still hesitant on making my Z a track car, considering it's in beautiful shape and only has 34k miles on it... anyways...suggestions on building a 350z time attack weekend track car with about $7000 currently available? I want to stay N/A for the next 2 years, i have a few exhaust (straight pipe, nismo) intake (nismo) mods not much but i'm leaning more toward suspension. Here's what im looking at right now.
-KW V3 or Cusco Zero 3s coilovers.
-Hawk HP plus or EBC bluestuff Ceramic Pads. (shoot me other brands)
-Slotted Rotors (shoot me brands)
-Federal RS-R or Falken RT615k 245/45 R18 front 265/45 R18 rear
-Hotchkis Front adjustable Swaybar (full Stiffnes) rear (soft)
***still a daily until next year when i pick up a B300 or Ranger Truck... so im open for weight reduction methods that wont make my daily driving life suck. thanks guys

 

Pretty much a "what would you do?" post

 

These options are more like weekend track setup. Just pick any, in that case.

Swaybars: I was advised by the track gurus here to keep them in soft setting, unless you run them with race tires. I listened and the car feels great.

IMO if you're gonna turn this Z into a dedicated track toy, then start with KW Clubsport or equivalent. Consider buying SPL bushings all over, camber arm kits, a good LSD.

What brakes are you running right now? STD or track? THere's also a good brake pad databse in the brakes section. Lots of reviews there.

 

1. Hit the track hard
2. Repeat step one till something breaks
3. Fix it
4. Repeat step one

 

Well it's more of a broke budget track car lol, but as of the next 2 years its a weekend track car... I'm waiting for my buddy's engineering company to get on it's feet so we can start designing and testing aero kits and a twin turbo kit... As for the coilovers I'm trying to stay under $2500 so I feel like the V3 would be best bang for buck... And stock brakes as of now

 

Although I only had EBC green on my toyota, I would lean toward the Hawk. I have those in my BMW.

Slotted rotor brands? I had EBC slotted and dimpled rotors and they were just OK as well, I wouldn't exactly recommend them. I would recommend StopTech Cryo, StopTech, Brembo Slotted (Blanks cut), or the various Japanese brands like Project Mu, Endless, etc.

I like Cusco as a brand, known for high quality, but i haven't tried their coilovers.

 

^Exactly

 

Friend of mine with an 06 300C SRT8 says BC Coilovers are good and inexpensive, haven't tried them myself though. As for brakes I'd go with either Stoptech or Brembo, expensive yes, but good. Hotchkiss or Whiteline sway bars and a complete polyurethane bushing kit.

 

Biggest gains on a track I've experienced came from three things: Brake Fluid, Tires, and Sway Bars.

Flush your brake with something like Motul 600 or 660. If you want to invest in something even better then go with Castrol SRF. It's like $80 a bottle, but you won't be changing the fluid as often as with the Motul.

For tires, if you're not going to put it on a trailer, I suggest Toyo R888. I use these to drive to track events and back without having to swap. If you are going to trailer it then step up to Hoosier R6.

Next biggest bang for the buck would be sway bars. Hotchkiss with bushings as mentioned before unless you can find a used set of EVO350.

I don't care much for looks, so things like aero kits and even coilovers never did much for my track performance.

 

Drive the car and see what needs improvement first. Everyone has their own feelings toward what the biggest handling quirks of this platform are.

I would pick the Cusco coilovers easily over the KW (however, I have never driven the clubsports). Cuscos are much more track oriented compared to the V1-3 but aren't that great on the street.

With the mileage you have, I would pass on doing bushings until they break. They will.

LSD is a HUGE must on your list. Spend any time at the track and it will become obvious even if you do have the factory 'LSD'

Skip the slotted rotors and just run blanks plus new fluid like someone else mentioned. Don't get too wrapped up with temperature ratings. Cheaper Autozone special Prestone DOT 4 will outperform the most expensive fluids that have been on your car for the last 5+ years. There is NO benefit of slotted rotors on OEM brakes. You'll have bigger brake issues to address if your car is 03-05 and didn't come with Brembos.

