Some pictures from a recent test session, thanks to Aaron Losey (twin turbo 350z) for taking the pics.

Video: http://media.putfile.com/350ZDriftTesting

 

they let you on the track w/o a helmet?

 

was wondering the same thing... also i wonder how those ksport coilovers are??? overall quality and ride quality as well.

 

looks like you had your self a good time.

 

he gets to drive that track everyday, he works there! and as to helmets, no one was around to tell on us.

the ksports are pretty good coilovers. i have two sets of them, one for my 240 sr20 car, and one for my 350z. i currently have a couple sets of tien, unkown brand, ground control, silk roads, and some others. the k sports compare very well with the others, and aren't all that stiff on the road. zfastests has a really high spring rate set that are probably alot rougher on the streets than mine, but he is a nasa instructor and does track days. i mostly just drift my z, so i didn't need violently stiff springs.

anyways, just another day at the office for ali. he gets paid to do that.

 

hmm... but just for u critical thinkers out there
for auto-x and drifting does it really make a different for a helmet?
mainly because u r running by urself and there isnt much obstacles that can damage u... (a pylon? lol)
for full track yes because there are other ppl driving around u at dangerous speeds where a helmet might mean death or paralisis... (death is proly a better choice by then lol)
i know its required... but for PMSing and argument's sake...
~~

 

oh, and i see your crappy drift video, and i raise it with a crappier one from this weekend in lousiana, no problem raceway short course. the big corner closest to the camera is a really neat one that is hard to connect, as it needs to be broken down into a few small corners to get it. this was my first event to start getting it, and i had some much better runs than these. i didn't get any of it on video though, i just found this one on the internet and i was in it. anyways, here is me getting to play on this cool little roadcourse trying to nail the last corner.

http://downloads.tsracing.org/drift_...5/CLIP0018.ASF

download it and then watch it.

 

pylon? No. Dipping a rear tire off the track in a slight ditch while drifting wide? Maybe. Hell i'd rather put a wear a helmet on just so that i can prevent getting a face full of tire dust, esp with his windows down like that! if you look closely, that Z has a full roll cage. i'd hate for your head to hit it, even with foam on it, no helmet = major headache...(also if you haven't noticed, i am a stickler for safety. hence the roll bar/harnesses/etc)

besides, a majority of tracks have policies that even employees should follow, they have giant insurance policies and a majority of the time, it states that if you're on the track, helmet's gotta go on, even if he's just messing around solo.

 

i see..
lol i need to buy a helmet for sanctioned racing events..

 

You guys are right, I should have been wearing a helmet. But being that I was on a closed course alone, and under highly controlled conditions I made the choice not to. And like Aaron said, since I was the official in charge I didn't get mad at myself.

And to answer the KSport question....they are fantastic. I used my car all last year to compete in the Formula Drift series, I road race it, instruct with it, do demos with it, and drive it on the street to "work". The suspension has served me well through all of it. A little rough around the edges for everyday street use, but it's a trade off for everything else.

P.S.
If anybody needs a set, let me know! I am a KSport dealer.

Email: info@a2racing.com
Check out their application list: www.ksportusa.com

 

that was a pretty shameless plug : P

 

Hey Aaron . . .




call me, I wanna know if you won this past weekend

 

it wasn't a comp, thats the 19th of feb, the day after the fd qualifier.

 

Hey I know those guys.....

 

and we know you......

 

what cooper tires are you running? how do you like them?

 

i run the cooper 2xs ( going off memory here, i think they are called that )

i've run quite a few of them, probably above 60 so far. i used to use 245x40x17, but i'm up to 255x40x17 and 255x35x18 as well. they don't smoke very well, but the grip is consistant, and they don't chunk. overall, a pretty good tire. if it had a weak spot for drifting, it would be the lack of smoke. i want to try some 275s in the back soon, but for now running the same tires all the way around works well for me.

ali and mikespeed in this thread can probably comment on the tires best. ali is actually a tire tester who works for cooper at their test track, and mikespeed is a retardedly abusive driver ( he breaks everything ). he is extra abusive on the tires and has gone through ALOT of them. i think he said something like 160 coopers last year. i only went through a little over a hundred, and of varying brands.

 

the 2xs is a great tire for drifting. Its just lacking in the smoke department because its a silica based tire, and doesnt dissapate the heat via smoke like some other tires.

However, its 3 ply sidewall (while a PITA to mount) creates AWESOME turn in, and a VERY VERY firm feel. To give you an idea of how stiff the sidewalls are, one of my tires has been flat the last I dont know how long with a nail, i just realized it when i got out of the car and looked at it, then drove home on it (hour). the sidewalls are stupid stiff, adn ultra responsive. The grip levels are about on par with a yoko es100, or falken st115, but they cost a lot less. They will also last forever and a day, and due to the silica base, they dissapate heat really fast (which is why they dont smoke, you have to be like really really overheating them to make them smoke a lot) but it makes them one of the most dead on and consistent tires I've ever driven on. I have never been able to get them to grease over or melt, and trust me I've tried a lot. The best testament of how well these things dissapate heat is after doing a I'd say 500 foot long rolling burnout for about 30 seconds, the tires were barely warm. Same with standing burnouts for 2 minutes. They dissapate teh heat really fast, which is great for consistency, but the trade off is lack of smoke.

Hope that overly redundant post that could have probably been just as to the point by using just the last sentence made sense.

 

i might have to try a set of these. but they're only 3 bucks less than my all time favorite st115s. whatever, i'll take your word for it and give them a shot.

 

They are pretty good tires, they just dont smoke like crazy.