That first pic is awesome, I love it.

 

Awesome pics Ada!

 

I'm liking the last one for some reason.

Thank you!

 

cool pics!

 

Nice pix! Looks like you guys had a lot of fun.

 

Looks like you guys had a blast. Nice pics, Ada!
Will

 

Nice pics Robert and Ada! Thanks for posting those, and thanks to everyone who came out to make it another great day at the track - it was good to see old friends again, and make some new ones, too.

I'm always impressed when first-timers are willing to try something new and come out to these events to join in the fun; that's what makes it worthwhile, in my opinion. Seeing early-morning anticipation (and maybe some apprehension) give way to late-afternoon confidence and exuberance as we all push our cars harder than we can on the street, and learn what they're capable of (while picking up some potentially life-saving skills along the way) is what it's all about.

Even after 4 years of these events, we saw several Colorado 350Z track day firsts this time:

First G35 (2, in fact)

First turbo

First New Mexico car

First side-by-side and open passing sessions

We had perfect weather, lots of track time, and no bent sheet metal. Thanks again to dkmura and Nissan Sport magazine for organizing everything so we could all have such a memorable day.

 

Outstanding day! Everyone had fun, and learned something. For those of you that have not tracked your car, you are missing out on so much! Even a stock Z or G will have an awesome time at the track.

Here's some pics; 1st two are views of the cars; 3rd opne is David giving some pointers and the last one is me point at my wife, telling her that yes, I do need the StopTech BBK kit, David looking on in agreement, and Rob just hanging his head, knowing that when he tells his wife the same thing, she'll kill him!

I can't say enough about what a great event Nissan Sport magaizine put on, and the quality of the instruction. Big thanks to David, and Gary, the other instructor, and a big thanks to everyone that came out there. And for those who missed it, you missed out on a great time

Dave

 

Well I just got back to NM and thought I'd post up a few of my photos too. Even though they are not as cool as the action shoots. Nice job Ada!

I've got to give a big thanks to David and Gary for organizing the event. Some of the exercises had me a little worried at the beginning of the day because I wasn't familiar with the group but it all went smoothly. Everyone did great and I hope you guys had as much fun as I did.

This was my first time with the Z out on the track and it was a learning experience to say the least. It handles so much different than my previous cars and things got much better once I adjusted my driving style and stopped abusing the front end. Mental note: tighten the loose nut behind the wheel first.

I got a chance to take David's car out for a couple of laps and even with the simple bolt-ons his car drove so much better than my stock setup. I shouldn't have done that because now I want to spend more money and replace my sway bars and shocks before the next track day. I'm just glad I didn't take a ride in Dave's G35 because I'm sure that I would be breaking out the credit card to order a JWT twin turbo kit too.

Anyways, I can't wait for the next one.

 

I'm telling you, those Stillen 5 way sways, are inexpensive, good quality, and ake a world of difference!

 

I'll have to look into the Stillen sways along with the Nismo bars that David was using. So what do you guys think of the Tein basic coil-overs? I can get my hands on a set of those for next to nothing. I'm kinda of torn between going the cheap route vs picking up another set of JIC coil-overs. I've had really good luck with JICs on other cars but they are a bit pricey.

As for brakes, David suggested Cobalt Friction GT-Sport pads. I picked up a set and installed them just before the track event. They worked great! Nice initial bite followed by good torque with zero fade. They are even supposed to be fairly rotor friendly. The only down side that I noticed is that they are pretty noisy during very light braking and they are a little dusty. I think that is an acceptable trade off for the performance and I'll probably leave them on the car for the time being.

 

As usual, no one is disappointed when they drive home after one of these events. David, Gary, and Nissan Sport really know how to deliver the goods! Thanks to all of you...

I didn't think I would get so much sun (overcast afternoon was deceiving) but my face is full of color.

Gary - You look like the Uni-Bomber in that photo!
Robert - Where's that pic with my front wheel off the ground?
Dave - Throw caution to the wind and get that BBK! You'll make the rest of us look like were driving Yugos!

Joel

 

Thanks for the pictures Ada and Robert - always fun to see myself "at speed".

As other said, it was a really great day - great people, instruction, track, nothing broken, and a great dinner as well. Many thanks to David and Gary for putting it all together!! After all, the rest of us just had to show up

For those of you who still haven't tried PMI (and found out how much fun this track is) here's a vid from my car. It starts with me leaving the staging area and heading out onto the track. First lap is a warm up, second is "at speed". I wish there was some way to display speed in the screen as it looks a lot slower on the video than it did from the driver's seat . If you want to gauge speed by the revs of the engine, I was upshifting at about 65 mph in 2nd and 90 in third. I hit 115 at the end of the straight before braking. I was little beyond the car's (and maybe drivers ) ability there as you can hear a fair amount of tire squeal entering turn 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhE3qHhhCUY

Enjoy (I did!),
Daniel
'73 240Z

 

Nice video Daniel. Now I just need to talk you into a GPS data logger. I've been using a Traqmate and use another program called Track Vision to combine the data with the video. Check out the following video for an excellent example. Note: all of the items displayed on the "dash board": speedo, tach, gear, long Gs, lat Gs, brake, throttle, track map w/ current location. This is great for replaying the day and seeing the big picture as you can see all of your inputs and compare that to the data that was recorded. It can be pretty enlightening to see why some laps are faster than others.

