Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

High-temp brake fluid and healthy brake pads would be what I focused on.

Make sure all fluids are topped off and the tires are in good shape, of course, but the Z should otherwise be fine.

My club is holding an autocross event 2/7 and 2/8 at the Buckingham airfield in the Fort Myers area. On Saturday, we offer a novice school with a lot of seat time and on-track instruction.

At $26, (for Saturday) it could be a very cost-effective introduction to performance driving, before you hit PBIR.

More info here if you are interested:

http://www.gulfcoastautocrossers.com/

superlim9

^^^^^

Alexia75

my350z, thank you for the rockin' answers!!!

Soooo, in no particular order...

re: convertibles - yeah, totally, I asked first before buying my track day and it was the director of the FL region who told me the Z roadster would be no problem in the slow, er, newbie group

Really, I don't care about going fast on this track day. I do care about being safe, learning the lines and apexes, hitting the brake points, and figuring out proper throttle use. Sure I'd love to hit a proper drift but no punter or newbie like me can do that without TONS of training and seat time prolly - it is fun to dream though!

You guys got me all in on this to buy upgraded brake pads, drop in DOT 4 high temp, and those steel-braided lines. I know you also mentioned ATF fluid and some bushings. How much will all this cost - I hope I can afford it since I'd be paying the dealer to do the work

re: autocross - yeah that sounds good! I'm interested and it sounds like a bargain really. Can my Roadster run in these? Also, will my car handle 2 weekends in a row of sizzling use??? thank you for the link!

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

Your roadster can run, and two weekends in a row should be no problem. Tires will get most of the work on the track, but unless you are already down to the wear bars, they should be fine for two events.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

Double post.

Alexia75

I started looking around for parts you all suggested. ..

found some beautiful BBK grim stoptech, hawk, and others but my gosh, they're expensive!

Are there any second tier or least known brands that are solid? Are any slotted rotors ok? Autoanything (online vendor) has some decent looking 'power stop'brake kits for pretty reasonable prices. ... won't post link as Admin may think it's spam. Any thoughts?

It's my first time out do i don't want to drop a fortune if i can help it, especially as i got to pay for installation too.



Z1N... thank you for the info, i want to go

JMII

Just get performance pads and DOT5 fluid. http://www.knsbrakes.com is a sponsor here I use. I've run my stock '03 (non-Brembo) brakes at over 5 HPDE events at Homestead with just those upgrades. I'm just now reaching the point where I feel I could benefit from a BBK. Don't fool yourself... you have a lot to learn in terms of technique. Driving your car on the street vs the track is whole different world. Putting awesome (expensive) brakes on your car now would be a waste - you wouldn't get the maximum out of them until you learn how to push the limits.

So for now new performance pads + fluid + track time is what you need. Trust me you'll have plenty of opportunity to spend money later

If you start tracking your car often you'll need to learn how to change fluid and pads yourself. This means buying some tools (Motive bleeder, jack stands, etc) and finding someone to help (aka a track BFF). Since your a girl I'd bet you'll have loads of guys offering to help

Z1NONLY's offer sounds like a great deal... I'd be all over that for a first timer.

Alexia75

JMII... oh trust me, i know i have everything to learn about driving, but it's fun to get started. Thank you for encouragement, everybody here had been really helpful with awesome tips


Brake upgrades ordered! should arrive around the 10th and the dealer even said they could do it.


And I definetly want to take Z1N up on his offer, it sounds fun and accessible, not tomention affordable .. can i use my stock brake hardware? My goodies won't be here in time for the auto cross.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

A stock Z will be fine. You will be surprised how capable it is, even in stock form.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Exactly, she just spend money for no reason.

Brake upgrade at most, PADS, braided lines and fluid. Most racers are using blank rotors for a reason.

Get to the track, upgrade as required.

superlim9

Can't say it any better then the above post... z1 motorsport and Zspeed both have basic brake upgrades kits... about 5-600 including rotors for standard brakes.. a little more for brembo

monztr

Show up ready to learn push as hard as you feel comfortable and build confidence and skill, any improvements are secondary. Keep in mind different events or sanctioning bodies will not allow convertibles or have special requirements. Just because you can run your convertible with this ground doesn't mean you can run with another group later.

