Oh, yeah. Having about 20 or so track days under my belt, I am well aware of the difference between the video game physics and the actual thing! One thing I haven't done yet, is drive the same track in FM2 as I have in real life. I'd like to see how the track differ (as opposed to the driving physics), and Laguna Seca will give me that oppurtunity.

Either way, I am really looking forward to getting there, with Infineon, Thunderhill and Laguna Seca all close by, with Willow Springs and Buttonwillow not too far either.

 

Here is a video I took of a F430, then a DSM car spins out and slides inches from the wall! Look at his skid marks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ceFM8pYO8

Here's an M3 bottoming out and hitting it's chassis...ouch!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IrwCe2RU9Q

 

 

For those asking for more info on these events. Check out these websites for the clubs going to Laguna this winter.

www.nasaproracing.com
www.trackmasters-racing.com
www.hookedondriving.com

 

hey sorry for noob questions but for helmets coudl i find some place to rent one? IF so how much?

 

Most of the tracks have helmets to rent for ~$20/day...

 

hello guys,

im about to register for the seca event on the 2nd but i hear the have a 92dB nosie limit at the track.

anyone know if a Nismo cat back with hi-flow cats and cone intake equiped 350z can pass?

has anybody seen anyone at seca with a nismo exhaust run hard and got thourgh the mic test after turn 5?

thanks

dp2

 

I ran with a nismo exhaust and JWT intake...no problems.

 

You might be borderline without the cats. Borderline is Ok at laguna though.. You get flagged, you know you need to short shift at the sound booth.

 

Getting flagged isn't a big deal. You get 3 warnings, just be sure to watch the flaggers. If you get flagged, don't see it, and continue to drive while they continue to flag, each lap counts as one warning. This almost pinched me a few months ago, but I short-shifted into 4th and drove all day...

 

thanks for the tip guys...

what did you guys run lap times wise? whats a respectable lap time for a nearly stock 350z with street tires? 1:50ish?

did your brake last? I hear seca is hard on brakes. im running DS2500

d

 

LS is tough on brakes. I think Alving, who can and I'm sure will chime in on his own, ran a fast 1:55s in his near-stock 350Z on street tires; that's better than the C5 and many of the S2ks. When I was there in October, there was a SC'd 350Z with race rubber in the race class running low 1:51-1:53.

I was running 1:47-1:48, but wasted my brakes big time from hard stops going down to turn 2... although they are wasted, this was on 275 Hoosiers...

BTW, low 1:40s is FAST: http://www.speedventures.com/results...id=-2147259534 (you can see my350z member "Hydrazine" in that link, low 1:50s - fast!)

 

wow, 1:47 is blistering for a stock convertable Z even with hoosiers. you must well seasoned there or a natural.

im debating to put on a stock muffler so i dont have to lift going up the long hill up turn 5. can i just swap out the nismo muffler with out changing all the pipes towards the cat? are the pipes the same diameter? i dont have the stock pipes only the standard muffler.

checked out the SV link and saw a S2k in the 46's. thats pretty darn quick!

 

I ran 1:55s with a best of 1:52. Stock '06 brakes/pads, ~6k miles on the car, stock RE040 tires. No tire pressure change. No brake issues/fade, but I wasn't driving 10/10ths either. Tires got hot/understeered plenty after 4-5 laps.
You'll be fine with the catless exhaust! Just go and have a blast!

 

I was in your heat and I remember you ran 2:10s with a best of 2:05. Weren't you the one with the warped brakes after the last run? Probably time to order a BBK.

 

Honestly, I highly doubt you'll have an issue. If you do, it's barely a lift right there by the sound machine.

My times were in my 300TT, not the ZR. I think it has high 1:30s in it with the right confidence and brake pads. All speculation and bench racing until I actually accomplish it though.

I have driven the ZR at T-hill and Buttonwillow a bunch, but never at Laguna Seca... I'll probably take the ZR to the Feb Laguna event if I go, as the 300 is getting a gear change in the near-term...

 

I'm signed up for NASA this weekend. I ran Laguna last year with a Nismo exhaust and JWT popcharger, and I never got black flagged. Now, I have the high flow cats, and I'm probably going to need to lift. Where do they usually put the sound monitoring; between T5 and T6?

I did LS in 1:51.2 with street tires mounted on 19" lumps last year (Jan 2007). That was my second time there. Daveh instructed me on my first visit to LS (Jan 2006). There's no way I could have clocked those times without great instruction. This year, the weather looks good, so I'll probably use my pseudo r-comps (Pirelli Corsa). Hear that daveh, I still have these cheap tires!

I'll be happy if I can knock 3 second off my last time there (and stay within my driving limits). The tires alone should be good for that....I think.

Seriously, if you haven't driven LS, it's quite a magical place. The elevation changes are impressive, and the corkscrew is simply nutty (70' drop). Do yourself a favor, and check off one of your 'dreams' by signing up for an HPDE event there because it's pretty much impossible to get Jessica Alba in your bed.

 

M3ownZ

i see that your from ann arbor... do you run waterford, gingerman or grattan?

grattan is a magical place... talk about a techical track! awesome.

i ran with a pretty quick E46 black M3 at waterford a few times.. that isnt you is it?

dp2

 

Packed and ready to go. See ya'll in the morning!

 

I would like to have a chance to drive on that course! I go every year to watch American LeMans & the Speed Touring Cars.