why, notwithstanding the fact that everything seems to be fine, I want to do a bit more preparation to know that everything is fine. Then I can feel better about putting it through the paces. Subject to what then are clearly much greater limitations caused by the driver skill component, which are project priority from here on out.

What you might find interesting is that the gauges are being mounted (molds being done this week) in a totally "stealth" approach. Two gauges (boost and a/f mix) are in the little console cubby just beneath the clock. This is where the nav unit normally would go. The lid lifts up and locks, and there they are. Push it closed and no hint of what is there. The reason I chose to put those two so close and easy to see is that I want with a glance to be able to pick up the interrelationship of the revs I am pulling, the boost level reflected at those revs, and the a/f mixture. The centrifugal unit can very well be throwing more boost pressure as the revs go beyond 6000, and with that rush of compressed air the fuel mixture could lean out further, so having them all quickly visible will really help to gather over time an understanding of how the engine is behaving at different stress levels. The other four gauges (EGT, Fuel Pressure, Oil Pressure, Water Temp) are mounted in the top map box in front of the passenger. Same thing, lid opens and locks up, gauges are canted to the driver for viewing (and in this car if you are six foot or taller you can reach them easily so it is after all not too far away). Slap the lid shut and they are out of sight.

The Tein EDFC unit is in the roll top cubby behind the parking brake. Mounted at 75 degrees and canted toward the driver. One does not have to fiddle with it under way, but it can be done without looking down if you want to, or with just a glance. The V-1 is hard wired with the remote readout in the push release ashtray in the center console.

So, unless you are an aficionado who would see slightly different wheels and brake calipers, it really would be tough to notice anything about the car that would suggest it is not stock. Which is of course the whole idea. Until you turn the engine over.

There are very definite performance/civility compromises. The flywheel is a Nismo and not a Tilton, and the LSD will be at 60% rather than 80%. The sways are middle position set and the suspension is an adjustable type rather than a stiffer pure performance type. All directed to the proposition that this is to be a civil and refined car on the street, not a beast to work hard to get through traffic. But when there is an opportunity to take the leash off, it will give a satisfying result as a road car, not a street racer, but a road car. And no cosmetics to draw any attention.

Okay. So what do I do about where to put my maps now? Especially since there is no Nav unit. Easy answer. It does not matter where I am going, just how I get there, and in this set up now, taking it around the block to make the turn you missed is no penalty.

The license is Kundalini. (KNDLNI). Which on the path to enlightenment through meditation can be a release or transcendant event that is joyful.....or a dangerous psychotic episode. It remains to be seen which of those this car turns out to be.

Cheers.

Cpe 6MT/Aero/Prem/ATI/RT cats/Borla hdrs-catbcks/Nismo flywhl-cltch/TS-ECU/Tein flex EDFC/Stillen sways

 

TRACK DAY REGISTRATION STATUS as of Jan 20th for STREETS - 3/5/04

NAME Paid in Full Reg. Online Car Group
1. Carlos Gutierrez YES YES B13 SE-R 3
2. Greg Vogel YES YES Mossy –Z- 3
3. Jeff W. YES YES -Z- 2
4. Martin G....... YES B13 SE-R 3
5. Edwin R..... YES YES G35 C 1
6. Jae V...... YES YES -Z- 1
7. Joe C... YES -Z- 2
8. Shaun Walsh YES -Z- 1
9. Brian A........ YES YES -Z- 1
10. James P... YES YES -Z- 1-2
11. Shannon F........ YES YES SE-R Cup 3
12. Naji D... YES YES SE-R Cup 3
13. Emeka O... YES YES -Z- 1
14. Clay M..... YES YES B13 SE-R 2
15. Paul H...... YES -Z- 1
16. Patrick P.... YES B15 SE-R 2
17. John S...... YES -Z- 3
18. Jon L... YES B13 SE-R 1-2
19. Eric B....... YES -Z- 1


Who is going to be number 20 on the list??????


ONLINE REGISTRATION: http://www.gfos.net/serca/2004/streets/reg.php


Group 1 = beginner
Group 2= intermediate
Group 3 = advanced / instructor



Writer - SportZ magazine & owner of a 350Z