Jim Stephens

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Jim Stephens

A few questions.... Is it better to leave the motor idling between heats or shut it down? With my son and I running it we did 10 runs yesterday with about 10 minutes between each run maybe. I would let the motor idle for a few minutes after the run and then just shut it down until the next run. Could have left it running and popped the hood. Just curious what others do? The temp gauge was in the normal range all day. The track guy, did comment he could feel the heat coming off the front of the car as he stood in front of us before we were released to go in line for the next heat.

KBoltz

let it idle a bit to keep the coolant running through. Then shut it off and pop open the hood and let the ambient air cool it as well.

Glad y'all had fun!

Jim Stephens

Ok. Here we go, wheels. I have been reading off and on for a few weeks and I am information overloaded. Too many options for sure. I am looking for a great set of rims and tires for Autocross. I don't need the most expensive, lightest, national level set up, but I would like a good quality set up to run with. I am going to keep my Volk 19's for my daily driving. My suspension is stock height. Really would not like to get into the whole rolling fenders thing if possible.

I "think" I am looking for 18" tires, but will certainly consider 17" tires if they are be better choice. My car currently has 19x8.5" offset 27 fronts, and 19x9.5 offset 24 in the back and they are working great (no rubbing)

Seems like I can go up a size on width and maybe go 18"x9.5 offset ?? fronts and 18"x10.5" offset ?? . What tire dimension works well with these wider rims? The offsets I understand, but there is a wide range of offsets being recommended. Mostly in the range of 15 to 30. Really, not too pre-occupied with "stance" more concerned with a setup that works and does not rub anything.

Specifically looking for people's thoughts on this who run Autocross, but of course any input is welcomed if you are involved in some type of track racing.

Tires
A guy at the track recommend Falcon's with 200 treadwear(not sure what that means honestly). Just want the stickiest tire I can find for the track that is street legal. Seems to be a lot of room here after looking through the rulebook. Dot approved.

Cost
In a perfect world I would like to find some good used rims(as these are for track only) and spend more of the money on tires. I even considered just some OEM wheels with really good tires, but it seems the widths on those are much narrower than I think I would want. My only requirement is that they are black (per my 15 year old son). In the end I would consider buying new rims (I might be to picky for the used ones).

Tried to layout a bit of what I am looking for to narrow it down a bit. In summary, Black Rims(not hyper focused on the weight), Optimal for AutoCross tires, Track Only Use(would drive with them on to the race), No Rubbing issues, not crazy money top 10 percent setup kind of stuff(just a good solid beginner to intermediate setup, Good Value Setup). If you currently are running a setup on your car that you are happy with, then certainly share that with me as I may just use what others have learned from trial and error.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Jim- I'm a road racer vs. a solo artist, but here's my $0.02. The Enkei RPF-1 has to be one of the most used alloy wheel in both forms of motorsports due to its combination of lightweight, MAT technology and construction. It's also relatively cheap and comes in the type of offsets that make it 350Z friendly. Finally, the Enkei wheel can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'! You won't believe the damage some of my wheels have taken in wheel-to-wheel racing with BMWs and Mustangs.

Only one note of caution on using black wheels: it's hard to spot any kind of cracking or damage on a black wheel with brake dust on the surface. Even though I wash and clean my wheels, the silver color allows me to easily check for signs of race damage.

Tires? I'd listen to the solo guys here, but I'm partial to BFGoodrich as they've been a sponsor for many years. Their Rival-S looks like a contender in the 200 UTOQ tires ratings.

Jim Stephens

What diameter tire are you running and width? If you are running 17" please explain why that is preferred over 18"?

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Jim- when the Z33 was first classified in Touring 2 racing, SCCA allowed us to use 18 X 9.0 fronts and 18 X 10.0 rear wheels. We used 275-40-18 tires for the first five years in T2. After that, we were classed back into T3 with a max 245 tire with an inlet restrictor and lead weight to slow us down. Last year, I got tired of it all and went into Touring 1 without any restrictor and no weight. My Z may likely be the only 350Z that has won in T1, T2 and T3 over the years. For a 245-40-18 tire, the 18 X 9.0 is the wheel to use. Never used a 17" wheel in SCCA racing...

