David, I just spoke with John Bilodeau and he is 90% sure he'll be coming down for the event. We're going to bleed his brakes and give things the once over at my house tomorrow so he'll be ready.

 

Thanks Daniel! I was inspired by the fact that you would be joining us..

I talked to my dad this morning to see if he would be remotely interested. The planets must be somewhat aligned, because he said he may join us as a spectator and that he would bring his 240. He mentioned something about the McPherson struts needing to be replaced before he did any spirited driving with the car, but honestly, I think it's more of a prized possession that he wouldn't likely push to the limit.

You don't happen to live in Woodland Park do you? I saw a race-ready 240 for sale up there a few months back. Just curious.

Joel

 

I live in Castle Rock, and mine is anything but race prepared. It does have a lot of mods, all under the skin. Except for the wheels, it looks stock.

Glad your dad will come down as well. There has been a lot of discussion on other forums if the 350Z is really a successor to the 240Z. Listening to the discussion on this forum, it's clear that even though there's really not much in common with the technology of the cars, the interest and passion they inspire in us is remarkably similar. Maybe Nissan DID know what they were doing

And maybe we can get your dad interested in tracking his, I think he'd be surprised how well even the stock ones do and, except for brakes, how little stress it puts on them.

Should be a really special day!

 

[QUOTE=Zmanco]Listening to the discussion on this forum, it's clear that even though there's really not much in common with the technology of the cars, the interest and passion they inspire in us is remarkably similar.QUOTE]

That pretty much goes for most cars. If cars were to stay technology similar from gen to gen, our driving life wouldn't be so much fun.

 

So the seeds that were planted have begun to sprout: Rjg, Kevinapex, GaryM05, Bottom, Jgray, Resolute, Amarao, Zmanco, Funkeymonkey1111, myspivey, bamyi, John Billodeau and myself are all confirmed. Darrel and Jgray's dad will be in the stands. Bring some cameras guys, we'll have to get some shots of the cars lined up near the tower or the straightaway at lunch!

 

Hey David, if I bring a friend along for the day, can they participate in all the HPDE activities with me provided they have a helmet? It's 100 per car, not per person, right? Just wanted to make sure before I say it's a-ok for them to go with me. It will either be a friend of mine or my wife, whose expressed interested in doing the drills and taking laps. Thanks!

 

Yep, it's $100 per CAR, so two drivers are OK. But everyone who is going out on the track will need to participate in the HPDE exercises. I'd caution against having more than two drivers per car, for the simple reason that it'll talk more time to dial-in the nut(z) behind the wheel! LOL

Also, as I said before, make sure your brakes are in great shape. Otherwise both of you could be sitting out when they go soft...

 

Thanks David, it will be either a friend or my wife who I think would really benefit from the HPDE part of the day.

I should be good on the brakes, I'm running relatively new hawks hps's (one track day on fronts - brand new as of 2.5 weeks ago on the rears). I thought my brake fluid was low so I was leaning towards bleeding and upgrading to dot4, but I was checking things out this morning and it's leveled off near the top. I suspect DOT3 will be fine since my hawks would probably start to fade before the fluid becomes a factor.

Thanks, can't wait for next weekend!

 

My girlfriend is coming along for the day with my camera and a handfull of batts to snap lots of photos. Trying to also track down a camcorder so we can get some footage both from the stands on corner 10 as well as some in car ride along footage. (Its no roll cage mount, but does give the video some flavor.)

 

Is anyone planning to go down Friday night to stay in Pueblo? If so, which hotel are you guys going to stay at? I'm planning on going down Friday late afternoon, just don't know which hotel yet.

 

Damn, I'm really sorry I am missing this! It looks like it will be a great day.

Dave

 

Yes- I'll be staying at the Wingate Inn. Try to get them to give you the internet rate (I think it was around $57/night) and be sure to mention you are attending a event at PMI. If you stay there, look for a small group of us Saturday morning for breakfast. We'll be up by 7 a.m. and heading out no later than 7:45.

For those that will be heading down on Saturday morning, the instructions to get to the track are back in post #70 (on page four) below the syllabus. Keep in mind it's over a 100 miles from Denver (with a nice bit of 45 MPH construction in Co Spgs), so plan accordingly to get there by 8 am!

 

If you're on the OEM brakes, I'd highly recommend a upgrade to DOT 4 fluid. The (relatively) small swept area of the OEM Z brakes transmit a tremendous amount of heat into the brake system. This affects the brake fluid itself and DOT 4 fluid will deal better with the heat.

Just went by Pep Boys and a quart of Valvoline Synpower DOT 3/4 was about $8 (I think AutoZone is even cheaper). It's so cheap and so easy to bleed that system- believe me, you'll thank me later!

 

Heads up too! CSPD & CSP are really hitting that area for speeders. You don't want another "La Junta" ticketer.

 

I'm staying stock all around. Being this my first time I don't want to push the car hard and try to kill myself. Second, the next time I will updgrade cause I want to feel and see the difference for myself.

 

Sounds great David. I'll contact Wingate Inn about the discount, thanks.

BTW, I stopped by Autozone and they had Valvoline Synpower but it was wasn't marked DOT 3 or DOT 4 - it said something to the effect that it 'exceeds DOT 3 and DOT 4', are we talking about the same thing or is there a specific Valvoline Synpower DOT 4 I should be looking for? I'll do the brake fluid bleed tomorrow to get ready for next weekend. Man, it's going to be a long week waiting to get on the track next saturday!

 

That's the right stuff!

Speaking of right, the weather looks SO good for the coming week! Guess we'd better enjoy it, as nature tends to even things out.

 

cool, thx David.

Yeah, weather is looking perfect next weekend.

BTW, for those going down early next Friday, if you have a AAA card you get the same discount as the online/web reservation using that card. It's also a little bit more than the 57 bucks if you are bringing a friend/wife/girlfriend (72 buckish).

 

It's now Monday, Nov. 20th and we're on the home stretch to this weekends HPDE/track day at PMI. Here's a question for after-track day activities: since we want to maximize our time on-track, there won't be much time for lunch (again- I'd suggest bringing a light lunch or snacks), it's been our tradition to go out for dinner Saturday before heading back home.

We've gone to a good Mexican restaurant called the Cactus Flower ($9-12 dinner) in the past, but I'd like to suggest trying another Pueblo favorite, La Renaissance. It's still a casual place serving American favs and a bit pricier ($10-18 for the entire meal- soup, salad, entree and dessert), but a great place to unwind and talk about the day before we head back. Neither place is too far from the track or the highway. Anybody up for this?

 

I'll join you guys for this!