why are z's not competitive in SCCA solo?
 

all I see is miatas, S2000s and Honda CRX/civics. Occasionally I see a z up there, but rarely.

Do they have poor suspension geometry for this type of racing? power to weight?

power to weight. It takes a lot of effort to lighten the Z

It's the classes they have been put into.

The SCCA just moved the AWD cars out of BSP last year and the Z looks much better for BSP now.

I must have missed the memo...

Bad press.

People tried the early 350Z, overdrove the car into corners (a lot!) and declared that the 350Z pushes like a pig. Add to that the limited tire options at the time (maximum of 275s) and the car could easily go through a set of tires in a few events.

I've had a local (very good!) driver in both Goeke's RX-8 (one of the top RX-8s in the country) and my 350Z ('05 Track, probably the best-prepared 350Z in the country now) on successive weekends. He stated that there was *very* little difference between the two cars, even though my car is almost exactly 400 lbs heavier than Goeke's RX-8 (and 410 lbs heavier than Isley's *lightest* RX-8).

The RX-8 is easy to drive quickly, the 350Z takes a bit more skill but is even faster. With the combination of BS (RX-8 & 350Z) and CS (MX-5 MS-R & Solstice ZOK), a lot of people have opted for the '07 MS-R (the only year that option was offered) as it's a fairly reliable and quick option. The Solstice is a bit faster, but is bigger and has reliability issues.

I've consistently rolled across scales at 3208 lbs in autocross trim (3/8 tank). Because I haven't replaced the exhaust, I've got that 50 lb resonator/muffler in the rear, which costs me a bit, but saves me 72 lbs of fuel (full tank vs. 3/8 tank) to keep the rear tires planted, and also helps lower the CG by a little bit. On 295/30R18s (or even 285/30R18s), the car is spooky quick through a slalom, acceleration and braking are phenomenal, and the only small weakness is long sweepers (lots of power and shorter wheelbase make the car easy to over-rotate).

The Z actually has very good suspension geometry, but no adjustment. Because we can't get a lot of static negative camber, people think that the car is at a disadvantage. But, because the Zs come with stiffer springs, there's not as much body roll -- hence there's not a lot of NEED for a lot of static negative camber. With the 285s and 295s, I tend to heat-cycle the tires out before I wear the tires out, so tire costs -- while higher than 17" options -- mean that I can use a set of 285s or 295s locally for a couple of years of events.

- Class winner, 2011 Packwood ProSolo
- Multiple-year NT and ProSolo trophy winner, 2007-2011
- 2007 BS National Championship 10th place (trophy position), came back from 15th on day 1.

Yes, the 350Z is competitive, it's probably the best-kept secret in Solo.

+1 to PDX...

Jury still out on BSP, but I won Dixie and NE divs (small field and only one day :() Finished .046 behind Lee Piccione's full prep BSP E36 M3 at the DC Pro (with an absolute garbage time taken on one side). Michael Bright has run quickly in the NC region and evo shootout in BSP.

I still think a full prep BSP s2000 is going to be the class of the class (as it were). Depending on course, I get raw timed by BS (Jadrice and Barbato) some times.

I'm certainly not a top tier driver like they are, but the Z is going to be a course dependent car in BSP IMO. A slalom fest like the West course at Nationals last year will be a problem vs the much narrower E36 and S2000.

About mcsinc
Location
kelowna

Get yourself a 350Z and we can talk. Until then you are just another 17 year old begging mom and dad for a RSX.

I doubt it, that was his first post.

I disagree, as one of the only non-Evos to trophy in the "old" BSP was Peter Umino's '05 Enthusiast 350Z.

I think that the 350Z will be very competitive in the "new" BSP.

I don't have a specific data point to show, but it's just a gut feeling. Mark Baer's M3 was 6th in 2010...its been steadily improved, but Uyeda handled him by a full second in his S2k at the El Toro Pro this year. It was the first national event for that car in a while.

We'll just have to see how it shakes out. I wouldn't put all the effort and money into my car if I didn't think it had a shot.

Also, my BSP car consistently scales in at 2915-2930 depending on fuel load and how much breakfast I ate.

lol, whoa, easy there david! I'm actually 45, have a turbo SSM Miata, and am looking at changing cars. I'm interested in an S2000 (either STR prep or BS in CR trim) or just thought I'd look at a 350z because I've always liked their styling. With V6 torque and a decent street tire selection, I was wondering why the BS leader board is not littered with these instead of S2000s.

Mostly because the 350z is in CS and the 370z is the better choice in CS IMO. Who cares about street tires in B/CS?

Don't get me started....

LOL....I figured that would get a few in a fervor.

That would only be for local races with a street tire index.

And oops -- yes, I meant "wondering why CS is not littered with 350z's". My mind has been on the BS track for S2000 for a while now. Just thought I'd explore the 350z route as well.

I'm not entirely sure that the 370Z will be that much better than a 350Z, having driven a 370Z as well as my 350Z.

An additional 100 (+) lbs, softer springs, and 2 inches of additional width don't help (and 2 inches less in wheelbase don't help in the sweepers either). On the other hand, more tire and power helps. In my opinion, it's about a wash between the two (I had problems with my rear subframe at the National Championships in 2009, a bad weld snapped on my first run on day 1 and caused the right rear to move forward and toe in under even mild acceleration).

Doesn't help that Buetzer puts the smack down on CS every time he shows up...

I've driven two Nismo 370Z's on the track. The extra power difference (compared to my stock-power 05) is very noticeable and the car turns NOW on stock suspension.

The Nismo (370) is in a different stock class, but IIRC it's in BSP with the 350Z

I don't know how it will respond to SP mods, but I think it's considerably better than the 350Z in stock trim. (Better than the Nismo 350Z too)

370's are canon fodder in ASP at the moment.

...and there's that little problem...

However, he's done well in both an MS-R and a Solstice ZOK.