I have always been one of the "small" voices here that have said driver skill in a Z will do more for you than any mod.

I say this because the Z is one of those rare cars that, from the factory floor, is really ready for mild club racing. For those that go to a track maybe once or twice a year. Or for those that are lucky enough to have those lonely stretches of twisty roads on the way home from work; the car is done.

We all have seen guys on this list spend 1000s on mods to only gain 5-10hp. Or spend 1000s on suspension mods, yet they hardly go to the track. Or at least they are not posting there track times.

As for the straight line folks...Shaving .5 seconds off your 1/4 mile could probably be made up in better shifting for most. If everyone drove their cars 100% and on the edge then yes, all the mods would count for something. But most of us don't. And I did say most, not just all.

Of course the best argument is that it is FUN to mod your car. It is! And I suspect that is why most do it. I for one bought a Z so I would NOT have to spend money on mods. I came from a Mustang GT and all that car is about is aftermarket cash dumping. You ex-Civic owners know what I am talking about as well.

Anyway, for those that have not seen this clip...it's awesome. A 350z, M3, Boxster and S-2000 all of them STOCK, even down to the tires, racing around a road course.

Guess who won?

Streaming asf or just right click to download. 49mb.
350z Tsukuba Race

 

repost.....
Yeah, but that video seems a bit fishy, and the camera car gets in the way a lot. I think that M3 woulda killed us if it got the chance.

 

yep i'll have to agree the camera gets in the way alot...i think if they all when alone on the track themselves it would have been a better outcome.

 

I don't know. I have seen M3s at Willow Springs here and the weight IS a factor.

The cars tend to lumbar allot in the turns. Relatively speaking, of course.

Best Motoring has always been really good with their track runs.

If that M3 had it, he could have gotton around that camera car, that is the point. The camera car trails the winner. He doesn't race the others.

Besides none of those cars could ever hope to beat a Skyline!

 

these races mean nothing

if they had the same driver track these cars separately, it might mean a little more

 

They use the same drivers for allot of the races. And they are REALLY good drivers man.

 

that hachi-roku driver was awesome fancy foot work

 

repost, but good points.

The M3 overpowers the stock Z, but the Z's weight going into corners also balances out that advantage (even with it's crappy stock tires).

$2k of engine mods into the Z and it'll eat the M3 on that track with approx the same power to the wheels. $2k of mods into the M3 will buy you an intake.

 

Aint that the truth!

 

People have their reasons to mod their car. I plan to mod my car to be different from the crowd of stock Zs in my town. Its my money and I don't mind spending it on mods. I agree that the stock Z is very good out of the factory but people always want more.

 

I think you can almost always gain tons from doing wheels/tires, especially when you are willing to give up more ride quality. But, even then, most people aren't touching the potential of the stock car. Every time I think about upgrading my R1 t a new one, I think about how many track days I could do with the money, and how much fater they'd make me than another bike. Same is true with the car, really.

 

The Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya, hes flawless

 

The Z in that Tsukuba Race was moded with a Nismo oil cooler...one that costs $1300 for the part alone. It is the only car that was modded in the race. As for who won, check out the "best lap" times. Those times are less affected by the camera car. The Z did not have the best lap time.

But, I do agree with you that improving driving skills is the best thing one can do, and it would be prudent to do so prior to modding the car so that you can identify the car's biggest weaknesses. That Tsukuba Race seems to indicate that adding an oil cooler could be a good start.

 

I know they are really good drivers, but in this race, they are all different. Some are better than others. Also, when you have a whole bunch of cars on a single track racing, there are too many factors which determine who will win.

Im saying the most accurate run would have separate races with the same driver on the same day. This would rule out any externalities

 

I own that video "The 350z Shock" actually I got my Enthusiast model based on how they blasted the VDC option so much, and I also felt that the race was biased towards the Z. The S2000 looked like it was being blocked at times, the M3 had the best driver and he had nothing but praise for the M3 calling it the "benchmark of sportscars", and the Porsche Boxter was just pathetic. Honestly I think if the Skyline wasnt blocking the S2k all for the first couple of laps, the S2k would have left the Z behind in the corners

 

Didn't you guys notice that it didn't even do that great of a job as a camera car? The camera was elsewhere most of the time :P

 

Forgive my ignorance, what is the benifit of the oil cooler?

 

We all know beside the gtr....THE M3 WOULD kill the z...no question

 

The only thing certain about this Best Motoring video was that the Porsche Boxster sucked in comparison to the rest.

 

fater eh? damn i know they eat a lotta dogs there but really.... jk lol

but really

i havent seen the video yet but if it was a E36 M3 well the Z will eat them for breakfast... but a E46 and we will be seeing tail lights.... Also.... the Z only holds a boxster S.... well straight line anyways....