So seriously, why don't we see more of the members here trying out for that? Honestly, a 500whp 350z would be the PERFECT contender (of course with the proper suspension mods and blingish crap to go with it)

I remember the Axis vortech Z won back in 03 I think it was....and that was relatively mild by most standards with something like 360-380whp or so. Get a nice TT or ST Z with a built motor for reliability to run, and BAM........contender. Braking wouldn't be too much of an issue as the Z brakes are excellent......handling would be good, and the gross display of tire shredding would be good too.......

A good car with a great driver = winner

 

That whole article had some really weird holes in it with how things were judged. I don't remember off hand, but it wasn't as scientific as it could have been.

IMO the cars should have 1 tune, one alignment, 1 suspension setting, etc etc. None of this crap with leaning the crap out of the engine to falsify your gas mileage - hell i'm glad that engine blew up the next day

That Z is more hardcore than most 500+whp Z's I've seen. I doubt many 500+whp Z's would do better than in the handling or road course dept. Something was flat out messed up with everyone's 1/4 mile times

 

^^I read most of the article today. Yes, one of the turbo cars had a whole different, super-lean map for mileage (a modded sti got 43.5 mpg ), one car (the skyline, I think) actually shut it's engine off for the downhill coast! Like that actually makes it a legit way to test fuel mileage.

I like how the LS-7 powered RX-7 got 23ish, real, mpg.

 

The 1/4 mile times were wack imo. Get Berto out there for the quarter

 

every car does that during the test..no one is running their normal map. The artcle is one of the best features they have (the mag has gone downhill in the last few years IMHO), but alot of what they do is for entertainment. For example, we had a customer car in it last year (was leading too, till the motoro let go on the road coarse ). During the fuel economy tests the car would be shut off an on repeatedly just to bring the #'s up (coast during downhills, run the map super lean during cruising). It's a very common practice quite honestly.

What alot of people don't realize is how much it costs to actually get the car out there and spend the time doing the tests etc. For our customers car, the bill just for doing the event by the time it was all said and done was around $30k - no small amount of change especially after the car costs are factored in!

But I agree, a properly built Z would fare pretty well. The idea of the test is not to necessarily excel in every category but to place consistently in each test.

 

The prob with this and just about every other import event is that it has gone from the average consumer to all corporate sponsored vehicles. Pretty sad. I have a few friends who actually competed in the event and it was a blast back then. Now it just takes big names and sponsors. SCC used to let the people vote, now they just go behind closed doors and decide amongst their biased selves.

 

those 1/4 times have always been off because IIRC they don't do it on a real dragstrip, and the altitude sucks, and 91 octane sucks, lol.

 

^^ It is done on a "real" dragstrip, but they don't use VRT traction stuff, and the track is covered in sand, as admitted by them, and sucks for a dragstrip.

You'd think they'd do it on a different track, huh?

 

How does it cost $30K ? Do you have to pay SCC to enter your car?

 

nope, you don't pay them but this car (the red Evo that was on the cover last year) is from the east coast.

So, you've got the cost to get the car out there, hotels, flying out the team of people you need to help you run, tune and drive the car. Plus tires, parts - it adds up quickly!

 

If you need a "team" and $30K to enter the SCC's Ultimate STREET car Challenge, than the challenge is flawed. I used to compete in offroad (rock crawling). For two days of comp, four days travel with myself and two others was a couple grand, not $30K. The challenge should be restricted to individuals, not companies. It would be much more accurate. The cars that are entered now are are not true street cars, their track cars that happen to be street driven.

 

+1. You, as the owner, take the car, and maybe a driver, and that's it. Both should be able to work on the car, and a well built machine that isn't pushing ridiculous power or stupid custom mods will be reliable enough to last the entire competition.

 

I completely agree, but like everything in this industry, corporate interests win out.

The even started off with good intentions, but shops enter their cars to increase exposure. Used to be that people would vote for the entries - now the magazine picks them, and as a result, you end up with all corporate cars.

The car we were involved with had 0 sponsorship - yes there were hooks ups from us, AMS and Road Race, but the owner turned every bolt on the car himself (he built the car), and paid for everything that went on it.

 

yeah I'm not digging that HPA enters something every year.....maybe we can appeal to SCC and make them limit it to non-shop owned cars!

 

I hate corporate cars! Let the enthusiasts have something.

 

exactly - and the car we were involved in was not even a corporate level car by any means...the $$ some of these guys dropped was astounding

 

just like most ideas that are fantastic at the start i think they have completely lost site of what this competition is about.

street car is a hard thing to define.. is a street car just street legal.. or should a street car be just that.. perfectly streetable.

and yah.. i loved how they started it. it looked like a competition to show what a series of cars could do in pure street trim. pump gas, non r compound tires, ac, stereo, body kits. this was a awesome competition to show you just how great a perfectly capable daily driver could be. the perfect blend of street and strip. i liked it when regular people entered regular cars that could/were driven to work EVERYDAY and then raced. if you ask me, one of the VRT cars, Forged's customers.. etc.. would have been a MUCH better choice. that Z should never have been allowed IMO. it may be street legal.. but damn... no interior.. on/off clutch..? what kind of street car is that?

So yah.. i agree with most people. If i ever got in (which i wouldnt) i would make it a point to drive it out there with a friend, and NEVER change a thing throughout the competition. to make this point.. this is what my car does everyday all day no matter what. the same way it runs at a road course.. is the exact same setup it runs on the way to work.

 

I think, honestly, we should all write SCC and explain our concerns and thoughts. No sense in complaining about it and not saying something to them! They might be more receptive than you think!

Also, I think it'd be downright badass to get a my350z.com car for USCC in the near future