Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

And it is faster than my BSP Z on 285/275 street rubber. (STR MR2 was limited to 255's)

Granted, my BSP mods are rather light (see sig, add A-arms), and the the RS-3's may just be a faster tire than my XS's...

But I only did two runs in the MR2 and beat my Z's best time of the day by .3 seconds.

That MR2 felt great. Light, flickable, and good power delivery. (although not a lot of it)

03threefiftyz

iTrader: (25)

There is an MR2 here that is very competitive with the MX5's and S2k's in STR. Never driven one, but this one seems to be "settled" when being pushed hard. I would say the RS3's are quicker than the XS's......

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

This one inspired a lot of confidence, and felt like it was on race tires coming out of the turn-around. (loads of grip)

I have only driven an MX-5 once, and it was on race tires. I have driven quite a few S2K's and I like them, but the MR2 was easier to "just hop in and go fast" than the S2K's I have driven. I'm not a fan of the peaky power delivery of the S2K's.

jnathan68

iTrader: (29)

Remember, this is autocross where light and agile are very good qualities. Also, some people are better at driving momentum cars vs. power cars.

BTW - I have heard very good things about the RS-3's...just put them on my car but haven't been to the track yet.

idrive_MD

iTrader: (8)

Aside from the power delivery difference, I would think the weight difference alone is significant enough to justify your impressions.

You didnt mentioned if it was a turbo or the year it was, but a 1995 turbo MR-2 was 2888-lbs, a 1995 non-turbo was 2657-lbs (I used edmunds for this info). So figure those to be worst case estimates as cars tend to get heavier every year. I also don't know your specific year or model Z, so basically you could be looking at anywhere from 400-800 lbs difference and thats a BIG difference when combined with a better balanced chassis with some stickier rubber.

Don't fret, pput your Z on a road course and I am sure you'd be happy with it again.

03threefiftyz

iTrader: (25)

Only the newer MR2 roadsters/non FI older versions are eligible for STR. The one here is the newer MR2 roadster.....

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

I just googled for pics and it was a 1999-2004 model. My club doesn't post test&tune info online like they do the competition results, so I can't go back and check the list. (He wasn't there on competition day)

And I didn't mean to sound as though I was fretting. I love my Z.

I was simply pointing out that the 350Z is probably not "the car to have" in the new STR (bicycle tread-width) class.

03threefiftyz

iTrader: (25)

^Definitely is not. In fact in the DC region, which usually gets 15-18 STR cars per event, not a single one is a 350z.

350Z400rwhp

iTrader: (4)

Also MR-2's didn't have a limited slip on the turbo models until 1993, I had a 91' and this caused a lot of inside tire spin going around corners. Being a mid-engine car I wouldn't think it would be a great car for Auto-X. I guess it would just depend on the course. I ran mine a few times and it tended to plow a bit but was ok overall.

idrive_MD

iTrader: (8)

My bad, I'm used to the new MR-2 being called the MR-S, still a very light and tossable chassis compared to the Z.

NismoZ_840

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, the Z isn't great for STR, but I'm running it next year since I want to put on adjustable arms for the track. I should be competitive w/ the MR2 here based on last seasons index scores, but not sure what mods they are running. Some well modded S2Ks are coming over and since they dominate BS and the Z isn't even competitive in CS, there isn't much hope. Oh, and one of the drivers is on the cover of this month's Sportscar

Clam

iTrader: (6)

I'm also running the Z in STR and the tire limit is ridiculous. But at least it's a place to play on street tires, even though it can get frustrating at times on such skinny tires with the Z's size and weight

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

I like the way the Florida State championship will offer a "catch all" street tire class...

https://my350z.com/forum/autocross-r...ml#post8763793

BSP is a rather tough pax for the Z, (Because BSP is an AWD class) but it's a good way to let people compete on street tires and I'm entered in the class.

At the moment, it has more entrants than any other class.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

Pick his/her brain. Ask questions. Ask that driver to ride along with you, if possible. Ride along with the driver.... etc etc.

Our venue has some national-level "regulars", and they are great to have around.

mhoward1

It would be interesting to see exactly where it was faster. I would guess all the time was made up in braking and corner entry. Those are the two factors most effected by weight. On a lot of AutoX coursed those two can be almost 1/2 the time.

Z1NONLY

iTrader: (2)

I think I left some time out there due to early braking. (Because I was new to the car.)

I was confident in the amount of grip after one or two turns however, so I probably had similar or slightly better corner entry speeds.

I don't know if it was the car, the setup, or both. But I could tell there was much less mass to move in the transitions. (more noticable than I expected) Changing directions was just "easier" in the MR2.

Acceleration was the only area I thought my Z had a clear advantage. ( I also had to shift a lot in the MR2, but that's more track layout)