Jim Stephens

Thanks on the wheels. Interesting on all the restrictions. There appears to be none of that for autocross at all. Basically needs to be a DOT approved street tire. They allow 17" - 20" and all types of rubber. Much less restrictive. Michael and I agree when he and I get some more time in Autocross and he turns 16 this summer we may check out SCCA racing so would not hurt to pointed the right direction in terms of equipment. Also, a high school friend of mine does endurance racing (Lemons racing) LOL, and is actually racing this weekend. He has asked me if I want to drive a few times, but not ready yet skill wise, but soon I will also give that a try. He told me today I would get 3 to 4 hours of wheel time in a race. I just have to chip in the money for tires, entry and gas etc.

So, no one will probably believe this, but today my son and I replaced the transmission fluid and the power steering fluid. We hop in the car to take it for a test spin after we got done and immediately I can tell a significant difference in the transmission. It's smooth like butter and not nearly as "notchy" feeling. I am shocked how much better it feels. I think, maybe it's the placebo effect, so I pull over and have my son drive it, who just wants to be released to play video games so he is not in a great frame of mind, and he is like "wow" you are right it's way better. Who would of thought? We both drove it around awhile shaking our heads at how much better it is. Crazy. I have no idea how old the fluid was, I do know the car got a new clutch around 27k miles or so and it now has 48k miles, but there was also a huge span of time since the clutch was changed given how little the car was driven. Just an awesome improvement for one hour of work. Still don't quite believe it myself. LOL.

All that remains to be done on the fluids is the radiator fluid and brake fluid (when I install the Brembo's).

KBoltz

Are you going in D Street or STU class,

Copied from Racers HQ concerning street class:

So a legal wheel:

• Is the same width as the OEM wheel.
• Is within one inch diameter of the OEM wheel. So if a car comes with a 17×7 inch wheel, the only legal wheels would be 16×7, 17×7, or 18×7.
• Must be within 7mm offset of the OEM wheel. This means no deep dishes or wheels that widen the track more than 7mm. Make sure you do your research. Any reputable seller/website will have this information readily available.

Street class is very restrictive. Stock wheels or not much difference especially in width and offset. STU you can use whatever you want. I'd make significant changes as well as wheels. Then I'd go nuts with a BBK, wide wheels, Hoosier A7 and coil overs.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Yes! Many owners don't believe how much difference a change in tranny fluid makes. The Redline MT-85 in both my street and race Zs make a big difference in shift feel- smoother and easier to slot into gear. Fresh DOT4 brake fluid will also help make a big difference when you get the Brembos on!

Jim Stephens

Thanks!, I was reading all about the tires in the rule book which show no clear restriction as you describe above, but then the wheel section(Page 48, Section 13.4) below it DOES say exactly as you have stated. Just did not go deep enough into it. Funny, they let us run DS, but we were running Novice DS, so it really does not count at all, would have thought that when they did the Tech on the car they would have pointed that out to me. It was all pretty relaxed as I am pretty sure they were being flexible just to get the new people interested in the sport. Hmm. That changes a few things for sure in my thinking.

This rule also gets me..
B.
Substitution
of clutch and brake hydraulic lines with solid metal or braided metal is allowed on all cars manufactured before model year 1992.

So, I can install the Brembo's and pads as they were offered in that model year 2005 of my 350z, but no stainless steel lines. That one is something I will also have to think over as I do have the SS lines purchased, but not yet installed. The car is stock except for those tires at this point. I have the replaced the worn out diff bushings, valve covers and put in Bilstien shocks. Ride height is stock as well. I can see it is pretty easy to get yourself out of the "street class" without intending to.

KBoltz

I highly doubt that someone would protest you over using SS Lines. I have heard stories about people getting protested over wheels, cold air intakes and other trivial things.

The whole point of autocrossing is for people to have FUN and become better drivers, but some people are jerks no matter what.

Someone might protest over the Z1 brace. I want to get the rear differential cover and it has a bracket that can bolt on the rear subframe, but can see getting bumped into STU.

