Well, Nov 7th was another great day for me in the 350Z. In fact, it was the most fun yet. It was the most fun because of how close the competition was. In fact, my final margin of victory was .002 seconds!! I sure am glad I took a leak before going out for that session! In fact, at the time, I was pissed at myself because I only managed to go 1/100th of a second faster than my previous session, but little did I know at the time that that 1/100th of a second would make the difference!

Well, here are the results, just click "submit." I am "raceboy" in class T5:

Speedventures Results

If you also click the red "laptime" at the top of the page, you can sort by all laptimes. I ran the 5th fastest lap over all!! Here's what beat me: 1. A 340hp supercharged S2K that was gutted to 23-2400lbs, had the big wing (make a huge difference on the Stooks), and was on full slicks, not just DOT R tires. 2. A Sub 2000lb Mazda full tube frame racecar. 3. A T1 Spec Z06 racecar. 4. A gutted S2000 with the wing, but not sure if he was on slicks or R tires.

I can accept whatever the S2000 guys want to believe, the first is what I think; that the 350Z and Stook are pretty close to DEAD even on a track. Or second; that the Stook is way better, just that I am a better driver!! Either one of those works for me!

BTW, the harness and race seat make a HUGE difference in how the car communicates with you. It alse means you don't need to work nearly as hard. I was pretty fresh at the end of the day although I had lost a wheel weight and the ensuing vibration left my left hand numb for a few days.

 

Awesome Steve. You did a great job and made me proud to be a 350Z owner. Wow, you put the hurt on some M3's, 450hp C5 vettes, Z06 vettes, boxsters, s2000's, 380hp WRX, and a Viper to name a few. They must have drove home in shame.

How many hp are you putting out now?

Jeff - zland

 

I really have no clue how much HP I am putting out. I dyno'd my car early in it's life when it was bone stock. It put out 229hp in a 4th gear, pretty much average.

Since then I have added the Borla True Dual, the Crawford Plenum, and AEM intake. The stock headers and cats are still in place. Some people believe that all the mods I listed do nothing. Who knows? Even if I dyno again, I think you gain a lot of HP from just mileage on this motor.

BTW Zland, I'll be happy to instruct at your track day. Better yet, I'll give people a ride along that they will NEVER FORGET!

 

Man, you cut it close, but you even took down the infamous Doug Hayashi!

Michael.

 

Very nice. Looks like the laps are pretty consistent too.

X

 

I think you can drive better hands down, no arguement. I am willing to learn anyway I can so I will take you up on your offer. Thanks,

Jeff

 

Steve,
good job!

 

Good job Raceboy!

 

Now, when are we gonna get some more CA. guys out to the track on a regular basis? I mean, there were 5 or 6 SVT Focus's (Foci?) out there for Christ's sake!!! Common guys, if we can get 5 of us showing up on a regular basis, we can have our own little challenge series!! Hope to see some of you guys out there soon.

A hot chick is fun to be seen with and hang around with, but what's the point if you never take her to bed?

 

Doug is a great driver, no doubt. He was on some old Victoracers and I was on RA-1's. My front RA-1's are pretty shot at this point. The car picked up understeer as the day went on.

The RA-1 is a great tire in terms of longevity, but it does give up ultimate grip to nearly all the other DOT R tires to achieve that longevity. I can't afford to go through a set of Hoosiers in an event or 2. I'll stick with the RA-1's and try to make the car faster in other ways.

 

Sorry raceboy...all the cali guys run NASA. I've recruited two socal guys already. One his first and the other his second track day with NASA. We are gonna be heading up to laguna thanksgiving weekend with NASA. Also, with NASA the number of Z's besides me is increasing. Last track day at Buttonwillow we had four Z's show up. One came down all the way from Canada.

 

Driving on a track is fun, but running timing seperates the men from the boys! The numbers don't lie!! But then again, some people just don't want to know!!

 

Steve,
Next summer the National Z convention is in Long Beach. At this time I'm planning on driving my car out and leaving it for the summer, so I can go back and forth and do some track events out there. They seem to be more plentiful than here anyway. How many track days will race rubber last anyway? I'm going to Road Atlanta with some half worn victoracer/hoosier combo.

 

I can only tell you my experience from RA-1's that everyone seems to agree, wear like iron! I started out with them shaved to 4/10ths. The rear have 4 events and look like they have another 5 in them. The fronts ran 3 events, then I flipped them on the rims and I will probably get another 3. When I the adjustable front upper control arms in and dial in some more front negative camber then I should be able to get 9 events out of the fronts as well.

 

Thanks, I'll be getting those next then!

 

Keep in mind though that the RA-1's do give up some time to the Victoracers and especially the Hoosiers, but I can't afford to go through a set of Hoosiers every every other event just for another second a lap. The RA-1's are also the most consistant tire of the bunch. It takes about a lap on most tracks to get them fully ready to go and they don't change at all throughout a 20-30minute session. That really lets you concentrate on driving.

Unless you have a big $$$ budget, the RA-1 is the way to go and you need to pick up speed with suspension, LSD (the LSD is the most amazing mod I have done yet), and now, front adjustable A arms. I think the front A arms will be worth at least .5 seconds a lap on a medium/high speed track and maybe even a full second on a tight track. The LSD is worth at least a second on any track and maybe even 1.5 on a tight one. It totally stabilizes the car and lets you lay down the power. Gears will be next after I do the A arms.

PM me if you want to know where to get the RA-1's shipped and shaved to your door cheap.

 

Doug must be lurking on this board: http://www.nsxfiles.com/chapter102.htm

Bravo, this is the second reference of you and your 350 on nsxfiles.com!

Michael.

 

Hey Raceboy,
I was there at Button Willow. Was that your black Z? Good job btw.

There was a very sweet Tommy Kaira equipped 350Z there! Nope ... the dude didn't track it!

btw ... I'll be going to Laguna Seca on Feb. 6th w. Speed Ventures as well. Hope to see u there.

 

LOL, that was pretty cool, I didn't even know that Buttonwillow stuff was there oh the nsxfiles!! Notice my highly organized Ferrari F1 like pit!!!

The S2K guys are probably going to be running a seperate spec group at OTC this year. At first I was asked if I might want to join and we would call it the S2K vs 350Z cup!!! That was their idea and not mine. That offer was quickly recinded when they realized I would whoop em all and take all their money!!!!

Pretty funny how those guys had been talking crap about the 350Z all year, but when it came time to race for the $$$$$, they wanted no part of it!!!!

Just for fun, I am still thinking of running their spec, just for bragging rights!!!

Seriously though, I like the Speedventures/S2K gang. They are the most professional club I have had the pleasure to run with so don't think the above comments are any more than friendly fuel to the fire!!

 

Yeah, that was me! I will also be at Laguna on the 6th, come say HI!!