 

Great video, Daniel. Thanks for posting that!

Roy - were you running the data logger yesterday at the track? I'm shopping for a GPS-based logger myself, and I've got it narrowed down to the Traqmate and the G2X. I'm curious what you think of your Traqmate, what other loggers you looked at when considering your purchase, and whether you've got any data you'd be willing to share (I'll return the favor if/when I pick up one of my own). I've read all the reviews and seen all the videos, but I'm always interested in hearing more owner reviews.

 

No, I ran out of time before the track event but I was able to change the fluids, pads, install the exhaust, complete V1 mirror remote display, custom hitch... I'll have it and the camera setup before the next time I head to the track.

I did a fair amount of research on as many of the GPS data loggers I could find such as: Traqmate, Racepack, VBOX, Race Technology. All of them have their pros and cons. To be honest the Traqmate was not at the top of my list but after seeing it on a friend's car it had me sold. Plus it allowed us to compare data because we were using the same unit.

The Traqmate was very simple to setup and with some of their recent improvements it is much more flexible. The basic setup by itself is very useful because you can log position, speed, lat/long Gs and you have several ways to view the data using the included Traqview software. You can check it out for yourself, the software is a free download and I have some files you can play with. For another $129 you can add an auxiliary sensor input which adds: RPM, 4 analog (5, 10, or 20V), and 2 digital inputs. In my opinion this helps to bridge the feature gap between the Traqmate and the other GPS data loggers. The Traqmate team has worked hard to keep things simple and relatively easy to use. So far they have shown that they are listening to their customers and have been slowly implementing new features and providing upgrade paths. All in all I have been very happy with it.

P.S. Let me know what your track schedule looks like and I'll see if I can catch up with you so that you can have a live demo. We can even try it out in your car. We just need to attach the GPS antenna (magnetic), power (cigarette lighter adapter), and secure the main unit.

 

Excellent pics and comments from Friday's event! It even looks like a bit of (data acquisition) networking is going on, so I hope the learning and communication from this event continues to grow. My thanks to all who participated in the first official Nissan Sport HPDC. Each of you were open-minded, cooperative and coachable and it was a pleasure to start with the basics and go on to drive at speed with everbody.

One story I didn't mention occured in the open passing session. I was behind jgray's LeMans Sunset and he was gettin' with the program! Pulled me by a couple of car lengths going down the main straight, so I had no chance to pass him going into turn one. As I closed up on Joel, I saw no opportunity for a clean pass except to stay on his tail. He drove well, right up until he got a bit loose coming off T8! I thought I saw a hand movement through his tinted rear window and went to the inside in a flash.

Later on, Joel very calmly said he HADN'T expected me to pass (I guess the hand signal was a figment of my imagination) when suddenly this red car appeared on driver's right. Joel's reaction was quite appropriate (although I did think at the time he moved quickly to the other side of the road) and he left plenty of room for us to accelerate down the back straight.

The point to this tale is that, while this course only serves as an introduction to the world of performance driving, I can truly say I'm HAPPY to share the track and the road with Joel and with each of you! In a world where poor driving skills, slow reactions and 'me-first' courtesies are the norm, accidents will happen! To survive, you need a strong skill set, the right frame of mind and a willingness to communicate and learn.

As I stated when we opened the course, one of Nissan Sport's core values is to encourage better driving practices and skill sets. If in the course of learning those things, we have plenty of FUN, then I think we're in the right business! From the comments posted here, it sounds like each of you enjoyed yourself (I know I did) but if there's anything we could do better, please provide me with some additional feedback (either here or via PM or e-mail). If any of you ever avoid a accident, or find some of the skills you cultivated on Friday enhanced your driving experience, I'd like to know that story. In the future, there's hope other Nissan Sport Magazine sponsored HPDCs will be held around the country if we are successful.

Each of your Nissan Sport subscriptions (either new or renewal) are being submitted and your names added to the PMP certification list for track rental. I hope this event over-delivered in what each of you expected out of it.

 

David

Again, I have no criticisms whatsoever (except that we stood around too long during the photo shots, but thats our fault, not yours) and want to reiterate that you did an outstanding job, and made the day both extremely fun, and also educational.

Thanks again
Dave

 

FYI: It has come to my attenion that Jen (Dave's wife) took the action shots.
Joel that pic I already posted looked like on the 2.5" camera screen that the wheels was off the ground.

 

I know; why aren't there any action shots of me!?!?!?! Do I need to have a "talk" with my wife?