The title said it all. Brought the car to the track and had an awesome day.

 

Looks like you had fun

 

very nice! first time at the track with your G? what are your overall impressions of the g after tracking?

 

Yay, always love seeing more people take the g35 to track. Which track?

Consider putting in your front tow hook in case something happens and you need a tow.

 

It was my first time on the track with the G. The track was willow streets.

And here's what I think about it (disclaimer: I am no expert or pro, so I hope what I said makes sense ):

- I drove most of the course in 3rd gear. The only time that I really need to put it in 2nd was the last turn, otherwise the RPM will drop to about 2.5k and have a slow start on the straight a way. I did the down shift a few corners earlier because those corners were kinda tight. The traction control won't light up when I am driving the course in 3rd gear. It only lights up when I was down shifting to 2nd. And yes, I kept the "baby-sitter" on the whole time but I don't think she interfered. Maybe I will switch it off next time when I have more experience with the car on the track.

- The (sports) brakes were adequate but not fantastic. I have Hawk HPS pads on them. I don't think the track was very demanding on the brakes. I experienced no brake faint or lost in braking power during the session. I do wonder if the brakes are going to hold up well if I am going to the big track of button willow (which should be a lot more demanding on the brakes since you have more long straight a way)

- Its a heavy car and you definitely feels the weight on the track, especially at an incline down braking. And the wear on tires told me they were working pretty hard during the session.

- The turn in is precise and it goes where the steering wheel is pointing. I can feel the car settled down in mid turn, and rotate nicely into corner exist with throttle.

- Understeer at limit if I don't load up the front suspenson first (last turn especially right before the straigh a way).

- The shifter doesn't like to be rush, it will cooperate if you shift a little slower and smoother.

- I could use more lateral support from the (sports) seats. I am just over 6 feet. I think I "just" fit with the helmet on. Any taller and I don't know well you can fit comfortably.

- 4 session and avg 12.9 mpg

- you can't touch a modded miata when cornering x 2

- It was fun and great opportunity to learn how the car would behave at limit. Definitely will be going back for more! x 3

 

What group did you run with? streets of willow is one of the 4 tracks I have left for cali (then horsethief mile, laguna seca, chuckwalla)

I've driven the '05 g35 sedan at the track (more times than i should), and don't know exactly how it compares to the newer version, but...

I suspect your vdc is alot better than the old one. Mine kicks in all the time, especially on turn in. It doesn't like any understeer at all and just kills my speed. I would recommend you turning it off as you get better, especially because it absolutely kills your rear brakes. It is also harder to learn proper car control if it cuts in before the car starts to do anything at all.

Big willow isn't actually that bad on the brakes. Turn 1 at the end of the straight is fairly high speed, and as novices, it's harder to really mash the brakes at that high speed, and I usually run out of courage and end up starting my braking early. Then the rest of the track doesn't really work the brakes hard and you have plenty of time for them to cool down. Buttonwillow i would say is worse on the brakes, and even then it isn't too bad. Autoclub speedway is probably the socal track that is the worst. Then thunderhill up north is even worse than that. But yeah, HPS won't really hang as a track pad, especially as you get faster. Even the HP+ won't hang.

Do you do the ghetto pseudo-harness trick? Put your seat back like a foot, suck your gut in and lock the seat-belt, then put your seat back into driving position. Helped me alot, especially on the left handers where I end up over the center console. Also, yes, I am shorter than you and I can't sit in my preferred driving position, have to recline more than I am comfortable with. Way to fix it is to get sport seats, I haven't done it yet, though considering.

don't be intimidated by the miatas, alot of people especially in be beginner groups buy someone else's race prepped miata, and don't really know how to drive. The beginner groups is all about driver skill, don't be scared to follow people and dive into corners/complexes (within reason- i once tried to follow what turned out to be an instructor in a track prepped e36 m3 with slicks...), you may be surprised at what your car can do.

Hope to see you around I'll probably be at some more socal events this season with my 05 g35 sedan.

 

I was with the beginner group

Since the G is also my DD, I don't think I can put track pads on it. Maybe I will get the HP+ when its time to change out the pads. But then, I doubt I would do much mod on the G. I would rather get a Miata for track if I ended up tracking more. They are cheaper to own, cheaper to fix / mod. What I need is more track time, not mod.

I did that harness trick but it didn't really help. maybe i was doing it wrong :P (not far back enough to set it up)

 

Err, by group I meant organization. Looking at the calendar I assume extreme speed?

And yeah, the seat belt is supposed to be uncomfortably tight, or else it has a tendency to come undone in the right-handers. It should be kind of like a harness, you should be able to relax and put all your weight into the belt without moving in your seat on the lefts.

And yeah, the g35 isn't a great track car if you continue. I wonder if it's bad to learn in because of its weight and slow response, or if it's good to learn in because of its weight and slow response. Trying to decide what to go for myself. I don't really want to have more than one car though. Was thinking s2k, or e36 325i, or the brz sti if they ever release it.

Your brake system is different, so you may have different experiences. But the HP+ on my car was so noisy it was almost un-driveable. Sounded like a bus, even with the noise reduction putty. Having a much better experience with the stoptech super street. Both still get brake fade on the track, but it is somewhat manageable. I swapped to the 350z/coupe brembos.

 

Oh yeah, it was with extremespeed.

If I ever upgrade my G, brake and suspension would be the first on the list. but dropping a few Gs on the upgrade got me thinking, maybe getting a miata for fun and save the G as DD

For a dual purpose car (track fun/DD), I think the G (sedan or coupe) does a pretty good job. It has a good level of comfort and luxury, and its not too shabby on the performance department.

I guess I am getting too old for Si or MS3 as a DD, LOL.

I did check out all Si, MS3, WRX. I am glad I landed on the G sedan. I think this suits me the best at this point of my life (as my only vehicle).

 

Lucky you!!! Looks like fun!!

 

extremespeed is always a good steal o a price get a whole day of tracking plus either a free lunch and or a shirt depending on how nice they feel. It must have been scorching when you went, I would definitely reccommend getting akebono bbk upgrade for the track, i had sport brakes and they didn't hold up very well especially with that long straight away right before the first turn, braking point kept becoming farther and farther away from the turn