Just wanted to share some pics from my HPDE in July. I know it's late!! I had sooo much fun and learned a lot. My AutoX background really helped the instructor was very pleased. He said that my car was neutral in the corners, and very balanced. I was estatic because that's the type of car I set out building when I started modding it.

The only thing I didn't like was my car was getting hotter. I pretty much stayed in 3rd gear throughout the 2 mile course except for the back straightaway when I would shift into 4th. I stayed at 6k to the limiter for all of my sessions. At the end of the sessions the car would cool back down.

Anyway check out the album.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...3&l=a4960cf610

 

Glad to see you had fun. Also great decision in getting an instructor for the first day out. But don't just disregard those high temps. They will break your engine quickly. Our cars run pretty hot oil temps and that puts additional stress on the water cooling system. Might be time to consider a cooling upgrade to both systems, oil and water. High revs and high ambient temps could equal bad things.

Did you keep it on the track all day (no spins or off course moments)?

 

I am thinking of doing some cooling mods as well. Which one's would you suggest? I'm going back on Oct to do another HPDE so I would need to do something soon. I also think the engine temps went higher because my license plate covers 1/3 of the front grill. Check out my album to see.

I did keep it on the track all day. No spins or off course moments. I was really surprised with how well my car griped in the corners. Even with mid-apex throttle input it wouldn't get to unsettled in the corners.

 

Personally, I suggest oil coolers for anyone tracking their Z. I think a minimum size of 8'ish x 12'ish up to whatever you can find space for. A new larger capacity Rad doesn't hurt, but probably isn't as crucial. If you go back in fall I wouldn't expect to see the temps rise as much as in the summer, but its still a good idea to keep the heat in check, because ultimately heat is what kills engines (that and over-revs so watch out for that as well).

Good to hear you didn't over step your limits on the first time out. You'll learn the car has pretty good track manners, although not the fastest platform, it is a great car for the track. I can't think of anything the car doesn't do at least adequately.

I'm curious what type of brake pad did you use and how do it hold up?

 

Yes the car behaved much better on the track versus an AutoX course. Yes it's not the fastest car, but she's multidimensional (i.e. drift, autox, hpde, drag) She does all of those well.

I used the mid-level stoptech pad with my Brembo's and super blue 600. I ended up warping my new slotted rotors as well.

 

Yeah that happens alot to those new to it, I think the general problem is the newer drivers tend to hold/drag the brakes a lot longer than needed, generating a lot of heat. Ideally, you want to get on them solidly and off without excessive dragging.