Dear guys just a quick question... Was it a must changing ur radiator once u reach 400 whp and above?
Thanx and regards.....

 

You need to put "[/COLOR]" after Art Director in you Sig

 

HEHEHEH ya i have noticed after i did it but i just didn't bother to change it lol thanx man.

 

I never had one right at 400whp with the Turbonetics kit. I flogged the car HARD at a track day for Z owners only, it was 90 degrees out, I didnt even put ice on the intake manifold, many times Id run back to back, never once did my stock radiator cause any issues. Then again, Ive heard the stock engine temp sucks a$$, all I know it didnt affect the cars performance at that power level.

 

thanx man for sharing

 

Shold not be once you start getting. But once you get into higher HP you man consider an up graded radiator.

 

It really depends on the situation and how you drive the car. Thermal management is very important. Your two big enemies in a performance car are weight, and heat. If you are just bopping around town or occasionally running a HPDE day in moderate temps (under 100F), no you don't need it. If you are trying to maximize your performance, you most definitely will. You can overheat the car on a track with less than 400hp, no problem. Kind of the same thing with power steering cooler and brakes. If you run stock brakes on a track you will probably be without brakes in three laps, if you are driving the way one can drive this car. So you go with different pads, stainless lines and upgrade the brake fluid as a first step, before dropping money on a new set of larger rotors.

If you run wider rubber and wheels you may find that the steering system is overtaxed and you have to put in a power steering cooler.

To get yourself a little more margin on engine temp you might consider running more water and less coolant, and a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. That will improve your heat exchange by increasing the surface area in contact with the radiator by 10% or more. It works, its inexpensive, and you don't have to pop the money for a new three core aluminum radiator unless and until you find yourself overheating. You could also put in a oil pan spacer and run another quart of oil.

 

In a completely respectful manner, I just want to disagree with this statement as the stock brake setup appear to be much nicer than what folks give it credit for. I had the Z pushed to the limits for four twenty minute sessions and never even got an inkling of brake fade throughout the entire day. Other models of cars such as Mustangs and GTOs were having their brakes boil and completely give out but never so much of a hint from the Z. PIR is a pretty rough course on the brakes as well. We ran Chicane which causes you to brake from 120-125 down to around 30MPH every lap.

Again, nothing personal, Eagle I just want folks who are trying to decide what they need for their first track days to understand that they don't need a super expensive brake setup when the rest of the car is pretty much stock...

 

No problem Skidmarq. I also agree he should not upgrade to a bbk right away, and was suggesting prelim steps if he does have some "light" braking issues when he does run hard.

It does depend on the track and the opportunity for cooling the rotors. At Big Willow Springs, probably not as difficult an issue. Fast turns, and there are only 9 of them, big straights and high airflow to cool the brakes. At Buttonwillow or Cal Speedway, circuits with perhaps 23 turns and some straights that generate very high speeds followed by hard braking, a very difficult issue (CS with Roval is 160 to 40mph, and then into the infield). I have not driven PIR so accept fully your evaluation that stock is sufficient for your demands on the car on that venue.

It will also depend on the level of experience and skill of the driver, because that will determine how much performance you are pulling out of the equipment. A newbie on a typical road course track is going to be driving probably 10 to 15 seconds a lap slower than an intermediate, who in turn is going to be driving 10 to 15 seconds slower than an advanced group driver. The speed differentials become very powerful contributors to reaching the limits of the equipment. Put a pro driver in the car and it will simply be outmatched by driver skill limits...and to conserve the equipment and keep it running the driver must back off.

This car has a lot of power, but it needs upgrades in handling (suspension and tires) to allow you to make more use of that available power. Once you do that, through a combination of sways, springs-dampers, strut tower braces, wheels-tires...you suddenly find yourself approaching all the turns at higher speeds, going through them faster, and hitting exit velocities that are higher still. The stock brakes will not take the increased demands. Indeed some of the BBK will not take the increased demands.

The Z and G are terrific platforms that are amenable to some amazing increases in performance through mods, something that a lot of other cars cannot match. But, it is a HEAVY car, with all that entails. There are limitations to how fast you can get it going safely on a track with the stock suspension and programmed understeer, so with the brembos and the limit on speed that the suspension allows, you may make it through a few sessions on a stock set up, absolutely. But there is not a lot of margin and depending on who is driving and on what track, you may not make it either.

What matters is having fun, and driving the car safely. If you learn and know the limits of your set up, whatever it might be, it will be loads of fun and learning how to drive better. And that is after all a lot of what it is about.

 

Im making a bit over 450 and have not had any issues with overheating at the track or driving around on the street. Of coarse I also live in buffalo where the weather sux and never gets above 75 degrees .

 

Not absolutely necessary, but good insurance IMO.

 

Not necessary, but for about $400, you can upgrade to a nice koyo. Not too bad of an investment for a cooler running system (which is never a bad thing).

 

Yes i surely agree with u.
Thanx man.

 

I admit, I didn't change out my radiator until late in the game...until several track days, and close to 600rwhp for a few months time

Run some water wetter as well, also keeps the temps considerably lower... I would suggest upgrading the radiator as soon as possible, but interestingly enough, back when the whole 3" exhaust was a new topic of discussion; when I went from, 2.3" dual exhaust to 3" dual exhaust- my coolant temps dropped considerably (back pressure superheating the heads and boiling the coolant)

-TODD