I will be coming back to Cali!

 

Are you moving back or just coming to visit?

 

Moving back for good.

 

Sweet! I will see you in December then!

 

woah your moving back after a big move like that damn... whats in dec?

 

I am the big event in Dec. hahahaha

I was only moved out here by the Navy for school and I finish the school up in Nov and will be moving back after that.

 

ahh sweet...

 

You would probably do better just running a Nismo Shock and Spring kit.

You may want to look at running the T2 kit that Nissan Motorsports sells to the SCCA guys. It's a track only kit -- but if the SCCA guys are running it, it least it's been tested.

Or call Unitech and see what they are running on the Grand Am Cars. Tuners rarely have good race solutions. I would trust a racing shop/fabricator a lot more than any tuner shop.

You should get a competition license and race with NASA or SCCA. You could campaign that car in NASA Unlimited and see what it can do versus the big boys.

 

I would rather stick with a coilover setup so I can effectively corner balance the car. For now I am sticking with Time Attack format events as I don't want to go wheel to wheel in a 350Z (too expensive). I wan't to do the NASA TT series, but I keep putting it off because you have to go to their events and work your way up to HPDE4 before you can do it and I would have to start from scratch. Besides, I am just out there for fun. If I wanted to build race winning track car I would have saved money and built something else.

 

Actually the T2 spring rates are in the realm of the springs that come with the POS JIC's. They're not as stiff as you think. The good news is that since you have their rear perch you can use any standardized eibach ERS race spring. I still say, you should upgrade your shocks

NASA TT is not that difficult to get into. They just run with group 4 so it's not too bad. The unlimited class is pretty sick though. If you ever make it up to a norcal event I can sign you off for group 4 after a quick ride-along. It doesn't look like I'll be able to make it to any SV events this year with my schedule.

 

I agree -- the JIC coilover setup is a POS. It's too bad Ground Control won't do Advanced Design setups for Z's. The setup in my SR Cup Car is amazing!!

I would look at the Unitech -- but I know that Dave has some issues with them. But Jeff Ritter didn't. I think Ritter may have a set for sale off his old Z.

Yeah -- unlimited is pretty sick. Except that just about every unlimited car breaks -- so if you have a good reliable setup, and make every race, you'll probably win the series.

 

All of my issues have been taken care of with my unitech setup and I fully recommend them now. (When I had issues with my JIC's I was left high and dry).
I plan to break track records at infineon this year with them once I wear out my 1 1/2 year old tires.

 

I still say that my Tokico D-Specs and Tom Motorsport springs are a very cost effective solution to expensive coilovers (less than $700 complete). For race tires, a slightly higher spring rate might be desired, but not too much higher (currently 9kg/mm front and rear). They can also be adjusted on each corner.

Mike, you followed me for a while at Cali Speedway and watched the video from Ed's G35. You know how well my car is set up. (Maybe not perfect, but certainly not bouncy like the JIC's).

Hey, maybe it's not as sexy as some expensive colivers, but it works for me.

 

Good to hear ... I really like Jackson and I think Unitech is top notch. If I ever wanted to set up a real Z race car ... and I had the budget ... Jackson would be the guy I would have do it.

 

The last think I want is stiffer springs. I need to go WAY softer.

 

You should be less concerned about the spring versus the shock. The key to good suspension tech is the ability of the damper to arrest the bump and rebound of the spring. Once you have the right damper -- you just do a bit of fine tuning by finding the right spring rates and lengths.

Again -- I agree with Dave -- given your budget and obvious commitment, I would look at a new suspension solution versus trying to work around the inherent suckiness of the JIC shock (which is really a tuner solution versus a real racing solution).

 

I have been working closesly with a guy that tunes the suspension on NASCAR Busch series cars, who also happens to know a lot about the 350Z and has tried many setups of his own on his G35. No offense, but I am going to try his way first. If it comes out that his calculations are wrong, then the struts are easy to replace.

 

350ZNV, I'm not knocking your setup at all. Your car is a beast that would leave my 'commuter Z' in the dust.
You can ask 10 different tuners about setup and get 10 different answers. The top 350Z grand-am teams have VERY different setups and both go pretty darn fast. I will say that I have been in a T2 car with TCKline konis and T2 springs and the ride was not harsh at all. My car is equally as fast with my softer spring / stronger shock setup so go figure.. I'm sure you'll find the right frequency with your shocks when you're done. Do you have a shock dyno from the JIC's that you are working with in conjunction with your proposed spring rates? One advantage to my double adjustable shock is that they have a wide range of adjustment so if I ever choose to change spring rates I will not have to re-valve them.
Keep us posted.

 

Yes the shocks will go to a shock dyno and the springs will be compression tested as well so we know exactily where we are starting. We have concluded that a softer spring/stiffer shock setup would probably be the best for my car as it performs very differently at different tracks. He also likes the softer springs so the car can really hunch down in the back on acceleration giving it good traction. That is the main problem we have now. Most of the weight that I took out of the car when I stripped it was in the rear section whereas most of the weight I added with the new parts was in the front section. You can guess what the results were of that lol. Basically the car doesn't squat down in the back at all and is very "jumpy" to say the least. I have to wait until the end of the month so my car can sit up on jackstands for a few weeks while I send the suspension to get measured and the new stuff made. I will update as the process goes along.

 

I agree that the softer spring / firmer shock setup will likely work better, especially if the track is a little bumpy.

Mike, you'll have to take a ride in my car if I go to Spring Mountain in a few weeks and you can see what you think. I tried a stiff spring / softer shock combo and it didn't work for me at all well unless the track was smooth as glass.