Saw some old threads (back when 350z was in B stock), but I just wanted to get some up to date information on this:

What modifications can and should you make for a 350z in the C-stock class?

Aside from tires and brake pads, what are people running in CS doing?

Dampers, stainless steel brake lines, front sway bar etc?

Post your thoughts!

After some more looking, I can't imagine things being too much different from back then in terms of modifying in the stock class though

 

Not allowed stainless brake lines.

 

^ that sucks!

 

I believe that the stock brake lines are already steel-reinforced (internally) -- like most other brake lines.

The down side is that, over time, the outer shell weakens and cracks.

 

They aren't much different except the 350 is outclassed by the 370

 

^ Yeah, I don't like how it's like that. Anybody know what the reasoning was for putting both 350 and 370 in the same class?

 

370z can't compete in BS, and the 350z is a potential overdog in DS and FS.

 

i don't know about your areas but here in the midwest the 350z is fairly dominant in CS and in pax and the stock ability of the 350z is quite good

 

I did a lot of studying of the 370z vs. 350z. The 370z has a shorter wheelbase which means that it will be even harder to get power down in sweepers. You *could* get more tire under the 370z, but most run tire sizes similar to the 350z. It has more power, but the 350z was already traction-limited (and the 370z even more so).

The 370z is a bit easier to drive quickly than the 350z on an autocross course, but the ultimate speed favors the 350z. However it will take a really good driver to get the ultimate out of the 350z.

 

My area is at Nationals, the only place that really matters.

 

I think the shorter wheelbase helps the 370z. Its quicker in transitions and with it running the same size tire as the 350, the difference in long term grip is marginal.
Todd Kean ran a g35 coupe this year at nationals but the motor let go. I think the z would be a good fit in DS

 

isn't the car dominated by the 370z, solstice, etc in cs at nationals?

 

It's dominated by the "special sauce" Solstice ZOK and MSR Miata. The 370z is closing the gap. The gap has come down now that Buetzer has moved out of CS in a ZOK.

 

There are so few 350Zs running at the national level that very few people know how good it actually can be.

While the shorter wheelbase of the 370Z could make it faster in transitions, the softer stock springs slow the transition time down significantly.

Over the past 9 years, the 350Z has been very competitive on one day or the other against the RX-8 -- in fact, often running as fast or faster, and I've shown that it can be competitive against the MS-R as well. The MS-R is a one-year "aberration" that is extremely rare -- and was never manufactured, but was actually a "trunk kit" -- and was available for ONLY one year. The Solstice ZOK was available multiple years, and could be ordered and delivered, unfortunately Pontiac is gone, and quite a few of those Solstices are experiencing electrical issues.

Between the 350Z and 370Z, I've chosen to stay with the 350Z -- not because I already own one, but because I honestly believe that the 350Z is slightly better than the 370Z -- but only slightly.

 

Question for you SCCA rule gurus about wheels -

Let's say you have the base model of a car (any car) and it came with steel wheels - in 15x5 for example. but a higher trim model came with 16x6 wheels - can you swap to 16x and still be in stock class, or do you have to stay with 15x5? What if the bigger wheels came with the car as part of a "performance package" - does that count?

 

No, to just the wheels. If it came with an options package, you'd probably have to get the entire package, whatever that includes.

For the Z it doesn't really matter, since the only one that came with drastically different wheel sizes were the 06+ GT wheels. The inclusion of VDC and TCS on higher models pretty much makes a end-user upgrade impossible.

 

Double check your wheel sizes, each trim level came with different sizes of wheels, and sometimes the 5AT and 6MT of the same trim level came with different sizes (e.g. Performance).

 

looks like the 370z's are doing very well this year for CS

 

I am running in the CS and I only have spacers, exhaust, K&N drop-ins and BFG G-Force tires. So far placed 1st in both sessions I ran in this year. It seems like the NYR is lenient on some things, for instance I believe my spacers are not allowed.

 

If the spacers are ¼-inch or less in thickness (with the OEM wheels) or the difference with wheels and spacers is ¼-inch or less different than the OEM wheels, then they're OK.