Hello everyone. First post! Been lurking for a few months now.
Looking to build another track car, 350z keeps sticking out to me. I am looking for some info, as this will be a primary track car, double driven at events.
To avoid the usual answers. 5 years track exp, regularly competing in local TT and hpde days. Built an MR2 and Miata already, looking for something 100% track dedicated but RELIABLE.

The short term plan is to just ENJOY the car for a season or two, in stock form with safety gear. Learn what the Z is all about.

So the question is! What fails on Z that is tracked heavily?
I just saw a post above about heat wrapping the clutch line, easy fix!
Oil cooler.
Breaks, I realize the car is heavy.
Any specific bushings or failure prone areas to reinforce or look out for?
What will end my day early that can be prevented with some knowledge that im lacking right now.

thank you.
See you on track!

 

My lower control arm inner bushings went, and my ABS control module has gone bad twice in 7+ years of tracking.

Driver's rear wheel bearing went out and was replaced under warranty.

Cracked my door with my knee on a left hand turn.

My floor broke too, but I don't think that's common..

https://my350z.com/forum/maintenance...and-floor.html

 

Thanks for sharing, I see the DIY now.
https://my350z.com/forum/brakes-and-...translink.html

The seat floor is scary stuff!!

 

Let's see...this season alone I have broken:

-Wheel Bearing
-Rear camber arm (broke and bent the other links badly as well)
-Both front LCA's (damaged after the bushings failed)
-Studs
-Clutch line (freak occurrence I believe).
-Seat slider (driver weight probably played into it )
-1 exploded moton shock
-2 spark plugs
-1 motor (breathing its last life now)

Car ran for maybe 200 miles this year.

 

Thanks, are the camber arms something common?

 

For me:
Diff (torsen now a fully open diff)
abs motor
speedometer (which also controls odometer/trip)
radiator has small crack
All this occured this year after 4yrs of hard driving

 

Broken Torsen diff?

 

1) Slave cylinder (if on an 07-08). This is a must. Upgrade to a heavy duty...

http://www.zspeedperformance.com/ZSp...ZSPHDSLAVE.htm

2) My ABS module also went out as soon as I started heavy track duty.

3) I also recently lost a wheel bearing (which I've heard can be common). So having an extra sitting around can't hurt given they are fairly cheap.


Welcome to the forum.

 

wheel bearings
camber arms

but i blame the driver for those... rotating while transitioning from pavement to dirt ("going off-track")

i'd rather those give than something more expensive in those situations

 

Wheel bearings, especially if you have a nice off.

Both the front lower control arm bushings

 

wheel bearings and brakes big time studs if you dont torque your wheels properly, strangly i had my abs pump 5 years with a good bit of nasa enduros and heats but never had my abs pump fail. Had my diff go bad but that was my fault for building it too tight and lack of oil cooler even my stock one got real hot so i added a cooler anyways. Happy on track trails good luck.

 

My lap times are a failure. Viscous diff sucks

 

Maybe a wheel bearing or two?

(thankfully they're not too expensive)

 

Well I tore up my compression rod, ball joint, in/out LCA bushings, jelly-soft transmission mount, blown rear tein shocks, messed up piston rings, cracked radiator. I've been only using street tyres so bearings are fine.

 

well after a nearly a full season of wheel to wheel all ive done is an exhaust gasket.
been a good year
but yeah make sure u have good pads, fresh brake fluid and just give the bushings a quick check after a track day

 

Make sure you have good camber arms, Front Lower control arms, brake pads + rotor, clutch and you should be good

 

Great info!

 

rear camber arms
front lower control arm bushings
diff bushings
ball joints

 

Been doing HPDE for about a year now (7 events). I've only had two mechanical issues. The first was the clutch slave cylinder. It was replaced under a recall for free. No problems since then. Last weekend I warped a front rotor after the last session. At least I think it is warped. Lots of vibration under braking....went away when I put some older rotors back on it....will get them turned tomorrow.

The paint on the front of the car is failing. Tons of chips.

As they say, nothing you do on the track is going to improve the resale value of your car.

 

I have done about 10 days on track in the past 4 months in my Z. 2004 model with 36k miles and all season 245 square set up with Carbotech XP10/XP8 + Motul fluid. I did this to my stock clutch....

-____-






........I now have a Competition Clutch Stage 2 and Ultra Light Flywheel, which is an awesome set up.