LS3 Z track Diary and evolution.
08-21-2016, 10:57 AM
#61
So its been a while since the last update, *insert random excuse here*.
Round 2 of the series came and went, my clutch went out 2 days before the event and I could not source a replacement in time. In the meantime while I waited for the clutch, I took care of a lot of the nagging wear items that I have been meaning to do.
Front hubs, Rear brakes, rear subframe bushings from whiteline to SPL.
So round 3 came around
What was interesting was that we did tech inspection in the DTM tech area and each car rolled over the scale. I knew I was on the high side on wieght with the Z, but by how much was shocking. I'm a full 400 lbs heavier than 80% of my competition.
The NC miata was around 2250lbs, the Turbo NA miata was around 2050, The S13 - 2100 lbs, the s15 -2400 , The k20 turbo civic was 2100 and the list goes on. I rolled on the scale at 2890 no driver and full gas.
Not much I could do about the weight on site, but I've got a new drive to lighten up the car. I've got a second factory hatch that I bought off a crashed Z that i'm stripping out. I'll cut all the secondary skin out and leave just the outer skin and swap in a lexan rear glass. I want to strip out the doors but the rules say they must be fully clothed... No idea if that means I can make a CF plate as my interior trim on the doors.
Over all it went fairly well, Lausitzring is not the best for a high powered RWD car. At every point where the infield transitions to the speedway ring there is a series of bumps that unload the car and keep me from putting power down until very late. Some aero should help here.
Regardless I made it into the hot lap finals and ended up getting 4th in class.
On my to do list before the next race:
Remove carpeting and sound deadening
Possibly remover center console(waiting on rule interpretation)
Hatch lightening
If the Brooks wing gets here, install that.
I'll have to look where else to shave weight, I'm thinking the yamaha dampers that the nismo came with. I could probably remove those since its got a cage.
Round 2 of the series came and went, my clutch went out 2 days before the event and I could not source a replacement in time. In the meantime while I waited for the clutch, I took care of a lot of the nagging wear items that I have been meaning to do.
Front hubs, Rear brakes, rear subframe bushings from whiteline to SPL.
So round 3 came around
What was interesting was that we did tech inspection in the DTM tech area and each car rolled over the scale. I knew I was on the high side on wieght with the Z, but by how much was shocking. I'm a full 400 lbs heavier than 80% of my competition.
The NC miata was around 2250lbs, the Turbo NA miata was around 2050, The S13 - 2100 lbs, the s15 -2400 , The k20 turbo civic was 2100 and the list goes on. I rolled on the scale at 2890 no driver and full gas.
Not much I could do about the weight on site, but I've got a new drive to lighten up the car. I've got a second factory hatch that I bought off a crashed Z that i'm stripping out. I'll cut all the secondary skin out and leave just the outer skin and swap in a lexan rear glass. I want to strip out the doors but the rules say they must be fully clothed... No idea if that means I can make a CF plate as my interior trim on the doors.
Over all it went fairly well, Lausitzring is not the best for a high powered RWD car. At every point where the infield transitions to the speedway ring there is a series of bumps that unload the car and keep me from putting power down until very late. Some aero should help here.
Regardless I made it into the hot lap finals and ended up getting 4th in class.
On my to do list before the next race:
Remove carpeting and sound deadening
Possibly remover center console(waiting on rule interpretation)
Hatch lightening
If the Brooks wing gets here, install that.
I'll have to look where else to shave weight, I'm thinking the yamaha dampers that the nismo came with. I could probably remove those since its got a cage.
08-21-2016, 11:23 AM
#62
The biggest challange we all have with this car, isn't it? 
Getting down to 1250 kg would be great!
I was thinking about doing a track day at Lausitzring but when I saw it's only 2 hours, it's just not worth the time and effort to get there from where I live. What is this series you've participated in, any details?
Getting down to 1250 kg would be great! I was thinking about doing a track day at Lausitzring but when I saw it's only 2 hours, it's just not worth the time and effort to get there from where I live. What is this series you've participated in, any details?
08-21-2016, 01:00 PM
#64
4 point at the moment, I'm not going to invest in a full cage with door bars when I'll just have to cut it back out next year when I move back to the states. DMSB standards don't meet SCCA/NASA standards which is a shame.
