I'm using track wheels, and looking for a sway bar also (considering 350evo or the CT-1).

1. Has anyone tried the dunlop super sports 165/35 r18's, thought it might do well on the street and so so on the track. Other option is to use my other stock 17" with a set of R compound tires yet seems pricey.

2. Does anyone know the weight of the stock 17" compared to the track 18"

3. How does a sway bar help and why is a stiffer one better? And is a stiffer one better if you stay with the stock shocks/ springs set up.

4. Anyone else near Toledo, oh that races? I went to the nationals at the airport and talked with one driver (yellow 350z from TN I believe) and he gave me a few ideas on setting up my Z.

5. If I did go with the dunlop super sports for now what is the best sizes to use in front and back on the track rims, and is a spacer in the front or back going to help?

thanks for any help

 

1. Best autox tires.....17" 275/40/Kumho 710, 18" 245/35 Kumho 710 or 275/35 Hoosier A3S05.

2. Stock 17"(Enthusiast) wheel= 24 lbs. Track wheel= 18 lbs.

3.Purpose of stiff front bar is to prevent inside rear wheel spin by keeping front as flat as possible.Bar controls roll limit and shocks control roll rate.The better the shock the better the package.

4.Spacers don't hurt.1/4" per wheel is the allowance.

 

thankyou for the feedback

 

just a side note, depending on what model 350 you have, you can not jump from 17s to 18s or 18s to 17s unless that's the size your car came with stock.

ie. performance 350z can not use 17" wheels bc it came with 18s. unless you don't mind running street prepared.

 

wow, even if you put stock track wheels on an enthusiast? That is strange, because I believe the track model is in the B stock class also. This doesn't make much sense.

ohh well
it's for fun anyway

 

yeah, early on one of the members looked for clarification, and straight from the scca the word was that you need to use the wheels that came on your trim of car. They consider the track, enthusiast, performance, etc different models as far as equipment goes.

 

If I were to put spacers in with the track wheels, what would be the best size in front and back to help with auto X, also is a rear sway gonna help much with performance if I have the 350evo on the front already, and will it be ok to use in the SP class.

 

On the track wheels, you're pretty much limited by the wheel width already. 275s fit just fine even without spacers. (edit) Although, you will be limited to Hoosiers in 18" wheels, 17" gives you options of Kumho 710s, Hoosiers, and I think even Hankook. Going with wider wheels opens you up to the 285 Kumho 710s as well.(/edit)

If you're going to BSP, you can pretty much use any wheel you want (15.4.A). Personally, I think that this year -- and maybe next -- that the Z will be extremely competitive in BS.

 

Sort of true, but you're misinterpreting the rule. You can run any wheel you want as long as it's the same width and diameter as the wheels that your car came with from the factory. The Base and Enthusiast models come with 17" x 7.5" F / 8.0" R wheels, which are different from the 18" x 8" F/R wheels that come with the Performance and Touring, which are in turn different than the 18" x 8" F / 8.5" R wheels that come with the Track and 35th Anniversary. The reason you're not allowed to interchange wheels between different trim levels is because their widths and diameters differ.

Edit: And it makes perfect sense -- if interchange between trim levels was allowed, then people would build hybrids of the various trim levels to get the best possible car, greatly increasing the cost to compete in the process.

 

Plus the resulting offset needs to be +/- 1/4", so you don't have to exactly match the offset on the wheels -- as long as you use spacers if necessary to get the resulting offset correct.

 

[/INDENT]
well there are some 245 fitments in 18 out there along with the hoosiers.
265 ecsta v700 and doesn't hankook make a 245/18? or a 245 v710.

 

What I meant by it not making sense is that I have and enthusiast with everything the same as the track model except the brakes and rims and we are both in the same class, so why should it move me up to put the rims from the track on my car, where the track model still has the advantage of the better brakes and would be in the stock class.

sorry in my opinion bad rule.

 

that's just the way it is. IMO, the enthusiast is the model to have for auto-x anyway.

since you do have the enthusiast, stick with the 17s! tires are MUCH cheaper.

i guess we should really ask you what mods you have on your car right now..

the most common mods allowed in stock class are..
front sway bar
catback exhaust
air filter, not intake assembly
replacement shocks

most likely, if you having anything other than the mentioned, you are probably in the street prepared class.

the brembo brakes are great on the track, but IMO, after driving a track model and my car, your brake temps do not get hot enough on the auto-x course for the brembo equiped track model to take advantage. look at it this way, the enthusiast weighs a bit less, doesn't it?

 

I think that the '05 Track will be slightly better on bigger courses, since it has a slightly higher red line. Also, bigger brakes will be slightly better, cold or hot.

However, the Enthusiast is going to be slightly better on tighter courses, since it has a bit more torque. Also, it is easier to find 17" tires than it is to find 18" tires.

 

I just put the evo350 front sway on today, what a nightmare, or just bad luck! lol

So the diff between the track and enthusiast are

track
wheels (lighter 18")
brakes (brembo)
Higher redline??
less torque?
Heavier?
wing (not sure if it helps)

anything else

anyway did anyone else put the ground wires on yet? and did you notice a diff? Also does it matter what set you get?

Anyone know where to get a cheap set of kuhmo's for the 17" rims so I can stay in the BS class? Tire rack is a bit pricey.

 

It's still not clear that you understand the purpose of the rule.

If parts interchange between trim levels was allowed in Stock, this is how you'd build an optimal "stock" autocross 350Z:

• Start with a Base model car since it's the lightest; if you start with, say, a 35th Anniversary car, then remove the heavy and unnecessary bigger brakes, spoilers, Xenon lights, HomeLink, cruise control, upgraded rear view and vanity mirrors, leather / power / heated seats, and Bose stereo and sub, and replace with the equivalent parts from the Base model

• Add the 300 hp motor from the Track model since it's more powerful and has a higher redline, but hold onto the 287 hp motor in case you want to switch back to it for smaller courses (e.g. run the torque motor on Nationals South course and the power motor on Nationals North course)

• Add the LSD from one of the non-base models, but not the traction control or stability control since they interfere with driving the car

• Potentially mix and match wheels across models for optimal performance -- e.g. maybe run 18" x 8" fronts from a Performance for extra width and the 17" x 8" rears from a Base for lightness

• Sit back and say to yourself, "Boy, that was cheaper and easier than just buying a complete car from the Nissan dealership!"

The Stock rules are written to limit costs, which means limiting allowable modifications. Sure I'm being a bit facetious by assuming you want to interchange all parts instead of just wheels, but why start down the slippery slope of parts interchange in the first place?

Steve

 

the track model has some underbody diffusers, also, along with some computer differences.

you can not run ground wires in stock class. only ground wires for aftermarket stereo systems are allowed.