This is a great thread, especially the feedback coming from the experienced drivers & professional instructors. Most of the advise posted are spot on. From a novice driver's perspective, I thought I'd share with you information that I learned from my instructor when I attended my 1st HPDE last year:

1. LINES: This is the most important item my instructor told me to focus on during the entire session. Learn your lines first -- turn-in point, apex point, track-out point. In most HPDEs, there are cones marking these points to assist you.

2. SMOOTHNESS: Once I learned the lines, the instructor wanted me to focus on driving smoother. At the end of the day, I was driving much smoother but I was still occassionally jerking the steering wheel when taking the corners/curves.

3. SPEED: This was the least important item that my instructor emphasized during the course. He wanted me to focus on #1 & #2 during the entire weekend. Once I have more seat time, the speed will come naturally. He was spot on -- I enjoyed the course more once I realized that mastering the lines & smoothness first will make me a better driver than just going as fast as I can.

I have taken these three things to heart and focus on them at the local auto-x club to get more seat time. The auto-x is also helping me learn more about the capabilities of my Z. The bottom line -- know your limits (you and your Z)!

 

got everything installed:
Cusco Front and rear sways (Harder front setting)
Stop tech lines
Porterfield R4 race brake pads
bled the OEM system and poured in Motul RBF600

bedding in the brake pads (Porterfield R4 race) by driving around, stopping gently then letting it cool down (porterfield recommended it to me this way). I wonder when I would reach the "green fade" that the guy at porterfield was telling me about. So far it feels like my OEM Brembos but I have to wait once the "green fade" is passed. They said it would feel very different.

Cusco sways changed the characteristic of the car. I dont feel body roll at taking 30mph turns @ approx 50-55mph (freeway entrances ). I like it!!!! I wish I could give a better review of it on the street but I think I will save it when I actually take the car to the track. I think it is pointless to make a review of the stuff that I have at this time while @ the streets since it is kinda scary to drive fast around here (tickets, accident, uneven roads).

I got one week to go!!!!

 

Great advise Z-U-Later, exactly what you want to focus on.

On a side note - during my off-season tear-down, I found two worn out bushings and a hub bearing that was about ready to go. So make sure you do a good inspection of the car before taking it to the track, stuff will wear out and it is much better to catch it at home than when you are doing 100+mph in a corner!

 

And, as much as you want to hit turn 2 at 150mph - you'll lift. One look at the skid marks heading into the wall does it to all of us. So, don't feel bad...

 

Coming out of Turn 2 you "dive" down into the apex with the pedal all the way down and track out to the wall on the right. And if you are driving even an NA G35 or 350z at say 120mph through the bank you WILL hit 145 before you get on the brakes for Turn 3. If you are boosted you will get 160mph easy. This is a no fooling section of track and so, take it easy!

The place to lift is NOT after turn in. It is before turn in. You can go down the straight as fast as you can, but get yourself positioned properly, about one car width above the center line. Get set, and in all likelihood you will be going 150+, even NA. "Breathe" off the throttle gently and settle it down to the turn in speed you want. Follow your line carefully, and DO NOT LIFT after turn in. If there is anything to do, squeeze just a bit more throttle as you ease through the turn once the car is "set" after turn in to make sure that the back end stays down. Only if you have some high speed understeer should you lift throttle. Hold it steady. Once you get to your approach to apex, slowly squeeze on throttle until you are WOT just before apex, and you will slingshot out of the bank, "downhill" and fast. It is a rush like no other.

 

You guys talking about lift and turn ins are making me

Does this apply with NA Z also??? I mean I am guessing I can probably hit 110 120 tops on the roval track. Eagle1 has twin turbo G which can easily hit 140s on that part of the Cali Speedway track. And I think mooddude has an APS TT which I am sure has twice the power my NA Z is making. How can I make my car stable on these speeds (110-120mph)?

good suspension?
upgrading aerodynamics by:
wing?
undertray spoiler?
front under diffuser?
aerokits?

hmm well maybe when Im actually on the track I would understand what all of you are saying. I am having a hard time imagining what Eagle1 is saying but I am PSYCHED to find out myself!

Oh and Porterfield R4s dust like a mother! Stops almost the same as my brembos. Maybe the rotors/pads are not really compatible as they should be? hmmm. Not good bedding? hmmm. What do you guys think? I have 300+ miles on em already.
EDIT: Well I called Porterfield and they told me it will perform better @ the Cali Speedway and that when I described to 'em how I bedded in the brake pads, they said I did it just fine. I guess Ill find out this Saturday

Thanks for all your advice everyone! I really appreciate it and am hoping to see all of you on some track days. Next one Im going to is the Speedventures Laguna Seca!

 

Your guess on speed is correct. You should get to about 120MPH when you aproach the (NASCAR turn 1) part of the Roval. I have ran my G there when it was only 4 days old, completely stock NA with a pop charger Nismo LMGT4 wheels and JIC coilovers.... (whoaa... alots happened in a couple years)

Have fun, take it easy and you will be ok.