@G: The series is the German Time Attack Series. www.timeattack.de
Lausitzring would be a lot more manageable at stock level, but with an extra 200 ft lbs of torque, those track imperfections can be a pain. Plus any time in the car is good so if you get the chance, go for for it.
@G: The series is the German Time Attack Series. www.timeattack.de
Lausitzring would be a lot more manageable at stock level, but with an extra 200 ft lbs of torque, those track imperfections can be a pain. Plus any time in the car is good so if you get the chance, go for for it.
09-28-2016, 11:22 AM
#65
so I did some things... and something finally came in the mail.
I've still got to take out the OEM glass and put the lexan panel on. I'm hoping to lose around 25 lbs off the trunk. All that is left is to clean up the edges and slot it for the wing.
Which leads into what arrived today :
[URL=http://s46.photobucket.com/user/armt350z/media/076BAEB7-EC8F-4228-8BA1-9DC25E9AFA06_zpsctyc7tle.jpg.html]
[/URL
The wing and chassis mounts finally arrived despite USPS best attempt to lose it.
I've still got to take out the OEM glass and put the lexan panel on. I'm hoping to lose around 25 lbs off the trunk. All that is left is to clean up the edges and slot it for the wing.
Which leads into what arrived today :
[URL=http://s46.photobucket.com/user/armt350z/media/076BAEB7-EC8F-4228-8BA1-9DC25E9AFA06_zpsctyc7tle.jpg.html]
[/URLThe wing and chassis mounts finally arrived despite USPS best attempt to lose it.
The following 2 users liked this post by armt350z:
03threefiftyz (09-28-2016),
terrasmak (09-29-2016)
09-28-2016, 11:57 AM
#66
Do you have a website or a youtube channel where I could watch your Zed in action?
PS. I need to do an event where I could take a pic of my Zed with two chicks like that, does not matter what event it will be! lol
PS. I need to do an event where I could take a pic of my Zed with two chicks like that, does not matter what event it will be! lol
Last edited by GodISmE; 09-28-2016 at 12:01 PM.
09-29-2016, 09:54 AM
#68
I am utterly horrible with social media... I plan to improve that after my racecapture setup arrives.
There were only spot welds along the edges, the black circles were adhesive which if you are not careful with, will pull the skin of the hatch. I hit them with a heat gun and they came off no problem.
There were only spot welds along the edges, the black circles were adhesive which if you are not careful with, will pull the skin of the hatch. I hit them with a heat gun and they came off no problem.
09-30-2016, 03:00 PM
#69
So during the install I found out that when I spec'ed out the wing and designed the mounts, a mistake was made in the cross talk with Brooks. During one of the many metric to inch conversions in the back and forth, the wing mounts were made too close so they did not sit on top of the frame rails. This was not at all the fault of brooks and the wing is top notch.
I did however have to make weld in a doubler to extend to the frame rails that would then have the wing mount to.
And then the uprights:
And now the wing:
I'll slot the race hatch tomorrow for the uprights to pass through and get that upgrade done.
I did however have to make weld in a doubler to extend to the frame rails that would then have the wing mount to.
And then the uprights:
And now the wing:
I'll slot the race hatch tomorrow for the uprights to pass through and get that upgrade done.
09-30-2016, 06:25 PM
#70
New Member
I want!
09-30-2016, 11:06 PM
#71
Super Moderator
MY350Z.COM
MY350Z.COM
iTrader: (8)
Isn't that fun getting it all perfectly squared up
I also put a brace in mine to the back of the trunk. Long uprights like to vibrate. The brace removed most of the vibration.
I also put a brace in mine to the back of the trunk. Long uprights like to vibrate. The brace removed most of the vibration.
Last edited by terrasmak; 09-30-2016 at 11:07 PM.
. You have the 14" chord, correct?
10-01-2016, 07:27 AM
#75
I already sent him an email with the correct measurements. I should have known the metric to imperial flip flop was a bad idea. If NASA couldn't even do it right, I shouldn't have 
.
Yeah I'm running the 13" Elite wing. What AOA have you been running on yours?
