I went to 'Seca yesterday with NASA. It was a phenomenal day. The Z impressed me and I ran a 1:52, on stock tires! Tires got really greasy and the Z wouldn not rotate, just plow towards the end of the sessions. I'm hoping better tires can resolve that.
On the front straight it sounds incredible....I love this car! Here are pictures, I was the ONLY Nissan Z there
http://rides.webshots.com/album/558303035IOKEbz

 

Any in-car video?

 

No And I always have some sort of in-car action. Don't have a rolbar camera mount like in my Datsun...and I thought one of these wouldn't work on the Z:


In-car video for sure October 21 when we go back to Seca!!!! By then I'll have some real tires and hopefully a stiffer a setup.

 

Brakes before any of the above.

 

Why? I was getting frustrated with turning the car in turns 2-3 and 8A-9-10...it wanted to go straight, no front end bite. That's all tires, no?

If I get brakes are you saying I can brake later and go slower in faster out? EVen with stock tires?

 

I'm saying that if you get better tires, you'll have more straight-line braking grip that'll demand more of the brake system. The car was understeering one, because of poor grip, but two, because you didn't slow down enough to take the turn at a speed your tires could handle (aka your braking)

Let's hit T-hill together

 

man i was going to go to this but i had midterms today. missed out. if you go again man i have a membership with nasa so id be down.

 

how much does it cost? any experience or special equipment needed?

 

Different groups and different tracks command varying prices. You can go to Thunderhill on a weekday with Speedventures for $175, or you can go to Seca on a demand weekend for $350. You need an SA2000 helmet for most groups, and most tracks rent them if you don't have one. Some groups require fire-retardant gloves as well. Almost all organizations have a novice class and provide instruction.

Send me a pm if you'd like to discuss this further offline; however, there are many members here that can guide you or help you with your first event.

Speaking of Laguna Seca:

 

CHeck these pictures out from my friend, just pick a corner and click!!!
http://www.jumpside.com/lagunaseca/

One of my favorites:
http://www.jumpside.com/lagunaseca/turn8/img_2046.htm

 

Are these the re040 tires? I am wondering if the 050's are any better. Still a street tire though... not sure what can be done to overcome that without going to r-comps.

It also seems to me that the z brakes are really front biased. That, in combination with the lack of rebound damping in the stock rear shocks, which pitches the car forward during braking and weights the front-end, it's no surprise that the front tires get overwhelmed.

I think Koni SA's on stock springs with the rebound damping turned up would be a good improvement on the track.

Were you able to get the brakes to fade?

 

Stock RE040 tires. Did not play with tire pressures. The TPS actually registered as high as 49!!! THe first 3-4 laps of every session were great, but after that the tires would scream and chatter, I spent most of the time sliding through a corner rather then being firmly planted.

You know I don't think I got the brakes to fade...never dipped into ABS. I didn't drive 10/10ths. If I floored it and braked hard at every corner they'd probably fade...I'm a novice driver and I still have confidence issues with braking!

 

is there any in car camera device that people recommend using for recording races or off road meets

 

I/O port if you have a rollbar:
http://www.ioportracing.com/

For mounting to the headrest posts:
http://www.filmtools.com/cruisecam.html