 

Sorry Paulie. We are probably inundating you with too much data!
The TT G35 can get up to about 175mph on the front straight...but no way do we want to be entering the turn at that speed even with an upgraded suspension.

The good books on driving, such as the skip barber school book entitled Going Faster, and Alan Johnson's book Driving in Competition, are good places to go for a primer on approaching track circuit driving. Driving is turns. Any hamster can hang on to a straight wheel and put the pedal to the floor (with the proper fitting to the controls, of course!). But then what? The adage is that a track is a series of turns that are connected by straights. So to take something that is so complex as driving and make it manageable to study and understand, every course is broken down into turns, and they are prioritized as to their importance to achieving an optimal lap time in your car. This is usually done by the length of straight that follows each turn. Then the turn is broken apart and analysis is done on the proper driving line towards turn entry, the point you begin to brake, the point you turn in to the turn towards the apex, the middle corner, the apex, the corner exit, the track out point, etc. Once you get out there with an instructor you will quickly understand a lot of it just be watching and listening. Fortunately, most of the approach is easy and you should not be driving at or beyond your limits, just the same as every track driver irrespective of skill levels should not exceed their limits. We give the Roval a lot of respect simply because it does involve higher speeds, so additional care is warranted. You will see as you go around the track that there are numerous places where, if you mess up and lose control, there are relatively few consequences and they are likely to be benign...wide run off areas, slower speeds, no walls or ditches or fences or tire barriers, etc. etc. There are a few where the consequences will be more severe........so you DON'T push it in those places. The Roval at lower speeds is a walk in the park. It can be like having your own 8 lane interstate to yourself. But dial up triple digit speed and somebody else around, and it gets more than interesting very quickly. So you want to establish your line, set the car into it, and avoid abrupt or multiple corrections to your controls while in it. Think of yourself as an arrow leaving the bow....once you commit you are on a pathway like the flight of the arrow...steady and true.

NA you can still probably get up to 135mph on the straight without any problem, and perhaps 10 to 15mph faster depending on your exit speed from the preceding turn, and I do not think you want to be entering the turn that fast on a stock suspension. What you want to do if you can is ride with an advanced driver/instructor and take note of where he/she makes the turn in and "sets" the car...then follows the line through and out of the apex to the turn.

When you are zipping along at 135mph, you are displacing a very large amount of air, and it is remarkably heavy, so when you lift the throttle just a bit, you will slow down from the resistance. At high speeds it is almost like having a brake applied, so you don't want to just pull your foot off the pedal, because that would be like dumping a lot of weight on the front and lifting the back end up, it will destabilize the car as it pitches forward. Just "ease" back smoothly as you approach the turn in point so that you will slow down to the desired speed as you then make you turn in. Smoothness, not speed, is what you first want with all of your control inputs. As your skills improve you will be able to transition more quickly, but because of your smoothness, not in lieu of it. The stock set up will handle the 110-120mph in the Roval just fine. But I would be very cautious about doing more than that. The hpde is to work on skills, not explore the mechanical limits of the equipment with a concrete wall and embankment as part of the discovery equation.

Hope that helps some more.

Have a great time!

 

a lot of good info in this thread!!

Good luck on your first track day, let us know how it goes

 

Stock Track Z is designed with Zero Lift. i'll be surprised if you feel 'loose' at 120mph. then thats due to something you did aftermarket. i.e. wheel/tire combo or something else.

rear stock muffler is your best diffuser. keep it for now.

if u want, reduce the amount of airflow under the front bumper by increasing the chin spoiler length toward the ground more. you could always make your own front undertray with a flat sheet of metal/aluminum and it would probably work just as good as some of these other expensive toys from japan.

functional aerokits, when you do get to the point of needing additional cooling ports:
take a look at Cwest, Topsecret, INGS+1, Doluck, and of course the nismo v2 front.. they all offer integrated front lips, good ducting for radiators/coolers, and will increase front end grip via downforce... and/or wing it: adjustable rear wings that are HIGH off the hatch will offer high rear downforce..

 

Good start.....as for what coilovers you should get....only you should be the one who has any input. I would see how your car handles the way it is set up right now, and see what you need to fix/change. Mod for a reason in racing, not just to mod...
Best of luck!

 

Actually attending my first HPDE group 1 event on april 14th-16th....this thread has been very helpfull...My girlfriend suprised me with this for my birthday and am actually looking for a helmet and some brake pads now. So many things to remember that were discussed thus far....appreciate it. Kinda sucks just got finished installing my stereo, now I have to take everything out of the back and secure all the cables...oh boy.

 

I did my first event this past weekend, i had a stock car with stock brakes and Falken 615's. F... it was fun , it was at spring Mt motorsports park. I did have a brake problem, they overheated and fried. Next time , i will have EBC reds and thats about the only difference, maybe swaybars.

 

Paulie,

How did your weekend at CA Speedway go? I run a bone stock 05 Enthusiast in HPDE3 and remember seeing your car. On most SoCal Nasa weekends I am the only Z running in HPDE 1-4. Although last weekend at Buttonwillow there were two other cars. It would be great to see another Z at the track again. Any plans on coming out again?

 

that zed is ****ing hot ness