Just like the post said im wondering if there is anything i left out in persuit of a great afordable track/street car. or anything you think will come up short or i should rethink.

Bride Zeta III
Rota p45R 265/285
stance coilovers
Hotckis sways
Camber and toe in rear
Invidia N1
POP charger
Porterfield R4-S pads W/ good fluid
duct for intake
nismo spoiler
trunk gutted

 

Lookings like a good mod list. Nice seats. And Excellent wheel choice, what tires are you running, thats a big part of it. T1R's? My mod list is about to be just like that, minus the seats/ spoiler and different exhaust. springs. Pics?

 

Rotors? Calipers? SS lines? Maybe an oil cooler, power steering cooler, tranny cooler... Those finned diff cases are cool. Maybe an F1 ladder brace under the frame would help the sways out a bit.

 

Get a big brake kit, stock brakes never cut it, unless you are doing AutoX only. Get a good alignment, good tires and you are ready. And a harness to keep you in that sexy seat would be nice. Let us now what model z you have.

 

Good point.

Are we on the "regular" brake setup or Brembo ?

 

Camber arms up front, a good alignment and corner balance, and brakes unless you have the Brembos. Those will last for a little while. BBK in the future though.

 

So... how many track events could you have gone to with the money you dropped on mods you don't know what to do with yet?

 

IMO, if you're not doing lots of track days, a BBK is optional...I've been running a 2nd set of rotors and semi-mettalic pads for track events and it's been working well; I've also changed to RBF600 fluid...so far, no signs of brake fade or high pad wear (but hopefully I've increased my driving skillz some, so that would also help with brake wear/heat issues)

 

Don't burst his modded bubble now !

Probably quite a few track days though... A full season ?

 

if all you want is the best track car mods for the $$ and to increase your track dirving skills, then Stack has a good point...but it seems like most of us enjoy driving and like doing mods for fun (that also help performance). In the end, there are some mods that will be specific to your driving, and others that are specific to the Z...so it's a good idea to get some time on the track to figure out what mods you really need.

 

ur ready

 

None of those mods mean ANYTHING if you don't focus 100% of your attention to your own driving.
You are modding blindly. NOT smart.

I would bet $ that my stock Z would take yours on a track. Me driving mine, you driving yours.

Do you like oversteer?

 

I'm not saying he shouldn't buy this stuff... I just don't think these are things that he should be worried about before starting out at track events. I'm just sick of all this "I need to throw gobs of money at my car to have fun on track" mentality. It's pointless and often dangerous for track newbs to think like this.

The 350Z (assuming thats what he has since his info doesn't list anything) is a very capable car right out of the box. Learn to drive it, develop a driving style of your own before going and f**king with important bits like wheels, brakes, suspensions and crap. I mean hell... the wing alone probably weighs as much as the crap that was gutted out of the trunk right? The wing won't do him any good anyway for a LONG time, right now its just dead, high weight.

What's the seat gonna do (and harnesses if he takes the ill-advised recommendation above) except allow him to NOT have to drive as smooth out there. So he'll overdrive the tires and the brakes, probably spin, and maybe take out a perfectly good tire wall in the process. I'm just glad someone hasn't told him to go out and buy some Hoosier race slicks or something

 

Do not listen to this crappy advice.

 

I'm 100% with you on all that Stacy. I thought it was obvious with the smilly.

Modding to make a care "more better" before actually testing it usually ends up with a big waste of money. Plus, there is soo much a driver can do to work around would be limitations on a street car.

I still believe the "regular" brakes with stock pads aren't the best thing to be taken to the track. We've had THAT conversation long ago ! lol

 

it was to me... I'm just afraid some other might not get it


And I don't disagree with you... but for newbs, a simple upgrade to high temp fluid and a quality sport pad with stock pads as emergency back-up should be plenty.

The way I see it... ALL information is good information. If you realize that you are losing your brakes, you should start asking yourself (and your instructor) why? Am I driving to the brakes' full potential? or am I doing something that is causing the brakes to be over-used? Better to get this information when you're SLOW and have time to learn how to deal with it, than to experience it when you think you have more brake than you could ever need (and it still happens). I know you know all this...

What happens is someone will mod their 350Z to the hilt before learning how to handle it, then complain about why they can't keep up with other, seemingly lesser cars and they end up selling it for a BMW or something! (EEE GADS!)

 

The car, with the exception of some higher temp pads, was pretty much ready for the track out of the box. Anything else is icing. Now stop waiting and go to the track. Hopefully you like doing it or thats alot of money gone.

 

Hey Stack, since you're a track junkie, and it seems that u know what your talking about, help me figure out what I need for my first time out on the track. I have an '03 Track 350z, bone stock, well... high flow filter in an 06 box. I was thinking getting a sparco sprint seat and a smaller steering wheel, just because I had them im my awd eclipse and I really like the stup. I could feel what the car was doing and I was able to concentrate more on driving, than keeping my balance in the seat.
I see you are against it as far as newbies are concerned, can you tell me why?
At what point do you advise getting sways and springs to correct the balance of the car?

 

Didn't you just read his posts? He said you should get out to the track after getting quality brake fluid and some quality pads. THAT'S IT. The Z's suspension is perfectly capable out of the box, not to mention it has plenty of power.

Don't compare the Z to your previous car. AWD and RWD are both entirely diff. from one another. Track the Z first, and see what you as a driver need to improve. It's a great step to go out there and use the stock suspension, and learn the more difficult way. Then when you put on new modifications such as shocks, springs, sways-- it's much easier to handle and you can take advantage of it.

Good luck!

 

First time I see a question quoting it's own answer... Lol

Stacy will probably chime in in a few minutes.

But my take on "When to change parts" is when you know what it is you are trying to address on the car. The answer to that will change with time as your experience and comfort increases and you find your own driving style.

Here's how I did it:

I had a couple hundreds of track miles when I bought my Z Track (Brembo brakes). I had already driven one at Monza so I had a relatively good idea of what to expect.

-Mounted dedicated track pads for my first track weekend.
-Changed the now bald re040 for a set of Azenis RT-615 (Got through 2 sets of rear and one of fronts in one summer)

End of first track season (11 days)

-Jumped to RA1 r compound tires on dedicated 17in wheels. (Actually saved money versus eating through the Azenis)
-Found out that the OEM dampers are not up to the task with the increased grip. Bought Koni Sport dampers, ran those on OEM spring.
-Spent a full 2 days relearning the car.

End of second track season (7 days)

Now:

-Just ordered a set of SPL upper A-arms to get some camber on the front.
-Will track the car in 3 weeks...

Voila. Not that many mods on a fun weekend track car.