.Yeah I'm running the 13" Elite wing. What AOA have you been running on yours?
10-01-2016, 07:54 AM
#77
That is largely because of inefficient front aero, the wing not being chassis mounted and crushing the hatch, and lack of hp to push through the aero. Now with more power, better front aero (next season) and chassis mounting I'm hoping I can start to dial it up a bit on some of the more sweepy courses. Probably keep it at 2-3 at VIR and the other HP tracks.
10-01-2016, 08:55 AM
#78
Another good day in the workshop.
Started the day off with corner balancing
The car is still a heavy pig. She tipped the scales at 3327 lbs with a 182 lbs driver, and a half tank of gas.
Corner balancing is currently at 50:50 diagonally with a front to rear weight distribution of 54.9 to 45.1.
After that, I started searching for why the car was down on power during the last race. As the day went on I seemed to lose just a bit more top end power.
After going through the entire setup here is what I found:
The passenger side cat(top) had collapsed signifigantly and the driver side (bottom) had also started its way towards that fate.
Luckily my class does not require catalytic converters so off they came!
I also found a source for an MCR hood not too far away that i'm going to try and pick up this week. Hopefully that will work towards a more complete aero package and have the hot air in the engine bay exit over the top of the car now instead of underneath like I suspect it has been.
Started the day off with corner balancing
The car is still a heavy pig. She tipped the scales at 3327 lbs with a 182 lbs driver, and a half tank of gas.
Corner balancing is currently at 50:50 diagonally with a front to rear weight distribution of 54.9 to 45.1.
After that, I started searching for why the car was down on power during the last race. As the day went on I seemed to lose just a bit more top end power.
After going through the entire setup here is what I found:
The passenger side cat(top) had collapsed signifigantly and the driver side (bottom) had also started its way towards that fate.
Luckily my class does not require catalytic converters so off they came!
I also found a source for an MCR hood not too far away that i'm going to try and pick up this week. Hopefully that will work towards a more complete aero package and have the hot air in the engine bay exit over the top of the car now instead of underneath like I suspect it has been.
10-01-2016, 09:03 AM
#79
That is largely because of inefficient front aero, the wing not being chassis mounted and crushing the hatch, and lack of hp to push through the aero. Now with more power, better front aero (next season) and chassis mounting I'm hoping I can start to dial it up a bit on some of the more sweepy courses. Probably keep it at 2-3 at VIR and the other HP tracks.
I'm also going to try and make a set of canards tomorrow to counter the wing. We will see how it's going to work.
10-01-2016, 09:33 AM
#80
I just realized I forgot to update you guys with the last event. Long story short was I did not meet my own expectations due to a number of reasons.
The event was at Circuit TT Assen in the netherlands.
From one of the other teams.
The day was fraught with constantly changing weather. Severe downpours about every 45 minutes followed by sunshine that almost completely dried the track out. The rain didn't suit my car well at all with so much torque to the rear wheels, which meant I was constantly mid pack.
Cars were going off constantly as people made bets with which set of tires to run, sometimes getting caught with a flooded track on slicks or semislicks on.
On the qualification round I made a mistake of when to run my full bore hotlap. The start of the round saw a wet track that was continuing to dry, so I decided to wait until my fifth lap. Several of the other cars went full out on lap 4 which paid off for them, as I hit a severe downpour on the last half of lap 5 and botched my time. At the end I got 6th and didn't make into the finale.
The event was at Circuit TT Assen in the netherlands.
From one of the other teams.
The day was fraught with constantly changing weather. Severe downpours about every 45 minutes followed by sunshine that almost completely dried the track out. The rain didn't suit my car well at all with so much torque to the rear wheels, which meant I was constantly mid pack.
Cars were going off constantly as people made bets with which set of tires to run, sometimes getting caught with a flooded track on slicks or semislicks on.
On the qualification round I made a mistake of when to run my full bore hotlap. The start of the round saw a wet track that was continuing to dry, so I decided to wait until my fifth lap. Several of the other cars went full out on lap 4 which paid off for them, as I hit a severe downpour on the last half of lap 5 and botched my time. At the end I got 6th and didn't make into the finale.