I guess the way I read it is, if the car is a Nismo out of the factory, then it is OK. If it is not Nismo, and Nismo aero is applied to the car, it would not be legal.

Maybe better for some of the more experienced SCCA guys to weigh in though.

 

Thanks for posting all your progress and info! I just ran my first event yesterday and had a blast. I was wondering which offset your running on your XXR wheels?

 

This is correct. "Port installed" stuff seems to be treated different than stuff that's tacked on at the dealer.

 

Hey guys, had a more successful weekend with NEPA SCCA. Overall, my times improved and I finished 2nd in STU, 36/90 raw times, and 37/90 PAX. I lowered the pressure in my tires a bit more than I had been and found I had great response out of them. Also made the damping harder on my suspension by a few click (probably didn't have an affect on times but worth mentioning).

Below is the information from the day- if any can see anywhere I could have gained some time please let me know! I was still behind the number 1 STU car (Subaru WRX) by 0.9 seconds!

Location: Luzerne County Community College, Naticoke, PA
Weather: Hot, humid, 88 F
Race surface: Paved, good shape
Course Map:
Tire Pressure: 31/29 F/R (hot)
Times:47.921 DNF
47.803
47.021
45.811
45.675
45.730

Fastest Lap:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wW6VbeV5Cr8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

What tires are you using that are liking hot PSI's so low? Are you having any indication of the sidewall rolling over?

 

Welcome to the addiction! I believe the XXR wheels I have are +25.

 

I'm running Direzza ZII Starspecs. When adjusting the pressures I'm looking at the arrows on the sidewall and as far as I can tell I am just touching upper tip of the arrow. It might be a good idea to chalk my tires at the next event as right now I'm going by where the tire shine looks like it wore off

 

Tire shine on on tire tread is a great way to make tires NOT grip in turns.

 

i found the direzza ZII star specs liked 32lbs hot. my last outing I felt we could of went down a lb or two from there. im running 3.3 deg of camber up front btw. tire wear and temps are pretty even. Ill be ditching the ZIIs completely tho going forward in preparation for nationals with two sets of RE71s. The ZIIs are noticeably "less grippy" and the setup I have was dialed in for the RE71s

Never ever put tire shine on a race tire. Throw that crap away

 

I'll keep the tire shine in the cabinet from now on

Are you running 32lbs all around? Have you ever tried a staggered pressure setup? I'm still on stock a-arms so not running much camber, just what I get from lowered the car a little.

 

i did play around with staggered pressures to help combat understeer early on when the setup was less than ideal and i was on V1 RS3s. Lowering front pressure added some grip to the front.

 

Looking for some advice on HFCs here...
https://my350z.com/forum/engine-and-...dx-ii-hfc.html

 

I would take any information on the forums with a grain of salt. I have run several exhaust setups on my car. Z1 HFCs are cheap and work fine. Berk is fine too basically the same thing for more money. Anything over 400$ is going to be a waste of money IMO. My advice Z1 and call it a day. They even give you a reusable metal gasket for the manifolds. If u decide to run PPE long tubes which you might want to consider in the future if your going to hang with the Vettes in STU at Nationals you can get a PPE ypipe with HFCS welded into the ends (within the 6in relocation rule).

 

Thanks for the response! So it sounds in your book all HFCs are equal and eliminating hiss/rasp is just marketing? Z1 sounds like a good option, I've just been hesitant to order something from them lately as I've seen threads on some of their parts being cheaply made (however have purchased from them before and very happy with the quality).

I currently do not have any aspirations to head to Nats, unless they magically move it to the east coast one year. I do however plan to compete (and be competitive) in ProSolo in the area next year. Honestly, I haven't looked too much into PPE and won't claim to know anything about them. In browsing I've seen that headers are a PITA to install and do not yield great gains so they haven't been in my scope.

 

only really raspy setup that I did not like was using stock headers with test pipes and a full tomei titanium muffler midpipe and ypipe.

On the PPE headers yes they are a PITA to install. Took a lot of patience and every extension swivel box wrench I owned. They are not cheap and I got the stainless setup for the HR motor. I also wrapped the headers before install. It was definitely worth it at the national level. Maybe not if your staying local.

 

Don't put the spoon down!

So how much are the PPE headers worth over stock and how much would they net over something like Stillen headers+Z1 HFCs?

 

your going to pick up the most power between 4-6.5krpm 10-15whp avg as well as a fair bit of torque (maybe touched 20whp somewhere close to 6k) is what i was seeing with the HR headers. I do not know anything about the Stillen Headers and how they are tuned for the HR. I did not lose power or torque anywhere in the power band only gained or stayed the same

 

Car is currently in the shop and getting 3 new studs installed.

https://my350z.com/forum/wheels-and-...xperience.html

 

So I saved up all fall/winter to make some very necessary changes to the Z before this year's autocross season.

First, Berk HFCs went on the car. I originally planned to get Z1 HFCs as Z1 advised me their HFCs were the same as Berk's without the name brand. However, apparently Z1 is updating their HFC design and had no more in stock; so Berks were ordered (and honestly, I'm glad I went this way).

Next, the car received a 93 octane tune at R/T Tuning. The only "power" modifications included a new K&N drop in filter, Berk HFCs, and a Motordyne TDX II exhaust. Final numbers were 274 rwhp and 260 ft/lbs. Butt dyno is very happy .

Dyno video:


And the dyno sheet:




After the power was added, Z1 front upper control arms were installed. The preload on the coilovers was checked, extra hardware on the coilover mounts was removed (no idea how that got there ), ride height was adjusted to retain stock rake with square tire setup, and preload on the front swaybar endlinks was zeroed.


Finally, a new alignment with camber up front that actually makes sense! Now I can see that I need the rear camber/toe kit badly, so that will be coming up in the future. I went for a medium aggressive alignment as I also drive the car to work and around on nice days.



The first event of the season will be next weekend and is a two day event up in Williamsport on the airstrip. Let's hope for nice weather!

And here's a few shots of the car I took not too long ago.

 

Car looks good!

Are you still running in STU?

If so are the Z1 upper arms legal? Even if you get the "street" version it looks like the ball joints are actually spherical which I think wouldn't be allowed in ST* classes.

I only ask because I haven't ordered up arms for my STU build yet. It's the last piece of the suspension puzzle that I need and I'm trying to find all STU legal options.