There are far better daily drivable track-worthy tire options than what you are looking at. If budget is priority look at Kumho XS. RA1/R888 are a step above but they are pricey and don't expect more than 10,000 miles out of them.

 

What are your class restrictions? Drive , drive and drive. Front camber adjustment is needed for tire wear and turn in. A real LSD is needed for traction and tire wear , I would start with those two. EBC or Hawk Blue would be great pads. The rest, mod as required and skills improve

 

I don't see how coilovers would be a primary "looks" function as the lower your center of gravity and minimize your weight transfer through the roll center... This i would assume is crucial on a heavy 350z and the bump and rebound damper elasticity seems like it could play a huge factor in the Z's tendency to over steer into corners. Lowering springs would be for looks...

 

Couldn't see myself investing that kind of money into an LSD when I don't have enough mods to usefully tune it to my benefit nor am I an engineer that. Knows how to work with one so idk how an LSD could make significant performance differences... As for brakes, people have told me to stay away from slotted rotors and visa versa... I don't know brake dynamics other than slotteds keep you cooler but are more brittle and fragile... I do know I need brake pads because my pads can't stop my car for SH**

 

I would get an Oil Cooler to ensure you can keep attending those track days.

 

Unless you're doing full suspension, sway bars are all you need. Your gains per dollar at any NASA, SCCA, or an HPDE event will be better utilized elsewhere than on coilovers. Most people that buy them like the way they look even though you can't see them behind the wheel and they make the car lower. Making the car lower than it already is will not make you faster on the track. I've never seen someone turn a faster lap because they invested in coilovers as their only suspension mod. Sway bars will keep all four tires on the ground, which is all you need to worry about. A sticky set of tires will handle the rest. It's like someone saying they ran a faster quarter mile at a drag strip because they have a pop charger as their only "performance" mod

As far as brakes go, blanks = more surface area for stopping. Rotors are already ventilated in the middle so as long as you have good fluid and either of your choices of pads, you'll have minimal to no brake fade. This means you'll be able to threshold brake later and not worry about your pedal going to the floor.

 

What about the damper, bump/rebound adjustments role on tire contact with the ground? I could care less for ride height... I just know from tracking my car at little tracks like AMP that my springs and dampers arent handling the loads and transfers the way I want it to

 

As you start to fine tune your setup, a nice coilover setup will eventually come in handy for exactly that. It took me about two years to get mine the way I liked. Go to the track, see how it felt, change/upgrade part after part, event after event. Essentially test and tune at each event until you dial it in. Once you have full suspension, lightened, and caged, take it to a shop to have it corner balanced with you in the car. I just always suggest starting with the basics and going from there so you can feel every change and modify accordingly.

 

I just started to convert my car to track oriented use recently and I will be the first to tell you, the Z is very good on its stock suspension, Learn to drive your car to the limits of it, figure out what needs to be adjusted to YOUR driving skills.

For me, I learned with the way i drive, I need less body roll and better tires.

Here is how your build should go for the track

1. Track time
2. Track time
3. Track time
4. Track time
5. Track time
6. Better brake pads and lines, motor oil, transmission, brake, coolant and differential fluids, more track time.
7. Swaybars, oil cooler, transmission cooler, race radiator more track time.
8. Tires, rims, better shocks or coilovers, more track time.
9. Bigger brakes, LSD more track time.
10. When you get to this point, you will know what you need, besides more track time.

 

Traction is always a good thing. You have a motor that puts down about 250whp, that is all you need for the benifits of an LSD (VLSD is garbage and does not count as an LSD) OS Giken, drop it in , no setting required. Spinning the inside rear tire on every corner sucks and really wears out your tires.

 

Since your car has such low miles I'd first suggest getting an older Z that you can build. Aside from that < as a 35 yr sports car racer, I'd suggest Hawk Blue pads, a thicker alum. radiator to handle the increased heat from racing, a Quaife LSD and new rotors ( pick one of aformentioned). get a full 5-6 point harness for a seat belt. MUCH safer and gives you better control over the car. More to come. Have fun!!