IF I do that, then I am going to go completely nuts and put a real LSD in the car, coil overs and wide a$$ed wheels and tires. But at that point it becomes a race rat and not an autocross/weekend fun toy. And I am not sure that I am willing to do that.

The whole point of this is for all of us to have fun, learn together (especially you with your son) and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow gear heads.

Jim Stephens

Agreed, I am going to go ahead and install the SS lines as I just can't see not doing that when I put the Brembo's in. If they bump me up, so be it. I am sure there is good reasoning(story) for having that rule of no SS lines on cars newer than 92, but it does seem to be odd. I have the brake brace, but after seeing how it installs on a video, it would not be a big deal at all to screw in the adjustment screw and disable the brace during races.

I will talk over the tire situation with my son, as I see that as the key factor in which class we run in. I am really, at this point, just racing my son and not much paying attention to the entire field. My son, however, was immediately dialed into looking at the class results and where he fits in. LOL. I don't mind putting some smaller tires on if he wants to try and stay in D Street class. We are signed up to run again first of next month. The good news is the club is having a Saturday practice event where they are limiting it to 40 cars and allowing you to run as much as you want or can in your time frame. The actual race is on Sunday. I told him we can run on Saturday, and if he wants to "officially" race on Sunday then I will sign us up for that to.

On another topic, I thought my motor might be one of those "oil burners" I keep reading about for my type of motor since it was low after my oil change, but I can report it is not. We drove it super hard the last race and I checked the oil levels and all is the same as before. More likely, I did not quite hit the mark on filling it all the way up when I did the oil change. I also broke down and decided to spend more on the brake pads as I had purchased stoptech pads, but decided if I am going to all this trouble to put the Brembo's in I am going to try the Carbon 1521 pads as was recommended earlier in my thread. I also went back and reviewed some wheel and tire recommendations made earlier in the thread. Having this write up with others comments has proven to be a good reference!

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Hey Jim- let your son know that fresh R-compound tires can go from over $310/tire like this, to worn flat-spotted tires worth squat in a single weekend of SCCA road racing.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Jim Stephens

Wow, I will definitely show him this! Fully used up for sure.

KBoltz

Jim,

That's why I stayed with the stock 17's (you can get black wheel paint from Amazon for 40 bucks for 4 cans - I still have 1.5 cans left after 4 wheels) and just run the 17x8 rears on all four corners. Just had to remove the bolt from the rotor in the front to be able to run the wheels.

I do believe that D Street HAS to run a 200 Treadwear tire. I went cheap, Federal SS595's. I got 4 for 290 bucks delivered off of Flea Bay (can send you the store name if you want it).

R comps are great until you burn through them, they are expensive and with two driver's, you will be replacing them quite often.

Good tires are:

BFG Rival S
Bridgestone RE 71
Michelin Pilot Super Sports
Kumho Ecsta

The only real problem is that they are branded 200, but are not truly. When SCCA mandated 200 treadwear, it was to try and keep costs down for people, not everyone can run out and buy sticker Hoosier A7's (the A6 is what I would run on my Mustangs and Corvettes back in the day) as they get expensive fast. Street Class was meant to be just that, however the SCCA Mafia finds ways to circumvent the rules as much as possible.

When you see a STOCK car (in my case another Corvette) running Penske or Moton shocks that run over a GRAND EACH along with LG or Strano or Pfadt sway bars, and then sticker Hoosiers, you know it gets ridiculously expensive to be competitive other than locally, and even then, you can have National caliber driver's who drop a lot of coin to stay competitive. Street was meant to change all that. It didn't.

I did run Pfadt adjustable shocks and front sway bar. I had damn good brakes.

KBoltz

In Vancouver CA at a PCA Event

My wife Brenda is driving in this pic. We were using Toyo R888's with 315/30/19 rears and 275/35/19 fronts on TSW Nurburgring forged wheels.

R888's are not Street class legal. Since I didn't drive the car that much when I was stationed up there, I just ran soft compound all the time. In 2 years there I only averaged about 1100 miles per year. It rained too damn much

travlee

iTrader: (8)

I miss my c6

KBoltz

Me too. My Brother.