Excited there is finally a club level national race class where the 350z can be competitive! The 350Z always seemed to get the short end of the stick when it came to classing or rules, at least in recent history. It's no surprise there are so few racing.

 

Is there no PT class in which the 350Z has been proven competitive - or has no one really put forth the effort?

 

I run PTB regionally...I do OK and win most races...but the 350Z would never win at the Nationals. Maybe a Kleeman driven/prepared car would have a chance...but that is about it.

 

I did well in PTA/TTA before I jumped to ST2/TTS although there weren't that many cars racing in that class here in Texas. Hence the addition of a supercharger and the move up a class.

 

TTA in this region is dominated by Z06's. They run around a 2.05 or better at VIR. No way can a 350Z even come close to that.

 

officially 2:03's now thanks to Brian Bowers.

 

.....on 245's I might add. That said, DJ Fitzpatrick ran a 2:09 in his GTS2 E36 M3 (which is a lower hp version of his TTC car).

 

And as always, its mostly about the driver!
However, even when Mike Skeen drove my car last year (totally gutted and set up for track), he was doing around 2.15, so it is hard to imagine a N/A 350Z getting a significantly faster time than that.
So I agree with "NismoZ 840" that it is difficult to be competetive in NASA events with a 350.

 

What tires were you on? Also, I saw the video of that. If I remember correctly Mike was dealing with quite a bit of traffic.

 

I agree. I've always thought the 350 is poorly classed...at least in NASA.

Look at Socal TT results. Most of the TTA-D classes are E36 M3's on the podium all the time. Clearly that car is classed extremely well. So you couple that with an insanely good driver and you got untouchable. There is no way that everyone that drives one is just that good.

I believe the E36 M3 is classed TTD* which is insane.

Also, S2000's seemed to be very well classed. They pretty much dominate TTC in my region. No one else in TTC even gets close. Then DJ showed up for Nats.

 

I really think the 03-06 should be classed TTD. The 07-08 TTD*. Just my .02.

 

Totally agree!!!! Is there any way to lobby NASA to revisit our classification?

You have a good memory!!!!! The video was only the first 10 mins of a much longer session, so there was traffic, but quite a bit of open track too.
Tires were NT01's, 275 all around. And I'm sure with a little more time with the car, Mike could have taken another couple of seconds off, especially if you took my 165 lbs out of the passenger seat! But even with all of that, you know he is going to be much faster than the rest of us mortals!

 

Maybe not that low. TTD* for 03-06.

AP1 S2000 is TTD**. It has 47 less hp, but it is about 400lbs light comp weight, shorter wheel base. Being that much lighter makes a huge difference in more ways than just power/weight.

I'm sure they have factory front adjustable camber too.

I am determined to make my Z competitive in TTB or TTC this year. I just need to find the right combo of parts/setups.

I think the Z is just too heavy to be classed that high.

 

NASCAR-style door bars are in. Emergency engine cut off is in. Suspension and diff on-order. Finally some progression. SCCA school (to satisfy NASA license) this weekend. First SpecZ event March 10/11 at Sears Point. Hmm, I have six 9" wheels and four 10" wheels, though they don't match; still need some rubber though, and it's likely it'll rain.

 

You have to remember that at a track like VIR you are going to be an easy 2-3s faster on A6's vs NT01's (which are a good tire btw). Figure without traffic and you....mike is another 2-3s faster. All of thus sudden, not to shabby for a TTB car. Still not in the 2:07's probably, but getting there.

/bench racing

 

Except that my car would not make it into TTB (and especially not with A6's!). I would still be in TTA with the Z06's, which is really a joke

 

I would love to convert to specz at some point but for now I run my 03 in TTD:

Min Wt/Hp ratio for TTD is 14.00, so w/ this config it would be 3195/235 = 13.59 + .8 (for tire < 255mm) - .05 for weight = 14.34....pretty close to min.
TTD* dyno reclass @ 3195lbs/235hp:
+ 7 for the (*)
+10 R6
- 4 225mm Tire
+ 2 Springs
+ 3 Shocks (DA Koni)
+ 1 Upgrade Diff

Total: +19 TTD

I like this config a lot, it allowed me, a mediocre driver, to take the TTD track record by a large margin against some menacing boosted Miatas. With a good driver it would be very competitive, at least here in Florida (there are some fast drivers here too, damn Miatas).

Here are some other possible classifications:

Max Whp/Comp Weight/Final Class/Base Tire Size
235whp / 3195 lbs. / TTD* / 245mm
240whp / 3260 lbs. / TTD* / 245mm
260whp / 3360 lbs. / TTD** / 245mm
240whp / 3005 lbs. / TTC / 255mm
240whp / 2890 lbs / TTC / 255mm (This option may only be used with a PTB/TTB or higher Final Competition Class.)
235whp / 2940 lbs. / TTC / 255mm
306whp / 3190 lbs. / TTB / 265mm

 

Great to hear.

Stop by the USTCC area, we're racing a couple of MazdaSpeed3s.

 

All - camber question: "14.2 Camber
a) front and rear camber is unrestricted provided it is within the normal limits of adjustment. No modification to increase or decrease camber is allowed."

Does that mean Nissan spec, which is super low (1.3 front and 2.1 rear IIRC), or "as much as you can get without whiz-bang suspension components"? I take it that it's the latter, just wanted to confirm. Anyone have an idea what one can get for camber and toe with OEM components and no cheater spacers by lowering? I'm thinking almost -3 front and -2 rear, with a touch of toe for both front and rear; and caster up to -9 by going along for the ride.

Sounds good. Who am I looking for? I'm the skinny white dude.

 

Ride height would be the first way, I think the remaining methods will get a little gray.