Autocross is a completely different animal, and 90% of the "upgrades" recommended here will be of little to no benefit on an autocross and will bump you into the shark infested waters of more prepared cars. Again show up with a positive attitude ready to learn. In autocross we concentrate on improving the driver long before we worry about improving the car.

scotts300

iTrader: (46)

Maybe I missed it, but is this your absolute first track day?

If so, you won't need upgraded pads unless you grew up racing carts or similar. Cars like ours can last YOUR first track day as long as fluids are flushed, tires aren't square, etc. The car is fine in stock form if it's generally well taken care of. In my opinion, students need 2-3 track days on the steep part of the learning curve before they even need a pad upgrade.

HoD accepts the ZR's rear hoops as rollover protection. I've taken both my old 04ZR as well as a newer 07ZR on track without added rollover protection.

Like you said - driver mod. Smooth, safe, controlled, DRIFT-OOOOO.

Alexia75

Thanks to Z1NONLY...i attended the local autocross novice school. So a few observations. .

1... car ran beautifully and i had zero issues...as you guys predicted.

2...driver mod, driver mod, driver mod will get you very very far. ... I'm sure someone good could beat me handily in a 3 cylinder automatic, Chevy spark. .

3.. speaking of good, i was very lucky to get instruction from Z1N who is a great driver and excellent teacher...great driver doesn't always =great teacher so this is rare and appreciated. Yet he might be an even better singer than driver

4... autocross is deceptive. .. you think. ..'how hard can it be to drive around some cones? ... well it's technical and precise. Plus unlike track days where i assume you go for 15+ minutes, you do autocross one lap at a time so mistakes stand out badly

5...i got plenty of footage from my new gopro but won't bore anyone with lots of bad driving videos... still is invaluable to see where my lines eye usually off and occasionally right.

6.. taping numbers on your car is a pain and the usefulness of magnetic numbers was immediately obvious

7... everyone should try autocross, it was a bargain, fun, and nice folks too

8..i really need to learn to do my own mechanics, the dealer just killed me on the install of my brake parts... guess when you can't do the work, you're at their mercy

9...on to the track next week!

10...ty for reading and encouragement

JMII

Yep... I will NEVER pay someone to do my brakes again, its SOOOO easy once someone shows you what to do. The process requires minimal tools and very basic skills. After jacking up the car and removing the wheel, the stock Z (non-Brembo) calipers require you remove ONE bolt to change the pads. With the Motive bleeder flushing fluid is super easy too. Swapping rotors is a bit more involved, but once you've seen the process and have the tools its pretty straight forward.

Glad you enjoyed learning what your car was designed to do

Alexia75

*Sigh* Trust me I want to learn - I just need to find somebody locally who doesn't mind having a neophyte watching them do this while taking copious notes. The labor was almost double what I spent on parts - it was pretty maddening!

What's worse is the dealer then presented me with their Christmas wish list, um, sorry, I mean the list of other repairs I need and the small fortune it will cost.

For example, I need new spark plugs since I'm just over the 105k miles mark on the car...123 for the plugs, 18 for two throttle gaskets (their description) and 2.5 hours of labor = 420 dollars.

Coolant flush = 130
Upper radiator house = 100
Auto trans fluid flush/change = 200
Rear Diff fluid change = 150

See where I'm going with all this??? Yeah, I may need a second job at this rate

On a happier note - yeah, yeah, good times sliding around in a Z in a nice controlled environment. It makes street driving feel like slow motion with a bunch of unpredictable chickens, er, drivers

Oh and the new brake upgrades are amazing - it's a big improvement over my old stock setup. I broke them in in a small street behind the dealer but I am being careful to not slam the brakes around puddles, etc for fear of cracks in the rotors.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

I'm glad you made it to the event and had fun!

JMII

At the rate I'm going I'll need a THIRD job

For example I was helping my brother with his brakes two weeks ago and as we drove back from the auto parts store we saw a car for sale in someone's driveway. They wanted $2,000 - that's how much $$$ I'm about to drop on a BBK. So let's see: I can buy an complete car or just BRAKES for mine yeah this all seems a little crazy

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Regional section, find your local group/club, they are bound to have someone like me that does work out of their garage.

Give you an idea of my prices, coolant flush with radiator hose change $60 if you provide the parts. Diff fluid change $50 and I provide the Amsoil.

There are others like me floating around that wrench for extra play money. You just need to find one that knows what he is going.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

So, how was the track day?